Go Do [mp3]

So, full disclosure, Sigur Ros was, is, and remains one of my favorite bands ever.  I’ve seen them twice, first in Lawrence, KS before they became a worldwide success, and more recently in St. Louis, when they were at their peak, and each time was equally amazing for completely different reasons.  Much like Radiohead, my enjoyment from their music mainly came from watching their transformation over the years.  From the minimalist, brooding sound of Von, to the carefree, pure joy that is found throughout Takk and Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, their progression as a band was a unique journey I loved following all these years.

So, when rumors went around this January that the band completely scrapped new material they were working on and were on indefinite hiatus, I honestly didn’t know what to think.  There are very few constants in one’s life when it comes to the music industry, and Sigur Ros were quite definitely one of those constants.  To have it taken away  just like that caught me off guard to say the least.  Before I could really formulate any concrete opinions on one of my favorite bands essentially breaking up, enter Go by Jonsi here to save the day.  And I have to say, as a much bigger fan of their happier songs over their more epic, sprawling, emotional songs, the upbeat, just plain happy energy found on Jonsi’s solo album is very refreshing.

As with anything Sigur Ros related, pretty much anyone that knows me has now listened to the album more times than they wanted due to my annoying persistance that they “check out Jonsi’s new album!”  The reactions I’ve gotten so far are basically what I’d expected.  It’s great, but so much happier than any of his previous stuff, most of them have told me.  And while I agree completely, I think Go is one of the strongest albums Jonsi has crafted in his career.  I realize that’s a bold statement for me to make being such a huge fan of the band, but the more I listen to Go, the less I focus on how happy it is, and more on simply how great the album is as a whole.

This is due almost entirely to the addition of Nico Muhly’s classical arranging and Samuli Kosminen’s percussion (over the top in the best way possible).  Muhly has worked with everyone from Mew to Grizzly Bear, and much like Owen Pallett did in transforming Arcade Fire’s newest albums through his orchestrations, Muhly has done to equal degree with Jonsi’s first solo album.  I’ve yet to listen to Muhly’s own solo albums, Speaks Volumes and Mothertongue, but after hearing his work on this album, you can bet I’ll be searching diligently for those albums in the near future.  And while Muhly does get my nod for most influence on this album’s overall sound, I have to smirk and give a nod to Kosminen’s crazy drumming style, which I can only picture as him banging on damn near anything around him he can reach.  It’s percussion I can only describe as controlled chaos, and I can’t get enough of it.

What about the songs you may ask?  Honestly, one thing remains true in this case, regardless of whether he’s writing with his band or alone, this album needs to be heard the whole way through.  Stand outs include “Go Do”, “Boy Lilikoi”, and “Around Us”, but I’d soon enough give you the silent treatment for a while if I found out you just jumped straight to those songs because I told you those were my favorites.  It really is an album you have to hear from beginning to end, and while Sigur Ros aren’t on any real hiatus (just rumors I’ve found out halfway through writing this.  They had kids, wanted a break, etc.), and should be recording again early next year, I almost feel strange thinking to myself, I hope the new Sigur Ros can match Jonsi’s solo album.  Strange to say sure, but it’s really that good.  Well done Jonsi, I must say.  Well done.

Jónsi – Go
Perch Score:  9.655/10

01. Go Do [mp3]

02. Animal Arithmetic
03. Tornado
04. Boy Lilikoi
05. Sinking Friendships
06. Kolnidur
07. Around Us [mp3]

08. Grow Till Tall
09. Hengils

Jonsi Official Site / Myspace
Sigur Ros Official Site / Myspace

Early Perch Score:  8.233/10

Mumford & Sons were a random find a while back that falls in the “Thank God I decided to check them out” category.  There’s probably another 30 albums in my inbox that I’ll think are simply amazing, but truth is I probably won’t ever listen to them.  Sad, for sure.  Mumford & Sons caught a break, because I looked at the sea of emails and just clicked one randomly.  I proceeded to listen to their wonderful album Sigh No More for the next two weeks pretty much non-stop.

Usually in determining an album deserves to be among the top 10 of the year, it really comes down to two factors.  One, do I know a majority of the lyrics, and two, did my roommate get sick of hearing the album blaring from my room and playing in my car to the point that he gives me an “Are you serious?” every time it’s playing.  Sigh No More gets a definite yes and yes to both of those.  As a kid, I’d sit with albums for days straight and know every lyric and note by heart and it’s sad to think I rarely have time to do that anymore.  So, I have to take note when an album gets me to listen faithfully to it like I did in the good ol days.

