Tag: #neutralmilkhotel

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Around the World — Canadians, Brits, and a Bunch of Swedes (Plus a Couple of Yanks)

Since I’m home with a sick pup whose recovery plan includes sleeping on my lap in as unbroken a stretch as possible (bathroom breaks and beverage refills be DAMNED!), thought I’d capitalize on the stasis to throw out some songs that got caught in my snatches since last time.  First, in honor of his beloved Toronto Raptors beating the broken down Warriors to win their first NBA title, superfan Drake dropped a couple new tracks last week, the best of which finds him teaming with Rick Ross again on the thumping “Money in the Grave.” Drake’s been prolific yet sporadic the past few years, dropping albums and mixtapes on the regular, which unfortunately are mostly mediocre in quality, minus a few choice hits.  Same principle applies here — “Omerta” is a throwaway, but “Money” lives up to its name, particularly when the big man shows up.  Give it a ride here:

Next, in honor of his upcoming performance at Glastonbury, former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher dropped a new single from his forthcoming follow-on to As You Were ( a debut that landed at #11 in last year’s rundown here).  Thankfully we didn’t have to travel to the festival to hear it (the thought of camping out at a farm with 100,000 people sweltering in 100 degree heat sounds about as much fun as doing hot yoga naked in front of your entire family). Sonically it’s in line with the songs found on his debut (and not far from those of his former band) — solid guitar riff, ominous bass line, and sturdy rhythm all chugging alongside Gallagher’s ever-stellar voice as it soars into the chorus. (“I’ve been waaaaaiiting so looooooong for you dooooooooown by the rivaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…”)  It’s a strong song — let’s hope the rest of the album continues the trend when it arrives.  Give “The River (Why Me? Why Not)” a listen in the interim:

Up third is the return of the one thing I (for one) have been most craving lately, with the string of underwhelming releases from beloved bands (the National, Silversuns, Foals, Vampire Weekend, Raconteurs, etc etc etc) — a balls out, unabashed rocker intent on delivering a much-needed kick to the ass of anyone it meets.  No synthesizers, no gimmicky schtick (“Now with LADIES!”), just guitars, energy, and attitude.  And who better to deliver than the notoriously riotous Swedes?  That’s right, the superficially staid and polite purveyors of crisp, clean interior design elements and small, sauced spheres of meat are also home to one of the most raucous, entertaining bands of the last 20 years — Howling Pelle Almqvist and his gang of garage rocking rebels in the Hives.  They’re back just in the nick of time, too, with one hell of little ripper.  It’s the back (front?) half of the “double A-side” release this week (classic Hives swagger there — “we don’t do B-sides — everything we do is an A!”) and the better of the two by far, hearkening back to their glory days of Veni Vidi Vicious and Tyrannosaurus Hives.  Howlin’ Pelle may say he’s “not the answer to your problems,” but you sure could fool me — if more of this is in store we just might have found the antidote we so desperately need.

Last up is a new discovery, one I stumbled on in my endless hunt through blogs and new release piles to find something to get excited about (see the aforementioned malaise from established acts and the unspoken dearth of good tunes from newbies (despite their rabid fanbases and elevated chart positions)).  The name and cover were enough to draw me in and the music was good enough to keep me — a mix of Sergio Leone style guitar riffs and Al Green style soul from two dudes down in Austin.  Said gentlemen are producer Adrian Quesada and singer/songwriter Eric Burton who linked up last year and recorded their debut after a run of well-received live performances deep in the heart of Texas.  It’s a really solid affair — laid back vibes riding along on the back of Burton’s silky voice with riffs that would sound at home in any retro rap song (or those Leone westerns).  It’s perfect for a lazy Sunday — give “Fire” a ride here:

We’ll close with a couple readers to round things out — first, this one from Pitchfork on Neutral Milk Hotel’s debut album, On Avery Island. The follow-on is the one that garners all the praise and is described as a modern classic (rightfully so), but this makes a compelling case for the debut.  Worth a read and revisit.

Next comes an interview in Entertainment Weekly with Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach on the long-awaited return of that band this week and the inspirations behind the new album.  There’s some interesting inclusions in there — Vice Principals, as well as the Stooges and ZZ Top — that are worth checking out. We’ll see how the new album goes down and whether those are notable influences or not (early returns are ok — album sounds good, if not the barn-burning return I so desire (or is indicated might be forthcoming based on the title)).

