FensePost Music & Vinyl Blog

Sambassadeur: Days [mp3]

Andy Fenstermaker
November 21, 2009May 13, 2023

With an orchestral intro fit for Camera Obscura, Sambassadeur‘s “Days” sees the band returning to their roots and expanding their inclusion of strings. With “Days”, Sambassadeur hands over yet another great pop song and their best vocal hook since “Between The Lines”. Buried in a 70s folk-pop influence and including an upbeat shuffle in the percussion, Sambassadeur is sure to please fans of Belle & Sebastian and fellow Swedes and label-mates Acid House Kings.

Emily Anderson
November 20, 2009November 20, 2009

Paul Banks was certainly the crowd favorite at the Julian Plenti show at Chop Suey on Monday night. Although there were cheers of â€œI love you, Paulâ€ throughout the set, the musicians Banks brought in to back his solo project were certainly no slouches (particularly the bassist and cellist, whose names this writer was unfortunately unable to find). Read More »Julian Plenti: Live at Chop Suey [2009.11.16]

Phantogram: Phantogram EP [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
November 20, 2009April 13, 2023

Erich said, You gotta check out this band; you gotta review their EP. End paraphrase. Having recently noted the band’s signing to Barsuk, it seemed the logical next step. In anticipation of that future record, slated for an early 2010 release, it just made sense. Besides, there’s substantial overlap between the self-titled EP and the pending full-length, Eyelid Movies. Of the five tracks on the Phantogram EP, four find their way onto that album of eleven total songs. I’m here to say that the EP is still totally worth it.

A Retrospective Top 20: Best Albums Of 2003

Andy Fenstermaker
November 20, 2009May 13, 2023

The summer of 2003 was a hot one in eastern Washington, and my concrete bunker of an apartment contained the heat like no other. Granted, the image below wasn’t shot by yours truly until 2004, but it sure seemed hot enough to ignite even the least combustible of items. I wrapped up my undergraduate that December, which was cold as Antarctica, and upon that milestone I moved to Seattle. It was a good year for the Northwest; many of my favorite albums came from Seattle labels like Sub Pop and Barsuk. As for the list, I’ve expanded it to 20. Couldn’t help it.

Andy Fenstermaker
November 19, 2009November 17, 2009

Folk singer Gregory Alan Isakov brings his masterful songs to the West Coast early next month. Hailed as one of Denver’s greatest folk artists, Isakov is set to treat audiences to songs off his recent LP, This Empty Northern Hemisphere. One thing’s for sure, whether you see him at Seattle’s High Dive, visit him at Mississippi Studios in Portland, or stop by one of his several California dates, his mystical acoustic songs will entrance you and lay waste on your emotions. Each song is heartfelt – a trait that ever so often translates magically into live performances. Read More »Gregory Alan Isakov Folks Seattle, West Coast Next Month

The Orange Peels: We’re Gonna Make It [mp3]

Andy Fenstermaker
November 19, 2009November 17, 2009

In their extensive career, The Orange Peels have had many incarnations. Allen Clapp and Jill Pries have been the constants.… Read More »The Orange Peels: We’re Gonna Make It [mp3]

Globes On Remote: The Woo Hoo Hoo [Album Review]

Ron Trembath
November 19, 2009November 17, 2009

What a spirited little dose of experimental pop Globes On Remote have offered up with their strangely titled debut album The Woo Hoo Hoo. It’s a fun collection of spaced out and dizzy pop songs with a highly positive outlook. This LA based group manages to bring together the styles of Michael Jackson, Radiohead, and even The Killers together (FINALLY!!) to create songs that are fun and exhilarating in nature. With so much going on as far as noise and space-filling, you may feel like an 8 year old kid lost in Disneyland. Scared yes, but very entertained. Read More »Globes On Remote: The Woo Hoo Hoo [Album Review]

Interview with Levi Fuller, “DIY Mayor of Seattle”

Emily Anderson
November 18, 2009May 19, 2023

I recently sat down with Levi Fuller, a Seattle singer/songwriter, to talk about his recently released album Colossal, as well as several other somewhat related topics (ranging from cephalopods to the digitalization of music).

Levi, who originally hails from Boston, has been a fixture in the Seattle music scene for several years now. He is often described as “the DIY mayor of Seattle” and is both a distributor of music (as the editor of the Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly, a quarterly compilation of mostly local artists, and a DJ on Hollow Earth Radio) and an artist.

Ron Trembath
November 18, 2009November 17, 2009

The Bravery have had a great deal of success stirring up the MTV-friendly indie world with heavy influence from the likes of Duran Duran, The Cure, and whichever early eighties phenomenon you wish to choose. Their latest single, “Spectator”, is a disturbing dance cut set perfectly to the tone of fear and the reprisal of the common good. The song is off The Bravery’s latest album, Stir The Blood, available December 1st. If “Spectator” is any hint at what’s to come, Stir The Blood will contain several just as enjoyable tracks. Read More »The Bravery: The Spectator [mp3]

The Family Curse: White Medicine [Album Review]

Gumshoe
November 18, 2009February 11, 2022

The Family Curse … good god. When people tell me a band is “crazy” I usually chuckle to myself heartily and think about Edward Ka-Spel. That makes me feel better, usually …

But in this case “crazy” is actually a fairly apt descriptor (hear it for yourself; listen to all 6 minutes of “Bodies in Rooms” for free down below). The Family Curse are dollars-to-donuts one of the kookiest combos around, dealing in an unseemly din of death loops, car-crashing crescendos and hyper-banshee shrieks.

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