the national bibliographical society

a cave, a canoo

2009-10-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

A Cave, A Canoo is Shelley Short's third release on Hush records and, to my delight, arrived at my door yesterday morning. I’ve been listening through her two other Hush releases, Water for the Day and Captain Wildhorse, a good deal lately and find her soft, sparse songs the perfect accompaniment to autumn’s arrival. Short’s music is ostensibly folk and, like much of that genre, feels intimate and personal, engaging the listener in a private, quiet world. Short plays acoustic guitar and sings, in a lightly affected, sweet and youthful tone. In doing so she produces subtle and enchanting folk songs.

Short’s songs unfold slowly and sometimes charmingly clumsily. In A Cave, for instance, a jaunty piano provides a proxy percussive backing to Short’s singing. This is a theme in A cave, A Canoo, where the simplicity and delicacy of the melodies is often contrasted by glimpses of darker, more foreboding instrumentation. In Familiar. the album’s second track, Short’s acoustic plucking and singing is joined by tinkling piano and a jarring bass tone, which seems to grow in menace throughout, to produce an unsettling dichotomy. All through the album Short marries her own playing with elements of the epic or baroque. This is reminiscent of Nina Nastasia and Jim White’s album You Follow Me in which Nastasia’s singing was given an altogether different dynamic by White’s raw, clamorous drumming. In contrast though, A Cave, A Canoo is quieter, with more space afforded to Short’s vocals; the instrumentation often hushed. This is a great album, an album which rewards the listener for repeated plays with its detailed, if understated, compositions.

Shelley Short is playing in Leeds on the 17/11/09 at Nation of Shopkeepers.

The Wooden Birds - Magnolia

2009-10-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

For my return to the fabled Natbib - now back up and running after more than a year - I thought I would hark back to May of this year to Magnolia, debut release of The Wooden Birds.

As the newest project of The American Analog Set's Andrew Kenny, Magnolia does play like an AmAnSet album, albeit one recorded in a powercut. Vastly acoustic, and with a much higher emphasis on rhythmic tapping and strumming than any of Kenny's previous output, this album is an accessible and upbeat continuation of Kenny's excellent repertoire. And while a continuation it may be, it is instantly recognisable as a distinct entity - well worth a listen.

2008-08-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

The War on Drugs

Taking the Farm

Needle in your Eye #16
Arms Like Boulders

Pushing Corn

"Granduciel's plainspoken voice and his band's dreamily textured, ambient sound are alluringly compatible, lush and dreamy with a familiar rock 'n' roll bite"

Thanksgiving

2008-08-12T06:08:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving

Adrian Orange, or Thanksgiving is recommended for fans of Phil Elverum, who produced and released Thanksgiving's 2005 Welcome Nowhere. Anyway, posted because he's (apparently) touring in September:

September 22nd-Leeds, somewhere
September 24th-London, Barden's Boudoir (w/ Mirror Mirror)

Thanksgiving- While You Live
Adrian Orange and Her Band- You're My Home

also:

Mt. Eerie- Mon. Nov. 17th- London, England- Tufnell Park Dome

Jacaszek

2008-08-12T05:59:00.000-07:00

Jacaszek- Treny

Rytm To Niesmiertelnosc
Martwa Cisza

"Jacaszek has managed with "Treny" to assemble an album so heart-stoppingly beautiful and personal that we've been stunned into silence for its entire 55 minute duration. With string arrangements provided courtesy of Stefan Wesolowski, the foundations of the album are set with Cello and Violin painting fragile outlines coloured by subtle electronic manipulations, harp, piano and reduced, haunting operatic voices. Unlike so many of his contemporaries, Michael Jacaszek doesn't make use of any samples, with everything on the album assembled by the musicians on hand (notably Maja Sieminska, Anja Smiszek-Wesolowska and Wesolowski and Jcaszek themselves) - and the subtle grandeur of the album is almost impossible to take in over one sitting, even if the impact is absolutely immediate."

Summer

2008-05-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

In contradiction to what appears to be the accepted opinion I prefer Phil Elverum under the Mt Eerie moniker to his work as The Microphones. Now the ever prolific Elverum has put out another record, a six-track EP entitled Black Wooden Ceiling Opening, which finds him in a heavy mood, reinterpreting some old songs. The recordings were made in November 2006 in a session in which Elverum claims to have been exploring a new darker, more hardcore sound. Typically melancholy, and not lacking Mt Eerie's imagery or familiar lo fi sound the EP still marks a perhaps more marked deviation for Mt Eerie. An example is In Moonlight, with what at first seems a wholly familiar Mt Eerie outro- all cymbals and static, but which transforms into an almost metal ending. The EP's six tracks include three reworkings of previously released tracks alongside three new tracks.

