Take Off with Air France’s No Way Down

Have you ever been in mid-flight just before sunrise? Gazing out of the little porthole windows as the deep blue sky above the cloud canopy is painted with a swath of orange when the sun crowns on the horizon. The once dark clouds take on hues of cool blues and warm reds, yellows, and oranges, as the sun glistens off the metallic wings of the plane. It’s one of the most gorgeous views, and for a moment all your stresses and worries float away like the water vapor beneath you. Fitting music further enhances the experience drowning out the rumble of the jet engines and those pesky air vents. With the release of No Way Down, Gothenburg, Sweden’s Air France may have just created the perfect soundtrack for such an event. The duo’s six-song EP sounds like a party in a tropical paradise filtered through a haze of gauzy, atmospheric dreampop. It’s a bit in the same line as the new M83 record, but with more of a tropical punch. The appropriately titled “June Evening” invokes imagery of a stumbling on a dance party in the middle of a balmy forest in, you guessed it, June. Ethereal vocals are penetrated by marimbas, samples of various birds, a thumping beat, and sweltering synths perfect for keeping you feet firmly planted on the ground while your head may otherwise be in the sky.

Stream and buy Air France’s No Way Down EP, out now on Swedish Imprint Sincerely Yours.

[MP3]: Air France  ”June Evening”
No Way Down, Sincerely Yours; 2008

Shoegaze in 2008 | Five Acts not to be Missed

Shoegaze will always remain one of my favorite genres of music, even if I get away from it from time to time, it’s something that I always come back to. Granted, shoegaze and dreampop saw their heyday in the early nineties, but today many acts continue to reinvent and push the envelope with the genre. I was reading an interview with Soundpool (one of the bands featured in this post) about the relation among shoegaze, electronica, and indie-pop becoming more familiar in Japan. One of the group’s members stated that there has been “a significant change in the global shoegaze scene with bands from many different cultures and backgrounds are collaborating and inspiring each other and exploring the possibilities of this creative genre which has brought so many different types of musicians together.”

This post aims to focus on some of my favorite new shoegaze acts that define the previous statement and for the most part features bands putting out material in 2008.

RESPLANDOR
Pleamar, AE; 2008
[MP3]: “Downfall”
Members of Mahogany initially tipped me off to the Peruvian trio, Resplandor, and since I’ve been a big fan of the group’s output. Their early recordings initially reminded me of Raphael Toral, but tracks from their forthcoming full-length Pleamar sound more akin to Just for a Day era Slowdive. Two words: sonic morphine.

AUBURN LULL
Begin Civil Twilight, Darla; 2008
[MP3]: “Coasts”
Michigan/Pennsylvania five-piece Auburn Lull craft dreamy, haunting, and ethereal dream pop. “Imagine The Moody Blues produced by Eno, if Slowdive originally wrote and recorded Surrealistic Pillow, or perhaps Seefeel on a good sedative/hypnotic [Darla].” Ulrich Schnauss mixed a track on added some treatment to two others. Begin Civil Twilight hits the street on April 8th.

FLEETING JOYS
Secret Garden Vol.1, Invada; 2008
[MP3]: “Good Kind Of Tomorrow”
Sacramento’s Fleeting Joys craft shoegaze in the vein of Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine with an aural assault of shivering dissonant guitars, low-end baselines, atmospheric keyboards, layers of squalls, heavy drums, and buried androdynous vocals. Lush melancholia for the shoegazer soul.

SOUNDPOOL
Dichotomies & Dreamland, Aloft; 2008
[MP3]: “The Divides of March”
I’ve had New York’s Soundpool (pictured) on my radar for some time now and was stoked about the release of their second record, Dichotomies & Dreamland earlier this month – an album I’ve been playing pretty heavily recently. Danceable Joy Division/New Order-inspired basslines and guitars lie beneath saturated swaths noise and synth arrangements that are fronted with sugary female vocals. Soundpool plays Pianos in New York on March 22nd and a day later in Philadelphia at The Khyber. Dichotomies & Dreamland is out now on Aloft.

