Film School: Shoegaze me in to the new year
Maybe it’s just me, but dark indie pop or shoegazer guitar fuzz sounding music isn’t as depressing as some might say. Perhaps it’s my four years of studying philosophy and determining that existentialism, while depressing to some, is quite enlightening to others. It’s the dark sensibilities and the reality of life that come together for me on certain shoegazer albums and Film School have achieved this quite handedly I may add.
Why I’m just learning about Film School, I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because I don’t read blogs like Bradley’s Almanac enough during the day.
They came out with their sophomore album back in September of this year and hail from San Francisco. According to Brad, it would seem that this band should have either faded away after their first album or shouldn’t have followed up with such an impressive showing. Their gear was stolen in 2006 and went through a major line-up change (3 out of 5 members replaced). Two events that would cause nightmares for any startup band and a second to think about not only their bands direction but their own direction as well.
The first two songs on Hideout, “Lectric” and “Two Kinds“, set the tone for the guitar fuzz heavy and droned out synth sound that the entire album exhumes. I noticed in particular that the synths seemed to be set on Horns as they barrel through some sections of each song.
The third track, “Dear Me“, is a guitar heavy song that includes a strong build up to the chorus.
“Oh, never ending thoughts of you. Time can make it seem alright. why can’t I get you out of view. I follow you now. I follow you.“
A majority of the songs follow a pretty typical shoegazer anthem - a wild and crazy girl or guy gets lodged in to the consciousness of the ever so dramatic indie artist and he/she tries and tries to get them out of their head but every attempt lulls them further in to depression.
On a few occasions, when the vocalist is going with a drone approach, there are comparisons to The Magentic Fields’ Stephen Merritt. Especially at the beginning of “Sick Hipster Nursed by Suicide Girl”. I Googled Film School and Stephen Merritt to see if there were any influences mentioned by the band before but just came up with a bunch of searches that talk about Stephen’s alma mater, NYU film school.
But it’s clear their influences come from such indie shoegazer icons like The Magnetic Fields and My Bloody Valentine.
While I make all these references to shoegazer, I do it only to relate their sound to other bands you’re probably familiar with. However, in big scribble on my notepad I say, “i bet this is a great live show!” In other words, I wouldn’t expect a whole lot of gazing at shoes going on. And according to their myspace page, they don’t want you staring down either as they describe their shows as “loud and dynamic and energetic (no staring at shoes).“
I highly recommend you pick up Hideout today. As for their debut release, I’ve only heard great things about it but have yet to personally hear it for myself. So why don’t you pick it up and tell me what you think.
Happy New Year people.
Download: “Lectric”
Download more MP3’s over at Bradley’s Almanac, including all songs from their live set here in Cambridge, MA back in October (HERE)
Purchase Hideout: Beggars Group (HERE); Amazon (US)
Visit Film School on Myspace (HERE)
Visit their official website (HERE)
The commies are coming
Apparat, short for the Russian word, Apparatchik, means to be a full-employed member of the communist party. In other words, to be a member of a collective group whose focus is to build a society where everyone looks after each other. In reality, the Apparat that we’re are about to describe is a member of a group of artists based in Germany. Berlin to be exact. They consist of T.Raumschmiere, Modselektor and whole list of artists on the German based record label, Shitkatapult. This is truly a group looking out for not only their friends, but their fans as well. I highly recommend checking out Modselektor or any other artists affiliated with those mentioned above. If you’re an electronic fan, I’m sure you are already aware of most.
There is no question that Apparat, aka Sascha Ring, has been mainly influenced by techno and electronica. However, unlike many electronica artists who rarely use their own vocals, Sascha brings his out to play.
There is a strong emotional and human element to his music that differentiates him a bit from his colleagues. Of course, this doesn’t make him a better artist. It just makes him unique.
On his most recent album, Walls, the emotional level is at a high. It’s hard not to turn this album on and not turn off until the 13th and final song. It sucks you in to a trance. P-Fork compared it to the Junior Boys latest success and I would have to agree.
I also found that there were moments that reminded me of Thievery Corporation. Not so much the style but rather that the sounds on this album seem to represent something larger than just some nice songs put together by a little well known DJ from Germany. There are deeper meanings to these songs and just like any good artist, we the listener are up to interpret.
