FIxation Focus: Deerhunter

One of my recent obsessions has been with the band Deerhunter. For the longest time, I put off listening to 'em because they were surrounded by the hype machine and that gets annoying after a while. That was around the time they released Cryptograms, which was early 2007. With the hype obviously came a ton of write-ups and blurbs about this band from Georgia, mainly how front-man Bradford Cox is crazy, waifish, cross-dressing on stage, anorexic (false)/bulimic (false)/has Marfan Syndrome (true), etc. After some time, I just got tired of hearing about it and any possible interest I might've had was squashed... until this new record of their's, Microcastle.

Cryptograms was a record that was awash in reverb, hushed vocals, and sounds that resulted in the descriptions of "atmospheric" or "ambient" and "psychedelic". Basically, the record is shoegaze, but not as over-the-top that a band like My Bloody Valentine was (is?). There are moments of toe-tapping on it, but I don't think that was the selling point of the record. The fact that there was a band who was creating a shoegaze-type sound in 2007... it sounding genuine... it coming from a place like Georgia - all of these traits brought this record out to the forefront and established this band as someone to watch for experimental indie rock.

Then comes Microcastle, a record that I think is brilliant. It's poppy, it sounds old, it's wisely restrained, and it also regains the psychedelia that attracted people to this band in the first place. As of right now, I'm having a harder time coming across bands that sound GREAT. I'm struggling with new releases from Stereolab, Jenny Lewis, and Brendan Canning, artists that I'm very familiar with and am passionate about what they do. However, there's something about these new records from favorite artists of mine that isn't sticking. Maybe I'm getting bored of the sounds that said bands bring to the table. None of this boredom exists with Microcastle.

What really put me head-over-heels with this band is a recent gig of their's. At the last minute, I read that Deerhunter were playing a free show at a vintage clothing store (of all places) in Atlanta. The band were doing the gig as a sign of appreciation to the locals who supported them as well as an attempt to break loose from the tour that they were involved with at the time - opening for Nine Inch Nails across America. I figured with the short notice and the free factor and the location, it would be a memorable event that would possibly be a short set and even including acoustics (or unplugged material). I was completely wrong and it was a fantastic mistake. The band played for more than an hour, all electric, playing songs from the two records I've mentioned, and having a lot of fun while doing it.

The material that was so hushed and held back on record was in your face, unrestrained, and loud as hell. It was brilliant. And it was all happening while I was looking through clothes from 1983. People were squeezed into the store, people were standing up on displays, others were outside-looking-in - it was just incredible.

After that show, I knew that was one of the top three free concert moments I've had and their music made for a great soundtrack for the rest of the summer. I found a great appreciation for the track "Nothing Ever Happened". About two-thirds of the way through the song, it just builds and builds with new guitar parts layered onto each other. Sometimes it's the simplest guitar parts that resonate the most, and that's absolutely what happens here. For some reason, whenever I listen to that part of the track, I want to unleash tears of joy while thrashing about. Music that makes me feel that kind of emotion is a wonderful thing.

Other standout tracks on Microcastle include the brooding "Saved by Old Times" and "Never Stops". Through and through, it's one of my favorite records of the year, for sure. What's even better about this listening experience is that Microcastle will apparently include a complementary album, Weird Era Cont.. This release includes the more psychedelic stylings that brought listeners to Deerhunter in the first place. What nails it for me is the album closer, "Calvary Scars II/Aux.". On Microcastle, the band perform a version of "Calvary Scars" that is short and to the point. The second version on Weird Era Cont. is raw, unleashed, and it rips. Perfect way to end an album, in my opinion.

For more information on the band, check out their myspace and give a few of their songs a listen. You won't regret it. What's also great about this band is that they often give away random recordings via their blog that mostly Bradford maintains. There are tons of videos up there of various things and every once in a while, he puts up Deerhunter or Atlas Sound (his solo project) demos for everyone to gauge.