1.Appetite
2.Domesticated Dog
3.In Moonlight
4.Blue Light on the Floor
5.Don't Smoke
6.Stop Singing

All Tomorrow's Parties 2008

2008-02-22T02:18:00.001-08:00

This is a very busy time of year for those of us in university, hence the lack of posts. Anyway, it looks like i'm going to both the Pitchfork and EITS ATPs this year, so over the next few months i'm going to slowly write a little about all the bands i'm most excited about, and (when I get to hear them) those that are totally new to me.

Pitchfork
WEEN »SEBADOH »FUCK BUTTONS »PISSED JEANS »APSE »THE BLACK ANGELS »SHIT AND SHINE »MEAT PUPPETS »DEERHUNTER »WOODEN SHJIPS »MARISSA NADLER »REDD KROSS »EVEN »BLACK MOUNTAIN »HARMONIA »CAR SICK CARS »HOWLIN' RAIN »BORN RUFFIANS »DIRTY PROJECTORS »OF MONTREAL »CARIBOU »MAN MAN »GLASS CANDY »LOS CAMPESINOS! »NO AGE »LES SAVY FAV »HOT CHIP »BLACK LIPS »THE HOLD STEADY »YEASAYER »A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS »JENS LEKMAN »THE CLIENTELE »VAMPIRE WEEKEND »JAY REATARD »TIMES NEW VIKING »

Explosions In the Sky
EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY »BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE »IRON AND WINE »DINOSAUR JR »ADEM »....AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF THE DEAD »POLVO »ANIMAL COLLECTIVE »A HAWK AND A HACKSAW »ELUVIUM »OLA PODRIDA »LAZARUS »THE PAPER CHASE »FOUR TET »GHOSTFACE KILLAH »WESTERN KEYS »SILVER JEWS »JENS LEKMAN »MONO »TONY TEARDROP »THE DRIFT »THE NATIONAL »LIARS »SUNSET RUBDOWN »LICHENS »STARS OF THE LID »BATTLES »DE LA SOUL »SAUL WILLIAMS »RAEKWON »THE FIELD »OKKERVIL RIVER »ATLAS SOUND »THE PALE GALLERY »THE OCTOPUS PROJECT »

Moonbeams

2008-01-31T14:13:00.000-08:00

Throw Me The Statue released their Secretly Canadian debut E.P. About To Walk in December last year. Moonbeams will be their second release on the label which has provided us with such gems as Windsor for the Derby, Jens Lekman and Magnolia Electric Co. The band was originally the one man bedroom pop act of Scott Reitherman, who released Moonbeams on Baskerville Hill Records last year.
Moonbeams is a jaunty and melodic album of washed out synth pop with more than a handful of sing-along choruses and some Casiotone-esque drum machine backing. Sounds lovely doesn't it?

About To Walk is a fuzzy track with Shins style vocal melodies
Lolita reminds me of Belle and Sebastian, busy instrumentation, nice breakdowns

Western Vinyl

2008-01-21T05:39:00.000-08:00

I was led to the label Western Vinyl through the multi-monikered Keith Kinniff, who produces gorgeous electronic ambient music as Helios on Type Records and equally gorgeous piano music as Goldmund on Western Vinyl. Western Vinyl are purveyors of the kind of subtle and beautifully crafted home listening records that provide perfect accompaniment for a slow Sunday or an afternoon of reading. That's not to say this type of music doesn't stand alone, these aren't purely ambient records. Here's a taster of their output.

Bexar Bexar
Bexar Bexar produces the same kind of organic instrumental soundscapes as Adam Wiltzie (Aix Em Klemm, Stars of the Lid, The Dead Texan) or Mark Nelson (Labradford, Pan American), with acoustic guitar embellishments and sparse synth tones which produce hazy polaroid visions familiar to fans of Fennesz or even Basinski's Disintegration loops series. Last year Bexar Bexar released Tropism, a perfectly quiet and understated album.

Sweet Devil
Window Piece

Shuta Hasunuma
Shuta Hasunuma's music is reminiscent of the more low key releases from Morr, i'm talking Isan or Múm without singing. There are plenty of wood knocking and water dripping sounds amongst the gradually developing melodies. In the spirit of these sounds Shuta Hasunuma's latest was titled Ok Bamboo, and consists of fragile partially electronic compositions which shimmer and drift.
Western Vinyl says "R.I.Y.L. The Books, Fennesz, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Eluvium" and I tend to agree with those comparisons.

OK Bamboo
Sunny Day in Saginomiya

Goldmund
Goldmund, as I said, was how I first came upon Western Vinyl. Keith Kinniff produces simple yet utterly engaging piano pieces which are rarely very long, but manage to create a sense of warmth and satisfaction in their fleeting nature. Kinniff's solo piano is often bare, sometimes effected and always very personal. The beauty of the recording is not just hearing the notes played but also the soft tap of the foot pedal or fingers on keys, the slight stickiness as they are pressed. This is minimal stuff, don't expect any great complicated composition, just enjoy.

