True fans of music spend countless hours searching for that next great song, album or artist, whether it be online or in a local record shop. The beautiful thing about music in today’s age is that technology has created an infinite supply of great music that is available to us at the click of a mouse. How perfect is that? We can discover a brand new artist on the opposite side of the globe in seconds without a radio or a music television channel. It only makes sense that a website so dedicated to this gorgeous universe of music would want to celebrate the greatness and share it with anyone who is looking.
My name is Eric (Connecticutter), and I am your host of Straight from the Teet, where I will delve into 7 new albums per week as well as 1 randomly chosen throwback record and let you know which tracks I loved from the albums I listened to. I hope that my exploration through this never-ending sea of music will help satisfy that hunger for the brand new tracks you have been seeking.
MONDAY: Hundred Waters – Hundred Waters
TUESDAY: Dorsh – Neopolitan
WEDNESDAY: Wild Nothing – Nocturne
THURSDAY: Athletics – Who You Are Is Not Enough
FRIDAY: Olympic Swimmers – No Flags Will Fly
SATURDAY: Six Organs Of Admittance – Ascent
SUNDAY: Patrick Watson – Adventures In Your Own Backyard
THROWBACK: The Radio Dept. – Clinging To A Scheme (2010)
Hundred Waters
Hundred Waters
6.6
- Porter Records / Elestial Sound Records
- April, 17, 2012
Hundred Waters is a band from Gainesville, Florida that combines elements of folk, pop, electronic and experimental music to create something incredibly unique. Their self-titled, debut LP came out of nowhere this year and has really turned some heads within the indie music scene especially due to the tremendous, experimental nature of each track. For the most part, the songs on Hundred Waters follow a folk driven sound as vocalist Nicole Migilis adds a warming and soothing aspect to each track. The instrumentation is always built directly around her lyrics rather then vice versa and because of that, the music carries a certain amount of experimental juxtaposition. Whereas you would normally hear acoustic guitars or traditional pianos leading the way on a folk record, Hundred Waters decide to mess around with some really intriguing electronics that bring on a very unique sound. Over the course of the full record though, I tend to lose my interest in the experimental side of this album and long for something a bit more traditional and intimate. By the end of the record where we are hearing some loud, electronic drums, I tend to lose my desire to listen and I think it's because of the opposing styles of music that have been put into place here. As good as some of these tracks are, some of the rest just ends up being a bit disengaging for me as I long to hear more Migilis but with less of a complex instrumental. A little experimenting never hurt anybody but in this case, I'm not sure it really helps Hundred Waters either.
Dorsh Deans, known simply as Dorsh, is a young hip-hop musician of Jamaican descent. Dorsh grew up as a phenomenal soccer player but his dreams were cut short after a severe injury. After the unfortunate setback in his life plans, he decided to concentrate on music and finish up his degree in audio engineering. The fact that Dorsh was able to study abroad during college to play soccer also helped his influence with music as he picked up bits and pieces around the world in every location he settled. Neopolitan is Dorsh's debut LP and it shows a young artist making some very fun singles. The songs are influenced by different parts of the world such as Jamaica, England, and also Brazil. These world music ideas really bring a lot of color to the forefront of the beats on this album but as a rapper, Dorsh isn't quite there yet. Most of his lyrics are personal but don't latch on to a significant, inspired nature and because of this it's hard to truly connect with the lyrics here. Dorsh proves that he has a very bright future ahead of himself especially as a music producer but I hope that he can figure out a way to make his lyrical concepts a bit more inspired.
