SXSW vs. Liverpool Sound City (part 2)

New York Sound City, part 2

After the day's events, the festivities moved from the Wythe Hotel to the evening's music showcase at the Knitting Factory Brooklyn. While KOF's hiphop folk, The Verdict's British pop stylings, and Brodka's electro-pop, all made for an enjoyable evening, it was the other acts that I was most excited to see, some for the first time and others for second round.

I was, in fact, most excited to see the Wet Nuns. Playing to my theory that British metal is the next big thing, the Sheffield duo sludged through a tight and raucous short set, but delivered from the start. Reminiscent of QOTSA, but not at all uneasy about being the only heavy band on the bill, they delivered handily, and I hope they can return soon to deliver a full and proper set.

As the sole representatives for Liverpool, the Tea Street Band's energy was the catalyst that finally brought the crowd into full voice. With a 100% British sound, TSB was made to feel at home right away and repaid that embrace tenfold. Jumping into the crowd and making the most out of their Stateside debut, they made an impression and made each person in that crowd into a fan by the end of their set.

Similar to my recent post about Jake Bugg's unique positioning between UK and US fans, the final 2 acts see lots of blowback from the UK critics. Reverend and the Makers and The Enemy both seem to be too "British" for the Brits to get a fair shake in their homeland by critics and the indier than thou. But for me, they seem to honest messengers of the Anglo anthemic and the sounds that are historically and  uniquely British.

As I had previously seen Rev and the Makers open for Oasis at Wembley, having a chance to see them at such a small venue was a real treat. The energy was high, the songs were infectious and the enormous attitude was not lost in translation from the grandeur of the Wembley stage to the tiny Brooklyn venue. This isn't rocket science; it's rock music, and McClure and company deliver just that. Denying their abilities is just cynicism.

And the same goes for the Enemy. I had seen them at Bowery Ballroom before in a room full of expats, and was impressed by both their simple songwriting chops, as well as their ability to fill a room with both noise and attitude. Leaning more towards huge hooks, The Jam-style sloganeering, and uniquely British subject matter makes it more difficult to see US audiences embrace them at first blush, but again, their personality, energy and presence make them undeniable. Even though I was honestly a bit disappointed with their output since their debut album, the live set's newer songs overcame my fears and still delivered with flying colors.

Without the Doritos vending machine stage and the silly marketing attempts to connect bands and brands that have replaced the original mission of SXSW, Liverpool Sound City brought to NYC exactly what want out of my early March music showcase. As an Anglophile, this was the event of the year and worth every penny.

See you next year, New York Sound City.

The Pigeon Detectives

The Pigeon Detectives are one of those bands that can't seem to find their place in music. In the UK, they break the top 40 but don't particularly reach chart-topping success. But, while other UK bands this equals US indie cred and critical acclaim, they are both unknown and critically derided as also-rans or simply ignored (also see The Enemy, The Wombats, The Courteeners, Biffy Clyro, etc.). But they continue to plug away and keep putting out catchy, simple, straight-forward poppy rock records, while plenty of lesser bland UK indie bands get both fame and cash in the UK and critical approval in the US. It boggles my mind.

With their latest, Up, Guards And At 'Em!, they cover similar territory to their past exploits with a bit more stark, electronic and direct production. But when it comes down to it, the Pigeon Detectives real strength is proper power pop with perfect short bursts of energy and bouncy lyrical witticisms. This isn't the Libertines or Radiohead, and that's not what they are aiming for. What they aim for and very successfully achieve is closer to The Cars or Cheap Trick or even Fountains of Wayne.

The real problem is that no one seems to want that anymore. For the critics it has to be difficult or pushing buttons or award show ready and ready for adult alternative radio. That's not what this band does. It sounds to me like all they really want to do is kiss your girlfriend, and to me that's the most rock 'n roll reason to put out a record. I do find them lacking a look, a reason to be loved and a sense of danger, but again I don't think this is what they want, so in this case, I can forgive it. Especially because the songs are so well crafted. These songs deserve to be Zac Braff approved movie themes and rom-com anthems. Try to listen to this record and 1. not hum the songs all day and 2. not wish you were at a UK festival yelling the lyrics at the top of your lungs with 30,000 teenagers. I dare you.

What can I say? The Pigeon Detectives by user9583193

Done In Secret by The Pigeon Detectives

The Pigeon Detectives - Lost by Song of the Day

Top 10 for 2008

I have meant to post this for months (obviously). But I would be remiss to avoid posting it altogether. So here it is, my Top 10 records from 2008:

1. Glasvegas- Glasvegas
   
2. The Duke Spirit- Neptune
   
3. Be Your Own Pet- Get Awkward!
   
4. Sons and Daughters- This Gift
   
5. Santogold- Santogold
   
6. Elvis Costello and the Imposters- Momofuku
   
7. The Enemy- We'll Live and Die In These Towns
   
8. Coldplay- Viva La Vida
   
9. The Roots- Rising Down
   
10. The Last Shadow Puppets- Age of the Understatement
    

If you don't already have all of these, you should remedy that right now. 2008 was actually a pretty great year for music, and I was very happy to find that it was difficult narrowing it down to these 10. But each of the above records really delivered, and are still in heavy rotation even now, half way thru 2009.