PORTS OF CALL
Like Thieves…, Self-Released; 2008
[MP3]: “Washout”
I couldn’t write this post without giving Philadelphia some love, so enter Ports of Call as another shoegaze act that you should get familiar with this year. The Philly quintet blends psychedelic with atmospheric in the most beautiful of ways, painting haunting soundscapes which are highlighted by the interplay of innocent boy/girl vocals that are almost drowned out by the noise. Ports of Call play Club Midway in New York on April 23rd and Johnny Brenda’s in Philly on April 30th. Like Thieves is out now and can be ordered from the band.

A Sunny Day In Glasgow | Johnny Brenda’s 2.14.08

While the other contributors to this site were busy celebrating lovers day by romantically going to see Band Of Horses together (HA!), I took a different route and checked out Philly favorites A Sunny Day In Glasgow at Johnny Brenda’s.

It’s been an very long time since I’ve seen A Sunny Day In Glasgow live and I was curious to see how their live show had progressed over the last year or so. Now a four piece after vocalist Lauren Daniels moved out west, brother Ben shared vocal duties with Lauren’s twin Robin. The band played songs from Scribble Mural Comic Journal and their Tout New Age EP, which I was hearing for the first time live. It’s always difficult transitioning to a live show when a band has such a complex sound as ASDIG, but Ben Daniels and crew pulled it off quite nicely last night. Live, the band retains some of the complexity of the record, but overall it’s a sparser, louder affair. Sister Robin’s vocals are given a little more breathing room, while Brother Ben paints the room with a swirling effect laden reverby guitar all while maintaining a pop essence to their sound.

The band has certainly come a long way since their maiden voyage into live performance two years ago at Cake Shop. Head over to the band’s website to read about the CRAZY shit that happened after the show. ASDIG plays Cake Shop on February 22nd, which will likely be their last East Coast date for awhile.

[MP3]: A Sunny Day In Glasgow  ”Summerlong Silences”
Tout New Age EP, Notenuf; 2007

January Mixtape — Chilled Out

Above pic via Zara

This turned out to be one of my favorite mixtapes that we’ve done so far, there’s some pretty great choices in this bunch. As the title of the post says this month’s mixtape is all about (in Karim’s words) “chilling, relaxing, and chillaxing.” I’d throw another word in here but Nghia would likely roll his eyes and say “oh brother.”

[MP3]: Sigur Ros  ”Staralfur” [James]
Ágætis byrjun, Fat Cat; 1999
I always pictures those birds flying around from their shows.

[MP3]: Cass McCombs  ”That’s That” [Nghia]
Dropping the Writ, Domino; 2007
It reminds me of alot of things right now.

[MP3]: Groove Armada  ”My Friend” [Karim]
Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub), Zomba; 2001
I picked this song because it soothes my mind thinking about the lyrics. It also reminds me of an amazing trip I took with some of the Crackers to Puerto Rico in July 2003 which was all about chilling, relaxing, and chillaxing.

[MP3]: Radiohead  ”How To Disappear Completely” [Pablo]
Kid A, Capitol; 2000
Makes me feel like I shouldn’t worry about a damn thing… Nothing should make you worry too much and everything’ll be fine… cause that there, that’s not me…

[MP3]: Quantic  ”Time Is The Enemy” [Christian]
The 5th Exotic, Tru Thoughts; 2001
Where did all the great trip-hop go?

[MP3]: Pseudosix  ”Under The Waves” [Ray]
Pseudosix, Sonic Boom; 2007
Whenever I get anxiety from the over-stimuli of living in Manhattan, I have dreams of moving to Portland, OR. This catchy tune from Portland band, Pseudosix, has the perfect scratch-strum riff and harmonic vocals to put a smile back on my face.

[MP3]: Hot Chip  ”So Glad To See You” [Theo]
The Warning, EMI; 2006
I love chill out electronic music, and here’s one of my favorites from the past couple of years. Loving the electro voice ending…wait for it!

[MP3]: Mazzy Star  ”Bells Ring” [Justin]
So Tonight That I May See, Captiol; 1993
Hope Sandoval’s voice is one of the most soothing and comforting things to me.

