Here are the young men, the weight on their shoulders Here are the young men, well where have they been?
domingo, 28 de novembro de 2010
sábado, 27 de novembro de 2010
Haight Ashbury - Here In The Golden Rays
Fonte
sexta-feira, 26 de novembro de 2010
Girls – Broken Dreams Club (2010)

Christopher Owens reached indie-rock gold by the end of last year. After steadily putting out a handful of singles throughout the year – “Hellhole Ratrace” in July and “Lust for Life” in September – he released Girls’ debut full-length, Album, to nonstop acclaim. A year-end list felt invalid without Girls’ laudable effort reaching the top twenty (I had it #18 on mine). So it only makes sense that a follow-up of any kind would be widely anticipated.
Girls’ new six-song EP, Broken Dreams Club, was recorded in San Francisco, but judging by the opening “Thee Oh So Protective One”, you would think it was made in a tropical paradise made out of palm trees instead. The soulfully tropical feel is defined by a mariachi-like fervor, with a verse of heavily melodic guitar flutters evolving to a marching procession of horns. Owens’ voice gets more perky here, and already it becomes prevalent that Girls have retained their most enjoyable aspects (hooks and no-shrills pop-rock) with some stylistic expansiveness. The sound on Broken Dreams Club is more massive and flexible than on Album. This is probably best demonstrated by “Substance” and “Alright”, the latter actually implementing some free-jazz into thunderous alt-rock riffs. Radiohead comparisons are not too far off here. This is easily the most ambitious track on the release, as the instrumentation dominates any vocal cues. It even begins to resemble post-rock toward the end, and judging by these excellent closing moments I would love to see Owens pursue more of the style.
“Substance” is also pretty interesting – and pretty. As Owens sells a mystery substance that can cure all mental and physical deficiencies, the initial youthfulness makes a stern transition into a bleak plea for societal integration. “Who wants something real, when you can have nothing,” he sings over a delicate ‘60s-inspired riff, not ascending above a somber whisper. It is a successful effort for sure, laudably not getting too caught up in the melancholic mood to ignore Girls’ catchy pop-driven hooks as well. The reverbed guitar strum is one, along with the guitar lead that begins right before the three-minute mark.

“Heartbreaker” and “Broken Dreams Club” are both on the more conventional side, the latter perhaps too much so with its languid pacing. “Heartbreaker”, though, is fantastic and easily competes with any track on Album. In its gleeful progressions flying high over somber lyrics, Owens begins to resemble Felt’s Lawrence in more ways than one. He packs a nasally snarl during the verse, complemented by acoustic strums that align with his heightening range. The chorus introduces a gorgeous set of keys that twinkle alongside Owens’ plying “why”s, many of which add an alt-country feel expanded more upon in the subsequent “Broken Dreams Club”.
The closing track, “Carolina”, again brings up some surprising comparisons – Radiohead, Wilco, Sonic Youth, and Dennis Wilson. Owens’ voice has sporadically resembled the late Beach Boy before, and the comparison to Wilson – who wrote two phenomenal albums – emerges most triumphantly during the song’s final minutes, where Owens’ “doo-wob wob wob – doo-wob wob wob” harmonizes beautifully with his enthusiastic yelps proclaiming “Carolina, caroooliina!”. He sings this after a build-up that blends both post-rock and alternative. After the abrupt guitar halts and anthemic vocals in the following bridge, the vocal harmonizing feels like a calming after a storm. This is one release where the only issue is length; understandably it is generous for an EP at 35 minutes, but several of these tracks are so gorgeous that my desire for a new Girls EP has increased even more, which I didn’t think was possible at this point.
9.0/10.0
RIYL: The Beach Boys, Dennis Wilson, Sonic Youth, Wilco, Bob Dylan, Jonathan Richman, Best Coast, Wavves, Surfer Blood, Real Estate, Beach House
quinta-feira, 25 de novembro de 2010
quarta-feira, 24 de novembro de 2010
The Soft Moon
Earlier this fall we were treated to Twin Shadow, the solo project of Brooklyn-based George Lewis, Jr. His adoration for post-punk was no secret, with a post-punk arsenal of rhythmic reverb that beautifully complemented Lewis’ deep and somber voice – which naturally fell somewhere between Morrissey and Ian McCulloch. Barring some more lighthearted moments like the glistening string-led infectiousness of “Shooting Holes at the Moon”, the pulsating bass beats, minimalist percussion, and collection of eerie synths made Forget one of the most authentic and memorable post-punk tributes in recent memory. It would be difficult to find an artist this year with a similarly sophisticated replication of the movement, so it made sense that Twin Shadow was a solo project with individualized ideas for the most part. It would had been a miracle if Lewis found a collaborator with as much audible passion for it as he was capable of demonstrating on Forget (click here and scroll down a bit for audio).
Louis Vasquez would have been a great partner though. The sole member of The Soft Moon produces a post-punk sound that falls somewhere between Twin Shadow’s synth-aided bleakness and Editors’ shimmering riffs. The Soft Moon is arguably more atmospheric than either though, as Vasquez stays away from conventional vocal techniques within a fairly straightforward interpretation of post-punk rhythms, guitar progressions, and whirring synths. The mood is usually anxious and dark, with one of the standouts on the debut full-length The Soft Moon – “When It’s Over” – showcasing that perfectly. Vasquez does not have a domineering voice like Lewis or Editors’ Tom Smith, but he certainly maximizes his strengths to pave way for innovation that surpasses both. “When It’s Over” begins with a flickering guitar tremolo and muted snare every half-note, with Vasquez’s voice slowly becoming involved with a melodic moan. The moan grows to primarily indistinguishable lyrics propelled by a whisper, and this strategy pays off rewardingly when the droning cries of synths dominate the last one-third. Post-punk is contained in the rhythm section as the song explores areas of post-rock. Efforts like these are usually too daunting for post-punk revivalists, but Vasquez clearly has the tools to incorporate other nostalgic genres as well.