Update in Un-Deux-Trois... and Quatre

NHL All-Star Weekend
So this weekend was the All-Star Weekend in Atlanta. While I wasn't able to attend any real events, I did make the trip up for the trading card and memorabilia stuff yesterday. It was just awesome to walk into CNN Center and just know that hockey is all around you... and food, as the event was oddly held in the middle of the CNN Center food court. Regardless, the atmosphere was that of a card collector's convention, something I haven't revisited since my teens. Looking at various rookie cards, the game-worn jersey cards (and quickly realizing how ridiculous that concept is), and other hockey-related goodies brought me back a few years and I was beginning to feel like I wanted to haggle a little bit and get a few bargains. Seeing how I didn't do any of that, really, I did make a few purchases, which Maal over at Fire Wagon Hockey would certainly approve of. This will be a nice treat for the soon-to-be Mrs.!



Trading cards aside, I took a few pictures of the memorabilia show as well as some of the surroundings of Philips Arena, including bunches of All-Star-related garb. As is the norm, they are at the flickr site.

Coachella 2008 - Let's go?
Last week, a bunch of chaos circulated around this year's Coachella Festival lineup. Because of the veteran that I am, I certainly had an interest in how it would shape up even though I wasn't flying across the country this year (at least not for Coachella). Apparently there was some press conference in Mexico City and bit-by-bit the lineup started leaking to the masses. This year's headliners include Jack Johnson, Portishead, and Roger Waters (performing Dark Side of the Moon).

Can I just say that while it's exciting that Portishead is coming to the desert, it's a bummer that they are headline material? They would be a great warmup for an amazing headliner (i.e. how Pixies into Radiohead worked in '04). And the other two are pure throw-aways for me.

With this festival, it's typical that the second-tier acts and anything less than that make due for an amazing event. In past years, Air, the Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Bloc Party, etc. often made the biggest impressions on show-goers because of their standing in the music community or because of the strength of their set. This time around, there are definitely some strong acts, but nothing that makes you want to really fly five hours to California. I love some of the bands playing this year (Stars, Metric, the Breeders, Spiritualized, Les Savy Fav), but their presence at Coachella doesn't make me want to get on a plane and jump across three time zones for an abbreviated set in the desert.

I don't know, maybe it's damned maturity or something, but this year doesn't do that much for me. Maybe it's also because there's the completely uneven scale of "Hawaii vs. Coachella"... or, better yet, "HONEYMOON vs. Coachella, Round Five". Thanks for trying, Goldenvoice, but I'll have a little faith in your so-called "All Points West" (website down at the moment) festival that is apparently slated to run in New Jersey's Liberty State Park in August.

Either way, have a look at the Coachella 2008 poster and see what you think of this lineup.



Weddings-r-Us!
With less than a month before the wedding, things have actually calmed down for a change. We're waiting on responses to boomerang back to Georgia and then time to freak out in a couple more weeks and then, just like that, we're hitched! I can't wait. This is something we've worked towards for 4+ years and, while things aren't exactly how we planned them to be by now, the timing couldn't be any better. I'm just glad that this is all happening and I'm with the best girl possible. I really don't know who else would put up with my schtick for this long and, now, a lifetime. Crazy how these things work out, eh?

Fixation Focus?
To a milder extent, the Fixation Focus returns. Since the end of July, I've seen this band start it up and play a few gigs. They're like nothing I've heard from the Atlanta area and they are just great people that are doing this. The band is Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun and you should definitely keep a lookout for them in 2008. Described to me as "indie-guitar-electro-fuzz rock", this band is completely awesome. They've already opened for The Comas, Great Northern, Fiction Plane (Sting's son's band), and IAMX and are poised for more recognition. They are currently putting down tracks for a seven-song EP that will probably get out there in April or May (fingers crossed!). They have a show at the Star Bar in Atlanta on March 1st, so definitely mark that on your calendar and be ready for a complete aural assault!

Fixation Focus: Radiohead

I mean, really, does anything else need to be said about this band? I just got home after a nite out on the town (i.e. Wal-mart) and discovered that Radiohead's seventh LP, In Rainbows, was emailed to me just as prescribed.

