The MGMT Effect: Boy Crisis | Amazing Baby
Like MGMT, Boy Crisis make highly danceable electro-pop that’s so brutally hip and “now” that it hurts. Like MGMT, Boy Crisis went to Wesleyan (were they were like bffz or something), currently reside in Brooklyn and are into all sorts of sprightly psychedelia. And like MGMT, it took me the better part of six months to get over my initial dislike for them and, just like MGMT, they’re making me realize how fucking wrong my original judgment of them was. In the same way I wonder how I ever disliked pop behemoths like “Kids” and “Electric Feel”, listening to Boy Crisis’ “Dressed To Digress” now makes me wonder if my ears were even working when they first crossed my radar back in January. I’m now aware that the hype and rampant A&R buzz surrounding them is more than justified, and I hope you’ll feel the same way.
MP3: “Dressed To Digress” - Boy Crisis
Then there’s Amazing Baby, who I still haven’t quite come around on, but then again it’s only been a few weeks since I was tipped off on them and given my track record, I really can’t write them off just yet. Most of the above similarities between Boy Crisis and MGMT apply here, only Amazing Baby didn’t go to Wesleyan, rather they’re principally comprised of the former members of Stylophone and MGMT frontman Andrew VanWyngarden’s supermodel girlfriend. You can expect more of the same in the psychedelic tribal space-pop department though, and as is the case with any band with even the most tenuous link to MGMT these days, they’re getting no shortage of A&R attention of their own. Worth the hype? You decide.
MP3: “Head Dress” - Amazing Baby
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:37 am
It may take me 6 months to like this Boy Crisis too. However it took me all of 6 seconds to like Amazing Baby.
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:15 am
Boy Crisis: Two fists up the arse. (Praise.)
Amazing Baby: Here today, gone today (to quote Mr Chris Rock).
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:24 am
Both bands and MGMT: Two cocks deep up the arse.
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Amazing Baby do a pretty good impression of 1977 Bowie… which isn’t a bad thing.
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:30 pm
This might not mean much to you but, I love this blog and just this blog.
I’ve been searching for ages for a music blogs where I could find new music that wasn’t bland and fit my tastes and I truthfully think my search is done.
Thank you good sir.
July 7th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
ANDY MULLEN: THE TOENAIL JAR
Is He Folk Music’s New Bad Boy?
“Andy Mullen sports the rich baritone of Crash Test Dummies’ Brad Roberts and a sense of humor somewhere between Bob Newhart and a classic cast of Saturday Night Live. “
_ Performing Songwriter

Andy Mullen plays music that he describes as, “folk fusion,” but don’t get the wrong idea, there is nothing sedate or staid about it. Rather, his music bursts out of the speakers in a stream of imagery and sound, and Mullen’s command of his craft is so palpable that in listening, one immediately knows they are hearing an artist with his own unique vision of life and music.
His new self-produced album, The Toenail Jar, downloadable for free at his site www.andymullenmusic.com, showcases the NYC based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist coming of age both as a musician and as a person in a multitude of ways.
His clever lyrics will instantly grab your attention, but behind the humor is a man with a fierce intelligence and the soul of a poet. His ability to fashion the insane beauty and unexpected heartache of everyday life into short, well-crafted songs with catchy melodies and sharply etched image is remarkable.” _PlanetOut.com
Featuring his exceptional finger-picking style on guitar, the songs’ arrangements are uncommonly skillful, with light and subtle touches, like the fiddle and djembe on “Sun Goes Up, Sun Goes Down,” and the galloping banjo on “Quit Quittin’,” all which inspire a quiet sense of joy and wonder.
The utterly moving “So Does The Beer” tells the story of the death of his father, who died while he recorded the album. The song is an affectingly wry observation on love and loss; his vocals perfectly convey the balance of sadness and acceptance, while never succumbing to excessive sentimentality.
“Simple and stunning acoustic folk.” _Hybrid
But the album is also a showcase for Mullen’s wry and subtly wicked sense of humor, befitting an artist who calls himself “Folk Music’s New Bad Boy.” “Crooked Deck” inspires a multitude of smiles, in his description of himself as a man in possession of only, “The same rhyme all the time/Smokes and jokes and a dozen lines/They say that all I ever sing about is booze.” It’s ironic without being at all jaded, and in that, it is utterly invigorating.
For more information on Andy Mullen, contact:
Jess Haviland
PAI Media Ink
212.206.1598
jess@paimedia.com
Download The Toenail Jar at: www.andymullenmusic.com
July 8th, 2008 at 10:29 am
That’s some random spam.
New Bloc Party then?
July 8th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
yo yo, i want to hear what you think of the new bloc record..not what i was hoping for
July 14th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
I know! I thought you’d be all over Mercury on this thing… Guess not. Hell, GvB isn’t even joining in on the Bloc Party discussion. Oh well, personally I love it. And Gordy’s having a kid in August!
oh yeah, Amazing Baby is good!
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:29 am
who is andrew vanwyngardens supermodel girlfriend?
July 31st, 2008 at 1:31 pm
FYI:
Will Berman and Simon O’Connor of Amazing Baby went to Wesleyan with Andrew and Ben from MGMT.
“Andrew VanWyngarden’s supermodel girlfriend” is actually Will Berman’s (now drummer for MGMT) ex-girlfriend.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:34 pm
her name’s Leah Cary