forYoungModerns

THE KING & QUEEN OF CALIFORNIA

Nobody outside of southern California ever mythologizes the Golden State in any other season besides summer. Nobody ever reminisces about warm California winters or scenic Los Angeles autumns. When it comes to California, and especially southern California, it’s all about the summer. And when it comes to musicians, there is nobody else on the planet that is capturing the carefree solacement of summer any better than southern California’s own sun-soaked one-two punch (and an apparent item) of Best Coast and Wavves.



Best Coast, made up of dueling guitars that are as reverb-soaked as they are sun-soaked, releases their debut album, Crazy For You, on July 27 on Mexican Summer. Frontwoman Bethany Cosentino’s lively yet lovelorn vocals compliment the lyrics, which have a recurring theme of regret regarding past boyfriends, getting stoned, or a combination of the two. The album, an absolutely refreshing cool breeze of an album throughout, is at its finest when Bethany and company get liberal with multiple tempos within the same song. For example, the first two thirds of album highlight “I Want To” features a Phil Spector stomp beat while Bethany’s line “I want you so much” soars over it; and that eventually morphs into a Live Through This-style punk jam, with Cosentino’s gorgeous harmonies instead of a Courtney Love snarl. Another great example of this changing of dynamics is found in the breezy bonus track “When I’m With You”:





Wavves, originally from San Diego, is unfortunately currently best known for primary member Nathan Williams’s apparent drug-fueled meltdown at the 2009 Primavera Sound Festival, which eventually resulted in a fight in Brooklyn with Black Lips’ Jared Swilley (victory for Williams, as Swilley left the fight a bloodied homophobe). Since then, Wavves have bounced back with Jay Reatard’s former backing band, Bethany Cosentino on his arm, and a solid new album, King of the Beach. The whole album has an ‘Animal Collective goes to the Warped Tour’ sound going on, with electric guitars hooked up to distortion pedals that could have stolen from some terrible pop punk band’s tour van and put to better use, while also including some psychedelic sound manipulation and trickery (best heard on the vaguely Zen chant vocal melody of “Idiot” and fuzzed-out guitar over ever-present piano chords of “Mickey Mouse”). Have a listen to “Idiot” right here:


So there you have it. Nothing says music royalty like two artists releasing two excellent albums in close succession to each other, apparently dating, and, hey, let’s throw in shit-talking Katy Perry while we’re at it:

Couldn’t agree with her more. Best Coast and Wavves are the King and Queen of California, if not all of indie rock itself.

If you haven’t noticed already Best Coast (and Wavves too) has a very entertaining Twitter account. Click HERE for Best Coast’s and HERE for Wavves’. And don’t forget to add For Young Moderns’ Twitter account HERE if you haven’t already.

(On a side note, Google Chrome, which I’m using as the web browser while writing this article up, says ‘Frontwoman’ is a misspelled word while ‘Frontman’ is not. That’s kind of fucked up.)

THE KING & QUEEN OF CALIFORNIA

Nobody outside of southern California ever mythologizes the Golden State in any other season besides summer. Nobody ever reminisces about warm California winters or scenic Los Angeles autumns. When it comes to California, and especially southern California, it’s all about the summer. And when it comes to musicians, there is nobody else on the planet that is capturing the carefree solacement of summer any better than southern California’s own sun-soaked one-two punch (and an apparent item) of Best Coast and Wavves.



Best Coast, made up of dueling guitars that are as reverb-soaked as they are sun-soaked, releases their debut album, Crazy For You, on July 27 on Mexican Summer. Frontwoman Bethany Cosentino’s lively yet lovelorn vocals compliment the lyrics, which have a recurring theme of regret regarding past boyfriends, getting stoned, or a combination of the two. The album, an absolutely refreshing cool breeze of an album throughout, is at its finest when Bethany and company get liberal with multiple tempos within the same song. For example, the first two thirds of album highlight “I Want To” features a Phil Spector stomp beat while Bethany’s line “I want you so much” soars over it; and that eventually morphs into a Live Through This-style punk jam, with Cosentino’s gorgeous harmonies instead of a Courtney Love snarl. Another great example of this changing of dynamics is found in the breezy bonus track “When I’m With You”:





