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Zambri – House of Baasa (Kanine Records)
Zambri
House of Baasa
Kanine Records
Link:
Christi Jo and Jessica Zambri are on a roll. The sisters have been making music since children and it shows because only these two collectively can pull off an album like House of Baasa. It’s an interesting debut that blooms with vivid imagination but does little to blow my mind.
A result from a lifetime of warping imaginations together, it’s a fantastical aura of strange dimensions and New York art rock that has fed through the minds of various genres, but most distinctly the age of Dream Pop. “All You Maybes” soars with roaring synth samples that make for nice layering, but that’s it. There is no main purpose to all of this except to formulate a higher depth of consciousness.
“ICBYS” feeds off the night and a Darkwave dance movement that is circulating through the New York scene. Add a sense of pop accessibility and you have a standout. It’s when they utilize their environment (many found sounds leak into their songs) that takes this song to the next level. It’s the same sentiment with “Hundred Hands,” but I cannot help but recall the love song from Top Gun. There are a lot of Berlin references you could throw into House of Baasa, but nothing quite as blatant as this.
“Carry” tries to bring in the ‘60s girl group aesthetics into their ideology, and for me, the results are not as exciting, acting like that song you would skip from the atypical alternative Synthpop album from the late ‘80s because it was too much out of context to what the rest of the album was trying to prove. But “Hundred Hands” changes that as they make you fall into a sea of dreams.
I love their haunting qualities that blend in a feeling of bliss. It’s not as dreamy as you might think as the two add more punch to the mix. I wish there was even more experimental qualities to this album. Sometimes the album just needs something more for it to stand out, but with its present charm, it’s not a bad debut.
The Jukebox – Giant Giant Sand’s “Forever and a Day” (Fire Records)
Giant Giant Sand
Forever and a Day
Since Magazine Cover I never thought I would say that Howe Gelb could do any better. Sure his ‘Sno Angel was a great intimate look at the Southwest artist potential, but by the end, it felt tired and after listening to his solo work, you were not sure what was to come out of it beyond a testament to a humans strengths and weaknesses.
Surprisingly, I never would have thought that something as exemplary as this upcoming single “Forever and a Day,” a song to be featured off of an upcoming album simply titled Tucson (due out the beginning of June) would be the next wave in Gelbe’s career.
A glimpse of a country rock opera, Gelb is the Meatloaf of Americana. “Forever and a Day” is the result of Southwestern culture amplified times two. The song is a tale of the Wild West, glorified yet believable.
A movement in three parts, Gelb describes this song like a yard sale with everything and anything thrown in. The guitars, the horns, the dust, the howl, his Lou Reed banter on horseback, the band is paving the way into the history books of Old West banter. You feel like the song has been etched by time, and maybe it has. What Giant Sand has given us is so big, they had to re-term the band as Giant Giant Sand.
The beauty of it all is that we can live it and not read it in some worn out book of tales and western mythology left by a stray bullet hole in a saloon or the ghosts that wander the halls of Hotel Congress. This is now.
The Hood Internet Revs Up The Little 500
The Hood Internet are bringing a little bit of Chicago to Bloomington’s Little 500, and they are inviting everyone to get the party weekend started. Knuckle Rumbler has gotten the Hood to invade Bloomington for an all ages bash at Rhinos. Here is the dirty:
When: Thursday April 19th – 8:00PM thru 11:30PM
Where: Rhinos, Bloomington, IN
Ages: All Ages
Tickets: $12 ADV / $15 DOS – KnuckleRumblerPresents.com
Riding on the heels of a smash compilation of original material and in preparation for a brand new EP, expect a lot of new tricks up their sleeves as they rock your socks off with everything you come to expect from a Hood Internet party along with some surprises.
To help turn this party into something epic, they invited Chicago Hip Hop group BBU and Rad Summer’s Action Jackson to make this an event an epic launching point into a Little Five weekend for the books. Here’s what they had to say about the event and what they are currently working on.
The Little 500 has a rich historical tradition in Bloomington. How does it feel to be one of the performers at this long-standing university ritual, and have you been invited in the past to play for something like this where it’s not a club and it’s not a festival, but more an “event?”
As long as no one expects us to DJ while cycling then we’re honored. Are you referring to the show on NBC?
Is this a lead off to your upcoming tour with Star Slinger or is the Little 500 just a one off? What can people in Bloomington expect and will you be doing new material that will be a part of the tour setlist?
We are hitting the road for a few days in April with BBU from Chicago. We have a song with them on our forthcoming record. And have worked on tracks in the past. It’s possible you might see some of that.
Teaming up with UK DJ Star Slinger in May, will that have any dictation with the direction and style of the sets you will play? Are you emotionally driven with who you tour with and do you spin your sets to a style that is complimentary with the lineup or do you ignore what is going on around you and stand out in that aspect?
