i just posted my second review of the weekend.  this time i took on dark was the night, a stellar compilation that just came out.  if you haven’t heard of it, you’re going to want to thank the three guys above.  the one on the left and the one in the middle, because they made it happen.  and the guy on the right (sans beard), because he just gave you that christmas morning feel in the middle of february.  check out the review at the other journal.

I recently ran into this mash-up of Kings of Leon’s “Knocked Up”.  A song that while is an alright song, I’ve always had a big distaste for it as I personally think the lyrics are retarded.  But, I’m more into song writing that is open to interpretation.  So, it was really hard for me to relate to Knocked Up.  But, then I ran into this mash-up/remix/whatever from Lykke Li and it’s….really, really good.  Adds a different feel and perspective to the song with Lykke Li’s beautiful voice with Caleb Followill’s (Kings of Leon singer) voice haunting in the background.  Almost as if you have both sides of the story from the girl and guy.  Cool, I think.

Lykke Li – Knocked Up

Something about The Black Keys just never tickled my fancy, but one of the guitar players of the group, Dan Auerbach is going solo on February 10th with his release of Keep It Hid on Nonsuch records, and this song is pretty bad ass.  I think it’s like taking the Black Keys and removing the annoying parts.

Dan Auerbach – The Prowl

This compilation has been making the rounds on every indie blog as of late, and for good reason.  It’s a compilation put together to benefit the Red Hot Organization….but look at the artists on the bill for it!!

Andrew Bird
Antony + Bryce Dessner
Arcade Fire
Beach House
Beirut
Blonde Redhead + Devastations
Bon Iver
Bon Iver & Aaron Dessner
The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
The Decemberists
Dirty Projectors + David Byrne
Kevin Drew
Feist + Ben Gibbard
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear + Feist
Iron & Wine
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Kronos Quartet
Stuart Murdoch
My Brightest Diamond
My Morning Jacket
The National
The New Pornographers
Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch
Riceboy Sleeps
Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio)
Spoon
Sufjan Stevens
Yeasayer
Yo La Tengo

Yeah, that’s one hell of a lineup.  Here’s a couple of standout tracks:

Grizzly Bear & Feist – Service Bell

Justin Vernon & Aaron Dessner - Big Red Machine

My heart did a flippity flop when I found out about this project!!

One song from this collaborative album will be streamed each day on MySpace.  I missed hearing the Feist/Ben Gibbard tune yesterday but Bon Iver has a fabulous track streaming today!

Produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National this 2 disc album will be released on February 17th.  The website indicates that “It will be available as a double cd/triple vinyl/download and will benefit the Red Hot Organization – an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS.“

With artists such as The Decemberists, Feist, Iron & Wine, Arcade Fire and so many more I will definitely mark the release date on my calendar to be sure I get this the moment it comes out!

The National has such convincing and impressive social awareness.  Aaron and Bryce Dessner are curating Dark Was the Night, an assortment of exclusive tracks from various artists.  And it’s all for AIDS relief.

Now, usually mixtapes of this variety are devastatingly unworthy of attention from anyone.  However, the Dessner brothers have assembled a really breathtaking tracklist here, spanning two discs.  Behold:

Disc One (This Disc)

1. Dirty Projectors and David Byrne: “Knotty Pine”
2. The Books [ft. Jose Gonzalez]: “Cello Song” (Nick Drake)
3. Feist and Ben Gibbard: “Train Song” (Vashti Bunyan)
4. Bon Iver: “Brackett, WI”
5. Grizzly Bear: “Deep Blue Sea”
6. The National: “So Far Around the Bend” (arrangement by Nico Muhly)
7. Yeasayer: “Tightrope”
8. My Brightest Diamond: “Feeling Good” (Nina Simone)
9. Kronos Quartet: “Dark Was the Night” (Blind Willie Johnson)
10. Antony and Bryce Dessner: “I Was Young When I Left Home” (Bob Dylan)
11. Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner: “Big Red Machine”
12. The Decemberists: “Sleepless”
13. Iron and Wine: “Stolen Houses (Die)”
14. Grizzly Bear and Feist: “Service Bell”
15. Sufjan Stevens: “You Are the Blood”

Disc Two (That Disc)

Thanks to everyone that came down on Friday and everyone who Dj’d. Here’s a few snaps from the lovely Glamcanyon, see more on the site. Next month’s our first birthday, so get yourselves ready for another music spectacle!

We’re back in action with a DJ line up which will put the fear in any mix master.

STEVE MASON – The master behind BLACK AFFAIR, KING BISCUIT TIME and renowned BETA BAND
Steve is currently busy working on two new albums for Black Affair and KBT, but has found some time to come down to London to play records for us.

HTRK -spinning Belgian new beat, chicago acid, evil acid house + detroit electro soul!

