The Shape of Broad Minds - Craft of the Lost Art

To commemorate a new album by Dr. Who Dat, I'm actually going to post about one of Jneiro Jarel's other projects (on which the good doctor "makes an appearance"), The Shape of Broad Minds. This project is supposedly a hip hop super group, but is really just a combination of all of his different rap personas on one unified album. The beats are ridiculously inventive and off the wall, but it pays off more often than not as in the strange sluggishness of "Electric Blue." Even a flanged and mod wheeled cowbell tone sits well in the mix.

Craft of the Lost Art [2007] - Download - Blurb

Tera Melos - Idioms vol. 1

Tera Melos lost their drummer Vince in 2008 and only recently picked their replacement John Clardy (aka Dolphin Starbeam) from the drummer store. Instead of releasing a new LP, they're "getting tight" by playing a covers album. Instead of rendering all of the songs in the crazy Tera Melos style, they actually keep it pretty simple (relatively speaking) and produce a fast indie / punk album out of songs originally by The Beach Boys, The Clash, The Pixies, Weezer, and Polaris. Surprisingly enjoyable if only a palette cleanser / appetite whetter for whatever new original material these guys put together.

Idioms vol. 1 [2009] - Download


I feel like this is also a good time to mention the lunacy that is Snakeville, a film produced by Nick Reinhardt of Tera Melos and some other friends. The film is a 75-minute ensemble of characters interacting in a small, rural town (transparently based off of their hometown area in Roseville, CA). Its style is pretty similar to Kids in the Hall, with a few actors playing 3/4s of the roles, often in drag or absurd outfits. The sense of humor is even stranger than that found in similar sketch comedies (thanks to the inclusion of lactating male high school athletes and an obese (also male) guardian angel squeezed into a tutu). Snakeville is its own beast rather than a tribute to offbeat sketch comedy and definitely deserves to be checked out. Maybe the best part of it all is that there are a few moments where beautiful cinematography or surprisingly profound dialogue enters into the mix, sort of like Brad Neely's "Babycakes" series. The movie is rough around the edges and is fairly anti-climactic (really the plot is super thin), but there are moments of lucidity and lunacy alike that make this worth checking out. The trailer is embedded below.


Snakeville Trailer

Interview / Show Review With Toby Driver (Kayo Dot, Tartar Lamb, Maudlin of the Well)

Hey I just put up two articles on sputnikmusic. One is a review of / column on a live show Kayo Dot played in San Francisco on October 8, and another is an interview with Toby Driver. The interview is both given as a transcript and as a dialogue woven in with the prose of my review / column. No download links in this article, just words and pictures.

Show Review - here

Interview - here

Efterklang - The LPs

Efterklang, a studio quintet and a live nonet (which includes the newly popular Peter Broderick) from Denmark, have been labeled as post-pop, but in an effort to avoid recently fashioned genre prefixes and suffixes I'm just going to say that they're a post-rock band who have an affinity to messing around with electronic and analog musical devices (such as sampling CD skipping sounds to create the beat for "Predator and Prey"). Both of their full length albums are very nice and apparently they have an album coming out some time in early 2009 (which is now I guess - Happy New Year).

Tripper [2004] - Download


Parades [2007] - Download

Top Albums of 2008

I made a big fat list on sputnikmusic that has a lot of write-ups and streaming music and a few other nice goodies. All of my editorializing should be read there. This blog post is going to be a lot simpler. I'm going to have the list of albums and links to their downloads. Enjoy.

1. Have a Nice Life - Deathconsciousness - Download Disc 1 - Download Disc 2
2. Blue Sky Black Death - Late Night Cinema - Download
3. Son Lux - At War With Walls and Mazes - Download
4. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals - Direct Download
5. Loma Prieta - Last City - Download
6. The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound - Download
7. Thrice - The Alchemy Index: Vols. III & IV - Air & Earth - Download
8. Dela - Changes of Atmosphere - Download
9. Mesa Verde - The Old Road - Download
10. Metaform - Standing on the Shoulder of Giants - Download
11. Feral Children - Second to the Last Frontier - Download
12. The Loved Ones - Build and Burn - Download
13. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges - Download?
14. PSY/OPSogist - Suffused With Static - Download
15. Ghostlimb - Bearing and Distance - Download
16. Grails - Doomsdayer's Holiday - Download
17. Extra Life - Secular Works - Download
18. Aussitot Mort - Montuenga - Download pw: SirensSong.blogspot.com
19. Blue Sky Black Death - Jean Grae: The Evil Jeanius - Download
20. Venetian Snares - Detrimentalist - Download
21. Flying Lotus - Los Angeles - Download
22. ...Who Calls So Loud - ...Who Calls So Loud - Download
23. Pygmy Lush - Mount Hope - Download
24. Kayo Dot - Blue Lambency Downward - Download
25. The Flashbulb - Soundtrack to a Vacant Life - Download

And again if you want to get fancy and do some reading / listening please go here: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/feature.php?id=5509.

Black Milk - Tronic

Though I wasn't all that blown over by Black Milk's Tronic, on the word of Jared Dillon and a few other sputnikmusic staff members, I felt compelled to post it here. Black Milk is pretty balanced as an mc and producer, never getting too weird with his beats and lyrics, while never feeling stale. Definitely a good album and it will make an appearance on more than a few year-end lists.

