EXCLUSIVE: New Single From The Lonelyhearts
Today we’re debuting a track from The Lonelyhearts new record Years In The Great Interior, and I couldn’t be more excited for you all to hear it. I’ve been listening to the record for about a week or so now, and it’s another great release from the folks at Maximum Ames Records. The first single, “Autumn Percussion,” was a fantastic introduction to the band if you aren’t familiar with them. “The California Oak Mortality Task Force” goes a bit deeper into what their music is all about.
Featuring acoustic guitar and keys, this new single has a certain sense of foreboding at its core. The 12-string and voice of John Lindenbaum paints a pretty picture of a drunken evening, but Andre Perry’s dark, synthy keys keep creeping up more and more. It’s almost like at any second something terrible is going to happen, but the real horror is being stuck in small town USA living a life you never wanted. The duo display influences of Springsteen and Radiohead, and marry the two quite well. You can hear it for yourself below.
Years In The Great Interior will be released on June 4th, but you can pre-order it here on vinyl, CD, or as a download. You can also check out the first single, “Autumn Percussion,” and a video of The Lonelyhearts playing live.
Janelle Monae With The Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Photo by: Moanalani Jeffrey
Janelle Monae was announced as a last minute replacement for Aretha Franklin to perform last night at the Chicago Symphony’s Corporate Night. Sitting in the audience, you’d never guess she wasn’t the first choice. The orchestra had every song down perfect, the light show was brilliantly done, and the night went off without a hitch. This was probably aided by the fact that Monae and her band just played with the San Francisco Orchestra last week.
The set was a mixture of originals and covers featuring Prince and The Jackson 5. This was a fundraiser for music education, so the evening began with a short video about the CSO’s efforts in the community. Conductor Sean O’Laughlin came out next and led the orchestra through a nice overture before Monae’s band came out, followed shortly by the star of the show in her usual tuxedo and bow tie.
The music bounced back and forth between uptempo numbers and ballads. The orchestra’s string section added an extra layer of heartache to the slow songs, while the horns gave the dance numbers some extra juice. The best combination of Monae’s band and the orchestra came on “Take Me With U” by Prince. This arrangement adds about 60 more players than the Purple Rain version, and it was an epic sonic experience. As an example, here’s what it sounds like with just the band:
It seemed like most of the audience was familiar with Janelle Monae’s music at least a little. Those that didn’t were surely won over by her performance. She was shimmyin’ and shakin’ in ways I’m sure that stage has never seen. When she wasn’t impressing with her dance moves she was singing her heart out. I was especially pleased with the live take of “Peachtree Blues” toward the middle of the set. It’s a very under appreciated gem in her catalogue and she struck just the right balance of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone.
I was also quite impressed with the James Bond piece that kind of acted as a break between two halves of the set. Monae left the stage and the orchestra went into a sublime rendition of the Bond Theme. In the movies it’s only a couple minutes long, but they played a good five minutes, featuring each section of the orchestra throughout. At the end Monae returned and they launched into a version of “Goldfinger” that would absolutely make Shirley Bassey proud.
The main set ended with a 1-2 punch of “Cold War” and “Tightrope” that got everyone on the floor level to their feet. After respectfully allowing the orchestra to shine, Monae’s band took over and just exploded with energy. Kellindo Parker was wailing earlier on in the show, but seemed to really get into the groove with these two. And the horn duo of Lance Theory on trumpet and trombone player Marcus Lewis lived up to their hype as “the funkiest horn section in Metropolis.”
After a short break that remained abuzz with thunderous applause, the band returned for two more songs. “BaBopByeYa” is a long, soulful number full of jazzy Latin beats. It’s a great tune to feature an orchestra on because there’s so much happening at all times. Even the album version on Arch Android is super complex, so it was nice to have all the pieces to really fill it up.
The final song was “Q.U.E.E.N.,” Janelle’s new single with Erykah Badu. It’s easily the hottest song of the year so far, and this performance didn’t disappoint. The bass line on the track is killer, and Brandon Gilliard nailed it last night. Monae was really working the stage-so much so that she had to leave it and go out into the crowd. She made her way around the floor level while continuing to sing the whole time. Old and young alike were on their feet and dancing in the aisles.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this show, and I was blown away by how good it was. The orchestra was amazing, of course. Monae’s band was astounding. And Janelle is one of the best performers I’ve seen live. She makes you feel every note on the ballads and gets your heart racing on the dance tracks. Sure the tickets were a bit pricey, but it was totally worth every penny.
