Closing Out The Decade: Mclusky Do Dallas (2002)

I wrested with the idea of coming up with a list for the AGP's favorite releases of the last 10 years. After some serious back and forth, I made the decision that the last thing we need is another list. Instead we will feature some of the albums that have made a lasting impact on us. These are the albums that we told our friends to buy, annoyed our spouses with, and ultimately inspired us to launch this blog.

From now until the end of December The AGP will feature our favorite albums of the decade. Each week we will feature posts highlighting our favorite albums of the 00's. We will even have a few contributions from the AGP's extended family. We invite your comments, we want to know why you agree with us or perhaps why you think we're off our collective rockers.

We hope you'll join us as we take a look back at the albums that shaped the past 3,653 days our lives.
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Mclusky are dead, but from 1998-2005 they were responsible for some of the most vitriolic, spite ridden rock, these ear have ever heard, and I loved them for it. McClusky formed in Cardiff, Wales in 1998 and released their debut album My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Your in 2000 on Fuzzbox Records before hooking up with Too Pure for Mclusky Do Dallas in 2002 and The Difference Between Me and You is I'm not on Fire in 2004. Unfortunately in January of 2005 Andy Falkous issued a statement via the bands web site that Mclusky had broken up, and just like that it was over.

It was in the fall of 2002 that I was introduced to Mclusky through a fellow music obsessive, as I recall, the conversation went something like this:
Him: have you heard Mclusky?
Me: No who's Mclusky?
Him: Go buy their new album Mcluslky Do Dallas, you're gonna shit man!

Of course I went out the next day and tracked down the album and you know what? My foul mouthed friend was right on with his prediction, if anything it was understated. Since then I've bought all of the bands records, but Do Dallas remains a favorite and frequent listen. From the opening notes of Lightsabre CockSucker Blues to To Hell With Good Intentions to Alan Is A Cowboy Killer, on Mclusky Do Dallas the welsh trio deliver viscous two minute buzz saw punk that I still can't get enough of. Mclusky laid down the majority of the tracks on the album with the assistance of sound engineer Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in the spring of 2001. Talk about a band custom made for Albini's recording approach, the results more than speak for themselves. Andy Falkous anchors the record with a notebook full of smart ass lyrics to match the 36 minute sonic assault that awaits you with, Mclusky Do Dallas. In the words of Falkous, Fuck This band.

Buy Mclusky Do Dallas
Mclusky/myspace

Catching up: The Sea Navy - Memory Matches

Every once in a while an old band from our past creeps up with a solid new offering, takes us by surprise, and reminds us why we became fans in the 1st place. The Sea Navy's new album Memory Matches certainly qualifies as such a release. The Sea Navy is fronted by Jay Cox, former Bostonian and member of the gone but not forgotten, Ivory Coast. From 1998 to 2003 The Ivory Coast were responsible for some of Boston's finest homespun tunes. The band released two fine records during their time together, 2000's The Rush of Oncoming Traffic (Big Wheel Recreation) and 2001's Clouds (Polyvinyl). Sadly The Ivory Coast called it a day in 2003.

Since then Cox has been writing and recording with The Sea Navy in Seattle. The current line up is rounded out by bassist Stuart Fletcher and Drummer Jordan Cummings. Memory Matches is the bands great new LP. The album was recorded at The Tank in Black Diamond, WA with a true DIY ethic at work, with band recording, mixing, and self releasing the record. Memory Matches consists of 10 songs in 24 minutes for a concise and staggering pop record. On What Curse? Cox sings, "as Chicago knows and Boston did, Seattle only hopes", with the excellence of Memory Matches it shouldn't be long before all 50 of our states our familiar with pop goodness of The Sea Navy.

The rumor mill:
In a recent interview with Ear Candy Jay mentions that he's has eight new songs written and there's a possibility of an east coast tour next spring. Here's hoping that comes to fruition, if so we'll be front, center, and accounted for.

Buy Memory Matches
The Sea Navy
The Sea Navy/Myspace

Closing Out The Decade:Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (2005)

I wrested with the idea of coming up with a list for the AGP's favorite releases of the last 10 years. After some serious back and forth, I made the decision that the last thing we need is another list. Instead we will feature some of the albums that have made a lasting impact on us. These are the albums that we told our friends to buy, annoyed our spouses with, and ultimately inspired us to launch this blog.

