Scripted Failures

So, in the vein of Radiohead, Bloc Party have a pre-order up for their third record “Intimacy”, whose cover I’d post if I could find a picture of it. I just found out about it yesterday (the album and the pre-order), through a Facebook update, so I assume this has only been going on since Monday when Bloc Party apparently had a webchat with their fans, and revealed the album news.

It goes like this: When you pre-order the album, you can either just get the digital copy for $10, which you’ll be able to download tomorrow, or get the physical/digital bundle for $20, which will allow you to still be able to download the album tomorrow as well as get the physical copy Oct 28th. Apparently, the physical copy is going to have some new or different tracks on it than the digital copy. I’m not sure what exactly that entails, because, according to an interview with Kele Okereke, the lead singer/guitarist, that Rolling Stone conducted, the band doesn’t even know what it entails yet. Let’s hope it’s possibly another CD of tracks a la Radiohead’s “In Rainbows”

Now, don’t worry, Bloc Party aren’t being dicks (Wait I’m gonna explain it). I know some of you have gone to the site to pre-order the album and noticed that if you get the physical/digital bundle you’re paying $10 for the digital copy plus $10 for the physical copy. I know nearly all of you who just noticed that are thinking exactly what i thought: Greedy fucks. They aren’t though. I checked and the physical/digital bundle, if you live anywhere in the world besides the Americas, is only ten pounds. Now that makes a helluva lot more sense huh? I was quite relieved when I saw that, because it assured me that Bloc Party weren’t being the greedy fucks i had so quickly and wrongly assumed. Although, Kele Okereke, the lead singer, did say he didn’t want to give away for free because he wants to get paid in the Rolling Stone interview mentioned above (He also said it was a break-up album).

So, basically, the shitty dollar strikes again! Yes, folks, since they’re British and we’re American we get to pay double their price. Or if you’re more cynical, Bloc Party are greedy fucks. Personally, I fall somewhere in between. I say if you’re ordering the Physical/Digital bundle then by all means the digital side of things should be free. So given that the Physical only is 8 pounds, that’d be basically 16 dollars. Well, you know, on second thought, I think I’ve just fallen squarely into the shitty dollar category, because I don’t mind paying four bucks to get to listen to an album a little more than two months before it comes out. However, you could argue that the Physical copy should just be $10 bucks, regardless of where you live. On the other hand though, a band does have to make money to survive, especially when they’re still tied to a label. Point is, this debate could go round and round, and is mostly, if not wholly pointless. After all, it’s all about the music.

Economic rants aside, I couldn’t help but purchase it! After all those new tracks might be exclusive only to the pre-order. Plus, I love both of the old Bloc Party records, ESPECIALLY “A Weekend in the City”, and the thought of getting a new Bloc Party record to listen to TOMORROW, which will help get me through another day at work, was too good to pass up.

I shall be listening to this record tomorrow, provided it arrives before I head into work, because my network connection at work is terrible. I’ll try to have something up about it on Monday. If any of you kids decide to do the same feel free to leave some comments over the weekend on this post, or wait and leave some comments on the actual review post, which, like I said, should be up Monday.

PS Forgive me for the weird economic rant. Not quite sure where that came from.

If you head on over to Kori’s blog on Babble, you can hear about a minute or so worth of one of the new Mates of State songs, albeit while Mags (that’s Magnolia their daughter) sings over it.  The song sounds beautiful, and the video is just too cute!

So today, Joy Electric posted the title track of their new album, “My Grandfather, the Cubist”, which comes out May 27th, on their myspace.  It’s sweet.  Here’s my review of the song:

Opening up with the atmospherics and percussive elements that have become a Joy Electric trademark, the song then blooms into a sweet chord progression with a beautiful, and instantly catchy lead line.  The minimalism promised on this record is instantly noticeable and it works incredibly well.  It’s like the elements that need to be there to have a full fufilling song are there, but any extraneous elements that might detract from the song aren’t.  Ronnie’s non-effected upfront vocals are also noticeable right off the bat.  I was very interested to see what these would sound like and they sound absolutely wonderful.  They sound very emotional and very fragile.  As a comparison point, think of the vocals on the verse of “Write Your Last Paragraph”, and you’ve got your sound.

