the finest kiss

Elbow at the Showbox, Seattle | 5 May 2008

Elbow is a band that tallies much more than the sum of it’s parts. Each instrument builds on the other to create a complex beautiful and at times stunning sound. The thing I remember most about Monday night’s show was how drop dead amazing it sounded. I get the feeling that Elbow is a band of audiophiles, and I for one thank them for their attention to the detail. They’ve augmented their line up with two violinists that double as back up singers to fill out the sound and even set up a Rush-like glass wall between the drummer and rest of the band so that the drums don’t bleed into the other instruments. Opening the show with Starlings from the new album The Seldom Seen Kid, each member came onto the stage with a trumpet. It was an impressive way to start things off, shocking us with the entire band contributing to the short trumpet blasts of the song.

And it really only got better from their, the songs, mostly from their last two albums, came in rapid succession only briefly and sometimes not so briefly interrupted by frontman Guy Garvey’s between song conversations with the audience. Garvey is a talker, but he’s got such teddy bear like demeanor, and comes across as a quite likable bloke. He lead a number of toasts, responded to I love you’s from the crowd with I love you too, and somehow got us to sing Louie, Louie to the band so they would come out for their encore. I don’t think Garvey had to work very hard to win us over though, people there last night were already big fans. It was cool to hear the audience over power Garvey on the chorus of Forget Myself, and provide the entire chorus for One Day Like This.

I was singing along to Leaders of the Free World and Newborn just like everybody else, but the highlight of the night for me was The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver. Not one of their more upbeat songs, it’s a moody number that has an eerie, noirish feel that reminds me of something from the Peter Thomas Sound Orchester. The rendition didn’t have the deep horn blasts but Mark Potter’s guitar was more than adequate, and combined with big booming drums and violins mad for 5 minutes of moody bliss. Elbow has really taken their live show to another level from previous performances I’ve seen. It’s not often a band can pull off an intricate sound, get the audience to sing choruses with abandon, and have a front man that is as engaging between songs as he is when singing them. Cheers!

mp3: Elbow - The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver (buy The Seldom Seen Kid)

Kelley Stoltz at High Dive, Seattle | 4 May 2008

I was beginning to think that the only people that new of Kelley Stoltz were a hand full of music geeks and advertising people. to say the shows were sparsely the last two times I’d seen him here attended would be generous . For his show at the Crocodile back in April of last year the audience consisted of a handful of people and the Essex Green who played earlier. I’m glad to see that the guy is getting a little more love these days. Sunday night he was the opening act for Vetiver, but you wouldn’t have known it buy the number of people and the enthusiasm they displayed. At the end of his short 45 minute set people were yelling for more.

I guess that’s what a few commercials (hello Marriott and Volvo)playing your songs will do, or maybe he’s just starting to break through. In any event, Stoltz has grown his band to six members, with a full time keyboard player and a guy playing the saxophone and theremin. They ping-ponged back and forth between songs from Below the Branches and the new Circular Sounds nary leaving out a favorite except for To Speak to the Girl (I swear it’s some long lost Kinks song). I thought he was going to play it when he said the next song contains the best bass line I’ve ever written. Apparently that honor goes to a new song about watches which a bouncy bass line similar to To Speak to the Girl. Watching this show, I was amazed at how tight Stoltz and his band sound, easily improvising a song about the bassist who is a State Stradelin’ Guy because he was born on the state line in Kansas City. Stoltz and his band emanate this kind of antique glow rock n’ roll that may seem like a throwback to the 60’s but it’s done with such craftsmanship that while watching them play you get a rush that feels like it’s brand new and right now.

mp3: Kelley Stoltz - To Speak to the Girl (buy Circular Sounds)

Cut/Copy + Black Kids at Neumo’s | 30 April 2008

I used to think that any band that employed female back up singers was lame by default. It seemed to be quite a fashionable thing to do back in the mid 90’s, Electronic’s second album is an egregious example of this. I could never understand why a band would want to ruin their songs with session singers going all Maria Carey over top of it. Black Kids kind of have something like this going on in some of their songs with their two keyboard players singing backup. The thing is, it sounds so good. Maybe I should go back and listen to that Electronic record, or maybe Black Kids just know how to use the female backing vocal. It’s this kind of flying in the face of fashion that makes this band endearing to me.