Wavves, originally from San Diego, is unfortunately currently best known for primary member Nathan Williams’s apparent drug-fueled meltdown at the 2009 Primavera Sound Festival, which eventually resulted in a fight in Brooklyn with Black Lips’ Jared Swilley (victory for Williams, as Swilley left the fight a bloodied homophobe). Since then, Wavves have bounced back with Jay Reatard’s former backing band, Bethany Cosentino on his arm, and a solid new album, King of the Beach. The whole album has an ‘Animal Collective goes to the Warped Tour’ sound going on, with electric guitars hooked up to distortion pedals that could have stolen from some terrible pop punk band’s tour van and put to better use, while also including some psychedelic sound manipulation and trickery (best heard on the vaguely Zen chant vocal melody of “Idiot” and fuzzed-out guitar over ever-present piano chords of “Mickey Mouse”). Have a listen to “Idiot” right here:


So there you have it. Nothing says music royalty like two artists releasing two excellent albums in close succession to each other, apparently dating, and, hey, let’s throw in shit-talking Katy Perry while we’re at it:

Couldn’t agree with her more. Best Coast and Wavves are the King and Queen of California, if not all of indie rock itself.

If you haven’t noticed already Best Coast (and Wavves too) has a very entertaining Twitter account. Click HERE for Best Coast’s and HERE for Wavves’. And don’t forget to add For Young Moderns’ Twitter account HERE if you haven’t already.

(On a side note, Google Chrome, which I’m using as the web browser while writing this article up, says ‘Frontwoman’ is a misspelled word while ‘Frontman’ is not. That’s kind of fucked up.)

AUTOLUX - TRANSIT TRANSIT: IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SHOEGAZE

This week sees the release of Los Angeles shoegaze trio Autolux’s second album, Transit Transit. To say this album’s release has been a long time coming is a major understatement. How long exactly? At the time of the release of Transit Transit’s predecessor, Future Perfect, Rodney Dangerfield and Christopher Reeve were still alive, John Kerry and George W. Bush were in a heated clash for the Presidency, and in-the-know Ivy League college students were beginning to flock to a little website known as thefacebook.com.

We’re sure that Autolux is tired of hearing about how six years went by between the releases of their first and second albums, and that writers should be focusing on the music of Transit Transit instead. Thankfully, we can report that their new album is well worth the wait.

There’s little evidence that a drought in songwriting was the cause of Transit Transit’s delay, as some of the best tracks on the album have been staples of their live show for years (this FYM writer remembers being blown away by “The Science of Imaginary Solutions” at the 2008 Make Music Pasadena Festival). The same shadowy intrigue that made Future Perfect a modern Loveless is intact on the new album, ensuring that Autolux’s songs are as good as ever. The group did make successful attempts to expand their already grand range of sound. Perhaps the most significant change in Autolux’s sound is the addition of piano. The keys are best put to use on the haunted space ballad “Spots” which wouldn’t feel out of place next to “The Great Gig in the Sky” or “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” on Pink Floyd or Elton John’s respective albums. A message coded in heartache may make singer Eugene Goreshter feel “drunk and sad,” but don’t let those words distract you from the fact that “Spots” is nothing but pure ecstasy floating on by.

If John Lennon had survived to incorporate state-of-the-art guitar and synthesizer effects into his songs, then he may have written something like “The Bouncing Wall”, which starts off with two effects-processed chords not unlike a robotic “Imagine”. Carla Azar’s galloping Plastic Ono Band-esque drums kick in just before her steady, peaceful voice carries the song along its kaleidoscopic narrative.

With its title track and “The Science of Imaginary Solutions”, the album respectively features opening and closing songs that were designed to begin and end an album as expansive as Transit Transit. On “Transit Transit”, piano accompanies exuberant horns and backing vocals, but the sorrowful vocal melody reminds you that this album is more about isolation than celebration. “The Science of Imaginary Solutions” is definitely the climax of the album as it builds up the listener with lengthy intensity as Azar’s voice echoes the opening track’s horns in triumphant fashion. “Science”, one of the finest songs of 2010, feels like the homecoming landing of some kind of epic sci-fi voyage, which, given Transit Transit’s long road to release, may be a feeling that Autolux knows all too well.