“Breathe the Fire” is like tremolo bliss. The percussion is more rapid here, but still subdued with calming reverb and distinctive panning. The track initially is immobile with its repetitive guitar and bass, with another guitar tone mimicking the sound of an alarm to drill home that feeling of anxiousness. Vasquez, again, relies on a whisper to create a mood that is at times unsettling. But there is always a redemptive quality in the grace and ethereal quality of the music, like at the 01:35 mark when a fluttering guitar progression gorgeously complements the revolving tremolos. This track makes widespread comparisons to Interpol more justified, at least to their remarkable debut album. Still, Vasquez’s atmospheres concoct a more experimental feel that falls in line with Disco Inferno, Yoko Ono, or Bark Psychosis, not the type of post-punk revivalism listeners today are accustomed to. In a year with a fairly high number of successful ones, it is nice to have a release like Vasquez’s where he experiments with post-punk recollections with phenomenal execution.
“Tiny Spiders” features drums that resemble a snake hissing, with an eerie synth providing lead over yet another bass tremolo. You should be hooked once the spooky guitar line emerges around forty seconds in. A layer of gauziness – similar to Disco Inferno or occasionally Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – is present throughout, if only to ease in the heavy wave of distortion that concludes the track and album. This is not just noise though. You can clearly hear the interworking melodies and how the percussion, as minimal and repetitive as it may be, truly works within the guitars and synths to provide a feel remarkably unique to Vasquez. Other efforts like “Circles” and the gurgly synth-laden “Parallels” are nearly instrumental, and would actually serve as great soundtracks to some sophisticated cult-horror classic from the ‘80s. There is a bunch of differently enjoyable moments on The Soft Moon, leaving no questions whatsoever regarding Vasquez’s capabilities as a uniquely endearing songwriter and producer.
segunda-feira, 22 de novembro de 2010
The Walkmen em Portugal
Os The Walkmen estiveram cá na semana passada para a apresentação de Lisbon, o seu novo trabalho.
Sei que vou um pouco atrasado mas lá diz o ditado...mais vale tarde que nunca...
Contando com um ambiente muito caloroso e receptivo, os Walkmen abriram a contenda com o mais sereno e poético 'While I Shovel The Snow' (uma das canções novas). 'In the New Year' (do álbum "You & Me") foi o pequeno fósforo que faltava para o barril de pólvora explodir (positivamente) depois. As cadeiras, que preenchiam a plateia, foram subitamente transformadas no utensílio mais ignóbil do mundo. 'Angela Surf City' e o tema mais popular do grupo, 'The Rat', prolongam a descarga eléctrica e mantêm toda a sala de pé.
Se fechássemos os olhos naqueles momentos, pensaríamos que era Bob Dylan que estava a cantar numa banda de garage-rock. Mas não, é Hamilton Leithauser, de fato (sem o casaco de cabedal de há dois anos no Teatro Tivoli), que mesmo não se separando do suporte de microfone, no qual se vai apoiando enquanto canta, lá vai conciliando simpatia, humildade e discrição com atributos vocais que envaidecem qualquer banda rock.
Toda o quinteto é, de resto, empolgante. Para o som do galope, muito contribui a acção impressionante do baterista Matt Barrick que chega a pegar numa das baquetas com se fosse uma folha, batendo violentamente nos bombos com a mesma, e fazendo-o com pinta. A intervenção teclada do organista Walter Martin eleva o som dos Walkmen para o plano de eleitos, numa linhagem musical nobre onde os acordes da guitarra eléctrica de Paul Maroon encaixam às mil maravilhas.
Mesmo as melodias mais calmas, que devolvem os espectadores às suas cadeiras, são coléricas- a tempestade está sempre iminente em temas como 'Victory' e 'On the Water'. Minutos mais à frente, Hamilton Leithauser classificou uma das novas, 'Woe Is Me', como a canção mais triste da banda, mas essa definição devia recair sobre 'Lisbon' (triste mas não tristonha) que os Walkmen também tocaram.
Depois, veio o momento da noite com o quase religioso 'All Hands and the Cook'. O furacão vocal de Leithauser atinge o cume, e a vibração hipnótica da guitarra de Maroon ajuda a fazer dos Walkmen um acontecimento, nem que seja por apenas 5 minutos.
O encore de três músicas conclui um concerto de classe que soube a pouco (uma hora e vinte minutos de actuação que deixou poucos com vontade de regressar a casa mais cedo).
Nota positiva para a primeira parte dos indie rockers lisboetas Golpes, que vêm demonstrando uma cada vez maior segurança e dinamismo em palco.
fonte
sexta-feira, 19 de novembro de 2010
Revelada uma das primeiras listas de melhores discos de 2010

