Scripted Failures

Thursday is streaming their new split with Envy on Buzznet. Check it out right here. I’m impressed.

KEXP has put up a cool interview with the guys from Stars of Track and Field. Among other things, they’re planning a new album, and, contrary to popular belief, they did not take their name from the Belle and Sebastian song (though they do like the band). Read all about it.

I love this band. You could call it a guilty pleasure, but I’m not guilty about it. It’s just one of a couple of Warped Tour bands that I just find overly catchy.

They just put up a new song from their upcoming album Life Is Not a Waiting Room on their MySpace page called “Family Tradition.”

Apparently, Matthew Pryor (former lead-singer of The Get Up Kids, and (current?) lead singer of The New Amsterdams and The Terrible Twos) has started his first true solo project, though The New Amsterdams kinda felt that way most of the time anyway.  I haven’t had a chance to listen to the newest song he put up on his Myspace page, but I will when I get home from work.

His album, Confidence Man, is due out July 28th on Vagrant.  I’m incredibly excited.  I’ve never been disappointed by anything this man’s had a hand in.

(Also, if you’re like me, and you still miss The Get Up Kids, check out Blackpool Lights and White Whale for more post-TGUK-member material.)

Equal Vision Records has finally given the date for the new Damiera record: June 24th.  It’s called “Quiet Mouth Loud Hands.”  I’m incredibly excited to see where they’re headed.

Their first album M(US)IC is great.  Imagine early Further Seems Forever with the guitarist from Fall of Troy.  “Via Invested” is just plain amazing.  A friend and I slowed it to half-speed and still couldn’t play it consistently.  Of course, we do suck at guitar.  But that’s not the point.  It’s awesome, so go download it.  And then be as excited for the new album as we are.

Below is the track list:

1. Rainman
2. Quiet Mouth Loud Hands
3. Nailbiter
4. Image and Able
5. Teacher, Preacher
6. Weights for the Waiting
7. Chromatica
8. Blind Sir Bluest
9. Woodbox
10. Silvertongue
11. Trading Grins

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.

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”.

Death Cab revealed the art for Narrow Stairs.  I don’t know what to think, really.  Anyone else?