Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – Advance Base Battery Life

As the name implies, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone work in a foundation of minimalist, electronic keyboard patterns and sounds with darkly satirical lyrics, often delivered in a deadpan manner. Advance Base Battery Life is a compilation of pieces recorded between 2004 and 2007, only two of which have previously appeared on CD, from electronic music artist Owen Ashworth, a.k.a. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. However, this collection sees CFTPA expanding on the model with the inclusion of strings, flutes, tabla and pedal steel to give the tunes a more natural hue.

In a style much like Dntel and The Russian Futurists, CFTPA cut bits and pieces from differing musical styles and genres and pastes them on top of each other to create mini sound collages that sound both strange and familiar at the same time. Each track is constructed around a 4 or 5-note whimsical motif on top of some punchy, and often buzzing, percussive beats with layers of sampled electronics and fuzzy dream-pop percolating throughout. An eclectic variety of instruments and noises are incorporated making each song unique but the album as whole difficult to digest all in one sitting.

The crooning on top of the synthetic rhythms and textures is shared by Ashworth and a few guest vocalists, most notably Jenny Herbinson from Scattered Pearls. While Ashworth draws comparisons to Marc Bianchi (Her Space Holiday) and Stephen Merritt (Magnetic Fields), both in lyrical content and how their skewed perspectives and biting wit are delivered, it’s Herbinson who shines on a couple of tracks; taking advantage of her wryly wistful pipes to turn a couple of bedroom electronic music experiments into quirky and catchy oddball pop nuggets.

Unfortunately this can’t be said of every track. The additional instruments don’t always compliment the short, bouncy and scratchy electronica. The layered beats, keyboards and instrumental orchestrations often contain warm textures, but just as often come off as cold expressions. Some tracks are more immediate with hooky synth lines and snappy beats while others are quirky and odd that stop just short of being monotonous, but not before being bothersome.

Adding to the peculiarities is the inclusion of fuzzy, synth-pop covers of Missy Elliot’s “Hot Boyz”, Paul Simon’s “Graceland” and Bruce Springteen’s “Streets Of Philadelphia” and “Born In The U.S.A”, the latter of which is even more boring than the original.

Some patience and repeated plays will be needed to digest the concise, offbeat and scratchy melodies from this eccentric, bedroom electronic artist.

Recommended If You Like (RIYL): Magnetic Fields, Her Space Holiday, Dntel and The Russian Futurists

Recommended Tracks: “Lesley Gore on the T.A.M.I. Show (version)” and “White Corolla”

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone: http://www.cftpa.org

Tomlab: http://www.tomlab.com/

Stórsveit Nix Noltes- Royal Family – Divorce

Stórsveit means ‘big band’ in Icelandic.  I haven’t found out what Nix Noltes means yet, and there are even fewer clues as to why this ten-track instrumental set is entitled Royal Family – Divorce in English.  What I can tell you is that Stórsveit Nix Noltes are an Icelandic supergroup of sorts, including within their ranks members of several prominent Icelandic bands, at least one of whom has worked with Sígur Ros, although the tracks on this album are very far removed from the aery ambiences that Icelandic music is so often associated with.

The first Stórsveit Nix Noltes line-up formed in 2004 around an improvisation class given at the Icelandic Academy of the Arts where eight of the then nine members were composition students. Promptly told by the college authorities to turn down the volume and make a bit less of a scene of things, the Stórsveits promptly went on to consolidate their own reputations around the winter barn dance gig circuit, which rapidly led to european and US tours, alongside Emiliana Torrini and Benni Hemm Hemm. So much for academic criticism then, as not only are Stórsveit Nix Noltes highly competent musicians, their abilities as arrangers and their choice of material make this, their second album, a lively and unpredictably entertaining listen.

Each of the ten tracks is a transcription and reinterpretation of eastern european folk songs, with titles such as “Cetvorno Horo”, “Pajdusko” and “Elenska Rachenitsa”. The sources for these are quoted as Bulgarian and Balkan, although I’m reasonably certain several of the tracks here are the result of ensemble improvisations which only took their folk sources as a starting point. The results sound a lot like energetic good time folk-punk dance music whose erratic time signatures and flailing rhythms are the stuff of midsummer euphoria, or just a successful grain harvest. Easily the best new Icelandic music I’ve heard for some considerable time.

Morrissey – Years of Refusal

Throughout his career, Steven Morrissey has enjoyed a steady, successful catalog of gloomy music. During his unlikely partnership with Johnny Marr, the two helped make The Smiths (no, they aren’t reuniting) one of the most revered bands of the 80s. Alone, he’s also enjoyed a rich solo career that some consider being just as good, if not better, than his output with his erstwhile English bandmates.

One thing’s for sure, Morrissey is an unmistakable artist. Always one for dramatics, his style and method is characterized by his swooning voice, understated music and those depressing tales of lost love. Rather than attempting to re-create his long lost days of glory, the Moz has revitalized his career in the best way; with slamming drums, bombastic bass and stadium-style rock. It’s with his newest album, Years of Refusal, that Morrissey has delivered one of his finest albums to date.

On the album’s opener, “Something is Squeezing My Skull,” Morrissey and his band tear through the music in a relentless fashion. Drums blast away like there is no tomorrow and the guitars squelch beneath Morrissey’s flamboyant singing. It’s a thrill to hear the English marvel sing, “Don’t gimmie anymore, don’t gimmie anymore, don’t gimmie anymore, PLEASE.” But it’s this fervent passion that is painted over the entire album and when it’s performed in such a rousing approach, it’s remarkably powerful.

Morrissey stops at nothing to denounce ex-lovers, heartbreakers, posers, hypocrites and the occasional jerk. But what he’s spouting about is entertaining and almost always arrives with a strong message. His intent has always been clear in being someone who openly wears his heart on his sleeve but here, it’s ridiculously engaging. His voice sounds powerfully muscular and passionate on “Black Cloud,” with everything powering around him and hammering away, he sings “I can woo you, I can amuse you, but there’s nothing I can do to make you mine.”

All of this is fine and dandy, sure, but what makes everything sound that much better is the recording process used. Recorded in a loose, open, live setting, the band is able to improvise and create as Morrissey wails away. The result is an accomplished album that, as Morrissey puts it himself, might just be his “strongest work to date.”

A principle and significant highlight has to be the bitterly told, “It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore.” Beginning with subtle keyboard strains and a hint of guitar feedback, it increasingly grows into a resentful tale of vanity. The juxtaposition between loud and quiet is brilliantly orchestrated by Morrissey’s voice and even when he is singing about being taken advantage of, there is hope. Then there is the flamenco-guitar suited, “When Last I Spoke to Carol.” A classically-played guitar strums away about a passing love and once that fitting trumpet hits, it’s a musical moment unlike many others. But the best lines have to be on the next song, “That’s How People Grow Up.” Fitted with grinding guitars, tempo-stamping drums and keyboard flurries galore, Morrissey gives his best advice on how to handle heartache and how to put it all in perspective. He poignantly sings, “I was driving my car, I crashed and broke my spine. So, yes, there are things worse in life than never being someone’s sweetie.” Ah, how grippingly true.

While listening to Years of Refusal, it’s hard not to admit that it is one of the artist’s best solo albums to date. Even when the music world around him is changing, Morrissey stays close to his roots and continues to deliver honest, compelling, influential music. No one really knows how much longer he’ll make music for, but if it continues to be as good as this, we’ll gladly wait with open arms.

Morrissey-Zine
Lost Highway

Pure Horsehair on Tour

Pure Horsehair (aka Garrett Devoe and Shahzad Ismaily) is gonna hit the road in April!

East Coast tour includes:

Apr 14 2009 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Night Light
Apr 15 2009 – Richmond, VA @ Triple
Apr 16 2009 – Harrisonburg, VA @ Blue Nile
Apr 17 2009 – TBA
Apr 18 2009 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
Apr 20 2009 – Somerville, MA @ PA’s Lounge
Apr 21 2009 – Danbury, CT @ Cousin Larry’s Café
Apr 22 2009 – Montpelier, VT @ Langdon Street Café
Apr 23 2009 – Winooski, VT @ Monkey House

Pure Horsehair at MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/purehorsehairmusic

Adluna Records: http://www.adluna-records.com/

April 2009 Album Release Dates

April 7

Abstract Rule: Rejuvenation (Rhymesayers)

Antony & The Johnsons: “Epilepsy Is Dancing” 7″ (Secretly Canadian)

Arcade Fire: Mirror Noir DVD (Merge)

Balkan Beat Box: Balkan Beat Box; Nu Made Remixes (vinyl) (J Dub)

Bat For Lashes: Two Suns (Astralwerks)

Bell Ochestre: As Seen Through Windows (vinyl) (Arts & Crafts)

Black Dice: Repo (Paw Tracks)