From now until the end of December The AGP will feature our favorite albums of the decade. Each week we will feature posts highlighting our favorite albums of the 00's. We will even have a few contributions from the AGP's extended family. We invite your comments, we want to know why you agree with us or perhaps why you think we're off our collective rockers.

We hope you'll join us as we take a look back at the albums that shaped the past 3,653 days our lives.
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The first time I heard Okkervil River was shortly after the release of 2003's Down The River of Golden Dreams, the bands excellent second LP. It was one of those rare eureka moments, when a band makes you perk up and pay attention. I had no idea what it was, but I knew I had to have it immediately. I owe my local Newbury Comics a debt of gratitude for the impromptu introduction. Since then I have followed the literary song writing of Will Sheff and his Austin, TX band mates closely. I've also collected everything the band has committed to tape so far and I can hardly wait for the bands next release. Maybe that rumored collaboration with Rocky Erickson or the follow up to The Stand Ins will materialize in the new year.

Although the band officially formed in Austin, TX in 1998, the bands nucleus came together several years earlier in Meriden, NH when Sheff, as well as fellow founding members Zach Thomas and Seth Warren were high school friends. After college the three would leave The Granite State for Austin's burgeoning music scene, hook up with Johnathan Meiberg as well as Okkervil River's currents line up, and eventually ink a recording contract with the Indiana based indie power house Jagjaguwar.

On April 5th, 2005 Okkervil River released Black Sheep Boy, the bands third and most ambitious album to date. The album leads off with the title track, a Tim Hardin cover, not only is it a great opener it sets the tone and theme for this semi-conceptual record. In 2005 I was still getting my head around being a father of two and functioning on very little sleep and Black Sheep Boy came along as the perfect remedy. I can't think of a commute that year, that didn't include Black Sheep Boy in it's entirety. The complex and poetic storytelling, the superb instrumentation, and the fact that you can listen to this record at least 100 times and still discover something new, powerful, and exciting is a testament to this record. Even my excitement for the bands earlier work did not prepare me for the gigantic step forward Okkervil River took on this Americana folk rock masterpiece.

Buy Black Sheep Boy via Jagjaguwar

Received Punctuation

Cambridge's Pants Yell! will release their fifth album, Received Punctuation tomorrow courtesy of Slumberland Records. Based on my first few listens, it's another solid batch of jangle pop with that understated charm, that we've come to expect from Pants Yell!. If you've had the fortune to catch the band live over the past few months you've undoubtedly been treated to the strong material featured on Received Punctuation.

As for what the future holds for Pants Yell!, that is a little unclear. Singer/Guitarist Andrew Churchman was recently quoted in the Swedish magazine, Devotion that this will be the final Pants Yell! album. Let's hope something was lost in translation.

The band will celebrate the release of their new long player on Monday November 16th with a Hometown LP Release Party at ZuZu.
Tickets are only $3.00, so grab them now.

Two tracks/one video from the new record:



[MP3/Stream] Pants Yell! - Cold Hands

Buy the album from Slumberland
Pants Yell!/Myspace

Closing Out The Decade: Hood - Cold House (2001)

I wrested with the idea of coming up with a list for the AGP's favorite releases of the last 10 years. After some serious back and forth, I made the decision that the last thing we need is another list. Instead we will feature some of the albums that have made a lasting impact on us. These are the albums that we told our friends to buy, annoyed our spouses with, and ultimately inspired us to launch this blog.

From now until the end of December The AGP will feature our favorite albums of the decade. Each week we will feature posts highlighting our favorite albums of the 00's. We will even have a few contributions from the AGP's extended family. We invite your comments, we want to know why you agree with us or perhaps why you think we're off our collective rockers.

We hope you'll join us as we take a look back at the albums that shaped the past 3,653 days our lives.
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Formed in Leeds, England in the winter of 1990. Hood have released 9 records on a variety of different labels, including Domino, Aesthetics, and Mispalced Music. The band has been on a long term hiatus since just after the release of Outside Closer in 2005. While band members have been actively releasing music with their own bands including but not limited to founding members Richard and Chris Adams projects The Declining Winter and Bracken respectively. Hood's absence over the past four and half years has been a hard pill to swallow. A band that defies categorization by blending styles and instrumentation from track to track. From IDM to Post-Rock to Shoegaze to Experimental. The band at one-time described themselves as lo-fidelity avant pop. Regardless of classification, Hood's recorded work from the early limited vinyl singles to their (at this point) final record, is nothing short of impressive.

