In the early to mid years of this decade, the term emo became synonymous with sappy teens favoring the more mainstream pop and rock artists known for wearing unhappy emotions on their sleeve. But well in advance of that time, the genre was filled with artists like Sunny Day Real Estate, whose melodic indie rock maintained the genre’s fervor but without the lyrical sappiness. Read More »Sunny Day Real Estate [Feature Band]
Mat Brooke has come a long way since his Carissa’s Wierd project; his confidence is significant in comparison to its presence on the first Band Of Horses LP. In fact, listening to the stripped down tracks on Grand Archives‘ latest, Keep In Mind Frankenstein, (songs like opener “Topsy’s Revenge” and the near a capella “Siren Echo Valley (Part 1)”) he has gone through a major confidence boost since the group’s self-titled debut. Read More »Grand Archives: Keep In Mind Frankenstein [Album Review]
Odd, how progress works. It often leads to the unexpected, but typically something better than that which came before. And so it is with “You’re A Target”, the new single by one of 2007 and 2008’s most hyped bands, No Age. Amidst all the typical noise and raucous intensity, I hear something that was occasionally vacant on last year’s LP, Nouns: I hear harmony. Likewise, I hear vocals that border on decipherable rather than immense shouts masked by enormous guitars and percussion. Read More »No Age: You’re A Target [Track Review]
By now, it is pretty much undeniable that a band like Fruit Bats was meant to rule the earth. With their classic rock like anthems that still pull from the more modern indie-pop scene, it is no surprise that Sup Pop has invested so much effort into these splendid musicians. Has said investment paid off? After two successful records, and one listen to their latest album The Ruminant Band, it will be bloody obvious that yes, they made a great decision. This is a band that knows its potential and should rightfully relish in it at a devilish constituency. Read More »Fruit Bats: The Ruminant Band [Album Review]
Timelessness is a virtue seldom known in our dying times. But, with an artist like Blitzen Trapper trail blazing along the modified Americas, faith in the old fashioned may be reinstated. Between a storytelling folk tale suitable for every decade a man has lived, and a truly epic and well orchestrated free flowing music video with the caring spirit of a 90’s alternative band, it couldn’t get much better than this. But, what else would you expect a song that made The Notorious B.I.G. a folk star on YouTube? Read More »Blitzen Trapper: Black River Killer [Video Review]
The always clever and crafty Handsome Furs were kind enough to bring their new single “I’m Confused” (from their highly… Read More »Handsome Furs: I’m Confused [Video Review]
Death Vessel was one of last year’s big surprises. Their release, Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us, was the debut post published on the new version of FensePost, which you currently read. And the album made it into the FensePost Top 33 and 1/3 Releases of 2008, achieving number 14 to be exact (although in retrospect, it should have hit 11 or 12). So, it comes with no surprise that I am excited to have another excuse to write about this band. Read More »Death Vessel: Circa [Video]
Mat Brooke has long been a favorite musician of mine, back from the days of Carissa’s Wierd. From there he partnered with fellow Wierder Ben Bridwell in Band Of Horses, but his participation with the Horses was short lived. He dropped out of the band to focus on Grand Archives (MySpace) as well as his Seattle bar, Redwood. So the latest is that Grand Archives are prepping to give us the follow-up to their 2008 self-titled debut. Read More »Grand Archives: Silver Among The Gold [Album Preview]
It’s obvious; Life On Earth is a change of pace for Tiny Vipers‘ Jesy Fortino. From a literal standpoint, the pace hasn’t gone anywhere — every song on Life On Earth is just as slow as anything off Tiny Vipers’ Sub Pop debut, Hands Across The Void. The “pace” that has changed, rather, is Fortino’s demeanor, both in the power and confidence that radiates from her voice in songs like “Development” and in the promotional photos that accompany the promotion of this release. Read More »Tiny Vipers: Life On Earth [Album Review]
At this moment, I am watching a VH1 marathon of 100 Greatest Songs Of The 80s. Watching some of the videos, then seeing “Everyday” by Vetiver, I see a lot of similarities. Check out the clothes, the hair styles, and you’ll see what I’m talking about. (On second thought, it’s more late 80s/early 90s.) Still, it’s a bit strange, when draped around the poppy-folk melody of “Everyday”. Read More »Vetiver: Everyday [Video]
