[fingertipsmusic] This Week's Finds: October 13

From: Jeremy Schlosberg <fingertipsmusic@xxxxxxxxx>
To: fingertipsmusic@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:06:16 -0400
 THIS WEEK'S FINDS <http://www.fingertipsmusic.com/this_weeks_finds.htm>
October 13, 2009

 "Little Bird Courage" - Old
Canes<http://loudfeed.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/19641/OldCanes-LittleBirdCourage.mp3>
     It's unusual for a song that feels like some kind of folk rock to have
this much percussive appeal, but "Little Bird Courage" is all about the
drumming from the get-go--we pretty much don't even hear anything else until
almost 20 seconds in. And this is in fact how Old Canes front man and master
mind Chris Crisci envisions his songs--he records the drum tracks first, and
builds the songs up from there.
     Everything ends up feeling rhythmic and propulsive as a result. With
its vibrant but informal energy, spurred by relentlessly strummed acoustic
guitars and accentuated by Crisci's mixed-down vocals, "Little Bird Courage"
has the vibe of a happier incarnation of Neutral Milk Hotel, an impression
accentuated by the homely chorus of trumpets that appears halfway through,
just when the whole thing seemed to be grinding to a halt. While it's hard
to pick up a lot of the lyrics, I get the impression of something
transcendent and triumphant here; the title alone speaks volumes.
     Chris Crisci is perhaps better known as a member of the Appleseed Cast,
the Lawrence, Kansas-based band usually identified as being a "post-rock"
pioneer; Old Canes has been a side project of his dating back to 2004.
"Little Bird Courage" is from *Feral Harmonic*, the second Old Canes album,
slated for release next week by Saddle Creek
Records<http://www.saddle-creek.com/>
.

"Harlem Sunrise" - Rainbow
Arabia<http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Rainbow_Arabia/track/Harlem_Sunrise>
     This one morphs before your startled ears from a vaguely Middle Eastern
sounding dance with an electro-beat and kitchen sink percussion into a
vaguely Caribbean steel-drum-inflected shuffle with some African guitar
thrown in for good measure. Too much pastiche for its own good? Or is
"Harlem Sunrise," rather, an audacious 21st-century stylistic mash-up? I
vote for the latter. Nothing this warm and welcoming can be disparaged, in
my book, nor something that manages, for all its sonic salmagundi and
home-built vibe, to proceed with an air of the timeless about it. Even
singer Tiffany Preston's slightly pouty and distant voice, artfully reverbed
and tweaked, works better here than it maybe should.
     And I in any case am entirely in favor of major-key songs with
minor-key introductions. That's a nice songwriting trick you don't hear much
of in modern pop.
     Rainbow Arabia--and the band name kind of immediately hints at what
they're up to--is a L.A.-based husband-wife duo (Tiffany sings and plays
guitar; Danny does the keyboards and electronics). "Harlem Sunrise" is a
song from their *Kabukimono* EP, which was released in July by Manimal
Vinyl, also based in L.A. (Manimal Vinyl, by the way, is a name that does *
not* hint at what they're up to; the label does in fact release things on CD
and digitally in addition to vinyl.) Thanks to Linda at Speed of
Dark<http://www.speedofdark-web.com/blog/>for the head's up on this
one. MP3 via RCRD
LBL <http://rcrdlbl.com/>, and note that the link is not direct; just click
"Download MP3" and it's yours.

"Back in Town" - Wiretree<http://teamclermont.com/mp3/wiretree_backintown.mp3>
     Brisk, spangly power pop from an Austin-based quartet. Equal parts
mid-career Wilco and early (or late; who can say?) Traveling Wilburys, "Back
in Town" is a friendly, xylophone-flecked burst of tunefulness, anchored in
singer Kevin Peroni's pliable, evocative voice. What he sounds like, in a
nutshell, is the '70s--Harry Nilsson, George Harrison, and Jeff Lynne rolled
up into one. Works for me.
     And if there are a few relative oldsters out there who recognize the
chorus of the Indigo Girls song "Jonas & Ezekiel" in the chorus of "Back in
Town," well, I'm always kind of tickled rather than irritated by inadvertent
melody transference like this. First off, it's a heck of a good melody--I
might dare to call it anthemic except I fear that word has been neutered by
years of overuse. Second, the songs don't otherwise have anything to do with
each other. I don't mind greeting an old friend in a new outfit.
     "Back in Town" is a song from the band's second full-length album, *
Luck*, ready for release next week on their own Cobaltworks label.


*[Fingertips offers a filter in a world desperate for the same. If this
service is meaningful to you, consider supporting with a modest
donation<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5733482>
.]*



* * * * * * *

"Kindness will find you
When darkness has fallen
Round your bed..."


* * * * * * *

*Become a fan of
Fingertips<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fingertips/38130844046>on
Facebook
* *Follow Fingertips on Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/fingertipsmusic>*


* * * * * * *
To unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time, simply send an email with
the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line to
fingertipsmusic-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[fingertipsmusic] This Week's Finds: October 13

Other related posts:
