Apes & Androids | Blood Moon

I remember seeing Apes & Androids a single time before they played FRICTION at Sin-e in the summer of 2006. There wasn’t anything particularly over the top about my first A&A live experience, except that the band put on a solid and impressive set. I think the most out-of-the-ordinary thing about that Asterisk Art Space show was glowing keyboards. After booking them for FRICTION, the band had mentioned that they had a few “surprises” up their sleeves, which I forgot about until the day of the show. We were squaring away the guestlist for the night over email with the agents at Sin-e and they mentioned that the guys from Apes & Androids had been there pretty much all day working on their show. I thought it was odd, but didn’t think much of it until I walked into the venue that August night and saw a huge robot head with tentacle-like arms and glowing eyes gracing the back of the stage. The band was still hard at work putting the finishing touches on the “glow balls” and situating their own lighting for the stage. I think my first words to a complete stranger in the venue were “this is fucking incredible” and that was hours before the show even happened.

After the aforementioned shows and subsequent jaw dropping live performances – I realized how much time and effort A&A puts into every single performance (not to mention, their attention to detail). Each time seeing the group was a unique (some might say surreal) and intense experience. Given their live show track record, I didn’t expect anything less from their abilities as songwriters and recording artists on Blood Moon. The Brooklyn quintet’s debut is true to form as Apes & Androids lives up to their reputation delivering an 18-track hour long epic album.

While it’s great to hear reworked and remastered versions of Apes & Androids’ Queen/glam/rock opera-inspired demos (and faves) like “Hot Kathy,” “Sweetest Secret,” “Nights Of The Week,” and “Radio” on Blood Moon, the real strength and success of the album was branching out to include a whole other set of genres into their already unique sound. The more dancey and glammy beginning of the record is offset by a block of downtempo songs that recall “more recent era” Radiohead. “Doyle Is Dead” could be a kissing cousin to a combination of Radiohead’s “All I Need” and “Down Is The New Up,” while “Imaginary Friends” and “Locked In A Car” sound like a hybrid between Radiohead’s somber “Life In A Glasshouse” and the Edward Scissorshands soundtrack with swooping vocal harmonies and gently plucked guitar strings.

The album’s standout track and the one song in particular defines the group’s ingenuity as recording artists is the last true song on the record, “Riverside.” Not only does it keep in line with the band’s futurist rock opera sound, but it also incorporates elements from other genres. The track begins with a Gallows Pole-like strummed guitar before merging into crashing Tommy-ish guitars that are blended with swirling oscillations, operatic vocals, and oddball samples that bridge to a section of blowing free jazz horns until everything explodes into a slicing guitar riff that shoots chills up and down my body. It’s absolutely mind blowing and has been on some serious repeat every time I get to the end of the record.

Blood Moon hits the streets officially on February 5th, but the band has already made the album available to download (and order) at this nifty little site. A&A play Hiro Ballroom on February 28th, don’t miss it, this band does not disappoint.

[MP3]: Apes & Androids  ”Riverside”
Blood Moon, Self-Released; 2008

Looking Ahead to 2008

I guess it’s time for me to start getting together one of those year end list things. While I’m at that I wanted to share a few tracks from some artists that I’m looking forward to hearing a lot more of in 2008. Myself and maybe even Nghia will try to get around to doing another one of these in the coming weeks.

Thanks to the kind peeps over at Death + Taxes Magazine for turning me onto London’s SIAN ALICE GROUP. A promo copy of their debut record, 59.59, literally kept me company on my travels over the weekend. 59.59 is an expansive, sprawling pop effort, some might even say epic. Words like haunting, atmospheric, reflective, lush, dreamy, and experimental all come to mind when listening to the album’s sixteen tracks. Sian Ahern lends the record an ethereal beauty with her unearthly, yet seductive vocals…perfect for that winter night bundled up by the fireplace. 59.59 is due out in February on Brooklyn’s The Social Registry imprint.

[MP3]: Sian Alice Group  ”As The Morning Light”
59.59, The Social Registry; 2008

Expect to be hearing a lot more about Brooklyn duo MGMT when their debut full-length, Oracular Spectacular, sees its proper physical release via Columbia Records in January (currently only available as a digital download now). When I first heard the single “Time To Pretend” I was reminded of the quirky uplifting pop of The Unicorns (who I miss dearly, but also makes a nice spot for MGMT in my heart).

[MP3]: MGMT  ”Time To Pretend”
Oracular Spectacular, Columbia; 2008

I’ve been looking forward to the debut record from APES & ANDROIDS ever since they rocked off our faces at FRICTION back in the day at Sin-e. Nearly a year-and-a-half later and the band has completed their first full-length titled Blood Moon (cover art above), which will hit the streets relatively soon along with a release party at The Mercury Lounge on January 19th. To quote the band (well, actually a Transformers movie review), “it’s long and loud and everything about it is big: from the massive riffs, the pounding score and the band itself, which towers above everything and everyone in this mega-budget sonic explosion.” Check out “Golden Prize” from Blood Moon below. RAD!

[MP3]: Apes & Androids  ”Golden Prize”
Blood Moon, Unsigned; 2008

If you have any love left for punchy energetic dance music after the onslaught we received in 2007, then Lyon, France’s SPITZER is for you. Mathieu and Damien Brégère, the French brothers behind Spitzer have been generating a bit of buzz with a couple of hard-hitting electro singles like “Kapersky,” which is going to be included on their Roller Coaster EP, set to be released in 2008. Currently unsigned, I wouldn’t be surprised if the duo was gobbled up by a label like Kitsune or Ed Banger in the coming months. Check out “Aveda Dollars” from the Roller Coaster EP below.

[MP3]: Spitzer  ”Aveda Dollars”
Roller Coaster EP, Unsigned; 2008

Baltimore’s BEACH HOUSE put out one of my favorite records of 2006 with their self-titled debut on Carpark. The band is set to release their sophomore full-length titled Devotion on February 26th. Sounds like the band is picking up where they left off with “Gila.” Perfect.

[MP3]: Beach House  ”Devotion”
Devotion, Carpark; 2008

video of the week — late of the pier “bathroom gurgle”

I’ve been digging the much buzzed about “Bathroom Gurgle” by Nottingham’s Late Of The Pier for the last couple of weeks. It was released back in September on Moshi Moshi, but I just got around to playing it recently.

Reminds me of The Comsat Angels at times, Devo and Of Montreal at others, topped off with a bit of Bowie. Pretty festive. Snag the mp3 below.

[MP3]: Late Of The Pier  ”Bathroom Gurgle”
Bathroom Gurgle, Moshi Moshi; 2007