The Decemberists: We All Raise Our Voices to the Air (Live Songs 4.11-8.11) (Review)

The Decemberists, makers of rock and roll folk for English majors and inheritors of 10,000 Maniacs and R.E.M.’s ageing fans, finally release their first live album. It’s a collection of songs played live during their 2011 tour and is comprised of a generous cross section of their work. Old classics flow well with new tracks. Their most recent release, The King is Dead, showcased their evolving sound’s affinity for old R.E.M. (Peter Buck guest guitar played on several tracks in fact), and growing interest in Appalachian and Americana sounds. In fact, their sound would so much conjure misty Appalachian coal mine hills that they would end up being one of the biggest names to contribute a track to The Hunger Games (Songs from District 12 and Beyond) Soundtrack. (Much of The Hunger Games takes place in Appalachia, the home region of its protagonist Katniss Everdeen). We All Raise Our Voices to the Air is a great snapshot of The Decemberists tight musicianship and solid live delivery of a swath of their songs whose intricate arrangements translate well to a live setting. 

Tribes: Baby (Review)

When the Tribes’ Johnny Lloyd sings “Oh no stranger you’re just like me, these things happen we were children in the mid 90’s” during “We Were Children” off of their debut album Baby, one gets the feeling that he ironically really means what he’s saying. If there is to be a full on re-visitation, but hopefully not a full on regurgitation, of 90s rock, there really could be worse bands than Tribes involved. Tribes appears to be destined to rise to the level of Silversun Pickups and The Joy Formidable, thusly forming a trio of the most high profile, and sonically appealing, bands that ape everything 1990s, yet somehow keep it fresh enough to not sound boring. Silversun Pickups got the Smashing Pumpkins covered. The Joy Formidable got everything from Hole to PJ Harvey covered. And while we’re still waiting on someone to step up and get the Alice in Chains thru Soundgarden section covered, Tribes seems to have everything else from Nirvana-lite to The Lemonheads under wraps. Oddly though, to anyone really paying any real attention to Tribes’ sound will discover that they really are just a more marketable version of Ash, Ireland and alt-rock’s most underrated and overlooked band of the past twenty years. Yes, they’ve been around just about that long, and it’s a shame that a band like Tribes, which cites their influence as The Pixies, Nirvana, and R.E.M. but really doesn’t sound like any of them, gets the credit for a sound that Ash has been pumping out for years. Oh well, that’s rock life, and there’s no point in bewailing it. Just remember, as great as Tribes are, and they are pretty great, there’re always others who came before and didn’t quite make it as big, but back to Tribes’ brilliant debut album, Baby…

St. Patrick’s Day Rock(s)

It’s that time of year again. St. Patrick’s Day is upon us and this year it’s on a Saturday. Always a great excuse for all of us to lay claim to that, however insignificant, Irish-Celtic heritage we all wish we had (if we don’t already), and drink gallons of Guinness, wear green, and rock out to some Irish tinged rock music. Two bands come to mind most specifically, to me at least, when I think of a suitable playlist for St. Paddy’s Day, even though these two are just a small sampling of all the great Irish or Celt-Rock bands out there. 

Bruce Springsteen: The Brendan O’Brien Albums

Brendan O’Brien was to Bruce Springsteen what Rick Rubin was to Johnny Cash. This is not an exaggeration. During the 1990s, The Boss’ album sales were floundering. His music was also suffering in popularity, respectability, and, worst of all, in relevancy. Yeah, he won an Oscar for “Streets of Philadelphia” written for the Philadelphia soundtrack, and his solo work still stood the test of time as populist rock and roll classics, but he wasn’t gaining many new fans. More accurately, Springsteen’s songs weren’t getting much attention as they sounded dated compared to the popular rock music of the time, namely Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and the rest. Springsteen’s songs were on the same level of intelligence and complexity of structure and lyric as these guys’ songs (albeit not exactly in the same subgenre of rock), they just didn’t really sound like these guys’ songs. Enter Brendan O’Brien.

The Cranberries: Coming Up “Roses”

When I first heard The Cranberries, I wasn’t interested in them beyond their lead singer’s hotness and unique voice. Actually, I saw and heard them at the first time since my first exposure to them was the video for “Linger.” I was slogging through grunge at the time in my best pair of scuffed Doc Martens, and The Cranberries were just a little too light and poppy for my taste. A few years later, when I was slogging knee deep through my undergraduate double major of English and Political Science (with an emphasis on International Politics-the Balkan Wars were raging and Eastern Europe post-Soviet Bloc was an area of interest for me) I heard The Cranberries again (heard only this time) and became very interested in them, and not only in their lead singer’s hotness and unique voice, but her words as well. A pretty Irish girl singing about “a war in Russia and Sarajevo too,” the War Child, John Lennon, salvation, The Troubles (as international political scholars will recognize as the now settled Protestant/Catholic War in Northern Ireland) and being “Free to Decide?” Yeah, it wasn’t long before I developed a major crush on her, and The Cranberries, music in general. I was becoming educated enough, and mature enough, to understand that everything didn’t have to be screamed or growled through the microphone to rock. Good rock, and good alt-rock, didn’t have to wail all the time to be worthwhile.

Mike McCready and Star Anna: Keep On (Review)

Given Mike McCready’s affinity for alt-country, dirty blues, and Americana it is no surprise that he’s a huge fan and supporter of fellow Seattle musicians Star Anna and The Laughing Dogs. In fact, Mike likes them so much that he played guitar on several of the songs on Star Anna’s last album, Alone In This Together. Mike has even lent the star power of his name, as a headliner on the song art, to a collaboration between himself and the band that was released on Valentine’s Day this year. “Keep On” plays like a slower, sultrier version of his Pearl Jam gem “Down.” The rustic, acoustic, and slight low key grunge sound of the song perfectly meshes both McCready’s Pearl Jam sound and that of Star Anna’s Americana. It’s a great track that should help get the word out on this great band. Followers of Pearl Jam and their individual members’ musical likes and side projects already know a great deal about, and have a strong affinity for, Star Anna and The Laughing Dogs' music. Those plugged into the Pacific Northwest’s music scene know even more about this great band, and their vocally gifted lead singer, especially because they’ve been lucky enough to get to see them live. Hopefully, with the wider recognition that is bound to come from Mike McCready’s name being listed prominently next to theirs, those of us living outside the Pacific Northwest will get to see them. They did briefly tour outside the Seattle and Portland areas in 2011, but the majority of the shows took place in that region.  

One Model Nation: Totalwerks Vol. 1 (1969-1977)

Courtney Taylor-Taylor of The Dandy Warhols has a special place in his heart for graphic novels, as well as the electronic/industrial music of late 1970s Berlin, like Kraftwerk. Both his love for the two come together in the dual graphic novel and album project One Model Nation. While the graphic novel that the music is partially inspired by is brilliant (read my thoughts on it here), the music is just as interesting.