Category Archives: Indie Pop
Suckers – Candy Salad (Frenchkiss Records)
Suckers
Candy Salad
Frenchkiss Records
Link: Suckers’ Website
The boat has just docked, and you are immersed on an island of dayglow flowers and tropical sunshine beaming down on you. In this brief moment in time, the earth has stopped moving. The only thing pushing us forward is the sound of music — beachfront bliss as the animals dance with the humans and the humans dance with the waves. Candy Salad is the soundtrack to the perfect trip into a celebration of cool vibes and blissful wig-outs.
Turning pop music into a cacophony of smiles, Suckers utilize music in such powerful ways, its unsuspecting just how you are influenced by what this band is churning out.
A progressive spin forward from their Wild Smile album, this time it is effortless. “Charmaine” is a reflection of the sun burning rays into your mind and the smell of summer bursting forth success. When the guitars hit full steam, all you want to do is blast off into outer space and wrap your arms around the universe.
“George” brings us back down to the sway of the steel drum and a feel-good sound that will blow your mind just how easy it all is. Then there is a song like “Figure It Out,” the equivalent to punching the Beach Boys in the face and recording the results.
What makes an album like this work? From what I can tell, it’s countless hours of studio work. I’m sure the hour that we experience on this album, there are days of experimentation, sweat, and strange attempts tucked away for another day. Whatever the process brought, it’s what we hear on Candy Salad that will blow your mind.
It’s been a journey, but we have arrived. Plan to make Candy Salad the soundtrack to your summer and watch the world become exponentially more awesome from it all.
Like Pioneers – Oh, Magic (Abandoned Love Records)
Like Pioneers
Oh, Magic
Abandoned Love Records
Links:
I was apprehensive when going into Like Pioneers’ sophomore release. When they released Piecemeal, it was a quick-ended attempt at a band of accomplished Chicago musicians to come together and make music. It took a week to record, and it showed. The songs did not have the pizazz as the hype bore, and instead of a spectacle of indie glory, it was just a modest group of songs from a supergroup that should have had more to show off for. Members from bands like Bound Stems, The Narrator, and Chin Up Chin Up, (all bands I grew to love), I was hoping for more as my expectations were high.
With Oh, Magic, I finally got my wish. This is the non-debut debut the band should have made. Although still recorded primarily live to tape, Oh, Magic is a more selectively sincere album that feels like the band put more thought and feeling to it. It’s also an album where the group has ironed out the bugs and are now comfortable making music that they should. This is no longer a sum of the parts, fresh and rejuvinated, Like Pioneers is a band for the conception of being a band.
“Requiem For Some Band” is a great example of this. The chops are tightened, and their pop hooks have become more infectious. For a song like this, it makes this band a joy to listen to. The song is a smooth ride with many of the other tunes spinning in this direction.
With three vocalists—Janie Porche, Bobby Gallivan, and Jesse Woghin—there is a personal leaning to some songs more so than others: the downtempo headspin of “National Spectre,” the intimate “July 2nd,” and the opener “Champion.”
This album makes me really happy because this is a work by a band who should be making songs this good.
Throw Piecemeal to the side and let Oh, Magic be that great indie pop album you rock out to in 2012.
Lowlakes – Lowlakes (Self-Released)
Lowlakes
Lowlakes
Self-Released
Links:
The way Lowlakes music drifts like a passing cloud or the one breeze that takes you out of your element and into your self-conscious is the band’s strong point. This group from Australia presents the sounds that are sincere to Aussie indie pop.
This quick four-song jaunt will only give you a taste. That taste makes you realize a slight disconnect between the vocals and music, but a dissonance that fits uniquely with the crying guitars haunting the song in the background or the delicate nature that each instruments display. At first you are not sure if you are going to like this, but more so than a group like Antony and the Johnsons—where they create music like a confessional—Lowlakes EP sucks you in like the day, and by having all of these pieces together, including the vivid lyrics that pose the same viscosity like an artful ‘80s dream pop band, you end up embracing their music like you would a piece of art.
Bright Moments – Natives (Luaka Bop)
Bright Moments
Natives
Luaka Bop
Link: Bright Moments Music
Kelly Pratt spent many winter nights holed up in a tiny New York City apartment piecing together tracks of songs in order to create Natives. Through constrained space and focus, he has opened up his mind to create an expansive collective of songs.