We caught Star Slinger at SXSW and he has a great set. Plus you got Chrissy Murderbot on the tour and he gets wild. You know us, Hood Internet always does the Hood Internet thing but I think there might be some leanings towards certain tracks but I don’t know yet, going to figure it out along the tour.
2012 is an active year for The Hood. You just released an EP reworking the LEP Bogus Boys’ work. What attracted you to their songs and what was the experience like?
LEP is straight Chicago and we’re always trying to work with Chicago. Their last mixtape Now Or Neva is the best if you’re not familiar. We did our thing with it, mixed it with some really good artists: The Big Pink, Keepaway, Poliça, MagicHour, Burial, Bibio. All pretty different stylistically but then you’ve got Count and Moonie’s verses as the constants.
You also have been and are continuing to put out amazing re-working and remixes (one recent remix of Haroula Rose’s “Lavender Moon” that we featured on the site). Tell me a little about your upcoming collaborations and what we can expect?
We got a whole album of collaborations coming out real soon, this summer/fall. #TOBECONTINUED
With the above (especially remixes), is it a conscious effort of balancing being complimentary to the song and pushing the envelope for the purpose of identity? What is important to you when it comes to that point of reaching your goal and purpose of a song?
I don’t know if we’re trying to become identifiable for a particular sound or subgenre and then make only that kind of music. Our tastes are widely scattered and that comes through in the stuff we produce. What’s important will vary depending on the song, but the very simple goal is to make a good track.
You are working on a new album due out later this fall. How is that coming along? What can we expect in regards to the direction of the album?
It’s ten songs. We produced the music in collaboration with all the different people who are going to appear on it. It’s a bunch of people we really like from all sides of the U.S. The whole album has that No Coast swag.
From a casual perspective of music listening, do you find it’s different for you to listen to music than say growing up? is it a challenge or is it an easier way of exploring music? Do you view it differently now and when you do listen to music, are you always searching for pairings and keeping a conscious effort to do so or able to isolate the music and listen to it for what it is?
Music listening is definitely different than it was in childhood. Maybe that’s just because the library is larger now. There is so much music at our hand nowadays, it’s very easy to explore. But sometimes having everything available is overwhelming. Listening to albums on LP is nice: every 20 minutes or so you’ve got to flip the record. Keeps you involved in the listening experience rather than having a playlist on while you’re really focusing on photoshopping captions onto pictures of cats.
From the listener’s perspective, your schedule has always seemed very intensive, and when I look at all you have going on I cannot imagine more crammed in to your work schedule. How do you feel all of this balances out? Do you feel like you could be doing more, or are you at a level in your career where you have to turn down projects.
There’s usually a plan for what’s next, and we do a lot but we can’t always do everything we’d like. You already said the word: balance. That is key.
Goldenboy Brings the New Familiar to the Melody
Over a year ago, Goldenboy released Sleepwalker (Eenie Meenie Records). The album stretched the boundaries of beautifully crafted indie pop and soul-grabbing rock. It was a complimentary mixture that made for a release worthy of note. Frontman Shon Sullivan and the band are still ignited off of the spark of that album and continuing with a tour that will make a stop at the Melody Inn, Wednesday, April 4—Hotfox and Pravada open.
I spoke to Shon about the tour, the album and the California music scene that revolves around him.
I am really excited that the band is making a stop in Indianapolis. What does it feel like to get back out on the road after an extensive time playing live for so long? You finally took a little break recently. How has that helped you in regards of focus for the band?
We all are have the best experience this time out playing shows across the country. I did take time away from performing as Goldenboy.
The time away has somehow made it possible to focus on the music in this changing atmosphere of the music business and rediscover what it is to be a songwriter, performer, studio musician, composer, sideman…all of the above are mandatory if you are gonna be a full-time musician these days.
“Sleepwalker” has been out for over a year. Being able to play these songs are a testament to the songs themselves. How are you interpreting the music live now and what can we expect when you get to our city?
The beautiful (or lucky) thing about the songs on all three Goldenboy albums,”Blue Swan Orchestra,” “Underneath the Radio” & “Sleepwalker” is that they tend to lend themselves to so much live interpretation and discovery as we play them even more & more.They actually get better.
You have been exploring hauntingly beautiful indie pop spectrum for years now. What was it about this style that attracted you to it and what influenced you then verses now?
I think it’s just naturally what comes out when writing and recording. Also,the biggest influence on me comes from the other musicians I have been able to play with, past and present. Things really do rub of, like some kind of collective mind thing.
I know that sounds a bit hippy but it really is true.
Being so close to Los Angeles but outside the parameter of the metropolis, you have the best of both worlds. How has the West Coast lifestyle influenced your sound and what is it about your environment that plays a part in your musical explorations.
I’m so glad you mention this because there is a distinct sound and genre. We call it “The New Familiar.” This is the style of music we do and are trying to promote, introduce and find like-minded people to share in the quest.
We (the band) Nicole Veerhamme, Katy Stone, Bryan Bos and myself are the Chairman of this genre. It’s Melodic, orchestrated, thoughtful but deeply loaded with both the literal and surreal. There is also a far dose of sunshine and dream pop because after all we are from California.
“Rock and Roll All Night” stands out to me as being a song that is really expressive both lyrically and musically. Were you conscious of that throughout the album? What were your intentions going into “Sleepwalker” versus the last album back in 2006?
That’s so interesting you hear that because “Rock & Roll all night” and several songs on “Sleepwalker” were recorded using some well-known guitars.
For example on “Rock & Roll” I used Johnny Marr’s twelve string that he used on The Smiths “The Queen is Dead” album. I was house sitting some of his guitars at the time of “Sleepwalker” so recording with them had this feeling like you were putting your hands on a piece of history. So, you feel this connection and don’t take it for granted when he said to use them for recording if wanted. I did slip an early version of that track in Marr’s guitar case when he picked them up. Hope he liked it!
The music has that driving sound that almost borders on soft Americana and gentle Britpop combined. Then I listen to this album and it takes me back to the late ‘90s and the Spinart roster, especially the California bands represented. What do you feel your music has in common with other artists and styles floating around?
The Sunshine does rub of on all out there. The Britpop we’ve always loved and being able to spend a far amount of time overseas help to get even closer to it first hand.
The styles come back to “the new familiar” genre. We all influence each other.It’s like In Music we Trust (our management) and Green Room (our booking agent) says,”No band is an island!”
What do you think are the keys to a great album, and what is an example of that? With this schedule what do you do to continually challenge yourself?
When we were doing “Blue Swan Orchestra” I studied some of my favorite albums and they all clocked in at about 40-45 min. long. That’s long enough to take it somewhere, say what you wanna and create a mood musically. It also is the average drive time in southern California!
What do you do to continually challenge yourself as a musician and songwriter?
Lately I’ve been trying focus on writing from a different point of view, a third person perspective, as well as trying to get better and more interesting sounds while recording.
The current line up seems to do a wonderful job at complimenting the vision behind “Sleepwalker.” How was their participation an influence into the making of this album?
Beyond huge is the influence of our collective we’ve started. We all bring something special to the table that comes out when we play together.Whether it’s the sweet harmonies of the “Driftwood sisters” ( Katy & Nicole) or the Charlie Watt-edge of Bryan Bos,guitar harmonies,etc..
On average the amount of time between releases are vast and becoming vaster. Why wait so long between releases and any thoughts about a future release?
Goldenboy was originally started as a side project that was done in the time of between playing and touring with other artist/bands. However, it kind of blossomed into an entity of its own.
Lindsay Fuller – You, Anniversary (ATO Records)
Lindsay Fuller
You, Anniversary
ATO Records
Link: Lindsay Fuller
Born and raised in the south, Lindsay Fuller writes like she haunts the French Quarter of New Orleans or the cemeteries of Savannah, Georgia. Embedded in the southern style, you don’t really expect Birmingham, Alabama to be a hot spot for gothic prose, but for Fuller’s album You, Anniversary, she proves that Birmingham is the perfect place to talk about death and darkness.
Just as the title track is based on W.S. Merwin’s poem, “For The Anniversary of my Death,” you feel mortality hang on to every word. You can feel it in the deep vast of her vocal chords.
Growing up, I thought Tracy Chapman was a man, until one day I did the research and to my surprise who I thought was a he was really a she. Not that it should belittle my perception of Chapman, I think it really just gave me a stronger bond, amazed at the way she could carry her voice. And for Fuller, she carries her voice in such a unique way, you get and genderless fascination to her songs, letting the stories about death carry the way. With a song like “Circa Never,” you are not quite sure if she is going to snap, but your intonations are that she could.
This is not simple singer/songwriter affairs. Fuller reaches in and grabs on deep. These are not love stories or songs of folly. These are meaningful tunes to help bring light to an otherwise frightening contemplation.
And when “One More Song” chimes in at the third tick of the roster, it’s a song that really brings out the best in what Fuller is trying to accomplish. When the first two songs are spent introducing us to her style and luring us in, “One More Song,” fills out with more musical expanse while “Grey Gardens” leads us down the dusty path of Southern folk rock and a gritty pose than what we hear otherwise. “Sound of Regret” does this to an extent but is illuminated by Old Country twang.
You, Anniversary is beat down by the hot Southern humidity, with the reaction like a withered religious confessional, but ends up bearing the light of optimism that comes from these songs that make the music and how Fuller writes all that much more comforting.