The entire album is streamable over at their MySpace page, and is available for purchase HERE.

Check out the album opener, “Transit Transit”, below:



Autolux has a few West Coast dates coming up:

August 11 - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco
August 13 - Hawthorne Theatre - Portland
August 14 - Neumo’s - Seattle
September 17 - The Glass House - Pomona
September 18 - The El Rey - Los Angeles
And a yet-to-be-rescheduled date for the band’s recently canceled Amoeba Hollywood gig at the end of this tour.

AUTOLUX - TRANSIT TRANSIT: IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SHOEGAZE

This week sees the release of Los Angeles shoegaze trio Autolux’s second album, Transit Transit. To say this album’s release has been a long time coming is a major understatement. How long exactly? At the time of the release of Transit Transit’s predecessor, Future Perfect, Rodney Dangerfield and Christopher Reeve were still alive, John Kerry and George W. Bush were in a heated clash for the Presidency, and in-the-know Ivy League college students were beginning to flock to a little website known as thefacebook.com.

We’re sure that Autolux is tired of hearing about how six years went by between the releases of their first and second albums, and that writers should be focusing on the music of Transit Transit instead. Thankfully, we can report that their new album is well worth the wait.

There’s little evidence that a drought in songwriting was the cause of Transit Transit’s delay, as some of the best tracks on the album have been staples of their live show for years (this FYM writer remembers being blown away by “The Science of Imaginary Solutions” at the 2008 Make Music Pasadena Festival). The same shadowy intrigue that made Future Perfect a modern Loveless is intact on the new album, ensuring that Autolux’s songs are as good as ever. The group did make successful attempts to expand their already grand range of sound. Perhaps the most significant change in Autolux’s sound is the addition of piano. The keys are best put to use on the haunted space ballad “Spots” which wouldn’t feel out of place next to “The Great Gig in the Sky” or “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” on Pink Floyd or Elton John’s respective albums. A message coded in heartache may make singer Eugene Goreshter feel “drunk and sad,” but don’t let those words distract you from the fact that “Spots” is nothing but pure ecstasy floating on by.

If John Lennon had survived to incorporate state-of-the-art guitar and synthesizer effects into his songs, then he may have written something like “The Bouncing Wall”, which starts off with two effects-processed chords not unlike a robotic “Imagine”. Carla Azar’s galloping Plastic Ono Band-esque drums kick in just before her steady, peaceful voice carries the song along its kaleidoscopic narrative.

With its title track and “The Science of Imaginary Solutions”, the album respectively features opening and closing songs that were designed to begin and end an album as expansive as Transit Transit. On “Transit Transit”, piano accompanies exuberant horns and backing vocals, but the sorrowful vocal melody reminds you that this album is more about isolation than celebration. “The Science of Imaginary Solutions” is definitely the climax of the album as it builds up the listener with lengthy intensity as Azar’s voice echoes the opening track’s horns in triumphant fashion. “Science”, one of the finest songs of 2010, feels like the homecoming landing of some kind of epic sci-fi voyage, which, given Transit Transit’s long road to release, may be a feeling that Autolux knows all too well.

The entire album is streamable over at their MySpace page, and is available for purchase HERE.

Check out the album opener, “Transit Transit”, below:



Autolux has a few West Coast dates coming up:

August 11 - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco
August 13 - Hawthorne Theatre - Portland
August 14 - Neumo’s - Seattle
September 17 - The Glass House - Pomona
September 18 - The El Rey - Los Angeles
And a yet-to-be-rescheduled date for the band’s recently canceled Amoeba Hollywood gig at the end of this tour.

FYM ON THE LIST: MIDWEST REPRESENT!

SubPop Records latest dulcet contingency Jaill, bucked up and blew FYM away Wednesday evening at the Showbox in Seattle. Hailing from Milwaukee Wisconsin USA, Jaill played in front of a loose crowd coasting to their Midwestern guitar-rolling, Lake Michigan surf sound!

