Monday 12 March 2012

Jake VS The Hipsters

Anyone wanted to see Jake Gyllenhaal go batshit crazy and kill a load of hipsters... well today is your lucky day.

Lost in The Trees- A Church That Fits Our Needs

I first discovered Lost in The Tree's Anti- Debut in the last few months of 2010, a dark little masterpiece dallied with tragedy in a base emotional gut wrenching way... Lost in the trees not only excelled with the beautiful multi-instrumental orchestra melodies but with Ari Picker's band defining knack of storytelling, virtually unchallenged by contemporaries, to create surreal and multi-meaning tales within the grandose. I was most grateful to see them at SXSW last March and the live show more than lived up to expectations. It's been a long wait but after an abandoned visit (subject to the postponement of Magnum's ATP) Lost in the Trees play the lexington tonight and yesterday NPR presented "A Church That Fits Our Needs", the forthcoming new album...
A Church is sadly based around the death of Picker's mother and therefore is undoubtably a very personal but beautiful reflection of her life. Lost in the trees have created a heartbreaking masterpiece which while suceeds for untrained ears being merely lovely, will force any listen to stop where they are doing and completley drench themselves in one of the year's most powerful releases.

Listen now on NPR:
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/11/147982033/first-listen-lost-in-the-trees-a-church-that-fits-our-needs

Monday 5 March 2012

A Week in Releases- Monday 5th March 2012

Another week, Another load of albums out of the gate to ring in March.

Album of The Week: Ceremony- Zoo (Matador)


Certainly Matador's signing follow up to Fucked Up, Ceremony's first for the label "Zoo" more than justifies why Ceremony are the best of the (former) Bridge Nine bunch, kicking off with the throbbing riff and pounding drums of album opener "Hysteria" which leads with the guitar attack of the Bronx before they wasted everyone's time being "Mariachi" and is the album's true punk sing along. Zoo is certainly not as genre pushing as Ceremony's masterpiece "Rohnert Park" and Ceremony are certainly beginning to show their rock n roll aspirations over their past incarnation of power violence on the aptly title "violence violence" but it's all apart of the journey. Producer John Goodmanson polishes up the sound in a way that allows it to be both accessible and expansion, but "Zoo" does not lose much of the intensity of the band's back catalogue, it merely develops past the insular sensibility of "Rohnert Park" wearing it's hidden pop aspirations of it's sleeve. A solid introduction to a brand new age.




In other releases... Bruce Springsteen starts to show his age on the quite frankly painfully plodding new album "Wrecking Ball" A Solid opener (the single "We Take Care Of Our Own") leaps into Springsteen's weakest release for a long time, with the white collar "Easy Money" never really ringing anywhere near the social middle american stories Bruce has created in the past. While "Shackled & Drawn" belongs squarely on a white trash Country Music Station... Has Springsteen lost his everyman appeal, well not exactly... but there are several misteps on this record which sound more like a millionare condescending his own audience in the pursuit of saving up for another rainy day. (3)

Proving there's more to Scranton, PA than just Jim Halpert and Dwight Schrute, The Menzinger's third studio album "Oh The Impossible Past" is a welcome signing to the frankly stale Epitaph. A Mid-Tempo Punk Rock Slow Burner which literally glows with melodies and bleeds a timeless love of passionate, dedicated rock n roll delivery. (8)