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 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: Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles (III)
TUESDAY: Deftones – Koi No Yokan
WEDNESDAY: Fat Jon – Rapture Kontrolle
THURSDAY: Dan San – Domino
FRIDAY: Delta Rae – Carry The Fire
SATURDAY: As In We – As It Should Be
SUNDAY: The Spyrals – The Spyrals
Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles (III)
7.8
- Polydor Ltd.
- November 7, 2012
After a pair of critically acclaimed, self titled albums, Crystal Castles has returned with their third full length album, which is also self-titled. Band members Alice Glass and Ethan Kath have obviously made a huge name for themselves in the experimental music kingdom not just as musicians but as songwriters. Their complex musical style has grown an extraordinary fan base and as it continues to expand, the duo continues to make terrific music. On their newest record, the pair has taken a much more dark route with their style and songwriting. Instead of the experimental glitchy pop music they made on their first two records, III employs much more ambiance and atmospheric sludge that reminds me of a much more calming black metal fusion. Alice represents almost all the vocals on this record instead of sharing most of the duties with Ethan and I think this pays off. As a vocalist, she is capable of filling up any type of space with her crisp, haunting singing. This style ends up paying dividends for the overall themes of the record which seem much more disturbing then ever before. Although I sort of miss the pop elements from their other records, this darkness that embodies this album is very in your face and captivating. Crystal Castles continue to own the experimental world of music along with Animal Collective and as they grow more mature in their ideas and structures, I can only imagine how much better they will continue to get.
Growing up, I was into some really shitty music. Back then you could probably find me making Limp Bizkit, Pennywise mix cd's and wearing Jnco jeans (what a fucking loser). Most of the bands I was listening to were your obvious bullshit alternative, nu-metal records that today, stand out for sucking as bad as they in fact did then. Of those many bands though, came one that I have continued to love all throughout my life. Deftones have been one of the most consistent bands in all of rock music for as long as they have been releasing albums. The band's heavy alternative metal sound has always been quite original and separate from most anything else around. As time has gone by, the band has remained a pretty bad ass unit and frontman Chino Moreno has only become more brilliant as his influences have almost totally changed. Koi No Yokan is the band's newest release and it continues on the same path that the band started out on in 1988. Many things have stayed the same, especially the overall sound elements, but the group has been through hell and back over the last five years, giving them more and more to vocalize about. The big blow came four years ago when bassist Chi Cheng was in a terrible car accident, leaving him in a coma for almost four full years. He only awoke last February but has suffered some on and off illnesses since. The band continue to show overwhelming support for their brother but after a change in bassist, moving on was a must. We continue to get glimpses of this life lesson in Moreno's song writing on every record since and as he continues to mature as a songwriter, the band continues to grow more and more effective as an atmospheric rock group. This album is yet another major hit for the band.
Fat Jon
Rapture Kontrolle
5.2
- Mush Records
- October 10, 2012
Fat Jon, otherwise known as John Marshall, is a household name in the world of instrumental hip hop. Growing up in Cincinnati, Marshall developed a keen sense of hip hop culture and his love for beat making ended up developing into a pretty substantial career. He has worked with dozens of artists throughout the years and Rapture Kontrolle is his eighth solo effort. The album is very traditional in a sense, bringing in all the necessary ingredients that create a basic hip hop beat. The bass is all there along with the funked out drum patterns but where Fat Jon really separates himself from the rest is in his production. Being a self taught producer comes with some advantages as he shows a very different eye when it comes to the craft. While he does keep to some rather basic elements, he also knows how to blend in some much needed jazz concepts to keep things fresh or add in atmospheric vocal medleys that help complete a harmonious rhythm. Although Fat Jon has been successful over the years however, I can't help but feel that Rapture Kontrolle is in great need of something more interesting. Getting down to the root of the genre is an interesting concept for a while but after hearing countless instrumental hip hop records, it's easy to forget the basics and grow to love the complex ones. I think Fat Jon sort of under achieved here and although there are a few great songs on this one, it's overall just another instrumental album that will get lost in the vast ocean of rhythmic music.
