Levamentum menti, Latin for "comfort for the mind", that's what music is for me. This blog will be an ongoing record of interesting music that I come across. Check it out, maybe something will suit your tastes!
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Well, school restarts on Monday. Not going to lie, I'm not looking forward to it in the slightest, but c'est la vie, right? More importantly, this probably means the summer is pretty much over. Although, just outside my window, I see that the sun is still shining and that the leaves still boast a healthy green, there's no denying that the days no longer extend way beyond dinner time and that what was once sweltering heat has dulled down to more of a warmth reliant on direct sunlight.
But hey, soon enough the long sunny days (as well as the sun's sometimes intolerable heat) will be back once again and, presuming I play my cards right, I'll have many a summer left to bask within. In the meantime, as one does near the end of anything, I'm going to reminisce for a little while listening to this, a piece that captures so readily dat summer feel.
This is "Above The Middle" by ODESZA from their recent LP entitled Summer's Gone. The whole album is a stellar listen if you really like this vibe, available here.
What's in a name? Generally, a song's name will give some idea about the song's lyrical content or atmosphere. For many post-rock artists, the title serves as the only time when the idea(s) behind a song can be expressed with words.
For example, Japanese post-rock band te' have tended to use egregiously long titles such as "True eloquence 'exists' in silent expressions, leaving words purposeless". In the 2005 album At The Soundless Dawn by Red Sparowes, the titles together formed a poem that was a very good complement to the actual music. But, on the opposite side of the spectrum, one of the members of Mogwai allegedly said that the song titles, at least for one of their albums, were completely random. Generally, though, I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to musicians and say that the titles hold some significance.
So why this long diatribe? Well, to give context and partially to justify the rest of the content of this post. The song receiving such the long-winded introduction is "The House Where We Grew Up" by Hammock found on their 2006 album Raising Your Voice... Trying To Stop An Echo.
Looking at the song through its title really adds a layer of atmosphere to the song. The bass and the electric at the beginning give a warm and homely feel. It really takes me back to a simpler time, before all these complications and responsibilities, when the most upsetting thing would be getting home and missing my favourite TV show.
The effected guitar that comes in around midway forms the other half of the equation and adds a ghostly feel that reminds you it is, in fact, memory. That feeling when you remember your past in a vivid but fragmented sense, with a sort of distortion that blurs and fuses pieces together.
To be honest, I don't remember my childhood all that well but if I were to try, this song would be a more-or-less spot-on description.
The story continues where the last entry, with “Dreams” by ohasiTrio, had ended. After sharing the song with a few other friends, one of them asked if I had listened to the “Dancin In The Moonlight” cover (originally by Toploader), which is in the same album as “Dreams”. I hadn’t heard it before and was glad my friend brought it up because it was a good listen.
As an aside, it seems I have a bit of a deficiency when it comes to more upbeat music. Granted, “Dancin In The Moonlight” wouldn’t be characterized as “exuberant” or “ecstatic” but it is at the very least cheerier than the vast majority of my current playlist.
Anyway, the next day, I’m with a few friends, enjoying a sunny late-summer afternoon with a circulating guitar. Eventually someone asks what to play next and someone asks, as one could guess based on the entry so far, “Do you know ‘Dancin In The Midnight’? You know, the one by Toploader”.
But, there is no moral to this story, no greater meaning to be derived, just a pleasantly strange, however transient, sense of cohesion in the backdrop of an otherwise mundane weekend.
Toploader themselves are an English band. "Dancin In The Moonlight" was on their 2000 release Onka's Big Moka. The band went on an extended hiatus following the release of their second album in 2002 due to the disbandment of their label S2. They reconvened to release their third album in 2011 Only Human and since then have continued to be active.
Covers aren't just about replicating a song that one likes, it's about infusing something you like with your own interpretation. I remember hearing Fergie covering "Sweet Child o' Mine" on Slash's solo album a few years ago. I don't really remember if Fergie sang it well but I do remember that she just completely replicated what Axel did on the original, down to the "Ohh"s and the "Yeahheh"s. And that's not a good cover. You can do that in karaoke. Heck, and this is not to disparage Fergie in particular, but you could definitely hear better renditions if you went to karaoke. Although, come to think of it, this probably wouldn't be the best comparison since ultimately it was the same original guitarist playing (i.e. Slash).
So anyway today I heard a cover of "Dreams" originally by The Cranberries, way back in the 90's. It was a mellow re-imagining of the song that still preserved the harmonic bits that made the original so memorable (to me anyway). Well anyway, after a search on YouTube that brought up a lot more covers than I thought existed, I think I found the right one.
The cover is by ohashiTrio (大橋トリオ) who is, I guess ironically, a solo Japanese artist whose musical influences span from jazz to soul to folk to rock. The "Dreams" cover can be found on his 2010 release Fake Book, a cover album. He has since, along with his non-cover work, released two other cover albums, conveniently named Fake Book II and Fake Book III.
