The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Days Abandon

Earlier this year, I read that the Pains of Being Pure at Heart - were releasing an album... I learned it was going to be released some time in May and I totally forgot about it.

While flying over to Seattle the other day, I made it a point to download the record so that I could give it a proper listen and I was quite surprised to hear an album so heavily influenced by danceable beats and Johnny Marr (the Smiths).

I've been listening to this band for several years now because of earlier releases on Slumberland records...  this album has a very polished sound.  

I just read that the band also features a new vocalist from another band called - A Sunny Day in Glasgow.   Her voice is quite angelic.  

This one has slipped into my growing list of must buy new albums.  If you get a chance to listen to this album from beginning to end, I highly recommend that you do.

Standout Tracks


Seahaven - Goodnight

Having to pen this entry again... managed to loose it somehow last week.  Which sucks because I weighed in on the album and I also weighed in on their performance at the Karova.

I wish I had kept a draft of the entry some where, but I keyed the entry up on the CMS website tool and I apparently discarded the entry instead of "saving" the entry.

Ugh.

Anyhoo - in preparation for the show, I decided to listen to some earlier material by Seahaven.  I really love their new album and I kinda wondered what their earlier stuff sounded like.

It kinda reminds me a little bit of the Brand New...   but in a good way.

Standout tracks: 

The band was great live too.


Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians - Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars

I'm an Edie Brickell fan.

This may be due to the fact that she's a fellow Texan and she kinda reminded me of 10,000 Maniacs.

My heart was crushed the moment I heard Paul Simon got her to marry him...  they recently had the cops called on them after getting into a fight and she's on my mind ever since.

Of all the artists that I wished I fit into the drunken podcast over the weekend, I think I would have selected a deep cut from this album.

Listened to this album for the first time in maybe 15 years and I can't really put my finger on why I loved it so much...  a lot of the songs are pretty poetic tho'.  I can't believe that I still remember all the lyrics to "Air of December".

This album also contains the song I casted a vote for when it came down to selecting a "Class Song" for my high-school.  The song was called "Circle" and I'm not quite sure why I thought it would be a good class song after hearing it this evening.  

Standout Tracks:

Paws - Youth Culture Forever

Memorial Day, 2014 and I'm on a return flight from Seattle to San Antonio.

paws.jpg

Saved a special record for today's entry...  it's an album (Youth Culture Forever) by a band called Paws.

It doesn't get formally released for sale until June 3rd I think... but I've been streaming it for weeks now.

I fucking LOVE the production on this album.   It kinda reminds me a little bit of the Detachment Kit... only because the tracks can go from a gentle strum to a roaring buzz in a heartbeat.

I can't stress how great the drums and guitars sound on this album... they laid the vocals down really nicely behind the fuzz too.

I've been trying to find more time in the day to really listen to the lyrical content of the album.  There's a lot of interesting heart break themes that can kinda get lost in sound of the album.

On some tracks like: Owls Talons Clenching My Heart - one can really get lost into the heartbreak mood it sets off..  then they turn around and play something really catchy like the song Give Up.

I can't wait to see these guys live. 

Standout Tracks:


Cheap Girls - Famous Graves

Just got back from a successful software drill in one of our warehouses outside of Seattle.

I have about an hour and a half to kick back and relax before meeting up with the team for dinner at Elliot's Oyster House.

Just learned this past Thursday that the new Cheap Girls album got released this week and I've listened to it about 8 or so times since.

I'm so in the tank for their throwback - college sound.   I really don't want to compare them to the Hold Steady, because they midwestern/Michigan groove of their own.

I just saw them a few months ago, open up for Against Me! and I think they played a few tracks from this album at that show but I can't really recollect which.

This album might be the first recording that I think really captures the open guitar feed and soaring vocals that make this band so incredible to see live.

One of the stand out tracks on this album is called: Knocked Me Over

It's a fine example of how this band sorta takes root into a box of chords and notes that 88% find themselves in - but it doesn't matter because its so fucking good.

I really need to take a nap...  I managed to work through a hangover and if I don't get some serious sleep soon - I'm going to crack.

If you have a few minutes to spare - take some time to listen to the track - Amazing Grace

I think its some of the best stuff they've ever put out.

Standout Tracks:

 

 

Weatherbox - Flies in All Directions

Got pretty drunk today and before I plug in to record a Late Night Conversations podcast, I want to quickly pen together some thoughts on an album I've been streaming all week.

It's by a band called Weatherbox that I've been into now for a couple of years.  It wasn't until the other day that Fin reminded me that we saw them open up for Look Mexico a couple of years ago and they were kinda dickish on stage.

I totally remember thinking that an opening band performed that night who appeared to not be in the mood to perform - but I didn't know it was the same band tho'.

