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Straight to Video
Rock Art Rock
The Decemberists
September 19, 2009
Terminal 5, New York, NY
By Amanda Hatfield "The Decemberists played a special one night 'lottery show,' where the songs played were picked at random by a master of ceremonies, played by John Wesley Harding..."
Ra Ra Riot
April 4, 2009
Webster Hall, New York City, NY
By Amanda Hatfield "This show was, at the time, the biggest one Ra Ra Riot had sold out as headliners, and it was clear to me after watching it that the band is destined for even bigger and better things..."
Florence and the Machine
October 28, 2009
Bowery Ballroom, New York City, NY
By Amanda Hatfield "Florence Welsh and her backing band delighted and mesmerized a sold-out crowd at Bowery in her first official NY headlining show..."
Dirty Projectors
July 19, 2009
Williamsburg Waterfront (Brooklyn, NY)
By Amanda Hatfield "I was skeptical about how well Dirty Projectors' gorgeous, complex vocal harmonies would carry over outdoors, standing under hot sunshine..."
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Decemberists: June 10th at Radio City Music Hall, NYC and I Was a King: June 11th at Rickshaw Stop, SF
The Decemberists
June 10th at Radio City Music Hall, New York City
The Hazards of Love comes alive in the live setting, almost as if it were meant for the stage from the get-go. Though it was played straightforwardly and straight through, there was a more dynamic element at play. Perhaps it was seeing the characters sing for themselves, especially the addition of My Brightest Diamond’s remarkable Shara Worden as the forest queen, who stomped and thrashed about with a fierceness reserved for only the greatest of Project Runway contestants during album highlight “The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid.” Even if you find some of the slower tunes a bit sluggish, or the plot utterly incomprehensible with all the fantastical forest antics—shape-shifters and lascivious rakes and whatnot—you couldn’t help but admire the technical prowess required to pull off a continuous hour of prog-folk theatrics. Even the simple backdrop—a few flowing, sheer silk scarves hung to vaguely resemble a woodland landscape mixed with the atmospheric lights—effectively drew even the biggest detractor to an otherworldly place.
The historic venue, while no doubt majestic and ornate, is also enormous, and, at 6,000-plus capacity, you can’t help but feel a little detached from the happenings on stage, no matter how engaging they may be. Luckily, Colin Meloy and company realized this, and worked their hardest to ameliorate any such distance felt by those even in the highest balcony tiers. During the second half of the show, which featured the band’s more melodic stand-alone singles, audience participation was the key. As the entire crowd sung along to “Billy Liar”, Meloy even assigned harmonies to different sections of the audience, and during “The Chimbley Sweep”, a few lucky audience members got to go on stage and jam out with the band. Oh, and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck (who also plays in opening artist Robyn Hitchcock’s backing band) made an appearance and rocked out to a song of his own, “Begin the Begin.” And while we’re on the subject of cover songs, Worden and Becky Stark dueted on Heart’s “Crazy on You”, which kinda ruled. But that’s no surprise, given that was mostly the theme of the show. Blame it on the pretentious English major in me perhaps, but it was awesome. – Jessica Gentile
Superdrag
Superdrag
Industry Giants
(Superdrag Sound Laboratories, 2009)
Lesson one: Never call it a comeback. When I gushed to a fellow critic about the new Superdrag album “transporting me back to 1994,” he riposted:
“You were, what, eight in 1994?”
Juliana Hatfield
Juliana Hatfield
How to Walk Away
(Ye Olde, 2008)
Juliana Hatfield has long been known as a confessional singer-songwriter. And even now, 18 years since she hatched her solo career, the label still fits. But that’s not to say Hatfield hasn’t evolved. She has, and her more recent releases find her singing a different kind of confessional—moving from lovelorn indie-rock anthems to hymns of acquiescence; Hatfield has, perhaps grudgingly, come to accept the pitfalls of love. She continues a string of strong releases with her 10th and latest LP, How to Walk Away. The album, showcasing the latest stage of her lyrical evolution, is being released in advance of the singer’s autobiography, due out early next year. It’s not surprising that the intense reflection required for the writing of one’s life story would lead to an album this self-centric. But it’s Hatfield’s willingness to bare her soul that’s truly impressive. It all adds up to an album that’s fun and fatalistic—pop music for grown-ups.
