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 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: Long Distance Calling – The Flood Inside
TUESDAY: Mount Moriah – Miracle Temple
WEDNESDAY: Youth Lagoon – Wondrous Bughouse
THURSDAY: Rhye – Woman
FRIDAY: Blue Hawaii – Untogether
SATURDAY: Weird. – Desert Love For Lonely Graves
SUNDAY: Nosaj Thing – Home
Long Distance Calling
The Flood Inside
7.7
- Superball Music
- March 5, 2013
Long Distance Calling is a fantastic 5-piece post-rock band from Germany. The band has been making albums since 2007 and each album has been shining star amongst post-rock records. Although the genre isn't quite what it used to be 20 years ago, Long Distance Calling always somehow makes it feel fresh and invigorating. The Flood Inside is the newest release by the band and their first since their 2011 self-titled record. On this album, some of the dynamic has changed pretty drastically. Up to this point, the band never employed a full time vocalist and instead used guests to sing on certain songs over their amazing instrumentals. Last year though, the band signed Martin Fischer as their full time, lead vocalist. The band unfortunately parted ways amicably with electronics expert, Reimut von Bonn following their 2011 release. These changes have really made themselves significant on this album as the band's overall style has changed. The band still rocks as hard as ever and the guitars continue to be sensational but the vocals take away from some of that emotional underlying the band used to toy with. It also forces the instrumentals to have to take a backseat during choruses which I found pretty awkward. The band got used to be the spotlight on their first three albums but here, they have to play their music down at times to allow Fischer to sing atop it all. Overall, the band has once again made a good post-rock record that goes above and beyond what most bands in the genre are putting out. Their attention to each detail while also keeping things loose and energetic create a terrific combination for their music to evolve in and although this album might not be as good as their former ones, it still holds a significant spot on this years countdown list.
Mount Moriah
Miracle Temple
6.3
- Merge Records
- February 26, 2013
Miracle Temple, the sophomore record by North Carolina trio Mount Moriah, is an album that tells stories of being deserted and wanting a social atmosphere back into your life. A record derived from those summer and winter breaks from college where it seemed like every student but herself left campus for weeks on end, lead vocalist Heather McEntire really captures the bitterness of that abandoned feeling. These songs really hit home if you've ever been in this type of situation where you're forced to stay in a normally socially upbeat atmosphere and then everything totally devolves into a secluded desert. It's an odd feeling and I myself went through this a handful of times while at college in New York. Going to college in Chapel Hill could only be worse as it's in the middle of nowhere and McEntire has no issues portraying her feelings about those situations through music. The album here is obviously well written lyrically and the band really understands that they are nothing more then an atmosphere for McEntire's vocals. Jenks Miller and Casey Toll make just enough music to help portray the loneliness but I kind of wish their was even less. Sometimes, the instrumentals feel too sharp and sunny rather then gloomy. This might be an issue in the production but I definitely think these songs would have benefited from a more gloomy atmosphere with darker chords or subtle pianos rather then electric guitar that chimes in with glorified fashion. I was really back and forth with this record as a southern Americana piece, but in the end I can't help but feel that the band didn't really connect with exactly what they wanted to portray musically.
Back in 2011, we were graced with an out of nowhere release by Boise, Idaho artist, Youth Lagoon. The release, The Year Of Hibernation, was his debut album and the combination of dream pop and chillwave ended up creating a very pop conscious album that most people could enjoy. Youth Lagoon, known by his birth name Trevor Powers, obviously more up his sleeves though as the music off that album seemed to held back and accessible. By way of his creative mind behind composition and production, there was obviously something Powers wasn't showing us. Fast forward to his newest album Wondrous Bughouse, Powers has come out of his shell. This record is much different then his debut with a greater emphasis on experimental elements. Each song is composed behind layers upon layers of psychedelic fuel and neo-dream pop (if there is such a thing). Nothing is simple throughout this record yet Powers still knows how to make music that is easily enjoyable. Melodies and rhythms that please and tease still weigh heavy throughout and he hasn't lost that creatively fun and unique style of production that was present on the debut album. Musically, this album is very well crafted with plenty of great styles and musical elements. I still haven't truly connected with Powers as a songwriter but I foresee myself growing to like his songwriting abilities as well sometime in the near future. This album is so catchy that I probably won't be able to turn this record off this year. Not to mention that the album cover is exactly what I would have thought the music would sound like as it's both this colorful mess yet the creative outcry is cherish-able and stylistic. Best album art I've seen in years possibly.