Kevin Blechdom: Genltemania (Sonig)

Bricolage: Bricolage (Slumberland)

Buraka Som Sistema: Black Diamond (Fabric)

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone: Vs. Children (Tom Lab)

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: First Born Is Dead; From Her To Eternity; Kicking Against The Pricks; Your Funeral My Trial (reissues) (Mute)

Chain and The Gang: Down With Liberty…Up With Chains (K)

Circus Devils: Gringo (Happy Jack Rock Records)

Coathangers: Scramble (Suicide Squeeze)

John Coltrane: Giant Steps (vinyl reissue) (Atlantic)

Crystal Antlers: Tentacles (Touch & Go)

CunniLynguists: “Don’t Leave (When Winter Comes)” 7″ (Bad Taste)

Death Set: Rad Warehouse To Bad Neighborhood (reissue) (Counter)

Doves: Kingdom Of Rust (Astralwerks)

Eat Skull: Wild and Inside (Siltbreeze)

Eulogies: Here Anonymous (Dangerbird)

Fever Ray: Fever Ray (Mute)

The Fine Arts Showcase: Dolophine Sneek (Adrian Records)

Gliss: Devotion Implosion (Ryko/Cordless)

Golden City: Golden City (Magic Bullet)

Godlenrod: Paintings For Prophets (Beasts’ Consent)

Grails: Acid Rain DVD (Temporary Residence, Ltd)

Harvestman: In A Dark Tongue (Neurot)

HEALTH: “Die Slow” 7″ (Lovepump Unlimited)

The Hold Steady: A Positive Rage CD/DVD (Vagrant)

I Was A King: I Was A King (The Control Group)

It Hugs Back: Inside Your Guitar (4AD)

Joker’s Daughter: The Last Laugh (Team Love)

The Juan MacLean: Future Will Come (DFA)

Junior Boys: Begone Dull Care (Domino)

Lady Sovereign: Jigsaw (Midget Records)

Left Alone: Left Alone (Hellcat)

Micachu & The Shapes: Jewellry (Rough Trade)

Misc: Happiness Is Here (Badman)

Mono: Hymn To The Immortal Wind (vinyl) (Temporary Residence, Ltd)

Bob Mould: Life and Times (Granaray)

Betty Padgett: Betty Padgett (Luv N Haight)

Pele: A Scuttled Bender In A Watery Closet (Polyvinyl)

Pontiak: Maker (Thrill Jockey)

Qemists: Join The Q (Ninja Tune)

Spokes: People Like People Like You (Counter)

Storsyeit Nix Noltes: Royal Family-Divorce (FatCat)

Superchunk: Leaves In The Gutter EP (Merge)

Richard Swift: The Atlantic Ocean (Secretly Canadian)

Telekinesis: Telekinesis (Merge)

The Thermals: Now We Can See (Kill Rock Stars)

Mia Doi Todd: Morning Music (with Andres Renteria) (City Zen)

Various Artists: Loving Takes This Course: A Tribute to the Songs of Kath Bloom (featuring Mark Kozelek, Devendra Banhart, Bill Callahan & more) (Chapter Music)

Various Artists: Score! 20 Years of Merge: The Covers (features The New Pornographers, Broken Social Scene, Death Cab For Cutie, Ryan Adams & more) (Merge)

The Veils: Sun Gangs (Rough Trade)

Brian Walsby: Manchild 4 + Pick Your Battles CD/book

Wildbirds & Peacedrums: Snake (Leaf)

Young Widows/Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy: Young Widows Split Series (Temporary Residence, Ltd)

Youth Group: The Night Is Ours (Ivy League)

Dan Zimmerman: Cosmic Patriot (Sounds Familyre)

April 14

Blossom Toes: Love Bomb (Sunbeam)

Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle (Drag City)

Cause Co-Motion!: Because Because Because 12″ (Slumberland)

Crippled Black Phoenix: 200 Tons Of Bad Luck (Cargo)

CunninLynguists: Strange Journey Volume One (Bad Taste)

Dark Dark Dark: Love You, Bye 12″ (Nero’s Neptune)

The Datsuns: Headstunts (Cooking Vinyl)

Miles Davis: Bitches Brew; Nefertiti; Sketches of Spain; In A Silent Way (vinyl reissues) (Legacy)

Death Cab For Cutie: The Open Door EP (Atlantic)

DJ Koze: Reincarnations: The Remix Chapter 2001-2009 (Got Physical)

Dntel: Early Works For Me If It Works For You (Phthalo)