Listening to this music, it’s hard to fathom that all of this was created in the bedroom of Pratt’s apartment. The sounds of horns and various instruments all come together for a sincere indie pop album with that Luaka Pop flair.
However by doing this, it does create continuity issues. You dig in to “Tourists” and someone could easily mistake it for Beirut with the humble horn lines and the gentle pop crooning. As he moves to “Milwaukee,” you feel like he is riding on the heels of the eclectic band, especially when he throws in a tuba dominating the rhythm. It all starts to drift into influences of the softer side of Sloan with “Behind The Gun,” and although professional in prose in composition, does not do much to impress me, yet.
It does not really break free from that this perception until “Traveling Light,” where it breaks free and turns into something truly spectacular. The lack of a drum beat —carried through by the clapping of hands until a drum machine patter is used to break up the song and spin it all around into context— with subtle electronic accentuation and high-end analog melodies make this a sci-fi indie spectacle.
“Travelers” is the only real indication that makes Natives feel like a Luaka Bop album. Adding Old Euro street party atmosphere, bringing back the horns and sounding like Euphone is trying to cover Herb Alpert while Pratt builds his travelogue lyrics like a road trip, it’s the fullest song on the album and the most interesting one, as well.
Even though not everything on this album excites me, it’s not a total wash, and more so than the music, I find the process of making an album of this magnitude through solitary motivation is one that’s endearing and sincere.
Nat Baldwin – New Changes
As a musician, Nat Baldwin is constantly growing. With his fourth album last year, People Changes (Western Vinyl) brought out remarkable experimental leanings that sparkled from his past and Baldwin’s fascination with free jazz and improv. All of this was wrapped up in a product of intimacy of an isolated surrounding.
It did not take four albums to get here. It’s always been here. For Baldwin, a disciple of Anthony Braxton and bassist for the Dirty Projectors, Baldwin’s solo work is an outlet for him to expand and contrast on his own terms.
A recent extension to a tour that has been churning since the release of People Changes, and new songs come to light, Baldwin gives a brief glimpse of how he is changing through all of this.
Link: Western Vinyl Artist, Nat Baldwin
You are still riding off of the recent release People Changes, how has the songs on the album transformed as the live tour continues?
The songs have transformed to the point that i want to play new songs. I will be playing all new material on this tour.
What attracted you to the double bass and when did you feel like you develop an identity with playing the double bass?
I’m attracted to its curvy features. My identity didn’t develop but happened immediately.
How did you get into free jazz and how does that go into your songwriting be it working with a band like the Dirty Projectors or your own solo work?
I heard Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman when I was 19 the sounds immediately resonated with me. My connection to improvised music has allowed me to be open to all possibilities in music whether its writing my own songs, or playing with others.
You had the split EP with Extra Life that helped prepare you for People Changes by adding versions of “Weights” and “Lifted.” Why this approach and how did having these earlier versions help you?
The idea for the Extra Life split was to do totally stripped down, demo-style recordings. it made sense to flesh the material out after the songs took shape through live performances.
Several albums into your career, how did People Changes change you?
I feel it is my best work thus far. It inspires me to make something better next time.
As a musician, what makes you thrive?
Intimate shows for a crowd that wants to forget about their lives for a moment and listen.
Are you working on new material or new projects right now? If so, what are the details?
I have a bunch of new songs I am playing on this tour, in order to develop them in preparation for a new recording, which i will be starting upon my return.
How is this current tour shaping you and what direction is it taking you in regards to new music? How are you enjoying bringing to light People Changes on stage?
I’m trying to embrace the space in the songs instead of shying away. I hope people enjoy my songs or at least hope to give people something to do for a night that might be more exciting than doing something else.
How do you create that balance with your solo material and working with other bands? What do you find attractive with collaboration and what is it about your solo work that you personally find most appealing?
It’s hard to balance, but it’s a challenge I enjoy and it keeps me busy. I love playing my own music because for now it is my means for creative expression. It helps me survive and its fun. I love playing with other people whose music I love, because I want to be a part of their vision and hopefully elevate it. Music is also just a fun way to pass time.