Andy Chase of alt-rockers Ivy produced the record and his adult approach to pop music-making helps manage Hatfield’s continuing maturation from art house indie-rocker to sage songstress. “Finally,” she says of the album, “I feel like my voice has grown into itself and I’m not struggling so much against its little-girl-ness.” And songs like the record’s opener “The Fact Remains” and “This Lonely Love” bear her out, with bold vocal performances, intelligent writing, and big hooks—material that’s reminiscent of 2004’s magnificent In Exile Deo and her earlier work on Atlantic. Hatfield’s perspective on the disappointing nature of relationships has turned from disgust to acceptance with stories that are somewhat resigned but rarely weary. She even ventures into post-feminist territory, turning the tables on the needy men of the world with the playful and anthemic “Just Lust” (“It’s just lust / It doesn’t mean I love you”). The balance of the disc is just as acidly funny. And yet, for an album so fatalistic and reconciled, Hatfield shows just enough vulnerability to keep things interesting.
Though it’s remarkably effective, there’s nothing terribly complicated about How to Walk Away—Chase keeps things clean and simple, leaving the spotlight on Hatfield’s declarations of independence and regret. But guest vocals from Psychedelic Furs’ Richard Butler on “This Lonely Love” and Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws on “Such a Beautiful Girl” are welcome, adding new textures to the mix. And guest contributions from Fountains of Wayne guitarist Jody Porter, Jeff Hill of Rufus Wainwright’s band on bass, and Ethan Eubanks of the Grey Race on drums provide a solid backdrop for Hatfield’s vocals, keeping the more subdued folk-rock numbers from meandering into easy listening territory.
Ghosty
Ghosty
Answers
(Oxblood Records, 2008)
Ghosty’s debut LP, 2005’s Grow Up or Sleep In,garnered praise from sources as divergent as The Onion and The New York Times, who called them one of the beacons of the Lawrence, Kansas music scene. That record was graced with a guest appearance by Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, who had previously tapped the band to add some instrumentation to the Lips’ Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell EP. Now Ghosty is back to make good on the hype, and they turn in a lush pop disc to bring joy to the warmer days of summer ’08—as long as you don’t listen too closely to the lyrics.
The record was recorded by Flaming Lips protégé Trent Bell, who worked his way up to sound engineer from intern, and Paul Malinowski, a staple on the Kansas City rock scene. But it is the mastering of Roger Seibel that provides the most evident link to other Midwestern post-rock mainstays, like Sea and Cake and Tortoise. Beginning with “Dumbo Wins Again” the paradigm is set: Drums bolstered by lo-fi rhythm loops, acoustic guitars giving way to fuzzier electrics, a bass that makes its presence known through sparse appearances and low-end flourishes, and finally, with everyone in the band contributing vocals, and a cache of keyboards, there are mellifluous harmonies to be heard. If it is a wall of sound, it is padded; but it is closer to reclining in a marshmallow.
Tinted Windows Keep It Simple
by: Paul Myers
Speaking over the phone shortly after the band’s live debut at Austin’s SXSW, however, Schlesinger is frankly baffled by the thought of any enmity toward the talented Mr. Hanson.
“I guess people that haven’t heard him for a long time are gonna be surprised,” says Schlesinger, “but most people I talk to automatically assume he’s awesome. I don’t think anybody ever really questioned that he was talented. Even when he was younger, it was kind of obvious to everyone that he was an incredibly gifted singer and a great musician. Conceptually, maybe for some people, it may seem strange to have somebody from the Pumpkins and somebody from Hanson playing together because, in the mid-’90s, that just seemed like two different universes. In reality, it’s not. Now, it’s just a bunch of guys that have some overlapping tastes in music that wanted to do something together.”
read more
by: Paul Myers
published: June 25, 2009 in column: Introducing
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