Out the Other

The Features - Some Kind of Salvation

UPDATE:  Okay kids, sorry this post went MIA for a little bit.  I spoke to Rollum from The Features and apparently someone SERIOUSLY jumped the gun when this was released digitally, and it's going to be taken down ASAP (if it hasn't already).  The band is really thrilled that everyone loves the album, but the original idea was to release Some Kind of Salvation on vinyl first, and they in no way planned on having the digital version available before they had something big and gorgeous and LP-alicious to get into your hot little hands.  That's still the plan at this point - the LP should be out in August, and the CD and digital version should see a release in October.

I know, I know, October is forever away.  But Some Kind of Salvation will be spinning on your turntables soon enough, and in the meantime I've gotta respect the fact that the band wants the album to make its debut as a physical release. 

I'll let you know as soon as I get any additional details, and I'm going to go back to not being a big tease and refraining from talking about the album (other than on the radio - it's still fair game to play tunes on the show).   You still get to check out my favorite track on the record though:

"Lions"

Anticipation revisited: Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

The beginning of the new Elbow album, The Seldom Seen Kid, is rather jarring - the opening track arrives in a cacophony of instrumentation and then alternates between gorgeously undulating sweetness and startling, abrasive horn blasts - making it impossible to find a volume that offers a comfortable middle ground.  In fact, on my first several trips through the record, I found the harsher parts of "Starlings" so.... harsh that I kept the volume low and barely noticed the song.

So how did "Starlings" become my favorite song on The Seldom Seen Kid - a difficult feat considering the wealth of great music on the album? Well, I finally turned up the volume and paid attention to the words.  Strung between those abrasive blasts of sound, floating upon the crest of undulating sweetness, are lyrics that melt me into a romantic puddle:

How dare the premier
Ignore my invitations,
He'll have to go.
So too the bunch he luncheons with,
It's second on my list of things to do.

At the top is stopping by
Your place of work and acting like
I haven't dreamed of you and I
And marriage in an orange grove.
You are the only thing
In any room you're ever in.
I'm stubborn, selfish and too old.

I'm normally not the doe-eyed, sappy kind of listener that likens music to poetry and only cares what's being said - often I'm more susceptible to a particularly heart-wrenching melody or even just a well-placed key change than a series of words.  But sometimes when I'm listening, the lyrics will slowly drift up to break the surface and - wow - suddenly I'm girly goo.  And if "you are the only thing in any room you're ever in" didn't do it for me, the last line of the song - a quietly posed "darling, is this love?" - completely seals the deal.  Yes, Elbow, yes it is.

"Starlings"

So anyway, if you haven't noticed - this is my attempt at revisiting Anticipation, the mix I made back in February when I was looking forward to a number of early 2008 releases.  Of the ten albums I mentioned in that mix, I hadn't heard eight in their entirety at that time, and I plan on stopping to talk about each and every one of the eight now that they're out in some form (I believe Guillemots is the only one of the bunch that isn't out stateside, but it is available as an import).

As for the rest of The Seldom Seen Kid, which is out today on Geffen in the U.S. - I think it's one of my favorites in the list (although I have a feeling I'm going to keep saying that, as I skip from album to album).  It's certainly one I've been spending a lot of time with - I seem to listen to it obsessively for a day, then put it down and come back to do the same thing a week or two later.  It almost feels like I'm excavating the record... slowly but surely digging deeper into the songs, just like I did with "Starlings."  But that doesn't mean it's growing on me slowly - everything sounded wonderful to begin with, and repeated listens just mean the songs start to reveal themselves a little more, strike a more familiar chord.

The verdict?   I think I'm going to continue spending quite a bit of time with The Seldom Seen Kid this year.  The album is a little slower than I expected after initially hearing "Grounds For Divorce" (one of my favorite songs so far this year, hands down), but it's beautiful and multi-dimensional and I'm thinking very, very hard to get sick of.   Absolutely recommended.

"Weather to Fly"

I've met someone that makes me feel seasick

I cannot believe I'm going to be in Austin two weeks from tonight - it feels like I was just in Texas for my very first SXSW, and here we are again, with March right around the corner.  And if, like me, you're headed to the festival this year, I'm sure that you've been hitting up the official SXSW website on a daily basis.  The site is chock-full of information on the ridiculous number of bands playing official showcases this year - set times, biographical info, and lots and lots of freebie mp3s.

