Jivewired will have representatives at this year's Fun Fun Fun Music Fest in Austin, TX November 4 - 6, 2011. The following videos feature performers from this year's fest that garner rotational airplay on Jivewired Radio.
01. "Midnight City" by M83
That pervasive dedication to heart-swelling drama is M83's gift: No one is better, or more single-minded, when it comes to evoking dream-pop awe. Over the course of two discs, 22 songs, and 72 minutes, Gonzalez sings mostly about memories (occasionally unintelligibly), but refuses to accept that some dramatic gifts don't necessarily have to be exhausting.
Still, the album is full of goose-bump moments: Zola Jesus' majestic vocal cameo on "Intro"; the radiant keyboard riff and blooming melody of "Steve McQueen"; and the glistening white noise of "Echoes of Mine," which is even more splendid than the song called "Splendor." -- Spin Magazine
02. "Utopia & Dystopia (The Earth Is On Fire" by Yacht
Shangri-La continues YACHT's trajectory from blips and bloops that suggest their computerized origins to a full-fledged band sound that should translate nicely to hedonistic live shows. But the duo's sense of, well, fun hasn't gone anywhere. See Mystery Lights' nods to T-Pain and Desmond Dekker gives way to an end-times synth workout "Dystopia (The Earth Is on Fire)", which shares a seven-minute video with the tropical-flavored disco-punk of album opener "Utopia". -- Pitchfork Magazine
03. "Palomino" by Mates Of State
Mountaintops brings on an immediate sigh of relief: Its opening minutes are not just a return to form, but one of the most zinging 1-2 punches in the band's catalogue to date. "Palomino" is celestial pop with a chorus as big as the sky, and the warped synth groove of "Maracas" is irresistibly catchy. Suffice to say that if you don't get "Maracas", you don't really get this band, because it manages to cram almost every single reason the Mates are such a perennially charming guilty pleasure into a single song: holler-along lyrics that don't make a lick of sense ("Wooo-oooh/ Syncopated breathing!"), posi-energy to burn, and even a totally gratuitous Queen Latifah reference for good measure ("I've got your back/ U-N-I-T-Y!"). But if you can see past its feel-good vibe, "Maracas" also hints at the record's overall thematic maturity. -- Pitchfork Magazine
04. "Wake And Be Fine" by Okkervil River
Will Sheff's a gifted lyricist and his melodies have always been sneakier than they appear upon first listen, which makes the transition from a cut like “The Valley,” with its motor-mouthed, electro-apocalyptic pulse, into the late-night, Bowie-esque soul jam “Piratess” feel surprisingly natural. Elsewhere, stand-out cuts, such as the soaring “Rider,” the lovely and languid “Hanging from a Hit,” the ramshackle “Your Life as a Blast,” and the rousing first single “Wake and Be Fine” stand up to anything on 2007’s near-classic Stage Names, and while they may not share that record’s remarkable sense of place, they each confidently occupy a space of their own making. -- allmusic.com
05. "Whirring" by The Joy Formidable
Here, you see, is a band that have ended up sounding stadium-ready by default; their music may be massive but the intentions and emotions beneath it are firmly rooted in the ground. Like The Breeders’ shoegaze-obsessed offspring, the trio have found themselves somewhere that embraces pop and then throws it into a pit of reverb and makes it squall for mercy. It’s big but it’s certainly clever, and at a time when Arcade Fire, a band who by their own admission have “never had a hit record”, can sell out arenas on pure levels of heart and guts alone, then surely The Joy Formidable have everything to aim for. Hear them roar. -- NME.com
06. T-Bird & The Breaks "Live At Stubb's 10/31/2010"
T Bird and the Breaks’ debut LP, "Learn About It" is a fantastic burst of Memphis-tuned, white-boy soul. T Birds’ ballads drive with a southern suavity and plenty of strutting grooves and sexed up lyrics that make the album irresistible. Opener “Two Tone Cadillac” is the closest Crane gets to channeling James Brown, yelping out in his gruff vocals, “Gonna shake my stick at something sweet tonight!” atop a punchy, steady rhythm. The horns blaring in the background strike the perfect tone, but it’s the female backing chorus that really lifts T Bird beyond the typical soul revival fare. The trio of Sasha Zoe, Stephanie Hunt, and Jazz Mills serves to both accentuate and counter Crane’s come-ons with their own subtle power. -- Austin Sound
07. "Trails" by Asobi Seksu
Chaos reigns supreme on Fluorescence’s catchy lead single “Trails”. Irresistible hooks and a groove more reminiscent of early post-punk than shoegaze give Loveless-era a pop makeover, as Chikudate’s voice switches back and forth between vulnerably delicate and forcefully soaring. “My Baby” and “Perfectly Crystal” shift away from much of the feedback in favor of an immaculate synth pop sound flavored with the sweetness of ’60s girl groups. -- Consequence Of Sound
08. "Honey Bunny" by Girls
The record comes alive with color and personality largely thanks to Girls' singer and songwriter Christopher Owens. He has a preternatural gift for turning clichés into into deeply affecting songs, and as they jump from one style to the next, from delicate acoustic balladry to noisy rave-ups, Owens' voice and point of view ground the record and make it distinctive. He is the center. As long as he is writing and singing, no matter what else is going on and being referenced, the music will be utterly his. -- Pitchfork Magazine
09. "Here Sometimes" by Blonde Redhead
For a real patriot of music who fancies synth pop and trip hop as much as progressive, Penny Sparkle delivers gratification of an equal caliber. Though many die-hard fans were dismal about 2007′s 23, where the usually eccentric outfit sound warm and cordial, the altering moods and sparkles of this record will ultimately sway their convictions. Enlisting the Subliminal Kid (Fever Ray, Glasser) as producer, the trio of Kazu Makino and Simone & Amedeo Pace were keen on creating an entirely new sound on this LP and they’ve succeeded. -- Pretty Much Amazing
10. "Bottled In Cork" by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
The name Ted Leo on the spine of a CD is like a trademark of consistency. Before the first note cuts through the air, you know what you are going to get. It’s been this way since his time with Chisel back in the mid-'90s, and it’s no different on this first record for Matador, 2010’s The Brutalist Bricks. Leo and his band display the expected high level of passion as they run through a batch of consistently strong power pop-influenced, punk-tinged rock & roll songs, never dialing back to anything less than nine or so. Even the quiet songs, of which there are a couple, seethe with barely suppressed feelings and rage. Anyone thinking that the regime change in the U.S. that took place between this and Leo’s previous album have tempered his anger at the system would be dead wrong. Leo’s typically knotty and sometimes hard-to-decode lyrics rail against the kind of troubles and injustices a new Administration, even one more in line with Leo’s ideals, can’t just wipe away. -- allmusic.com
Friends. Music. Life.™
0 comments:
Post a Comment