I have found out that there will be a 7" single released for the new Veronica Falls album. They are also going to put out a second covers EP through Rough Trade. This will be limited to 300 vinyl pressings but will be available on CD too.The box set for the Death Cab For Cutie Barsuk Years has been pushed back about a month.
I am waiting to hear information about the new Golden Grrrls and Weekend albums. Also waiting for more information about Man or Astro-Man? single Vol. 3 and forthcoming album.
Here we go...
This is the first release from Poliça. It was released in early 2012. I avoided this album because it
was pushed so hard by internet and radio. It wasn’t until I heard the track
that was included on 89.3 The Current/Local Current CD that I had any interest
(This does mean that they are a Minnesota
band). The song Wandering Star was included on the disc. Then, last fall when
The Current put out Live Current Vol. 8 they included the track The Maker. That
was the track that made me buy the album. I did not actually get the album
though until 2013 (I had to hear the two tracks a few more times before I made
the purchase). I have been very happy with the purchase too. If you get the
album get it on vinyl as you get the download of the album plus a remix EP
included with the download. These remixed tracks are not included with the CD.
The group is made up
of two drummers, a bassist and a vocalist/keyboardist/programmer. The one thing
that I don’t get about the group is that the vocalist uses auto-tune on all of
her vocals. She has such a pretty voice and good control of her voice that she
doesn’t need it at all. I can understand the echo that she uses though. It
gives it that electronic/space feel that they are going for.
The singer had this
to say about the name of the group, pulled from Wikipedia, “According to
Channy Leaneagh, Polica is Polish for "policy", and she sees it as a
reference to an unwritten code that guides the members when they play together,
as well as its work ethic. The name appears to be a loose derivation, as there
is no "ç" in Polish alphabet. There is a similar word
"polisa", that literally means "insurance policy" in
Polish, in particular – the contract document itself.”
There have been a few tracks that the radio has been
playing. I don’t think that there has been an official single released though.
The first track, Amongster, from the album has always hit me. It starts off
with a super distorted saw toothed wave that rips at your hearing. The bass
kicks in and punches you in the chest. It is a slow song but hits hard. The
vocals swim over the top of all of this in outer space like beauty. It is a
great song that deserves a chance even if you are not a fan of distortion.
The second track, The Maker, is the reason that I bought the
album. The electronic bass line is simple and pulls you in just on its
simplicity. It is a three note progression that floats between the set so
easily. Then the bass guitar kicks in and makes the song so beat worthy it is
ridiculous. The double drum kit gives the song the climax that it needs at the
end. The vocals float over the whole thing like the ebb and flow of the ocean
on a beach. It is hauntingly beautiful.
The last song that has been played on the radio is called
Wandering Star. This song has the pace of Amongster. It is slow but not super
slow. The vocals are pretty much the same as the whole album but the bass
guitar pushes artistic boundaries of what has become the norm for rock music. It
is refreshing to hear a bassist that can and does play to the best of his
ability.
This is a very good album and I would recommend it to any
one who is interested in electronic, shoegaze or R&B.
This EP came with the vinyl download for the album Give You
The Ghost. There are five remix tracks in this EP. You can download the EP from the likes of amazon.com and get an additional remix of The Maker. There is a remix of
Amongster by Exitmusic that has this super low bass note that lingers. It is a
very amazing sound if you have speakers that can handle it. This is one of my
favorite tracks from the album. This remix simplifies the drum track with
electronic drums. The addition of the bass line helps the song too.
There are also three different remixes of Dark Star. The
first is done by Hype Jones Beastmode. It is really a dub step version of the
song. I am a big fan of dub step remixes. This version does not hold back and
kicks hard when it drops. This version makes use of a really cool oscillating
distorted wave that you can feel as it goes through the chord changes. The
second version, remixed by Marco Hawk, is a classic 90s style dance track. It
is a four on the floor beat. This style is what I use to love from techno in
the 90s. It is cool but now cliché at the same time. The third version of the
track is actually the radio Edit version of the song. This version is really
just a cut up version of the song. The album version is five minutes long where
as this version is only three minutes long. There is also the addition of horns
in the song making this version somewhat more appealing to the general public.
The last song in this remix EP is called Lay Your Cards Out
remixed by Alluxe. This remix has a big bass drum hit that sounds very cool.
The snare on the other hand leaves something to be desired. I also love the
strings that have been added to the track. It is a pretty remix that has become
popular with the new indie music scene. Reference the Radiohead remix series
TKOL 1234567.
This is the fifth album from Pinback. It was released in
2012. I wasn’t really sure about this album. I hadn’t heard any thing from the
album when it was released. I decided to take a chance with it on the merit of
their fourth album, Autumn of The Seraphs. This album is not as good as Autumn
but still a good album on its own. There are elements of style that I now
understand are their sound after listening to this album. I think this album
has a little bit of growing to do for me before it means as much as Autumn has
come to mean. There were a couple of different color variants for the vinyl
release. I did not get either of them. I did get a copy of the album on
vinyl though and am happy with that much. I am sure that you could get copies
of the color variants on Discogs.
There were three singles released from this album. The first
is the first track from the album called Proceed To Memory. The song title
relates directly to the album title which points directly to the computer world
that we live in. The song is very smooth with a slow build that brings tension
to the song. It is very nicely done. The song is about human memories that fade
with time until all you have is the memory of having the memory but not knowing
what the original memory was. It is a sad idea really.
The second single released from the album is called His Phase. This track has a different sound than I am use to from the group. There
is a slight change in the guitar sound. It kind of reminds me of an R.E.M.
guitar sound. It makes the song come off with a slight country sound. The lyrics
are still splendid and obscure.
The last single released from the album is called Sherman. This track has a
great stutter drum beat. The first part of the song seems to be about digging
yourself in and holing up for the long haul. This is interesting as it reminds
me of WWI. The second half of the song talks about going back and changing your
mistakes. They are both interesting ideas but I am not sure how they relate. It
is still a very good song though.
This is Tender Trap’s third album. It was released in 2010
through Slumberland and Forutna Pop! Some of the members of Tender Trap were in
a previous band that I really like called Heavenly. It has been said that this
group is a return to the sound of Heavenly. I agree with that sentiment. The
songs have an intelligent pop feel that their first band had. I hadn’t been
looking for music from this group but when I was scanning through what
Slumberland had to sell I came across this and the single that was released to
support it. I was at the shop to get something else but how could I say no to
the potential of more great music from members of Heavenly.
The single released from the album is called Do You Want ABoyfriend? I reviewed the single in the end of the year post for 2012 (Vol. 3Episode 50.5). I had this to say about it, “The vocals are just as clever as
what is found in Heavenly I found and the vocals were there too. The same
vocalist for both bands is the reason for this. This group is only a three
piece where as Heavenly was a five piece group. The single, Do You Want A
Boyfriend?, is a funny and clever track listing off the things that a girl
would want in a boyfriend.” I still believe this about the track.
The album as a whole is fun female punk. This is like an
updated version of Heavenly. I will be looking for more music from their
catalog in the future.
This is an EP that was released through Target stores to
promote the Skelanimals line of Halloween Merchandice. The EP was released in
2009. I reciently found a copy of the EP for sale on amazon for a fair price
and still sealed. Not sure where the third party seller got the copy but I am
not complaining. The EP contains five tracks that can be found on their other
albums plus a track that can only be found on this EP called Keep The PartyAlive. It also contains a video for the song Dance Or Die and the Skelanimals
Halloween animated short. The song is very thin compared to what they are
producing today. It is probably mixed to appeal to the children that they are
trying to sell to at Target though.
That is all for now...
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