I've been slogging through the list in preparation for my trip to Austin, not because I really think I can familiarize myself with all 1,600 (or whatever) artists playing the festival in the next two weeks, but because I know for a fact that there are quite a few hidden gems buried in the lineup that I'll be madly in love with six months down the road.  And nothing sucks more than "discovering" a fantastic band... and then discovering the fact that you were obliviously standing on the sidewalk outside their showcase just a few months earlier.

Case in point:  The Wombats.  Last year my sis and I found ourselves traipsing through Austin on St. Patrick's Day with a few new British friends, trying to track down some Liverpool party in the middle of absolutely nowhere.  We found the party - and I was introduced to Eugene McGuinness and  Hot Club de Paris - but we eventually wandered next door because it was easier to procure Irish car bombs at the adjacent empty bar.  You can't really blame me for being drunk and semi-clueless on St. Patty's Day, and I know that at SXSW no matter what you're doing you're always missing something, but I'm still kicking myself for standing outside on the sidewalk doing (quite literally) nothing, while The Wombats played inside. 

Mostly, I'm bummed because "Kill the Director" has been stuck in my head for what feels like MONTHS now, and it would have been amazing to hear the song live.  It's bouncy and catchy and vaguely ridiculous - filled with the kind of punchy chorus and cheerful background "oooh-ooohs" that make you want to pogo around a crowded dance floor.  Exactly the kind of song that could have complemented a drunken St. Patty's Day blow-out on the last day of my first SXSW.  Ah well.  SXSW is about many things, but it's certainly not about regrets.

"Kill the Director"

Hopefully I'll have a chance to catch The Wombats at this year's SXSW - they're playing a few shows, and this time around knowing what I'm missing will hopefully keep me off the sidewalk.   They'll also be releasing a self-titled EP here in the US in April, but if you can't wait you can always pick up an import copy of their full-length album, The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation.  Want a bonus song?  Sure you do!

"Backfire at the Disco"
 

Favorite Songs of '07 - #1

Miracle Fortress - "Have You Seen In Your Dreams"

Driving home to New York for Christmas last month, I played this countdown for my sister so she could hear what I thought was the best of what 2007 had to offer.  She knew I was torn between making "Welcome Home" or this song #1, and when we had listened to both she turned to me and said something along the lines of "wow, you really like these big, building-up kind of songs."  It's true, and it doesn't take someone who has known me for my full 26 years to figure that out.  I've always been a sucker for the epic-sounding stuff - I think it stems from my band-nerdiness and love of classical music, the world of massive orchestras and huge crescendos, the kind of music that's always managed to give me goosebumps.  I think songs like "Have You Seen In Your Dreams" (and "Welcome Home") will always be my favorites; there's something about these songs that dwarf everything else - and I think they manage to capture the way I've always felt about music.  Miracle Fortress certainly captures something perfectly with this song, even if I can't perfectly describe what that is. 

But I what I can say is that this was my favorite song of 2007.

Favorite Songs of '07 - #2

Radical Face - "Welcome Home"

Up until just a few minutes ago I still hadn't decided where I would put the last two songs in this countdown.  Both are entirely worthy of the #1 spot, and for many of the same reasons - they're both nearly epic in scale, layered, gorgeous, massive-sounding, so much bigger than the waves they're comprised of.  And I love both almost equally, for those reasons and also because they are incredibly emotional in two different ways.  But in the end, Radical Face's "Welcome Home" is sitting here at #2  - and it's pretty much because it kind of makes me want to cry. 

This isn't a depressing song per se, in fact it has this kind of beautiful, sweeping hopefulness to it that I absolutely love.  But there's an underlying melancholy too - the kind of vague hint of something that after several repeats puts your heart in your throat.  Most of Radical Face's Ghost actually has that hint of something running through it - which is why the album is amazing, and so unlike anything else I heard in 2007.  And this song, "Welcome Home," is one of the most amazing songs I heard in 2007, even if that lump in my throat is keeping it from #1. 