There’s so many stand-outs on this album I won’t write a lengthy track by track review and instead just tell you a few things I really enjoy about it.  If you can imagine Glen Hansard and his Swell Season project, only way more intense both lyrically and musically, then you basically have Mumford & Sons.  Songs like “Little Lion Man” and “White Blank Page” stand out as straight forward, loud, folk songs, while “I Gave You All” and “Dustbowl Dance” take the cake for slower songs that build into a few of my favorite song climaxes of the year.  I think I listened to “Dustbowl Dance” on repeat every morning going to work to wake me up for a good two weeks straight.  It starts off nice a slow, which fit on my morning drives because I was just waking up, but by the end when the drums kick in and everyone just goes nuts, I couldn’t help but notice my heart rate jump up and me yelling, “Hell yeah!  Let’s sell some shoes!” (I work at a shoe store part time by the way on top of my record label side stuff).

I think I’d said enough to at least get you to check them out.  Their sound is the complete opposite of Freelance Whales, but both should crack my top five of the year if nothing else slips in suddenly.  Sigh No More is easily among the year’s best, and it’s just a shame that they’re only just starting to get noticed here in the states.  I’ve done my part giving this album to anyone I even vaguely know.  Bugging them until they’d finally given it a few good spins.  And for the most part, everyone’s really enjoyed it.  Their brand of intense folk isn’t necessarily for everyone, but it sure struck a chord with me, and I’ll say it again.  Thank God I randomly stumbled upon this album.

Mumford & Sons
Sigh No More
Perch Score: 9.555/10

Little Lion Man [mp3]

Dustbowl Dance [mp3] (at least listen to the 3:06 mark when they go crazy and tell me it doesn’t make you want to crank the volume up)

Little Lion Man Video

Live Videos at ICA London,
March 4, 2009

-Roll Away Your Stone (documentary style)
-I Gave You All
-Timshel
-Winter Winds + The Cave

Official Site / Myspace

Working a ton, Lemondrop 2.0 (which I’ll tell you about when we’re ready), various side projects, and a whole host of other things, have kept me super busy lately.  No excuse, but that’s my excuse for not keeping up with the Perch lately.  If it makes you feel any better, the stuff I’ve been meaning to write about is some of my favorite music of the year.  And I can say that with confidence, considering the next few bands I write about have been in my car for a good two weeks.

Band #1 on that list – Freelance Whales.  Their album Weathervanes will make my top 10 list easy.  Possibly crack the top five as well.  It’s that good.  Call it what you what: dreamy pop, acoustic/folk street music/etc., the reviews sure have, but I honestly don’t think there’s a genre or term that could pin their sound down.  They sound like Illinoise era Sufjan, sing almost completely in chorus (100% in chorus when live), and play with a host of odd instrument arrangements that I imagine even Sufjan would be jealous of.

Weathervanes starts off with “Generator ^ 1st Floor”, a song that couldn’t capture their unique sound better.  It ’s got that dreamy feel the reviews described, the Sufjan feel I described, and the (enter descriptive word) feel you’ll inevitably come up with yourself.  “Hannah” follows the opener and remains my favorite song on the album.  I hate to single any song out as my favorite, as there’s just so many great songs throughout the album.  But “Hannah” remains one of the year’s best.  “Hannah”, along with the two generator songs, “Location”, “Starring”, “Broken Horse”, and “Ghosting”.  See what I did there.  But that’s when you know an album is one of your favorites of the year.  When any of six or seven songs on the album can be one of your favorites of the year interchangeably.

I have to say I’m more than happy I randomly stumbled upon this album and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to help a few of you “stumble” onto this great band through this post as well.

Freelance Whales
Weathervanes
Perch Score: 9.466/10

1.Generator ^ First Floor (3:06) [mp3]

2.Hannah (3:37)
3.Location (4:37)
4.Channels (1:17)
5.Starring (3:33)
6.Kilojoules (3:19)
7.Broken Horse (4:37)
8.Danse Flat (1:14)
9.Ghosting (5:18)
10.We Could Be Friends (4:12)
11.Vessels (1:41)
12.Generator ^ Second Floor (4:30) [mp3]

13.The Great Estates (4:01)

Freelance Whales Myspace / Some Live Videos

Well, the Format isn’t back yet, but Nate sure is, and in a big way.  His new band, Fun., finds him teaming up with Andrew Dost of Anathallo and Jack Antonoff of Steel Train.  Aim and Ignite sounds exactly like you might think.  Nate’s vocals carry the band, making it feel like a worthy addition to the Format’s catalogue, but the instrumentation feels much more orchestral this time around with Andrew and Jack backing Nate up.  Do I like Fun. better than The Format?  That a good question that remains unanswered, considering both the Format’s past albums became staples in my collection.  But having brought this new album to my shoe store job, and having myboss give it the “yeah that’s poppy enough” OK, I’ve definitely had plenty of listens through to make up my mind that it’s a great album.  But in a very different way than I enjoyed the Format.