Basically, this song sounds like a more minimalistic version of the Joy Electric I fell in love with way back in 1997.  Based on this song, it seems like this album may be the a return to the “Melody” era of songwriting in terms of chord progressions and lead lines which isn’t a bad thing at all.  I enjoy every Joy Electric record, but “Melody” and “We are the Music Makers” are the two records that have had the most emotional impact on me.  That said, this song has me more excited for this new Joy Electric record than I have been for any of the recent ones, besides maybe “The Otherly Opus”, and it should be noted I get very excited for the release of every new Joy Electric record.  All that said, this maybe their “Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice”, which, like that Starflyer 59 record, fully renews my love of the band and makes me remember all the things that made me fall in love with them all those years ago.

I really don’t know what else to say.  It’s a wonderful song and everyone definitely needs to check it out.  If you didn’t notice, check out that bitchin’ cover art.  Best Joy Electric cover ever? Possibly!  May 27th is going to be a good day.

My first listen to this song was sitting on my girlfriend’s couch, both of us hearing the song for the first time.  I must admit on first listen my main thought was, “What the hell has happened to Death Cab”.  I was not impressed and frankly a bit let down.  My girlfriend expressed love for the song right off the bat.  I told her, “I’m not digging it, but given the fact that I hated ‘Plans’ on first listen, only to love it on repeated listens, I’m sure this will grow on me”.  Well kids, prophecy fufilled.

For the first four minutes or so, before the vocals come in, you might think you’re listening to a new Yo La Tengo track.  You might think of something like a less fuzzed out, more piano heavy “Pass the Hatchet, I think I’m Goodkind”, or other YLT slow burners that are escaping my memory right now.  This is due to the repetative bass groove, guitar noodles, and piano chords that come in and out.  I swear as I listen to it right now, I expect, at any second, for Georgia Hubley or Ira Kaplan to suddenly start their quiet singing, alone or together, about their married life or any other of the myriad topics they cover in their songs.  This is not a bad thing, or a bad sign, as I do love YLT.

Once the vocals come in, the YLT nuances fade a bit and things become a little more distinctly Death Cab, but a Death Cab you’ve never heard before.  That isn’t to say the YLT feel totally disappears but it does amp down a bit.  As Jim pointed out in the earlier post about this song, the lyrics are typical Ben Gibbard fare, which once again is not a bad thing, because he’s an accomplished lyricist, whom I respect greatly.

The song becomes distinctly Death Cab around the 6:45 mark, with a distinctly Death Cab breakdown.  How is it a distinctly Death Cab breakdown?  I can’t really explain it, but it just is.  I think it’s one of the highlights of the song.  It’s the part that wakes you up from the trance the rest of the song has put you in, because this is truly an entrancing song.

After the breakdown, though, things settle back into more YLT territory, but, don’t worry kids, I don’t think Death Cab is turning into a YLT tribute band or anything of that sort.  Anyone who’s followed Death Cab through their stellar career knows that each album is a new adventure in sound, and that Death Cab always follows their own muse.  I’ve read in interviews that “Narrow Stairs” is a reaction to the exceptionally layered production of “Plans”.  This entrancing 8 minute romp through YLT-esque territory is just one reaction to “Plans”.  I certainly don’t expect every song to be this way.  I feel heavily assured that there will be, as there always is, at least one, two, or maybe more immeadiate songs that stick in your head and grab at your heart from the first listen.

The main complaint I’ve read, at least in the reviews on iTunes of this song, is the fact that it takes four minutes for the vocals to come in.  This makes me wonder how much indie rock these reviewers have actually listened to.  After all, elongated intros are nothing new in indie rock.  They might be a bit new in the world of Death Cab’s music, but certainly not in the wide field of indie rock.  On that premise, I call bullshit on those negative reviews.  On top of that, it’s not like the first four minutes before the lyrics come in is filled with pointless noise.  Sure it’s based on a repetative bass line, guitar noodles, and coming and going piano chords, but it’s a good bass line, good guitar noodles, and good coming and going piano chords. So fuck those negative reviews, cause those reviewers just need to open their minds and let the new Death Cab shine in.