AEC Monthly Missive (missed)

So I submitted an AEC Monthly Missive that didn't run in TheTripwire. But I don't want it to totally be for naught. So I'll print it here instead. Some of this stuff I may have covered here before, and some of this might even be a bit out of date by now as well, but hopefully you will still enjoy.



Welcome back to another installment of the AEC Monthly Missive. One of the things we struggle with each month is where to draw the line. We want to keep everyone up to speed on things we see and hear from the UK, but we don’t want to bore you with bands/music/news, that you may already know about. We’d love to be strictly for the “headz,” but we are also here to help teach the uninitiated. So this month, we figured we would split it up.


For those in the know already, some of these releases/ bands might be old hat. But in case you don’t know them, here are some current basics that folks are chatting about.


La Roux- We sadly missed her NYC appearances a few weeks back, but we have honestly been impressed by La Roux. She walks the line of pop and critical darling carefully, and in the end, the tunes stand up to inspection. We had the feeling it would be all hairdo and major label bluster, but we were wrong. Quicksand will be a 2009 staple.

http://www.laroux.co.uk/


Bat For Lashes- We dug BFL last record and tour, but Natasha Khan has since added Charlotte Hatherley of Ash to the live band! The tunes are still solid and the live show is getting loads of praise. This will be the band your parents will hear about by the end of the year.

http://www.batforlashes.com/


The Horrors- We admittedly disliked the Horrors debut. For our taste, they just seemed to be lacking the bite, and even the bark, and basically only had the fur and the howl. But the band had Portishead’s Geoff Barrow produce their latest record, and it seems that he has had a serious impact. Much tighter sonically, spacious and cooler, the Horrors just might be able to deliver on their earlier promises.

http://www.thehorrors.co.uk/


Jarvis Cocker- Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker has always been a great personality. His music has also always been insightful and smart and cutting, but rarely has his work been considered “rocking.” He just changed that. Jarvis’s new song, “Angela,” proves he can rock with the best of them, pulling out his best mod stomp to date. If this is what we can expect from his next LP, we absolutely can’t wait. Get the track free at his site now.

http://www.jarviscocker.net/


The Specials- Reunions are so de riguer, and often from acts that haven’t even waited long enough to make us want them back. Not so in the case of the Specials. The reunion has caused plenty of noise overseas and folks are freaking out (including Fred Perry: http://www.fredperry.com/thespecials/) Playing all the old tunes at small venues and still killing it live, we can only hope they make it to our shores for a few dates.

http://www.thespecials.com/


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As much as the above acts already have plenty of attention, we think we should spend sometime on folks that are so far under the radar as well.


Big Pink- “On 4AD, and produced by Alan Moulder.” In theory, that’s usually enough to win us over, but The Big Pink also have great tunes. Dark, loud, noisy and smart, we have the feeling this release could be a big difference maker this year.

http://musicfromthebigpink.com/


Tom Allalone & the 78s- Most folks know we have a serious penchant for pure and simple rock and roll. Obviously, so do Tom Allalone &the 78s. They’ve got great outfits, great hair and flawless rockabilly, straight outta Kent. Check out the first single, “Hell Hath No Fury” and the new record, Major Sins Pt. 1, just released in the UK last month.

http://www.tomallalone.com/


God Help the Girl- Stuart Murdoch is not an unknown, but the leader behind the iconic Belle and Sebastian camp has a new project that is still flying below the radar. His new project is called God Help the Girl and won’t be released until late June, but is worth seeking out right away. It’s shimmering 60s pop feel is balanced by it’s heady fake movie soundtrack concept keeps it brainy and interesting.

http://www.godhelpthegirl.com/


The Enemy- For some reason, this trio has somehow slipped the American anglophile consciousness. We saw them last year, and their Jam/Oasis/Clash style blew us away. Tight musicianship, great stage personality and plenty to say as well, these Coventry boys just released their sophomore effort in the UK. Hopefully they will have a chance to hit the States this time with a bit more support.

http://www.theenemy.com/


Dizzee Rascal- On these shores, Dizzee had his moment but has since been somewhat forgotten. We just heard his new single, “Bonkers,” produced by Armand Van Helden, and were immediately reminded how great he can be. The rhymes, attitude and raw sounds are all there, and immediately beg for the track to be heard thru giant bassbins. Straight up CHOON.

http://www.myspace.com/dizzeerascal


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And finally, The Mighty Boosh has finally made it to the US.! Adult Swim has picked up the insane show, and thankfully given us something to do late on a Sunday night. There’s no point trying to explain the “plot” of the show, but if you are into the Adult Swim vein of comedy, and are a fan of such bands/musicians as Razorlight, The Horrors, Towers of London, Gary Numan, and Roger Daltrey, then this is the show for you. Obviously we love Noel Fielding (close friend of Russell Brand’s), but we also must admit that we have a total soft spot for Bollo the gorilla and Naboo the Enigma. Don’t ask, just watch.

http://www.adultswim.com/shows/themightyboosh/indexpage.html#episodes



Til next time.