In between 2007's concept-cover album Rise Above and 2009's unbelievably complete Bitte Orca, Brooklyn's most forward thinking band Dirty Projectors made many adjustments. They traded a female vocalist, added a permanent drummer and bassist, and signed to Domino. They also recorded a few key band-in-trasistion tracks in 2008, which showcase band leader and singer Dave Longstreth's push to be less art and more pop. Two of those songs were collaborations with indie icon and Talking Heads leader David Byrne, and the other a cover of Bjork's "Hyperballad."
Released on Stereogum's 10th anniversary tribute to Bjork's seminal Post, it is the first DP song to feature Angel Deradoorian in place of Susanna Waiche. Angel's tight, rising harmony with bandmate Amber Coffman fill out the chorus, giving the listener a much needed counterweight to Longstreth's nasally, unsteady lead. That balance, along with some explosive but minimal drumming, became the centerpiece for Bitte Orca. And really, that's why this song is so interesting. Its growing pains for a band already way ahead of the pack, who (partly due to the exposure from this song) would share the stage with Bjork at a small record store a year later (pictured above). A year later there is also a cover of "Stillness is the Move" by Beyonce's sister, and NYMag naming "Stillness" the #1 song that defined the Brooklyn sound. Here's to growing pains.
I go through all this Before you wake up So I can feel happier To be safe up here with you
Javelin are a couple of electro-pop nerds who recently relocated from Providence to Brooklyn. They traded in their laptops for old school drum machines and samplers, and created something beautiful, groovy, and...well...just listen to it...
In this age of electronic clutter, one of the amazing things that can still happen is overnight success. In fact, its more common than ever. And now you don't even have to have years of hardnosed, underground touring to make it a possibility! Just ask Lykke Li, the swedish indie rockers performing "Little Bit" here. The song may sound familiar, it's in that Victoria Secret commercial and saw heavy rotation in the blogosphere in 2008. And thats all it takes, one song, one connection (Bjorn from PB & J who produced her record) and then you too can be an indie star and hang out with Kanye...and be on American Idol...wait, is that indie?
In one of my "Music History" courses in college, a professor asked us to compare this song to "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Both are considered essential to Rock music, both with genre defining singers, who also happened to have completely self destructive personalities. But what struck me more than anything was the choice of Howlin' Wolf. Why not Muddy or Sonny Boy Williamson? Or a original delta bluesman like Robert Johnson or Charlie Patton? Then I realized, for ever band in the 90s that tried to sound like Nirvana, there was a band in the 60s that tried to sound like Howlin' Wolf. Except instead of Puddle of Mudd they were The Rolling Stones.
Between their 1999 soundtrack for The Virgin Suicides and the 2001 album 10,000 Hz Legend, the band Air was making a strong push to the forefront of the burgeoning indie-electro movement. They had the same producer as Radiohead, their video's were as creepily memorable as Bjork's, and to top it all off, they were from France! When's the last time you heard a great band from France? But of course they slowly dismantled their own mythology by putting out the same record time and again, letting themselves fall behind the curve.
In the mid-60s, "funk" was just another word for describing body odor. A nicer way. As in "man, you smell funky" instead of "man, you smell like shit." Not that funk didn't exist. Looking back there is no dispute about who invented funk, just listen to the horn stabs and backbeat on James Brown's 1965 hit "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag." Brown was way ahead of his time, blending soul, R&B, Jazz, and first wave Ska to create the earliest form of funk. However, one vital ingredient was missing from his formula, the guitar.
The guitar (usually with a wah-wah pedal) would end up being an essential piece to the funk sound that defined the 1970s, and that was in no small part a result of The Meters self-titled 1969 release, and specifically this breakthrough track. Sure others (Sly, Shuggie) had guitars in their band, but they never used them like the Meters. Then theres that back-breaking hi-hat. Or the rhythmic B3 organ. It's all here, forty years later.