Last comes a Stereogum interview with Spoon frontman Britt Daniel where he talks through some of the band’s biggest hits in anticipation of their upcoming greatest hits album.  (A phrase they, like me, likely never thought they’d hear anyone say.) It’s an interesting retrospective — the album goes all the way back to Girls Can Tell (probably still my favorite album of theirs), covering everything in between (but not their first two) — and hits a lot of the high notes. (I still might need to do a “One You Should Know” post/playlist for em soon because there’s a lot that’s left out…) It includes one new song, too, the track “No Bullets Spent,” which is a good cut — give it a listen here while you wait for that “OYSK:”

That’s all for now, my friends… — BS

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Doom and Diplo-macy, Pumpkins and Jewels — A Medley of Neutral Milk

Well — I had planned to pop in for a quick update since I’d caught a couple interesting items worth flagging over the week, but of course all my simple pleasures must become infuriatingly over-complicated clusters lately, so it’s taken me over an hour to find a way to log in here as my computer thinks the site is malicious and it keeps telling me my passwords are wrong (and won’t allow me to change them).  Fucking GD technology…

AAAAAAAANYhow — I finally found a way in, so before Agent Smith and his cronies find me here’s a couple things to wrap your ears around…  We’ll continue the trend of the last post and keep riding around on our hiphoppopotamus, stomping ’round the riverside in search of some banging beats. First find is the lead single from the upcoming collaboration between MF Doom and Czarface, the side project of Wu-tang’s Inspectah Deck (along with Boston duo Esoteric and 7L).  I’ve always thought Deck was the most underappreciated and lyrically lethal member of the Wu (check his verse in “Protect Ya Neck” for but one outstanding sample), but like almost everything about those guys, what you often get is a frustratingly inconsistent tangle of tunes to sort through. So the Czarface project, which is three albums in at this point, is an at times exciting endeavor, with verses from fellow Clansmen Ghostface, GZA, and Meth, along with efforts from Action Bronson, Large Professor, and even DJ Premier, but also occasionally muddled and mediocre. (The comic book backdrop for rap is somewhat tired at this point, similar to the martial arts influences of Deck’s original group.)

Doom is the same way — at times brilliant lyrically, throwing out choice lines over killer beats — but too often he gets tripped up in schtick: trying to be funny, or adhering to closely to the cartoony gimmick of his comic book alter ego (or both).  Which is why this pairing makes perfect sense, makes you a little nervous, and makes you salivate.  They’ve worked together before — “Ka-Bang!” on Czarface’s second album, 2015’s Every Hero Needs a Villain was a highlight on what I still think is that outfit’s strongest outing — and the single is pretty solid.  There’s just that note of hesitation in your head because you suspect the album (due out in March) will be another up and down affair and not the home run you hope for.  Time will tell, but in the meantime enjoy the single (and check out the second album):

Next are a couple more singles to entertain the ears from a pair of hip hop influenced producers, one from BOOTS and one from the tireless Diplo.  First is BOOTS’ latest, which again pairs him with favorites Run the Jewels (a duo who is nothing if not consistent — pure fire purveyors for three straight albums now!) and the marriage still works.  Mike and El’s verses are hands down the best part of the song, which get a little limp when BOOTS and Cristin Milioti are cooing at the end, but as usual it’s worth the price of admission to hear those two go to work.  So come on in and check it out yourself:

As for Diplo’s latest, it has him showcasing some new feathers, which is a nice change of pace.  Instead of his usual high octane numbers with battle bots squaring off against reggae Rastas in a sweaty dancehall, he goes downtempo (and downright cinematic) in this one.  Featuring Virginia rapper DRAM, this one’s a languid little thing bound for car commercials or movie trailers.  Good to see Dip showing his range and continuing his sonic explorations.  Check it out here:

We’ll close with a couple articles on indie acts/albums near and dear to my heart — first a solid writeup on the 20th anniversary of Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, which as the article details is a much-beloved — and much-maligned — gem from the late 90s. I fall into the former camp (I still remember how gobsmacked I was by the ‘nothing else on planet Earth sounds like this’ carnival of a lead single, “Holland, 1945”), but along with the author I get what can drive people into the latter (Mangum has a voice similar to Corin Tucker from beloved Sleater-Kinney, you either love it or hate it immediately).  It still holds up for me all these years later, though, particularly the nakedness of it, that uncomfortable, unabashed openness. “Oh Comely” is the one I come back to most, its beautiful melody and unbridled angst feeling like bleeding out in a bathtub, with Mangum’s knocking on the guitar acting as an ebbing heartbeat before the brass band marches in and drives you back to life.  It, like most of the album, is a strange, spellbinding affair — but one that’s not easy to ignore. Pop this one on while you read the writeup:

Last we’ll close with another solid list from Stereogum that follows on the heels of the announcement that hometown legends Smashing Pumpkins would be going on tour again soon, but this time with some noteworthy restrictions. One, it would be the first time this much of the original lineup would be performing — Corgan and Chamberlain would remain from recent lineups, but this time it’ll be a real Jim Jam as guitarist James Iha will accompany the pair on the road (though still no D’arcy).  Two, they will only play tunes from the early albums — Gish through MACHINA — which means these setlists are going to be chock full of classics.  Three, as any good Chicagoan would they’ve decided to give DC the middle finger and steer clear of this shitbox, so I might be fueling up for a road trip soon.  The news has me pretty excited, and I’ve been on a bit of a bender since then, going back through my favorite tunes that didn’t make the list  (Stumbleine? Silverfuck?), but they do a decent job hitting the high notes.  Their number one of “Cherub” is a no-brainer, but for me nothing will top the break at the end of “Rocket” for my vote for the band at its most exhilarating.  Click play and crank it as loud as you possibly can — and get ready for the release.  Until next time, amici…