This is a special EP of tracks that were left off of
previous albums or demo tracks that fans are clamoring for. The EP was released
in 2011 but I have yet to see my copy of the EP. From what I have read, the
physical disc will be in the mail on March 1, 2012. The company that is putting
this out is called Pledge Music (
www.Pledgemusic.com).
The company puts out direct-to-fan music. The EP cost eight bucks but a certain
number of people need to buy the EP before it would be made. This EP met that
mark and then some. There are five tracks that are included on this EP. Two
demo tracks of previously released songs, Kountry Gentlemen and Numb. This
version of Kountry Gentlemen is a little bit layed back than the version on
their first album. It is not so in your face. Conversely, the demo version of
Numb is just a bit more in your face. I like both of these songs and hearing
slightly different versions of them is just delightful. Then three unreleased
tracks one of which is very rare and never before recorded. Those tracks are:
the frequently sought after Color of Water and Master of Disguise. Color of
water is a great track about what life is like after finding God. Master of
Disguise is just a fun song to me. I think there is a meaning but it is not
staring me in the face. The last track is the super rare (until this was
released anyway) Gold, this track on the slow side for FF5. They have written
tracks like this in the recent past. There is a track like this on their last
album III. This song references what the city that God intends to bring down to
the earth after the judgment of all happens.
This EP was released in the fall of 2011. It supports the
Codes and Keys full length album that was previously released in 2011. The EP
consists of seven remixed tracks from Codes and Keys. Each track was remixed by
a different person or group of electronic indie artists. The first track, Some
Boys (RAC Maury Mix), is by far the best on the whole disc. For me this track
gains with the minimalist 80s drums and live bass line with cool synth stabs
from the key boards that are used over the top of the track. It keeps the DCFC
sound over all and that is what I like best about the track. The second track,
Doors Unlocked and Open (Cut Copy Remix), was not officially released as a
single but was the first released in the seven weeks previous to the official
release of the EP. This remix stinks of late 90s techno music. There is nothing
original on this track. Because of this it brings me a nostalgic feeling at the
same time. I loved techno music from the 90s. The third track is called Your
Are A Tourist (The 2 Bears Remix). They really lost me with this track. This
track sounds good until the vocals start up. They have been pitch adjusted up
from Ben Gibbards normal tone. This is a major part of the sound of DCFC. The
song is completely wrong because of this. The next track, Underneath The
Sycamore (Dillon Francis Remix), has n awesome saw tooth bass line but the high
part sounds like one of those credit card sized keyboards. Again, I don’t get
why anyone would do this to such good music. The fifth track, Unobstructed
Views (Unicorn Kid Remix), uses sounds from the 90s techno era as well as using
sounds from the 8bit music craze that has been happening in the underground for
a few years now. The two sounds kind of clash though and the track falls short
because of this. I am sure that you can see where the rest of this EP is going.
I can’t recommend this EP to the fans of DCFC let alone the average music
enthusiast. It is not even mentioned on the DCFC Wikipedia web page. Other than
the first track on the EP don’t even bother.
This is the first single released from Frankie Rose. It was
released as a green 7” from Slumberland Records in 2009. It is a little known
sinlge. The A side of this single, Thee Only One, is a super distorted track
that is so fantastic. The song is very simple and smacks of the surf sounds
back in the day. The B side of this single, Hollow Life, is also found on the
album Frankie Rose and The Outs. It is a slow track that uses vibey pipe organ
and echo/reverb on the vocals. It is a very pretty track.
This is the first single in support for the new album,
Interstellar. This song is super 80s shoe-gazer sounding. It has classic 80s
pop drums and a simple bass line. There is something really special about her
voice on this track mixed with the lead guitar. It is so sweet, like candy. I
could listen to just this track for hours. On the flip side to this 7” is a
remix of Know Me by Le Chev. This remix somehow makes the A side of this 7”
even better, enhancing the drums to a mid 80s electric drum kit with classic
sounding synth bass part. The track seems to have been slowed down but the
vocals are still the same. This track makes that sweet candy into your favorite
sugar based candy like Fun Dip or Lik-M-Aid or something like that. It is just
too perfect. I couldn’t believe that they could make something perfect better
but they did somehow with this remix! As a side note, the 7” is ivory and gray.