Wild Nothing
Nocturne
7.0
- Captured Tracks
- August 27, 2012
Wild Nothing is the solo project of Jack Tatum, a musician with the a love for all things dream pop from Virginia. His debut album under the Wild Nothing name was 2010's Gemini, a record that took a massive splash in the indie world. The album went on to be a really strong candidate on most albums of the year lists in the indie community and for pretty understandable reasons. In my opinion, Gemini was way too generic to be as outstanding as critics said and in a world where individuality and progression is everything, as a musician you need to do something in order to stand out. Bands like Beach House are able to create unique music that stands apart from the rest. I'm just not sure that Tatum has the ability to create something that stands out on its own. Nocturne is Tatum's follow-up to Gemini and it generates the same types of issues for me. The songs all follow a very generic pattern and even though a few of these tracks were definite standouts (such as "The Blue Dress" and "Counting Days"), I can't help but not feel any real emotional connection to any of them. I do think that Nocturne outdoes Gemini especially musically as songs are a bit more complex and there is much more instrumentation on this new album then the last. Like Gemini though, I'm ultimately just reminded of some of those late 80's pop records that got lost in the commotion so long ago. Tatum just needs to find a way to separate his music from the rest because I think he is very close to doing so. All in all, this was a decent record that I think will end up being a bit overrated by year's end but that's no disrespect to Jack Tatum as he continues to evolve into one of the most significant pieces of modern dream pop music.
Athletics
Who You Are Is Not Enough
4.7
- Self-Released
- June 26, 2012
Who You Are Is Not Enough is the second full length album from Athletics, a young post-rock band from Asbury Park, New Jersey. As a fan of post-rock music, I am always looking for new bands who mess around inside the genre and the truth is, there are so many post-rock bands in modern indie music that it's actually easy to discover a new one on a daily basis. The big problem with that though is the bad far outweighs the good. I am normally one of those fans who will defend post-rock music to the death but as time passes on I find myself becoming less and less enthused by the genre as a whole. Sure, there are still a hand full of incredible bands that have established themselves inside the post-rock, ambient apex but when you have to go through 25-30 other bands just to find that one standout, you know there is some kind of plaguing issue within the genre. Athletics are not a traditional post-rock band by any means as they actually sound more like an emo band at times. This combination of instrumental rock music with some punk influence happens to be a bit strong on a few tracks but the vocals and lyrics are so underwhelming, that it almost makes it not worth the trouble. As far as the instrumentals are concerned, I have to say that the lead guitar on this record is quite good as it is the basic anchor to each sound on this album. Drums follow suit nicely as well and the bass even makes a name for itself carrying the rhythms along but in the end, the songs tend to go on for too long and without any real climax, they don't really do their job. The 90's styled emo sound doesn't help the band's influence at all either as it creates a sort of road block for where the music was heading in the first place.
It seemed fitting to review Olympic Swimmers' debut LP No Flags Will Fly as the London Olympics finished up yesterday. The timing seemed altogether perfect as I sat down to write this review with the ending ceremony on behind me as I wrote. Olympic Swimmers are not Olympians but an alternative band from Glasgow, Scotland. They formed in 2009 with members Graeme Smillie, Jamie Savage, Jonny Scott, Simon Liddell, and Susie Smillie joining together to create the band. Alternative is the main tag that comes to mind when listening to this group but they also incorporate some ethereal elements and some influences of shoegaze music into their songs which ended up being a positive thing for me. The alternative sound this album carries is very reminiscent of some of those rock bands of the 1990's that had female vocals. The music isn't as cut and dry as that though as the songs here are all inspired differently as some tracks are led by guitar while others are led by some pop piano. The different influences come together and bring a real ambient quality to the rhythms of each song and the atmosphere is quite nice especially when violins and other string instruments come into play. Lyrically, I could almost do without the songwriting but I am a sucker for female vocalists and although the singing here isn't fantastic, it just carries a true sense of realism and intimacy. This band shows some signs of promise for such a young group from Scotland and I look forward to hearing what else they can deliver in the future.