Domino is an album that slipped through the cracks earlier this year after it's release in January. After coming across it again this week, I was actually quite surprised that it did. This is the debut album by Dan San, a 6-piece band from Belgium whose music combines elements of folk and pop to create something very harmonious is nature. The album reminded me a lot of bands like Turin Brakes or Fruit Bats whose music is comprised of folk verses around pop arrangements. Domino is loaded with acoustic guitars and diminished drum sequences so that the guitar sections grab the spotlight. Some of the songs are true standouts especially the intro track "Moon" as well as "Question Marks", the lead single off the album. From tracks like these, you can tell that the band obviously has a great sense of presence in pop music and even though they aren't going to top any charts instrumentally, the music is obviously catchy and full of fun lyrics. Problem is, this is a new era of music where songs from this genre are getting recycled. Bands like this just don't have much breathing room any longer in a world full of complex, radiant music that has a personality of it's own. Even though this album was mostly generic, it did shows signs of a band that has a significant chance to do something special in the indie world.
Delta Rae is typically what you would expect from a band from Durham, North Carolina. After years of being a local hit in Durham, the band has recently become a bit more recognizable around the entire country with a few hit country songs. Having roots planted in the deep south of North Carolina is where Delta Rae takes most of their influences, making their debut record Carry The Fire more of a country album then anything else. Although they do mix in some indie pop, each track is composed heavily of string instruments including guitar, banjo and fiddles. The americana folk qualities are obviously there too as each song is decently written. Not being a country music fan myself, I was very stand offish when it came to this album but after a few decent reviews from indie music sites, I knew I had to at least check it out. Now, the music is not my thing but overall, there are some nice jangly themes here on this album. The strings are well put together around an assortment of different vocal contributions from different members of the band. After a few listens however, I felt like I was listening to a motion picture soundtrack to an Olsen twin movie as the songs sounded very chick flick and so utterly thoughtless that it made my brain hurt.
As In We
As It Should Be
2.3
- Self-Released
- September 30, 2012
From the wide open New Mexico comes As In We, a four piece post-rock band with plenty of youth and energy. The band is made up of Haven Willis, Ben Durfee, Gunnar Lyon, and Eliza Lutz, all of whom are newcomers to the music scene. As It Should Be is the band's debut full length and it is as basic a post-rock album can possibly be. Although the band cites math rock and metal as huge influences on their overall sound, this album is unable to break the simplistic shackles that is fundamental instrumental rock music. On the outside looking in, As In We sounds like every other alternative rock band from the 1990's except they forgot to insert vocals. When I think of great post-rock music, it's all about the epic build up, violent free falls, and emotional atmospheres that the instrumentals alone can create. Lyrics are always totally unnecessary to reach these emotional states of mind and this is why so few bands are really that good at it. It's not a simple thing to do, capturing an exact emotional quality from thousands of people without verbally telling them a single fact. It's like playing charades without being able to silently act out descriptions. As In We's problem is that they are unable to even create an atmosphere let alone bring on a slur of feelings. The tracks on this record seem more like beach songs that have a tiny bit of metal prodigy. Easily forgettable, already forgotten.
The Spyrals
The Spyrals
7.1
- Inside The Moon
- January 5, 2012
The Spyrals are a retro rock band from San Francisco who released their debut, self-titled album back in the beginning of January. The band explores sounds that were made famous in the late 60's as they use plenty of psychedelic atmospheres, tons of reverbed guitars, distorted vocals, and the production is eerily similar to something The Who might have released as a demo back in the day. The Spyrals remain true to everything that made bands like The Velvet Underground successful. Their high octane spirits shine brightly over all the garage rock sounds coming forth but the band rocks hard. Spiraling guitars and tribal drums really set the tone here and with all the production that topples over the vocals and chords, the album feels like a lost piece of punk history from 50 years ago. I love the idea of this album being so reminiscent of those old school, classic rock ways especially when frontman Jeff Lewis sounds oddly similar to the likes of Mick Jagger, with far less drugs in his system of course. The band doesn't completely abandon their west coast roots as they fuse together some beachy guitar rhythms that sounds perfect for like a wild west, California beach themes party. This was a huge surprise album for me and something that hit the ground running.
Albums To Look Forward To Next Week:
- mewithoutYou – Ten Stories
- Lost In The Trees – A Church That Fits Our Needs
- City Calm Down – Movements
- Greg Haines – Digressions
- The Babies – Our House On The Hills
- The New Mastersounds – Out On The Faultline
- Jessica Pratt – Jessica Pratt
After another good 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!