John Doe & The Sadies: Country Club (Yep Roc)

Eagles Of Death Metal: Heart On (Ipecac)

Grand Duchy: Petits Fours (Cooking Vinyl)

Herbie Hancock: Headhunters; Thrust (vinyl reissues) (Legacy)

Handsome Family: Money Moon (Carrot Top)

In Flagranti: Brash & Vulgar (Codek Records)

The Life and Times: Tragic Boogie (Arena Rock)

Life On Earth!: A Space Water Loop (Subliminal Sounds)

Little Boots: Aercibo 12″ (I Am Sound)

Ida Maria: Fortress Round My Heart (Fontana)

Mates of State: re-arranged: remixes vol. 1 (Barsuk)

Metric: Fantasies (Metric Music International)

Nada Surf: Let Go; The Proximity Effect; The Weight is A Gift (vinyl reissues) (Barsuk)

Marissa Nadler: Little Hells (vinyl) (Kemado)

Papercuts: You Can Have What You Want (Gnomonsong)

Pomegranates: Everybody Come Outside (Lujo)

Prefuse 73: Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian (Warp)

Risto: Sahkohairloon (Fonal)

Silversun Pickups: Swoon (Dangerbird)

Sun City Girls: Napoleon & Josephine (Abduction)

The Boy Least Likely To: The Law Of The Playground (+1 Records)

Kurt Vile: God Is Saying This To You 12″ (Mexican Summer)

Wooden Shjips: Dos (Holy Mountain)

April 21

Atomic Bitchwax: Tab 4 (Tee Pee)

Black Math Horesman: Wyllt (Tee Pee)

The Big Pink: “Velvet” 7″ (4AD)

Booker T: Potato Hole (Anti-)

Brakes Brakes Brakes: Touchdown (FatCat)

Camera Obscura: My Maudlin Career (4AD)

Cloud Cult: No One Said It Would Be Easy (Rebel Group)

Cryptacize: Myhomania (Asthmatic Kitty)

Dirty Projectors: Byond Uquafina (Domino)

Floating Action: Floating Action (Park The Van)

The High Strung: Ode To The Inverse Of The Dude (Park The Van)

The Horrors: Primary Colours (Rough Trade)

Willie Isz: Georgiavania (Lex)

The Jesus Lizard: Inch (Touch & Go)

LANDy: Everything Must Go (Apology Music)

Okkervil River: Pop Lie EP (Jagjaguwar)

Polly Scattergood: Patty Scattergood (Mute)

Pterodactyl: Worldwind (Jagjaguwar)

Still Flyin’: Never Gonna Touch The Ground (Ernest Jennings)

Super Furry Animals: Dark Days/Light Years (XL)

Eddi Reader: Love Is The Way (Rough Trade)

Weinland: Breaks In The Sun (Badman)

April 28

Ape School: Ape School (Counter)

Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound: When Sweet Sleep Returned (Tee Pee)

Diamond Watch Wrists: Ice Capped At Both Ends (Warp)

Bob Dylan: Together Through Life (Columbia)

Japandroids – Post-Nothing (Unfamiliar)

Los Straitjackets: The Further Adventures of Los Straitjackets (Yep Roc)

The Oh Sees: Help (In The Red)

Witch Hunt: Burning Brides To Nowhere (Alternative Virus)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!

The fact that the whole thing commences with a warbling synthesizer, is enough reason to realize that this is an electronically-infused album. But like fellow New Yorkers, TV on the Radio, what Yeah Yeah Yeahs are king/queen for is creating album after album with a completely new sound. Even their EPs have been able to take on a life of their own and are fully-formed exposés into this resolute band’s heart. Nothing much is different with their latest triumph, It’s Blitz!, a sprawling, eclectic set of dazzling new music.

Sometimes it comes in ever-so-obvious fashion like the sludgy impression of “Shame and Fortune”, whose grime and heavy bass give off a deeper, much more substantial sound. And sometimes it comes in subtle splashes, as in the “Maps”-like sounds of “Hysteric.” Tinkling keyboards and a syncopated drum pattern are supported before a slow chug of electronic atmospherics weigh in. A love song, Karen O sings about how “you suddenly complete me”, to the backdrop of Nick Zinner’s skillful guitar work.

Following in the footsteps of their much-maligned previous album, Show Your Bones, the trio of musicians were criticized for opening up and conveying a much lighter sound. And rather than beefing it up and making another dense Fever to Tell, they went a different route, the electronica route.