Favorite Songs of '07 - #3

Department of Eagles - "No One Does It Like You"

I wrote about this song back in November, and while quoting myself is kinda lame, I'm going to do it anyway:

At some point in the last few months, the Department of Eagles tune "No One Does It Like You" crept into the race for "favorite song of '07."  Its appearance in the contest was entirely unexpected, but now that I think about it I guess I'm not really surprised.  In July I included the track in my Whistle While You Work Mix, which I listened to a fair number of times (I still think it's the best mix I've ever made) providing me ample time to fall in love with the song, and then a little bit later in the year I chose a line from the it to be part of my password at work, which meant for a period of time I always had the melody stuck in my head for 5-10 minutes a day.

And here it is, at #3.  At first this was just a song with a nice little whistle, so I put it in a mix.  Who knew I'd fall so completely and madly in love?

Favorite Songs of '07 - #4

Spoon - "The Underdog"

This song seems like such an obvious, obvious choice.  While I don't necessarily pride myself on the obscurity of my music taste (it's just kind of the nature of my life that I listen to a lot of stuff many of my friends have never heard of, and maybe never will), I will admit that I'm susceptible to the exhaustion that comes when a band or song reaches a certain amount of popularity.  And while "The Underdog" isn't nearly as ubiquitous as something like "1, 2, 3, 4," the song is still the - once again - obvious single on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, and it's been everywhere lately - including a cameo in Cloverfield, for pete's sake.  But while I'm head over heels for Spoon's latest record, and every last slightly-more-obscure track on it, this one is still the stand-out for me.  And specifically because it's so obvious.  It's the song that made me grin for a three minutes and forty two seconds the first time I heard it, it's the song I fell for just a little bit harder than the other nine, it's the song that made me think "wow, this record is really going to take Spoon somewhere."  And when it comes to one of my favorite bands, I'll trade obscurity for #10 on the Billboard 200 any day.

Favorite Songs of '07 - #5

Fujiya & Miyagi - "Collarbone"

I know I just said that I couldn't count how many times I listened to "If... Don't..." in 2007 - but I'm pretty sure I listened to "Collarbone" at LEAST twice as many times.  Back in February, before I even got a chance to see Fujiya & Miyagi twice at SXSW (and compliment their kick-ass sneakers), I capped off my first official workout mix with this tune, and it became my standby warm up/cool down track at the gym for the rest of the year.  Every time it pops up on shuffle, I listen to it three times instead of once, and I seriously can't imagine ever getting sick of this song.  Really, you would think that "In One Ear & Out the Other" would be my favorite song on Transparent Things, but this one wins hands down.

Favorite Songs of '07 - #6

Hotpipes - "If... Don't..."

For me, I think 2007 was the year of Hotpipes.  I find it nearly impossible to believe that a year ago I was pretty much unfamiliar with this local band, and now, twelve months later, I've seen them nine times, had them on my show four (or five?) times (they seriously get credit for giving me the idea for the whole Summer of Guest DJs thing), and they are absolutely one of my favorite bands in Nashville, not to mention some of my favorite people as well.  And of course, they released a pretty fantastic record too - the self-titled Hotpipes - which brings us to #6 on this list.  There's no way I could even begin to count how many times I listened to this song in 2007, especially since I was already calling it my first favorite track of 2007 way back on January 8 of last year.  And I still love it just as much as I did when I was playing it 50 times in a row on myspace.  Can't wait to hear what they come up with in 2008.

Favorite Songs of '07 - #7

Andrew Bird - "Scythian Empires"

I loved loved loved (or should I say love love love, because I still listen to it pretty regularly) 2007's Armchair Apocrypha, which most definitely will be making my "best of" 2007 list if I ever actually get around to making it.  In fact, I'm pretty crazy about most of the songs on the album, which made selecting one track for my favorite songs list a difficult task.  But "Scythian Empires" scored the #7 slot on this countdown, and it's mostly because I stuck the tune in a mix over the summer and then listened to that mix over and over (because basically I think it's one of the best playlists I've ever assembled).  This tune came in towards the end, the 14th of 16 tracks, and the buildup to that point meant the opening piano line always made me a little giddy.  Combine that with the placement of "Scythian Empires" on Armchair Apocrypha - it immediately follows the devastatingly gorgeous "Cataracts" - which lends the song this sense of comparative bouncy joy - and you have a recipe for me falling madly in love.