The Wheel's Still In Spin

New Releases - 30 September 2008

Here are The Wheel’s Still In Spin’s suggested new releases.

Absentee – Victory Shorts | CD
Download “Bitchstealer” (mp3)
Absentee is covering some of the same ground as Schmotime, The Wheel’s Still In Spin’s 2nd favorite album of 2006. Not so much hopeless romantics, this band covers the themes of hopeless romance. The utterly deep voice of Dan Michaelson sounds best on the upbeat tracks like “Boy, Did She Teach you Nothing?” and “Bitchstealer” than the drawn out ballads like “Love Has Had It’s Way” and “We Smash Plates.”

Dungen – Dungen 4 | CD, Vinyl or MP3
Download “Satt Att Se” (mp3)
On this album, Dungen moves past the psychedelic and progressive rock roots and creates a jazzier sound. Gustav Ejstes put down his guitar and plays piano. The result is a fusion style album with a live sound to the tracks.

People Under The Stairs – Fun DMC | CD, Vinyl, or MP3
Download “Funner Than Leather” – the Fun DMC MixTape (mp3)
This rap album is a great combination of soulful, tight beats and solid rhymes. It’s got an old school feel with funk grooves and the occasional scratch. Thes One and Double K make the setting a backyard BBQ.

Star Fucking Hipsters – Until We’re Dead | CD or Vinyl
Download “Until We’re Dead” (mp3)
Download “Two Cups Of Tea” (mp3)
This is what punk rock is supposed to sound like. The songs are aggressive and (mostly) short and capitulated with themes of complete freedom.

After the jump, there is a list of more new releases from this week.

Bay Area Concerts 9/26-10/2

Here this week's concerts.

Fri 9/26: Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade Benefit Concert – Megapuss | Silver Jews | Beach House | and more – The Forest at Fernwood Campgrounds
Fri 9/26: Mission Of Burma – performing Signals, Calls, And Marches | Hank IV – The Independent
Fri 9/26: One Ring Zero | DJ Organgrinder – Café Du Nord (early show)
Fri 9/26: Josh Rouse | Merz – Swedish American Hall
Fri 9/26: Cold War Kids | We Barbarians – Great American Music Hall
Fri 9/26: Railroad Earth | The Watson Twins – The Fillmore

Sat 9/27: Ramblin’ Jack Elliott – Henry Miller Memorial Library
Sat 9/27: Mission Of Burma – performing VS | Hank IV – The Independent
Sat 9/27: Seva Foundation Benefit – David Crosby & Graham Nash | Jackson Browne | Bonnie Raitt | Los Lobos – Paramount Theatre
Sat 9/27: Railroad Earth | The Watson Twins – The Fillmore

Sun 9/28: Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade Benefit Concert – Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy | Pegi Young Band | Alela Diane | Anthony Crawford – Henry Miller Memorial Library – SOLD OUT
Sun 9/28: Calexico | The Cave Singers – The Fillmore
Sun 9/28: Beach House | Lazarus – Swedish American Hall
Sun 9/28: Johnny Flynn | Laura Marling | Mumford And Sons – Café Du Nord
Sun 9/28: The Entrance Band | Little Joy | Megapuss – The Independent
Sun 9/28: Pattern Is Movement | Okay | French Miami – Hemlock Tavern

Mon 9/29: A Place To Bury Strangers | Sian Alice Group | The Blacks – Bottom Of The Hill

Tue 9/30: We Are Wolves | Phantom Float | Battlehooch – Café Du Nord
Tue 9/30: Sloan | The Golden Dogs – The Independent
Tue 9/30: Jamie Lidell | Janelle Monae – The Fillmore

Wed 10/1: People Under The Stairs – Amoeba Records Berkeley – FREE
Wed 10/1: People Under The Stairs | Common Market | Shawn Jackson – The Independent

Thu 10/2: Noah And The Whale – Amoeba Records San Francisco – FREE
Thu 10/2: Noah And The Whale – Popscene
Thu 10/2: The Loved Ones | Jackson United | Beat Union – Bottom Of The Hill (all ages)
Thu 10/2: Neva Dinova | McCarthy Trenching | Pillows – Hemlock Tavern
Thu 10/2: Guitar-Bass-Drums (Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, Jim Keltner) – Great American Music Hall

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New Releases - 23 September 2008

Here are The Wheel’s Still In Spin’s suggested new releases.

