Don't Forget To Dance

Attention all dancers - there’s a birthday boy on the floor!

That’s right, kids -  today’s the day that Matt Gross, your favorite smartass, ukulele connaisseur, and our founding Dancer, turns the big 2-8! And since I count it as my sisterly duty to embarrass my little bro on his very special day, I thought I should share a little secret with you: Matt’s musical tastes weren’t always quite so very very. Case in point, his favorite song as a two-year-old was Men At Work’s “Who Can it Be Now.” Picture him a blond toddler singing this song on repeat (complete with actual door knocking!), and, well, if that doesn’t bring a smile to your face, then I’m all out of ideas.

Wish him well, all!

(Photo credit goes to our very own Saltylips.)

Pavement Reunion Announced (and aged hipsters rejoice!)

Well heck, kids!  It’s been rumored for ages, but I had always figured a Pavement reunion was something akin to Bigfoot, the Chupacabra, or a decent Jennifer Aniston film - possible, but highly unlikely.  And yet, Pitchfork is reporting that the Pavement reunion is, in fact, real.  OMeffingG.  !

Of course, I don’t live in New York, so I’m not sure how likely it will be for me to make a September trip to Central Park.  However, rather than sweating the details, I’d rather celebrate this news with one of my favorite Pavement songs - “Shady Lane” from Brighten the Corners.  Enjoy it, you island of such great complexity.

Mayer Hawthorne - “Your Easy Lovin’ Ain’t Pleasin’ Nothin’ from A Strange Arrangement

First Amy Winehouse, then Adele, and now Mayer Hawthorne - it appears that white kids doing soul music is officially a “thing.”  And you know what?  That’s a-okay with me.  As a wee tot I was fed The Four Tops, The Temptations and Smokey Robinson along with my sippy cup and cheerios, so listening to Mayer Hawthorne’s velvety croon feels a bit like home to me.  (Plus, he’s from Ann Arbor, so this Michigan girl’s gotta throw him some love.)

More here.

The Rural Alberta Advantage - “Rush Apart” from Hometowns

Ah, Canada.  You are safe, you are clean, you are cold and, hence, you are a bit dull.  However, you DO breed some pretty kick-ass music.  The latest?  The Rural Alberta Advantage.  Hailing from Alberta, Canada (obv), they describe themselves as makers of “indie-rock folk songs about hometowns and heartbreak, born out of images from growing up in Central and Northern Alberta…summers in the Rockies and winters on the farm, ice breakups in the spring time and the oil boom’s charm, the mine workers on compressed, the equally depressed, the city’s slow growth and the country’s wild rose...”

Right, then. Hometowns is the name of the album, and it’s as likable as any Canadian you’ve ever met.  (Aren’t stereotypes fun, kids?)

Ramona Falls - “I Say Fever” from Intuit

With Menomena taking their sweet-ass time following up the brilliantly weird, fiercely catchy Friend and Foe, it comes as some solace that band member Brent Knopf decided to release a side project to tide us over while we wait.  On Ramona Falls’ Intuit, Knopf collaborates with a whopping 35 fellow musicians to produce 11 songs that are as well-arranged as Menomena at their best, though not nearly as big, strange and urgent as I know Knopf can be.  There are some great moments on this album - “I Say Fever,” “Bellyfulla” and “Salt Sack” in particular - unfortunately the whole thing suffers from a lack of risk-taking, making the album sound a bit like a diet version of Menomena. However, sometimes a diet soda it better than no soda at all, and fans of Menomena, Lackthereof, and the Helio Sequence should find plenty of things to appreciate in Ramona Falls.

Julian Plenti - “On the Esplanade” from Julian Plenti is…Skyscraper

If you’re a fervent Interpol fan then you probably already know that Paul Banks’s solo album - Julian Plenti is…Skyscraper drops today. Personally, I found Our Love to Admire so disappointing that I was a bit leery of a new Interpol-related project, but I guess I liked Antics enough to give anything that Paul Banks does at least one listen.

And the results?  Mixed.  Most of the tracks sound almost exactly like Interpol, which, although uninspired, isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there are definitely some tracks that fall flat.  Banks does, however, take a few risks.  ”Unwind” is a surprising pop song and “Girl on the Sporting News” is a moody gem, but my favorite is probably “On the Esplanade,” which hints at a gracefulness and a sentimentality that I didn’t think “too cool for school” Banks had in him.  Overall, quite the little mixed bag.

Fruit Bats - ”Being On Our Own” from The Ruminant Band

Eric Johnson, who is probably better know for joining up with The Shins, has taken a break from his TWO other bands (Vetiver is the other) to return to Fruit Bats for the release of the band’s fourth album, The Ruminant Band. The Ruminant Band has a little bit of everything - bright sunny pop, jangling country guitars, and even some some short, dreamy little jams that would make the Allman Brothers nod their approval.  It’s due for release on August 4th and makes for a great summer album.  Pick it up, mayhaps.

The Zydepunks - “Papirossen in Gan Eden” from Finisterre

Oh dear.  It’s been ages and ages since last I posted, and for that I am ashamed.  I was out of the country for a few weeks, and even though you wouldn’t think that would be long enough to completely lose track of what’s going on in the music world, it proved to be so all the same.  But never mind.  I’m back and ready to get you dancing again.

A good place to start may be with The Zydepunks.  Although calling a bad folk/punk sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, that’s indeed what they are.  Hailing from New Orleans, The Zydepunks blend Slavic gypsy sounds (so hot right now) with Celtic reels, French-Cajun melodies and Jewish punk.  And as if that weren’t enough, they also sing in four different languages - French, English, Spanish and Yiddish.  Sounds like it would be a bit of a wet, hot mess, but it works surprisingly well and impressively unique.  I like them quite a bit, but I’m a also a sure sucker for most bands that use both accordions and violins…

“You Got Yr Cherry Bomb” - Spoon

Happy Independence Day, y’all! Now get the hell off my lawn.