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This new Slumberland band will be bracketed with other lo-fi/noise-pop peers, but they have songs that will appeal beyond the confines of subcultures: Anyone with a weakness for trebly, melancholy pop music will find a lot to like about this record.
On The Crying Light, Antony Hegarty remains fascinated with the transitions and overlaps between birth and life, life and death, this world and the next, but he expresses them in more universal, more direct, but no less rapturous terms than he did on his New York-tinted breakthrough I Am a Bird Now.
Reviews
The Beastie Boys' second album-- a landmark in the art of sampling, a harbinger of pop-culture obsessions to come, and a crazy amount of fun-- is remastered and reissued 20 years on.
[Nate Patrin]
Iconoclast and leader of both the Soft Boys and his Egyptians, Robyn Hitchock again teams with R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and well-known utility player Scott McCaughey on his latest solo record. As usual, echoes of Syd Barrett, the Beatles, and Television Personalities are heard frequently.
[Mia Lily Clarke]Merge gives a deserved deluxe reissue treatment to a pair of Homestead releases from anthemic 1980s Boston trio Volcano Suns, Peter Prescott's post-Mission of Burma project.
[Marc Masters]The versatile Dutch composer Stephen Emmer, with production from Tony Visconti, combines music and spoken literary texts, with readers like Lou Reed, Allen Ginsberg, and Jorge Luis Borges tackling words by Yoko Ono, Paul Theroux, Samuel Beckett, and more.
[Brian Howe]This collection gathers stray tracks and singles from the short-lived and underrated D.C. band on Dischord that grew out of Smart Went Crazy.
[Andrew Gaerig]Thu: 02-12-09
Wed: 02-11-09
Tue: 02-10-09
Mon: 02-09-09
Forkcast
- Pitchfork.tv: Marnie Stern: "Daytripping" Part 2
- Video: Jenny Lewis & Elvis Costello [ft. Zooey Deschanel]: "Carpetbaggers" / "Go Away" (Live on Sundance's "Spectacle")
- Video: Simian Mobile Disco: "Synthesise"
- Video: The Wrens: "Marked Up"
- New Music: Strange Boys: "Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up" [MP3/Stream]
- Pitchfork.tv: Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele: "Meet Me in the Garden" [Video Premiere]
- New Music: Gui Boratto: "Take My Breath Away" [MP3/Stream]
Features
Guest List: Diplo
Diplo reveals which two classic producers he admires most, tips us off to a new venue in Philly, and divulges a family relation to a prominent indie-rock frontman. [Interview: Tyler Grisham]
[Diplo]
Interview: Fennesz
Austrian producer Christian Fennesz put out his long-awaited latest solo album Black Sea late in 2008. Just prior to the album's release, we spoke with him about his working methods, the pressure of a new solo album, and the enduring appeal of A-Ha.
[Mark Richardson]Interview: Stephen Malkmus
Twenty years (!) after the release of Pavement's debut, we talk to Stephen Malkmus about the deluxe reissue of Pavement's fourth album Brighten the Corners, his reasoning for relegating so many of his songs over the years to B-sides and rarities, and his future with the Jicks.
[Matthew Perpetua]Interview: Saint Etienne
We caught up with Saint Etienne co-founder and multi-instrumentalist Bob Stanley to talk about the band's rich history, his side work as a writer and curator, the changing face of music fandom, and why exactly his band has so many compilations.
[Scott Plagenhoef]Interview: Franz Ferdinand
After bringing intelligent, glamorous pop music to the masses, Franz Ferdinand have returned as a commerical force-- debuting songs in video games, collaborating with rap superstars-- but still are looking to expand their sonic palatte on their more exploratory new album, Tonight.
[Stuart Berman]While We Were Out...
Catching up with last week's reviews, including our takes on the new records from Bruce Springsteen and Franz Ferdinand, EP collaborations between Hot Chip and Robert Wyatt and Jon Brion and Of Montreal, and yet another pair of wonderful Optimo-related mixes.
[Pitchfork Staff]