Reviews

Everything the Walkmen write is hilarious - whether that was the intention, I can't be sure. Luckily for me they've begun to review restaurants (anyone remember their old site, with the movie reviews and recipes and stuff? that was funny), and it looks like they've put considerable time and effort into the endeavor. A great holdover until their novel, John's Journey, hits the shelves.

An excerpt from the Yukon Steak House, Newport News, VA review:

They brought Pete the same surf and turf that Paul had suffered through and Walt had rejected but, oddly, Pete liked it. It made everyone wonder if Pete was a slob who would eat anything slung onto his plate or if Paul and (especially) Walt were a little bit precious and spoiled—or were both true? The questions remain unanswered, but what is known for sure is that the Yukon Steakhouse in Newport News, Virginia is an overpriced shit hole.

Food - disgusting
Service - good, except when the waiter referenced his own body in his description of prime rib. And the host seemed like a real prick.
Atmosphere - cheesy (sleds and antlers on walls)
Prices - expensive (about 16 bucks for the disgusting surf and turf)
Location - good, visible from road.

Overall Rating-D

Brilliant. As if that's not enough, the Walkies' Pussy Cats... starring the Walkmen is less than a month away. And if you get the compact disc version:

...the cd version will include a movie/art piece called In Loving Recollection, which includes an introduction to the original record, a documentary of the making of our version, and a brief history of the 20th century.

I'm speechless. Enjoy.

The Walkmen - Many Rivers to Cross [mp3]

The Walkmen - Pussy Cats... starring the Walkmen [ecard]

In the Bedroom

For a while, music described as bedroom was, to me, as perfect as it came. It was blurred lines between the artist/myself/anyone, it was frayed edges that I found endearing and remarkably true-to-life. Eventually I would outgrow this, sincere and warm would become precious and samey, and Fevers and Mirrors never held the same weight again. Anyone can pour themselves into a four-track means anyone can pour themselves into a four-track, while far fewer people than anyone have the tale and the talent to make it work.

I've semi-consciously stayed clear of the bedroom since, treating the word as a euphemism more than a proper descriptor. But this scares me: what if someone had described the Junior Boys' So This Is Goodbye to me as a bedroom album? Because it is, it absolutely and unquestionably is, and it also happens to be one of my favorite releases this year. No, you'll never confuse this for an Oberst original, but consider the sense of space (or confinement), the confessional lyrics, and the lighting. So This Is Goodbye is the room in the coming morning, beginning at midnight and racing, fumbling, into the "First Time," admitting that "I don't really know what to do." It's sexy, and it gets sexier, but I've never heard it so candid. There's a climax, two o'clock, "In the Morning," breath sharp and shallow - an instant classic. But it gets late, and "the nights are endless things," as Jeremy Greenspan covers Sinatra in the penultimate track, "When No One Cares." Finally, coming up with the sun, "FM" washes away the night's false clarity with a persistent and perfectly revealing infusion of light. "And then one more year/ Becomes one more year/ And you'll forget me soon, I swear." I appreciate complete albums, especially when they've got closing statements as well thought-out and appropriate as this, which is less often than you'd think.

With So This Is Goodbye Junior Boys have showed me, with amazing proficiency, that the bedroom comprises far more than an acoustic guitar and tape hiss. It's the concept I originally fell in love with, the confidences not necessarily whispered and necessarily unpublished.

Junior Boys - In The Morning [mp3]

Junior Boys - FM [mp3]

Visit Junior Boys online, and pick up the fantastic So This Is Goodbye here.

***

Carl Wilson on Mountain Goats!

Sean Gramophone on the heat!

Oh, the writing!

Toast

I eat toast with hemp seeds on top every single night before bed.

Instructions

I'VE STARTED AND SCRAPPED multiple entries over the past few weeks, each more fumbling and graceless than the last. Their points, in summation: Buy Junior Boys' So This Is Goodbye, it's even better than everyone says. Listen to Sufjan's "Sister Winter" [mp3] and shake your head and shake your fist over and over and over as you realize this man's talent somehow keeps up with his ambition. If you have Facebook, sign up for that thing that gives you 25 free songs each week (and petition against opening it to the public while you're at it). Go read Gerard vs. Bear, this is important. If that's not for you, read this thing over at Marathonpacks.


And please, please believe Beaten Awake's new album will rock you right down to the core. I don't care if I've said that before. Here's a song that may or may not be on it, whatever:

Beaten Awake - Ghost Bought a Bicycle [mp3]

A kind soul sent me their demo, and I think this song got rained on.

Beaten Awake - A and E [mp3]

Listen to that voice. And buy me a tshirt.

