Posted on by Rob Jones

Peter Bjorn and John Play “Young Folks”

pbjyoung_folksListen to this track by Stockholm-based indie trio with a self-explanatory and comma-free name, Peter (Morén) Bjorn (Yttling) and John (Eriksson). It’s “Young Folks”, a single as taken from their 2006 record Writer’s Block, a record that served as something of a breakthrough for the band after forming in 1999.

The album title is not in reference to the lack of ideas that often plagues writers.
Rather, it’s a nod to the neighbourhood, Hornstull, in which the band was based at the time, known for a high concentration of writers and artists and for being a hip part of Stockholm. As a result, the sound they reached for on this song and on the whole record was a cooler and slightly detached approach to production and arrangement that brought forward a few more sonic idiosyncrasies than most, like whistling the key hook on this song. That’s a sound a listener might make reproducing it on their way to work. That approach helped to distinguish them, with this song being a standout in various forms on radio, streaming sites, TV shows, movie soundtracks, and beyond.

The song features the guest vocals of Victoria Bergsman of fellow Stockholmers The Concretes playing the role of the would-be lover to which the forthright narrator asks a very direct question.  Read more

Posted on by Rob Jones · 2 Comments

The White Stripes Play “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground”

Dead_Leaves_and_the_Dirty_GroundListen to this track by tri-colour schemed indie-blues-rock twosome from Detroit The White Stripes. It’s “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground”, a cut as taken from their breakthrough 2001 album White Blood Cells. It served as the third single from that record scoring a top twenty showing on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.

The impact The White Stripes had on rock music by the beginning of the two-thousands was hefty. Their music challenged many of the conventions of the time, while also reinforcing many of the same that fans had perhaps forgotten about. It was brand new, and yet somehow dusty and old at the same time. The band’s approach certainly undercut the idea that to make new music, one had to leave the past behind. But is also undercut the idea that one couldn’t take a left turn when it came to presenting it in a new context.

That what this song illustrates so well, and perfectly frames why The White Stripes were able to make such an impact on the mainstream. Read more

Posted on by Rob Jones · 2 Comments

Terra Lightfoot Sings “Never Will”

Terra Lightfoot Never WillListen to this track by Hamiltonian singer-songwriter and guitarist Terra Lightfoot. It’s “Never Will”, a storming track as taken from her second record Every Time My Mind Runs Wild. Nurtured by a pile of classic rock and pop records, and by roots heroes that may account for a distinct R&B meets folk- influenced swagger you can hear on this song, this tune is  a concoction of indie rock approach meeting blues-stomp cajones.

Terra Lightfoot, who is in fact not related to one of Canada’s most famous Gordons, has honed her craft while on stages shared with that particular Gordon, along with others like Ron Sexsmith, Sloan, Arkells, and Daniel Lanois among many others. Taking her craft very seriously, the songs on this new record were written and heavily re-written, partially with thanks to the lessons laid down by those others as represented by that aforementioned pile of classic rock records.

The musical DNA of a those albums that served as examples to Lightfoot’s craft can’t be traced with any real precision here. But, the raw power that created them  sure can be.  Read more

Posted on by Rob Jones · 1 Comment

Said The Whale Play “Emerald Lake AB”

Listen to this track by Vancouverite indie quintet Said The Whale. It’s “Emerald Lake AB”, a shining gem as taken from their 2009 record Islands Disappear, their second.

Said The Whale Islands Disappear

The band formed in Vancouver and very soon became recognized as being an important addition to the scene after their initial release Talking Abalonia in 2007. From there, they scored awards locally and eventually on a national scale, too. Being on that level in Canada, they had two agenda points to cover.

The first point was the business of selling to America. Every band in this country who is looking for a wider audience has to consider that goal; it’s an economy of scale thing. Their involvement in the 2011 documentary Winning America was a snapshot of their efforts on that front at SXSW. They subsequently made headway with their recent 2013 album Hawaii, and with the single “I Love You” charting in the States.

But, what about that second agenda point? Well, that’s the one this song seems to capture best. Read more

Posted on by Rob Jones

Interview With Gay Nineties Who Play “Letterman”

Listen to this track by four-cornered West Coast indie-rock pop artisans Gay Nineties. It’s “Letterman”, their single that served as a taster for their first “album-EP” Liberal Guilt, released online January 27, and in shops on February 3.

The band was born in 2010 when guitarist Parker Bossley, formerly of Hot Hot Heat, formed a musical bond with bassist Daniel Knowlington and drummer Malcolm Holt. They’ve since added a fourth member in keyboardist Bruce Ledingham IV, thereby expanding their sonic palette from the indie power-trio they were into a supple unit with an easy hand with texture and nuance. With that shift of course, they’re still able to joyfully pummel audiences with their enthusiastic brand of angular pop-rock in an alternative vein, and clearly made for radio.

The Gay Nineties Liberal Guilt

I got a chance to chat with Parker Bossley who answers for Gay Nineties via email about this song, about the new record, and about the role which that aforementioned pillar of success, rock radio, has in their lives.

*** Read more

Posted on by Rob Jones · 2 Comments

Grant Lee Buffalo Perform “Mockingbirds”

Grant Lee Buffalo Mighty Joe MoonListen to this track by L.A  folk-rock-indie trio with a feel for psychedelic texture, Grant Lee Buffalo. It’s “Mockingbirds”, a single as taken from 1994’s Mighty Joe Moon, their second album. The song scored a top-twenty showing on Billboard’s “Modern Rock” chart, representing their initial exposure to a wider audience.