Loja de discos Rough Trade incluiu discos de Arcade Fire, The National, Beach House ou These New Puritans ...
É uma das primeiras listas de melhores discos de 2010 deste final de ano, e coloca Swim , do canadiano Caribou, em primeiro lugar.
Na lista da Rough Trade , destaque ainda para as boas classificações de Gil Scott-Heron, These New Puritans, Tame Impala, Broken Bells, Beach House, Arcade Fire ou The National.
Veja abaixo a lista dos 100 melhores álbuns do ano , elaborada pela Rough Trade. A amarelo os que já ouvi e gostei!
1. Caribou - Swim
2. Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here
3. These New Puritans - Hidden
4. Caitlin Rose - Own Side Now
5. Phosphorescent - Here's To Taking It Easy
6. Darkstar - North
7. Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM
8. Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner
9. Wild Nothing - Gemini
10. Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
11. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
12. Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
13. The National - High Violet
14. Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here?
15. Beach House - Teen Dream
16. Voice Of The Seven Thunders - Voice Of The Seven Thunders
17. Perfume Genius - Learning
18. Crocodiles - Sleep Forever
19. The Black Keys - Brothers
20. The Morning Benders - Big Echo
21. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
22. Salem - King Night
23. Brian Eno - Small Craft On A Milk Sea
24. Dylan Leblanc - Paupers Field
25. Joanna Newson - Have One On Me
26. Matthew Dear - Black City
27. Warpaint - The Fool
28. Liars - Sisterworld
29. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
30. John Grant - Queen Of Denmark
31. Konono No 1 - Assume Crash Position
32. Smoke Fairies - Through Low Light And Trees
33. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
34. Villagers - Becoming A Jackal
35. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
36. Mount Kimbie - Crooks And Lovers
37. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
38. Best Coast - Crazy For You
39. PVT - Church With No Magic
40. Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
41. Vampire Weekend - Contra
42. Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep
43. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
44. Midlake - The Courage Of Others
45. The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack
46. Sleigh Bells - Treats
47. O Children - O Children
48. Glasser - Ring
49. Zola Jesus - Stridulum 2
50. Holly Miranda - The Magician's Private Library
51. Sea Of Bees - Songs For The Ravens
52. JJ - No3
53. Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise
54. Twin Shadow - Forget
55. Gonjasufi - A Sufi And A Killer
56. Bear In Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth
57. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
58. Cours Lapin - Cours Lapin
59. Darwin Deez - Darwin Deez
60. School Of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire
61. Beach Fossils - Beach Fossils
62. Shit Robot - From The Cradle To The Rave
63. Jonsi - Go
64. Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be
65. Belle And Sebastian - Belle And Sebastian Write About Love
66. Chilly Gonzales - Ivory Tower
67. Connan Mokasin - Please Turn Me Into The Snat
68. Holy Fuck - Latin
69. The School - Loveless Unbeliever
70. Tobacco - Maniac Meat
71. Dios - We Are Dios
72. Allo Darlin' - Allo Darlin'
73. Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
74. Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts
75. El Guincho - Pop Negro
76. Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal
77. Kort (Kurt Wagner And Cortney Tidwell) - Invariable Heartache
78. Solar Bears - She Was Coloured In
79. Free Energy - Stuck On Nothing
80. Sufjan Stevens - The Age Of Adz
81. Kings Go Forth - The Outsiders Are Back
82. Grinderman - Grinderman 2
83. Dan Michaelson And The Coastguards - Shakes
84. Stornoway - Beachcomber's Windowsill
85. Tamaryn - The Waves
86. The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt
87. Four Tet - There Is Love In You
88. Magic Kids - Memphis
89. Marina And The Diamonds - Family Jewels
90. Mystery Jets - Serotonin
91. Black Angels - Phosphene Dream
92. Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse - Dark Night Of The Soul
93. Fool's Gold - Fool's Gold
94. Frankie Rose And The Outs - Frankie Rose And The Outs
95. Aloe Blacc - Good Things
96. Drums Of Death - Generation Hexed
97. Am - Future Sons And Daughters
98. Field Music - Field Music (Measure)
99. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
100. Time And Spacemachine - Set Phazer To Stun
quinta-feira, 18 de novembro de 2010
segunda-feira, 15 de novembro de 2010
Joy Division em fotos

