Slumberland Records has announced that they will be
releasing the first single from the new Pains of Being Pure At Heart album. I
jumped off my seat with excitement after hearing this news.
The Wizard Of Oz will have a soundtrack pressing for Record Store Day in emerald green vinyl. It is an interesting release.
Here we go...
This is a greatest hits album from the group. It was
released on the 25th of March. It features an unreleased track as
the lead of song on the album. The last three tracks on the album are the rare
Attic Demos. The album comprises a total of 19 tracks; because of this the
album is a bit too long for me. The album also comes with a DVD of various
video footage of the band.
The previously unreleased track, Fake Your Death, is not my
favorite by any means. It doesn’t have the sound that has made them popular at
all. It is just too grand and arena rock style for me. It is like they were
going for something that was bigger than they actually were. Maybe this is a
part of the problem with the group and why they broke up. They were getting too
big for their britches. Either way the rest of the album is a great walk
through all their big hits.
This single was supposed to be a part of last weeks singles
post but didn’t arrive in time to get it on the post. This is also a picture
disc that has the same type of graphic as the Future Foe Scenarios 7” single.
This one is not limited by number though. It was only released in the UK
though. The song was released as a single nearly a year after the album it
comes from was released.
The song Well Thought Out Twinkles is probably one of my favorites from the group. The
song is filled with controlled distortion. It is a very fast track that I can
listen to over and over again. All I can really say about this song is listen
to it and you will probably agree that it is one of the best underground hits
ever.
The B-side is a slower song called Mercury. This is another
track that doesn’t seem to go anywhere. it is a good slow song but doesn’t keep
my interest. The drums are simple, the bass is repeating and there really isn’t
a hook in the song that keeps my interest.
I cant say that this single is a necessary item to get. The
album that the song comes from, Carnavas is more worth your time.
Black Hearted Brother have a new digital only EP out as of
the first of April.
I actually preordered this EP from Amazon. This is the first
time I had ever preordered a digital anything ever. I felt kind of dumb
preordering a digital album because it is not like they will be out of a
digital product ever. This leads me to what I wish would have happened. I wish
they would have released this EP at least on CD so I could have had a physical
copy, even if it was on CDr.
Anyway, the EP features an edited version of Got Your Love
from the album The Stars Are Our Home.
It also features a non-album track called Don’t Take The
Weight. It is a slower track that keeps with the theme of the album with the
synth sounds and drum hits. The tone of the vocals fits very well with the
music. It actually reminds me of the way that Damon Albarn sings on the slower
Blur tracks. It is very relaxing and the sounds that swirl around the vocals
are dizzying and intoxicating.
The last two tracks are remixes of Got Your Love and are
very long. The first of the two remixes, Ricardo Tobar remix, has a lot of
noise and becomes distracting and hard to listen to, not my favorite. The
second of these two remixes, Ultramarine remix, comes off as somehow more of a
shoegaze sound than the original. It is pure genius. The vocals have a spacious
echo on them that sounds like your taking a walk through a heavy mist in the
forest. The echo on the drum sound adds to the feel. The piano part rings out
clear as day and gives me the feel that the sun is about to come out and burn
back the mist. I really like this remix and hope that there will be more from
black hearted brother in the future. It is hard to say as the members have
their hands in so many other pots.
As I have found out after getting this album, this is not
the band named Weekend that Slumberland Records have been supporting. Instead
this is a band called Weekend that originally released music in the early 80’s.
I will admit that I was suspicious that Slumberland’s Weekend had even been
together in 81’. I had not found anything on Discogs about this release until
after I got it in the mail. Once I had gotten the album and listened to it I
was very happy. The music has a light sound that is reminiscent of today’s
indie music. I guess what is old is new again. This is the first time that
these select songs have been released on vinyl. This set of songs has been
previously been released on CD and had also been tacked on to a reissue of the
groups first album, La Varieté.
The first track on
the album is called Drumbeat. The lyrics don’t come in until the last half of
the song and are vary sparse. They are very pretty though and are like a light
snow on a frozen landscape. The music is also sparse, the drums are electronic
but the guitar is smooth and sexy.
The second track,
Red Plaines, reminds me of the tiki music that was popular back in the day.
There are no lyrics to this song and this actually works to some extent. The
riff is repeated a bit too often for me. It is a good song but I wish it was a
bit shorter.
The third track is
called Nostalgia. This track has a similar feel as the previous track except it
has lyrics. The vocals are very pretty again with this track. I also like the
muted guitar part. This song fits a style that I really like.
The last track is
called Summerdays (Instrumental). This track is very long and if you have no
interest in music that runs into and loops over itself this may not be the
track for you. This nine minutes of smooth music that works very well for me.
The vocals only add to the song but I could just as easily due without them.
All in all, this
demo album is very nice. If you’re into 80s or current independent music this
may be the album for you.
With the announcement of a new album from The Black Keys, a
new single has been released called Fever. You can get an instant download with the preorder
from The Black Keys web page. The song is fun and takes the group in a new
direction. The first time I heard the song I was a bit hurt because it was not
the sound that I was expecting from them. On further listens I have opened up
to the idea that they can branch out into different avenues of old school blues
music and use keyboards in a star roll for example. The song lets the bass take
the lead for the most part on this track too. I think that Danger Mouse taking
the producer position helps to advance this group in those new ways again. I am
very excited to get my hands on this album when it is released!
That is all for now...
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