You’ve probably heard about the hype surrounding the Black Kids. How last fall just before the CMJ Music Marathon, Pitchfork gave a very glowing review to their four song demo. A frenzy of music bloggers ensued and soon thereafter the backlash started. They played a couple shows at CMJ to less than glowing reviews and then things kind of quieted down. They have been quietly playing live and apparently getting much better if last night’s show is any indication. They’ve also recently completed recording an album with ex-Suede Guitarist Bernard Butler (deja vu) which sees the light of day 22 July (if not before then).

If the reviews from last fall’s CMJ are true, then I would say these guys have greatly improved. They were loose, looking totally comfortable with their next big thing status. The main thing I noticed about their sound was the bass lines that just jumped out and grabbed you. Maybe it was because I was standing directly in front of him, but this guy was pulling out funk riffs song after song, pillaging the back catalogs of Chic and Rockwell. It worked with most of the songs, only a few could have used a little less funk. The Black Kids sound is a curious amalgam of the disco era, tempered with an English pop sensibility that reminds me a bit of Ian Dury and Blockheads. Through in a bit of Terry Hall (Specials/Fun Boy Three/Colour Field), Prefab Sprout, or Bob Smith of the Cure, which comes across in the heartfelt vocals and guitar and you’ve got an idea of the uniqueness of these Jackonsville, Florida band.

Everyone went nuts for I’m Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend how to Dance With You, but my favorite song from their set was Look at Me (When I Rock Wichoo) which is slated to show up on the album, it contained the infectious funk flavored bass line, a guitar freak-out and the female backing vocals that were kind done as a cheer and ended with and Go-Team-esque chant that turned me into a Black Kids believer.

myspace: Black Kids

mp3: Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons to be Cheerful, Pt. 3 (from Sex and Drugs and Rock & Roll)

Continue reading Black Kids Opening for Cut/Copy…

Sons and Daughters at Neumo’s, Seattle | 29 April 2007

Sons and Daughters new album was a total surprise to me. After not really connecting with their first two albums, I’d kind of written them off. Hiring ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler to produce the record seems to have been a genius move. It reminds me of when XTC got Todd Rundgren to twiddle the knobs for Skylarking, Andy Partridge to this day hates Rundgren. Not that he doesn’t like the album, it’s one of their best, but the working relationship was difficult to say the least. Sons & Daughters Guitarist Scott Paterson has said that he and Butler had shouting matches over how the guitars should sound on This Gift. I don’t know who won, maybe it was Butler. But in the end it was Sons and Daughters who really won because the guitars literally snap and slither out of the speakers. Butler’s production and Paterson’s giant leap forward in songwriting and playing have combined to take the band to next level.

Last night Paterson’s playing was totally ace, dressed a bit like one of his heroes Johnny Marr and playing a bit like him as well (think the title track from The Queen is Dead). He’s got the cool guitar moves and poses down too, but not in a overly studied way, it just looks like he’s having a blast playing his songs up on stage. Not one to let by a mere guitar steal the show, Adele Bethel was equal to Paterson’s riffs. It was hard to take your eyes off of her. Her big blue eye liner, over-sized Patti Smith Group t-shirt, glittery wrist bands, and tights combined into a Deborah Harry meets Wonder Woman kind of thing. Bethel’s stage presence would be enough to hold your attention, but her voice seals the whole deal. Sons and Daughter were firing on all cylinders last night, so it was funny when they told us that they’d heard Seattle crowds were tough. Somebody yelled out, ‘that’s because those other bands suck’. The comfortably filled Neumo’s certainly knew these guys didn’t suck, responding with pogoing, a little slamming and lots of hollering.