Tronic [2008] - Download - Review

In Pieces - Learning to Accept Silence

This post comes by request of an e-mail I received (feel free to do this - e-mail is on the right hand margin in the disclaimer). In Pieces' Lions Write History is one of my favorite albums of all time. Learning to Accept Silence, their only other album, is slightly less mature, sounding more of an obvious project of the post-hardcore of the time (2002), but it still has some amazing tracks. To this day, "A Fitting Lie" is probably their best track of all time. These guys sound a lot like old Thrice and old Hopesfall. This week is also an apt time to post this link because an ex-In Pieces member (Dan Barrett) will be making a reappearance later this month when I post my top 25 albums of 2008. Enjoy.

Learning to Accept Silence [2002] - Download - Review

PSY/OPSogist - Suffused With Static

PSY/OPSogist is a self-made producer working out of rural Virginia who makes hip hop in the vein of DJ Shadow. He has a great taste in sample material (after talking to him I found out he uses The Mars Volta and The Doors) and uses them to great effect. His songs can range from raw and lo-fi to lush and flowing. The album Suffused With Static is one track, meant to be listened to continuously and PSY does a good job of segueing between individual tracks. PSY also makes all of his music free and available online so pass this on to your friends.

Suffused With Static [2008] Download - Review

Dela - Changes of Atmosphere

Dank French hip hop that is highly jazz influenced. He makes good use of American rappers, namely Supastition and Talib Kweli. The overall sound is ridiculously smooth and chill, as if Chick Corea gave Dela lessons in sexy flute and Rhodes tones and De la Soul gave him lessons in beatmaking.

Changes of Atmosphere [2008] - Download - Review

Ganon - As Above, So Below

Ganon is a post-metal band from Michigan who essentially sound a lot like Isis. They bring nothing new to the table but write killer songs. As Above, So Below is their 2nd full length album.

As Above, So Below [2008] - Download - Review

Gospel - The Magic Volume of Dark Matter

Gospel is the most inventive band to ever be associated with emo. Though that's a lofty claim, I think I'm off the hook because of emo's inherent narrowness, and the fact that Gospel isn't really an emo group. When they broke up in 2006, apparently they were working on the follow up to The Moon Is a Dead World. The only artifact of that creative process is the bootleg The Magic Volume of Dark Matter. It was recorded on February 2nd, 2006 and shows Gospel going deeper down the psychedelic, progged out rabbit hole they were first exploring on their debut LP. The song is 23 minutes and runs through a ridiculous number of section changes, them jamming out all the while. Though it's a rough cut and there's probably a lot of improvisation, the track is absolutely awesome and serves as a pleasant if underwhelming swan song for Gospel's too short career. Thanks to Jared from Last Train to Cool for the look on this one. Included is the bootleg and a live video of the performance.

The Magic Volume of Dark Matter [2006] - Download

Part 1

Part 2

Aussitôt Mort - Montuenga

Aussitot Mort's debut EP, Six Songs flew completely under the radar of most fans of the label's particular brand of hardcore. However, with the release of their follow up, Montuenga, Aussitot Mort are poised to do a lot more with their adventurous take on the French emo sound. The delay effects are ridiculous, the production is awesome, and the song still retain enough classic emo catharsis to make this a compelling listen. My apologies on the password. That's the only copy I've found that has all 8 songs instead of the random non-encrypted ones that decided to only include 6 of the tracks.

Montuenga [2008] - Download (pw: SirensSound.blogspot.com) - Review

Blue Sky Black Death / Jean Grae - The Evil Jeanius

Only in the past 48 hours has the genius (no pun intended) of this album really sunk in. There were two initial humps for me to get over: i) the production by Blue Sky Black Death compresses their trip hop gone post-rock style into something more mainstream and accessible and ii) Jean Grae's female voice and sedated but impassioned tone of voice. Both feel like reductions of the bombastic combo that they could be, however driving around while listening to this record, as the rain and fog has started to pile up in the Bay Area recently has taught me that this reserved and chill album is best when it's reclining and coy. The best tracks feature Jean Grae languidly laying down her lyrics while BSBD throw around a few low key guitar licks and a smooth beat. Definitely recommended.

The Evil Jeanius [2008] - Download

Mesa Verde - The Old Road

Mesa Verde's new album, The Old Road, is a notable progression from their previous release. Their two previous albums I own have been a little too derivative, standing on the shoulders of the Saetia's of the emo world without adding that much to the mix. By making their music a little more epic and brooding, while giving it a sweeter production value, they now sound like Explosions in the Sky playing emotional hardcore (except never boring). Their echoed guitar melodies and shouted vocals are more expressive and evocative as a result of this subtle but meaningful change. For me this beats out ...Who Calls So Loud's (ex-Funeral Diner, a band that nearly perfected epic, melodic emo) debut LP but doesn't have the versatility and freshness that Loma Prieta's album Last City does.

The Old Road [2008] - Download - Review

Charles Mingus - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus

Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus is a compilation album of sorts. Mingus, probably the most famous jazz bassist of all time, compiled an album of retakes on some of his most classic tracks like "Haitian Fight Song" and gave the tracks new titles and slightly new vibes. So this album is a greatest hits album for people who hate the sterility of greatest hits. Every song has a little extra life and verve in it as a result of the newer recording session. At the very least, it's a good place to start with Mingus because of the variety and musicianship.

Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus [1963] - Download - Review