Vampire Weekend - Contra (2010, XL)

Vampire Weekend - Contra
(2010, XL)

This might be one of the most challenging albums to write. With a well received debut that got praised in most alternative press living up to expectations might be a bit too much for a relatively young band like Vampire Weekend. Founded in 2006 and releasing their self titled debut in 2008 based on popularity mostly created by blogs. It was sure that this years Contra was going to get a lot of coverage online. Fans of their first record can now breathe freely again, they lived up to the hype. As to be heard on the bands earlier material Vampire Weekend take influences from African popular music and many other genres. This wide list of influences is expanded even more on Contra with VW also taking some hints from the eighties, synth pop, Caribbean rythms and more oddities. With this big flow of different influences you can hear the band sometimes struggling to make Contra a cohesive whole. In the opening track Horchata this is best displayed by the somewhat strange combination of elements presented in that song. After that little rough start VW manages to stay on track and create a interesting and fun record that doesn’t show any signs of being a difficult second album. They sound a lot fuller thanks to all the little bits that are added in. Comparing it to their fabulous debut shows Contra as the more grown-up version of the childhood dreams presented on the self titled. They replaced some of the spontaneous energy for a more eclectic sound that will sure gain them many new fans.

Om, Lichens, Cam Deas, Spoono, Bas Verbeek

Tilburg delivers again. Last Friday I went to see Om and Lichens play at the 013 venue, a slight look into the future with the Roadburn festival coming up in a few months. Last year Om played the festival and showed how less is more. First to play was Robert Lowe, known for his work in 90 Day Men, who put on a very nice soundscape under his Lichens pseudonym . Sitting on the front of the stage with just a chair, a few pedals and a guitar he started his set which was based around a few heavily looped vocals. Long howls, high notes, deep basses, Lowe shows a great range and a very powerful voice. Topping layer onto layer the soundscape thickens, finally completed with some fierce notes from the electric guitar. The created drones are very soothing and even a tad hypnotizing. Just when I’m about to dose off in the sweet sounds they disappear only leaving Roberts maniacal laughter to tell us it’s over. At only twenty minutes it was a bit short but the build-up and energy was delivered at the perfect moments, a very intense performance.

Lichens only leaves the stage for a short period cause when I enter the venue again I’m surprised to see not two but three people climb the stage. Next to Al Cisneros of Sleep and Emil Amos known from Grails we see Robert Lowe on stage for the second time that night. This explains the short powerful burst he gave us before even more. Just when I start imagining what Om might sound like as a three-piece the bass starts to rumble and the drums kick in. Om holds tight to the less is more principal of their albums and gives us a bunch of minimalistic drone/stoner compositions based around bass guitar and drums. Highlight of the night are of course the super tight drums and fills by Amos who isn’t placed centre stage for nothing. But tonight a few more elements are introduced, some minimal guitar, delayed vocals and a tambourine or two are added for an even stronger Arabic mood. I can already imagine the Arabian armies march when I listen to their dragging riffs that seem to go on forever. Unfortunately there is no such thing and after a well crafted set of minimalism I go home satisfied, knowing that I witnessed a very unique side of Om.

As a crack addict to his drugs I return to Tilburg the following day for another night of impressive music. This time it’s Vatican Analog that try to drop our jaws in the Zwijsenpand with a few unbelievably talented musicians. Not mentioned on the flyer or anywhere else but indeed playing is Bas Verbeek. This local seems a bit odd next to the acoustic guitars of the following acts. Verbeek starts his set of at a very low volume, combined with only candle light and the low turnout the mood is set for what turns out to be a very atmospheric performance. Lush and minimal guitar tones slowly fill the room until they fade out again. At this point I can’t really grab hold of the direction Verbeek is going but just when I start to doubt his concept the layers start to thicken. No more silence, layers are arranged very carefully and the volume goes up every time something is added to the sound palette. On top of the soothing guitar Verbeek starts doing some mantra-like vocals, ever so slightly changing tone and mood. At this point the volume has grown from very quiet to indeed pretty loud. Just when parts of the room start vibrating the sound is cut off only leaving his exposed voice die out in a very emotional scream. While I still feel this wasn’t the most fitting artist in this line-up I really enjoyed the performance.

