Vol. 4 Episode 11

I got my copy of the new By Bloody Valentine physical release. Some record stores are carrying a few copies for customers either at no markup or a high markup. If it is more than about 50 bucks you may as well have bought it from the MBV web page (Just so you know).

I have not gotten it, but you can now buy the new DavidBowie album in multiple formats. I am not a fan of the songs I have heard on the radio but I have read reviews that say the singles are the weakest part of the album.

I am very excited to say that the Veronica Falls concert is tonight and I am going to see it. I also want to apologize for the short post here. I have had a excessively busy week.

Here we go...

Bjork – Selmasongs

This was released in 2000. It is her first soundtrack to the movie called Dancer In The Dark. She also stared in this movie playing the part of Selma. The lyrical content of the album is considerably different than what was in the movie. For example: the track Scatterheart has completely different lyrics from what is contained in the movie. Also, points where other actors are singing on other tracks are removed.  This may have happened to prevent spoilers as the album was released weeks prior to the movie release. It could have also been done to make the album flow better. It could have been Bjork being herself. This issue has never been resolved. There are three more songs in the movie that were not included on the album. It is a disappointment that this is the case because all of the music was amazing in the film even though it is a very depressing movie.

There was one single released from this album. That is I’veSeen It All, a duet with Thom Yorke. This version was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song is about coming to terms with going blind. It is a very sad song that uses man made sounds, like a train going across the tracks, and a full orchestra with electronic/synth sounds that Bjork is known for. There are actually three different versions of this song, a version taken from the movie, a version from the soundtrack album and a live version where Bjork sings all of the parts.

This is a very good album but because of the time that this album was released it is very dark. There are a lot of albums that came out in this time that are very dark. This is because the world, more specifically the US, was in a very dark place with the 9/11 crashes. The music from this time is very good but unless you are in the mood for it you may want to keep your distance.

Bleached – Ride Your Heart

This is their first full length album on Dead Oceans Records. It is up for preorder now and will be released on 4-2-13. If it is preordered you get the download as of march 25^th. For some reason I got the download as soon as I preordered it. I did order the deluxe version. This version comes a three inch button and a pair of sunglasses. I am sure that the sunglasses look similar to the style that the lead singers like to ware. There is an extra bonus with the first 50 orders of the deluxe version. You could get a one of a kind Polaroid taken by the band. The preorder is up at the SC Distribution web page, I am sure this is the only way to get the Polaroid, or at your favorite etailer or shops.

There are twelve tracks on the album and, I am very happy to say that there were only two tracks on the album from previous releases. One of those tracks was from the last 7” that they released, Searching Through ThePast. I talked about this track back in Vol. 3 Episode 7. The other was from the Daytrotter session that they did about a year ago (4-23-2012), Looking For A Fight.

Next Stop is the first single from the album. I have not heard anything about there being a physical record or CD single being released yet. I hope that there will be though. The song is a super cool pop punk track that is easy to get along with. The song at times reminds me of something that The Go-Go’s would sing. The song is basically about someone seeing a friend off on a train but still knowing that there will be a next time. I see this as a bitter sweet song, being sad that the friend has to leave but knowing that they will be back to visit again in the future.

Lorelei – Informed by The Future

This was originally a three track EP released by the band. It was originally released as a record in 2003. Since the release of their new album, Lorelei have re-released this EP on the internet (BandCamp) with three additional unreleased tracks making this a six track EP now.

The band had this to say about each of the unreleased tracks:

Let's Burn Our Parachutes - A track we decided to hold back from our upcoming "Enterprising Sidewalks" LP so that we could offer it up here for you. Mixed by Guy Fixsen!

Not The Answer - Track taken from the Slumberland 20th Anniversary CD given away at those shows. If you missed it now is your chance to get this rare track.

Cicada - Recorded in 1991, this track will only be made available here.

The first three tracks, Work Where Chemicals Fall, Deliberate Speed Rupture and Monitor have the same style and sound as these last three tracks. Two of those tracks were from the same time period but Lets Burn Our Parachutes was recorded twenty years after the other five tracks. It is really amazing that they could have the same sound twenty years later.

If your looking for some good indie music for cheap ($6) this is a great place to get a good EP. You can listen to the original three tracks from the EP through the link in the title of the album. You need to buy the EP to hear the new/unreleased tracks.

Golden Grrrls – Golden Grrrls

Just released this week (3-12-13), this is their first full length album. There has not been an official single released from the album. I got my hazy clear copy from Slumberland Records. It is colored like the Violens second release. Slumberland has called it milky clear. I think it is more like when you put a clear vinyl product out in the sun for too long. It kind of gets a haze where you can tell it was once clear but now it is more transparent. It does have a slight yellow/white tint to it though. I was very surprised to see that the album was cut at 45 RPMs. It is a very short album and because of this they cut the album at the better sounding 45. I did have a few problems with the download of the album. You only get one chance to download the album from the supporting website, DropCards. If your browser crashed, like mine did, that is it. There is one saving grace; you can contact their help desk to get the pass code reset. This happened to me over the weekend. I got the album before the release date, so I had to wait until Monday to be able to try the download again. They did have the code reset right away on Monday morning though. There are eleven tracks on the album but they are all so short. There are four songs on this album that were released on other releases that the group has put out. That leaves seven songs that were new. Of those new tracks I had heard two of them on the Slumberland web page. That means that I had heard about half of the album. This wasn’t really a disappointment but it is too bad that they couldn’t come up with all new material. On the other hand those four tracks that were older songs were completely re-recorded for the album. It really makes those tracks more solid than their previous recordings. The original recordings are very thin and crispy. They really did need a good solid recording. I am happy that they were given that opportunity.

This is a very good album that deserves a fair chance. They aren’t the greatest band but they certainly are a fun band.

That is all I have for now...