Rosewood Hearts

SOMETIMES THE BEST songs sneak up on you, clandestine and confident, from bands you've never heard of, or the end of albums seldom played through. In this case it's both, the song being "Lonesome Road," from The Rosewood Thieves' From The Decker House EP. I won't say I ever wrote the band off, because I do enjoy their jaunty classic rock - it's just that I didn't know what to say besides this sounds like John Lennon.

"Lonesome Road" only really got to me in the car, with my iPod on shuffle. Even then it was over too quickly, leaving its indelible closing hook in my mind. From a slow and shiftless beginning comes a hesitant bounce, and then sweet payoff: "She di-id not come ba-ack" sings Erick Jordan (I think) in the entire album's finest moment.

The Rosewood Thieves - Lonesome Road [mp3]

Visit The Rosewood Thieves and buy the From The Decker House EP here.

This record by the Kamikaze Hearts, Oneida Road, is really something. Something gorgeous and familiar, something you feel comfortable close to. Not to say that it's anodyne - there are nuances here which only make it more ingratiating: a sincere, slightly silly voice, and a wonderful feeling of projection.

The Kamikaze Hearts - Half of Me [mp3]

The Kamikaze Hearts - You Can't Just Get Up And Leave [mp3]

I love how "Half of Me" starts out sounding so much like an Andrew Bird song, but only gets easier. Romance, baby!

Visit Kamikaze Hearts online, and preorder Oneida Road here.

Join the Black Parade

Back from best man duties, congrats to the new Mr. & Mrs. Craig!

So that new My Chemical Romance song, more like 5 stars!! I give in to this kind of overblown-anthem stuff rather easily, in this case it's a welcome lift from the Avalanches and Lonelies I've been stuck on. You too? Grab your lipstick, join the parade.

My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade [stream]

***

Funny, funny Catbirdseat.

Click Wheel Five III + Mix

I'D LIKE TO DO THIS every month, but it looks like I just missed August.

1. Spoon - Paper Tiger (demo) [mp3]

"Paper Tiger" is the most haunting of Spoon's skeletons on Kill the Moonlight. The demo doesn't help illustrate the song's growth from idea to album, because it sounds very much the same, but it does clarify a line I've always had trouble with: "Stay out 'til morning/ Sharp as knives." [info] [buy]

2. Foundry Field Recordings - Battle Brigades pt. II [mp3]

I've already written about this one, but I don't know what I was talking about. Prompts/Miscues has, surprisingly, become a favorite and a mainstay on my iPod over the last few months. The songs are unassuming, but well-crafted and often, like "Battle Brigades pt. II," quite pretty. "Okay, okay, okay, okay" with such timing - I love it. [info] [buy]

3. Sunny Day Real Estate - 100 Million [mp3]

One day, on the tennis courts, a kid told me about Sunny Day Real Estate. He often wore a Sunny Day Real Estate Shirt, so I knew he was serious, and I went and bought How it Feels to be Something On. I wouldn't end up wearing their shirt, but I came to enjoy the band more than I would have expected. Listening now, for the first time in a while, it's interesting how much alternative-rock I hear in this, when at the time it sounded entirely different. Also, I just got some new Jeremy Enigk songs to check out, could be good. [info] [buy]

4. The Kills - Love Is A Deserter [mp3]

I've said it before, but this album is sex. It's not in the lyrics as much as the inimitable tension between boy-Kill and girl-Kill: the whispers and the looks, you can hear them. [info] [buy]

5. Rjd2 - True Confessions [mp3]

My favorite part of this song is the priest's exaggerated exhalation in the beginning, kicking off the track with drama. And the whistling at the end - like some kind of urban spaghetti western - I like that too. [info] [buy]

***

My sis' and my back-2-skool mix is in full effect!

"Sometimes in the Fall"

1. Band of Horses - The Funeral [mp3]

2. Junior Boys - In the Morning [mp3]

3. Kelis - Bossy (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix)

4. The Rapture - Get Myself Into It [mp3]

5. Justin Timberlake - SexyBack

6. Catfish Haven - Crazy for Leaving [mp3]

7. Justin Timberlake - My Love (ft. T.I.)

8. The Submarines - Peace & Hate

9. Assembly Now - It's Magnetic (Luke Smith Remix) [mp3]

10. Scissor Sisters - Don't Feel Like Dancing

11. The Pipettes - Pull Shapes

12. The Foundry Field Recordings - Holding the Pilots/Holding the Facts

13. The Kills - No Wow (MSTRKRFT Remix)

14. The Walkmen - Many Rivers to Cross [mp3]

***

I've got some serious plans 'til next-next week. See you then!