Jaill LIVE is something to witness! Balancing their rapid tunes with a witty one-liner undertow (even dedicating a song to all mustached men who are poor lovers). Jaill kept spirits high, and motivated to hear more! 

FYM’s stand out track of their set was Always Wrong: featuring an engagingly, energetic-despondence in lead singer Vincent Kircher’s vocals, and dynamic dueling guitar riffs. It’s a floaty tune we can’t get out of our heads! Jaill has a new record out on SubPop called That’s How We Burn. It’s a well-rounded album that deserves multiple listens, to take in a few of the tracks (including FYM’s standout jam of the show Always Wrong) go HERE!

Jaill continue their tour across the United States through mid-September, after seeing them live you won’t be disappointed!

PART 2: THE HOLD STEADY

The Hold Steady are based in Brooklyn now, but lead signer Craig Finn’s heart, still remains in the upper Midwest. The FYM crew can relate to Finn’s preaching, as two-thirds of forYoungModerns grew up alongside the Mississippi River (Quad Cities, USA). 

The frontman’s lyrics are like a cannery row (John Steinbeck) of Midwestern archetypes, about the boys and girls in America. His words are a rapid reminder to us of our friends back in a place we will always call home. If you ever want to know about the issues, scene politics, and mythology that has happened in the heart of the United States, listen to The Hold Steady.

With that said, FYM was on the scene Wednesday ordering double-whiskey cokes with no ice (in honor of the Constructive Summer lyrics), and donning a Lock and Dam 15 river hat JCodling’s father had given him, needless to say we were pumped!

The second song into The Hold Steady set: Constructive Summer sent the FYM crew dashing past bodies to the front of the stage! This is our sing-along song! Screaming our hearts out to the words we’ve sang many-a time before, it felt good to be sandwiched up front with other feverish brothers and sisters.

THS put to rest any anxiety we had about keyboardist Franz Nicolay’s departure. Craig Finn’s energy surpasses any other frontman we have ever seen live. Finn’s “look” resembles the college dude you would go to when you’re 17 and looking to score beer before the Iowa game. And that’s not a knock at him, it’s real. The Hold Steady remind us that rock n’ roll is not dead, and doesn’t need to be played while wearing eye-liner (green day :l ).

FYM can’t recall a time during the show when Finn wasn’t engaging the audience with a smile. The Hold Steady allow their fans to put their problems behind them for 90 minutes, and suddenly a “we’re in this together feeling” starts to come out.

THS broke into their encore with sing-along scriptures, Gotta Stay Positive. The Hold Steady can only give us hope that one day, in the scene where I come from, “there’s gonna come a time when the true scene leaders will forget where they differ, and get big picture.”

But for now, go down to your local record store (silver platters) and pick up Heaven is Whenever, The Hold Steady’s latest release!

(Editors Note: Cheers to SubPop, Jaill, and The Hold Steady for an unforgettable slice of back home last night.)

FYM ON THE LIST: MIDWEST REPRESENT!

SubPop Records latest dulcet contingency Jaill, bucked up and blew FYM away Wednesday evening at the Showbox in Seattle. Hailing from Milwaukee Wisconsin USA, Jaill played in front of a loose crowd coasting to their Midwestern guitar-rolling, Lake Michigan surf sound!

Jaill LIVE is something to witness! Balancing their rapid tunes with a witty one-liner undertow (even dedicating a song to all mustached men who are poor lovers). Jaill kept spirits high, and motivated to hear more! 

FYM’s stand out track of their set was Always Wrong: featuring an engagingly, energetic-despondence in lead singer Vincent Kircher’s vocals, and dynamic dueling guitar riffs. It’s a floaty tune we can’t get out of our heads! Jaill has a new record out on SubPop called That’s How We Burn. It’s a well-rounded album that deserves multiple listens, to take in a few of the tracks (including FYM’s standout jam of the show Always Wrong) go HERE!

Jaill continue their tour across the United States through mid-September, after seeing them live you won’t be disappointed!