Roger McGuinn joked about the Dylan inspired/mindfuck of the century film I'm Not There, "So, it took seven people to play Dylan?" And its true, seven actors (male, female, young, old, black, white) were used in the Todd Haynes directed film as metaphors for the many lives Dylan has lived in his musical career. The two disc soundtrack, made up entirely of Dylan covers, finds even more Dylan impersonators. There's Stephen Malkmus getting real nasally on "Ballad of a Thin Man," and Cat Power doing her best "awww, mammma" on "Stuck Inside Mobile..." But for me the standout cover of the album is this version of "As I Went Out One Morning" by Brooklyn native and Magic White bandleader Mira Billotte.
Like the others, she does her best to stretch her syllables like taffy and husks up her voice, but where the others sound like they're imitating, Mira is actually creating her own song. Her and her tightly knit band (just bass, drums, and acoustic guitar) give the song a dry toughness not found on the original version, due in part to Mira's confessional style of delivery -a strong contrast to Dylan's half-drunken groans and meandering harmonica. And, strangely enough, this song seems to make more sense sung by a woman!
I offer'd her my hand, She took me by the arm. I knew that very instant, She meant to do me harm.
Antony Hegarty is a member of one of the most exclusive clubs in music...the "voice that will never be confused with another singer" club. That trembling falsetto- caught somewhere between Oberst, Pavarotti, and Kermit the Frog- is definitely the band's strongest weapon. Over his career, Antony's weakness seems to be his indulgence in sparse arrangements and that ever searching falsetto. "Shake that Devil," like his best work, has a sense of direction and a finely tuned vision. The atonal bed which Antony sings over slowly draws the listener in, before opening up to a shuffling rockabilly beat, saxophone, and a small group of backup singers. Like a defeated sinner saved by Rock n Roll, Antony comes to life in the second half, and ends triumphantly on the same words he unttered so meekly in the beginning: "That dog!" He shouts it with such conviction, you can almost see him pointing towards the creature.
Shake that pig out of the bush
Now lets give that pig a push Shake that pig right out of me
Eva Boyd, better known as Little Eva (after a character from Uncle Tom's Cabin), scored a #1 hit in 1962 with this Carole King/Gerry Goffin penned tune. And while King and Goffin were bonified Brill building songwriters, their relationship with Eva was alittle unsual. Eva was their babysitter, and when they caught her dancing around their house one night, they were so inspired by her moves they decided to write a song about it. "The Loco-Motion" was written, and they couldn't think of anyone better to demo it than Eva herself. That demo impressed Producer Don Kirshner so much, he wanted her to sing it for the single. She did and her career was launched.
King/Goffin also wrote a song "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)" which was a hit for The Crystals, inspired by Eva's confession to King/Goffin that her boyfriend abused her. So, when listening to this delightfully groovy and gummy track, don't kid yourself that the 60s were in anyway more innocent then our society today. In fact, I think Eva would be more controversial in our society because we take everything at face value. It would be like Rhianna changing her name to Amistad and releasing a song called "Hit Me With Your Love" and having it go to #1.
Now that you can do it, let's make a chain, now. (Come on baby, do The Loco-motion.) A chug-a, chug-a motion like a railroad train, now.
I think I would have been a bigger Pearl Jam fan if I had actually grown up with them. You know, picked up Ten a couple months before Nevermind came out, and called the Nirvana the knock off band. Followed them on their never-ending tours, like a grunge Dead-head, telling my friends about the night Eddie Vedder's eyes rolled up into his head just as he got to the chorus of "Even Flow." But I didn't. I grew up with Pearl Jam's unfortunate legacy, bands like Nickelback (is it one word or two? I'd rather type this aside then look it up) and Creed. Those alt-rock crooners made me sick, and subsequently I avoided going into Pearl Jam's back pages. Then I heard Yield. It's Pearl Jam sounding only very slightly like Pearl Jam, and it still sticks out as their most creative and diverse record.
On "Evolution" Vedder is at his wildest, barking and howling like Johnny Rotten, atop a buzzsaw riff that wouldn't be out of place in a Metallica record or James Bond movie. All the while he's menacingly asking the listener to "do the evolution" as if its a hot new dance. 11 years later, Pearl Jam has never given Yield a proper follow-up, instead they've fulfilled the mainstream corporate prophecy Kurt Cobain bestowed upon them all those years ago. You can catch them on Target and V-cast commercials, they've got their own Rock Band game coming, and Fox's tighty-whitey sports commentator Joe Buck called their newest release album "awesome" during the World Series. Do the evomition.
