Good Weather For Airstrikes

Here with their debut single, Sunny Day Sets Fire deliver a perfect slice of shimmery, summery indie pop; the flawless companion to the lengthened light and relieved responsibility of summer. With Mewish vocals and an ascending xylophone progression as catchy as any single piece of instrumentation this year, the multinational (two Italians on guitars, a percussionist from Hong Kong, and a Brit on bass) quartet prove their knack for writing irresistible pop gems. In a perfect world, “Wilderness” narrowly beats out “Young Folks” as the #1 single of the summer, people never grow old and tracks like this never lose that new car smell. Back to reality though; I discovered my first grey hair (seriously) and “Wilderness” loses some of it’s shining luster with repeated listens and the changing of the seasons, but the track remains a wholly impressive debut nonetheless.

MP3: “Wilderness” - Sunny Day Sets Fire

Oh hell yeah. Any doubts caused by the incredible mediocrity of “SexyBack” just got obliterated; Timbaland is back. Not since “Cry Me A River” (the pinnacle of American radio pop in the last ten years, in my opinion) have we seen Timbaland operate at this level of perfection, as he drops an absolutely immaculate beat over which JT sings the love song anthem of the new millenium, the yin to “Cry Me A River”’s break-up tragedy yang. With vocals, verses and sentiment not far off from those found in Sebastien Tellier’s equally-flawless “La Ritournelle”, “My Love” gives “Maneater” a real run for its money as the pop jam of 2006. Yeah, T.I. drops by to spit some verses towards the end of the song, but by that point he’s Mr. Irrelevant; the deal’s already been sealed and Timbaland’s re-established his reign over the pop charts.

[NOTE: We’re going YouSendIt style on this one, I’m not trying to get my house bombed by Jive.]

MP3: “My Love” - Justin Timberlake ((highly recommended)) [follow link]

Also, since “My Love” has me so jazzed on life right now, here’s the title track from the upcoming FutureSex/LoveSounds. Note that while “My Love” is rocking an album-quality 320 kbps, “FutureSex/LoveSounds” is a 128 kbps rip. Just sayin’.

Bonus MP3: “FutureSex/Lovesounds” - Justin Timberlake [follow link]

The Epochs are a band who’s sound is somewhat difficult to describe. They themselves used the wide-ranging genre terminology of “electronic/rock/pop”, though the ‘pop’ label may be a stretch. Formed by Ryan and Hays Holladay in Arlington, Virginia (thus making them, like, the only good thing to come out of Northern Virginia, ever), The Epochs used a wide variety of sounds on their 2002 debut, Ten Billion Light Years of Solitude.

The album took the two brothers over a year to complete, though after repeated listens it’s hard to argue with the results. Three new members have since been added to the band to help to translate the multitude of sounds found on their album into a live setting, and the band relocated operations to New York, where they performed regularly at The Knitting Factory and Nublu.

The band’s interesting sound and strong work ethic slowly built up a buzz around New York City, and record label DC3 signed them over a year ago. The Epochs recorded a promotional EP for DC3 with five songs, one of which, “Mouths to Feed”, instantly stands out as one of the more appealing singles in recent memory.

The Epochs relocated to Seattle for the recording process of their follow-up album. The band has cut ties with DC3 and intend to self-release their new album in the next couple months. A single from the upcoming release, “Opposite Sides”, recently won an online contest held by Diesel Jeans for Best American Rock song. “Opposite Sides” is now entered in to Diesel’s worldwide song contest, which can be voted on here. The winner will be announced on October 4 in London, which will likely coincide with the release of The Epochs new album.

Included for download below is the award-winning “Opposite Sides”, the aforementioned “Mouths to Feed”, and “The Giving Tree”, the standout track from Ten Billion Light Years of Solitude.

[NOTE: This is not the first time we’ve posted on this band, some of you long-time readers (do you exist?) may remember one of our earliest artist profiles concerning the Epochs. This will likely not be the last time we post on them, either, as we hope to get our hands on some of the finalized new material to post in the near future.]

MP3s:
“Opposite Sides” - The Epochs
“Mouths to Feed” - The Epochs ((highly recommended))
“The Giving Tree” - The Epochs

The Rapture are a very polarizing group: they have a rabidly loyal fanbase that eats up anything they release, but they have more than their fair share of haters. Though past releases have kept up this attitude with challenging instrumentation and Matty Safer’s yelp-singing, “Get Myself Into It” is, for better or worse, much more straightforward. Safer’s vocals are still urgent, and the vocal hooks are just as, if not more, infectious as on previous outings. They are, however, more glossed over, due to Danger Mouse’s slick-as-usual production. It’s a more neutral Safer on this track, and that could definitely turn off hardcore fans of the Rapture’s earlier material.