Blitzen Trapper – Furr | CD Vinyl MP3
Download “Furr” (mp3)
After self-releasing their first three albums and receiving a lot or acclaim for 2007’s Wild Mountain Nation, Blitzen Trapper signed with Sub Pop. Luckily on Furr, the band’s fourth album and first for Sub Pop, the band continued to self-produce the music. This album continues with the same enthralling and catchy folk rock that made the band popular.

Cold War Kids – Loyalty To Loyalty | CD Vinyl MP3
Download “Something Is Not Right With Me” (mp3 from RCRDLBL)
The Cold War Kids could not have known that the government bailout when this album was recorded, but it opens with the lines, “We don’t gamble/ We don’t do the stock exchange.” This album is full of edgy, bluesy indie rock songs cloaked in a rich distortion and tapped off with poignant lyrics.

Johnny Foreigner – Waited Up Til It Was Light | CD MP3
Download “Salt Pepper And Spinderell” (mp3)
The music has the energy and dynamics of the indie punk sounds of Los Campesinos. The vocals, however, have an interplay and layering similar to Mates of State. This three-piece sounds large and sonorous.

TV On The Radio – Dear Science | Deluxe Edition CD CD Deluxe Version MP3 MP3
This album is a great musical conglomeration. It’s intelligent, danceable, cutting, criticizing, catchy, diverse. It’s soul, pop, indie rock. This album can’t be pigeonholed and this band can’t be typecast. The more you listen to this album, the more it will consume you.

TV On The Radio’s “Golden Age” from Dear Science:

Bay Area Concerts 9/19/08-9/25/08

Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, I've been amazed at how many great concerts there are every week. Here this week's concerts.

Fri 9/19: Bart Davenport (CD Release) | Sugar And Gold | Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson | Oakland Soft Rock Choir | DJ Lithuanian Prince – Café Du Nord
Fri 9/19: My Morning Jacket – The Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley
Fri 9/19: Fleet Foxes | Frank Fairfield | Sleepy Sun – The Independent
Fri 9/19: Teddy Thompson | Lucy Wainwright Roche | The Grey Race – Great American Music Hall

Sat 9/20: This Land Is Your Land: Sheryl Crow with The Black Keys | Cat Power | Mike Ness | Son Volt | Henry Rollins (spoken word) | Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irions – Sleep Train Pavilion
Sat 9/20: Justice | TV On The Radio | Goldfrapp | Hotchip | CSS | Antibalas | Aesop Rock | Amon Tobin | Mike Relm | Foals | Nortec Collective: Bostich + Fussible | Chester French | The Frail – Treasure Island Music Festival
Sat 9/20: Treasure Island Festival After Party: Tilly & The Wall | DJ White Williams – Popscene
Sat 9/20: Menomena | Dat’r | Foxtail Somersaults – The Independent

Sun 9/21: The Raconteurs | Tegan & Sara | Vampire Weekend | Spiritualized | Okkervil River | Tokyo Police Club | The Kills | Dr. Dog | John Vanderslice | The Dodos | Fleet Foxes | The Morning Benders | Port O’Brien | Or, The Whale – Treasure Island Music Festival
Sun 9/21: The Wedding Present | Earlimart – Great American Music Hall

Mon 9/22: Spoon | The Heavenly States – The Fillmore

Tue 9/23: Spoon | The Heavenly States – The Fillmore
Tue 9/23: Liam Finn | The Veils | Dominant Legs – Bottom Of The Hill

Wed 9/24: Spoon | The Heavenly States – The Fillmore
Wed 9/24: Ra Ra Riot | Walter Meego | Princeton – Rickshaw Stop

Thu 9/25: Silver Jews – The Fillmore
Thu 9/25: Adam Stephens of Two Gallants | Matt Bauer – Swedish Music Hall
Thu 9/25: Juliana Hatfield | The Welcome MattCafé Du Nord
Thu 9/25: The New Year | A Weather | Si, Claro – Bottom Of The Hill