There was a period in time when "the only band that mattered" was The Clash. Listening to London Calling now, it's easy to see who, exactly, lived by that mantra. There's the early 80s punk (Minor Threat, Husker Du), pop-punk of the 90s (Green Day, Foo Fighters) and they certain had alot to do with the afro-pop movement and its recent revival. What isn't always noted with The Clash is that they were punksters with more than political/rebelious snarls. Their lyrics we're often deep, social commentary, and I might even go as far as saying they are the most intelligent punk band ever. Who else could gets millions to cheer "rock the Casbah"?
I wasn't born so much as I fell out Nobody seemed to notice me We had a hedge back home in the suburbs Over which I never could see
I've decided that since I don't have the time, motivation, and/or immediacy that I want went writing album reviews, i'm going to try discussing my favorite (and not so favorite) artists by means of "Song of the Day". This means everyday (well, mon - fri, this aint Russia!) I'll post a song, maybe two, and shed alittle light on how they came to be, why their so important, and many other tidbits. Yes, tidbits.
So, rather than start with a well known, Macy's Day Parade type number, i'm gonna go with a more somber one. "Down There By The Train" was written by Tom Waits specifically for Johnny Cash. Both men are fans of each others work (obviously) and like many artists, there was a great sense of urgency from Tom to contribute something to Cash's now well document run of recordings with Rick Rubin shortly before his death. Those sessions saw Cash doing old standards, duets with new/old friends, and slipping in a few original and commisioned works, such as this one. The heavy imagery of the afterlife being a train-yard, were life continues to be hard is part eulogy, part tribute for Cash. Waits later released his own version as part of 2006s 3CD comp Orphans, but it is Cash's tenderness that gives this song longevity.
There's no eye for an eye, there's no tooth for a tooth I saw Judas Iscariot carrying John Wilkes Booth He was down there by the train
There is nothing I love more than the end of summer. The days are just the right length, the temperature is perfect; its just open windows at night, warm drinks in the morning, and Meringue all day. So when I recently got a copy of Mike Romeo’s In The End LP, you can imagine how excited I was to have a soundtrack for my favorite transitional season. You see, dissonance and reverb are for winter, strummy acoustic guitars and harmonies are for summer, and Mike Romeo is for any day in-between.
Mike’s hazy take on what would otherwise be Britpop, also his debut LP, has a definitively DIY sound. The entire album was recorded and mixed at Mike’s home in Ridgewood, with some additional touches done by friend and sound engineer Thomas Surprenant, And though they are home recordings, the result is certainly not in line with the lo-fi sound that has become so popular in Brooklyn. Instead, Mike tends to drench the boyish charm in his voice (think Chris Conley minus the whine) with a smooth, languid reverb, making the tightly layered harmonies flow together effortlessly. Additionally, the strumming guitar that holds each track together is usually buried deep by mid-song, as layers of ambience, strings, or any of a multitude of instruments give these songs lasting life. Mike strives for a sound bigger than his recording capabilities can produce, but the effort is certainly there.
The record is aptly titled In The End (the title track boasts “You’re always last in the end”) as the songs regularly struggle with what’s right, what’s true…what’s sane. Mike admits that his lyrics are extremely personal, though its obvious he is more comfortable sharing those feelings with the world if they are somewhat obscured. For instance, take his image of the sun throughout the album. He awaits it’s arrival (“The Truth”), watches it bloom before him, and then, as it sets he chases after it (“Blow It Away”). Mike’s involvement with NYPIRG, NYs largest public interest group and a strong advocator of green solutions, could give his allusions a literal meaning. More likely, however, is that the end justifies the means, and the intangible feeling of Mike’s work is greater than any one line. Standout track, “The Sun,” best exemplifies this, building upon itself until it reaches its upward spirally chorus, preluded by the almost indecipherable mantra “I’ll communicate through this rhythm.”