Rhye is a collaboration between producer friends Mike Milosh and Robin Braun. The two connected after working on a remix together and decided to start Rhye as a way to release their jazz pop music. After releasing a few singles in 2012, the band dropped their debut album titled Woman just last week. Before going into this album, I had no idea what to expect. I hadn't heard either of the singles in 2012 and all I really knew was that the pair made sophisticated pop music. To my overwhelming surprise, Woman has totally rejuvenated my musical spirits after an awful 2012. After a first listen, I was immediately love struck with everything about this record. It's an album that uses pop as a main influence but derives some extraordinary smooth jazz elements in order to add a chill factor to the music. It's all very airy and absolutely laid back especially with Milosh singing beautifully. I was actually surprised when I found out that Milosh was the lead singer as I thought it was a woman using blue note vocals. His voice is angelic and is the perfect combination to the jazz pop style of music ringing out. The production adds even more thumbs up as instrumentally, everything is mixed ever so carefully. Each instrument just perfects each song and instead of coming across pretentious or overbearing, this album just flows in and out like a warm breeze on a sunny day. This is the best surprise I've had musically since 2011's Submotion Orchestra and I expect to be listening to this record quite often throughout the year without hesitation.
Blue Hawaii is another indie pop collaboration between Braids front-woman Raphaelle Standell-Preston and producer Alexander Cowan. The duo began recording together after a trip through Central America back in 2010 which inspired an 8 song EP entitled Blooming Summer. The album was a scrapbook of sorts, a collection of songs that revisited the pair's vacation and enlightened us about the landscape and joyous terrains there. The album seemed more promising then both artist's other projects which I haven't enjoyed much to this day. Untogether is the title of their newest record and the title once again seems very justified. The pair has been very busy with success outside of Blue Hawaii and because of their busy lifestyles, they were forced to write music while seperated for this album. Although they reconvened to record the record in Canada last year, most of the ideas put forth on this album are soaked in the fact that no track had been written as a duo. The album is structurally similar to their debut album as chillwave serves as a starting line for some experimental pop orchestrations. The electronic programming is highly complex at times while at others it seems like they are just trying to sound complex to the point where the songs come across as bullshit. If you're looking for melodies and hooks then you've definitely come to the wrong place with this album. Instead, this experimental pop record is more of a soundscape that doesn't know how to be a soundscape. This idea of complexity doesn't compensate for boring pop music and in the end, this album fails to stir up any excitement for me.
Weird.
Desert Love For Lonely Graves
5.3
- Self-Released
- January 15, 2013
Weird. is an Italian shoegaze band who formed in 2011. Their debut record is titled Desert Love For Lonely Graves and was released earlier this year to some underground buzz from indie rock and shoegaze fans. After listening to this album a few times, I can't help but think of those early, gritty shoegaze bands from the early 1990's whose music was always lo-fi and in your face while drowning out the vocals. It's a style that bands like My Bloody Valentine made famous and Weird has decided to follow suit. The 7 track album is almost entirely revolved around distorted guitar and washed out vocals. Drums play a significant role in creating even more of a darkened atmosphere but for the most part, the guitar is really where my attention ventures first. That's a main issue here as after drawing towards the guitar I get comfortable there and have trouble enjoying the rest of the instrumentation. Production has a lot to do with that but in all honesty, it's the exact style the band was hoping to portray. In that sense, they seem to have done a pretty great job. I guess in a way, I've come to find out that the bare bones of shoegaze music has evolved too much to just stay that way. In other words, I think bands need to latch on to some of the more modern elements whether it be programming, math guitar, or high quality production. Weird isn't in the same mindset as me and that's okay of course, but I unfortunately have to say that I was too strung up on boredom throughout this record to fully enjoy it.
Nosaj Thing
Home
6.5
- Innovative Leisure / Timetable
- January 22, 2013
Nosaj Thing is a very interesting solo project that was created by Los Angeles based producer and MC, Jason Chung. Chung is well respected for his instrumental beats which have been used by countless rap artists over his short career. Although his style has always remained fluxed inside the instrumental hip-hop genre, his sophomore LP Home is anything but. Instead of staying on the same old tangent of trip hop beats and heavy bass rhythms, Chung has decided to be more ambitious here with a brand new style. The music off this album is farm ore atmospheric, far more dark and twisted, and far more full of ambient escapades than ever before. It's almost as if Chung just suddenly became bored of making hip-hop beats and decided the only cure was to start making glitch heavy, future garage music. Sure, beats are still present on some of the tracks as drums definitely will surround you with their presence but the ultra downtempo style is impacted with such dark, foreboding atmospheres that it's easy to get lost in. After such a long week of dark music, this album was surely a nightcap for it all. Although the consistency track-to-track isn't as good as Chung's previous album, I think the ambitious style he put in place is highly respectable. This album will definitely find it hard to break out into a deep fan base but the people who can find time to solemnly listen to this while relaxing on a rainy day will not be disappointed.
Next Week's 7:
- How To Destroy Angels – Welcome Oblivion
- Josh Ritter – The Beast In It's Tracks
- Low – The Invisible Way
- And So I Watch You From Afar – All Fail Bright Futures
- Night Beds – Country Sleep
- Birds Of Tokyo – March Fires
- Son Volt – Honky Tonk
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 week's 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!
