Friday, November 8, 2013

Vol. 4 Episode 48




This is the last post until Thanks Giving (49). I started my holiday position where I work last Monday. I tried to plan this so that I would not need to post much through November and December. I will also have a Christmas (50) post and a best of post for the New Year (50.5) before the year is out. Happy holidays!

Remember, Record Store Day Black Friday is coming up. There is only one or two items that interest me but you can be sure that they well be on the thanks giving episode! It will be up on Saturday or Sunday of that weekend.



Here we go...


This new single for Broken Toy was released this past Tuesday (October 22, 2013). I think that this is the last single that will be taken from the album Waiting For Something To Happen because the next single to be released will be the tour only single for their up coming tour in Japan and Australia. By the way, all of the Japan dates have already sold out. Unless you are a compleatist, like me, this single is not really needed. The A side, broken toy, can obviously be found on the album. Also, the B side, If You Still Want Me (Bedroom Demo), has a studio version on the album too.

The A side, Broken Toy, is a sweet song about people being human and having flaws. The band likens this flaw in humanity to a broken toy. It is very cute and sweet to think that someone would think to say that the person they like is a broken toy but to then turn it around and say that they are also broken but broke in such a way that they were broke only for them.

The B side, If You Still Want Me (Bedroom Demo), some how sounds better than the studio version. The track sounds like they are in my room here with me. Where as the studio version you can tell they are in the studio and it is a recording. It all has to do with the acoustics of the room that you record in I guess. I have to say that I like this recording better than the studio version. I would like it very much if they would record more music like this. It just seems more mellow and rounded on the edges.


This is an EP that was released on white vinyl from Slumberland Records and on clear vinyl through Tough Love Records. The EP was released in October of 2013. Both of these records have three tracks only. The download has seven tracks. The records do not have a download to get any of these tracks. I was a bit disappointed when I learned this but I still got the record and the download. I like that the cover pays homage to the new David Bowie album though. With the record the tracks are Third Uncle (Brian Eno cover) on the A side. On the B side are  The New Life (David Holmes Remix) and Projektions (Gabe Gurnsey Factory Floor Remix). With the download you get an additional new track called Visions and a mess of other remixes.

Slumberland Records has this posted on their web page about the three tracks on the record, “With the artwork making a playful nod to Bowie's latest record, it's not surprising that the EP should see the band experiment with the sonic make up of their last album. On the A side is a cover version of Brian Eno's 'Third Uncle.' Recorded in August of this year, it is the first recorded Girls Names track to feature new drummer Gib Cassidy and offers a telling glimpse at what creative steps the band may next take. On the flip are two incredible remixes of tracks taken from the sister record. The first is by producer/composer/dance don legend David Holmes, who lends a somewhat European elan to the titular track. The second sees Gabe Gurnsey from Factory Floor add his band's characteristic dance floor focus to Girls Names' motorik groove, turning in something that jitters and pulses in a manner befitting of any track attributed the Factory Floor moniker.”

The first track on the download of this EP is called Visions. I think this track is just as good as the Eno cover, Third Uncle. The song reminds me a lot of Joy Division. I feel this way not only because of the vocals but because of the bass lead track. The guitars seem to slide all over the song giving it a sticky oily feel that I have never heard on any song. It is really unique.

The reason for the EP in the first place is for their cover of the song Third Uncle. Girls names to a fantastic cover of this song. This song is somehow richer sounding than the original. I think that the clarity has increased and getting rid of some of the noise that was recorded on the original helped this cover version a lot. This is one of my favorite songs that has been released this year for sure.


This single has been re-released through Sony Music/Sign Of The Times in October of 2013. The single was originally released on 7” in early 2012. I am tired of hearing that she has released the new single Youth when it is over a year and a half old. And again, it is very disappointing if you release a single and only include a bunch of remixes of the same song. At least Girls Names had the decency to have two original songs and include remixes of other songs. Now that the rant of over, I actually like the remixes on this EP a lot. Each one is different and unique from the others even though all five songs are from the same song.

I talked about the song, Youth, in Vol. 3 Episode 33. Here is what I said about the song when it was first released, “[Youth] starts out with her vocals only with the music fading in slowly. There are lots of synth strings and a low under current bass line and light drums. It builds into a bass driven track with glitch drums that sound really good. The song drops this all off with only her vocals about half way through the song. The piano comes in slowly and then everything picks back up. It is a great song with great song craftsmanship in my opinion.”

This digital remix EP comes with three remix versions of the song and a radio edit version of the song. My favorite of the three remixes is the one called the Seamus Haji Remix. Based on other reviews this seems to be the most popular version with other fans too. It has a very big bass line/beat. The song is done in modern dance styles with old skool techno influences. It is a lot of fun to listen to with the distorted but rounded bass line. It would be very cool to hear this song in a dance venue.

The other version that I like is the Danny Howard Remix. It is a bit noisier than the Seamus Haji mix but still holds my interest. I guess it is more dub step with some of the noises that are used. It sounds really cool I think.

This is a live EP from the iTunes Festival in London of this year. It was mastered for iTunes. There are six tracks on the EP all from the new album except for the last two. Track five is Festival from Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust and track six, Varúð, from Valtari. I read the reviews before I bought the EP that are up on iTunes (there are two). One loved the Music and the other disliked the mix of the EP a lot. I thought that was odd since something that was put out by a music company should be good, right? Was I wrong. After listening to the EP I found that the whole recording sounds like it was recorded with a cassette then converted to MP3. This is one of the worst mixes I have ever heard from anything that Sigur Rós has ever put out. On top of that there is a lack of bass in a specific frequency range through all of the songs too. I listen to Brennisteinn not only for the music but to also feel the bass line hit me in the chest. It just doesn’t come close with this mix. I will give them some leeway with the song being a live version but I saw them play this song live when they came to my home town and it sounded nothing like this recorded version. I think iTunes has a long way to go before they get there mixing of music down right. People want full sound for all systems, not just for headphones. I am, on the other hand happy that the band was able to play for this special month long set of concerts and that other people got to hear them in their full sonic glory.

That is all I have til the next holiday...

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