After all of the hub-ub about how they are screwing over the record industry by releasing an album themselves, how they are not charging a thing for a pre-release download, how they are not DRMing it (meaning you can burn it as much as you want, there are no restrictions) - after everything that was said in the past 10 days, the "finished" product is finally here. There was no doubt in my mind that I had to stay awake until it was in my inbox. I was dragging home on the drive, but I never forgot about what potentially waited for me. While I was all sleepy-eyed minutes ago, as soon as the zipped file finished its business and In Rainbows opened in iTunes, I knew I was set for the next hour or whatever it takes for this album to finish playing.

I really feel like I'm a part of something special right now because of the hoopla surrounding this release.

For those who aren't into this, here's the deal. One of the world's mega-bands, without being a "mega-band", Radiohead, announced last week that their seventh album, In Rainbows, was complete and ready for the world. As a result, the band, without a record deal right now, decided to take everything into their own hands. On their website, they let anyone pay whatever they want for the download that would take place 10 days later.

Twenty dollars? Ten? Fifty cents? Nothing?! Any way you want it, you can have it. Completely unprecedented. I mean, we're talking about RADIOHEAD here - like this was really that unexpected. Sure, the concept is just nutty, but leave it to the wackiest band in the universe to do something like this.

Now that October 10th has arrived, the album is here. I'm currently on track five, "All I Need", and with the first four tracks (as well as this one, apparently), I'm taken aback. Maybe it's the drowsiness, maybe it's the fact that I haven't been this excited about a release like this EVER because, actually, there hasn't quite been a release like this, well, EVER. Either way, this is just an incredible listen at 355AM.

The Left of Center channel on Sirius (channel 26) has been prepping this record for the past week, saying that throughout this week, they will feature tracks from In Rainbows. Well, sorry LoC and Sirius - as much as I love ya, you're taking a backseat for a few days, possibly weeks.

Certainly there is more to come on this topic. Let's face it, it's all I'll hear and read about for the next few days/weeks/months, so I'm definitely gonna write my fair share on the matter. This blog was once devoted to my indie music after all!

FIxation Focus: Fields

C'mon, let's face it here, kids - anything posted on here relating to music in the next few months is more-likely-than-not going to be affiliated with the much-loved, desired, envied, cherished Coachella Festival. And, it so happens that this is one of those posts!

After getting a few listens on Left of Center (Sirius 26) of "Song for the Fields" and "Heretic", I gave Fields a shot and obtained a copy of their EP, "7 from the Village". What I found on that EP is that, even though those two tracks definitely stick out, it has a sound that's kind of on its own. I've always been terrible with trying to classify things or grouping anything into specific genres, only because I listen to what I think is good. There's no need to go about the whole, uh, "proto-post-electroclash-punk" thing with labelling anything. I'm tired of it, and I've always been like that with regard to genres.

But with that all aside... geez...



It's just a nicely textured EP with some tracks that really live out the "Fields" name. For once, there's a band name that actually suits the music well. And maybe that was the intention? From their bio on their website:

...the pastoral idea behind Fields was something that was there from the onset. "I like the idea of having the folky pastoral elements, like the name," says [singer, keys, guitar - Nick Peill]. "But on the other hand it can be quite ambiguous, like fields of white noise, or static. That's what I was trying to allude to.

"Song for the Fields" starts out as something rather quiet, then really gets rolling and kinda makes you feel like you've gone back in time to some other period in your life when things just moved at a rapid pace... and then stopped. The rest of the EP isn't that momentous, but it does give a good taste of what's expected of the band in the future.

What's also worth noting about the band is that they are comprised of different backgrounds, as noted on their myspace. While most of the band is from London and/or Birmingham, UK, vocalist Thorunn Antoni is from Iceland and I'm sure that her input plays a role into the sound of the band. You can certainly pick up on the winter vibes that this band exudes.

With that EP as their first release, their debut full-length, Everything Last Winter, is released on April 3 (in the States) through Atlantic Records, I'm assuming.

Fields plays Coachella '07 on Saturday, April 28.

website: http://www.fieldsband.com/
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/fieldsband