Leading
One

Japanese 1-2-3

2008-01-20T05:34:00.000-08:00

2007 was the year I truly delved into the Japanese post-rock scene with any real gusto, trying desperately to find any record I could get my slender Soviet fingers on, so I thought it apt to record my findings on the NatBibSoc blog - so here we are. The following is a selection of three of my favourite Japanese releases of 2007 (post-rock or otherwise - we shall not be confined by genre comrades!)...

First up, debutantes Naan with their release Dokusa from March. This was probably my favourite Japanese release of the year but only because Lullatone didn't realease anything. Pretty straightforward (mostly) instrumental rock kept fresh with a varied range of instruments and interesting time sigs.

Secondly, World's End Girlfriend with Hurtbreak Wonderland. Surely not as good as The Lie Lay Land? Probably.

Finally, the fun, at times completely incoherent, always interesting Kiiiiiii with AL & BUM. I challenge anyone to listen to this album and not giggle once, whether it be at the indistinguishable Engrish lyrics or the barrage of American popular culture references ("rike a wur-jeen"!).

An honourable mention goes to te' for their effort それは、鳴り響く世界から現実的な音を「歌」おうとする思考 ("It Is a Sound Blaring from the World of Reality to 'Sing' a Thought Aloud") - a great album.

Merci camarades.

Neon Neon something we might not agreeon

2008-01-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

Boom Bip and Gruff Rhys

I got the leak of Neon Neon's upcoming debut Stainless Style, a collaborative effort between Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals and Boom Bip, who as an aside has thrown me into confusion before with Circle- where he collaborated with nasal voiced avant hip hopper Doseone. Another chapter in Boom Bip's exploration of different sounds and genres Neon Neon sees Gruff Rhys (alongside guest appearances from Spank Rock, Fatlip, Sean Tillman and Cate Le Bon) singing over very 80s sounding synth heavy production. In fact some of the production on this album reminded me of This Is It, I half felt a "chickity ba" wouldn't have been out of place amongst the smooth synths, anthemic guitar and Gruff Rhys' crooning on I Told Her On Alderaan. On first listen this is somewhat of a strange partnership, even a little jarring. Moreover the inclusion of Spank Rock and Sean Tillman (who you may know as Har Mar Superstar or Sean Na Na) provides a not-so-indie sleazy element, which of course can be a great thing. It's taken a few listens to begin to enjoy this record, disregarding two or three absolutely stand out tracks (namely I Told Her on Alderaan and Steel Your Girl) which do all sorts for me. On Luxury Pool Boom Bip proves his already well-established quality as a producer, with a nice head-nodding rhythm punctuated by synth stabs and some brilliant ego indulgent lyrics from Fatlip, "maybe if you ride with me i'll get you famous".

Neon Neon's myspace and when it comes out get over to Lex's store to buy a copy.

Luxury Pool YSI

Regarding the post title, i'm rapidly turning into my father, i'm sorry.

Our Brother The Native

2008-01-17T05:41:00.000-08:00

Our Brother The Native

Next month Our Brother The Native release Make Amends For We Are Merely Vessels, their second Fat Cat release after 2006's Tooth and Claw. Tooth and Claw is a brilliant mess of acoustic guitar, happy child like singing and found sounds. Essentially this is a record from the new weird america camp, Ariel Pink minus the synth. There's a song from the album up on their myspace at the moment, We Are The Living, which is far more reminiscent of Yume Bitsu or the echoey whispers of former label buddies Sigur Ros than the more chaotic Tooth and Claw. It's a great track though, and there's plenty to be excited about. Here's the tracklisting:

1.Rejoice
2.As They Fell Beneath Us
3.We Are The Living
4.Trees Part 1
5.Trees Part 2
6.Younger
7.Untitled
8.The Multitudes Are Dispersing

And an Ariel Pink song doldrums
oh, and the cover is fantastic!

wreck the mic, psyche

2008-01-15T04:40:00.000-08:00

Psyche pop, and to a lesser degree afro pop seem to be the trends of the moment. Animal Collective and Panda Bear have really hit it big, along with the likes of Caribou, the Brian Wilson-a-like Miracle Fortress and indie message board favourites Of Montreal. With Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer and El Guincho all garnering considerate internet hype of late 2008 looks like the year of tribal sounding rhythms and Byrne worshipping.
Two years before Person Pitch Noah Lennox released Berserker, under the JANE moniker with Scott Mou, a rhythm driven 4 track freak out which consists of the classic Animal Collective excited-sounding yelps, persistent trance-inducing beats and swirling, droney melodies.
Here's the shortest (and therefore easiest to upload) track Berserker

Now for the pop in psyche pop, here's Caribou's after hours, a hazy delicate pop song with very 60s psyche sounding vocals.
El Guincho's music bears more than a passing resemblance to that of Panda Bear, lots of big organic drum sounds and catchy repeated melodies. The whole of Alegranza, released last year, is on his myspace. See Kalise for Panda Bear, see Antillas for the Afro-Pop guitar sounds.

Which brings us to Vampire Weekend, who's album will come out January 29th. At their website]you can download the fantastic Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.