Trinta anos passados sobre a morte de Ian Curtis (a 18 de Maio de 1980, contava 23 anos), a memória dos Joy Division faz-se também pelas imagens — lembremos o filme de Anton Corbijn (Control, 2007) e o documentário de Grant Gee (Joy Division, 2007). Agora, é a vez das fotografias de Kevin Cummins, reunidas no livro Joy Division(Rizzoli, Nova Iorque), incluindo mais de duas centenas de imagens e uma conversa com Bernard Sumner; o prefácio é de Jay McInerney, que evoca a banda a partir da sua ligação ao período em que ele próprio escrevia o primeiro romance (Bright Lights, Big City).
Um acontecimento editorial e iconográfico de que podemos conhecer algumas componentes — parte do prefácio e um pequeno portfolio — através das páginas daVanity Fair.
sexta-feira, 12 de novembro de 2010
Shoegazing e outros rótulos

quarta-feira, 10 de novembro de 2010
Foo Fighters também com álbum em 2011

terça-feira, 9 de novembro de 2010
Novo álbum dos REM em 2011

segunda-feira, 8 de novembro de 2010
Axis of Awesome
Como desenhar um círculo perfeito

Numa velha mansão com traços de uma Lisboa há muito desaparecida, os gémeos Guilherme e Sofia cresceram a partilhar experiências e, aos poucos, vão descobrindo a sua sexualidade. Mas Guilherme, incapaz de lidar com o amor não correspondido da sua irmã e das relações que ela mantém com outros rapazes, acaba por fugir de casa. Refugia-se em casa do pai, que vive isolado, imerso num mundo quase autista. Guilherme descobre então que a vida não cabe num círculo perfeito e volta para casa. Quando os gémeos se reencontram, surge finalmente o amor. De forma íntima e silenciosa, o filme oferece o prazer da exploração dos limites, criando um universo fechado e claustrofóbico, inocente e contagiante na simplicidade das suas emoções. A ideia para esta segunda longa metragem do realizador de “Alice” nasceu de um vídeo no YouTube onde aparecia o campeão do mundo de desenho de círculo perfeito à mão levantada. “Achei que era uma imagem muito forte e criei esta história de um rapaz que tem esse dom, e que vive num mundo perfeito e encerrado sobre ele próprio” (Marco Martins).
Do realizador do aclamado "Alice".
"Filmado por Marco Martins sem pinga de sensacionalismo ou qualquer suspeita voyeurista, e com um gosto pelo risco muito pouco vulgar no cinema português, tendo em conta a natureza do tema..." Eurico de Barros Diário de Notícias
Título original: Como desenhar um círculo perfeito
Ano: 2009
Realização: Marco Martins
Interpretação: Rafael Morais, Joana de Verona, Daniel Duval, Beatriz Batarda
Origem: Portugal
Duração: 122 min
Classificação: M/16
sexta-feira, 5 de novembro de 2010
TINTIN

