posted by Patrick on May 9, 2012
{photo courtesy of chromewaves.net}
South By Southwest is a treasure-hunter’s dream: 2000+ bands, spread over a hundred stages and venues, with nothing more than a handbook in six-point type to guide you through the maze of obscure names and faces. At its best, the festival is an opportunity to watch terrific new bands before the masses overwhelm them. One of those hidden gems was an all-female band from Norway named Razika. Razika caught my attention while slogging through a sampler of tracks from 1,400 bands expected at SXSW. Most of those were mediocre or worse, but Razika’s sound really stood out. It starts with an upbeat, jangly, poppy rhythm that took a while to identify: it was ska, something you never hear anymore. Razika isn’t really a ska band, but ska influences most of their tracks. Razika is also unique in that they sing in both English and Norwegian. Somehow it doesn’t seem to matter which language they choose; their lyrics are more like an instrument than a means of communication. Most importantly, Razika was pure fun. On stage they harmonized, smiled shyly, and powered through a set of brisk, infectious tracks. There were tighter acts, with more serious sounds, but for one hour on one night, Razika was a guiltless pleasure. If they ever escape Norway again and tour near you, definitely give them a shot. Treasure abounds.
Razika – Nytt Pa Nytt (Downloaded 59 times)
Razika – Eg Vetsje (Downloaded 54 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Catchy • Female vocal • Happy • Poppy • SXSW2012 • Upbeat
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Loading ...posted by Jessica on April 1, 2012
{photo by Jessica Mlinaric}
After five quiet years without touring, Fiona Apple took the Lincoln Hall stage this week without a word and “Fast as You Can” she was back. The announcement of her mini-tour caused frenzy among fans, who assaulted the venue’s servers in unprecedented numbers, crashing the site in many cases and causing an outrage among the incensed and ticketless. Few situations send my heart rate into such a palpitated state as the purchasing of prized concert tickets, but I made damn sure I would see Fiona. A second show was added to the tour’s Chicago stop only, and those of us lucky enough to see the songstress can attest her live concert was as captivating as ever.
The powerful performance included classics like “Sleep to Dream” and “On the Bound,” closing with “Criminal.” Just as alluring were three new songs Fiona debuted from her upcoming album due out this June, “Anything We Want,” “Valentine,” and “Every Single Night.” The audience shouted its admiration between songs and Fiona came out of her reverie to smile in thanks. She infused the show with her brand of whimsy, breaking into the occasional jig and featuring an old kitchen pipe as a percussion piece.
Fiona’s reflective and recalcitrant music shaped my adolescence while my classmates memorized boy band dance moves. If you had asked me my favorite poems in junior high, I would have named Fiona’s When the Pawn… and Prufrock, budding lit major that I was. I imagine more than one high school relationship argument was fueled by overexposure to her lyrical indignation on a given day. The first time I saw Fiona Apple live involved driving five hours across Ohio (including a stop to pick up my cousin, a fellow Fiona-phile) and ending up back on campus just in time to hand in a final exam. That show was the most passionate, eloquent, and spellbinding performance I had ever seen, and more than one audience member was moved to tears.
Her performance this week at Lincoln Hall was just as enthralling. Fiona does not just sing; it’s an entirely visceral enterprise as if the crowd is privy to a physical and emotional internal journey she’s experiencing number by number. While her vocals range from her characteristic sultry growl to heart-shattering highs and belts of bravado, the singer swirls and paces onstage. Fiona is perhaps most emotive when commanding the piano keys, framed by the glow of a few red church votives. Otherwise her hands wring, tug at her skirt, flutter through the air, or clutch the microphone with white knuckles, as when crooning “”I just want to feel everything, so I’m gonna try to be still.”
Fiona Apple gives all of herself when performing; rendering fans all the hungrier for the rare times she shares her unrivaled talent onstage. Connecting with some of her old songs that are such a part of me and revisiting them with new insight was all the more poignant. No matter the absence, Fiona Apple’s power, honesty, and grace are always resonant, always craved as long as she is willing to share them – the mark of a truly extraordinary machine.