This is not meant in any way to slight “Get Myself Into It”, as the lead single for the upcoming Pieces Of The People We Love it is one of the most instantly catchy and overall fun songs so far this year. There’s no grace period with “Get Myself Into It”. The first time you hear it, you’ll either be sold or not. I was sold, and I imagine most others will be. The chorus is outrageously straightforward, which is always a hit-or-miss proposition, but The Rapture pull it off gloriously, creating an instant singalong. As usual, The Rapture add unique instrumentation to the track, most notably the striking horns that help buoy the chorus. In essence, The Rapture have created a perfect summer jam: instantly recognizable with impossibly easy lyrics and an unequivocally upbeat feel. The Rapture may not have been the first band a hipster would consider able to make a song that literally anybody could like, but they’ve certainly succeeded with flying colors; “Get Myself Into It” seems equally at home nestled between “Promiscuous” and “SexyBack” as it does “Obstacle 1″ and “In This Home On Ice”.

The b-side here is a “disco edit” courtesy of Prince Language, which, um, doesn’t change the song at all really (snooze).

MP3: “Get Myself Into It” - The Rapture
MP3: “Get Myself Into It” (Prince Language Disco Edit) - The Rapture

Bonus MP3: “I Need Your Love” (Ewan’s Stay In School Mix) - The Rapture

First of all, hats off to best-reader-ever Jamie, who tipped me off on this incredible track. I’ve already preached the gospel of Phones from the rooftops once before here, posting nearly his entire remixography, but now the man behind the moniker, Paul Epworth, is back with a new project to blow y’all’s minds. Said new project is Epic Man, Phones’ first foray into producing his own tracks, and the first track to surface from the forthcoming LP is likely lead single “More Is Enough”, featuring grime newcomer Plan B spitting hot fire over Phones’ ridiculous beat. Phones describes the sound as “Prince and Eno having a brain-off with Quincy Jones”, and though I really have no idea what that’s supposed to sound like, I can tell you that if it’s anything like the sound established on “More Is Enough”, than it’s downright bananas. While Plan B’s verses are good in their own right, Phones completely owns the track with a beat so hot it’s fucking molten.

Dramatic synth stabs open the track before a barrage of handclaps enter the frame and Plan B begins his rapidfire lyrical assault on the listener. Low-frequency synths underly the track, popping in from time to time, before a spiraling freak-out synth solo takes center stage at the two-minute mark. Further description is futile as this is the kind of track that needs to be heard to be believed, but rest assured it’s easily one of the year’s hottest tracks and my favorite rap track released to this point.

MP3: “More Is Enough (feat. Plan B)” - Epic Man ((highly recommended))

One more Epic Man track is available at Phones’ MySpace (here), where a new Phones remix, of Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole” is also available. And as I said yesterday, Green Pea-ness, possibly the only other blogger to fully share my appreciation and enthusiasm for Paul Epworth, has Phones’ other new remix, for The Music’s “Freedom Fighters”, available here. For now though, here are two bonus selections from Phones’ esteemed remix work, my two favorite remixes of his, his incredible reworkings of The Futureheads’ “Hounds of Love” and Tom Vek’s “I Ain’t Sayin’ My Goodbyes”.

Bonus MP3s: ((highly recommended))
“Hounds of Love” (Phones’ Wolves At The Door Mix) - The Futureheads
“I Ain’t Sayin’ My Goodbyes” (Phones’ 12″ Version) - Tom Vek

The Raconteurs second single, “Hands”, doesn’t quite meet the expectations set by “Steady As She Goes”. I don’t mean to slight Brendan Benson, whom I love, but his vocals don’t fit as seamlessly as Jack White’s did for “Steady As She Goes”. Benson’s voice seems more at home in the lighter, indie-pop fare of songs like his excellent “Cold Hands (Warm Heart)”, and the heavy, chugging guitars of “Hands” are more White Stripes-esque than anything Benson has done previously. The intro sets the tone for the whole track’s classic-rock feel, and the lyrics (starting with “girl, you got those hands”) are consistent with the feel of the song, though not anything to write home about. Following up a single of the caliber of “Steady As She Goes” is a hard act to follow, and “Hands” is certainly an ambitious song, it just doesn’t quite hit the mark it’s aiming for.