The songs from This Gift were the highlights of the show for me, but they played stuff from all three. Starting the show with Gilt Complex they kicked the energy level into the red right from the start. They didn’t really slow down the entire set, I don’t think they have a song that you could classify as a ballad, choosing to channel the energy of the Stooges (the riff from Chains is a direct descendant of Iggy’s Lust for Life) and Blondie. Ending the night with a blistering House in My Head, I was racing a 100 mph as I walked out into a cold Seattle rain.

mp3: Sons and Daughter - House in my Head (from This Gift)

In his song Nothing on My Mind, Paul Kelly (53) said, “I never did one damn good thing ’til I was over thirty.” Well, everyone in this post is well over thirty and doing some pretty damn good things. Dedicated to the old guys that have still got it, believe it or not there are a few of us still around. Maybe I’ve taken notice of these older guys because I just had a birthday and I’m feeling mortal (unlike when I was in my 20’s and was immortal), but it seems like there are a number of artists, as they have aged have remained relevant and engaging with their music.

Wire (Colin Newman: 54,Graham Lewis: 55,Bruce Gilbert: 61,Robert Gotobed:57) comes to mind, these guys are all pushing 60 and are making music that is nearly as good as what they made in their 20’s and just as good as what they made in their 30’s. If you didn’t pick up Read & Burn 3 last year it’s well worth it, 23 Years Too Late from that ep was my favorite song of last year. The band will be releasing their 11th album on 7 July, it’s called Object 47, because it’s the 47th record in their discography, of course.

Mark E. Smith (50) is another of these guys that just keep ticking, the guy just does not let up. He’s got a new Fall album and an autobiography to boot. The new Fall album is called Imperial Wax Solvent and it’s out next week. He’s got a new set of musicians (surprise), as the Americans who backed him on Reformation Post TLC are gone. I don’t think they were sacked, they just had other things going on, as in their own band. Imperial Wax Solvent is decent as far as Fall albums go, but it looks like the real entertainment lies in MES’s autobiography. The Guardian published an article of excerpts that had me laughing out loud more than a few times. Here’s his take on foodies:

It’s a strange phenomenon, people discussing their lunches. Kids used to do that at school. But now I’ll get on the bus, or I’ll be sat in the pub, and all I can hear is people discussing the contents of their guts or the meal that they’ve got in their heads: “I had some nice tomato sauce last night with chips.” I don’t know why they’re telling you this.

mp3: The Fall - Wolf Kidult Man (from Imperial Wax Solvent)

The next gentleman is Robert Forster (50) who I recently wrote about so I won’t go into much detail about his new record. Except to say that it’s out next week on Yep Rock. I came across this really good article written by, non other than the man himself. In it he goes into depth about the creative process he and Grant McLennan had fallen into at the start of writing songs for the next Go-Betweens album, how it drastically changed and how the solo album came about.

The Times article: Former Go-Between Robert Forster pays tribute to his mate with Evangelist

Another older gentleman Jarvis Cocker, (44) has recently said he’s gonna have another record out by the end of the year. Apparently he’s got a few songs written. I’m guessing he’s gonna have Richard Hawley (40) on it again, but only time will tell. In the meantime you can check out this video of one of the new songs

Video: Jarvis Cocker - Girls Like It Too (live in Argentina)

Edwyn Collins (48.) has been recovering from a cerebral hemorrhage he suffered back in 2005. Last year he put out his sixth solo album, Home Again which was recorded before the hemorrhage. He’s back to the point where he can play live again, and from the reviews I’ve seen he’s quite capable. Roddy Frame (44) of Aztec Camera has been accompanying him, which makes these shows even more enticing. The Vinyl Villain has an excellent review of a recent gig in Edinburgh. I’m resigned to the fact that Edwyn will not likely cross the Atlantic again to play, but reading this review makes me want to splurge on a plane ticket. Here are the rest of dates for you lucky people in L’Angleterre.

04-24 Newcastle, England - Northumbria University
04-25 Manchester, England - Manchester University
04-26 Leeds, England - The Cockpit
04-29 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire

The last bunch of old guys are Sloan (Chris: 39, Andrew: 40, Patrick: 38, Jay: 39), who surprised a lot of people recently by announcing the release of their brand new record Parallel Play. I thought that their last one, which contained no less than 30 songs, might have cleared the vaults, but that is not the case. The new record is shorter, but from the sounds of it just as good ans Never Hear the End of it. Since everyone in the band writes songs, they split it up pretty evenly here, everyone contributes 3 with the exception of overachiever Andrew who has 4. He’s the oldest, so that’s probably why he got the most.

mp3: Sloan - I’m Not a Kid Anymore (from Parallel Play and quite appropriate for this post)

Maybe I should set up some kind of residency at the Sunset Tavern over in Ballard, it seems like I’ve been ending up there a lot these past few weeks. It’s a great place to see a gig, even if the bar is in the worst place possible, practically right in front of the stage. Last night the Turn-Ons were playing for the first time since releasing their new album Curse. You can’t buy it, or hold it in your hand, the only way to get is for free over at their web site, as a download.