Everything that Death Cab has said about this album has been to the tune of “this is going to be a divisive record among Death Cab fans”.  This first single, right off the bat, proves to me that this is going to be true.  If this track is any indication, I think I won’t have any problem getting on Death Cab’s new musical train.  Seriously, this track makes me excited just to hear all the new avenues that will be explored on this record.  From the snippets of comments about the lyrical topics, I think there will be some real heartbreakers on this record, “Your New Twin Size Bed” I’m looking at you.

So if you’re freaked out on first listen, or tempted to write Death Cab off as totally fucking up their good name, relax, take a few more listens, and see if this doesn’t grow on you.  I bet it will.

So as you can see, the new Bon Voyage record has moved from being tentatively called “Lies”, to being definitely called “Lies”.  As you can also see, the album has a stellar seductive cover.  This is the most seductive sensual cover I’ve ever seen Tooth and Nail put out.  If you’re wondering where I found the cover someone on the Velvet Blue Music Message Board was checking out the Invisible Creature Blog, and found it.

Speaking of which, that message board is quite the interesting place to hang around.  Check it out!  Jim and I are on there as happinessiseasy and lfh respectively.  Send us private messages and say hi!

Semi back on topic, Invisible Creature is the studio that is also doing artwork for the new Joy Electric album,  “My Grandfather, the Cubist”.  It’s run by brothers Ryan and Don Clark who were in the Tooth and Nail hardcore band Focused, then the Solid State (Tooth and Nail’s hardcore label) band Training for Utopia, if I’m remembering my history correctly.  The Clark Brothers used to run Asterik Studios who did tons of album sleeves for Tooth and Nail, including Starflyer 59’s “Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice” and Joy Electric’s “The Tick Tock Treasury”, as well as the album sleeve for Funeral for a Friend’s “Hours”.  Asterik Studios has now split into two different studios: Wonderful Union and the aforementioned Invisible Creatures.

Random asides aside, there’s more yummy Bon Voyage info to feast upon.  Here it is, straight from Bon Voyage’s Myspace Blog:

“The new album “LIES” is completed and scheduled for a release date this
June on Tooth and Nail Records. New photos have been completed, and the
artwork for the record is currently underway. The myspace page will be
going thru an overhaul with new photos, new music, and release
information…please check back periodically as we are hoping to have
the new page up here in the next month or so.”

June can’t come soon enough, not to mention a tracklist, and some new tracks to listen to!

So this is sort of week old news, but we’ll pretend like we’re on the cutting edge and this news just surfaced today.  Everyone play along okay?  So here it goes!  Mates of States new record, “Re-Arrange Us” is due out May 20th on Barsuk Records. (You realize this means that May is going to have three straight weeks of killer releases with Death Cab’s “Narrow Stairs” out on the 13th, the aforementioned Mates of State out on the 20th, and then Joy Electric’s “My Grandfather, the Cubist” out on the 27th.  All we need now is something rad to come out on May 6th to have a whole month of badass music!)  Things in parentheses aside here’s the scoop straight from the album page on the Barsuk website:

“Though conceived as a duo, Mates of State have never failed to generate a trademark wall of sound built on dozens of varied voicings of keys, drums, and alternately lushly-layered and playfully-dueling vocals. On re-arrange us they move beyond these boundaries (their traditional organ sound is a distant memory, replaced with organic piano and synth sounds) with additional instrumentation — not to mention a quantum leap in songcraft apparent on instantly indelible gems like now, jigsaw and get better. Throughout re-arrange us, Kori’s piano and the emergence of both Mates’ lead vocals from their trademark harmonizing signal the next stage of Mates of State’s evolution.”

Sounds like this is going to be another curve ball in a month of curve balls, considering the new Death Cab is supposed to be quite the “divisive” record, and the new Joy Electric is supposed to be their most minimalistic ever featuring the truest recordings of Ronnie’s voice ever.  It’s gonna be a good curve ball though, since Mates of State have yet to disappoint me.  Here’s the tracklist for all you crazy Mates kids, like me:

01. Get Better
02. Now
03. My Only Offer
04. The Re-Arranger
05. Jigsaw
06. Blue and Gold Print
07. Help Help
08. You are Free
09. Great Dane
10. Lullaby Haze

The Barsuk website promises mp3s up soon.  Sounds good to me!  And, if you didn’t know Kori has an awesome blog called “Band on the Diaper Run” on Babble.  It’s hilarious and heartwarming.  You should all read it.  As a last odd aside,”Help Help” was also the title of a killer song, written by bassist Jeff Ament, on the Pearl Jam album “Riot Act”.