A couple weeks ago I sat down with Mike at NE Kingdom, and was pleased to hear how passionate he was about this group of songs. He’s writing and recording for the right reasons, and he’s proving it by making the In The End LP available as a free download at SoundCloud. If you still aren’t sure if Mike Romeo is your kind of singer/songwriter, I highly recommend checking out “The Sun” posted on the music page here at BushwickBK.com, or heading to his MySpace. Also, Mike will be performing much of the LP with a full band tomorrow night (10/17) at Goodbye Blue Monday (1087 Broadway).
Since American Hearts, A.A. Bondy's 2007 solo debut, much has changed. Our country went through one of the most polarizing elections in its history, plunged deeper into economic turmoil, which along with other factors brought on a seemingly insurmountable recession. Bondy, however, has stayed the same. Call him a visionary, or just plain gloomy, but American Hearts somehow sounds more relevant today than it did upon initial release, and When The Devil's Loose (out now on Fat Possum) goes a long way in solidifying Bondy's place as one of America's most adequate songwriters.
Bondy is still enamored with the mysterious, and to his credit he is able to give even the darkest character's a touch of romance. On "Oh The Vampyre," it comes if the form of the chorus "and when I come I will come on like a dream/with a crimson moon a-shinin' down upon my devil's ring." But its not just the evil that's inside us that Bondy is so interested in, but also the wildness of the world which makes us that way. Or saves us. Sometimes its hard to tell. Take "A Slow Parade," which has him "going down/where the waves will surround" in a similar pace as "Of The Sea" from American Hearts. In "Of the Sea" he paints a detached but beautiful scenario of two lovers plunging to bottom of the sea just to give each one true and lasting moment; a kiss. But in "A Slow Parade" A.A. challenges the waters to find "another horse to break," making When the Devil's Loose feel more like a pessimistic break-up album, rather than a political statement. The only other major difference on this record is the absence of his trademark finger-picking acoustic and rustic harmonica, with the exception of "Mightiest of Guns." Instead, he plunks out the songs on a muddy, chunky electric guitar, backed on most songs with tasteful discretion by the Felice Brothers.
Its hard to find a weak track here, a testament to Bondy's thorough and honest songwriting. And while his predictability is still satisfying, the most enjoyable moment on the album is the perky Phil Spector daydream of "I Can See The Pines Are Dancing." Its two-tier chorus arrives just in time, and on the second refrain leads into a "La la laaa" fade out that would make Springsteen jealous. Its not until the album's closer, "The Coal Hits the Fire," that we get that kind of explosion of sound and energy again. That song, and the album, end shortly thereafter with a military marching band and old-timey whistle. Its reminiscent, like most of A. A. Bondy's work, to America's inability to make its present less like its past.
"I Can See the Pines are Dancing" is below. Download it free!
Les Paul certainly won't be getting the malestorm of press coverage we saw just a month ago with MJ's death, but that shouldn't deter the public from seeing what a steadfast innovator he was. Les may be best known for his signature guitar model, popularized by the likes of Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend, but it was his recording innovations that really impacted the music industry. Les invented, recorded, and released the first multi-track recording ever, meaning one could record multiple instruments or multiple layers of one instrument in a layering fashion. He also simultaneous experimented with tape loops, pitch shifting, and sound design. Popular music as we know it could not exist without this function. Below is my favorite Les Paul & Mary Ford (his wife and songwriting partner) song. Take note of the sweeping arpeggios during his solo...add that to the inovations list...
An interesting new, non-profit organization has popped up in Fishtown, Philly, and they're called Weathervane. In short, they want to unite "emerging and established independent musicians, record producers, film-makers and video-makers to produce and promote a wide range of innovative contemporary music and music related video productions."
So, if you are a Philly area musician, CONTACT them! If you are just a fan of local/Philly music, keep an eye on them for music/video from their upcoming series which will showcase some of these artists!