MICRON SIXTY THREE – playing early eighties electronica, post punk to late eighties industrial from fad gadget to nitzer ebb.

CONRAD STANDISH – Frontman of Devastations spinning ‘Golden Era’ Hip-Hop, Early House, Space Jams and fucked electronics

JON MEADE

FACTION DJ’s

TRIGGERSET – Visuals

For the opening night of this seasons London Fashion Week we are hosting the after party for Poltock and Walsh. For this event we have moved to The Brick House on Brick Lane.

HTRK are performing live for us again and we have Dj sets from Todd Hart (Dalston Oxfam Shop), Conrad Standish (Devastations), Jon Meade and of course ourselves.

So, okay. I may have mentioned a few times that I saw Blonde Redhead Monday night… They were truly truly amazing. I’ve been a fan of their music since around September 2007, and this was the first time I’ve heard them live. They certainly did not disappoint! I was at the very front, on the right. If this were any other gig, my ribs would be broken, but the BR crowd were the most civilised gig-goers I have ever met. I wasn’t even elbowed. Not even once. And no one spilled beer on me! Score!

This is one of my favourite BR songs, Kazu Makino’s voice is lovely, and live, it just pierces through the wall of sound that came from standing right next to the speakers.

There were two support bands: Holy Fuck, and Devastations. I’d never heard of them before, and I have to say, Holy Fuck were brilliant live. The four-piece band basically rocked Shepherds Bush Empire even though no one was there especially to see them. I fell a little bit in love with the bassist because he was totally on speed; head-banged and spazzed for the whole thing. Brilliant. <3

Here’s a video of one of their singles. The theme of the evening seemed to be sound, so imagine this song, but all the way to 11, and so so much better.

It’s a shame that with the name, no mainstream radio would ever play them.

Now, Devastations. They were just … ergh. Serious ergh. I was right in front of the bass player/lead singer and spent the whole time wanting to throw hard painful objects at him. The whole Empire was silent through the whole thing and barely responded in terms of applause; a few people actually yelled for them to get off the stage. There was a point when the bassist began gyrating away to the lacklustre music and I may have had some sort of rage black out.  They were that bad. Everything was just so boring, and I wish that I could get that 30/40 minutes of my life back. And God, the lyrics. What the fuck?

Here they are in all their disastrous non-glory.

Meh.

So we asked some of our close friends a while back to give us their 10 influences at the moment. (Bare in mind this is slightly out of date)

Conrad Standish – Devastations

1. “Fenn O’Berg Theme” – Fenn O’Berg
2. “Sucker For A Pretty Face” – West Phillips
3. “Indo” – Studio
4. “Inamorata” – Oren Ambarchi
5. “Rolling Down The Hills” – Glass Candy
6. “Be Sure To Loop” – OOIOO
7. “Heart Of The City (Ain’t No Love)” – Jay-Z
8. “Bright Tomorrow” – Fuck Buttons
9. “Caribbean Queen” – Billy Ocean
10. “Weird Pains” – Invisible Conga People

(honourable mention to “Sexual Eruption” by Snoop Dogg)

Ulterior

1. Burzum – Dunkelheit
2. Velvet Cacoon – PS Nautical
3. Boris – At Last Feedbacker
4. Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – Silence
5. Scratch Acid – Cannibal
6. Mayhem -Necrolust
7. Oppenheimer Analysis – The Devil’s Dancers
8. Winterland – Winterland
9. DJ Amok & Rude Awakening – Divine Ignorance
10. Keiji Haino – なかなか～なんてひどい唄なんだ

Joseph Arthur – Rages Of Babylon

Colin Meloy (Decemberists) – We Both Go Down Together (live)

Dead Confederate – The Rat

Destroyer – Foam Hands

In Flight Radio – Red Flags

Unsacred Hearts – Bless This Bus

Devastations – Black Ice

ich hatte ja schon letztes jahr das vergnügen die devastations im chelsea zu sehen und hören, damals mit ihrem 06er album coal. jetzt gibt es das dritte album – yes, u – und sie scheinen noch immer aus dem vollen zu schöpfen. die stimme von conrad standish, dem lead-sänger, erinnert mitunter an matt berninger von the national, aber alles ein bissl lärmiger, auch dunkler. berningers melancholie scheint ersetzt durch die australische wut eines nick cave – und der mann hat einen hüftschwung…

Devastations: Rosa (MP3, yousendit Link)

When few years ago chatting with a sceptical friend I coined the term “sadcore”, to describe one of my favourite bands, I was kind of insulted. That band was Sophia.