Straight from Starflyer’s Myspace Blog:

“The new Starflyer 59 album “Dial M” has just been completed and is off
to be mixed next week by JR McNeely. We are looking at a late summer /
early fall release with select tour dates to follow. We are very
pleased with the results and hope you enjoy the new record. More info,
new songs, etc. coming soon.”

I guess I’ll be finding out soon if my supposition was correct that all the A-sides of “The Ghosts of the Future” 7″ boxset are an album to themselves and not the next true album Starflyer 59 was recording.  Either way, I’m excited and you should be too.  After all the release of a new Starflyer 59 or Joy Electric album is always a monumentally exciting event.  Speaking of that, don’t forget that the new Joy Electric record “My Grandfather, the Cubist” comes out May 26th!  Hopefully we can get some rad coverage of that leading up to the release.

Okay kids, it’s finally available to order!  You know you want it!  So go order it at Velvet Blue Music!  Of course you can order it from CDbaby, but I’d rather give Cloud my money!  That said I just ordered it!!  Oh yeah, for those of you weirdos who don’t like owning actual copies of the album and would rather buy mp3s you can get it at the iTunes store.  I just used it to find out that the name of the song in the video we posted months ago is called “Strength Early”.  I guess I may as well give a tracklist, while I’m starting at the iTunes store listing. Here you are:

01. A Concealed Weapon
02. Strength Early
03. Business Casual
04. The Life Highrise
05. The Mayflower Compact
06. It’s Not Effective
07. That’s Getting Personal
08. Love My Way (Psychedelic Furs Cover)
09. Don’t I Know the Way
10. The Pure in Heart

If you’ve been reading our blog you know two things: number one, we haven’t updated in a long while (sorry, things have been hectic in Scripted Failures land cause we’ve been writing new songs), and number two that we’re quite stoked on The Foxglove Hunt.  A quick recap: The Foxglove Hunt is Rob Withem of Fine China writing all the songs, playing guitar, and singing, and Ronnie Martin of Joy Electric doing all the programming and synth work.  We’ve known for awhile that the album would be out sometime this year, but now we finally have a month, an album title, an album cover (obviously since you can see it right here), and some other rad news.

The Foxglove Hunt’s debut album “Stop Heartbeat” will be out in March on Common Wall Media which released Fine China’s amazing last record ever, “The Jaws of Life”.  If you head over to the Hunt’s myspace, you can hear the finished versions of the two demos that have been up for awhile (”That’s Getting Personal” and “Business Casual”), as well as a new song called “The Life Highrise”.  If that wasn’t enough you can also buy an mp3 single of the, I assume, album track “Don’t I Know the Way” that comes to you on an old school 1.44 MB floppy disk.  How fucking cool and retro is that?  Hell, it’s so retro I’m going to have to use my older PC in the garage just to get the damn mp3, since my laptop doesn’t have a floppy drive.  And if I read the picture right it looks like they might be only making 300 of these, so you better jump on it.  I’ve already ordered mine.

As for the three songs up, I’ve only allowed myself to listen to about thirty seconds of each, which was enough time to find out that “That’s Getting Personal” and “Business Casual” were the finished album versions, and that “The Life Highrise” sounds good.  If you read Ronnie’s blog on the Joy Electric myspace, you know that he is incredibly stoked about the record.  He said that these were Rob’s best songs ever and that it was the best project he had ever produced and worked on.  If Ronnie’s that excited you know this record is going to kick ass.  Now all they need to do is post a tracklist and a link to preorder and we’ll be set!

This would have been up sooner, had Yahoo mail’s spam filter not thrown the Joy Electric newsletter in the spam folder, but the new Joy Electric album is entitled “My Grandfather, the Cubist”, and is due out on May 27th on Tooth and Nail Records.  Also the Joy Electric website has been updated with a sort of cubist influenced look and a rather lengthy interview with Ronnie.  Unfortunately there’s not a new track to listen to or a tracklist up yet, but hopefully both those will happen soon.  We’ll report it here as soon as it happens.  Get excited!