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Best Albums Of July 2008

With the cross-country move, followed by a vacation, it’s better late than never. Here’s The Wheel’s Still In Spin’s favorites new releases for the month of July:

1. Neil Halstead – Oh! Mighty Engine | Amazon CD Vinyl MP3 | Insound CD Vinyl
   Download “Paint A Face” (mp3)
   Neil Halstead was one of the driving forces of the shoegazer band Slowdive. After Slowdive released 3 albums, that band reworked itself into Mojave 3 and the music became folkier but still full sounding. Mixed in with the 8 full-length albums that those 2 bands released, Halstead slipped in a solo album back in 2002. Sleeping On Roads, included the track “Two Stones In My Pocket,” which is one of my favorite songs of all time. On Oh! Mighty Engine, Halstead sticks with the spacious folk sound of his initial solo release. The album is an intoxicating relief.


2. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson | Amazon CD MP3 | Insound CD
   Download “Buriedfed” (mp3)
   Download “The Debtor” (mp3)
   Upon listening to the first vocal lines of the opening track of this album, “Buriedfed,” the phrasing and timbre of Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson’s voice is unmistakably reminiscent of Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock. This debut album was created with the assistance of Chris Taylor and Christopher Bear of Grizzly Bear. The result sounds like a cross between those 2 bands. The songwriting and instrumentation is as skilled and varied as Grizzly Bear, but with the dynamic energy level of Modest Mouse.


3. The Baseball Project – Volume 1: Frozen Ropes And Dying Quails | Amazon CD MP3 | Insound CD MP3
   Download “Past Time” (mp3)
   For about 6 or 7 years, mostly in the mid to late 80’s, I owned a sports card shop. I spent a lot of time talking about baseball. I had the chance to meet Ted Williams once. Even in his senior years, that guy was built like a tree with broad shoulders and a stocky posture. When it comes to his playing days, The Baseball Project nailed it with the song “Ted Fucking Williams.” Add songs about Curt Flood becoming the first free agent, the controversy of how Mark McGwire broke the single season homerun record, Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s segregated barriers, or the Satchel Paige’s rules for staying young – who at the age of 42 become the oldest person to debut in the Major Leagues after about 20 years of pitching in the Negro Leagues. That’s not even half the album and only a small fraction of the baseball stories worthy of song.
   
   But even if you don’t have a passion for the summertime game, this album is still extremely solid. The music is the perfect mix of pop and indie rock. The melodies are remarkably catchy. For someone like me who loves baseball and music, this album will get repeated plays every year from the anticipation that comes with spring training to excitement of the postseason.


4. Animal Farm – The Unknown | Amazon CD MP3 | Insound CD
   This is one of the most original rap albums that has been released in a while. The music and beats alter between the rock and soul of “We Came To Rock,” the old time jazz of “Ragtime Gal,” to the R&B groove of “Move It.” The tracks seamlessly connect the varying beats. Animal Farm calls their style “true-school hip hop.” The group, with four emcees that trade off rhymes, gets political, socially conscious, and makes some claims about modern hip hop. This album is intelligent and unique.


5. Low vs Diamond – Low vs Diamond | Amazon CD MP3 | Insound CD
   Download “Heart Attack” (mp3)
   Low vs Diamond have created a debut full-length that is full of grandiose modern rock orchestration. The fluent guitar and keyboard lines drive the songs. The vocals, like the music, fall within the space between The Killers and Coldplay. This is a pop record that expects you to sway and move with its pulsating rock songs.


6. Dr. Dog – Fate | Amazon CD Vinyl MP3 | Insound CD Vinyl MP3
   Download “The Old Days” (mp3)
   Download “The Ark” (mp3)
   This is a straightforward pop album, but soak in a vintage sound. In creating this rock album, Dr. Dog has dusted off soul and gospel influences. The music is strikingly upbeat and full of hooks, even when it tackles the ballads. The vocal lines are catchy. After listening to “Hang On,” try to shake loose the line, “Why do you think we need Amazing Grace/ Just to tell it like it is.”