Setlist
Overture
Sincerely, Jane
Smile
I Want You Back
Dorothy Dandridge Eyes
Take Me With You
Peachtree Blues
James Bond Theme
Goldfinger
Sir Greendown
Cold War
Tightrope
Encore
BaBopByeYa
Q.U.E.E.N.
Wolfgang Jay-Broken To Fit
Back in 2011 Wolfgang Jay released their debut album and I was immediately taken by it. The songs were dark and brooding, but also easy to dance to. They celebrate the new wave along with early post-punk and classic rock. On paper it might not seem like it would work, but the talented musicians that make up the group seem to be capable of pretty much whatever they put their minds to.
Broken To Fit, the new album that just came out on May 18th, continues their genre-bending style. They’ve made improvements where they needed them; this new record is much more fluid. It feels almost like one long piece broken into pieces (hence the title?). Like their previous effort, the band wrote, produced, and at least partially engineered with help from David Mills and Caleb MacIlvaine. Keeping all the decision-making insular has helped them fully realize their original vision.
The first noise we hear on the record sounds a bit like a plane taking off, followed by a guitar plucking two notes and Ryan Wolfgang’s voice. It’s soon joined by Jason Ryan’s Morricone-like riff. Those familiar with WJ’s last album will recognize the sound of the vocals: not out front and not quite buried, they tiptoe above the mix. This production choice gives the listener a couple options: you can listen passively and just enjoy the music, which is great, or you can listen more actively and catch every word.
Unlike most albums, Broken To Fit gets better as you get further down the track list. For me, it really hits a stride when “Atmospheric” starts. It’s a synthy 80′s throwback that perfectly captures the sound they’ve been developing over the past few years. It owes a lot to Duran Duran, almost like a tribute to their work.
The following track has a bit of a Pink Floyd streak with the galloping rhythm guitar and baritone vocals pitted against the swirling motion of the lead. Fitting that the song is called “Leave It On The Wall.”
I’m a big fan of Wolfgang Jay, and Broken To Fit does nothing but provide more examples of how good they are. They just played a record release show this weekend which I had to miss, but I’ve seen them play before and they put on a really fun show. You can purchase the new album from Bandcamp for $8. It’s also streaming on Spotify, along with their first record And We Move. I highly recommend both.
The All-About: Suburban Heart
Suburban Heart has been one of my most highly anticipated records of 2013. Since Winterpop hit early last year The All-About have released a couple singles and an EP, including the almost perfect jam “Sadie Hawkins.” The build up to the new full-length dates all the way back to last year, but things have heated up recently with the release of two new singles, “Jessie” and “Whatever, Happy Birthday.”
The two new tracks are both great and really set the bar high for Zac Coe’s not-so-solo project (featuring Oliver Ignatius, Alexandre Da Silva, Gabby Ambrosio, and Layne Montgomery). I had nothing but faith in the album, and it came out even better than I could have hoped. Gone are the charming Killers references, replaced by smart Springsteen cues and mentions of a couple of the Boss’s hits in the lyrics. It’s a more mature record than Winterpop, but no less fun.
The album deals a lot with growing up, losing touch, and the difficulties in trying to go home again. Zac might be the most nostalgic early twenty-something in the world, but he seems ready to let go of the past by the end of Suburban Heart. One facet of life that gets a lot of attention is growing apart from the friends you had as an adolescent, and I think the chord struck here is the most relatable on the album.
On the sprawling “Nashville,” Coe and a friend lament their waning time together knowing things can’t stay the same forever. There’s a certain comfort in knowing someone as well as we know our closest friends as we grow up, and an uneasiness comes when we leave that behind. When he sings “All I need is a full heart to get where I’m going, but I want you to be here when I come back,” it’s a bittersweet reality we’ve all experienced.