In November of 2001 Hood hit what I would call their high water mark with the release of Cold House. An album of excellent songs, beautiful arrangements, and flourishes of glitchy electronics for one of the most innovative releases of the past decade. It also features the brilliant collaboration between Hood and MC's Why? and Dose One from San Francisco's Anticon Collective and Clouddead. I flipped out as soon as I heard this record. It was like nothing I had ever heard before or since for that matter. For example take the opening track They Removed All Trace That Anything Had Ever Happened Here, with it's big beats, violins, acoustic guitars and Chris Adams fragile vocals, it's pretty close to perfection and that's just the albums jumping off point. In 2001 Hood seemed destined to be one of the biggest bands in the world. Alas that was not to be but what they did do is cement themselves as one of the most creative and exciting bands I'd ever heard and I anxiously await their return.

Almost nine years later and Cold House still sounds as inspired as it did that fall afternoon I drove home from the record store with my jaw on the floor. A truly stunning album.

Regurgitated Video

White Rabbits killed on last nights Jimmy Kimmel. They even got a little help from Spoon's Britt Daniel. check it out.

Setting the Paces
Boat returns with new album and tour

Seattle's Boat are back with their third full length, Setting The Paces. The new album was released this week via Magic Marker and is available on CD and orange vinyl. Setting The Paces finds Boat delivering their best work to date on an album full of messy indie pop and smart ass lyrics. When I first heard Setting The Paces I was immediately transcended back to the early 90's when bands like Pavement, Archers of Loaf, and Built To Spill were ruling supreme, in my world anyway. Comparisons to such 90's indie touch stones are inevitable, but where Boat sets itself apart from those influences is their gift for churning out songs with irresistible pop hooks and lots of them, buckets full in fact.

Boat are setting out on a short east coast tour in support of the excellent Setting The Paces and will play PA's Lounge on November 11th.

[MP3/Steam] Boat - Lately
[MP3/Stream] Boat - We've Been Friends Since 1989
[MP3/Stream] Boat - Prince of Tacoma

Buy the album from Magic Marker Records/CCNow

Boat (official)
Boat/Myspace

Funeral Singers
Califone returns to Boston tonight

Over the course of eight full lengths, a hand full of ep's, singles, and compilations Califone have remained one of the most original and consistent bands in America. Their new set, All My Friends Are Funeral Singers comes via there new label Dead Oceans, further proves this point. This is starting to sound like a review, which is not my intention but sometimes these things tend to take a life of there own. On their new album Califone continue to explore the cross pollination off folk, blues, and fractured electronics, for a record full of rich melodies and unforgettable songs. All My Friends Our Funeral Singers is a masterful and devastating album. Highly recommended.

So much for not writing a review. The fact is this record is very easy to get excited about and once you hear it I think you'll agree.

The new album is only half the story. Tim Rutili the bands principal songwriter wrote and directed the film All My Friends Are Funeral Singers as well. A story of a house haunted by aggrieved but mostly friendly ghosts. The music was written and recorded while the film was in production and Califone's music is featured throughout the film, as is the band themselves, fittingly as ghosts.

Califone are currently undertaking it's most ambitious tour to date. They are taking the new film and accompanying album to thirteen city's where they will perform live during the films screening. The band will play a short 30 minute set of older material before providing live musical accompaniment during the presentation of All My Friends Our Funeral Singers.

Califone will play tonight at the Brattle Theatre
Doors 8:30/Show 9:00

[MP3/Stream] Califone - Funeral Singers
[MP3/Stream] Califone - Ape-Like

Buy the album at Califonemusic.com

For Amie: A Breast Cancer Awareness Benefit

Show your support for a great cause and one of Boston's most ardent local music supporters as his immediate family deals with this issue first hand. All the information is on the poster below, and what a line up.

Free Shows and Test Drives

The Kia Soul Collective are set to take over the Artists For Humanity space in Southie for 4 days of music, art, and design. Plus (here comes the corporate twist) a chance to test drive the new Kia Soul.
It all kicks off tonight when Staten Island's Cymbals Eat Guitars (pictured above) take to the stage at 8:30 to kick this weekend of free music off.