7. Johnny Flynn – A Larum | Amazon CD Vinyl MP3 | Insound CD
   The first UK artist signed to Lost Highway, Johnny Flynn has released an impressive debut full-length album. The folk songs shuffle with the constantly picked motion of the Flynn’s guitar. Like most good folk albums, the melodies guide these tracks through the intelligently crafted lyrics. A Shakespearean trained actor, Flynn stars in his own videos. You can watch “Leftovers” at the bottom of this post or see all of his videos at: http://www.youtube.com/user/johnnyflynnofficial


8. PAS/CAL – I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke, And Laura | Amazon CD MP3 | Insound CD MP3
   Download “You Were Too Old For Me” (mp3)
   This album is expansive and ambitious. It’s indie rock with impressive amount of musical layers. There are sheets of keyboards and guitars swirling around the mixes. The melodies are catchy. This is superfluous indie pop.


9. Hypatia Lake – Angels And Demons, Space And Time | Amazon CD | Insound CD
   Download “Lucifer Rebellion” (mp3)
   Download “The General’s Gleaming Edge” (mp3)
   Hypatia Lake is a band. Hypatia Lake is also a fictional town. The music of the band is set in the town and provides the story of the lives of its fictional inhabitants. You can read “the story so far,” as the band describes it. With or without getting into the story, the music is diverse in style from folky ballads to distorted rock songs. This album is emotive and grandiose.


10. Lackthereof – Your Anchor | Amazon CD MP3 | InsoundCD Vinyl MP3
    Download “Choir Practice” (mp3)
    Lackthereof is the solo project of Menomena’s drummer, Danny Seim. This album was recorded and mixed in Seim’s basement. The vocal tone somewhat drones through the melodies, but the songs are hypnotically captivating, even the final track, a cover of The Nationals’ “Fake Empire.”

It should also be said that here were a good amount of strong EPs released in July. The best include The Avett Brother’s The Second Gleam, Clientele’s That Night A Forest Grew, and the digital release of Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons’ Cabin Ghosts.

Johnny Flynn’s “Leftovers” from A Larum:

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New Releases - 16 September 2008

Here are The Wheel’s Still In Spin’s suggested new releases.

Boston Spaceships – Brown Submarines | Amazon CD Vinyl MP3
Download “Go For The Exit” (mp3)
This Robert Pollard fronted super group includes Chris Slusarenko (Guided By Voices, Takeovers) and John Moen (The Decemberists, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Elliott Smith, and Perhapst). More so than Pollard’s solo albums this year, Superman Was A Rocker and Robert Pollard Is Off To Business, this album is consistent throughout. The sound to this album is the combination of Beatles-esque pop and garage rock that made GBV so good.

Brimstone Howl – We Came In Peace | Amazon CD Vinyl MP3
Download “A Million Years” (mp3)
This album has a bluesy sound of a garage rock band, but with a punk aesthetic. It’s energetic and edgy, but with distorted blues guitar driving the songs. That description may sound simplistic, but these songs scorch with an intricate intensity.

Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons – Cabin Ghosts [EP] | Amazon CD MP3
Download “Home In The Woods” (mp3)
In July, when this album was digitally released, I included in one of the weekly lists. Now it’s physical release arrive, and it’s still a solid EP. As I wrote then, the timbre to Cory Chisel’s voice is reminiscent of Glen Hansard of The Frames and the movie Once. For a live recorded EP, this Americana flared music is eloquently reinforce with clarinet, accordion, subtle electric guitar, and supporting female vocals.

Dressy Bessy – HOLLERandSTOMP | Amazon CD Vinyl MP3
This band from the Elephant 6 collective returns with another sugary indie pop album. The band’s self-titled album from 2003 still stands as their strongest album, but HOLLERandSTOMP full of 2 or 3 minute songs that bounce along with infectious melodies.

Noah And The Whale – Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down | Amazon CD MP3
Download “2 Bodies 1 Heart” (mp3)
This band straddles the lines between chamber pop, folk rock, and indie pop. The vocals and lyrics sound mature. The music is rooted with the acoustic guitar, but the string arrangements and full band production makes this album sounds immense and well crafted.

New Releases - 9 September 2008

There is a long list of new releases this week. That means there is a substantial list of recommended ones. Here are The Wheel’s Still In Spin’s suggested new releases.

