Please, Jesus, Keep Me Alive Through June 8
Dirty Projectors‘ fifth full length, Bitte Orca, is nearly 3 months out, which is seeming farther and farther away each time I watch this live version of one of the upcoming tracks, Temecula Sunrise:
BEWARE: The Speculation
My mailbox is expecting a very special parcel from Drag City Records.
This is the first time in a couple years that I have held out to listen to a record until the moment I have it in my hands. It reminds me of a simpler age where men were men, dames were dames, and records were listened to on the album release date.
Remember that anticipation of trying to find a weak spot in the shrink wrap? The exhilarating anxiety as the needle met the vinyl, ready for that first wave of sound? It’s been a while since I’ve done that.
Anyway, the record is Beware, the newest offering of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. And I have not yet heard it. But I have deduced the following three things from the tracklist and album art speculation:
1. There may be Neil Young influences therein. Observe the album art of these records.
2. With song titles like ‘Death Final’, ‘You Are Lost’, and ‘I Am Goodbye’, I reminded of another one of Will Oldham’s records that carried songs like ‘Death to Everyone, ‘I See A Darkness’, and ‘Today I Was An Evil One’. If Beware is anything like I See A Darkness, we’re in for quite the treat, not to mention one of the best records of the year.
3. If my above theory is true, it possibly leads me to believe that this is the end of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s music- but not necessarily the cessation of Will Oldam’s music. Darkness was the first record under the Bonnie moniker, and Beware would seem to tie everything up in a neat chiastic package. Oldham seems to have an endless supply of music psuedonyms (Palace, Palace Music, Palace Brothers, Amalgamated Sons of Rest, etc.), so I would not be suprised if this was the end of Bonnie, and the beginning of something new…
Enough with the speculation- let March 17 be the judge. Again, I could be very wrong, and we may have a calypso record on our hands. We’ll see.
Dag för Dag
Is it just me, or is there an awful lot of pure rock n’roll coming out of Sweden? The Hives, Mando Diao, Soundtrack of Our Lives – are all pretty darn Swedish. Dag för Dag, pronounced dog for dog, is another such outfit. This brother and sister duo’s music has a psychedelic, yet minimal feel. I saw them opening for Wolf Parade in London and they deliver a great, colorful, and engrossing live show.
Indeed, they will be playing some shows at SXSW this year! Any lucky sods attending SXSW may enjoy checking them out live. Their first album will be entitled “Shooting from the Shadows” and will be released May 1st in Europe. Sadly, there is no info yet on an American release date.
Why not console yourself by giving them a listen?
Natural Snow Buildings
photo: Laurent Orseau
Natural Snow Buildings is the project of French duo Mehdi Ameziane (TwinSisterMoon) and Solange Gularte (Isengrind). Since their formation in 1997, they have released numerous and extensive albums on limited edition cds, tapes and cdr’s. Their sound is a culmination of folk, ambient, drone and psychedelia, but is ultimately their own.
Just listen:
From their two disc album Dance of the Moon and Sun -
All Animals In the Form of Water
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Lie There
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Sharing Stone
The music of Sharing Stone brings to mind the Brothers Grimm tale: Stone Soup. In a nutshell, Stone Soup is a tale where a village’s reticence to share their resources sparks up a clever scheme to turn a pot full of stones into a feast large enough to feed an entire village.
Sharing Stone, a band out of Portland, OR accomplishes the same clever feat as the travelers in the Brothers Grimm tale. Through simple means they are able to create a sound that convinces the listener they are experiencing a full orchestra; when in truth, only two are responsible. Sharing Stone is Ethan and Trent. The apple monger pictured above is Ethan’s son Milo. Recognize him? You might have, as a year ago Healthy Times Fun Club in Seattle hosted a benefit concert to raise funds for a liver transplant for young Milo. The show raised a chunk of change and a year later Milo is doing well!
Peace War Camp
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Last Porchtress
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Underneath the Water Is Not About You
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