The Beta Band - The Three EPs (320)

For my first post, I thought I'd start with one of my favorite albums, The Beta Band's 1998 album The Three EPs. Compiled from the tracks, as implied by the album title, from the EPs Champion Versions, The Patty Patty Sound and Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos, The Three EPs is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated albums of the 90s.

Combining acoustic instrumentation, such as guitars, trumpets and percussion with looped electronic beats and garage-style electronic effects creates a style self-described as 'folktronica.' The Three EPs takes a lo-fi/jam/experimental/psychedelic approach while still retaining much of their pop sensibility, producing songs which could easily gain radio airtime if they weren't six or more minutes long. Minimalist instrumentation on some tracks often contrasts with the building 'collage of sound' on others; and the catchy, sing-along melodies of some tracks, such as that of Dry The Rain, with less accessible, but still equally as good tracks such as the sixteen-minute Monolith.

This shit gets in your head and doesn’t leave. Strongly recommended.

Favorite tracks: Dry The Rain, I Know, Dog’s Got A Bone, She’s The One, Needles In My Eyes, Monolith

My rating: 9.5/10
Download.

Devendra Banhart - What Will We Be (FLAC)

I saw Devendra play live today, and his demeanor struck me immediately. Here was someone playing in front of several thousand people, with a full band, with almost complete creative control, having any ego needs of his fulfilled completely by fans and newcomers alike, and the way he behaved was, to say the least, very humble. At one point he invited a member of the crowd to come on stage and perform an original song, and at that point I realized what had attracted M. Gira to Banhart while he was still signed to Young God Records. Shuffling, jiving and stumbling across the stage as he pours out his soul to a crowd of onlookers, Devendra is as magical as he is sincere.

If you've heard Rejoicing in the Hands, Banhart's breakout full-length from 2004, the transition between it and What Will We Be is incredibly satisfying. On the former, Banhart makes promises of surrealistic lyricism and musicality, but often only provides his guitar and voice to support those promises.

To anyone who has been following Devendra these last few years, it seems clear that What Will We Be is the natural culmination of all of his musical developments across the last decade. Surrounded by instrumentation that supports both his methodologies and his character, Banhart's new material is just as endearing as his old.

Love is light ignited.
(Download V0.)

Feral Children - Brand New Blood (V0)

The following is a police report of an event that occurred sometime in the early months of 2010 regarding the murders of Animal Collective and most of Modest Mouse.

According to one "Isaac Brock," disillusioned with what was once his own "indie rock," he finally grew tired of his bandmates, pulled out a shotgun (yet to be found) and burst into the studio where the other members of "Modest Mouse" were recording, killing each of them one by one. Brock made no attempt to hide his deed(when cops arrived two days later all the bodies were still where they fell and blood was everywhere). Isaac then began to leave, but noticed that one of his band mates had brought an album (titled: "Strawberry Jam" by Animal Collective) with him and left it on a desk. Mr. Brock was unable to explain why he had decided to stop and listen to the album, but stated after he had listened to it he had yet another urge to kill. He called a friend who quoted, "He asked me for some odd request, the address of Animal Collective’s studio."

We estimate that four days later Mr. Brock arrived at the studio, killed the band (Animal Collective) that had been practicing inside and then, in his own words, "ate their hearts to gain their power." Brock then remained in the studio for 48 hours and used Animal Collective’s instruments to create the attached album. We found him there, still covered in blood, bodies still on the floor, blood everywhere. When we took him in for questioning (and a soon to be conviction) he kept screaming for us to take the enclosed album with him.

Find the aforementioned album attached within.

Woods - Songs of Shame (V0)

Sort of like Les Rallizes Dénudés if they made folk music. Warm and fuzzy, organic and communal. Woods isn't a jam band but they do have a habit of going off on long, psychedelic tangents. Perhaps they should consider expanding their instrumental repertoire beyond the typical folk rock inventory, but the intimacy of those small interactions is just as satisfying.

Doing fine,
Under a setting sun.

Here We Go Magic - Pidgeons (320)

Here We Go Magic's second release, Pidgeons, from 2010. I highly encourage anyone who has the opportunity to see this band live to do so.

Download.

Here We Go Magic - Here We Go Magic (V0)

I first saw Here We Go Magic at Austin City Limits in 2009. It was early morning, the 'Dillo Dirt was turning into what basically amounted to sewage and manure, and a fine mist permeated the air. Rain had poured the night previously, and more was yet to come. It was around 10 o' clock a.m. when they took the stage, before or after The Dodos and Suckers (I can hardly remember). Luke Temple stood in between four other people, chanting and yelling, murmuring and gesturing to the crowd. It was early, I'd never heard of Here We Go Magic before that day, and the stench in the air from the surfacing fertilizer was extremely, horribly distracting.

Following that appearance, I let Here We Go Magic stir in my brain a little bit, taking in their jangly guitars and egg shakers, their DIY musical attitude and clear sense of community between each other. I grew to like Here We Go Magic in the months following, not just musically but conceptually, because these seemed like people I could genuinely get along with. I've always been a fan of that sort of psychedelic folk rock aesthetic; it seems to attract the best musicians.

The second time I saw Here We Go Magic, I went prepared. Several hours of listening to their music, in various states of consciousness, and I had familiarized myself so much with their music that even Jen Turner's subliminal lyricisms seemed clear to me. Temple and company began playing at around midnight, and continued on for an hour and a half. I can honestly say that that hour and change was one of the high points of my year. Here We Go Magic put on a brilliant show, fulfilling the psychedelic promises made on their last two records and going even a step further. My mind was completely blown away by the fuzzy rhythms and textures, the seeming communion of souls practiced by the band members, the drones and warping synthesizers. It was incredible; greasy college students stood who had previously stood about drinking overpriced beer earlier in the night were, by the time Here We Go Magic played their finale, Collector, shoving, jumping, and crowdsurfing just like everyone else in the room. The floor devolved into chaos; what happened that night can only be described as moshing to psychedelic folk music.

Here We Go Magic's eponymous debut is a record that grows with you. It takes effort to delve into thoroughly, and you have to appreciate the band as something created from intimacy. It is also a record that will reward you for your investments, because the kind of love that Luke Temple puts into his music is something that few musicians are capable of.

Everything is possible.