It is a very pretty record indeed.
This is the first and only album that Frankie Rose has done
with The Outs. It was released in 2010. There was no official singles released
from the album but the first song from the album was released as the B side for
Thee Only One. Her web site has the track Candy up on the music page. I found
out about this album because of the new 7” single for the song Know Me. This album has a
different feel from Know Me. It is more crystallized it seems to me.
It still has that surf sound that I like with the use of the reverb and echo
pedals all over the music. Still enjoyable but a little bit bright too. This is
another Slumberland Records release. They have been putting out some great
music over the past few years for sure. They are responsible for my third
favorite band, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart amongst other lesser favorites
including Veronica
Falls and Gold-Bears.
Keep it up SLR!
This is the second album from Justice. It was released in
the fall of 2011. This album is not as poppy as the first album was. I was a
little bit disappointed about this on the first listen of the album. I quickly
got over this problem though. The other thin that I had a problem with about
this album was that it sounded so much like the electronica that I was
listening to in the early to mid 2000s. I kept thinking to myself that if I
wanted that sound I could just go back to those albums that I was listening to
at that time. But I kept listening to the album anyway. It started to grow on
me. There are only a few tracks with actual lyrics on them too. This seems to
limit the album with the release of singles. I want the group to be recognized
by the masses because I like electronic music and want it to stick around for a
while. There have been three singles released from this album since its
release. The first single is called Civilization. This track is filled with
sounds that Daft Punk have used on the album Human After All. That being said,
the track is still a lot of fun. I actually wish that Daft Punk had made more
music like this. It is just kind of weird that another band has taken on that
sound. The next single, Audio, Video, Disco, is the title track for the album.
It is also the last track on the album. This track seems to be the lame track
on the album. It moves along but it drags at the same time. It could be the way
that the vocals are done or it could be just me. It doesn’t help that the
length of the track is listed at over ten minutes. This is misleading because
there is a bonus track at the half way point of the track. The bonus track
isn’t that great either so it isn’t helping the song along. The third single is
called On’n’on. This track has what I have been looking for from this album. It
is a darker album but this track has a very cool bump and the lyrics are kind
of fun. The lyrics go, as the song title says, on and on but it is done is such
a way that you don’t want the song to end. I am not sure that I would recommend
this album to anyone but if you are into electronic music give it a shot.
This is the seventh album from Nada Surf. It was released
just a few weeks ago, 2012. This is a great new album from the group. They did
not do anything drastically new on this album. Some times I just want more from
what is expected though, this album delivers exactly that. The album starts off
with a great track called Clear Eye Clouded Mind. The chorus for the track uses
the title of the album. The song is a great loud buzzing track that reminds me
of the late 90s power rock. The second track on the album, Waiting For
Something, was released as a single and a free download before the album was
released. The song has a sound that reminds me of Weightless from the previous
album Lucky but with more energy. I think that this could be said about the
album as a whole. It has more energy than most of their previous albums. This
is a good thing but I also don’t think that there is enough uniqueness to put
them over the top and be recognized by more than the underground. That being
said, I really like this album. It is not an album that I would fall asleep to
but one that I could enjoy while reading. The second single, When I Was Young,
which was released, was also released as a free download. This song reminds me
of the first track from their album Let Go called Blizzard of 77’. Both songs
talk about thins that have happened in their past and have the same slowed down
tempo. I think that they give me a nostalgic feeling at the same time. The last
important thing about this album is that if you had bought it at your local
record shop there was a free 5 track acoustic EP to go with the record. On top
of that there is a free B-side, The Meaning of It All, which is available at
the NPR web site. This bonus track is an acoustic only track that has the sound
of another track from Let Go called Fruit Fly. This is a great album that I
hope gets more listens not only from me but from all of you out there.
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