Here's the full line up:
Friday - Here We Go Magic @ 6:30
Friday - White Rabbits @ 7:15
Saturday - Boy Crisis @ 6:00
Saturday - Antlers @ 7:00
Sunday - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ 8:00

Don't miss your last chance to see The Pains of Being Pure at Heart in one of their last US shows for the foreseeable future. The band will close out this weekends festivities before heading off to Europe to round out what can only be described as an incredible year.

Corporate angles aside, this event is chock full of quality bands performing full sets for free. You can RSVP to each show and get all the details here.

The Venue: Artists for Humanity
100 W. 2nd Street
Fort Point Channel
South Boston

Regurgitated Video

The video for However Wrong You Are from the just released Boston Spaceships album Zero to 99 turned up over at Stereogum earlier this week. The clip is just too amusing not to share.

As far as the track goes, I just can't get enough of it personally. It's got it all, big hooks, charging guitars, and a chorus that will have you humming it all day. It's a hit!



Buy Boston Spaceships - Zero to 99 via The Factory of Raw Essentials

The AGP Presents: An Interview with
Adam Thompson of We Were Promised Jetpacks

Since first having the pleasure of hearing These Four Walls, the debut release from Glasgow's We We Were Promised Jetpacks we've been counting down the days until the band would make it's live debut in our city. The day has finally arrived and the excitement around here is mounting.

We Were Promised Jetpacks were formed in 2003 by high school friends Adam Thompson (vocals/guitar), Michael Palmer(guitar), Sean Smith (bass), and Darren Lackie (drums). The band moved from Edinburgh to Glasgow to attend university and to be closer to that city's burgeoning music scene and in July WWPJ released their debut album via Fatcat Records and have since received heaps of well deserved accolades both here in the U.S. as in their homeland.

Over the past couple of weeks I've had the pleasure of conducting an interview with WWPJ's Adam Thompson . I sent the questions over and Adam answered and e-mailed them back during some brief down time on the bands current U.S. tour.

Thank you to Caroline Barolla at Motormouthmedia for setting this interview up and especially to Adam Thompson and the rest of We We Were Promised Jetpacks for taking the time to answer a few questions.

The Ash Gray Proclamation: Have you been surprised by the positive response that your debut, These Four Walls has received from critics and fans alike?

Adam Thompson: Yeah, really surprised. Also with the amount of people who even care enough to say anything about it, good or bad. We all thought it would get some decent reviews, but nowhere near the amount of positive reviews we've received.

AGP:I read that you formed the band in high school, can you tell us how you went from playing the battle of bands to recording your debut album?

Adam: We started as band who played covers, as those were the songs we knew. When we first started playing together we wrote some original songs, but played a few covers to fill the set out. We were 15 or so, that's forgivable, right?

AGP: What was the recording process for These Four Walls and it does it live up to your expectations as an introduction to the band?

Adam: The recording wasn't that great. We were talked into doing it live in a room together, overspill and all. Which meant that the "feel" of the songs is this great raw live sound, but it meant the mixes were not good. Luckily Peter Katis was able fly in with his red cape on and fix it. We all feel the record is a really good introduction, but that it, only an introduction. Let us at the next one.

AGP: How did the Fatcat signing come about?

Adam: The guy from Is This Music? magazine in Scotland is great guy, I asked him if we could play one of the monthly nights they put on and he said yes. We then found out it was with Frightened Rabbit and we got along well. Eventually they mentioned to Fatcat that we were not so bad, so they got in touch.

AGP: You're currently playing some shows in the U.S. with fellow Glaswegians Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad, how have the shows been?

Adam: Great! Frightened Rabbit have just left us, so we're pretty emotional, but the guys from Brakes (or BrakesBrakesBrakes in the U.S.)have arrived and we're getting along well. The shows were brilliant. We weren't really sure what to expect but we've had a blast.

AGP:Do you have any plans to write and record in the near future, or do you prefer to enjoy your time on tour?

Adam: No, we quite want to have a bunch of new songs to play. Touring is great fun and all, but some new songs would be great. We've got one done, only the rest of the record to go!

