Written by Fense
At first, it was difficult to determine exactly what a band like Tall Firs was doing on a label like Ecstatic Peace (Thurston Moore’s eclectic label imprint). Listening to “Hairdo”, I couldn’t quite hear its relation to Moore’s noted progressive, avant garde style of rock.
Read More »Tall Firs [Feature Band] 
Written by Fense
Madam Owl is the title of the new album by Jeff Hanson (MySpace), out now on Kill Rock Stars, and it’s quite a change from Son and his self-titled release. Overall, Hanson departs from folk and dives headlong into pop. However, that’s not the biggest change on Madam Owl… no, it’s the addition of orchestration that really sets this album apart from his prior catalog. Read More »Jeff Hanson: If I Only Knew [Video]
Written by bob_vinyl
There is an interesting revival of old-time music afoot. Tapping into vaudeville, string bands and vocal groups of the 30s and 40s, these bands’ strengths can also be their limitations, making many strictly revivalists rather a modern look at the past. A few, however, manage to break the bounds of revivalism to make music that is as thoroughly modern as it is old-time. Read More »Mad Tea Party: Found A Reason [Album Review]
Do you ever pick up an album and have trouble making it past the first two songs? (You may think, by reading this question, that I am referencing an album so awful that you simply pull it from your CD player. However, this question is posed in a different light—the album begins so strongly with such great songs that it takes ages to really get past those first few due to your continually hitting the REPEAT button.) So have you? I have—and the latest to succumb to the curse is the latest by The Little Ones (MySpace), Morning Tide. Read More »The Little Ones: Morning Tide [Album Review]
Written by Fense
This may be a stretch, but Mary Lorson’s vocals remind me of the softer side of Saint Etienne’s Sarah Cracknell. At times. They are pleasantly romantic and have that wonderful European sound. But The Piano Creeps are from New York. And their music quite different—it is always soft and fairly minimal. Read More »The Piano Creeps: Hey Love [Video]
Oh yes, now Celestial has several traits of the typical Swedish pop band. There’s the lovely indie pop guitar sound that shows The Smiths as a key influence. There’s the bouncy, yet emotive vocals—here female fronted. (That woman is Malin Dahlberg, perhaps more well known for her work in Douglas Music and Laurel Music.) And, it sounds like Swedish pop, a sub genre that sometimes can be fairly homogeneous.
Read More »Celestial: Crystal Heights [Album Review] 
Written by Fense
Silje Nes is a Norwegian artist whose songs are masqueraded as minimal pop gems. Her voice is high pitched and sometimes childish, but the music she makes displays an inherent knowledge of songcraft, from the experimental “Over All†to the softly romantic “Drownâ€. Read More »Silje Nes [Feature Band]
Written by Fense
This feature warrants a introductory statement: For those of you who actually read, you’re in for a treat. In an effort to boost FensePost comments, I’m giving you a chance to get the Delta Spirit CD and a physical copy of Ragged Magazine. Leave your comment over the weekend or early next week and I’ll choose a winner on next Friday. Simply let me know what you think of the song “Trashcanâ€, included below. It can be well thought out, or simply an I love it! Read More »Delta Spirit [Feature Band]
Written by Fense
The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, or TFTO, is a spacey group with catchy vocal phrases, oft male/female dual harmonic vocals, and great instrumental breakdowns. In some ways, it reminds me of A Certain Feeling by Bodies Of Water—another phenom from 2008—but without sheer emotive darkness. Read More »The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra: In A Dream [Video]
Written by Fense
Oh I like this video. It’s a bit of a departure from Fleet Foxes’ first video, “White Winter Hymnalâ€, but it’s just as good. The video displays perfectly the group’s ability to construct multiple-part vocal harmonies, and emphasizes the band’s folk-rock sensibilities. If you’re new to Fleet Foxes, you’re in for a treat; if you’re an old hand at their music, you pretty much know what to expect. Either way, the video is worth it. Read More »Fleet Foxes: He Doesn’t Know Why [Video]