The opener, “Be Calm”, introduces the new collaboration’s sound right from the start.  More strings, less serious lyrics, and a little gentler than the Format’s full ahead pop sound.  “Benson Hedges” sounds like Jack’s doing, and has a a very big Steel Train feel to it.  And the rest of the album simply follows suit.  There’s piano, horns, and strings abound, but it never quite feels like a new Format album to me, and I think that’s for the best in the end.  Other stand-outs include “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used to Be)”, “Walking the Dog”, and “The Gambler”.

When all is said and done, fans of the Format will be happy to hear Nate playing music again, but it should be hit or miss for bigger fans of the band.  They’ll develop a new community of fans simply because of the three main bands the members of Fun. belong to, but disregarding the Format comparisons and treating Fun. as their own band, I think Aim and Ignite stands on its own as one of the year’s best pop releases.  It’s no new Format album, but it never really tries to be.  I’m rooting for Nate and all the member of Fun. to make it just as big as the Format did, and I hope whatever Sam’s doing these days eventually leads to new music as well.  But as it stands, I’m plenty happy with Fun. and their new album and highly recommend it to anyone who will listen.

Fun.
Aim and Ignite
Perch Score:  8.756/10

1. “Be Calm”
2. “Benson Hedges”
3. “All the Pretty Girls (On a Saturday Night)”
4. “I Wanna Be the One (BaBaBa)”
5. “At Least I’m Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)” [mp3]
   
6. “Light a Roman Candle with Me”
7. “Walking the Dog”
8. “Barlights”
9. “The Gambler”
10. “Take Your Time (Coming Home)”

Official Site /youtube / facebook / myspace / twitter

If you’re looking for some new tunes to kick start your weekly dance party, look no further than Pink and Purple.  Alan has crafted the best 80’s throwback album of 2009 and an album I couldn’t recommend more to brighten your summer days a bit.  (…and make sure to check out the audio section of his site to stream the whole album and hear his great remix of “1901″ by Phoenix)

Alan Wilkis
Pink and Purple
Perch Score: 9.411/10

N.I.C.E. [mp3]

Murder Mystery – Love Astronaut (Alan Wilkis remix) [mp3]

Official Site / Myspace

Bombadil’s third release, Tarpits and Canyonlands, was sent to me about a week ago with the usual promo sheet and a hand cut-out picture of a Carnivale Cruise boat that had a note from Bryan on the back telling me a big thanks for listening.  Stuff like that are why I love interacting with and helping up and coming bands.  It just makes it more fun that way.  Suffice it to say, I popped their newest release in my cd player and sat silently in excitement to hear what they had in store this go around.  If it was anything like their last release, A Buzz A Buzz, which made it high on my top 50 list last year, then I would be more than happy.  Luckily for all of us that it ended up surpassing my high hopes by a mile, which is saying a lot. (rest of the review after the jump)

Just like their previous album, this new one has that quirky feel that I can’t quite pinpoint with the correct description.  Sometimes I get this Celtic/Irish feel to their music, which I know isn’t right since they’re from Durham, NC, but some songs feel like the Decemberists style, only if they cheered up quite a bit and played more pubs and St. Patty’s Day parades.  That could simply be because of the strings and heavy folk base to their tunes, or I guess it could be just me as well.

There was a few quotes on their promo sheet that I agreed whole-heartedly with.  The first being from Q Magazine, which describes Bombadil as “charmingly odd”.  I’d say that’s a fitting description.  But it was what the Washington Post said that struck a chord with me.  “…Clearly has the heart of a dozen hipster ‘it; bands.”  That quote I can stand behind.  Anytime I talk to them online, they’re always more than happy to send me something or pass along info about their new tunes.  Usually, it’s the band that contacts me randomly simply to see what’s up, which is pretty rare nowadays.

I have an obvious bias, because I like the guys in the band as much as I like their music, but this new album really is great.  Much like the last album, Tarpits begins with “I Am”, a song barely a minute and a half that is mainly the band singing acapella on top of a piano line.  It’s simple, but always puts a smile on my face and does it’s job setting up the second song, “Sad Birthday”, which is a foot stomping, hand clapping, piano pounding song that is the true opener that kicks off what’s to come throughout the album.

If you’ve never heard of Bombadil before now, I’d recommend you start with this new album and work backwards.  They’re really at the top of their game with this new release, with songs like “Sad Birthday”, “Honeymoon”, “Reasons”, and “Kate and Kelsey” standing out among the year’s best songs.  I enjoy the album all the way through, but I’ve favored the slower songs lately and can’t get enough of them.  The last two songs I just mentioned are probably the best two songs on the album, and I almost hesitate to say that because Bombadil are known mainly for their energetic, upbeat songs, but it’s never a bad thing when an energetic band can write slower songs that are just as good as anything else.