To my ears, the Turn-Ons certainly don’t sound like they’re from Seattle. Singer Travis Devries sings with a slight english accent and they’re effects laden wall of guitar makes you think that they moved over here from old blighty. Live they come off with a more powerful compared to their semi-precious sound that is found on the records. This juiced up live sound made for a blistering set of the old and the new. They started off with a temporary additional band member on bass, allowing three guitars to create a blissful wall of sound for the first third of their set. Opening with Cold Boys from Curse, but then quickly delving into their back catalog with Stop Waiting from last album Parallels and This Time from East.

I went expecting to hear a good part of the new record, but the band had other ideas, giving equal time to all of the afore mentioned albums. I think this was a good move, making for a compelling ‘best of’ set, including the excellent Strange as Snow, and the cool Erik Blood penned song Robert Altman. They ended the ten song set with a juggernaut version of PS, I Love You which left no one in the place dissappointed.

mp3: Turn-Ons - Robert Altman (from Parallels)

Openers Hypatia Lake were good as well, with a similar sound to the Turn-Ons, but leaning more towards a kind of heavy, droney psychedelic thing that bands like Spacemen 3 or for you younger folks, Singapore Sling do so well.

You know how on occasion, you see a stranger and you swear you know them from somewhere? The face is so familiar, you’re convinced that you know the person but can’t remember for the life of you where, when or how. That kind of happened to me in a musical context a few weeks ago. Some anonymous tipster emailed me a link to a myspace page, only I knew exactly where I had heard this voice before. The thing is, it’s either wishful thinking on my part or somebody is messing with me.

A little over a year ago I wrote about Hopkirk and Lee wondering what ever happened to them after they put out a four song ep back in 1998. There were rumors that they signed to a label and then the label went belly up. There were also rumors that they signed a deal with Ralph Macchio and Steve Vai to make a single amazing ep and then go to hell. So a couple of weeks ago I thought I had uncovered a piece of the mystery of Hopkirk and Lee when I got that anonymous email about the Bitter Herb. Hearing the three songs he’s posted immediately had me thinking that Hopkirk and Lee had resurfaced. So I emailed the Bitter Herb asking him if he knew of, or in fact was Hopkirk and Lee. I got a reply saying that he had never heard of ‘Hopkins and Lee’. End of story I thought, but then I got to thinking, if Hopkirk and Lee really in fact wanted to remain a mystery, they certainly wouldn’t come out and say they’re back. They would do something under a new name, right? And then there was that cryptic response from the Bitter Herb, saying he’d never heard of Hopkins and Lee. I think that little typo was just to put me off the trail, and was a bit too obvious.

Sorry to report that I haven’t found out anything new since then, maybe writing about the Bitter Herb here will shed some light and someone will come forward with some info. Not that I’m holding my breath or anything though. Whether or not there’s any relation to Hopkirk and Lee, the Bitter Herb is certainly worth talking about, it’s got elements of Fred Neil and the Jesus and Mary Cain’s acoustic stuff and the three songs he’s posted are all quality, I hope he ends up releasing more than a four song ep. As for the Bitter Herb vs Hopkirk and Lee, you decide.

mp3: Hopkirk and Lee - Summershine

MySpace: The Bitter Herb

Rainy Dawg is the University of Washington’s internet only student radio station, it seems to fly under the radar of most people in Seattle and elsewhere, but it’s well worth dialing into on your computer. Georgie James were in town on last week and after their show at the Sunset Tavern on Thursday night, they stopped over at Rainy Dawg Radio to do a few songs. They played six songs and chatted at length with Omar. It’s a great session and really good interview that feels like you’re hanging out with band at somebody’s house. You can hear how Chris Wilson of the Flamin’ Groovies just nearly heard Georgie James cover of I Can’t Hide from the seminal 1976 album Shake Some Action. Here’s that Flamin’ Groovies cover courtesy of Omar at Rainy Dawg Radio and of course Georgie James.

mp3: Georgie James - I Can’t Hide (Flamin’ Groovies cover from Rainy Dawg Radio Session)

You can download the other five songs from the session as well as listen to the interview over at Love is Elusive.

