For the Record...

Paul Cary - The Curse of China Bull

Paul Cary is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Before going solo work he played with The Horrors  as vocalist and guitarist. Not sure why it has taken me so long to stumble upon his music. He split an EP with Thee Oh Sees in 2009 and was part of the SXSW line-up this year. Anyway, this is a pretty good album. Gritty, hobbling, outsider blues… Did I mention it is a free (and legal) download over at Candy Dinner? 

Ty Segall - Imaginary Person + Gloria (live video)

From San Fransisco, California. He’s quite involved in the DIY garage rock movement coming out of San Fran. He has split EPs with Thee Oh Sees, collaborated with Sic Alps, and good buddies with Sonny & the Sunsets (also coming to Primavera Sound this year). He plays drums, guitar, vocals… It is a shame I’ve come on to his music so late. This is going to be really energetic live experience. Just listen to the whole album and you will see what I mean. I have a good feeling. Can’t wait!

Factory Floor - Lying

Factory Floor are a post-punk (an almost completely meaningless term)  band from London. Their sound reminds me of a futuristic dystopic movie about a nihilistic people and their repetitive machine music. Or they could be a Borg top 40 band. Either way, I definitely recommend. The audio space is sparse and minimal. I really enjoy the unexpected beat changes and the very satisfying build-ups to cacophony. I can definitely hear a bit of Suicide (also will be at Primavera Sound this year) inlfuence in their music as well. Probably a good live band.

Esquivel and His Orchestra - The Peanut Vendor (El Manisero)

Juan García Esquivel (January 20, 1918 – January 3, 2002) often simply known as Esquivel!, was a Mexican band leader, pianist, and composer for television and films. He is recognized today as one of the foremost exponents of a sophisticated style of largely instrumental music that combines elements of lounge music and jazzwith Latin flavors. Esquivel is sometimes called “The King of Space Age Pop” and “The Busby Berkley of Cocktail Music.” Esquivel is considered one of the foremost exponents of a style of late 1950s-early 1960s quirky instrumental pop that became known (in retrospect) as “Space Age Bachelor Pad Music”. -via wikipedia

I’ve been hitting Esquivel! hard lately. Especially with spring in blossom it seems like there is never a wrong moment for Esquivel. So with this in mind I’m going to dedicate a little more verbiage than I normally do.

Esquivel had a lost album called “See it in Sound”. He recorded it in 1960, but due to concerns over its commercial viability it never saw light until 1998 after someone finally wised up and put some money behind it. This album is a pretty amazing experience. I imagine that he took a lot from his experience from scoring cinema and TV to make this album. Apart from enjoying it on a purely musical level, when I finish listening to the album I feel like I just got back from somewhere really cool. Hard to describe. On a musical level, it’s not just a novel use of soundscaping. Occasionally Esquivel isn’t afraid to let the samples’ knickers show by purposely exposing the loop end points in somewhat of a fourth wall fashion. The music really does have a narrative with an arc and a conclusion. As for “The Peanut Vendor (El Manisero)”, think of it as a trailer for a movie. Its the first track and I dont want to give away the ending. The pacing is really nice. Before you know it your foot will be tapping and then almost just as quickly feel disappointment as it ends and fades into the next scene. High art.

I should mention… Unfortunately 1998 wasn’t very kind to Esquivel’s album artwork so instead I posted some of his earlier covers. 

Suuns - Armed for Peace

Suuns (formerly called Zeroes) are from Montreal. They will be playing (on a Thursday) the Parc del Forum stage at Primavera Sound this year. Their sound is dark, droney, synth laden, with falsetto vocals, sometimes downright danceable… They have some moments during the album that remind me quite a bit of Colder. But still, lots of guitar and drums so they dont steer too far from rock roots. They sound like they would be fun to see live. Looking forward to it.

Frank Zappa - The Gumbo Variations

Frank Zappa was über prolific. That’s part of the reason it has taken me this long to get to him. There is just so much to go through and every release is unique. Stylistically he was all over the place and nowhere at the same time. Hard to define. Also, for being a legend in pop history Zappa hasn’t gotten a whole lot of air time. So, a lot of the tunes were new to me when I first heard them (opposite effect of the Beatles). On top of it all, Zappa wasn’t the most selective person. In my opinion there is a lot of stuff that clouds the view to the true gems.

“The Gumbo Variations” is basically a 17 min white hot jam session. Bass guitar, sax and drums are off the hook. By the way, I don’t want to miss lead anyone. Anyone expecting the other tracks on this album to sound smilar to this will be surprised. Like I said; all over the place. Did I mention he was kind of crazy and a provocateur?

The Feelies - The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness

“Of the countless bands to emerge from the New York City underground during the post-punk era, few if any were as unique and influential as the Feelies; nerdy, nervous, and noisy, even decades later their droning, skittering avant-garde pop remains a key touchstone of the American indie music scene.” - AllMusic.com

For me this another one of those legendary bands that I had never heard of. When I heard them for the first time I had an immediate connection. Nervous tempo, jangley guitars, no fuss bass line. When I listen to them I can hear The Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground, sometimes even a bit of Joy DIvision.

The Black Keys - Busted + You’re Touch (live)

The Black Keys are two guys (just guitar and drums) from Akron, Ohio. They draw heavily from the blues. In fact quite a few of their songs are old obscure blues man covers. They are pretty well known and respected, so no discovery here. However, often I have a craving to hear something raw with heavy distortion and minimal set-up. The Black Keys always deliver this for me…loud, crunch, minimal. This track is from their first album, The Big Come Up. Would love to catch them live if I ever have the chance. 

The Ladies - Black Ceaser/Red Sonja

The Ladies are Zach Hill and Rob Crow from Southern California. The Ladies is/was(?) one of their many side projects. There isn’t a whole lot of information about them, but unfortunately it seems like it was a short lived side project. They made a little bit if a stir when their album dropped back in 2006. I haven’t heard or seen much since. Black Ceaser/Red Sonja is the lead track off this, their only album. It set the tone for everything else in the way it falls apart and then puts itself back together again. They manage to create quite a unique sound. I recommend listening the album as a whole. It is quite short! Oh, and the drums are ridiculous (especially on other tracks from the album).

CFCF - Crystal Mines + video interview

CFCF is an electronic musician from Montreal. His brand of Electro/Italo disco is understated but detail oriented. I first heard of him on the Health//Disco remixes but apparently that is just the tip of the iceberg where remixes are concerned. Anyhow, this track is from an album I’ve been enjoying lately called Panesian Nights. Just with a quick listen you can tell that he must be quite the music geek. The video interview above will confirm this. Perfect music to work to.

Holy Fuck - Red Lights

Holy Fuck are from Canada. They make electronic music but without computers or backing tracks. Its all generated live with found objects (35mm film synchronizer, toy phaser guns, etc.) and instruments. Their live shows boil over with energy and sound which tends to make the crowd verge on ecstatic, but don’t take my word for it. Looks they will be performing at Primavera Club this November so hopefully I’ll get to catch them a second time. 

Gold Panda - You

Gold Panda is from London. He has made a name for himself making remixes for other musicians(Bloc Party, Lemonade, etc.) along with with a single here and there. This is from his first LP called Lucky Shiner. Pretty amazing sound detail as a whole and lots of diversity. Definitely worth a listen with the a nice pair of headphones!

You can check out most, if not all, the songs on his new LP on his SoundCloud page.