Category: Late Night Listening

A home for things that might be fleeting, might be soothing, might be weird, might be soothing and weird. The blogging equivalent of sitting in the garage twiddling radio knobs just to see what might be out there.

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Late Night Listening: Two Songs from Arum Rae

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Late Night Listening: a home for things that might be fleeting, might be soothing, might be weird, might be soothing and weird. The blogging equivalent of sitting in the garage twiddling radio knobs just to see what might be out there.

Photo by Dominic Neitz

Photo by Dominic Neitz

Arum Rae (formerly White Dress) is from Brooklyn via Austin, TX. Warrented Queen, her first EP with producer Sanford Livingston, is due out in late April. Consider these two songs a taste of the whole:

2001: This one jammed its claws into me in a weird way. I was here, that September. Sitting on the train on the Williamsburg Bridge, watching the towers burn. Standing on Houston Street while tanks rolled downtown. Leaning on the bumper of a U-Haul on John Street, during a brief pause in helping my sister move while the fires still burned and everything was covered in ash and unnatural silence, reading the note someone had written on a nearby windshield: You can knock us down but you cannot knock us out.

A year later I moved away. Several years after that, I came back. When the anniversary comes around, I don’t watch the news.

Warrented Queen: If you need a palate cleanser after all of that, this tune is far sweeter. Love thrives, broken-in and well-loved, if perhaps a little ragged around the edges.

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Late Night Listening: Still Parade, Fields

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Late Night Listening: a home for things that might be fleeting, might be soothing, might be weird, might be soothing and weird. The blogging equivalent of sitting in the garage twiddling radio knobs just to see what might be out there.

Fields, the title track of the latest EP from Still Parade (Niklas Kramer and friends; due to arrive in May) is a delightfully dreamy pop song and a little bit bouncier that some of their other work, which tends to be fuzzier and slower. All of it is perfect for winding down after a long day.

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Late Night Listening: HANNAH, Brym Al Mar

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Late Night Listening: a home for things that might be fleeting, might be soothing, might be weird, might be soothing and weird. The blogging equivalent of sitting in the garage twiddling radio knobs just to see what might be out there.

HANNAH (Hannah Thiem; Copal, Nyxyss) is getting ready to release a solo record; Brym Al Mar is the first single. Inspired by a Norwegian folk song, it blends crystal-pure violin tones with gritty electronic beats to magnificent effect.

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Late Night Listening: The Adversary feat. Jenny Electrik, Yoshimi

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Late Night Listening: a home for things that might be fleeting, might be soothing, might be weird, might be soothing and weird. The blogging equivalent of sitting in the garage twiddling radio knobs just to see what might be out there.

Or Late Night Viewing, I guess, this time around.

For all of you making puzzled faces right now: yes, Yoshimi is originally a Flaming Lips song, but this particular version of it, which features Jenny Electrik from Dynasty Electric is new, and part of a larger work: Chapter 2: Ritual Dreams, a multi-part tale of post-apocalyptic New York by The Adversary (Andre Mistier).

If y’all didn’t know I have a weakness for post-apocalyptic tales, well, now you do. This one came into the world via Burning Man, and is about two young people living amid the ruins of New York, while the surveillance system that maintained order in the world slowly fails.

You can enjoy the video below without knowing the full story, but the other songs are great, too, and you can listen to some of them here or else catch up in under five minutes with the video for Maybelline, from Chapter 1: The Ruins.

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Late Night Listening: edapollo, Shallow Swell

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Late Night Listening: a home for things that might be fleeting, might be soothing, might be weird, might be soothing and weird. The blogging equivalent of sitting in the garage twiddling radio knobs just to see what might be out there.

shallow swell is the first ep from electronic producer/multi-instrumentalist edapollo (Ed Bidgood), of Bristol, England. And it is the perfect thing to put on to unwind in the evening after a long day, or at any other time you need just over fifteen minutes of sounds that are soothing, but definitely not boring.

I’ve included the whole thing below, mainly because the songs flow so neatly into each other, like movements of a symphony.

 

Like it? You can buy the EP from Bad Panda Records at bandcamp!

