In anticipation of their forthcoming release, Travellers in Space and Time, indie pop band the Apples in Stereo have launched Step Through the Portal. A multimedia- rich website, it includes music streams, band info, and the film “Exploring the Universe,” a film starring Elijah Wood and Apples front man Robert Schneider.
Composers may also want to avail themselves of Schneider’s “Non-Pythagorean Scale,” an alternate tuning available for free download.
Mia Doi Todd is letting us have a sneak peek at her ninth studio album. She’s released a new video, “Open Your Heart.” Courtesy of Beam TV, check it out below.
Many Sequenza 21 readers will know Carlton Wilkinson best for his blog The And of Oneand for his work as a composer and presenter of contemporary concert music; but the man wears many hats. He’s also a college instructor (currently on the faculty at TCNJ) and a music critic for the Asbury Park Press.
Wilkinson recently shared another facet of his work: Three Rooms, a self-released album of avant pop songs. It’s currently for sale at CD Baby and iTunes. The recording primarily consists of spare piano-vocal tracks; but also includes percussion, guitars, and judicious, employment of synthesizers.
One can certainly hear influences of Carlton’s experimental compositions in the arranging touches such as flurries of noise and percussive adornments. But there’s a fair bit of prog sensibility here as well, no doubt abetted by Wilkinson’s singing voice bearing more than a passing resemblance to Adrian Belew.
Wilkinson has graciously shared an MP3 with us for previewing. Please don’t re-host and, if you like it, support grassroots music-making and buy the recording!
Domino is slated to release These New Puritans’ sophomore release, Hidden, on March 2nd.
The band is sharing a teaser MP3, “Orion,” here. The song clearly takes arranging cues from the burgeoning indie classical movement, featuring the New London Children’s Choir, Japanese Taiko drums, chains, roto-toms, etc.
While it is nice to see so many bands incorporating contemporary classical signatures into pop music, one likes it even more when the results as as fetching as those on “Orion.”
Laura Burhenn of Georgie James has a new project called the Mynabirds. They’re set to release a debut LP, What we Lose in the Fire we Gain in the Flood, on Saddle Creek on April 27. You can check out a teaser MP3, the sixties inflected pop/soul concoction “Numbers Don’t Lie,” below.
Although his principal endeavor has long been the band Low, Alan Sparhawk’s Retribution Gospel Choir is proving to be a worthy and engaging side project. This time out, on their second LP (and debut for the Sup Pop imprint), he’s joined by Low bassist Steve Garrington and drummer Eric Pollard (No Wait Wait); but, unfortunately, not by Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters), who had a large presence on the band’s debut. While the group dynamics shift decidedly toward ‘power trio’ mode as a result, the results are fine indeed; often surprising.
True, in places Sparhawk unfolds trademark signatures: gradually evolving slowcore rock. This is particularly prevalent on the deliciously attenuated “Poor Man’s Daughter.†More often, 2 serves as a departure from the slowcore blueprint, eschewing the thoughtful, gently shaded arrangements of Low for stentorian environs. Indeed, the eight-minute “Electric Guitar,†while on the slow side, is much more indebted to noise-rock than slowcore. It features gale force instrumental breaks and includes a thunderous, protracted jam that takes up much of the song’s latter half. Conversely, songs like “Working Hard†and “White Wolf†evince a more compact, mid-tempo framework, including appealing, positively pop hooks amid sturdy heavy rock arrangements.
The album closes with an atmospheric ballad, “Bless us All,†a reminder of Sparhawk’s roots on which emotive chorused vocals are delivered over a deliberate bass drone-ostinato.  And while it’s fair to say that Low compatriot Mimi Sparhawk is missed here, both as a vocalist and drummer, Garrington and Pollard are fine collaborators. They press Alan Sparhawk to expand his reach, both in terms of pacing and amplitude, bringing out a fresh side to his abundant musical gifts.
Entries (RSS)