AGP: Over the past few years the Glasgow scene was been booming with quality bands, who's next to emerge, any predictions?

Adam: Endor, Lyons, John B. McKenna, Dupec (from Edinburgh), Jesus H. Foxx (from Edinburgh), and Over the Wall.

We Were Promised Jetpacks play Great Scott tonight alongside label mates BrakesBrakesBrakes, and The Twilight Sad.



Buy These Four Walls at the Fatcat shop

This is your weekend Boston:

Am I the only one frothing at the mouth at the prospect of this weekends events. Not one, but two of our areas seminal bands are scheduled to play shows in town this weekend and one of those bands is playing for free.

It all gets kicked off tonight at The Middle East, down stairs when Dinosaur Jr. plays the first of two sold-out shows. Mascis, Barlow, and Murph our currently on tour in support of the superb Farm, released last June on Jagjaguwar and the second album released by the band since reforming it's original line up. Lou Barlow will pull double duty both nights by opening the shows with his band,Lou Barlow and The Missing Men.

[MP3/Stream] Dinosaur Jr. Daytrotter Sessions
[MP3/Stream] Lou Barlow - Gravitate

Buy Farm via the Jagjaguwar store.

Now to the show that completely took me by surprise. On Thursday I got a message from Matador that Mission of Burma would be playing a free show this Sunday on the MIT campus.
The show will start at 2PM in the east campus courtyard, 3 Ames Street. Burma will be supported by Big Bear and the winner of the Battle for Burma, a contest Matador recently held for aspiring bands to have the opportunity to open this show. New Haven, CT's Eula won the battle and they'll take to the stage at 2PM on Sunday to claim their prize.

Newbury Comics will be on hand selling copies of Mission of Burma's The Sound The Speed The Light, two days prior to it's official release on October 6th.

[MP3/Stream] Mission of Burma- 1,2,3, Partyy

Buy The Sound The Speed The Light via Matador.

Thom Yorke forms a new a band and readies single
The flurry of activity from Radiohead and more specifically Thom Yorke continues today with the announcement that he's formed a band to perform solo material and he has new single coming on October 6th.


Here's the details straight from Thom himself:

hi in the past couple of weeks i've been getting a band together for fun to play the eraser stuff live and the new songs etc.. to see if it could work! here's a photo.. its me, joey waronker, mauro refosco, flea and nigel godrich.

at the beginning of october the 4th and 5th we are going to do a couple of shows at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. we don't really have a name and the set will not be very long cuz ..well ...we haven't got that much material yet! but come and check it out if you are in the area. we've also got locals Lucky Dragons playing.
all the best

Thom Yorke - Feelingpulledapartbyhorses/The Hollow Earth
12-inch out Sept. 21
Digital single out Oct. 6

Dear Sir or Madam
This is to inform you of the release of two more bits of work shortly.
They are loosely under the Thom Yorke name this time, although these days its all getting kind of blurry. FeelingPulledApartbyHorses is written & played by Jonny and I and is a radical rework of an old tune that's been kicking around without a home since 2001? i think. The Hollow Earth is a bass menace that was born out of the Eraser period but needed a little more time. Both were produced by Nigel Godrich as ever. And mastered by Bob Ludwig. They are being put out on 12" with sliced sleeve by Stanley and Tchock. My sources tell me this will be available from the 21st of September if you're interested...On sale in the w.a.s.t.e part of our website (with a gratis download.) Or you can go buy it in a good record shop if you are lucky enough to have one near you. Then later on there will be like a normal download thing i think around the 6th of Oct through the usual channels.

And so it goes. all the best

Thom

Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy was released today via Shout and the albums opening track is Thom Yorke's take on, All For The Best. Alongside Thom there are 20 other artists including Dinosaur Jr, The National, and Mercury Rev paying tribute to Mark Mulcahy's music as well as raising money to help him continue to make music and raise his twin three year old daughters after the death of his wife.

Colonial Drones

On Tuesday Boston's own, Hallelujah The Hills released their second album, Colonial Drones via Misra Records. Recorded sometime between the summer of 2008 and this past January at The Soul Shop in Medford. What the band hinted at on 2007's Collective Psychosis Begone is fully realized on Colonial Drones. The band has taken a big step froward by delivering a sharp and infectious pop record, anchored by Ryan Walsh's ability to balance his dark lyrics with moments of melancholy, sing-alongs, and guitar crunch throughout the album. My only problem with the album is that I can't seem to shut up about it, not much of problem really. Do yourself a favor buy Colonial Drones today, highly recommended.






