By the time this track was recorded, the band had a clearer idea of what they wanted to sound like, and had had some experience in the studio to help them realize their ambitions. That’s the magic of the second album! Also, though, they had had a lot of road experience as headliners and also as a supporting act of the some of the biggest bands of the time, including Pearl Jam, REM, and Smashing Pumpkins. They were seasoned pros by this time!

But, this sense of success, and the feeling of taking things to a more professional level began to become a source of stress, along with personal events in the life of head writer Grant Lee Phillips that seemed to run in parallel. How is that reflected on this song?

Read more

Posted on by Rob Jones

Spoon Play “Jonathon Fisk”

Spoon Kill The MoonlightListen to this track by Austin Texas rock auteurs Spoon. It’s “Jonathon Fisk”, a single from their critically-acclaimed 2002 record Kill The Moonlight, their fourth. The album would place them on track to be one of the most consistently great bands of the 2000s, establishing an artistic trajectory and momentum they continue to create for themselves today. The record would make all kinds of best-of lists across the music press.

The song is a childhood recollection by singer, guitarist, and writer Britt Daniel of being bullied by the titular figure; a kid who talks with his fists, and counts the narrator’s teeth every night. But, this is no act of revenge, the result of a songwriter lashing out through his art. It goes deeper than that, back into the primal fear of what it feels like to be persecuted by a school bully when you’re a kid, and to realize you’re still carrying it with you.

But, this being Spoon, the whole drama unfolds using the most basic of tools, and to the most precise effects. Read more

Posted on by Rob Jones · 4 Comments

Franz Ferdinand Play “Jacqueline”

Listen to this track by groove-oriented post-post-punk indie-rock outfit from Glasgow, Franz Ferdinand. It’s “Jacqueline” the opening track to their 2004 Mercury Prize-winning debut record cleverly entitled Franz Ferdinand.

Franz Ferdinand live 2004
image: celticblade

The band took their sound from various sources, particularly from the late-70s and early 80s new wave and disco, with a simple goal in mind; to make records girls can dance to. It’s a good goal when you’re looking to make pop music, sell records, and to bring things back home where pop music that speaks to an audience is concerned.

At the time, the band was a part of a retro movement that drew from this same era, perhaps with similar goals. But, what separated Franz Ferdinand from the crowd was this; they had the songs.

Beyond that, they had something else, too. Read more

Posted on by Rob Jones · 3 Comments

Grandaddy Play “Miner At The Dial-A-View”

The Sophtware Slump GrandaddyListen to this track by spacey Modesto California indie rock conceptualists Grandaddy. It’s “Miner At The Dial-A-View”, the next-to-last track on what is considered by many to be their best record; The Sophtware Slump, released in 2000.

This song is a part of a loose concept about technology, connection, and the space between them. That was a pretty top of mind theme during the era out of which this song and the album off of which it comes was released. Sitting at the edge of a new century after a decade when the Internet and its influence on commerce, leisure, and communication was soaked into the cultural landscape, the connections with technology and with each other as a result had come out of the pages of science fiction, and into real life.

There was lots to explore when it came to confronting that, and in making sense out of the coming future. There was certainly no turning back from the ride that technology was taking us on. We’re still on that ride today.

In the light of this, what is the “Dial-A-View” as described in this song? And how does it connect with that greater theme of technology and connection? Read more

Posted on by Rob Jones

Wildlife Perform “Bad Dream”

Listen to this track by returning champions of epic-scale indie rock Wildlife. It’s “Bad Dream” as taken from the band’s second record On The Heart, just released this past Tuesday, March 5, 2013.

The new record is their full-length follow up to 2010’s Strike Hard, Young Diamond, which I had the pleasure of reviewing when it came out, specifically their song “Move To The City’, which dealt with big themes, and expresses them in ambitious musical terms.

And now I have a similar pleasure with this song on this superlative record that is built upon that earlier release, which dealt with formative feelings, and of being naive in a big world. This new record is about coming to terms with the fragility of one’s own heart, and growing up in spite of it. This emphasis on thematic and stylistic continuity is what bands who are building momentum of all kinds do when they’re building a lasting body of work.

Wildlife the band

In this case, they’ve been building it with the help of producer Peter Katis (The National, Frightened Rabbit). During the recording process, they spent time in the producer’s home, eating soup, taking care of cats, and making post-punk flavoured rock music to be appreciated on a grand-scale, of which “Bad Dream” is a highlight.

Trading on a Johnny Marr-like rhythm that kicks the song off, it starts with the classic, Springsteen-eqsue “this is the story of two lovers…”.  This is a love story as remembered after many rivers have been crossed, with many mountains climbed. This song is filled with longing, and even deeper regret. It’s love as viewed in retrospect, from eyes that have grown older if not wiser. It is the sound of love as experienced by the pristine hearts of youth as an all-encompassing, irresistible force. But, it’s sung out by a voice that embodies the immovable object of  dinted maturity.

Musically, this song lives in a hyper-post punk 21st century spectrum, with guitars-bass-drums filled in with electronic textures to unify the whole. With that mix, there’s a lot of room for subtlety to balance the anthemic drive found here. Maybe the best example of that is the single bass synth line that lingers after the other instruments have put the chairs on the tables and turned out the lights. Like a memory of a painful relationship, it hangs around longer than you expected.

For more information about the band’s two releases so far, investigate the Wildlife Bandcamp page.

And be sure too to take a look at the band’s video for their song “Born To Ruin”, as another example of the quality of the new record.

Enjoy!