Sophia have been formed by Robin Proper-Sheppard after his precedent band, the heavy-goth-metal trio God Machine.
I am back in time in the early nineties, God Machine had moved from sunny San Diego to rainy London to record a couple of unknown, rare but very influential albums, before being hit by a drama. Jimmy Fernandez, their bass player, died abruptly because of a brain tumour.

Shattered, Robin Proper-Sheppard left behind God Machine’s harsh sounds and moved to Sophia’s sad, melancholic, heartbreaking and almost acoustic songs, occasionally permeated by slices of edgy, noisy electric guitars to keep a link as well as healing from the past.
Sophia debuted in 1996 with Fixed Water, since then they have produced four brilliant studio albums plus a live with a string quartet. All of them are secret treasures of the indie music scene.

The National origin from Ohio but now are a Brooklyn based band. They set off in 2001 with a remarkable self-named debut, but it was in 2005, signing to Beggars Banquet and publishing Alligator, that conquered the indie-blogosphere. Their latest record, the profound The Boxer, shows that the band rise hasn’t stopped.

Uninspired analyses associate them to Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Morrissey and the usual lords of darkness. These are pretty surface comparisons.
The National fusion of intense, melancholic melodies with grand arrangements and, even more, their literate lyrics clearly come from those big names legacy.
Their members, frankly declare love to Dylan, Springsteen, Grateful Dead and the Band.
Quite an interesting blend, but if I had the chance to interview the National I would simply ask what they think of Sophia. I expect they know, admire and get more than a few influences from Proper-Sheppard’s songwriting.

Surfing the net to learn more about their biography, I fortuitously noticed that AMG indeed considers a sadcore genre and, even more interesting, it uses it for both Sophia and The National. What an injection of self-confidence for my music instinct! I am trying to remember who the sceptical friend was.

Unfortunately I haven’t interviewed The National but I managed to gain press access to their London gig.
Quite excited, I ventured the collapsing, third world English Railways and headed from Cambridge to London aware that the journey back by “replacement bus due to engineering works” would have taken over 3 hours to cover less than 100 km. Yes, I am complaining! I got back home 2.05 AM and the concert ended 10.50 PM. A similar journey which I did from Varanasi to Allahabad, India, took roughly the same time, but ticket was 300 times cheaper and the company 300 times more entertaining.

By the way, it was worth the effort. Truth is that I am a big fan of obscure, enigmatic, sophisticated songwriting. The National don’t only thick all these boxes but left me with a sense of actuality, a desire of being there because they indeed have, words and music, something to say.
They are fresh, they remind me of Sophia more than Nick Cave, of the Devastations (another tremendous Beggars Banquet band) more than Cohen but, keep it simple, they are nothing more than The National, one of 2007’s best acts.

On stage the music differs slightly from the albums, live they give their sound a steer.
The whole thing rotates around Matt Berninger, a thick baritone voice in a slim figure. He sings his mysterious verses hanging to the microphone pole, the rest of the brothers surround him both physically and musically. Two leading guitars, bass, drums. Keyboards are more ephemeral compared to studio records, mostly due to the fact that the same player shares violin duties.
It is remarkable to see how many bands nowadays include strings in their ensembles. Something that few years ago was relegated to folk and country is today mainstream for most of the indie-pop act from North America.
The music is strong and the songs are their strength. A repertoire with so many groovy tunes that they flow smoothly through a setlist without a single weak point, culminating with the perfect Fake Empire.
I love listening to good live bands, but there is nothing catchier than enjoying good live songs. So good that I stayed until the very end, when the drummer, alone on stage, decided to disappear after the second encore. It was around 11 PM. You know the rest of my journey back home.

To know more and to listen to some of The National songs check [myspace] [website].

If you haven’t already got tickets for Bat For Lashes’ London show at the Koko in Camden then rush to get tickets for this extra date. Natasha Khan is soulful, gorgeous, kooky and has a beautiful haunting voice – you won’t regret going…

BAT FOR LASHES – EXTRA DATE ADDED
plus special guests
Sunday 28 October
KOKO, 1A Camden High Street, London, NW1 7JE
www.batforlashes.co.uk
http://myspace.com/batforlashes

There’s a list of other shows coming up from Eat Your Own Ears after the jump…

ANDREW BIRD
plus special guests
Friday 9 November
KOKO, 1A Camden High Street, London, NW1 7JE
www.andrewbird.net
www.myspace.com/andrewbird

CARIBOU
Tuesday 27 November
Dingwalls, Middle Yard, Camden Lock, London NW1 8AB
www.caribou.fm
www.myspace.com/cariboumanitoba

Christmas Show with JAMES YORKSTON
and special guests
Thursday 20 December
The Luminaire, 311 High Road, Kilburn, London NW6 7JR 020 7372 7123
www.jamesyorkston.co.uk
www.myspace.com/jamesyorkston