So I, like most indie-enthusiasts, have been listening to this album for well over a month in some shape or another despite it's actual release date being this past Tuesday. Before this album, I had a passing farmiliarity with Grizzly Bear. I'd heard "Knife" and a few other tracks from 2006's Yellow House, I knew of their close association with one of my favorite band's Animal Collective (a connection I still don't understand, is Grizzly Bear Panda Bear's cousin or something?), and I was for a short time obsessed with their Dark Was The Night and Friends EP track "Deep Blue Sea."
But with Veckatimest they've come to occupy a place very different from all of those previous impressions, one less like their brethren Collective and more like the texture-pop of Yeasayer or Bon Iver's louder side. And more than a sonic connection to those acts, there is a unified feeling of purpose, a sense of meticulous production, intense soundscaping, and an end product that is extremely refined. The arrangements are interesting most of the time, with the baroque-meets-Stravinsky string section becoming an integral part of this album. Ed Droste's vocals float in a lazy fashion, which sounds great atop the rhythmic punches of the arrangements.
For all it's perfections, though, Veckatimest still sounds a bit stale, particularly in it's middle third, with the band settling comfortably into a steady motion. This may be an unfortunate result of the excellence of the openers and closers of this album, but somewhere around "Cheerleader" through "About Face" its B-side at best. I've listened to this album more than any other over the past month, yet I still feel like I don't get it. If this is the best album of the year (as so many have claimed) it certainly doesn't feel like it. There are a couple things about Grizzly Bear and Veckatimest that I do get:
1. "Two Weeks" is the shit! The great video that came out last week was icing on the cake for this track, as it balances spritely piano against vibrant harmonies with a perfect pace.
2. Veckatimest Island is an uninhabited island off of the Massachusetts coast. Thanks for the geography lesson, guys.
But thats about it. And maybe that's what this album is meant to be: A Mystery. Like the Free Jazz pioneers (Coleman, Ayler) that Grizzly Bear takes so much influence from, Veckatimest may make more sense in a few years. Of course, by then, they'll be releasing a Ghettotech album sung in Esperanto....
Well, all my friends here at SUNY Oneonta are getting a bit too sentimental over our impending graduation. Admittedly, the idea of no longer getting to stay out late, sleep in, and lead a mostly privileged life of relaxation has got me reminiscing about the good times that made up my four years here. Between playing a season with the school soccer team, studying abroad in Rome for a semester, and playing a ton of shows (mostly solo, though last weekend's send-off with Simone Felice and a stripped down set at Bluefields Cafe on saturday night were the two most enjoyable shows I've ever played) I created a college experience that was a little atypical from the rest. But what is the typical college experience? Asher Roth stereotyped the hell out of it, but maybe he wasn't too far off. We grow up in a culture that glorifies the non-educational elements of college (fraternities, binge drinking, random hookups) and so its not a big surprise that people seek to become those images, no matter how ridiculous or a waste of money they may be.
And so this mix is just as ridiculous! A light-hearted look back on the pros (booty calls, house parties, beercans) and cons (getting a job, date rape, falling for a teacher) with a couple college standards thrown in. Seriously, can you think of anything more "college" than Dave live from Luther College or Otis Day & The Knights doing "Shout"?
About three months ago, on a Tuesday, I received a call from a good friend who had just been asked to run sound for The Felice Brothers at an impromptu show in New Paltz, NY. Unabashedly, I asked if I could tag along, offering some extra hands and ears in exchange for the chance to see their notoriously raucous live show, get a few free beers, and possibly meet the gang themselves. The bar was small and seedy, with the Brothers' name on a chalk board outside as the only means of promotion. But then again, word of mouth is what got them to the stages of Bonnarroo (an offer they turned down this year), SXSW, and the Newport Folk Festival. That night they performed some of their most acclaimed songs, a number of gospel/folk covers, and a few selection from the then unreleased record Yonder is the Clock, out now on Team Love records. And while their live theatrics may be the greatest show on earth, The Brothers are still struggling to translate that energy, ambition, and authenticity onto an album.