I guess after I do make the periodic entries, I always wonder why I even bother keeping this up. I'm pretty sure very few people visit this site and the majority of the music does very little for them. Still, part of me feels like I should have some record of my encounters with music, perhaps to document somehow the progression of my taste in music; certainly, it is much different than it was a year ago (well maybe not a year anymore because I'm pretty sure that was about when I started to really get into the shoegaze thing).
Anyway, here's the second shoegaze/space-rock entry with the airy/spacious song that you can lose yourlsef into (blah blah blah etc etc etc). Stella Luna is an American band from Florida. Their bio page doesn't say much beyond their focus on creating an atmospheric spacey sound, which is definitely apparent in this linked song. This is "Stargazer" from their Stargazer EP (2002). It doesn't seem that Stella Luna has released anything since then.
Oops, I did that thing again. The thing where I don't post for almost a month. This seems to be a recurring pattern. Perhaps it's because I go through phases of finding a bunch of new music and allowing the songs to simmer for a while until I find the ones that I really like. I seem to have been posting in bulk more in the past few months.
Anyway, the next two entries will feature both a shoegaze and space-rock feel. I find both the tempo and the instrumentation produce a really airy and spacious atmosphere, one in which you can really lose yourself.
Guitaro is a Canadian shoegaze trio from Abbotsford, British Columbia. They formed back in 1997 and released their first full-length album Futura Black in 2002. Since then, they have released another album in 2010, JJ's Crystal Palace. This particular song is "Ace Faded On The Scene" from their 2002 album (apparently the version on their earlier EP was slightly different, though I've yet to hear it).
We Are Trees is a group from Virginia. This is "I Don't Believe In Love" from their 2011 EP Girlfriend. The song is simple and very enjoyable. The video is also a treat to watch. I came across this song over at /r/shoegaze and, though I wouldn't ever really associate the genre with this, I'm very glad this was posted up by whomever.
Scarling. is an American noise pop band from Los Angeles. Since forming in 2002, they have released two albums Sweet Heart Dealer (2004) and So Long, Scarecrow (2005). Frontwoman Jessicka had hinted to a new album in 2012 but nothing has since been confirmed. The song below is "Hello London" from the latter 2005 album.
The style of this song and the rest of the album remind me of the Canadian band Joydrop, active in the late 90's, which combined grungy instrumentals with more clear, melodic female vocals, though Joydrop was admittedly post-grunge/alternative as opposed something within the realm of shoegaze or noise pop. Nevertheless, this sort of contrast between the distorted guitars and melodic (female) vocals seems to be a frequent motif particularly in shoegaze (just look at MBV and Slowdive for starters). It certainly adds to the musical layering and I definitely appreciate it.
Maybeshewill is a post-rock band from the United Kingdom. While the label post-rock would definitely apply to their initial releases, the band itself has made an effort to break out of that box by incorporating both elements of electronica as well as heavier rock, the latter of which would probably explain the "post-hardcore" tag on some of their works.
This is "Red Paper Lanterns", a new single released back in March. Sick song, ha. Can't wait for the next album.
Another back-logged post from back when it was still cold.
Cranes are a dream pop band from England; first forming in 1986, they went on hiatus in 1997 for three years before resuming in 2000. Other than the "dream pop" label, they have also been described as "gothic minimalism" (I won't even try to pretend to know what that is). The band is best known for the childlike vocals of lead singer Alison Shaw.
This is "Vanishing Point" from their 2004 album Particles & Waves.
This is a bit of a backlogged entry. I got San Francisco rock group Delta Spirit's latest album, eponymously named Delta Spirit, when it was released back in March. I figure I might as well an entry on it.
Compared to their previous albums, Delta Spirit features much less of an acoustic presence. Instead they've focused on more rock pieces with occasional dreamy elements (but not that much, it still gives off a mostly rock vibe). Perhaps due to the shift towards more a heavier rock sound, the album, as a whole, exudes a bit more energy compared to their previous releases. Despite that shift in style, the comfortable Mid-Western feel that characterized their past albums for me can still be readily discerned (and appreciated).
This is the first track off their aforementioned 2012 album Delta Spirit: "Empty House". And, since we're on the topic, you might as well check out the single released off the album that has an actual music video: "California".
My Bloody Valentine, the pioneers of the distorted, vocally-subdued, and overall noisy shoegaze genre. The band started in Ireland in 1983. Following a 10-year hiatus starting, MBV ran a few reunion shows in 2007 and has very recently released remastered versions of their previous works.
Through all this time, MBV has only released a total of two studio albums, Isn't Anything in 1988 and Loveless in 1991 (though I guess there are a good number of EP's and mini-albums). Despite this scarcity of releases, MBV's music still seems relevant today and serves a dual role of being both a source of inspiration and a point of comparison for shoegaze acts today. Certainly that notoriety is a testament to their impact on the genre.
Anyway, being a huge shoegaze nerd, I just had to buy their remastered works. Originally I was only intending to buy the remastered Loveless, as I was pretty lukewarm to Isn't Anything. Well, that didn't really happen because I accidentally bought the remastered versions of their EP's from 1988-1991 (yeah, I don't know how that happened, maybe it was late). After listening to the double-album, I think that that was probably a great mistake to make. I still bought the remastered Loveless so look forward to another MBV entry when that comes in.