ADJAGAS
LAYLOW
Wednesday 28 November
229, 229 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5PN 0207 631 8388
www.everrecords.com/adjagas

KID HARPOON
Monday 22 October
Union Chapel (Upstairs Bar) Compton Terrace, London N1 2UN,
www.myspace.com/kidharpoon

PREFUSE 73
CHROME HOOF
Tuesday 16 October
Scala, 275 Pentonville Road, King´s Cross, London N1 9NL 020 7833 2022
www.prefuse73.com/
www.myspace.com/prefusion1973
www.warprecords.com

LAURA MARLING
NOAH AND THE WHALE
KING CHARLES
Monday 1 October
The Revue Bar 11 Walkers Court, Brewer St, Soho, London, W1F 0ED, 020
7439 4089
www.myspace.com/lauramarling
www.lauramarling.com

LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION
and full band
Tuesday 2 October
100 Club, 100 Oxford Street, London
020 7403 3331 or 24HR cc hotline 0871 2200 260
www.myspace.com/lightspeedchampion

BATTLES
PARTS AND LABOUR
plus special guests
Thursday 11 October
KOKO, 1A Camden High Street, London, NW1 7JE
www.myspace.com/battlestheband

TUNNG
FANFARLO
Wednesday 17 October
229, 229 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5PN 0207 631 8388
www.tunng.co.uk

VON SUDENFED (Featuring Mark E Smith of The
Fall and Mouse On Mars)
Thursday 18 October
Heaven, Under The Arches, Villiers Street, London, WC2N 6NG 020 7930
2020
www.heaven-london.com
www.myspace.com/vonsudenfed
www.dominorecordco.com

AMIINA (Sigur Ros String Section)
plus special guests
Thursday 25 October
Bush Hall, 310 Uxbridge Road, London W6 OBE
amiina.com
www.myspace.com/amiina

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
plus special guests
Thursday 1 November
The Astoria, 157 Charing Cross Road London WC2 8EN Tel: 020 7434 9592
www.paw-tracks.com
www.myspace.com/animalcollectivetheband

BEIRUT
plus special guests
Saturday 10 November
The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8EH 020 7424 9991
www.roundhouse.org.uk
www.beirutband.com
www.4ad.com/beirut

SCOUT NIBLETT
DEVASTATIONS
TODD
Monday 26 November
Scala, 275 Pentonville Road, King´s Cross, London N1 0207 833 2022
www.scoutniblett.com
www.myspace.com/scoutniblett
www.toopure.com/scoutniblett

ELECTRELANE
YEASAYER
Thursday 29 November
KOKO, 1A Camden High Street, London, NW1 7JE
www.electrelane.com

BONDE DO ROLE
plus special guests
Thursday 22 November
The Scala, 275 Pentonville Road, King´s Cross, London N1 9NL 020 7833
2022
www.dominorecordco.com/
www.myspace.com/bondedorole

El homónimo disco de debut de Devastations recibió elogios de luminarias como Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) o Rowland S. Howard (The Birthday Party), aunque también hubo quien les calificó de meros émulos de Nick Cave o Tindersticks de baja intensidad.

Su segundo álbum, Coal, consolida el sonido melancólico, sensual y elegante del trío australiano. “No se puede decir que tuviéramos un plan maestro a la hora de grabar el disco. En todo caso, sí pretendimos que tuviera más colorido y resultara menos monótono que el anterior. Coal es una colección de canciones pop, si bien de la manera retorcida en que nosotros entendemos el pop, que fueron secuenciadas para que el todo quedara coherente. Por eso, el disco empieza con una canción llamada Sex And Mayhem y acaba hablando de corazones rotos”.

Huyendo del cliché

Puede que las canciones de Coal suenen más robustas y menos etéreas que las de su debut, pero las letras de Devastations continúan hablando de frustración, dolor, arrepentimiento y desamor, lo que les hermana con artistas como el citado Cave o Dirty Three. “Definitivamente, influye haber nacido en Australia. Se trata de una nación separada geográficamente del resto del mundo. Es muy fácil sentirse frustrado y aislado por esa distancia, lo que acaba por generar un sentimiento de pesar y dolor. Por otra parte, esa melancolía es el estado que encontramos natural para escribir canciones”.

Una melancolía, por cierto, que contrasta con la fiera actitud que el grupo se gasta encima de los escenarios. La banda sacará a lo largo del año un DVD en directo, grabado en Madrid durante su última gira europea, con el que pretende documentar su faceta más salvaje. “Elegimos España porque el público responde a la idea que tenemos del directo como experiencia tremendamente física, casi violenta. No es extraño que acabemos nuestros conciertos en Europa con una canción tan al límite como The Low Road, de Beasts Of Bourbon, aunque no somos especialmente fans de las versiones”.

Publicado en Mondosonoro