I’ll end this review with one last reason you should check it out.  It was recorded with Scott Solter, who is best known for being John Vanderslice’s right hand man at JV’s Tiny Telephone recording studio, and has recorded numerous albums for Vanderslice, the Mountain Goats, Spoon, and Okkervil River to name a few.  You can hear his influence all over this new album.

Tarpits and Canyonlands is released July 7th on Ramseur Records and I suggest all of you head over to their site and PRE-ORDER it now!

Bombadil
Tarpits and Canyonlands
Perch Score: 9.489/10

1. I Am
2. Sad Birthday
3. Honeymoon
4. Reasons [mp3]

5. Cold Runway
6. Oto the Bear [mp3]

7. Prologue
8. So Many Ways to Die
9. Marriage
10. Laurita
11. Kuala Lumpur
12. Pyramid
13. 25 Daniels
14. Matthew
15. Kate and Kelsey
Official Site / Myspace

Mad props to new friend of the Perch, Kip, from the blog Digging for Days, for stopping by and indirectly introducing me to Miniature Tigers through his blog.  Tell it to the Volcano is perfect summer music.  Laid back, super poppy, love songs.  I’d say the best comparison would be to Someone Still Loves You Boris Yelstin.  A Perch fave you’ll remember if you’ve been following the blog the past year.

Of course, it’s not quite summer yet and is only just now starting to get nice most places, so their brand of laid back, summer pop may not click with some of you right off the bat.  Much like Kip, this album had to grow on me.  My love for Boris Yeltsin kept me listening to the Tigers’ similar sound, but trying to match the brilliance that is the opener in “Cannibal Queen” is one tough task and had me shrugging my shoulders after my first listen thinking, “hm, that was some good pop music”.  It always helps that I write a blog, because I’m forced to listen to the albums I’m planning on writing about more than I normally would, so that helped their album grow on me faster than normal.  But, there’s no denying how good songs like the title track, “Giraffe”, and “The Wolf” are.

I’ll leave it up to you guys whether Miniature Tigers fit your brand of pop, but give it a few listens and I’m sure it’ll end up being a keeper.

Miniature Tigers
Tell it to the Volcano
Perch Score: 8.265

1. Cannibal Queen [mp3]

2. Like or Like Like
3. Dino Damage
4. Tell It to the Volcano [mp3]

5. Hot Venom
6. Tchaikovshy & Solitude
7. The Wolf
8. Giraffe
9. Annie Oakley
10. Haunted Pyramid
11. Last Night’s Fake Blood

Cannible Queen video

Official Site / Myspace

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Vs. Children
Perch Score:  7.345/10

1. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone vs. Children
2. Tom Justice, The Choir Boy Robber,
Apprehended at Ace Hardware in Libertyville, IL
3. Optimist vs. the Silent Alarm (the Saints Go Marching In) [mp3]

4. Natural Light
5. Traveling Salesman’s Young Wife
Home Alone on Christmas in Montpelier, VT
6. Man O’ War
7. Northfield, MN
8. Killers
9. Harsh The Herald Angels Sing
10. You Were Alone
11. White Jetta
Here’s some tour dates for you if you want to catch him live:

Stereogum has been premiering Death Cab’s new EP, The Open Door, track by track all week.  I’ve had a few listens to each song and have to say it’s all good stuff.  Nothing new or groundbreaking with this new EP, but I don’t really know any Death Cab fan that expects that.  We all just want more Death Cab, and The Open Door satifies just fine.  “Little Bribes” opens the EP on an upbeat note and is followed by the slower number in “A Diamond and a Tether”.  “My Mirror Speaks” is probably my favorite, with a great bassline that really carries the song, and the song as a whole feels a lot like stuff from their Photo Album days.  The last song Stereogum has premiered is “I Was Once a Loyal Lover”, which, after a few listens, has me convinced it would be the single off this EP if they chose one.  It has all the classic Death Cab sounds and is right up there in my book with “My Mirror Speaks”.

I’m not sure if they’ve premiered the ukelele solo version of “Talking Bird” yet, but I’ll update it when they do.  For now, check out these links and let me know what you think of Death Cab’s new EP.  I’m really liking it and I’m sure you will.  It’ll be released next Tuesday (3/31) if you’re interested in grabbing a copy.

01 “Little Bribes”
02 “A Diamond And A Tether”
03 “My Mirror Speaks”
04 “I Was Once a Loyal Lover”
05 “Talking Bird” (demo)

Official Site / Myspace