PART 2: THE HOLD STEADY

The Hold Steady are based in Brooklyn now, but lead signer Craig Finn’s heart, still remains in the upper Midwest. The FYM crew can relate to Finn’s preaching, as two-thirds of forYoungModerns grew up alongside the Mississippi River (Quad Cities, USA). 

The frontman’s lyrics are like a cannery row (John Steinbeck) of Midwestern archetypes, about the boys and girls in America. His words are a rapid reminder to us of our friends back in a place we will always call home. If you ever want to know about the issues, scene politics, and mythology that has happened in the heart of the United States, listen to The Hold Steady.

With that said, FYM was on the scene Wednesday ordering double-whiskey cokes with no ice (in honor of the Constructive Summer lyrics), and donning a Lock and Dam 15 river hat JCodling’s father had given him, needless to say we were pumped!

The second song into The Hold Steady set: Constructive Summer sent the FYM crew dashing past bodies to the front of the stage! This is our sing-along song! Screaming our hearts out to the words we’ve sang many-a time before, it felt good to be sandwiched up front with other feverish brothers and sisters.

THS put to rest any anxiety we had about keyboardist Franz Nicolay’s departure. Craig Finn’s energy surpasses any other frontman we have ever seen live. Finn’s “look” resembles the college dude you would go to when you’re 17 and looking to score beer before the Iowa game. And that’s not a knock at him, it’s real. The Hold Steady remind us that rock n’ roll is not dead, and doesn’t need to be played while wearing eye-liner (green day :l ).

FYM can’t recall a time during the show when Finn wasn’t engaging the audience with a smile. The Hold Steady allow their fans to put their problems behind them for 90 minutes, and suddenly a “we’re in this together feeling” starts to come out.

THS broke into their encore with sing-along scriptures, Gotta Stay Positive. The Hold Steady can only give us hope that one day, in the scene where I come from, “there’s gonna come a time when the true scene leaders will forget where they differ, and get big picture.”

But for now, go down to your local record store (silver platters) and pick up Heaven is Whenever, The Hold Steady’s latest release!

(Editors Note: Cheers to SubPop, Jaill, and The Hold Steady for an unforgettable slice of back home last night.)

THE ANATOMY OF TWO INDIE ROCK TRILOGIES

Just like in literature, and just like in film, musicians have long been releasing music in trilogies. Some get it all done at once and release a musical trilogy as a triple album, such as George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and this year’s brilliant Have One On Me by Joanna Newsom. Others take their time, releasing trilogies over the span of three separate albums, notably Tom Waits’ unofficial New York City trilogy of Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, and Franks Wild Years.

This summer sees the release of two albums that conclude trilogies of sorts by Athens, Georgia’s of Montreal and Los Angeles’ Eels. Many musical trilogies are usually only labeled as such by fans and music journalists, as of Montreal’s indie psychedelic funk threesome of Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, Skeletal Lamping, and False Priest is not an official trilogy, but they do share similar sounds and themes, and the titles of the latter two albums are taken from the lyrics of Hissing Fauna’s “Faberge Falls For Shuggie”.

of Montreal




of Montreal’s trio revolve around themes of heartbreak, despair, and madness, with occasional brief but euphoric hints of love, usually all sounding like they’re taking place at a big party that just got a little too weird. Hissing Fauna will likely go down as the classic record of the bunch (and possibly the entire of Montreal discography), as it eclipsed most of the other releases of 2007 (and the rest of the decade, really) in terms of memorable songs, grand scale, and all-around fun. 2009’s Skeletal Lamping was a bit rougher around the edges, but still managed to produce one of the all time great opening tracks to any album in “Nonpareil Of Favor” and one of the finest and most sorrowful Elton John impressions in “Touched Something’s Hollow”.