Anyhoo --  this new album - Flies in All Directions - is an absolute keeper.  It kinda fits in nicely with a number of albums I've been listening to a lot this year (The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die, You Blew It!, Everyone Everywhere, Cloud Nothings, Manchester Orchestra, Nothing, Modern Baseball)

I know there's an "emo revival" of sorts that has gone through a rather odd progression.  One could actually track the roots back for  2007 or so and technically  this band has been at the fore-front.

I really don't want to think about what sound or genre to classify this band into.  They've put out a great album along with a number of other bands who are putting out some incredible shit right now.

Can't wait to pick this up on vinyl and add it to my 2014 purchases.

Standout Tracks:

Singles - Original Motion Soundtrack

Kinda excited about this entry today...  I've known for a few months now that I would eventually be flying up to Seattle to conduct some training on Sunday.

It just happened to fall on Memorial Day Weekend and I'm penning this entry somewhere between central Texas and the Pacific Northwest.

I'm a little torn between talking about the things I hope to do while visiting the city on Saturday or going on and on about this Soundtrack.

I'll do the latter because there's a good chance I won't get to do a third of things I would like to see and do in Seattle tomorrow.

So the Singles soundtrack and Movie - was pretty influential on me.  I saw/heard them both with some regularity my Freshman year of high school.  It featured a number of mainstream artists I was listening to in heavy rotation.

Especially Pearl Jam...  the song State of Love and Trust is actually one my all time favorite PJ songs that they have ever recorded.   There's something about the sound and energy on that track that has always made me want to revisit it.  

It also features my favorite Alice In Chains songs - Would?

While the album contains a number of Seattle bands - it has a few that are not from the Emerald City.   

The Smashing Pumpkins made the cut and they're from Chicago.  I think their appearance on this soundtrack has a little to do with being lumped in with the Grunge genre when in actuality they should fit into something else.

I haven't seen the movie in a couple of years, but I may go out of my way to see it this weekend if I'm up late.

I'm going to also be hella tempted to record a Late Night Conversation podcast during my visit.

Favorite tracks:

Sadly, they're not on Spotify to share with you - but the two Paul Westerberg songs on this soundtrack are amazing.  

Mother Love Bone – Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns

This little melody of two Mother Love Bone songs is great to hear for people who want to track Pearl Jam down to their roots.   Andy Wood (lead singer) died from an overdose before the band had a chance to break out.  Lyrically this song is haunting to hear upon your first and 500th listen.

"say he who rides the pony, must one day fall" - M.L.B.

At the tail end of the album, there's a great Jimi Hendrix song called – May This Be Love. Which is then followed up by an incredible Screaming Trees song called – Nearly Lost You



Bright Eyes - LIFTED or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

With the arrival of summer officially upon us (Memorial Day Weekend), I've decided to revisit some of my favorite summer records.

Bright Eyes, is a musical act (Conner Oberst) that I love to spend hours dissecting for lyrics and deconstructing musical arrangements.

I forget how old I was when I first saw them perform live... but I vividly remember being blown away by the cult following for the band...   

I own this also on Vinyl and the packaging for it is beautiful..

When I purchased this album, I'm pretty sure I listened to it for what felt like 4 or 5 months until I processed all the emotions that the album stirred up inside.

Having it on while I work is proving to be incredibly distracting...  I find myself wanting to stop and reflect about a person or a place every 10 minutes or so.

Someone needs to do a web-documentry on the making of this album, I'm struggling to put together how someone as young as Connor Oberst and friends put this album together in Nebraska.

The subject matter on this album, especially the heartache is what makes this album so rewarding to hear after all these years.

Standout Tracks:

 

Seahaven - Winter Forever

In preparation for tonights Seahaven show at the Korova, I am taking a few moments at the office to hear some material from their earlier albums.

I can't say enough about their album: Reverie Lagoon: Music for Escapism Only.  It's one of my favorite releases of 2014 and I'm looking insanely forward to seeing them perform a number of songs from this album live.

After listening to a number of tracks off of Winter Forever - I'm actually getting  a little extra pumped to also hear some of their earlier material.  I kinda liken it to a lot of the stuff I listened to in college.  

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It's kinda hard to not single out a number of obvious contemporary influences when listening to this record.  That being said - it still has a number of great tracks on it.

Standout tracks:

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Just got back from seeing Seahaven perform live...  the show was great.  The band was a little younger than I had anticipated, but they managed to pull off a show that showcased their chops.

It's kinda hard to talk about this band and not focus in on frontman Kyle Soto.  In addition to being arrestingly handsome, he incorporates a number of small dance moves while standing in place and very intense/cold stares into the audience.

The band didn't really break often to address the audience...  Kyle would frequently thank and express his "love" for everyone in attendance.

I did see something that I've never seen before at the show tho'.  About 5 or 6 songs into the set, one or two girls decided to take wads of single dollar bills and shower the stage/Kyle/bandmates while performing.

I didn't quite understand what was going on at first... I wonder if this was done to objectify his looks.   It was really weird to witness tho'.  At first - I thought they were throwing hand-bills... I think some people starting reaching for the money and their roadie had to intervene.   

Pretty fucked up.