- Links of Interest:
Official Website
Myspace
Purchase Walls - (emusic) (amazon - US or UK)
Stream Walls
MP3 - “Fractales (Pt. I)” - which means you need to buy the album to find out about Pt. II
It’s National week in Boston
That means it’s The National showcase day on the square.
They play tonight and tomorrow at The Middle East Downstairs. Both shows are sold out.
Links of Interest:
Download: “Fake Empire” - From their recent release, The Boxer
Purchase The Boxer - (U.S.) (U.K.)
Official Site: www.americanmary.com
Myspace: myspace.com/thenational
I was introduced to The National like a lot of music fans two years ago when their album, Alligator, came out of the wood work and squeezed passed the critically acclaimed and highly publicized Sufjan Stevens album, Illinoise, and made it to the top of many ‘Best of’ lists.
There is an immediate appeal to The National I think for almost everyone I know. There is something about the simple melodies but complex persona that intrigues most fans of music. They seem to wrap up a lot of sound in to a tight package. They’re never really too risky or experimental. Some may even argue that their most recent album, The Boxer, isn’t risky enough.
But maybe not being risky is risky. There are many bands, and I mean many, that I think try too hard to be different or unique. It’s probably due to an overbearing front runner who feels his artistic ability is above and beyond the norm. And his bandmates are like sheep and go along because, hey, “we’re in a rock band man and all we care about is drugs, sex, and rock and roll”.
The National come from a different breed then most young indie rockers. They’re all in their 30’s. They all held or rather still hold regular day jobs and don’t seem to prescribe to the whole rock ethic. Things maybe changing for some of the members as they slowly but surely make their way out of the day job and in to the spotlight but in the end, their music has stayed consistent.
In their earlier work (self-titled album The National and Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers), the vocals have a bit more snap to them. The pop anthems are worn a bit more on their sleeve versus the actual fabric. The songs themselves have all seemed to skate along the same line. Matt Berninger writes from an outsiders point of view and mixes the every day man’s life with the surreal life. This combined with their remarkable ability to write catchy pop anthems is what makes everyone I know say, “Hey, these guys are really good”.
We all seem to relate to this group. Whether you’re reaching the parenthood years or fresh out of college, The National has a song for you.
The Boxer has been resonating with me for the past two weeks. While their music has stayed consistent over the years, The Boxer has taken a bit of a step forward even though it may seem as if they are taking a step backwards by toning down the volume. It’s the subtle nuances of each track that make this album special.
Having the show at The Middle East is just about as perfect as it gets. The National are an intimate band and the fact that my apartment is literally around the corner and the Middle East itself is a tight little venue with low ceilings, tonights show has intimacy written all over it.
The Cribs - “Men’s Needs”
The Cribs Links of Interest:
Myspace: www.myspace.com/thecribs
Official Site: www.thecribs.com
Pre-Order Single: (UK) (US)
Pre-order Album: (UK) (US)
Off their upcoming release, Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever, this first single, “Men’s Needs”, has a familiar tone to it. In fact, when I first heard the chorus I immediately jumped on the comparison to a little known band from Austin, TX, Sound Team.
You remember those guys, right? The infamous Pitchfork had their way with Sound Team’s previous album, Movie Monster, but in my eyes it was a good record. Simple, easy and put together for the pure enjoyment of making music. If they hadn’t retaliated with their mock assasination video on YouTube then they may have gotten away with just a slip up in their recording. Instead, they came away pretty bruised as Pitchfork has a slight advantage over Sound Team when it comes to reaching the masses.
The Cribs, on the other hand, may have a shot at impressing the critics. And it would be for one reason and this reason only, their blatant focus on sex.
The band is made up of 3 brothers, two of which are twins, lead singer and guitarist Ryan Jarman and bass player Gary Jarman. The third brother, Ross Jarman, plays Drums. Ryan’s vocals, when he’s not screaming, are similar in style to Cassablanca’s from The Strokes, only more polished, not as rough around the edges and a bit higher in pitch. He approaches each word with the same laziness as Cassablanca and when he turns up the vocal engine his voice croons in to that familiar Sound Team scream that I mentioned earlier.
Stream “Men’s Needs”: Windows Music Player or Real Player
Remember when I said they have a blatant focus on sex, watch the video below for “Men’s Needs” and you’ll know what I’m talking about. There is apparently an uncensored version of this video out there so if you find it, let us know.