Taking its name from a Mark Twain vignette, Yonder is the Felice Brothers first "proper" album, meaning they had a legit budget, proper promotion, and all the songs on it are previously unreleased (their self titled breakthrough had several tracks from locally released Adventures of the Felice Brothers, Vol. 1). Having built their reputation with their crowd-pleasing, rag tag sing-a-longs, its no surprise that there is a ton of energy pulling the reins of this album's best tracks; and with each stomp the Brother's continue to build their ever-growing mythology. "Penn Station" refers the band's notorious stunts in the subways of NYC, while "Chicken Wire" and "Memphis Flu" play on their reputation of setting up, playing, and recording whenever and wherever it seems fit, be it a chicken coop, barn, or near a railroad.
The Brother's have always balanced their barn burners with contemplative ballads, usually supplied by the gravel-voiced keyboardist James, or the gentle drummer Simone. However, on Yonder, the band creates a distinct separation between the two, and by losing that middle ground they also lose the longevity of their previous works. The steady pulse of "Radio Song" or the surprisingly authentic New Orleans funeral march of "Greatest Show on Earth", both on last year's self-titled, are gone not only in a literal sense, but also in spirit.
Originating in a small town in the Catskill Mountains region, The Felice Brothers have existed up to this point in the legendary shadow of Bob Dylan & The Band, who notoriously nestled into Woodstock, NY and breathed a new Americana. Dylan & the Band's music glorified an American history which never actually existed, but was built upon the very real traditions of early American music. Forty years later, Yonder is the Clock, with its Mark Twain title, and ghostly images of ambulances, glass ships, and chickens, is still exploiting that brand of American mysticism. The problem, however, is that the Felice Brothers are more concerned with telling the actual story, and unlike Dylan, Twain, Steinbeck, or their hometown brethren Levon Helms, their lack of imagination and the creative ability to paint stories and characters that leave a lasting impression will limit them to being a novelty act, rather than the torch-carriers. I could of swore the box said "Hollywood Blanks", but...
This Friday, May 8th, Simone Felice will debut his new band The Duke & The King at the Autumn Cafe. Simone has received much critical acclaim in recent years with his Catskill Mountain based roots rock band The Felice Brothers, who have performed at Bonnaroo, The Newport Folk Festival, and SXSW. Despite being the drummer behind some raucous and bluesy stomps sung by his brothers, Simone's own work has always set itself apart by embracing the frailty of life. In the context of the Felice Brothers, Simone's song most frequently represent those sobering moments that valley life's biggest risks, a motif he has also expounded upon in his novels, which were released and praised well before the band garnered international attention.
Simone takes his whispering Americana and makes it the central focus of this new project, which will make its "official" debut in Woodstock, NY later this month. The Duke & The King take their name from a Huckleberry Finn tale, and their first album"Nothing Gold Can Stay", due in August, refers to both Robert Frost and S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders", a hint to the severity of Simone's American music roots and the story-telling nature of his songs. It is an honor to have a musician/songwriter of Simone Felice's stature come and perform at such an intimate venue as the Autumn Cafe in downtown Oneonta, and I would encourage fans of folk, blues, and roots music in general to not miss this concert. The show will begin at 10pm, is open to all ages ($6 cover) and additional performers include The Gambler, Nun, & Radio, Mike Lovesick, and Broverdose.
'Tis the season for Summer Festivals, and while most people in South Jersey are still bummed about the Vineland Music Festival going defunct (could have been happening next month) there are some particularly good festivals happening this summer in the area. I've already posted info about the much improved XPoNential Fest in Camden, and the quantity over quality All Points West happening just this side of NYC; but now there is the Southern Shore Music Festival! Way smaller and more rootsy than those other guys, the SSMF has done a great job bringing in some of the most prestigious singer/songwriters (Richie Havens, David Bromberg, Ani Di Franco) and budding talents in the past.
This year is no exception as Arlo Guthrie, second only to Pete Seeger in terms of being steeped in American Folk Music, will headline with great supporting acts like Hoots & Hellmouth (also at XPoNential) and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. Arlo is of course the son of folk music icon Woody Guthrie, the single biggest influence on a young Bob Dylan, and unlike his black-listed father reached a more broad audience by juggling the role of protest singer with less divisive folk structures, such as childrens songs and talkin' blues.