But this is still a Yeah Yeah Yeahs album at its very core. The piano-led composition that is “Runaway” is a nice touch and it gradually matures into one of the album’s many highlights. “Heads Will Roll” is a true to form, rocking stomper of the best kind. The music is somewhat tempered before a menacing guitar crescendos into a huge buildup of music; the payoff is paramount. It’s obvious that the band hasn’t lost anything in terms of hooks and riffs and with Karen O wailing away, the results are outstanding.

A compelling song, “Skeletons” is a thrill for its overall affect. Quiet and reserved, the music is scaled down to reveal a much softer side than before. This is preceded by a sweet pop affair in “Soft Shock.” Both are juxtaposed by their equal contributions of magic, joy and enigmatic music. The latter showcases Karen O’s voice in the best sense: she scats, playfully hums and sings her lyrics in such an adoring manner, it’s hard not to be sucked in by that.

The bookends on the album are what complete and cement it as the superb album it truly is. “Little Shadow” is a swirling ballad that echoes everything David Sitek is known for. The musicians are allowed to take over and Karen O sounds ever so haunting when she sings and hums. And to top it off, there is just a light haze of reverb layered on top for good measure. This contrasts the aforementioned “Zero” with its thumping drums and upbeat demeanor. This is where co-producer Nick Launay shows off his chops as a curator of electronica music. With a repertoire that features work with Talking Heads and Nick Cave, to name a few, the song pulses and jives to synths and Karen O’s magnetic voice.

It’s all of these affectations and convictions that make It’s Blitz! one of the year’s greatest albums. Make no qualms, it’s the kind of album that many should love and unfortunately, few will love to hate. Who knows if they’ll ever make anything as wild as Fever to Tell, but if they continue to grow and expand their sound, that’s all we can hope for. And when you have so many people paying attention to your every move, you have to be doing something right.

Interscope
“Zero” Video

All We Seabees – MKultra

 

And here I’d gone and forgotten alt. country was still around at all!

Then again, it wouldn’t be entirely fair to peg down All We Seabees as existing wholly within the confines of the genre in general. The sound is a mix, really, one half front porch soliloquy, one half backroom bar brouhaha, smelted in country music locus Nashville, Tennessee. The album title may make reference to the mid-century CIA investigation on substance use and mind control, but MKultra comes off more as a document of a band that had released two albums (but not previously recorded in a studio) coming to grasp a more legible, more pronounced sound on record. It’s also their first release on a label, Cephalopod Records.

“Alt. Country,” packing both self-awareness and punch, is power pop at its finest, a pointed discussion of regionalism and propriety (“Everyone’s returning to the South / Though they don’t really mean it / It carries no clout”) from a group that seems well-equipped to discuss such matters as lead vocalist Bryan Fox is a Detroit migrant himself. You’d be surprised, though, listening to a track like “Tigers,” performed à la “Amazing Grace” and sounding better apapted for a single-room Southern church than a club or record shop. The rest of the album walks the line well between sober alt. country ballads and more straightforward rock, though it never veers far enough off in either direction to sound incoherent.

MKultra balances the rustic and the rockin’ and is all the better for it. Music for many moods, here. I’m pleased to see such a group emerge from my home state.

 

Van She – “Changes”

Groovy. Fresh. Hip. These three words can only slightly express the precision which permeates Van She’s musical brew. The band’s most recent album, V, released in August of 2008, is full of electro-popping, funky tunes that cause serious head bopping syndrome. Hopping out of Sydney, Australia, Van She produced a single, “Changes”, that sounds like a synthesized convulsion of electronica and 80’s influenced rock. The song is defined by the opening of a full on clapping orchestra, then with layered, synchronized vocals. “Changes” is an enviable production that beats with the heart.

Lyrically speaking, “Changes” is simple, but not so much so that it spoils the overall clarity of the song itself. The unforced lyrics keep the harmony moving along swiftly and effortlessly.

With Nicky on guitar, Mathew on Bass/Vocals, Tomek drumming away, and Michal D producing intense synth sounds, this Aussie band out does their historic self-titled, debut EP that came out about four years ago. Van She’s purpose is to reinvent those post punk, psychedelic 80’s tunes and turn them into something that modern personalities want to hear. And doesn’t ruin the bands’ intention.

“No, in those dreams of you/ Hips and browned eye view/ Starless was our song/ I’m already gone.”