Ravens and Vultures | Keep Your Kill

Over the weekend, Philadelphia’s Ravens and Vultures celebrated the release of their new (and debut) EP, Keep Your Kill (which sports a fierce looking penguin as its cover art) at Johnny Brenda’s supported by locals Ape School and NYC faves Dragons of Zynth. The EPs four tracks combine elements from shoegaze and dream-pop to rāga to dance-punk to electronica to straight up indie pop. Just listen to the EPs title track “Keep Your Kill” and you’ll hear a unique mix of these influences – melodic and soaring guitar lines blend with laptop generated beats while rāga melodies are layered over a Gang of Four/Rapture bassline and cowbell. I’ve had the track on repeat since first listening to it – highly recommended.

The trio consisting of former DJs (and identical twins) Chetana and Darshana Borah and Andrew Ryan (ada Illoin) will be digitally releasing the EP tomorrow (January 15th) along with a “special” bit-torrent edition that is already available online. The band has set up a donation page for those choosing to download the four tracks via torrent.

Check out the mesmerizing and ethereal “Willow Tree” set to be included on the band’s debut long-player, Last Love slated for release later this year. Head over to MySpace for further listening and Philebrity has “Keep Your Kill” streaming on their site. Order the EP directly from the band and within 24 hours you’ll receive a download link.

[MP3]: Ravens and Vultures  ”Willow Tree”
Last Love, TBA; TBA

pic of the week — winter glow

[MP3]: Rumskib  ”Hearts On Fire”

Above pic by niepce

Trackback | Sway’s The Millia Pink and Green EP

I completely missed shoegaze, ten going on eleven at the time when the genre was at its height and I had more important things to do and listen to. Growing up in middle of nowhere Pennsylvania and like most kids my age, grunge had the largest musical impact on me, thanks in large part to MTV. I still remember in sixth grade we had “bring a song” to music class day. Nearly everyone in class had the same cassettes; Nirvana’s Nevermind, Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger, or Pearl Jam’s Ten. Sure, not everyone had a grunge album; the metal kids brought Pantera and Metallica, while others brought classics like The Beatles. I was one of the kids toting Pearl Jam.

At the same time as Nevermind, Badmotorfinger, and Ten were influencing the youth here in America, a four piece from Dublin, dropped a landmark album sparking an entire genre that I would (years down the road) come to adore.

Looking back, I find it hard to believe that there was this whole other genre out there that sat dormant (to me) for years. I cannot remember when the last time I put on a grunge record, but on average, I listen to one song that would be classified as shoegaze or dreampop everyday. The funny thing is that I realized that I’ve only scratched the surface of the genre and there are so many great records still to be discovered.

Sway’s 2003 EP, The Millia Pink and Green is one of those great shoegaze records that I discovered for the first time earlier this year. The Ventura, CA group has become somewhat of an mystery in the music world. After years of silence, ambiguity, and name change to Keepee (only to be quickly be changed back to Sway), a vinyl-only limited edition EP titled Winter Heart bearing Sway‘s name appeared on March 1st of this year via Claire’s Echo. It’s not even known if the group is still together as some of the members have moved on to forming a new band called The Northern Two. Additionally, it is unknown when Winter Heart was actually recorded – the Discogs page simply states that it was recorded at Blenginsound, whatever that means. Anyway, not that any of this really matters, as it was the short but sweet Winter Heart EP that eventually turned me onto the band.

In addition to The Millia Pink and Green and Winter Heart EP’s, Sway has one other work under their belt, a 500-copy self-titled EP. The gem of the three releases is the gorgeous Millia Pink and Green EP, on which the band paints expansive landscapes of sound. Layers of blissed-out and entrancing guitars glide over ethereal and echoed male vocals making for a lazy and relaxed listen.

Fans of Slowdive, Lush, and Chapterhouse will find that Sway’s three EP’s fit nicely in their collections. I’m not sure if the Winter Heart EP is still in print, only 300 vinyl copies made, but if you do a little digging, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding the mp3’s online. If anyone has any information on the band or if they are still together let me know in the comments.

[MP3]: Sway  ”Sullust”