WHOWOULLDATHUNK?
The Future's Dust - Tinderlight
Hot damn! Suffice to say, I was already moderately impressed by The Future's Dust initial EP Marrakech, which treads a fine equilibrium between post-rock and R&B-du-jour Nowadays however - with technology becoming a more accessible contrivance in the recording process - basically any run-of-the-mill band can pull off sounding like Steely-fucking-Dan. As a result, this climate makes it all the more difficult to assess which band's live prowess remains truly legit. The harsh truth is, very few bands actually exceed these expectations, but boy! The Future's Dust have done just that! Behold this incredible version of "Tinderlight", performed at popular Dutch TV show De Wereld Draait Door.
DOUBLE CLUTCH
Solids - Haze Away
I've always been a sucker for these, bands with a penchant for dulcet power-pop hooks - only to subsequently bury them beneath a clinking clanking collection of collagenous junk. However there's always this big brawny heart in the middle, ceaselessly pumping. Currently we have bands like Austria's mischievous Sex Jams (who will be playing #ESNS14 this weekend) and the UK's frisky Cheatahs with similar MO's. But! The peppy "Haze Away" by cacophonous Canucks Solids takes the cake this week.
Dean Wareham - Holding Pattern
Former frontman of influential lo-fi psychrockers Galaxie 500 has found a gullible collaborator in My Morning Jacket-honcho Jim James. The result is a glistened-up remnant of Galaxie 500's acclaimed Velvets-meets-Richman moxie, giving this particular track a similar feel to late-nineties followers like Mercury Rev, Grandaddy and Arab Strap. "Holding Pattern" holds equal footing between nostalgia and fresh overhaul.
Edging out: Phantogram - Nothing But Trouble, Sun Kil Moon - Ben's My Friend.
CHASEDOWN
Lee Ranaldo and the Dust - The Late Descent #2
The Sonic Youth-alumni remain very prolific in their own endeavors - with mixed results. Kim Gordon's recent noise-project Body/Head made most critics go Kevorkian. Those same critics seem more preoccupied gunning for soundbytes from ex-hubby Thurston Moore than gauging the type of records he's been cooking up. Lee Ranaldo meanwhile, seems perfectly fine with releasing albums at his own desired pace (with trustworthy companion Steve Shelley behind the skins), quaintly framing out quirky ideas to adorn his otherwise fickle songwriting MO. Basically, ol' Lee has been playing whack-a-mole with his own musical genesis indiscriminately: the stripped-down Between The Times And Tides occasionally struck gold and gave a playful nod to a distinguished Liverpool quartet.
As with a lot of releases by the end of the year, his latest LP "The Last Night On Earth" was completely lost on me. Which is a shame, because its a damn good record. Its latest single "The Late Descent #2" is, simply said, a beaut - and I'm not even that big on harpsichords. Again, the playful tinkering with different sounds almost seems like an ennui coming from Ranaldo. Somehow, it works like a charm: the harpsichord serenades buoyantly while Ranaldo's guitar strumming and voice provide an ambivalent undercurrent. Just incredibly moving, this.
Edging out: Trentemøller feat. Jana Hunter - Gravity
THE DUNK
Real Estate - Talking Backwards
Oh, Real Estate. Don't ever change. "Talking Backwards" is instantly gorgeous, a band doing what they do best: wonderfully waft ethereal guitar pop, drifting effortlessly between workaday lull and wide-eyed reverie. Without breaking a sweat.
THE CLUNK
Tokyo Police Club - Hot Tonight
Wish I could say the same for Canadian rockers Tokyo Police Club. Their previous LP "Champ" was a fine collection of upright alternative pop gems like this. Unfortunately, "Hot Tonight" gravitates more closely to LFO (in case you forgot, these dudes actually scored a summer hit once about date rape and Abercrombie & Fitch). Another solid rock group set to become a bitter cautionary tale.
DOUBLE DUTCH
Hunter Complex - Space
The Yamaha DX7-benigned minimal techno of Hunter Complex (Lars "Narrominded" Meijer) makes us yearn for a quixotic ersatz-future shaped by the likes of Asimov and Sagan, instead of the bleak, gourmandizing one percent-takes-all future we're facing today.
Duffhues - White Dove With Black Feathers
Niels Duffhuës derives from Oss, the self-described "hellhole" that's basically the Dutch equivalent to Hull. It comes as no surprise that his art is conjured from the darker caverns of the psyche. Even the symbol of peace gets a hatchet job in this wicked stand-off between Nick Cave-esque pop-noir grandeur and ferocious, cold-cocked desert rock
Edging out: Naive Set - Like That , traumahelikopter - Alone
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