Baja – Aether Obelisk

This fourth installment under the Baja moniker finds eclectic composer Daniel Vujanic promising an album that favors thematic cohesiveness over trite sonic noodling. In other words, we’ve been told to expect quality over quantity. Even the disc’s title, Aether Obelisk, makes esoteric hints at music that has time and space to develop its inherent grandeur; “aether” makes reference to a theoretical substance by which electromagnetic waves may be transmitted, while an obelisk (so prominently featured on the album’s cover) is symbolic of towering monolithic structures. Yet with music that taps into chamber pop, folk, jazz-tinged electronica, and improv psychedelia at seemingly random intervals, it’s hard to not stray off course. And so, what we unfortunately wind up with is exactly what was promised to be avoided: sonic experimentation on par with musical ADD.

With seven capable musicians playing no fewer than a dozen instruments (ranging from the vibraphone and glockenspiel to the bari sax and clarinet), it doesn’t take long for restlessness to set in. After the literal filler of opening sequence “9 Seconds,” some pristine acoustic guitar work sets the tone for “Kittens (Chaos & Numerology)” alongside videogame synth tones and dulcet vibraphone countermelodies. Quickly though, the beat sputters to a stop before abruptly restarting, only now to introduce some interjections from a flute and a bridge that finds the acoustic guitar modulated to a new key. It’s the sound of a determined but delusional dog chasing its own tail: having the sense that you’re getting closer and closer to your goal, but momentarily collapsing from exhaustion before you achieve success. Already, we’re being lead in circles. And all kidding aside, this is the most straightforward cut on the entire disc.

“Be Quick, Be Quiet And Mean,” a track soaked with layers of crunchy guitar distortion, also features an unorthodox FX-treated tenor sax solo and some lingering slide work that hints at alt-country. “The Fever Almanach Aka Catscratchcatscratch,” perhaps the most convoluted track of all, finds uneasy percussion and electronic twittering that never settle into a groove. At times the delay-enhanced keyboards evoke Coldplay, while at other times they recall vintage Nine Inch Nails. And to make sure you never get overly confident about predicting what is to come, there’s an accordion part mingling with piano and vibes at the song’s end.

Vocals are scattered here and there around the record too, though they are almost entirely disposable. The album can occasionally sound very organic, but the auto-tuned and robotic vocals (“It’s just a scratch”) seem carelessly placed and sterile.

Once you come to accept that, as well as Baja’s lack of commitment to any one style or mood, there’s plenty of tempting ear candy to be digested. “Tropentage,” a song which begins with industrial clang and clatter, eventually dissolves into lush harmonies being played by the tenor and bari saxes. “The Story Of Fissa Maines” has an ending rife with ominous keyboard drones and a solitary pounding drum. If you were to strip away the nonsense field recording samples and noisy electronics, you’d have one of the album’s most sublime tracks. “Graph-Vlak” finds Vujanic channeling vintage Aphex Twin (for a moment, anyway), where phaser FX and woozy synths meet some unsettling techno drumming.

In the end though, it’s all irony. For an album with astral implications, there is a severe lack of open air and space to explore them. This bugger’s stuffed to the gills with ideas, most of which are honestly exciting. How unfortunate then, that they’re never given the time they deserve to fully grow into something meaningful. While Aether Obelisk may be less ambient and nocturnal then its predecessors, it’s still music of the nighttime, but perhaps with a dose of insomnia. You can’t sit still, and you certainly can’t clear your mind; there’s just too much distraction everywhere.

http://www.myspace.com/bajaband

Camera Obscura tour

April 21st will see Camera Obscura release their fourth full length album, My Maudlin Career, their first for esteemed label 4AD. After completing a tour of the UK in April they will hit North America for over a month of shows.

May
27th – Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge
28th – Newport, KY – Southgate House
29th – Chicago, IL – Metro
30th – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center

June
1st – Denver, CO – Bluebird
2nd – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
4th – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
5th – Vancouver, BC – Commodore
6th – Seattle, WA – Showbox
8th – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
9th – Pomona, CA – Glasshouse
11th – Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theatre
13th – Mexico City – Lunario
15th – Austin, TX – Antones
16th – Dallas, TX – The Loft
18th – Birmingham, AL – Bottletree
19th – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
20th – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
21st – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
22nd – Philadelphia, PA – TLA
24th – New York, NY – Webster Hall
25th – Boston, MA – Somerville Theatre
26th – Montreal, QUE – La Tulipe
27th – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
29th – Columbus, OH – Wexner Center Ohio State University
30th – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls

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