Please bear with me for a moment: this review is about a young Canadian jazz trio that calls itself BadBadNotGood, which is written as BADBADNOTGOOD and abbreviated as BBNG. Seems simple right? Alas, it isn’t, especially when learning that BADBADNOTGOOD also is known under the confusing names of GoodGoodNotBad and The Odd Trio. Solely judging on the many band names one could say they’re struggling to find a comfort zone within the unruly landscape of the contemporary jazz scene. Or are they just here for the fun of it? Earlier this month BBNG dropped their third studio album since they started out in 2011 and remarkably carries the convenient name… III. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Music
Mac DeMarco – Salad Days
24-year-old Canadian, Mac DeMarco doesn’t mind to stir things up a bit. His onstage behavior is memorable to many. Heavy drinking, smoking, nudity, obscenity and indecent jokes are a regular part of his sloppy looking performances. At home things are not very tidy as well. The Guardian describes his house to be a dump and quotes him saying “I live like a scumbag, but it’s cheap”. Continue reading
Timber Timbre – Hot Dreams
I don’t know if this is a confession or not, but i’ve been dreaming about this release for several months now. Usually longings like this are very non-descriptive, however after being teased by a glimpse of the video that comes with the first single, I believe all dreams I had about Timber Timbre since became pretty hot. Continue reading
[Live Review] Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam (4-11-2013)
Its been only a few months since the gig at the Netherlands’ biggest pop festival, A Campingflight to Lowlands, and from what we’ve heard from a few youngsters, Cave rocked the audience’s the socks off! Now for us ‘younger elderly’ Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds scheduled a new concert in Amsterdam’s Heineken Music Hall (HMH) halfway through November. Alas this was sold out in an instant. Luck has it Cave found another free date in his busy touring schedule, resulting in an extra (but far from sold-out) Amsterdam concert. Sounds from the Dark Side couldn’t resist the temptation and made the long and arduous journey to the sprawling edges of Holland’s capital.
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Sleigh Bells – Bitter Rivals (2013)
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
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.
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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
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