Next up is my reason for visiting this show Cam Deas, a very young lad from Shetfield, who has fully mastered the 12 string guitar. Starting of with some really harsh and unorthodox notes he seems to be testing our patience but we sure get rewarded when the more melodic pieces come in. What is there to say about something so pure, so well executed? Cam Deas knows how to translate emotions or even stories through his very soothing acoustic soundscapes. The insane technique isn’t used for bragging rights but only to create something amazingly pure. He sure leaves everybody in the room wanting more. Unfortunately I have to miss Jack Allett due to travelling by train but if he delivered anything like his recorded work this sure has been equally hypnotizing and rewarding as Cam Deas. Just before I leave this great night of intimate music I manage to buy the Cam Deas/Spoono 12” I’ve been wanting to obtain for a few months.

Over the past week I’ve given the record quite a few listens and I have to say it really manages to capture these acts the way one has to experience them. Frozen Lakes and Icy Leaves is a much better listen on the vinyl then the myspace-rip I’ve been using all that time and still is my favorite Cam Deas track by far. Spoono which is the name Jack Allett used until a short while ago brings a few less complicated tracks. One might say they sound easy when you compare them to the other side but they are just as much filled with emotion. A very good combination is presented on this 12” and if you ever get the chance to see this combination perform live, go for it.

PS: If anybody went to see Savage Republic @ TAC last Sunday, how was it?

2009 Yearlist

This is a repost, the previous one caused alot of problems with formatting.
Artists, albums and tags aren't marked in this post due to the insane amount.

What a crazy year indeed. Lots of great music, a few big dissapointments but when you do the math it all adds up to a great year for alternative music. While popular music was dominated by such freaks like Lady Gaga the alternative scene took a turn even further away from commercial. Keywords of 2009 in my opinion are noise-pop, lo-fi, psych-drone and folk. Same keywords could have been applied to the last few years but I feel like this is the first year that actually takes these genres a step further. As usual every genre still save got a post- version so people can now also enjoy post-black metal. Due to the diverse output and my even more so listening habbits every piece of music released this year will compete for spots in just one list. Seperate lists for 7"s or anything like that just take away from the good releases. If you manage to release a good piece of music it doesn't matter if it lasted six or forty minutes. Feast your eyes on the few selected records that really hit me this year:






01. Neon Indian - Psychic Chams









02. Washed Out - High Times









03. Bibio - The Apple and The Tooth




04. Sleigh Bells - Sleigh Bells
05. Vomir - Proanomie
06. Punch - Punch
07. Shogun Kunitoki - Vinonaamakasio
08. Ducktails - Ducktails
09. Best Coast - Make You Mine
10. Ilyas Ahmed - Goner
11. Peter Broderick & Machinefabriek - BlankGrey CanvasSky
12. Big Spider's Back - Warped
13. Tiny Vipers - Life on Earth
14. Peaking Lights - Imaginary Falcon
15. Ganglians - Monster Head Room
16. Black Dice - Repo
17. The Drums - The Drums
18. Millionyoung - Sunndreamm
19. Orphan Fairytale - Ladybird Labyrinth
20. Borgore - Goresteps Most Hated
21. Topaz Rags - Tarot Harem
22. Bygones - by-
23. Sun Araw - Heavy Deeds
24. Endless Endless Endless - Black Talisman
25. John Wiese - Circle Snare
26. Memory Tapes - Seek Magic
27. Small Black - Small Black
28. Real Estate - Real Estate
29. Psychedelic Horseshit - Shitgaze Anthems
30. Converge - Axe to Fall

Conclusions:
Looking a bit closer at the list a few interesting things can be seen. The relatively new genre chillwave is well represented as well as debut albums or fairly new bands. That can only mean that most of the longer lasting bands dissapointed this year and I'm sorry to say that is indeed the case. Ofcourse there are always exceptions and Axe to Fall it the prime example. Bieng a big fan of Converge for years that one gave me some mixed feelings on a first listen but after multiple spins it shows it's real face, a face melting slab of technical hardcore. Converge never let down.

