Earlier this week I fell asleep to the soothing voice of Bill Callahan… BUT WOKE UP TO THE AGGRESSIVE BEATS FROM THE NOISE POP BAND SLEIGH BELLS the next morning… I sighed deeply for a moment yet quickly was reminded of the fact that I still enjoy the debut of Sleigh Bells, Treats (2010). What I love about Treats is its intensive rawness, coming from mind blowing disordered riffs, hardcore beats and electro, and the interweaved feminine cuteness. I mean, ´Straight A´s´, ´Run To The Heart´ and the Diplo remix of ´Demons´ are just top-notch. At the time Sleigh Bells seemed to be a sort of wildcard in the indie scene, defying all kinds of conventions and taking the freedom to stir up some trouble. The simple and direct pounding continued on their sophomore album Reign of Terror in 2012. Vocalist Alexis Krauss and guitarist Derek Edward Miller described the latter as “the sonic equivalent of a beautiful shotgun to the head”. Thats not a bad comparison, apart from the fact that Reign of Terror was also groomed to attract a larger audience. Whilst the album did reach a number 12 spot in the Billboard 200 in its opening week, it plummeted to number 78 in the second week and was completely forgotten in the weeks that followed. Maybe people just don’t like to buy music with shotguns to their heads, hmm? Continue reading
Tag Archives: Music
Bill Callahan – Dream River (2013)
In ‘96 I was first confronted with the tormented voice of Bill Callahan, who was at that time still known as Smog. Indeed The Doctor Came at Dawn (1996) was a very nice lo-fi album, yet it wasn’t memorable either. What was memorable to me was Smog’s ’second single, ´Cold Blooded Old Times´ that came with the album Knock Knock (1999). Cold Blooded Old Times caused a vicarious sort of heartache to take over one’s mood. This was strengthened when the song appeared on soundtrack of High Fidelity (2000) that is all about heartaches, from a male’s perspective that is. Continue reading
Friska Viljor – Remember Our Name (2013)
I have to admit that I walked out on my first Friska Viljor show in 2008. As far as I can recall I did so because I was filling up a half hour of dead time within the festival schedule. Furthermore my harsh judgment was that the band did not impress at all and seemed uninspired. At the time, many were cyced up for this indie rock formation from Sweden who had just released their catchy debut album Bravo! (2007). Bravo! was about lost love, drinking and nightly escapades. It got a great deal of positive reviews from around the globe that justified the aforementioned buzz. In the years that followed the band proved to be very energetic, producing three full albums that I , honestly, didn’t brother to listen. It took me five years bump into the band for the second time. And yet again I was standing in on a sunlit festival field. Only now the difference was that I stayed and discovered that their live performance very energetic. Also I discovered that earlier this year Friska Viljor released their fifth album with the title Remember Our Name. That’s quite a coincidence, or isn’t it? Continue reading
[Live Review] North Sea Jazz 2013, Ahoy Rotterdam
In many regards much about The Netherlands is small, yet this stereotype is not applicable when it comes to the amount of music festivals that are organized during the summertime. Each weekend, starting from June, the concert agenda is packed with festivals ranging from dance to rock, or maybe even better, both! One of the more prominent events is the annual jazz festival North Sea Jazz, that is currently taking place at the moment of writing. Are you new to North Sea Jazz? All right, here’s a very, very short introduction.
Continue reading
Nehedar – This Heart (2013)
Just for a brief moment the frontcover of This Heart (2013) will undoubtedly make you think of P.J. Harvey. Although the lead vocalist of Nehedar, Emilia Cataldo and P.J. Harvey both have a deep love for New York City the similarities also end about there. For instance, the well known autumnal raw voice of Harvey is in strong contrast with the voice of Cataldo, whose voice is far more polished and controlled. Additionally, almost everything what is known about Cataldo breaths of cultural diversity. Cataldo is based in the midst of the multicultural New York, comes from a culturally diverse family and also holds a degree in Jewish Mysticism. This all echoes through in the music of Nehedar. Because of the foregoing the band is often associated with the Israeli community in the United States but can’t be pinned down as an ethnic specialized band for electonica, indie-rock and jazz are frequently added to their music. This Heart is my first introduction to Nehedar though it must be said that the band are not new to the scene, for it’s already their sixth independently produced album. Continue reading
Sounds from the Dark Side top albums of 2013 (until now)
Hi folks, we’re almost halfway through 2013 and that’s why is time to give you a short overview of our favorite albums to this day. Continue reading
Gold Panda – Half of Where You Live (2013)
Alas, Gold Panda is not the newest member of the Xtreme Justice League but an English producer who specializes in dreamy electronica. Yet the mysticism surrounding his persona would be fitting to an awkward superhero back story. In a nutshell this is his story, so ‘bear’ with me for a moment.
Femi Kuti – No Place For My Dream (2013)
Femi Kuti will always be connected to his father, ‘the cornerstone of Afrobeat’, Feli Kuti. Filling the shoes of such a legend isn’t an easy task and is even deemed impossible by most. Impossible or not, from a more positive side one can say Femi learned from the best. Femi joined his father’s Egypt 80 band as a saxophonist when he was a teenager and during the decades that followed he frequently led the band while his father was locked up in a Nigerian prison due to various politically motivated activities. Femi Kuti experienced his solo breakthrough in 1998 with the release of Shoki Shoki after his father died of AIDS in the year before. Hereafter he gathered more fame by collaborating with artists such as Rachid Taha, Roy Hargrove, Common and by hosting a radio station in the videogame Grand Theft Auto IV. Femi did however never lost track of his heritage and prolongs the legacy of his father by addressing the many problems of African societies in his music. Fight to Win (2001), Day by Day (2008) and Africa for Africa (2010) are all prime examples of the latter. No Place For My Dream adds a new chapter in the battle against injustice and inequality. Continue reading
The Heliocentrics – 13 Degrees of Reality (2013)
Critics do tend to categorize new music into genres so it’s understandable for everyone. Certain bands however seem impossible to pin down. The Heliocentrics are such a band, for they play jazz and funk. Well… that’s done and dusted you might think. Now for the tricky part, the Londoners intermingle the before mentioned styles with avant-garde, electronics, psychedelics, hip hop and ethnic traditions. So obviously no category seems to suit the well-orchestrated eclecticism of The Heliocentrics. Luckily there is always room in the extraordinary universe of Afrofuturist, Sun Ra, with whom the band is frequently compared.
Continue reading
Suuns – Images Du Futur (2013)
With Zeroes QC (2010) Montreal’s Suuns experienced a marvelous debut. According to various media it was: ‘self-assured’, ‘a gorgeous onslaught’, ‘testosterone-fuelled’ and ‘creeping atmospheric’. I fully agree to these superlatives, for to this day the shrill electronic beats combined with stoner rock of Zeroes QC are still dominating my playlists… and that does not happen very often. Suuns were neglected by many but used this lee to constructively develop themselves as a well appreciated live-act. Naturally a band that displays this much talent has ambitions to reach a larger audience. In an attempt to accomplish this the band released their sophomore album, Images Du Futur, earlier this year. Continue reading
soundsfromthedarkside 