Are there leaks of The Knife and Boris albums? I've already decided to buy them, but not at import prices, and they're going to be super-delayed American releases.
Posts: 1783 | Location: Around Boston. | Registered: 24 February 2005
Originally posted by Bobthespirit: Are there leaks of The Knife and Boris albums? I've already decided to buy them, but not at import prices, and they're going to be super-delayed American releases.
I could have sworn that Boris' album Pink was going to be released state side come April, but now I can't seem to find it.
Originally posted by m.leland: Out of curiosity, would anyone here have downloaded The Knife album if it weren't for Pitchfork?
I've heard them spoken of before, and I actually have been trying to download the album for a while now. I didn't realize they had even reviewed it until I read this whole debate.
I've heard a few people talk highly of Mogwai's upcoming Mr. Beast, so I decided to give it a shot. It's pretty good. There are some good songs, particularly the first two and the last one, but there are also a lot of boring songs. It's the second best record I've heard this year, but that ain't sayin' much. Is this year even slower than most years for the first couple months? It sure seems like it.
Posts: 3944 | Location: NE Indiana | Registered: 14 April 2005
Originally posted by m.leland: Out of curiosity, would anyone here have downloaded The Knife album if it weren't for Pitchfork?
On an unrelated note, I first thought The Knife were an Austin-based Sabbath-influened metal band who have a new record out. Turns out THAT band is called The Sword.
Oddly synchronic weapon-titled band names.
Posts: 3875 | Location: ATL, GA | Registered: 25 May 2004
Originally posted by Bobthespirit: Are there leaks of The Knife and Boris albums? I've already decided to buy them, but not at import prices, and they're going to be super-delayed American releases.
Originally posted by Bobthespirit: Are there leaks of The Knife and Boris albums? I've already decided to buy them, but not at import prices, and they're going to be super-delayed American releases.
Yeah if there's one thing Swedes seem to love, it's their filesharing. While you're at it, put in a search for Drive-By Truckers.
Well, I'm not going to download a leak unless there's no defined US release yet...so, I can wait for the DBT album.
We still would have heard of The Knife even if it weren't for Pitchfork. Just..slower. When an album is really good, someone, somewhere is eventually going to write down that it's really good. And word will spread until a place like Pitchfork hears about it and writes that it's really good. And then, a lot of people are going to hear about it at once. That's just how non-marketted music spreads.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bobthespirit,
Posts: 1783 | Location: Around Boston. | Registered: 24 February 2005
Clogs - Lantern is the first album of 2006 that has impressed me at all.
It's mostly instrumental, employing guitar, saxophone, and violin mostly. It's got a sort of Jeff Beck - Blow By Blow vibe to it. It's very well constructed and harmonized.
And it's starting to make me wonder why the hell I never looked into The National last year.
Posts: 1783 | Location: Around Boston. | Registered: 24 February 2005
This weekend, on a whim, I discovered an amazing reissue label: The Numero Group. All their albums are labelled sequentially, e.g., "Numero 001," "Numero 002," and so on. From what I can tell, they have a series of product lines, one of which -- Eccentric Soul -- unearths regional soul labels from cities other than Detroit, and remasters the best songs from their catalogues. The album I picked up is Numero 007/Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label, which focuses on an obscure label that operated out of Liberty City, Miami in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I took a chance because (a) I live in Miami, and never heard of Deep City and (b) the owner of a local indie record store I patron highly recommended another album in the Numero Group line.
I am not a soul music fan or a "found sound" fan, and I'm not normally drawn to Motown-type songs at all. But the songs on this album were outstanding. What I like most is how Deep City sprinkled local sounds into the normal soul song format. You can hear wicked horn arrangements (according to the booklet in the album, the people who ran the Deep City Label are alumni of the Florida A & M Marching Band) and island sounds floating into and out of the songs. There's one group on the album -- The Moovers -- who are so good I'm shocked they didn't find a wider audience. They mix high and low vocals to make an insanely catchy harmony wall on "Someone to Fulfill My Needs."
Anyway, after listening to the album, I read up on it and the label. Pitchfork gave Deep City Label an 8.7 review last month. All the reviews I found online loved this album, as well as the others released by The Numero Group (the worst review I found was for another album released by the Numero Group, which Pitchfork rated a 7.9 and a newspaper in the Northwest said focused on a label whose work varied from adequate to outstanding). I then bought several other albums by the Numero Group, including an album of lost Belize music and an album of obscure power-pop songs, and they're all outstanding. As it happens, Deep City is my favorite so far.
Has anyone else heard Deep City, or other albums from the Numero Group?
Originally posted by Daniel, Esq.: Has anyone else heard Deep City, or other albums from the Numero Group?
I picked up Deep City a couple weeks ago from Dusty Groove's site. You're right about the Moovers, they are very good and the best discovery on the album. This is the third Eccentric Soul entry I have. Both the Bandit Label and Capsoul Label comps are excellent and I highly recommend them (these two albums are also available togather on one cd). I can't really pick a favorite among the three volumes in the Eccentric Soul series. I love discovering rare soul on labels that give the compilation a class act release, like Numero does.