Most of the hipsters are probably missing out two names(or many more) which would be Animal Collective and The XX, while both albums are really good they just didn't deserve to be on my personal list. The XX never got many repeated plays and I still go back to Strawberry Jam more than I do with MPP. Gotta give some love to My Girls though.

Also a bit left out in this list are heavy genres like hardcore and grindcore. I'm totally into that scene and everything about it but this year was a bit of a let down. Punch delivered a furious record and Magrudergrind presented us thier weakest record so far which means it was still pretty good. Other bands worth mentioning are Trash Talk, Spoonful of Vicodin and Wormrot. Yes I did indeed leave out Extreme Noise Terror, Insect Warfare and Napalm Death out on purpose. ENT still haven't found thier roots, Insect Warfare discovered money and bad noisecore and Napalm Death still try ever so hard to get rid of thier past. If you like these bands don't bother with the new stuff, just go spin some Holocaust in your Head, Scum and World Extermination.

As always, this year it was really cool to show an eclectic music taste in your list. This means lots bad records get listed from genres people don't know much about. Absolute winner in that spot this year is the new Raekwon, that was actually pretty generic and boring. Another regular in the eclecticness olympics is (MF) DOOM who bored us with his worst songs to date. By this time you already heard atleast three Extreme Noise Terror songs so go on, switch it with something good like A Tribe Called Quest 7" , just do it!

As always, Sunburned Hand of the Man released a lot of albums this year. And most of the time those are really good, so good I would put it in the list if it wasn't for a lack of identity between the albums. Just go pick some random ones and start listening, can't really go wrong with that.

In the end, heavy music lost and hipsters won this year. Chillwave bieng thier main defense, fresh combined with retro through a blender of good marketing and polaroids, let's hope they don't ruin this like noise-pop. I'm very curious to see how the sound will develop cause it's character is pretty limited. Sure can't wait for the crossovers to pop up and the tag turning into something even weirder. 2010 post-chillcore here we come!

PS: These would have made the list if it was a top 74:
A Broken Consort, AIDS Wolf, Amenra, Animal Collective, Atlas Sound, BATS, more Best Coast releases, Black Pus, Coming Up for Air, Cameron Wisch, Dreams of the Drowned, Emeralds, Girls, Grass Widow, Gucci Mane, Halflings, Hey! Tonal, High Wolf, Katadreuffe, Krallice, Kurt Vile, M.Pyres, Magik Markers, Midlake, Narrows, Planning for Burial, Pocahaunted, Purity Control, Scott Tuma & Mike Weis, Second Family Band, Silver Bullets, Smelly Magic, Sunn O))), Surfer Blood, Sylvester Anfang II, Thee Oh Sees, Toe, Vivian Girls, Wet Hair, Woburn House, Wooden Shjips, Woods, xBrainiax, xbxrx, Yakuza Heart Attack

Westerlingen revival-core

Yeah that's right, this is the hippest thing around right now "westerlingen revival-core" is the sound of 2010, everything you should listen to in the upcoming year. To be totally hip and in about what fits in the wr-core tag you should bookmark this and remind yourself to check it everyday. First of I have three announcements:

1. Happy New Year in a fashionable late but still kind way. Yes I know it's already half way into the first month, but better late then never is the motto that keeps this blog go round.

2. I'm posting again, proven by this (badly written) article. This means new reviews of mostly 2010-albums and some goodies from last year.

3. We are now running in English (no shit sherlock). I couldn't resist the fame and wide audience, I apologize for all the bad grammar and stupid mistakes just deal with it.

Get your scopes on chillwave, up and coming genre supported by all the hip blogs and pitchfork so you know it's good or atleast a trend. I hate the term but love the music, takes you back to the 80's in a nice laid back miami way. More on this and my yearlist(I love lists) of 2009, soon!

PS: Go listen Toro y Moi.