Black Prairie Live Review

I had the great fortune of winning tickets from Easy Street Records to go see Black Prairie this past Thursday at The Triple Door here in Seattle.  I would have gone to see them regardless, but needless to say, I almost never win anything – so I was incredibly excited.  And the seats were fantastic.  

Like many people, I heard of Black Prairie via The Decemberists, of whom I’ve been a fan for almost ten years now.  Chris Funk (slide guitar, banjo, many other instruments), Nate Query (upright bass), and Jenny Conlee (accordion) are regulars in Black Prairie, but John Moen (drums) is also touring with them and contributed to their newly released CD “A Tear in the Eye is a Wound in the Heart.” So one might expect this band to resemble The Decemberists, but I was pleased to find that their sound and style are completely unique. Jon Neufeld (guitar) and Annalisa Tornfelt (vocals, violin) round out the group.

I’ve been gushing about the concert to my friends all weekend. And when I try to describe Black Prairie’s style, the best I can come up with is gypsy bluegrass, which hopefully doesn’t undeservingly confine what people might expect but rather pique their interest. Some songs miraculously mesh the two genres while others decidedly lean one way or the other. Regardless, there wasn’t a single song that didn’t have my attention. The instrumentation, harmonization, and stylistic qualities kept me hooked for the entire set. Annalisa Tornfelt’s voice is dreamy, and when she broke out a Stroh violin, I goggled at it. That is, until she started playing and I heard how perfectly the sound fit the song (think gramophone, maybe).

They started off the set with their own variation on the theme from the HBO show Game of Thrones, after which they jokingly admitted that they judged the badassness of their songs based on how they sounded while played with the opening credits for the TV series. This confession elicited quite a few laughs from the audience, including myself. The pieces following this ranged from instrumental ones including one written by Nate Query that built up to a raucous and cacophonous climax, to a song that reminded me of the bayou jazz I used to hear in New Orleans, to more vocal-centered songs like “Little Song Bird” and “What You Gave Me”. And let’s not forget the catchy single “How Do You Ruin Me” which you can download for free on their website here

May I just say how incredibly refreshing it is to see a group of such individually accomplished musicians who work together so well – and seem to truly enjoy what they create as a group. They constantly communicated with each other, mostly through eye contact, which is something that I believe shows an elevated level of ensemble. Many modern bands unfortunately lack this level of musicianship. This, in addition to the many positive qualities in Black Prairie’s music, makes me excited and hopeful about their future. I know they will maintain a heavy presence in my music rotation. And hopefully I’ve convinced you to give them a well-deserved listen.

SXSW 2012: Bands Starting with ‘F’

You’ll notice a few “EDIT” comments here. That’s because I wrote 95% of this post a few weeks ago and forgot to post it. My bad. Apologies.

I think I’ve reached a mental stage of acceptance. First was definitely denial. Denial that I wouldn’t be able to get all the way to the ‘Z’ bands. But with SXSW music showcases starting in less than a week (EDIT: SXSW is now over!) and my thesis committee meeting being on the same day (EDIT: it was last week – it went swimmingly)…well, I’ve accepted that i’m not going to finish. This makes me sad, and a bit disappointed in myself. But school is more important right now (says my asian conscience).

But enough about me! More about the music. Well, there isn’t much music for this post. I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in the progression of my posts. Mostly that, well, the number of bands is decreasing. I can’t tell if that’s because I’m being more discerning in what I deem a suitable band for these posts, or if my taste is changing, or there are just fewer bands that I like. Anyway, to my top picks for the ‘F’ bands.

Fallulah
Maria Apetri (stage name Fallulah) is from Copenhagen, Denmark. She sounds MORE THAN A LITTLE like Nanna Fabricius (stage name Oh Land). Guess where Oh Land is from? That’s right. Copenhagen. Maybe it’s the accents, or the vocal style that results from them, but both voices are so distinct and unique in comparison to other singers! I’ll let you compare them for yourself:

Family of the Year
A lot of comparisons are made between this band and the Beatles. I have to be honest, and this may result in some death threats, but I’ve never been a huge Beatles fans, much to the horror of my labmates, who try in vain to trick me into liking a song. I can appreciate the impact the band had on music. I just prefer to listen to other bands. Anyway, this song from Family of the Year features lots of synth (first thing I thought of was Tron soundtrack by Daft Punk – weird) but with rich, dense vocal harmonization.

