Artist: Phoenix
Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Year: 2009
When I was doing laps around Prospect Park last weekend in preparation for some upcoming races, there was a reason this track by Phoenix got me going faster. Continuing the style they started on 2006’s It’s Never Been Like That, the French band seems to have a lock on bright catchy indie music. The unexpected turns in the vocals keep things interesting, with guitars and background synths adding to an exuberant chorus. Read More…
Monthly Archives March 2009
Phoenix – 1901 7th
Alfonso Velez – Hell Yeah 4th
Artist: Alfonso Velez
Album: The Weather
Year: 2009
I was sitting by myself in a bar early on a Saturday night a few weeks ago, waiting to hear my friend Alisdair play a set downstairs at The National Underground. In front of me was a guy strumming a guitar, playing a wonderful mix of folk and blues. Given it was 7pm and the location was New York, where many people had probably finished brunch just an hour ago, there were only 7 or 8 other people at the bar. The place was empty.
As I sat there, I got drawn more and more into the music. The artist, Alfonso Velez, was a cut above the average singer-songwriter. Before one piece, he asked if anyone wanted to join him. One of his friends volunteered to play piano. Another went up to play tambourine. Before I knew it, there were 5 people up there with instruments, harmonising the vocals, creating an awesome rendition of Jealous Woman, a blues track. It was a moment I would have loved to share with someone, if for no other reason than to be able to turn to them later and say, “did that really happen?” The scene was too spontaneous, and the music too good, for real life.
In the spirit of trying to share that evening, here’s the track that leads off Alfonso Velez’s new album, The Weather. It doesn’t quite recapture the feel of his live music, but that’s just more incentive to go out and catch him in New York or DC where he’s often playing local bars. Read More…
Frightened Rabbit – Old Old Fashioned 1st
Artist: Frightened Rabbit
Album: The Midnight Organ Fight
Year: 2008
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve listened to Frightened Rabbit over the past year. It’s impossible to decide what I like best — the Scottish accents, the lyrics, the catchy tunes, the drumming… Albums this good don’t come along often, and I’m aiming for restraint by not putting the entire thing online here. If you haven’t heard it, buy it now. Breaking with my urge to feature music that lets me wallow in sadness, this is one of the few on their album with cheerful lyrics. If you ever get the chance to see the band live, you’ll appreciate the manic energy drummer Grant Hutchison gives to the bouncy rhythm of this song. I love the charm of the yearn for simpler times:
“I’ll turn off the TV
It’s killing us we never speak
There’s a radio in the corner
It’s dying to make us see
So give me soft, soft static
With a human voice underneath
And we can both get old fashioned
Put the brakes on these fast, fast wheels” Read More…