Josh Ottum - Like The Season

Like The Season at times evokes the wildly addictive bottom end drive of Cake's best songs. Other times this wonderful collection of pop songs with clever lyrics is a West Coast call to arms that is in line with Alex & Sam. Intelligently placed hints of 70's style production (horns, woodwinds and dreamy guitar hooks) permeate Like The Season.

"It's Alright" starts the album with bouncing guitar that gives way to a bass groove that catapults this song. The simple harmonies here are under the radar and work to augment and enhance rather than take the attention away from the groove.

My favorite track is next ,"Easy Way Out". Horns and piano move this track. 'The problem with faith is like the problem with doubt, once you go in you can never get out... it won't let you down it won't keep you out now what was it you're offering now.' The break in the middle is a welcome surprise that gives way to horns driving the song again.

The bass line is the signature on "Who Left The Lights On". A wash of distorted guitar pops up towards the end of the song with some nice mixing that accentuates the left and right channels alternately.

On "Having You Around" we get a glimpse at what Josh's music might sound like if he completely embraced his more eclectic side. I love the more traditional songs, but there is a special energy on this one. There are multiple tempo shifts, and mood changes give "Having You Around" a jazz feel that is capped off with a reprise at the end. You just don't hear too many reprises these days.

"Heaven Is A Great Cocoon" is the perfect closing track for the album. A metronome percussion on this track acts as the tick tock of a clock that lets you know that at some point in this song there will be an eruption. This explosion comes half way through with a blast of electric guitar and the lyrics 'I want my own set of guarantees, what else is there left to lose. I'm such a fool for your make believe, you've got me trying to make up someone new.'

Josh takes chances on a lot of these tracks, and they pay off. There are horns, brass,woodwinds and percussion that mix with piano and guitar pop rock to make an infectious brand of pop music. These wide ranging sounds give the songs on Like The Season a full sound that doesn't strictly come from big production efforts. Josh is adept at incorporating wide ranging sounds in incredibly creative ways. The dual nature of his lyrics have a way of putting their hand out to you and then, when you're ready to grab them, they retract at the last second. In this way his uses nods to the 70's as well. Everything here is well thought out which makes for a satisfying listen to the album as a collection.

You can get Like The Season at Lala and Amazon.

You can keep an eye on Josh's forthcoming tour at his myspace page.

Josh Ottum - Like The Season

An Interview with Tune-Yards at The Chopin Theatre, Chicago (10/15/09)

The Tune Yards album Bird Brains is an interesting collage of digital audio recording and samples that make for a great exploration of what is sonically possible on an album.









Therefore I was very interested to see how this collection of sound snippets and samples would play out when performed live. I was fortunate to film an interview with Merrill before the show.




She said that she didn't want to just have a DAT machine playing, and instead used relay pedals and used grunts, drumsticks hitting mic stands and anything else that was handy to lay a percussive ground-floor. She built the rest of the musical building up with her vocals and also the ukulele, which takes on a more prominent roll live than on the album. Any questions about how this would all shake out were answered immediately as Merrill created a sound that was different from the album, but actually shined the focus on her songwriting and her amazing unique vocal style.



The Chopin Theatre was a great place to see a show. The sound was really good and owner Lela and the people that worked there were very nice and accommodating for my interview of Merrill as well as throughout the show. Check out their upcoming line-up.

Thanks to Catherine at Beggars for all of the help.



Also thanks to my friend Steve Juras shot the interview on his video camera as well as took the pictures that show up on this blog. Check his wide range of artistic endeavors at swidinst.org.

Pretty Little Empire's album Sweet Sweet Hands now on sale!!!

Head to Pretty Little Empire to buy the mp3's of their stellar new album, Sweet Sweet Hands. You can read a review of the album on my blog posting below. Help support artists who do it all on their own!!!

tUne-yArDs - Bird Brains (Album Review)

tUne-yArDs is Merrill Garbus , a one-woman musical wrecking crew. Bird Brains is a beautifully balanced musical kaleidoscope that uses everything from ukulele to hand-held digital field recordings. It is a D-I-Y album that has imperfections like restarts and red-lighted eq's that add to the overall loose feel. It sounds chaotic at times, but it is an ordered chaos.

The first track, "For You", mixes Merrill's beautiful beautiful vocals and a simple but effective ukulele to create a short, restrained pop song.

The percussion on "Sunlight" is a loose simple jazz beat that augments the catchy pop ukulele hook. Merrill's vocals raise higher and higher as she sings 'I could be the sunlight in your eyes, couldn't I , couldn't I?' The last chorus is a busy sonic landscape with many parts that work well in concert.

"Lions" is a sound collage of found sounds including birds tweeting and car engine sounds accompanying a ukulele. 'I'm so angry at you goody two shoes punch you in the nose. We could pretend it's Christmas while we're out here in this box, while my brother and all his friends without their tiny teeny trucks. If I scream they'll hear us...' Merrill wails as the fervor of her singing matches the frustration in the lyrics.

The vocal collage opening on "Hatari" gives way to funky ukulele riff. The vocals here are reminiscent of a tribal chant. These elements make for an infectious groove. The bottom of the percussion drives this song with insistence.