This month’s readily accessible and danceable False Priest fittingly features guest appearances from of Montreal tour, festival, and wardrobe buddy Janelle Monáe and Beyonce’s little sister Solange Knowles (Beyonce has stated her desire to work with Kevin Barnes as well). With the notable guests on board, only two songs stretching beyond the five-minute mark, and most songs nestling into a comfortable verse-chorus-verse format, this may be of Montreal’s fiercest attempt at a pop breakthrough, and the results are very positive. The album is of Montreal’s most politically/religiously charged work to date, as evidenced during Kevin Barnes’ manipulated-voice rant at the end of album closer “You Do Mutilate?” (“If you think God is more important than your neighbor, you’re capable of terrible evil”). Insanely catchy opener “I Feel Ya Strutter” begins similiarly to Lamping’s “Nonpareil of Favor”, with Barnes being thankful for finding the perfect crazy girl. However, this new relationship turns dark quickly, as Barnes speaks of Al-Anon meetings and hooking up with his object of desire’s cousin because it was “thrilling to touch something that had touched you” on the very next track. False Priest never hits the stratospheric highs found on Hissing Fauna, but is definitely more consistent than Skeletal Lamping, and of Montreal’s third consecutive sex romp is one of the most entertaining albums of 2010.

Check out the vicious video for False Priest’s “Coquet Coquette”:


Eels




On the other end of the indie rock spectrum sits the brooding Eels, led by perpetually tortured frontman Mark Oliver Everett. Eels’ very official trilogy, started just last year with Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire, followed by January’s End Times, and concluded next month with Tomorrow Morning, shares similar themes of of Montreal’s trilogy with gloom and doom, mixed with sexual desire and love. Everett has always held a special talent for infusing hope and an uplifting message in the scenes of loss and death commonly found throughout his music, most notably on his 1998 monumental masterpiece Electro-Shock Blues.

Hombre Lobo was one of Eels’s loudest and rawest albums, and appropriately so as the full title suggests it’s an album about the primal emotion of desire. The album chronicles the intense desire and subsequent loneliness a man can feel when wallowing after a certain type of femme fatale. That feeling of desolation was the focus of its follow-up, End Times. End Times is the very definition of a breakup or divorce rock record, and has Everett drowning in this kind of misery more than ever before. The result was probably the biggest misstep of his career, as it is the only Eels album that didn’t include that wry smirk in front of the troubled mind. It was just all sadness.

While that smirk was nowhere to be found on End Times, Tomorrow Morning is a beaming, hopeful smile in front of a mind that no longer seems troubled. Eels’ ninth studio album (does this suggest an ennealogy?) has Everett’s affinity for hard rock numbers (“Baby Loves Me”) and spirited ballads (“I Like The Way This Is Going”), and it’s also his first true foray into electronics, as 6+ minute album centerpiece “This Is Where It Gets Good” has a foundation of a steady robotic beat, and “Oh So Lovely” features some twinkling synthesizer. Tomorrow Morning is more of a musical cousin to Eels’ debut album Beautiful Freak, a solid debut even if it was when Everett was still trying to find his musical identity, than any of their other albums, and its feel of experimental 90’s alt-rock weirdness paired with a very relevant message of optimism makes it the best Eels album in years.

Here’s the video for Tomorrow Morning’s “Spectacular Girl”:


Both of Montreal and Eels will be hitting the West Coast soon and will be putting on incredibly different concerts:

of Montreal:
October 27 - Paramount Theater - Seattle, WA (w/ Janelle Monáe)
October 28 - Roseleand Theater - Portland, OR (w/ Janelle Monáe)
October 29 - The Warfield - San Francisco, CA (w/ Janelle Monáe)
October 30 - Hollywood Palladium - Los Angeles, CA (w/ Janelle Monáe)

Eels:
October 9 - The Moore Theater - Seattle, WA
October 11 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
October 12 - Henry Fonda Theater - Los Angeles, CA

THE ANATOMY OF TWO INDIE ROCK TRILOGIES

Just like in literature, and just like in film, musicians have long been releasing music in trilogies. Some get it all done at once and release a musical trilogy as a triple album, such as George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and this year’s brilliant Have One On Me by Joanna Newsom. Others take their time, releasing trilogies over the span of three separate albums, notably Tom Waits’ unofficial New York City trilogy of Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, and Franks Wild Years.