Make plans to join Hallelujah The Hills as they celebrate the release of their new album Saturday night at Great Scott with You Can Be a Wesley, and The Big Big Bucks.

Check out two tracks from Colonial Drones:
[MP3/Stream] Hallelujah The Hills - Blank Passports
[MP3/Stream] Hallelujah The Hills - Classic Tapes
(featuring Cassie Berman of The Silver Jews)

Buy the album at the Misra store
hallelujahthehills.com

We Dance
Pavement Reunite
I didn't see it coming, did you? Pavement the seminal indie rock band from Stockton, CA have reunited and will be touring in 2010. These are things we all have come to learn over the last few days. Like many of you I can hardly contain my excitement at the thought of seeing Pavement live again. The details are pretty much everywhere, at this point Pavement have announced three shows in New York City on September 21st, 22nd, and 23rd at Central Park Summerstage.

This news immediately took me back to the 1st time I saw the band live. It was way back in the spring of 1994 at the now defunct Venus De Milo. I was just young aspiring college disc jockey and I had the fortune to interview the band prior to them taking the stage that night. I really wish I could find that old cassette, but I think that must have been a casualty of the basement flood. At that point Pavement were still a young band and one that was quickly becoming royalty with the indie set with the release of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. When I think of all the shows I've seen in the clubs of Boston, that night in 1994 often comes to mind largely because the band were on fire.

We have a year to wait but I can do 365 days standing on my head waiting for the NYC shows, after all we've been without Pavement since the summer of 2000. Welcome back gentlemen. Feel free stay as long as you would like.

Here's two great performances from Pavement, recorded live on Later with Jools Holland. VHS to Digital transfer so it's a bit grainy but it's worth your time, I promise.

The AGP Presents: An Interview with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and Menomena


As a long standing fan of Portland, OR's Menomena I was thrilled to hear that Brent Knopf had plans to not only release solo material under the name Ramona Falls, but that he would be taking the project on the road. Intuit, Brent's solo debut album is an excellent collection of off kilter pop that on first listen fits in nicely with his full time bands catalog, but over time reveals itself as something all it's own, a multi-layered opus. Thanks to Brent for taking the time to answer some questions from my little music blog. Here's how this interview came about. I sent Brent the questions via e-mail and he answered in front of his computer's camera and returned the answers via a quicktime video. I did my best with the transcription, I hope I did it justice. I'd also like to thank Grant McCallum at Barsuk for setting the whole thing up.

Ramona Falls play Great Scott tonight with Brian Bonz and the Dot Hongs.

The Ash Gray Proclamation: Could you tell us how the recording of Intuit came about and how your many collaborators came to be on the album?

Brett Knopf: Well it became clear that the Menomena record was taking longer than we thought. So I began recording Intuit and I thought it was a good opportunity to ask some friends and people I respect, including my mom to make a guest appearance on the record. So I did that. I made two lists, one was things I thought the songs would benefit from in terms of different instruments. The other list was some people I wanted the excuse to ask to work with. I would look at the list and if I thought a song could use viola I'd e-mail my friend Lisa who plays viola and we went from there.

AGP:When you were writing these songs did you immediately know that you would end up releasing them as a solo artist and not with Menomena?

BK:Some of them yes and some of them no. A couple of the songs I sent to Menomena and never heard back, so assumed they weren't interested. A couple of the other songs I knew right from the get go that they wouldn't be interested.

AGP: Intuit seems to be an introspective record, especially the track Going Once, Going Twice. Did you feel any vulnerability releasing such a personal record?

BK: I'm not sure Going Once, Going Twice is about me. However I feel like there's a lot of personal stuff on the record. Yeah I definitely felt vulnerability, but if you're not be vulnerable what's the point, really. The records I respond to the most are the ones that are honest. I often feel vulnerable when I'm honest.


AGP: Now that you have a few dates under your belt with Ramona Falls, how have the shows been going so far?