There are a lot of precious memories relived here as well. On the title track Coe sings “Don’t you wanna take me home? The only roads that we’ve ever known are from your house to mine.” The song is about star crossed lovers who are too busy to for a relationship and how every second without the other person is a moment wasted. This is the first instance where you feel the sonic similarities with Winterpop. The horns and piano used here aren’t new to The All-About, but they fit so well that its hard to complain.
I love the opening of “Jessie.” It might be my favorite 45 seconds of the whole album. With just a synth and his voice, Coe reminisces and it feels like our own memories. “I could see in the way you moved your hips it was nearly dawn, you were feeling a little bit anxious. Remember how you tried to dare me to run the light because nobody would see when I drove you home? So every girl just grab a boy, lately I’m losing my voice, baby. Singing along, with the radio.”
In the biggest surprise of Suburban Heart, “Lyla Garrity” opens with beautiful strings that give way to a Peter, Bjorn, and John-like whistling. The outro of the song finds the two components coming together perfectly to create a magical moment of poignancy and acceptance.
Suburban Heart may not sound like its a giant leap from Winterpop, but lyrically and thematically it is a great step forward. Zac uses his own past to assemble songs that are so universally relatable this album will probably be translated in more languages than Beowulf. The album comes out on Tuesday May 21st, and will be available on Bandcamp. You can also find all of The All-About’s previous releases there, and you should download all of them.
The Thermals at Lincoln Hall 5/16/2013
The Thermals stormed into town Friday night hit in the heels of their latest record, Desperate Ground. It’s an impassioned return to the angry days of their most popular album The Body, The Blood, The Machine; the antithesis to their last release Personal Life. I’m a big fan of the new record and looked forward to hearing some of it played live. I was also a bit nervous about the show because I remember seeing them in 2011 and being really let down.
Right from the start I got good vibes from the stage. The first band, Moon King, was an unusual three-piece from Canada. They played a kind of spacey psych-rock with weird folk and pop influences thrown in. It took a little while for their set to really get going, but by the fourth song the crowd was getting into it and they were starting to fire on all cylinders.
After they finished local rockers Bare Mutants plugged in. I saw them open for Smith Westerns at Schubas a long time ago, and I thought they were a little boring. It only took one song to have me all turned around on my impressions of them. Here at Lincoln Hall they were far more interesting and lively. The guitar work by Jered Gummere was especially fine. I don’t remember the band being so large when I saw them before, so perhaps they’ve undergone some changes. I certainly don’t remember Jeannie O’Toole being in the band, but I’m glad she is. Lots of great bands are represented here (Mannequin Men, The Ponys, the 1900′s), but as a whole they manage to be more than the sum of their parts.
At 10:45 The Thermals came out to raucous applause and launched into “Returning To The Fold.” This immediately relieved my apprehensions about the show. When I saw them before the crowd was absolutely dead, and the music felt flat. I put equal blame on the venue and the band-Logan Square Auditorium is a huge open room that allows noise to stay in the air forever. Loud, fast music does not play well there. They also didn’t break into any of “the hits” until late in the show, at which point the crowd erupted and it finally felt like a Thermals show.
The audience at Lincoln Hall never let it get too staid. By song two there was aggressive moshing going on in the middle of the room and by song three Hutch Harris was in the middle of the pit getting up close and personal with some fans. He came back out again later in the show, as did drummer Westin Glass. His quick crowd surfing stunt was definitely a show highlight. The performance Glass put on all night was astounding to watch. He goes all out on every song, leaving a puddle of sweat as a testament to his love for playing live.
As far as setlists go, you’d be hard pressed to find one more pleasing to a fan of The Thermals. It didn’t focus too much on the brand new songs, instead covering the whole of the bands now decade-long career. Everything from their earliest “No Culture Icons” to the fantastic (and even better live) “Sword By My Side,” they really gave a Thermals 101 course. For fans like me that think The Body is one of the greatest albums of all-time, they opened with “Returning To The Fold” and also played “Here’s Your Future,” “St Rosa And The Swallows,” “I Might Need You To Kill,” and “Pillar Of Salt.”