MP3: “Hands” - The Raconteurs

Also available for download is an acoustic rendition of first single “Steady As She Goes”, from it’s single release, and a fantastic mash-up of “Steady As She Goes” with Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” courtesy of The Legion of Doom.

Bonus MP3s:
“Steady As She Goes” (Acoustic) - The Raconteurs
“Crazy As She Goes” - The Legion of Doom

Though the song dwells in mediocrity (in the nicest way possible), the video is fantastic. Director Ramon Bloomberg, who’s one of the hottest young names in the music video business, came to me with the opportunity to premier the video for the song, and I’m quite flattered as it’s an excellent clip. A very clever play on the “Hands” title of the song, the video follows the Raconteurs (and this awesome magician fellow) as they break free from jail and seek asylum in a school for young deaf girls. This is where the whole “Hands” thing comes in, as the only way to communicate with these girls is via sign language, thus everything comes full circle and we all go “Hey, that’s clever” and everyone wins. Finally, the video provides evidence of the Raconteurs extreme rocking ability, as even the deaf and hearing impaired can get in on the rocking-out action.

Video: “Hands” - The Raconteurs

It’s looking more and more like Guillemots will be firmly entrenched in my #2 favorite band spot by the end of this year, and seeing them live (if my dream ever materializes) should only further lock up that title for them, if the quality of this live session is anything to go by. Guillemots are my favorite kind of live band - the kind that takes the extra time to ensure that their live show is more than just a by-the-numbers recital of their most recent album and reinvent their songs for the live setting. Very few of the songs in this set go un-reworked, and the band to a great job of spreading their setlist over their entire career, rather than merely focusing on their new debut LP, Through The Windowpane, as they take two tracks from their debut I Saw Such Things In My Sleep EP (”Lovesong” and “Lights Off”), two tracks from their American debut, 2006’s From The Cliffs mini-album (”Trains” and “Go Away”), two new songs from Windowpane (the title track, “If The World Ends” and closer “Sao Paolo”), as well as including one brand new non-album track, “Sea Out”.

Recorded on May 2nd of this year at France’s legendary Les Black Sessions, this session really provides one a good taste of Guillemots oft-experimental live show. The stuttering piano line in “Windowpane” has never sounded better than it does here, new track “Sea Out” plods along but ultimately pleases, and “Who Left The Lights Off, Baby” is spiced up with out-of-nowhere crushing guitars that veers away from the sugarcoated pop of the original and adds a whole new dynamic to the song. “If The World Ends” stay fairly true to the album version, as does “Trains To Brazil”, but “Made Up Lovesong” undergoes a complete (and awesome) revamping the original with an acoustic, chimey intro. “Go Away” is good and all as well, but it’s closer “Sao Paolo”, cut down from it’s behemoth 11:42 run-time to a pussy-ass 9:53, that really makes you want to fly anywhere in the world to see this band.

SOUND QUALITY: A-

Guillemots, Les Black Sessions:
01. “Through The Windowpane”
02. “Sea Out”
03. “Who Left The Lights Off, Baby”
04. “If The World Ends”
05. “Made Up Lovesong #43″
06. “Trains To Brazil”
07. “Go Away”
08. “Sao Paolo”

More and more I find my musical taste becoming more focused on three distinct genres: ambitious pop music, slickly-produced dance tracks and well, Britpop. So much so that I’ve begun to wonder if there will come a day when my listening habits will have devolved to the point that I listen exclusively to Guillemots, Bloc Party and whatever it is Paul Epworth and Erol Alkan are up to at the time - which, if things keep going the way they are now for Epworth and Alkan, will probably consist primarily of “ruling the world”. However, every once and a while a song like “All Fires”, which couldn’t stray further from any of those categories, comes along and bitch-slaps me right back to square one.

As you’ve probably read on every blog ever by now, Swan Lake is the new collaboration between Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade), Dan Bejar (Destroyer, New Pornographers) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes), and “All Fires” is the first track available off of their Jagjaguwar debut, Beast Moans, which is to be released this November. Now I’m a big fan of the New Pornographers (see: “ambitious pop music”), but Wolf Parade’s always been pretty hit or miss for me and neither Destroyer (Bejar’s main gig) nor Wolf Eyes have ever really gotten much love from my iPod. But while I might not be so stoked on the individual parts, the sum of the whole sure is pretty damn excellent.