Tickets are $25 in advance, and folks that is a steal to see just Arlo, let alone the host of other great bands.
Everyone's favorite Philly-based-member-supported -adult-alternative radio station, WXPN 88.5 FM, is putting on their annual XPoNential Music Festival this July 24-26. I have volunteered for this event years past, and I must say this line-up blows away any of the previous years. I remember one year the friday night headliner was Tower of Power and their "hip new artist" was Ryan Shaw. Yea, it was all alittle too "family" oriented.
And yea, there are some family duds this year (Los Straightjackets, Robert Cray, Steve Forbert) but there is also a lot of really good stuff. Headliners Aimee Mann, Annuals, and Peter Bjorn & John are all pretty legit, and the rest of the line-up reads like a who's who of Philly -related talent (Matt Duke, Hoots & Hellmouth, Good Old War, Andrew Lipke, etc.) I'm gonna try to be there, and preferably not as a volunteer....
My favorite music review magazine, Under the Radar, just launched a brand new website! The design is really sleek, and it sort of reminds me of Stereogum's layout, but none the less you can access music news, their great reviews, and stream new songs and whatnot. I've added it to the list on the right....
When she was 20 years old and residing with her parents in Ängelholm, Sweden, Josefin Fundin made a list of all the things she wanted to accomplish in her life. One of the items was "go to an American College", and in turn explore the country responsible for so much cultural brilliance and political blunder first hand. In fall of 2007 that goal became a reality when Josefin moved to Oneonta, NY to attend SUNY Oneonta. For two semesters she studied the business of music, the art of audio engineering, and was inspired by the backwoods, homegrown nature of upstate NY.
This February, Josefin made her first official release, a five song EP entitled Silly Lamb, Never Learns which she wrote, recorded, produced, and released entirely by herself. The songs, mostly just acoustic guitar and vocals, sound something like high quality demos as Josefin obviously applied what she learned at Oneonta for a smooth, clean sound with a good balance between all the musical elements.
The EP opens with the title track, and instantly Josefin's charming and versatile voice is introduced. Along with a slight accent (well, she does speak two Swedish dialects) there is an effortlessness to her vocals, moving easily from a strong bravado to a breathy, nasal toned whisper. Supplying her own backing vocals, Josefin uses a doubling technique to reinforce her more impacting lines and oddly structured choruses.
Perhaps the most exciting use of this is on the standout track "When Life Is On The Line," a song which finds Josefin at her most focused lyrically, and most creative in song structure. Opening with a Macy Gray neo-soul vocal, the song moves quickly and forcefully to a Grace Slick sized crescendo: "Spread the word/If no one listens/How will they be heard?" Josefin says the song's topic of rape and mass poverty came from a particular article she read concerning the Republic of Congo, but her words apply to an unfortunate nature that is present in more than just Congo. Darfur, Rwanda; Josefin's word are wisely self-imposed before being accusing, giving the song greater scope and inherently a deeper resonance. "We are living through the lens of a lie/Passively watching people die" she proclaims, recalling the same spirits that haunted "Give Peace A Chance." Coming from a girl who's original punk rock band, Efface, released an EP titled "Bush is Another Word For Cunt" (Remember him?), the presentation here is considerably more mature and accessible, two traits that will give this song legs well past any current political administration.
While "When Life Is On The Line" stands strong, other tracks such as "Acid Rain" and closer "Half & Half" only get by on their potential. They lack a lasting impression, and more specifically proper instrumentation. Josefin's songs beg to be accompanied by a full on rock group (think Rilo Kiley), hence my disposition of them as high class demos. Regardless, Josefin is an ambitious individual and the excitement of her personality translates cleanly into her music. Silly Lamb, Never Learns is a fitting introduction to an artist just starting to figure out where she fits in sonically, and amidst these sketches there are some particularly stunning moments. Fundin is now living and performing in NYC, so anyone in that area should head over to her MySpace and try to show her some support at her next performance. The Silly Lamb EP is available for download at Amazon and iTunes.
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