Estamos a um ano de distância da estreia prevista do filme e eis que chegam as primeiras imagens de O Segredo do Licorne, a adaptação das avennturas de TinTin ao grande ecrã por Steven Spielberg (Peter Jackson sendo um dos produtores). A edição deste mês da revista Empire revela as primeiras imagens do filme que, neste momento, está em etapa de pós-produção. O elenco destaca as presenças de nomes como os de Jamie Bell (Tintin), Andy Serkis (Capitão Haddock) ou Daniel Craig (Rakham, o Terrível). A música é de John Williams.
Um avanço, com algumas imagens, pode ser lido no site oficial da revista.
domingo, 31 de outubro de 2010
The best drummers of our time - Bryan Devendorf ( The National) Part II

Does it feel a bit like you've reached a new level, in terms of your clout?
"Personally, I find it too funny whenever people in the business talking of that mythical 'next level' to really contemplate it. No matter what level you're at, there's always a next level to go to. But, yeah, the venues are obviously larger, and we're aware there's definitely more exposure, more written than ever before about us."
Was that something that was in your mind when making High Violet?
"It certainly entered our minds, but we definitely didn't make a radio record. We had conversations about the fact that more was going to be written about this, more expected of this, than any of our other records. But it didn't really effect or change the process of recording at all. But, as we were mixing, our friend [and producer/engineer] Peter Katis was definitely needling us about it, saying: 'you know this record is going to be way bigger than Boxer.' We could only shrug: 'well, yeah, we know.' It just is what it is. And I guess it's a good thing."
Aaron [Dessner] from your rockband described the process to me as really slow and kind of painful. Is that how it is for you?
"I guess each of us has our own perceptions of it, but admittedly there is a certain amount of pain to it. Just by way of being a collective endeavour there are conflicts; there are things that you champion, that you grow attached to, that end up coming out the other side of the democratic process in the trash. Which only leads me to another Peter Katis observation: making art is supposed to be painful, it's supposed to be hard. Well, it's moreso a mixture of pain and pleasure; you work so hard on something for so long that you really live through so many feelings. Then you go spend a year on the road."
Was this an even more drawn-out process than before? Or just business-as-usual?
"That's always been the way we work. It's the result of being in a band that has no principle songwriter. And, even then, neither the twins nor Matt, the people responsible for creating the basis of the music, none of them can simply toss off a song when they're on their own, either. We're the opposite of The Kinks writing and recording 'Waterloo Sunset' in two-and-a-half hours. For us it takes days, weeks, months."
But, why does it do so? Why is that how you are, and who you are?
"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with Matt's approach to lyric writing. It's quite literary. Here's quite literally always revising. He'll come up with the germ of an idea, then he'll revise it, and revise it, and revise it."
So do you start out with a total blank slate? And that adds to the length of the process?
"Oh, no. We actually have these very specific ideas in mind about production, these ways we were going to work, and this notion that we were going to do things quickly. But, then you just end up falling back into old patterns. Matt loaded us up with lots of abstract directions: he wanted the sonic qualities to be dark, tar-like, devoid of light. Lots of hard-to-follow art direction. He was also adamant that there be no fingerpicking, which is kind of a defining sound on Alligator and Boxer. For me, he wanted to get drum sounds that were more 'modern' or 'refined.'"
What does that actually mean?
"Sounds that were very elegantly-composed and clean, I think. Actually, I have no idea. I don’t know what he meant."
Are you still disproportionately larger in France than elsewhere?
"I don't know. I don't think so. That was definitely the case seven or eight years ago; that was where our first good press and audiences were."
Have those years in which you were rankly unpopular in your homeland made your success more surreal?
"Strangely, for us it's made sense. Not that we think we deserve to be some big success, but just that those years of unpopularity, as you put it, were, for us, a good thing. We weren't a good live-band, and, before Alligator, our records were really uneven. I think [2004's] Cherry Tree EP was the first thing we did that really seemed like it worked. We've always just tried to do what we do; to just put our heads down and be a 'working' band."
Do bands like The National —who slog away, touring hard, minus any hype, and slowly attract an audience— no longer exist in this blogospheric era?
"Obviously, it's now so much easier for bands to break. But, the flipside is that there's so many more bands now, and every single one of them is all over the internet, and it's so hard to be heard above that din. I guess things're... what's the wheat/chaff metaphor? I think these days these way more wheat and way more chaff. I guess it's a great equaliser. Even if a band has been not that good before, if they put out something good, someone somewhere is definitely going to notice. At the same time, the internet will also take you down. No matter how good anything you may've done before was, if you put out something that people don't like, it'll get taken down. You'll get a 4.0 on Pitchfork, and that'll be all she wrote."