While all three members provide vocals in their respective individual projects, Krug takes the vocal reins here, though there’s no telling how this will be handled on the unheard remainder of the album. The trio’s bio describes their collaboration as the three coming together “as if stuck in a sea-storm, in a sinking boat, forced to bail together”. Interestingly enough, this is the scene evoked by “All Fires”, as Krug sings of a flood, “a world of water”, and the tragedy of a town’s struggle to survive. The most stirring moment comes in the fourth and fifth verses, as Krug sings with haunting simplicity of the townspeoples’ futile struggle for life:

One thousand people
Did what they could.
They found the steeple
And tore out the wood.

Five hundred pieces
Means five hundred float.
One thousand people means
Five hundred don’t.

Through it all, Krug, Bejar and Mercer stand huddled together on high ground, instruments in hand and rain beating down on their backs, helplessly watching the disaster unfold below. The tragedy of it all is summed up perfectly in the final refrain - “all fires have to burn alive to live”. That is, hardship and grief are the necessity of life, and though many refuse to accept this fact, “All Fires” is the sound of the Swan Lake collective accepting what so many cannot. Beast Moans comes out on November 21st on Jagjaguwar, click here for more information.

MP3: “All Fires” - Swan Lake ((highly recommended))

ELSEWHERE: Green Pea-ness has the new Phones’ remix, which despite being commissioned by The Music (who are um, dreadful), retains Epworth’s high standard of quality and hotness.

[front and back cover art adapted from JP33.com]

Never has simplistic repetition sounded better than on Sebastien Tellier’s “La Ritournelle”. The song was first brought to our attention after the posting of our top songs of 2005 list, when a reader notified us of the glaring omission of this phenomenally lush electronica piece courtesy of the French Tellier. The song clocks in at slightly over seven and a half minutes, and the vocals don’t kick in until past the halfway mark, but it’s the stunning four minute intro that holds much of the beauty of this masterpiece. The same drum loop persists throughout the song, carried by the simple but gorgeous melody courtesy of a piano. The differentiation lies in the beautiful strings that layer the background and occasionally creep in to the forefront for deserved attention. The vocals only occupy a minute of the song, and though they do add another dimension while they’re there and are certainly pretty, “La Ritournelle” is better in the instrumental moments.

Unfortunately, if Tellier is trying to break in to the American marker, he’s starting with a few strikes against him from a music marketing standpoint. The mellow nature of the track keeps it off the dancefloors of American clubs, and the lengthy running time will inhibit it’s successes across the pond, in the nation where attention spans are limited to, on average, eight seconds. French electronica artists have had their share of success in the U.S. (see: Daft Punk, Air [a band Tellier has opened for in concert], Telepopmusik), but projecting commercial success for Tellier is somewhat presumptuous; If Tellier can follow Air’s lead and get tapped to make a movie soundtrack, that may be the break he needs. It launched Air’s success in the U.S., and it (sort of) worked for Explosions in the Sky. Regardless of whether “La Ritournelle” sees the success it deserves, it is a fantastic track. As we in the blogosphere know, commercial success and musical quality do not go hand in hand (just ask James Blunt), and nobody can dispute the beauty of “La Ritournelle”.

Fortunately for those of us Americans sharing in the national attention deficit, the b-side comes packed with excellent remixes aplenty, courtesy of Mr. Dan and Metronomy. Mr. Dan’s Magic Wand Remix is almost less of a remix and more of a single edit, as it cuts the song down from its seven and a half minute run time to a much more managable three and a half minutes, and loops the vocals throughout the entire song, increasing the track’s immediacy and accessibility tenfold. On top of all that, he adds a beautiful xylophone riff - his only major new contribution to the mix - to the instrumentation, taking the remix to a level that nearly surpasses the original, though the two can’t really be compared. Metronomy takes a different route altogether, synthesizing all of the original instrumentation, doing away with those beautiful strings (but making up for it with catchy booms and bips), and speeding up the vocals, which are again looped throughout the entire track.

MP3s:
“La Ritournelle” - Sebastien Tellier ((highly recommended))
“La Ritournelle” (Mr. Dan’s Magic Wand Remix) - Sebastien Tellier
“La Ritournelle” (Metronomy Remix) - Sebastien Tellier

[Click here to purchase from Rough Trade]