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Late Night Listening: Twang Darkly, Modal Creatures

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Late Night Listening: a home for things that might be fleeting, might be soothing, might be weird, might be soothing and weird. The blogging equivalent of sitting in the garage twiddling radio knobs just to see what might be out there.

twangdark

Twang Darkly is Michael Futreal (dulcimer, guitar, banjo, gourdtar, harmonica, flute), Joel Boultinghouse (bass, guitar) and Troy Messina (drums) and they are based in Shreveport, Louisiana. You’ll notice there are no “vocals” in there; they are, indeed, a purely instrumental trio.

And they are really great. Their sound takes elements from multiple traditions, including mountain music, jazz, and folk, and fuses them all together, with delightful results. All of their songs are excellent; I picked these three to share because I liked the titles.

Skinwalker: This one adds some “horror movie” shine to the proceedings, and is both eerie and lovely:

Close to the Spark: For when the autumn nights begin to draw in, or any other time a fire must be built:

Sea Glass is pretty and smooth, and so is this song:

Twang Darkly on Facebook

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Late Night Listening: Black Walls, Communion

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Late Night Listening: a home for things that might be fleeting, might be soothing, might be weird, might be soothing and weird. The blogging equivalent of sitting in the garage twiddling radio knobs just to see what might be out there.

communioncvr

Communion is the third release from Black Walls (Ken Reaume), of Toronto. Composed in the aftermath of his father’s death, the songs are bleak, contemplative, and soothing, all at the same time.

They also feel . . . liturgical, I think, is the word that I want. In the sense that they feel like being inside an ancient, dark Romanesque church hunkered down on the headlands, the thick walls and low arches standing as the only refuge against the wind howling outside and rain beating against windows.


 

For the rest, and to explore his earlier work, which is also quite good: stop by his bandcamp page; you can also keep up with him on Tumblr.

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Late Night Listening: Springtime Carnivore

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Late Night Listening: a home for things that might be fleeting, might be soothing, might be weird, might be soothing and weird. The blogging equivalent of sitting in the garage twiddling radio knobs just to see what might be out there.

springcarn

Between the vaguely apocalyptic bandcamp art and the band being called Springtime Carnivore, I was expecting heavy metal. Spoiler alert: *bzzzzzt* try again!

What it actually is: a little bit ’60s dance party, a little bit Venice Beach when the sun’s gone down, the boardwalk is almost empty and there’s a distinct chill in the air.

And then there are the videos, by Eddie O’Keefe, which also wobble back and forth between charming, nostalgic and super-freaky.

Springtime Carnivore :: Collectors from Eddie O'KEEFE on Vimeo.

 

Springtime Carnivore – Creature Feature from Eddie O'KEEFE on Vimeo.

 
You can listen to the whole thing at bandcamp, or, if you prefer vinyl, scoot on over here.

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Late Night Listening: Ryan Ross demos

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These two new demos from Ryan Ross are Late Night Listening because the first time I heard them was at 3 AM today when I had been up for 24 hours. I’ve had some sleep now, and they are still really good, rough demos or not.

Off My Mind: Quasi-surfy instrumental with some muscle on the reverb and electronic highlights. I hope the fuzz remains in the finished version.
 

 
Where I Belong: I’m going to get the fannish flailing out of the way: It’s just really good to hear him singing again. But after my initial OH MY GOD THAT’S REALLY HIM moment, I kept listening to this song because of the way the guitars and the fuzzy electronics are twined together. Yes, fuzzy electronics, not fuzzy guitars. As far as I can tell. I may have to listen to it a bunch more times before I can be sure. The lyrics are sharp, too.
 

 
Verdict: A++, can’t wait to hear the rest.

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Late Night Listening: Lord & the Liar, Thrill-seekers Pubcrawlers and Shoplifters

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Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome once more to my virtual garage. Tonight we’re going to visit with Lord & the Liar, aka PaweÅ‚ Swiernalis, of PoznaÅ„, Poland.

He’s got an interesting vibe going: kind of jazzy, and also kind of creepy. You can listen to the whole record (somewhat choppily) on his YouTube page, but here are some highlights:

First: Prophet’s Fate, which starts with the following tantalizing line: You can find us making magic / near the flower shop / We are open for new stories / from closed doors, and then combines minimal drums and accordion to powerful, menacing effect.
 

Lord & the Liar Prophet's Fate

 
And second: this live version of Glass Full of Cigarettes, wherein the drummer makes excellent use of a glass bottle and a park bench:
 
Lord and the Liar - Glass Full of Cigarettes / On or Off Kolektyw #27 HD