For a little over an hour Harris, Glass, and bassist Kathy Foster put on a tour de force I’ve been dreaming of since I became aware of their music. No one was ready to leave after the one song encore. Foster and Glass were more than happy to high five and shake hands with members of the audience and show their appreciation. I’m happy to say that my faith in the band has been redeemed after the earlier disappointment. I’m already excited to see them the next time they come to town.
Terriers-Unrequited Admiration Society
When Holdfast disbanded about 18 months ago, I feared the worst. They weren’t the greatest band in the world, but they were good and getting better. Now two separate bands, Lamp and Terriers, I think everyone can agree that we are all better off for the split. Danny Cohen and Easton Gruber started the latter, joined by Connor Boyle (a solo artist as well), Nora Leahy, and Brandon Hunt.
Music has been trickling out from Terriers for a while now. They put out a really good single called “Black Hole” in September and “Waste Time” has been available more than a year now. Though both are strong entries in their catalogue, neither is really a precursor for the new album. Working with producer Dan Duszynski (Gold Motel, Any Kind), Terriers have created an album which is impossible to peg down in one genre and exceeds expectations.
The band deftly mixes Pablo Honey-era Radiohead and John Vanderslice on the opener, “I Don’t Care If The Sun Is Shining.” Noticeable immediately is Cohen’s improved vocals. A good voice in Holdfast and on the earlier singles, he’s come into his own as a singer and only gets better with multiple listens.
“New York,” the lead single off the album, is the most mainstream-radio type song on UAS. It doesn’t have some of the elements that I really like on other songs from the record, but it does appeal to a wide range of listeners. Plus it doesn’t hurt that it’s a really well-written song. I love the line “New York, I was once humbled by your greatness but now enlightened by the lateness in your answers. Baby, I have rid you for the better. For Chicago or whoever I may find.”
Getting as far away from that adult contemporary feel as quickly as possible, the next three songs swing from Elvis Costello folk to Earth Wind & Fire funk. “You Belong To Me” comes as a very pleasant surprise. I definitely didn’t expect such a dance-y, fun track to follow up the ballad “Fall In Love,” but they fit together seamlessly. All players do an amazing job of jukin and jivin through this number, especially Boyle on the drums.
The talent stays front and center on the Todd Rundgren-like “You Belong To Me.” As if demanding to not be forgotten, Nora Leahy takes the spotlight on “Like I Always Do.” She delivers a beautiful vocal on the country-tinged ballad that increases the vulnerability already displayed in Cohen’s trill.
“Probability Theory” closes the record and contains what is probably my favorite lyric: “I wouldn’t call myself charming, I’ve got a lot left to learn. But I’m not the worst on this farm team, and I still get spurned.” It’s a well-constructed tune, but the genius comes right at the end. Like Abbey Road‘s “The love you take is equal to the love you make,” you’ll always remember these final words on Mutual Admiration Society, “I guess I’ll count myself lucky for what little I do comprehend. Keep my chin up and stay plucky, cause I don’t want it to end.”
I think after you hear the album for yourself, you’ll have a similar feeling. But, you’ll have to wait until next Tuesday to do that. Terriers will be playing a record release show next Wednesday, May 22nd, at Schubas in Chicago. They’ll also be coming by Handwritten Recording studio to record a Hasty Revelations session with us, and we couldn’t be more excited.
Top Ten Songs By The National
On May 20th The National will release Trouble Will Find Me, their sixth studio album in twelve years. I’ve heard it, and I find it disappointing. Much like High Violet, they’re moving further from the band I loved on their early albums. It started with Boxer, when they became the critics darling we know them to be today. They still write good songs, but I feel like they’re just repeating themselves now.
So instead of reviewing the new record, which I know everyone is going to pick up regardless of what I say, I figured I’d use today to remind myself how great The National can be. Here is my top ten songs from their career so far.
10. The Perfect Song
9. Secret Meeting
8. Runaway
7. Abel
6. Start A War
5. Anna Freud
4. Lucky You
3. Fake Empire
2. Mr. November (Ed. note: This is a video Kari shot when we saw them at First Ave in 2009. The audio isn’t perfect, but the end is worth it)
1. Slipping Husband
As always, feel free to add your own lists or tear mine to shreds in the comments section below.