This summer sees the release of two albums that conclude trilogies of sorts by Athens, Georgia’s of Montreal and Los Angeles’ Eels. Many musical trilogies are usually only labeled as such by fans and music journalists, as of Montreal’s indie psychedelic funk threesome of Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, Skeletal Lamping, and False Priest is not an official trilogy, but they do share similar sounds and themes, and the titles of the latter two albums are taken from the lyrics of Hissing Fauna’s “Faberge Falls For Shuggie”.

of Montreal




of Montreal’s trio revolve around themes of heartbreak, despair, and madness, with occasional brief but euphoric hints of love, usually all sounding like they’re taking place at a big party that just got a little too weird. Hissing Fauna will likely go down as the classic record of the bunch (and possibly the entire of Montreal discography), as it eclipsed most of the other releases of 2007 (and the rest of the decade, really) in terms of memorable songs, grand scale, and all-around fun. 2009’s Skeletal Lamping was a bit rougher around the edges, but still managed to produce one of the all time great opening tracks to any album in “Nonpareil Of Favor” and one of the finest and most sorrowful Elton John impressions in “Touched Something’s Hollow”.

This month’s readily accessible and danceable False Priest fittingly features guest appearances from of Montreal tour, festival, and wardrobe buddy Janelle Monáe and Beyonce’s little sister Solange Knowles (Beyonce has stated her desire to work with Kevin Barnes as well). With the notable guests on board, only two songs stretching beyond the five-minute mark, and most songs nestling into a comfortable verse-chorus-verse format, this may be of Montreal’s fiercest attempt at a pop breakthrough, and the results are very positive. The album is of Montreal’s most politically/religiously charged work to date, as evidenced during Kevin Barnes’ manipulated-voice rant at the end of album closer “You Do Mutilate?” (“If you think God is more important than your neighbor, you’re capable of terrible evil”). Insanely catchy opener “I Feel Ya Strutter” begins similiarly to Lamping’s “Nonpareil of Favor”, with Barnes being thankful for finding the perfect crazy girl. However, this new relationship turns dark quickly, as Barnes speaks of Al-Anon meetings and hooking up with his object of desire’s cousin because it was “thrilling to touch something that had touched you” on the very next track. False Priest never hits the stratospheric highs found on Hissing Fauna, but is definitely more consistent than Skeletal Lamping, and of Montreal’s third consecutive sex romp is one of the most entertaining albums of 2010.

Check out the vicious video for False Priest’s “Coquet Coquette”:


Eels




On the other end of the indie rock spectrum sits the brooding Eels, led by perpetually tortured frontman Mark Oliver Everett. Eels’ very official trilogy, started just last year with Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire, followed by January’s End Times, and concluded next month with Tomorrow Morning, shares similar themes of of Montreal’s trilogy with gloom and doom, mixed with sexual desire and love. Everett has always held a special talent for infusing hope and an uplifting message in the scenes of loss and death commonly found throughout his music, most notably on his 1998 monumental masterpiece Electro-Shock Blues.

Hombre Lobo was one of Eels’s loudest and rawest albums, and appropriately so as the full title suggests it’s an album about the primal emotion of desire. The album chronicles the intense desire and subsequent loneliness a man can feel when wallowing after a certain type of femme fatale. That feeling of desolation was the focus of its follow-up, End Times. End Times is the very definition of a breakup or divorce rock record, and has Everett drowning in this kind of misery more than ever before. The result was probably the biggest misstep of his career, as it is the only Eels album that didn’t include that wry smirk in front of the troubled mind. It was just all sadness.

While that smirk was nowhere to be found on End Times, Tomorrow Morning is a beaming, hopeful smile in front of a mind that no longer seems troubled. Eels’ ninth studio album (does this suggest an ennealogy?) has Everett’s affinity for hard rock numbers (“Baby Loves Me”) and spirited ballads (“I Like The Way This Is Going”), and it’s also his first true foray into electronics, as 6+ minute album centerpiece “This Is Where It Gets Good” has a foundation of a steady robotic beat, and “Oh So Lovely” features some twinkling synthesizer. Tomorrow Morning is more of a musical cousin to Eels’ debut album Beautiful Freak, a solid debut even if it was when Everett was still trying to find his musical identity, than any of their other albums, and its feel of experimental 90’s alt-rock weirdness paired with a very relevant message of optimism makes it the best Eels album in years.