Anyway, here's something from their recently released EP's 1988-1991 album.
Mr. Children is a Japanese pop rock band which formed all the way back in 1988. Well anyway this is "Not Found" from their 2000 album Q. This is a re-recorded version of the song from a 2010 documentary/concert movie that maintains a sense of rawness not found on the album version. I don't know why the drummer keeps yawning though..
Pacific UV is a band from Athens, Georgia. Their style has been said to incorporate features from dream pop, shoegaze, post-rock, and space rock, all with a homely Southern tinge. Their breadth of musical styles is definitely apparent if you give a listen to their eponymous first album from 2003.
Anyway, since I can't make up my mind as to which song to share, I'll link two. I mean since these two songs are slightly different stylistically, I guess it's justifiable... The first song is "Static Waves", which features more dream pop and shoegaze elements (and vocals). The second song is "God Is So Tired", which features more of a shoegaze (at least for the beginning anyway) and post-rock vibe. For the second song, I'd recommend you stay up until 3:00. Oh man, I'm glad I did.
The Black Atlantic is a Norwegian folk band. They released their first album in 2009, Reverence For Fallen Trees,as a free digital download and have recently followed up that release with the EP Darkling, I Listen (2012). The song below, though, is from their first album and features ...someone dancing. Somehow, I think I could stand to appreciate that art form a little more...
Oh hi, my my, it has been quite a while since I've posted. But I've definitely been listening to a lot of new sweet tunes. So, let's get a move on, shall we?
I went to HMV around a month ago just to kill some time and while I was browsing the Pop/Rock section, I bumped into this album with a Chinese girl on it. This was probably the first time I had seen something like this at HMV (other than maybe in the "World" section). Anyway, it was no other than the person in the title, Wanting (or 曲婉婷). Up until this post, I literally thought Wanting was her moniker but it's literally her name Qu Wan Ting. I guess it can still be a play on words...
Anyway, originally coming from China, she went to Canada in her teenage years to study and (from what I can tell, being unable to read any Chinese websites about this) has recently released a few singles and an album Everything In The World (the album cover says Wanting Everything In The World, so I guess that confirms the play on words part).
Having been in notable acts such as Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins, Montreal-native Melissa Auf der Maur is no newcomer to the rock scene. She released her first solo album, Auf der Maur, in 2004. Her second album was released back in 2010 entitled Out Of Our Minds. Overall, I found this album much more enjoyable than the first one. The musical breadth/variety (does that make sense?) is more expansive than its somewhat monotonous grunge-influenced predecessor.
This is the second single off the latter album, also entitled "Out Of Our Minds".
惘闻 (Wang Wen) are a rock/post-rock band from China. Their bios on various sites say that the band began in 1999 with two guitarists with a particular fondness for The Smashing Pumpkins and a drummer, after whom the band was named. This is 污水塘, translated as "Sewage Pond" though idiomatically it's probably more along the lines of "Sewer" or something (perhaps I oughtta consider picking up my semi-mother tongue sometime later), which can be found on their 2008 album IV.
Having Chinese music being completely synonymous to pop music for the entirety of my life, I was very surprised when I first heard Wang Wen's stuff, though I suppose that it seems more of an inevitability with a country with over a billion people. I guess that's what happens when the only Chinese media that I follow comes from a single television channel and a couple of radio stations.
This is "C/O Night" by Ioseb, a Swedish post-rock band whom describe their music as "great ambient atmospheres and beautiful harmonies in which the thin vocals embrace you as warm hands on a frosty December morning". I think that description does a good job of conveying what I felt when I first heard this song. In the context of its album, this song is the calm before the storm: the song prior to this is entitled "The Declaration" and the songs following are titled after various images of war. This is also explains the ending of the song (which is not a glitch on the Youtube video) that consists of an abrupt, distorted ending transitioning immediately into some sort of radio call and sirens, quite frightening really. This song can be found on their 2009 album The Ghost Of Thirty-Three.
I bid welcome once again for I hath returneth from the nether! A great evil had stricken the lands and I had no choice but to do battle. And long was my struggle. But I have come out victorious! Now with Lord Diablo many times slain, the gods have deemed it appropriate that I return to my native realm so that I may continue my worldly affairs. I mean there are a bunch of other reasons for why I had simply abandoned this place in May but let's just keep it simple and blame my lack of self-control when it comes to gaming.
But I digress..
Since my last entry, the vast majority of the music I had been sampling was of the post-rock genre so at least a few of the next entries will be a smattering of that. This is "At Last Ashore" by Giants, an American post-rock band. This song consists of a hopeful cadenced melody set to a slower, laid back tempo. Listening to this song elicits images of a bittersweet victory march following a long, arduous struggle. A sort of victory that one would rather not experience should they have had a choice to avoid the conflict in the first place. The song ends with a fade, signifying a continued pushing forward. This song can be found on their 2008 album Old Stories.
In the past I tried my best not to post more than one song from albums but I think I'll do away with that little rule of mine. There's another good song on that album for which I'll write a post later.