Ukulele brings a Hawaiian flavor on "News". The eclectic percussion here and production make this song sound like it's coming from an old phonograph. The harmonies on this song are beautiful.

The overall experimental nature of Bird Brains is impressively balanced with traditional pop hooks. This album is a hybrid of a hybrid. Each one of these unique ukulele based songs have a different shading and the end result is a full color palette of sound. I wish I could be in Merrill's head when the genesis of these songs started running around.

You can purchase this album at 4ad.

Merrill's on tour now, so go check her out. My wife and I loved her show. I'm sure you'll be captivated by her stage presence.

tUne-yArDs - Bird Brains

The French are coming... the French are coming!!!

The albums list on Jamendo grows more and more exhaustive every day. They are up to 25 thousand and counting with hundreds added monthly. I have become a big fan of the French bands that play alt/rock, 90's guitar music, all of which you can find and download for FREE on Jamendo.

Clownage is an alt rockband that has a great lead singer and really good production. Ballads and rockers are on Premiere maux.

La Curiosite Tua La Chat have a swing to their big guitars and funk bass lines. It definitely has an Anthrax feel to it. The vocals go from whisper quiet to a controlled scream. Also here a trippy bounce reminiscent of 311.

Godon is : Jazz like guitar screaming riffs, check. Heavy funk bass lines, check. Stacatto dums, check. Half spoke, half howled vocals, check. All of that adds up to a band very similar to Living Colour. But they are not simply aping LC's style. They certainly have the chops to make all of these elements work.

Zero echo Smashing Pumpkins with clean tone guitar followed by big buzz guitar. Whispered vocals give way to controlled climb up the register.

Fresh Body shop sound similar to NIN. Their sound leans toward more traditional at times than NIN.

Adam Ashbach -Puzzle Pieces (Album Rview)

Adam Ashbach's voice is the calling card for Puzzle Pieces. The Ex - Musical Outfits front-man knows how to use the full range of his voice to create pop songs that stand out. There is a clean full production throughout this ep.

The build-up of Adam's vocals on "8 Years With Betty" go from a quiet statement to a loud plea.

Flourishes of marching drum beats are strategically placed in smart fashion on "Everything", the stand-out track on this ep. The backing falsetto vocals and sax give this songs soulful quality that is in the tradition of 70's Mowtown.

"Warning" is a contemplative love song that uses the warm tone of Adam's vocals as a blanket to cover the minimal instrumentation. There is a beautiful simple vibe here that works well.

This is just an ep, so I am interested to see if there are more songs coming. For my money the tracks that use less traditional means work the best here. Adam is a good songwriter who emotionally connects with his lyrics . It is his earnest approach to these songs that connect with the listener the most.



Check Adam out at Puzzle Pieces and Adam's Myspace and also a free download of Adams song.

I will be attending the Novo artists show at the great venue Schubas to see Adam, Welcome To Ashley and Red Light Driver. Come on out and see some great indie bands!

Adam Ashbach - Puzzle Pieces

Josh Mease - Wilderness (Album Review)

Sometimes the background information on how an album was recorded is pertinent information and sometimes it's not. In the case of Wilderness it is very important. After listening to the subdued and sublime melodic trip of the songs on this album I am not surprised that Josh Mease recorded a good deal of this in a closet in his Brooklyn apartment. He then mixed it in his native Denton, Texas. The title of Wilderness is apt as Josh's songs evoke the wilderness, whether it be NY or Texas.

"You Found Me" has a Beatles-esque rhythm with softly soaring vocals. The change in tempo here is nice and swells at times with a wink to 70's pop production.

The third song, "Neon Ghost" has subtle glockenspiel accents and dreamily whispered vocals. The bedroom closet recording gives this song an intimate feel.

After 12 to 15 listens of Wilderness, "White Diamonds" is the melody that has me humming time and time again. With a swelling, full production in the bridge, it is anchored in 70's production with Josh's vocals keeping a foot in the present.

Beautiful Beach Boys like harmonies start out "Eleanor". 'So time will tell, maybe I'll know you well, you don't have much to say but words just get in the way'.

Electric guitar comes to the front for "On and On". The distorted solo here is a nice change from the sonic texture of the rest of the album. More sweet melodies that build into a crescendo.

The album closer, "Tall Trees" shows more of Josh's inventive nature. On this song the piano is played with an Asian flair. Other backing sounds give you the visual of a Japanese countryside.

Josh has managed to infuse Wilderness with a relative calm. He uses the energy of New York City and not the loudness. He defers from using the larger than life qualities of Texas and instead focuses on the isolation that such a big place can impose on it's residents. Josh separated himself from people while recording this album. This allowed him to devoutly follow the concept of a Wilderness whether it be in New York or Texas. The end result is a singular vision delivered with great melodies.

I can't wait to hear what Josh's next album sounds like.

If you would like to enjoy this album as much as I did, you can get it here: frogstand records, and also at i-tunes and amazon.

Josh is also on tour NOW, so check out his shows on his artist site: josh mease.

Josh Mease - Wilderness