BK: They've been great. I've been having a blast on the first leg of the tour and I'm excited for the second leg. The guys I'm touring with our excellent. The shows in San Francisco, LA, Portland, and Seattle have been really really fun. In the other cities too, but that's where we had a crowd, it felt bigger. We've played some smaller shows which have been fun as well.

AGP:What can fans expect from this tour opposed to your shows with Menomena?

BK: New music with a different feel, a different style, and me singing lead most of the time. It's a four piece in the U.S., Danny Seim the drummer of Menomena is playing bass, Paul Alcott is playing drums, and Matt Sheehy is playing guitar. It's really dynamic, lots of louds and quiets.

AGP: How has the process of writing and recording the new Menomena record been going?

BK: It's taken longer than I thought it would and I've been less able to move forward than I thought I was able to.

AGP: Can you explain the possible influence of Cher on the forthcoming Menomena album?

BK: Lets just say I believe in life after love.

AGP: What have you been listening to in the van on those long drives from city to city on the current Ramona Falls tour?

BK: A little bit of Mirah, D'Angelo, and Alice in Chains.

[MP3/Stream] Ramona Falls - Russia Live on KEXP
[MP3/Stream] Ramona Falls - I Say Fever

Brent Knopf explains the recording process which he used to record Intuit.


Buy Ramona Falls' Intuit via the Barsuk shop.

Ramona Falls/myspace

LC! vs. The Beatles

Los Campesinos! made their best attempt to upstage the fab four's release of their remastered catalog and video game, with an excellent new track from the yet to be titled new album, expected to be released sometime in 2010. The album was recorded in Stamford, Connecticut with John Goodmanson and has been described by the band as the dark second album, due to the fact the band doesn't count the limited released We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed as an official album. Gareth Campesinos commented via the bands twitter account: "I kind of feel like we've upstaged 'Beatles Day' putting out this new song today. Sorry Paul. [...] At least I didn't get 'Los Camp! Frogger' sorted in time. Would have really stolen the show then."

The Welsh collective have posted The Sea is a Good Place To Think About The Future for free download at their official blog and website. As far the song itself it's a beautiful slow building track complete with strings, but before you get all misty eyed, the band brings it to a chaotic and devastating end. A high recommendation to say the least.

[MP3] Los Campesinos! - The Sea is a Good Place To Think About The Future

The video produced by Ellen Campesinos.

You can also enter to win The Record Box Project at the bands site. It's essentially a box filled with a ton of cool 7" the band picked on their recent tour of America. Visit loscampesinos.com for entry info and to see the massive list of music that the band's forking over.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Return to The Middle East

It's been quite a year for New York's The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Their superb self titled debut was released by Slumberland Records back in February and the band has been extremely busy playing shows,making there network television debut on Last Call With Carson Daly, and releasing singles throughout the past several months. One of the things I love about The Pains is there knack for releasing those singles, splits, and excellent b-sides much like those C86 bands they admire. I haven't heard a bad track from this band yet.

On September 22nd the band will release the Higher Than The Stars EP via Slumberland. The EP consists of four new tracks and it even includes a remix of the title track by Saint Etienne.

[MP3/Stream] The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Higher Than The Stars

I was in attendance at The Middle East on a late February evening when The Pains of Being Pure at Heart took to the stage after solid sets by Pants Yell! and The Depreciation Guild and delivered a concise yet stunning set. Although the band at that point, had only a full length and a couple of singles under their belts, the material more than makes up for it in sheer quality.

Don't miss out when the new noise pop torchbearers return to Boston this Saturday night at The Middle East downstairs. The Pains will be supported by The Depreciation Guild and Cymbals Eat Guitars.

Zero to 99 [MP3]

Boston Spaceships return on October 6th with their third release, Zero to 99 out on Guided By Voices, Inc. The album is being hyped as "Robert Pollard's most relentlessly hook-laden, pop punk record since GBV's classic Alien Lanes".

I just had my first listen to a track just posted for download over at robertpollard.net. I'll try to temper my excitement and fandom of all things Pollard. All I'll say is that the above statement is spot on. Look for some rare tracks from the Suitcase releases to get the Boston Spaceships full band treatment on Zero to 99 as well as a wealth of new pop gems from Pollard, Moen, and Sluserenko. Trashed Aircraft, indeed.

[MP3/Stream] Boston Spaceships - Question Girl All Right