Here’s the video for Tomorrow Morning’s “Spectacular Girl”:


Both of Montreal and Eels will be hitting the West Coast soon and will be putting on incredibly different concerts:

of Montreal:
October 27 - Paramount Theater - Seattle, WA (w/ Janelle Monáe)
October 28 - Roseleand Theater - Portland, OR (w/ Janelle Monáe)
October 29 - The Warfield - San Francisco, CA (w/ Janelle Monáe)
October 30 - Hollywood Palladium - Los Angeles, CA (w/ Janelle Monáe)

Eels:
October 9 - The Moore Theater - Seattle, WA
October 11 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
October 12 - Henry Fonda Theater - Los Angeles, CA

FREE ENERGY: BROADCASTING HOPE FOR DAYDREAM BELIEVERS

Free Energy have a new album out called Stuck on Nothing. From the get-go hardcore cowbell rhythms, and dueling (thin lizzy) guitars lay the ground work for an unforgettable refreshing taste of dazzling musical contemplation.

FYM publicist Nick Codling caught these guys at SXSW in Austin earlier this year. We were lucky enough to get our hands on a CASSETTE tape version of Stuck on Nothing! We are definitely impressed with tape nostalgia, and are happy to see Free Energy keeping the non-digital way of sharing music alive!

Free Energy pick up where their previous band Hockey Night left us. Providing thoughtful vintage rockers, prefect for hand claps, broadcasting hope through our speakers. Just as the album is titled, you will find no hang-ups on this release. Free Energy explore perfecting the art of a chant driven chorus, sure to bode well live.

Even in the darkest most stressful times, this album will lift your spirits, making you feel as cool as a 16 year old cutting class to smoke one with his buddies. Orchestral flair can be found peppered throughout the album, and on songs like All I Know.



But good production and sound can only take bands so far. Lyrically Stuck on Nothing is a gem! Irreverence, the rallying of rebellion, and hope are all woven into this record.

Standout Hockey Night revamp Psychic Lightning ends on this note:
”Can you remember how you lived before? 
Was there a time in your life without a war? 
Do you ever think that there might be something more?

You know they’re coming alive tonight,
Yeah, they’ve been preparing and they’re ready to fight
The sky is electric, my skin don’t feel right
But either way it’s going to end all right, well alright!”

FREE ENERGY: BROADCASTING HOPE FOR DAYDREAM BELIEVERS

Free Energy have a new album out called Stuck on Nothing. From the get-go hardcore cowbell rhythms, and dueling (thin lizzy) guitars lay the ground work for an unforgettable refreshing taste of dazzling musical contemplation.

FYM publicist Nick Codling caught these guys at SXSW in Austin earlier this year. We were lucky enough to get our hands on a CASSETTE tape version of Stuck on Nothing! We are definitely impressed with tape nostalgia, and are happy to see Free Energy keeping the non-digital way of sharing music alive!

Free Energy pick up where their previous band Hockey Night left us. Providing thoughtful vintage rockers, prefect for hand claps, broadcasting hope through our speakers. Just as the album is titled, you will find no hang-ups on this release. Free Energy explore perfecting the art of a chant driven chorus, sure to bode well live.

Even in the darkest most stressful times, this album will lift your spirits, making you feel as cool as a 16 year old cutting class to smoke one with his buddies. Orchestral flair can be found peppered throughout the album, and on songs like All I Know.



But good production and sound can only take bands so far. Lyrically Stuck on Nothing is a gem! Irreverence, the rallying of rebellion, and hope are all woven into this record.

Standout Hockey Night revamp Psychic Lightning ends on this note:
”Can you remember how you lived before? 
Was there a time in your life without a war? 
Do you ever think that there might be something more?

You know they’re coming alive tonight,
Yeah, they’ve been preparing and they’re ready to fight
The sky is electric, my skin don’t feel right
But either way it’s going to end all right, well alright!”