Paper Symphonies
The music I'm listening to now, and why I love it so.
-Teresa Garigen
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PVT - Timeless
PVT
Church with No Magic (7)
Warp
In this era of endless laptop musicians and DIY bedroom projects, Australian trio PVT (formally Pivot) abandon their atmospheric mess of instrumental post-rock, and electronically compose a dark dreamscape guided by the reverberated echoes of multi-instrumentalist Richard Pike. Church with No Magic is not entirely void of the group’s technical tendencies; their third LP exists as an elaborate puzzle of intricate sampling and live instrumentation. With the relentless ascension of arpeggiation in the pop-minded track “Window,” and the haunted loneliness of Pike howling “who can tell me when the fiction starts and it ends” in “Timeless,” PVT strikes a balance between mechanical musings, and creating emotionally affective songs.
0 Plays
I’ve been slacking hardcore and not doing anything with this blog. In the meantime, while I get my act together, here is an awesome interview.
I want to take a moment to share a website that has changed my life these past few months. I depend on it more than Facebook.
I lost my entire music library this summer for the second time and was devastated but then a friend told me about Rdio that lets you stream as much music as you want from your computer or smartphone. So instead of losing my mind trying to get 70G of music back I just pay $5 a month (or $10 for phone use too) to listen to whatever I feel like. (Sort of like Netflix Streaming for music)
Now this probably doesn’t sound like that great of a deal, but if you are like me and lost a ton of your music, or you just lack hard drive space it might be something to check out. I love it and there is a 2 day or 10 day trial for it if you want to see what it’s all about!
End of plug for Rdio. haha I swear I don’t get paid for this, just eternally grateful for the website that kept me from stabbing myself in the face when I lost my precious music.
Fang Island - Sideswiper
Recent release: Fang Island (2010)
Sound: Guitar intensive experimental rock, indie pop music with a progressive arena rock feel
Fang Island was a pleasant surprise for me at the Minus the Bear show I attended July 5th. I was in a haze of 90 degree temperatures inside a tiny club, people crammed in barely able to breath, not really paying attention to the opener, but as soon as I heard the end of this song “Sideswiper” I froze and needed to know where this amazing sound was coming from.
It was one of the remarkable moments in your life when things don’t feel quite real—onstage was a mostly bearded quintet, three of whom were playing guitars, sharing vocals and one was clad in a cape of the American flag.
After seeing their show, and obsessively listening to their album it was clear that they are truly epic, and inexplicably fun. They even describe their sound as “everyone high-fiving everyone,” which really is the perfect imagery for how their music makes you feel.
It’s like a party in an album—not unlike Andrew W.K., but with more technical guitar work. The album oozes the pure joy that comes from the warm days of summer (including the sound of fireworks on the last track), but shockingly, it was released in February—perhaps intended to bring life to all our numb souls during the dead of winter.
Fang Island started as an art project for Rhode Island School of Design, and the excitement grew from there. Guitarist Jason Bartell said their goal is “to make music for people who like music.” It’s as simple as that…but with complicated melodies and arrangements.
Fang Island is opening for Matt & Kim this fall, as well as Coheed and Cambria, so if you get a chance to see them live, I highly recommend it. It will be nothing short of surreal, I promise.
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A really rad music blog that is in the works. It’s almost like a musical discussion. Check it out!
Jónsi - Animal Arithmetic
Now, I know I should try to retain some kind of journalistic professionalism when I talk about music but I can’t help but let myself run free when it comes to jon por birgisson, otherwise known as Jonsi from Sigur Ros.
He is a moving individual and the music he produces is absolutely breathtaking. It is never quite what you expect, but a sound we have never quite heard before, one rooted in Iceland.
It is beyond gorgeous if you can get past the abnormal, but the variety of instrumentation—piano, strings, beyond unique drumming, and falsetto vocals—makes for an interesting listening experience to say the least.
Either way, I love Jonsi and Sigur Ros, and I would enjoy spreading the love.
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Wavves are just having fun with us in their new video for “Post Acid,” off their recent release, King of the Beach, answering an important question: What would happen if E.T. visited California stoners with a handful of acid?
Inspired by the 90’s film Encino Man, skate documentarian, Patrick O’Dell directed this psychedelic trip of everyday life.
It’s a typical San Diego summer transformed into the best day ever after a visit from a little green space man. They go on an LSD adventure of daily chores—skateboarding, grocery shopping, and the dilemma of what to wear—all ending at a Wavves show, with the alien, played by pro skater, Kevin ‘Spanky’ Long, hitting up the ladies, and rocking it out on lead guitar.
It truly is hilarious.
Wavves is currently on tour supporting their latest album, and playing shows with Phoenix later this fall.
Check out their video for “Post Acid.”
a little diddy about… Ra Ra Riot
Ra Ra Riot has proved their worth as one of the bands to watch in 2010. They blew audiences away with their indie rock/chamber pop sound on their debut album, and now they are back with a new album, demonstrating their candid ability to both rock out and make beautiful string accompanied music.
Almost exactly two years after signing to Barsuk, and the release of their first full-length debut, Ra Ra Riot presents their highly anticipated second album, The Orchard, on Aug. 24.
After gaining a lot of unforeseen exposure since the quintet formed in 2006 and making their first appearance at the CMJ Music Marathon, Ra Ra Riot has infested the musical hearts of listeners far beyond their start at Syracuse University. Representing some of the unexpected places brilliant new music can rise out of, this band confirms that talent and quirky innovativeness can go a long way in the indie scene.
The Orchard was mixed by Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla, with the exception of one song, which was mixed by Rostam Batmangli of Vampire Weekend, who has been working with Riot’s frontman Wes Miles on their recent side project Discovery. Ra Ra Riot’s sound was already similar to that of Vampire Weekend’s, and now that Miles and Batmangli have been working closely together the influence is even stronger.
As expected, this album is fantastic fun, but it also smoothly and sophistically combines the standards of today’s pop/rock—high pitch vocals, and fast-paced drumming—with the classically somber mood of a miniature string section.
Ra Ra Riot recently released a music video for the track “Boy,” and announced tour dates for this fall.