I also have Numero's Cult Cargo Belize City Boil Up and Yellow Pills Prefill that you have. The upcoming Wayfaring Strangers, Ladies From The Canyon looks very interesting, I know Dusty Groove will be carrying it when it's released mid-March. I'm curious about the other two Numero releases at Dusty, Antena's Camino Del Sol and Fern Jones Glory Road.
Posts: 8627 | Location: State of Insanity | Registered: 22 September 2005
Originally posted by Bobthespirit: Clogs - Lantern is the first album of 2006 that has impressed me at all.
It's mostly instrumental, employing guitar, saxophone, and violin mostly. It's got a sort of Jeff Beck - Blow By Blow vibe to it. It's very well constructed and harmonized.
And it's starting to make me wonder why the hell I never looked into The National last year.
Yeah I just got it. I've been on a post-rock kick so this fits right in (though with a unique sound).
As for the National, yeah, I thought they got slept on. They don't sound anything like Clogs, but the dude can obviously play his guitar. And please let me know if you know of anyone else who wrote something as funny as this last year ("All The Wine"):
"I'm put together beautifully: Big wet bottle in my fist, Big wet rose in my teeth. I'm a perfect piece of ass, Like every Californian. So tall I take over the street With high beams shining up my back; A wingspan unbelievable, I'm a festival, I'm a parade."
Just a good, polished, likable indie guitar rock band with parts that fit together well.
The only album I'd consider to be great so far this year would be the Elected's Sun, Sun, Sun. I've yet to hear Belle and Sebastian's yet though. Jenny Lewis' was just so incredibly disappointing that I hardlylisten to it. I'm holding out for the Stills and Built to Spill and Quasi.
Posts: 12 | Location: Canada | Registered: 21 February 2006
I finally got my hands on the entire Arctic Monkeys disc. Of everything I've heard so far this year, I think it's my favorite. It's not #5 of all time good, but it's a fun album. They sort of remind me of The Jam. As I said in another thread, it's a shame that this album has been hyped to death, because it's actually really good. As with Bloc Party last year, I imagine a lot of people won't give it chance due to hype-backlash.
----- Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.
Posts: 5268 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 19 June 2005
Originally posted by DontgoDown: The only album I'd consider to be great so far this year would be the Elected's Sun, Sun, Sun. I've yet to hear Belle and Sebastian's yet though. Jenny Lewis' was just so incredibly disappointing that I hardlylisten to it.
I agree with both points. Sun, Sun, Sun is pretty good, and I wasn't impressed by the Jenny Lewis cd. I'm still waiting for the first great disc of 2006.
In the meantime, I've been listening to The National's Alligator a lot. It was #13 or so on my 2005 list, but I should have had it higher. It is really good.
Posts: 19 | Location: L.A. | Registered: 08 December 2005
Originally posted by ericg75: I finally got my hands on the entire Arctic Monkeys disc. Of everything I've heard so far this year, I think it's my favorite. It's not #5 of all time good, but it's a fun album. They sort of remind me of The Jam. As I said in another thread, it's a shame that this album has been hyped to death, because it's actually really good. As with Bloc Party last year, I imagine a lot of people won't give it chance due to hype-backlash.
Amen, ericg75. I'm sure a lot of people will try to ignore this record, or (even worse) try not to like it, but it's a nice, tasty chunk of Jam-esque Britpop. The lyrics are good enough (not genius, but often clever), the hooks are solid, the playing is solid (not virtuoso good but not ameteurishly bad), and it all gels together quite well. It certainly isn't one of the top 10 British albums of all time, and it might not make my Top 10 for 2006 (time will tell), but, for the moment, it's my favorite new record I've heard this year. Fun and dumb, as I like my Britpop to be.
Posts: 3875 | Location: ATL, GA | Registered: 25 May 2004
I picked up a leaked version of The Knife. I've listened to it all the way through a couple of times. It's interesting, it doesn't really do anything for me though. Lots of interesting beeps, buzzes and whizzes and some flat out repulsive vocals don't really make it my cup of tea.
As far as electronica, it's nowhere near as good as LCD, Isolee, Notwist, or the excellent new Vitalic "ok cowboy" IMO.
I haven't been all that impressed with 2006 as a whole just yet, but we are still only a couple months into it. With that being said... I am sure that with releases from Explosions in the Sky, Amina, Radiohead, Drowsy, Bibio and Jeniferver... just to name a few. This year will get much better. So far Mono "You Are There" has completely blown me away. Electric President is still a solid comodity and believe it or not, Belle and Sebastian "Life Pursuit" has really grown on me. Maybe they aren't so bad without Isobel? Grandaddy wasn't bad, but not what I expected to be their final record. The Flaming Lips is somewhat of a letdown and Mogwai is decent. I feel like Mogwai had good intentions with "Mr. Beast", but I think all the pre-hoopla really soured a lot of people, me especially. When someone comes out and says that it is 2006's answer to one of the greatest shoegaze records of all time "Loveless" by MBV, you can't half ass it. It has to be complete. Something was missing. My early surprise of the year would have to go to I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness. After hearing their E.P. I thought that since Britt Daniel discovered them and produced their early work, they would fall into a wannabe Spoon category. Not only did they seperate themselves about as far as one could from the Austin band, but they really created their own sound. I highly recommend it. Excellent record.