And here’s the original by the Flamin’ Groovies, well worth hearing too: Flamin’ Groovies - I Can’t Hide

Photo from shockit’s flickr page.

Georgie James at the Sunset Tavern, Seattle | 10 April 2008

Georgie James fall into the ‘I don’t get it’ category. It’s not that I don’t get their infectious pop songs, I don’t get why they’re not more well known. So they fall into the same category as the Pernice Brothers, Kelley Stoltz and even Sloan, who write undeniable pop hooks that hark back to late 60’s heyday of Beatles, Kinks, Zombies, Beach Boys, etc.

Apparently that genre of music is too obvious these days, because it seems like Georgie James et. al just don’t get their due. Their debut album Place came out on Saddle Creek in the fall of last year, and has pretty much flown under the radar of everyone, myself included. Not sure if it’s because I don’t usually pay attention to what comes out on Saddle Creek, or the name of the band making me ignore them. Whatever the reason I finally did see the light earlier this year. The album is a fully fleshed affair with John Davis and Laura Burhenn playing most everything, but live, they are normally backed by a rhythm section. This short being a short west coast jaunt for this Washington, DC based group, it was only John playing the acoustic guitar and Laura playing her Nord Electro keyboard. I was half expecting to be disappointed in seeing them live because it wasn’t with a full band, but from the first song my doubts were allayed. The acoustic renditions made me realize that it’s their voices that carry these songs, Davis has soft easy timber and Burhenn’s sweet harmonies and leads easily make you forget there are any backing instruments. Her harmonies on Hard Feelings had me thinking of Louis Philippe, and her excellent singing on Cake Parade had me toe-tapping to a sunny pop melody that shrouds the biting anti-war words.

With a filler free album, I would have been happy only hearing those songs, but covers of the Flaming Goovies and an amazing rendition of the Zombies‘ This Will Be our Year was above and beyond the call. Burhenn’s vocal and piano on This Will Be Our Year, made it nearly nip the original for shear pleasure. It was cool to see them not afraid to recognize and do a song from such an obvious influence. But it wasn’t just all Laura Burhenn stealing the show, because John Davis can turn a pop hook that will pull you up out of the water. Saving their best for last, Davis’s Look Me Up and Need Your Needs did not fail to satisfy pop diet of my thirsty ears. They’re making their way south and you too can get your daily allowance of pop calories at one their remaining west coast (and one east coast) dates:

April 13, 2008 - San Francisco, CA
April 15, 2008 - Los Angeles, CA
April 16, 2008 - Los Angeles, CA
April 17, 2008 - Las Vegas, NV
April 19, 2008 - Catonsville, MD

mp3: Georgie James - Cake Parade (buy Places)

The price of music seems to be falling like the housing market these days, and Seattle’s Turn-Ons are adding to the price gouging by giving away their new album. It’s called Curse and continues the ethereal/shoegaze direction of their last album Parallels. The Turn-Ons sound is blend of a glam influenced sound that reminds me of Suede at times, and effects laden guitars that give the songs a psychedelic and dream-like quality. The first few listens didn’t hit home, but after spending the weekend with the new record, it’s making a lot more sense, I guess it just took a while for the slower tempo guitar haze to sink in.

Is every city like Seattle these days? it seems there are so many bands here that delve into the dreampop/shoegaze genre that we could have a scene that celebrates itself thing going on around here. With the Turn-Ons, the excellent Purrs, Levator and the new Tears Run Rings album I feel like it’s London, 1991 again. Not complaining, no way, I’ll relive that time any day. As for getting the Turn-ons new album for free, just click on over to their website. It’s good and it won’t cost you a dollar, only the time and bandwidth to download 13 songs. Also, they’ll be at the Sunset Tavern over in Ballard on 18 April if you’re up for a gig.

mp3: Turn-Ons - Crystalize (from Curse)