Six Organs Of Admittance
Ascent
5.4
- Drag City
- August 21, 2012
Ben Chasny has been making music under the name Six Organs Of Admittance since 1997. Since then, Chasny has been at a very consistent pace releasing records every few years at least and his music has always shifted to the more experimental, psychedelic format. One thing I have personally always loved about his music is his use of ambient and drone atmospheres on top of the psychedelic nature of his tracks. Ascent is Chasny's follow-up to 2011's Asleep On The Floodplain and the album seems much more simplified then ever before. The 8 track album is a hard rocking, psychedelic trip as guitar plays a starring role. I was very surprised by this shift to a more simple overall sound as the ambient atmospheres and droning sounds have been replaced by hard rocking anthems more or less. Chasny really shows off some impressive guitar skills though as his solos really create a stir of color but unfortunately this oversimplified sound just isn't enough for the album to breathe off of. Throughout the entire album I continue to long for more atmosphere in the tracks and more subtle arrangements that stir up the complexity but they never come to be. This record seems to be Chasny returning to the basics after years of massively complex song structures and I guess you can't completely knock a musician for doing that.
Patrick Watson
Adventures In Your Own Backyard
7.3
- Secret City Records
- April 17, 2012
I was first made aware of Patrick Watson when he was a guest vocalist on a record by The Cinematic Orchestra. The song, "To Build A Home", was easily one of the most beautifully haunting songs of 2007 and the rest of the album followed suit. Watson has been releasing music since about 2001 in the form of chamber pop ballads. A few years ago, Watson finally obtained a band including members Simon Angell on guitars, Mishka Stein on bass, and Robbie Kuster on percussion. With the addition of these members came a slight change in musical dynamic as the song crafting has since become much more atmospheric and layered. The dense sounds that the band has put together have turned simple pop orchestrations into complex chamber folk music. Adventures In Your Own Backyard is the band's newest record released earlier this year in April and by all accounts, it shows the band at their most complete. The record is genuinely pop influenced but the complex sections around each note really identify it as much more. The record almost becomes a psychedelic force in the process especially as Watson sings his hauntingly beautiful vocals. His ethereal voice is very soothing and swift which fits the instrumentals perfectly. This album far outdoes the band's last album, Wooden Arms, as the music really finds a very intimate path with some excellent production.
My absolute favorite record of 2010 without any contest is Clinging To A Scheme, The Radio Dept.'s third overall record. The band went through some colossal changes before the creation of this record as three members were removed and the simpler layout meant more electronics. This is the ultimate strength of Clinging To A Scheme as electronics, programming, and samples are what make this record so fascinating. The combinations of shoegaze elements and electronic beats really creates a very unique sound and beyond bands like Engineers, I haven't heard a shoegaze band do it as well as The Radio Dept. have on this album. Musically, it has to be one of the smoothest records of 2010 and the lyrics only strengthen the album even more. Johan Duncanson, basically the brainchild behind the entire band, is an extremely interesting and complex mind. His main theme on this record was the music industry and all the negative aspects of the business side of music. When you sit down and follow each lyrics, it's really quite beautiful as songs like "Heaven's On Fire" talk about the music industry destroying something as perfect as music itself and other songs like "Never Follow Suit" being about trying to rebel against what the music industry wants. This rebellious feel that the record stands for is so uplifting and motivating and every lyric that Duncanson sings is plain brilliant. This album was immediately a timeless listen for me and I foresee it being forever stuck in my most recently played albums list most likely for all time. Maybe I was a bit too friendly with a 9.8 but when an album can stay as perfect as this record for as long as it has, how could it not deserve a score like that?
Albums To Look For Next Week:
- Dan Deacon – America
- Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti – Mature Themes
- Yeasayer – Fragrant World
- Dead Can Dance – Anastasis
- Jens Lekman – I Know What Love Isn't
- Bloc Party – Four
- Sun River – Sun River
After another interesting week of album listens, I am more than ready to start another. If anyone is interested in purchasing or simply hearing any of these albums online, I have linked them for you at the top of this page to make it simple. I hope you have enjoyed reading this weeks edition of Straight From The Teet and I look forward to bringing you a new group of records next week. Please leave comments here at the bottom and let me know what you liked or didn't like from this week's lineup. Have a great week and please support these terrific bands!
