Railcars is Aria Jalali and his music is heavily influences by that of Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu. Stewart, in fact, mixed Jalali’s debut single, Cities Vs. Submarines, a fact we noted in the FensePost feature of Railcars. Railcars’ latest release appears to continue in a similar vein with noise-ridden instrumentation and wild, piercing yelps. Read More »Railcars: Passion Of St. Edmund (Rebirth) [FensePost Exclusive/Debut]
Mat Brooke has long been a favorite musician of mine, back from the days of Carissa’s Wierd. From there he partnered with fellow Wierder Ben Bridwell in Band Of Horses, but his participation with the Horses was short lived. He dropped out of the band to focus on Grand Archives (MySpace) as well as his Seattle bar, Redwood. So the latest is that Grand Archives are prepping to give us the follow-up to their 2008 self-titled debut. Read More »Grand Archives: Silver Among The Gold [Album Preview]
The Cubists set up Mechanical Advantage with the outstanding “Fire In The Backyard”, a song that swirls between the realm of pop and epic rock with catchy hooks and a wild guitar solo or two. Then The Cubists drop into the slow and dreamy “The Orchestra Breathes”. It brings in electronic elements, draped over the percussion that picks up double-time as the song continues.
Read More »The Cubists: Mechanical Advantage [Album Review] 
After receiving London Bridges in the mail from Ivy League‘s Ryland Blackinton, I excitedly ripped open the package to find an album with quite interesting cover art. My sole thought was this: how odd. But only after cracking the jewel case to find a web address for the artist, Hope Gangloff, did I understand the power behind the drawing. Read More »This Is Ivy League: Ivy League [Album Review]
Written by bob_vinyl.
Elvis Costello (MySpace) has had quite a long and varied career to say the least, making albums bordering on punk on one hand and working with the likes of Burt Bacharach and Allen Toussaint on the other. The genres he’s avoided, like metal or hip-hop, are surely more by choice than inability. There’s no question that as both a performer and a songwriter, he has few peers in terms of the breadth and quality of his work. That’s not to say he’s all things to all people, but that, as particularly evidenced on Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, he’s Elvis Costello to whatever audience he chooses. Read More »Elvis Costello: Secret, Profane And Sugarcane [Album Review]
I enjoy cooking; like most creatives, however, I hate to stick by the recipe. There’s a chemistry to piecing together a recipe that is very much like crafting a new song. The cook must take into account various elements, such as location. Water boils at different paces whether your in the rainy town of Seattle or the mile high city of Denver. Similarly, northwesterners have a different palate than, say, those in the southwest. All these elements must be taken into account when approaching a new recipe, which is merely a base of what the dish should include. Read More »Yeasayer: All Hour Cymbals [Album Review]
Written by Jeremy Ryan.
When thinking about challenging bands like Xiu Xiu (MySpace), the words “stable” or “consistent” do not spring to mind. They are not supposed to release a gaggle of jaw-dropping, eerie records as frequently and reliably as they do (four records since 2004). After hearing 2004’s borderline masterpiece Fabulous Muscles, I gave it about a six-week limit until primary songwriter, Jamie Stewart, flipped out, renounced music, and fled to Asia for some good old overindulgent artist soul searching. Either that or he’d ended up trying to wriggle his way out of a straight jacket in a padded room. Read More »Xiu Xiu: The Air Force [Album Review]
Observing the DIY packaging Volume One is comfortably stored in, one has the distinct thought that Webelos may be an acoustic folk project, and not necessarily the experimental indie pop band that it is. The opening tune, “Another Nature Study” is an instrumental folk-pop tune featuring a prominent snare/cymbal mix and soft organ melodies. Hell, there are even finger snaps!
Read More »Webelos: Volume 1 [Album Review] 
It’s obvious; Life On Earth is a change of pace for Tiny Vipers‘ Jesy Fortino. From a literal standpoint, the pace hasn’t gone anywhere — every song on Life On Earth is just as slow as anything off Tiny Vipers’ Sub Pop debut, Hands Across The Void. The “pace” that has changed, rather, is Fortino’s demeanor, both in the power and confidence that radiates from her voice in songs like “Development” and in the promotional photos that accompany the promotion of this release. Read More »Tiny Vipers: Life On Earth [Album Review]
What is the perfect driving music? You can probably rattle off a ton of names–my list, past and present, would include: Sing Along With The Acid House Kings by Acid House Kings, Up Against The Legends by The Legends, and Friend And Foe by Menomena. Surely we can all name great music to drive to, but what about bad music to drive to? This is a bit more difficult.
Read More »Nire: Vespers [Album Review]