Fine Frenzy
The song I remember Fine Frenzy (Alison Sudol) for is called “Almost Lover” but it’s so heartwrenchingly sad, I couldn’t bring myself to post it. Instead, a slightly less sad song – but only slightly – is below. She has a fantastic voice and her lyrics really know how to get to you.

SXSW 2012: Bands Starting with ‘E’

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post! Things in my science life have been incredibly busy and it’s still ongoing, although the pressure is slightly less now. So, a new post! My picks from the ‘E’ bands.

Eight and a Half
This band is composed of members from Broken Social Scene and The Stills. I love the juxtaposition of the dreamy voice + the electronic voicing. The video is a bit unsettling but great song

Electric Guest
I REALLY LIKE THIS BAND! Funky and upbeat but very polished. I literally can’t help but dance. I hope they come to Seattle because I will be all over that shit.

Elias Haslinger
This musician is a bit different from previous choices. Definitely falls firmly into the jazz category in the best way possible. Nothing too unapproachable like much modern jazz. I would love to see him perform while drinking a sazerac.
Link here

My choice for the ‘E’ bands: Electric Guest

SXSW 2012: Bands Starting with ‘D’

In the interest of time/trying to get through the bands before SXSW starts, I might not put lengthy descriptions of each band/song. Apologies – I wish i had enough time, but school is a bitch right now. Here we go: my SXSW favorites out of the ‘D’ group!

Dark Dark Dark
Love the drum rhythm in the background. And her voice is fantastic. Dreamy song.

Dead Sara
Not my usual cup of tea. But damn, can these girls rock.

Defining Times
Fantastic. Pulls you in from the first couple seconds.

Delicate Steve
Bizarre instrumentation. Love how the song builds and progresses.

Dry the River
Beautiful, lush harmonies and instrumentation. Haunting.

Dutch Uncles
I have to say a bit more about this band. They’re in a genre called “math pop”. What is math pop? An offshoot of math rock. I think Wikipedia says it best:

“Math rock is a rhythmically complex guitar-based style of experimental rock that emerged in the 1980s and that was very influenced by progressive rock like King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Henry Cow – and 20th century composers such as Steve Reich and John Cage. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), angular melodies, and dissonant chords.”

Wow! Very cool. I can definitely hear the Reich/Cage influences with the serialism-type repeating melody in the background. And the chord progressions are totally unexpected.

YouTube Playlist

SXSW 2012: Bands beginning with ‘C’

These week’s group was difficult to get through. I encountered far more bands in this list that I just flat out didn’t like at all. Others weren’t bad, but weren’t interesting or innovative either. Here are the ones I thought were good enough to give a second listen:

Caged Animals
I found myself humming this song in lab after hearing it. I didn’t even realize what I was humming but damn, the melody is catchy. Great lyrics too:
You brought me to the cinema,
bought me a tarantula,
put them in my camera and shot my heart

Charlene Soraia
This singer-songwriter had the most intriguing music. Maybe I’m just a sucker for singers that insert whole step neighboring embellishments into their melodies. Oh wait, was that a half step passing note? Lovely. Great harmonization too (although you can’t hear it on this live video. Go to her website to hear the full studio version.)

Craft Spells
This dreamy synth pop has lots of reverb and makes me think of summer or lazy weekend drives in the car. From what I’ve sampled, all of Justin Paul Vallesteros’ music has a similar feel. I definitely have to be in the right mood to enjoy this style of music but it puts a smile on my face.

Crystal Antlers
This was the only band I put on the list that I’ve listened to before. But I think they deserve a mention. The band’s history is like something out of a movie: the founding members worked as chimney sweeps for a boss who would buy them music equipment so long as they taught him cover songs. This is probably my favorite song from the group.

Under the recommendation of one of my friends who reads the blog, I’m going to make a YouTube playlist to accompany each post so that you can go straight to that without having to click on each individual video. It also includes songs from each band that were not included in this post, but that I thought were good listening.
YouTube Playlist

Top pick: Crystal Antlers. Caged Animals was a close second.