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» Meaningless labels: Amazing Voice • Female vocal • Singer-Songwriter • SXSW2012
(6 votes) Loading ...posted by John on March 12, 2012
Allyson Baker doesn’t scare easily. Back in the ’90s, she was sneaking into Dwarves shows and frequenting mosh pits before she was barely out of junior high; by age of 17, she was playing guitar for some of Toronto’s most notorious punk and hardcore bands, before leaving her friends and family behind in 2000 to relocate to San Francisco.
Dirty Ghosts, like the name might imply, has a sound that straddles a few different opposing genres and styles, both heavy and light. Gritty rock guitars, sampled beats, new wave bass, and a arsenal of percussive loops all play host to Allyson Baker’s pop (in a good way) tunes, and powerful vocals.
“Ropes that Way” kicks off the album with a repetitive and percussive drum beat, brash guitars and Baker reassuring her catch:
And on a better day
Gonna finally say
That I’m never gonna leave you with
The ropes that way!
From start to finish, Metal Moon keeps the energy high, and the tunes danceable. Standout tracks like “No Video,” with its early 90s electronic feel and “Pretty Face” with its straight up garage rock, heavy on the rock, fall together quite nicely despite the slightly varying styles.
Fans of Metric, Elastica, Duran Duran (first album), and garage rock will all find something to latch onto in Metal Moon.
If you should find yourself in Austin, TX this year for SXSW, Dirty Ghosts have quite a few shows scheduled, and if the energy on Metal Moon translates to the stage it should be a great show.
Tues Mar 13th Panache Party – SCOOT INN: 11pm
Wed. Mar 14th KVRX Party – SPIDER HOUSE: 2:15 pm
Wed. Mar 14th Panache Showcase – BEAUTY BAR: 12:00am
Thur Mar 15th CHECK YO’ PONYTAIL Day Party – EMO’S: 1:20pm
Thur Mar 15th Vagabond Collective/ATX Sound Day Party – 450 EAST 7th and NAVASOTA: 3:30pm
Fri. Mar 16th And So Party -SPIDER HOUSE: 6pm
Dirty Ghosts – Ropes That Way (Downloaded 397 times)
Dirty Ghosts – No Video (Downloaded 156 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Danceable • Electro • Female vocal • Punk • SXSW2012
(5 votes) Loading ...posted by Leigh on March 4, 2012
Blair at Glasslands in Brooklyn, NY, February 2012. Photo by Leigh Celent.
There is something refreshingly pleasing about musicians who are just themselves, no gimmicks necessary, allowing the music and their talents to speak for themselves. Blair, the musical project of Brooklyn-based singer / songwriter Blair Gimma, falls endlessly into this category. No overachieving sadly gobbled up images here. I caught a recent show at Glasslands in Brooklyn, and her performance mirrored what I had already heard in her music: helplessly charming modesty, understated presence and a romantic genuineness that amplified her music’s overall appeal. Blair is none of the falsehood; experience her music for what it is, as what it is is quite lovely.
Blair released her first full-length album, Die Young, in 2010. “Hello Halo” exemplifies that airiness, that ephemeral element of her vocals no matter what the subject matter (listen closely) … “Got a radio in my head, and it tells me what to say, and it makes me talk this way … “ “I don’t know what I’m saying,” but it all sounds like a motto for many a cultural generation. “Wake Up Shake Up” brings her New Orleans roots to the forefront, a bit of a modern pop take on the city’s jazzy appeal. And, one can’t help but smile as a curse or two are discerned in her satin-like, angelic vocals.
If you like what you hear, check out all of Die Young, and be prepared for what 2012 has in store: an EP, to be followed by another full-length, both as charming as Die Young, I’m sure.
Blair – Hello Halo (Downloaded 202 times)
Blair – Wake Up Shake Up (Downloaded 240 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Dark • Female vocal • Fuzzy • Poppy • Sugar
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