Asides

In My Ear – Week of August 1

Some things I listened to last week.

1. Esthero
I remember getting Esthero’s Breath From Another from a Sony college rep back in ’98. The languid trip-hop sound complimented the jazzy vocals and the group of us who were into Lamb, Hooverphonic, the Sneaker Pimps, etc., at the time ate this one up like it was an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. These days, the singer is collaborating with artists like Timbaland and Kanye West.

2. oOoOO
Pitchfork describes the witch house genre of music as “a group of young, geographically scattered artists concurrently exploring ghostly, slow-moving electro-pop, each with their own unique spin”. I stumbled upon oOoOO somewhere on the web and was intrigued by the dreamy vocals and synth-pop. I’m particularly fond of “No summr4u”.

Nosummr4u by oOoOO

3. The Posies
Two years ago Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow did a 10th anniversary tour for their 1998 pop classic Frosting on the Beater and it was during this tour that the duo started planning Blood/Candy (due in stores on Sept.28). The album is loaded with guest stars ranging from Kay Hanley (ex-Letters to Cleo) to Hugh Cornwell (ex-Stranglers). “License to Hide”, available as a free download, features guest vocals from Lisa Lobsinger (Broken Social Scene).

Download: The Posies – “License to Hide”

4. Jerry Garcia – All Good Things (box set)
I’m slowing coming around to Garcia and the Grateful Dead. That’s a strong admission from someone who once said that if the Grateful Dead and Jimmy Buffet performed a co-headlining gig somewhere in the middle of a corn field, I’d drop a bomb just to rid the world of the sound of those artists. This box set is comprised of Garcia’s solo material and is surprisingly contemporary despite being anywhere from 20 – 40 years old.

Free music Friday

Brass Bed – “Begs Me Not to Beg”, “Pop Mission”
The Extra Lens (Franklin Bruno & John Darnielle) – “Only Existing Footage”
Scraping For Change – “My Darkest Hour”
The New Czars – “Brush with the Devil”
Karnivool – “Set Fire to the Hive”
Devotionals – “Chest Like Expansive Wings”
Fox in the Henhouse – “Fears”
Super Wild Horses – “Golden Town”
Y La Bamba – “Juniper”
Woven Bones – “I’ve Gotta Get”

In My Ear – Week of July 25

1. The Graviators
Sweden rules! It’s as if the only reading material available in the country are back issues of Hit Parader magazine circa 1981 – 1991 and all the upstart bands think that metal from that decade is still cool around the world. There are as many sleaze/glam bands coming from Sweden today as there were from the Sunset Strip in LA 20 years ago. There are also tons of Sabbath-inspired bands, like The Graviators whose sludgy, doomy metal would make Ozzy and Tony Iommi proud.

2. Gamble House
In anticipation of an interview I’ll be doing with Ben Becker, Gamble House’s self-titled debut was in constant rotation on my iPod. Comparisons to Grizzly Bear appear in every review I’ve read though I don’t know Grizzly Bear well enough to know if the comparisons are accurate. I love the ’60s/’70s paisley-pop sound, the unexpected instruments, the languid, breezy choruses. “Central Park” is one of the best opening cuts I’ve heard on any album in 2010.

<a href="http://gamblehouse.bandcamp.com/album/gamble-house">Central Park by Gamble House</a>

3. Ministry – “Filth Pig”
I think I probably stopped buying new Ministry albums just before Filth Pig came out in 1996. I caught the title song from this album on the Liquid Metal station on XM last week and the guitar riff sounds like Helmet’s Page Hamilton covering Faith No More’s “Last Cup of Sorrow”. BROOTAL!!!!

4. Judge Jackson – “Radio”
Kaytea at XO Publicity sent me a link to download this song so I figured I’d check it out. Nothing wrong with a free MP3, right? Knowing nothing about Judge Jackson, it takes all of 3 seconds of “Radio” to figure out that these guys would be great on a tour opening for everybody from Buckcherry to The Black Crowes to Velvet Revolver. Straight up rawk n’ drinking music roll.

DOWNLOAD: Judge Jackson – “Radio”

5. Dead Confederate – “Giving it All Away”
At first listen, it sounds like these grungy southern rockers may have found a shower and washed away the mid-90s Seattle influences found on their last album. Still, this song grew on me the more and more I listened to it this week. The new Dead Confederate CD comes out at the end of the month.

The Frames gearing up for a U.S. tour?

Over on The Frames MySpace page, the following note was posted:

“New York City is the first locale to go onsale for The Frames Twentieth Anniversary Tour. Stay tuned for info on Washington DC, Philadelphia, and other select cities across the United States to be revealed over the following days and weeks… These shows are not to be missed!”

Sounds encouraging but it also sounds like a limited-run tour. I can’t complain – I was fortunate enough to catch a number of performances by The Frames during SXSW back in 2005 – but I’ll be disappointed if there isn’t an Ohio date this fall.