SXSW 2012: Bands beginning with ‘B’

Okay, there were lot of ‘B’ bands. That doesn’t mean that there were the same proportion of good bands. Also, what is it with bands not posting a song on the SXSW website, their website not working, AND having no YouTube videos? How the hell am I supposed to listen to your music?! Anyway, here we go:

The Balconies
This band reminds me a *bit* of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Mostly in terms of the rhythms. But the female vocalist in The Balconies has a much purer voice, less grungy and grating than Karen O’s. Tons of energy and a driving bass line – they would be fantastic to see live.

The Beautiful View
This group from San Diego sounds more than a little like Franz Ferdinand. But more poppy. And with mediocre production (guitar line is way too prominent). I think they have potential, though. This is a link to their SXSW profile and website. Click on the bar under their picture to hear the song.
The Beautiful View
Website

Big Scary
This duo from Australia is supposedly the only unsigned band at SXSW. They call to mind The White Stripes in terms of instrumentation – Joanna on a simplified drum kit, and Tom singing and playing electric guitar. Definitely not as raw of a sound. And there’s the addition of some prominent piano parts. Really enjoyable.

The Belle Brigade
“Raunchy blues” was how I described this song. They’re listed under the singer/songwriter genre and that is definitely apparent in many of their other songs, which are bordering country/western in sound. I can’t say that’s my style, but I really like the song below.

Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers
First: awesome name. This folk group sounds a tad like Andrew Bird, especially in this song titled Beautiful. The eccentricities of an older man with a prolific beard and a mustachioed dreadlocked man in the corner playing violin (left-handed?) are interesting, to say the least.

The Black Ryder
Can I just say that there are a LOT of bands starting with the word “black”. And I can name a handful more that aren’t even on the SXSW list. Why not blue? Or green? Why black?! At any rate, The Black Ryder is a rock band with western themes. Kind of like Rome. Eerie, powerful video below featuring a single guitar line (and is that a harmonica drone in the background?) as instrumentation for the majority of the song.

The Bright Light Social Hour
This Austin funk band is incredibly fun to listen to. And look at, honestly.

I dare you not to dance.

Burning Hotels
This dreamy, synth dance pop is out of Ft. Worth, Texas (DFW holla!) and the song Beard is begging for radio time. Catchy rhythms and melody alongside rich harmonies make this band a shoo-in for the next mainstream hit.

Beard (Official Music Video) from Burning Hotels on Vimeo.

Blitzen Trapper and Best Coast are also among the ‘B’ bands, but they are so well-known that I decided not to include samples in this post.

Finding a favorite among these was hard.
My top pick: Big Scary
Update: you can download 5 of their songs for free on their website!

SXSW 2012: Bands beginning with ‘A’

Here we go! Below are the ‘A’ bands that caught my attention.

Alberta Cross
Apparently this song is featured on the video game Madden ’12, which makes it an unlikely candidate for these posts. But that bass line is really catchy and the lead singer’s voice reminds me of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. I keep having second thoughts about this pick, but what the hell, I’ll leave it up anyway.

Alex Cuba
Okay, okay. I have to admit that I only gave this artist a second glance because he looks kind of like a young Samuel L. Jackson – think Pulp Fiction.

This song is an extremely poppy tune with lots of Cuban flair (he lives in Canada presently, wut?). I admit, it’s pretty repetitive, but it’s upbeat and fun.

Alpine
This group hails out of Melbourne, Australia. The pulsing synth in the background of “Hands” hearkens back to a bit of a 70s-era sound. But all of the songs have a great driving beat and interesting ethereal vocals.

Andrea Balency Trio
Okay. This group. I have a huge crush on Andrea Balency right now. She’s French-Mexican. Classically trained. Oh, and she’s gorgeous. I love the interesting rich instrumentation, syncopated rhythms, and her voice – especially when she nonchalantly throws in undulations that momentarily transform the song into something out of India.

Avalanche City
This “group” is from New Zealand. I put group in quotes because it originally started as only one man: Dave Baxter. He wrote, produced, and recorded the first album completely on his own. He only later recruited more members to the band. This song is from the first album, Our New Life Above the Ground. And it’s so. effing. cute. Very radio friendly.

Okay folks, that’s it for the A’s. My top pick: Andrea Balency Trio.

Up next: B’s!