The Broken West – Now Or Heaven | Amazon CD
Download “Auctioneer” (mp3)
On their second full-length album, The Broken West return to the power pop sound that made I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On so popular. Now Or Heaven, however, is not as much of a guitar-driven album as their debut. An inkling of maturity has been added to the sound while retaining the catchiness of 3 to 4 minute songs.

Calexico – Carried To Dust | Amazon CD Vinyl
Download “Two Silver Trees” (mp3)
This band mixes the sounds of indie rock with Mexican mariachi. With of horns, percussion, and acoustic instruments, this album is full depth. The songs are enchanting and rooted in powerful dynamics and emotions.

The Donkeys – Living On The Other Side | Amazon CD Vinyl MP3
Download “Walk Through A Cloud” (mp3)
Download “Nice Train” (mp3)
This band distinctly sounds like the collective of all the folk rock and country rock bands from 70’s AM radio that preceded the alt country designation. It’s hard to listen to this tranquilly pleasant and not loose track of time leisurely staring out the window. The Donkeys remind me of the band The Court & Spark with the countrified pop part of The Grateful Dead’s sound.

Horse Feathers – House With No Home | Amazon CD Vinyl MP3
Download “Curs In The Weeds” (mp3)
This is a modern folk album is the vein of Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, and Loney, Dear. With impeccable string arrangements, this music sounds intricate, tactful, and deceptively simple. Full of swells and dramatically natural lifts, this music sounds evocative and effortless.

Okkervil River – The Stand Ins | Amazon CD Vinyl MP3
Download “Lost Coastlines” (mp3)
When Okkervil River recorded The Stage Names (TWSIS’s favorite album of 2007), Will Sheff said they had enough songs to release a double album. The Stand Ins constitutes the second part of that double album. Since this albums sounds and works as an extension of The Stage Names, it has to be recommended.

Take a moment to go to Okkervil River’s YouTube site. The have a collection of artists covering the songs from The Stand Ins including A.C. Newman, David Vandervelde, Bon Iver, Crooked Fingers, and more.

Static Radio NJ – Evening Of Bad Decisions | Amazon CD
Download “Marc” (mp3)
Download “Places” (mp3)
With 13 songs that smash into about 27 minutes of music, Static Radio NJ offers a very tight punk album with seamless fast tempo changes. An Evening Of Bad Decisions is a diverse set for the genre. This band is rooted in punk, but is versed in classic rock riffs, but you’ve got to listen hard to hear them wiz by.

After the jump, there is a list of more new releases from this week.

New Releases - 2 September 2008

After a move across the country to the San Francisco area and a short vacation, The Wheel’s Still In Spin is back. With Labor Day this week, as most holiday weeks, there is a limited number of new releases. But there are still some great ones. Here are The Wheel’s Still In Spin’s suggested new releases.

Apollo Sunshine – Shall Noise Upon | Amazon CD 2LPs w/bonus CD MP3 | Insound CD Vinyl
Download “666: The Coming Of The New World Government” (mp3)
On their third full-length album, Apollo Sunshine have created a hauntingly soothing mix of auspicious tones and diverse instrumentation. The captivating melodies are supported by straight up rock instrumentations, steel pedals, jaw harps, and whirling sounds. With vinyl and downloadable versions of the album released in early August, today sees the release of the physical CD.

Birdmonster – From The Mountain To The Sea | Amazon CD Vinyl MP3
Download “Born To Be Your Man” (mp3)
This band from San Francisco, my new home, has released a fine roots rock album. The first track, “My Love For You,” sounds like countrified 50’s rocker with its banjo picking and hall-filling-reverb on the vocals. Some other songs are perfect examples of what alt country is supposed to sound like. Later in the album has an upbeat and aggressive rock sound. From the beginning to the end, the album slowly progresses through all alternative musical muses – from old underground country to punk influences. It’s a diverse and consummate album.

The Primary 5 – High Five | Amazon CD MP3
This band is the solo project for Paul Quinn, the former drummer of Teenage Fanclub and Soup Dragons. Quinn is now playing the role of frontman on guitar and keyboards. The result on High Five is a complacently satisfying presentation of jangly power pop. For fans of Teenage Fanclub, Jim McCulloch and Norman Blake each make guest appearances on the album.

After the jump, there is a list of more new releases from this week.