Surprise! I know a few of our readers already know but for those of you out of the loop (99% of everyone), we’ve purchased a domain name making our site easier to access and much cooler than before.
Bookmark http://www.theumbilicalchord.com
I’m going to try to link the two so that it automatically takes you to the other page but first I’ll have to figure out how to do that.
<3
the uc team
I speak in communication, in bold type
I once told a friend that I enjoyed British Hip-Hop/UK Garage and he made a face at me.
“Gross! You listen to Lady Sovereign? She’s terrible,” he said, about to disown me, or at least pretend to do so.
“No,” I replied. “You’re ridiculous. A) I hate that song she sings B)That’s a terrible example of British Hip-Hop and C) Do you really think that lowly of me? Seriously… Lady Sovereign?
I then introduced him to the world of Grime including Dizzee Rascal and, of course, The Streets.
Today I learned two things.
Free Download of The Escapist MP3
I obviously don’t hold a grudge against Kevin Barnes for selling out…
Okay I lied. I am mad at K. Barnes for saying those things on youtube about what is and isn’t selling out and how doing a commerical for outback isn’t yada yada. Still, I did see them in concert last fall and the ticket stub is hanging on my wall right next to the Animal Collective stub.
of Montreal is coming out with some new stuff and the newly released “Id Engager” is slated to be the last track on the album but the first single to come out. Skeletal Lamping should be coming out October 7. Until then, download/stream/whatever the hell out of I’d Engager courtesy of Pitchfork.
This is all late due to an amazing transformation about to occur. I don’t want to ruin the surprise so just stay tuned and you’ll see.
I really want to hear someone say Lollapalooza with a Japanese accent.
I’ve wanted to hear that said ever since I learned that Japanese doesn’t have an “l” sound. I’m hoping some of our friends in Chicago are going to Lollapalooza. It ought to be a blast. Look forward to performances from awesome acts including:
Today The Cool Kids, VHS or Beta, The Black Keys, Radiohead, Black Lips, Mates of State
Tomorrow The Ting Tings, Broken Social Scene, Wilco, MGMT, Dr. Dog, Explosions in the Sky
The Day After Black Kids, Girl Talk, The Octopus Project, The National, Nine Inch Nails, Gnarls Barkley
Two down…. 17 to go
After seven years and four albums, one of Broken Social Scene’s founding members, Brendan Canning, decided to break from his buddies and go solo, sort-of. BSS Presents Brendan Canning is the second in the series of solo albums produced by BSS members for BSS members. . Last year we heard from Kevin Drew with his album “spirit if…”, and there is sure to be more to come. 2 down… 17 to go I suppose.
And the way these records are coming out, once a year, and at a high calibur, why shouldn’t they make that many. Canning presents us with the kind of power pop sweetness that we have come to rely on BSS for.
Originally, Arun was supposed to write this article until something came up and he was forced to do his math homework. In his original draft he wanted mention that he’d been dancing to the album playing on repeat despite not being much of a dancer.
I really enjoyed this album and I encourage you to at least listen to it. The whole thing is available streaming on Brendan’s Myspace. If you enjoy it, I encourage you to get the album and support the artist. And if you are curious as to where you can find the album, well I have a handy link so it’s just a click or two away.
Order Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning from Insound
Sometime in the past week or so there’s been an music explosion resulting in far too many new albums for Vivek and I to possibly review. Each review takes time to write as well as time to listen to the artist’s music. I’d charted out a huge list but I seriously doubt we can get to all of them and continue making the layout look awesome. Sadly, this also means that Ida Maria ,The Bug, and mod-revivalist Paul Weller get the boot in terms of being on the review cue list. Sorry folks. In return, I’m providing you with some links so you can give these artists a chance on your own. And for me, I’m almost late for Project Runway.
Obscure Sound has a few downloadable/streamable tracks of Paul Weller
Preview The Bug’s newest London Zoo
Download a free track from Ida Maria courtesy of her website
Enjoy!
Steve Mason’s journey as a musician has been fraught with ups and downs. He had success with both the Beta Band and King Biscuit Time, though neither was able to make a commercial impact outside of Britain. Nevertheless his music has garnered somewhat of a cult following here in the states. On his newest project, Mason has adopted the name Black Affair in an attempt to further diversify his musical offerings.
As a disclaimer, fans of Mason’s previous works will be utterly surprised at the direction Black Affair chooses to follow. Gone are the folksy sounds that influenced Beta Band and King Biscuit Time replaced instead by a series of dark Gothic synthesizer riffs reminiscent of classic Depeche Mode.
I’ll be honest, while listening to this album I really couldn’t tell when the next song started to play. It was all kind of a blur, so I have no standout songs to report on. So if you like one song I’m pretty sure you’ll like the whole album, funny how logic works. Unfortunately, the redundancy also means the album is a bit stale and uninteresting. As Black Affair, Mason had the opportunity to branch out and experiment with a variety of different sounds and musical styles, an opportunity that was never truly taken advantage of.
Overall I would recommend Pleasure Pressure Point’s downer brand of Gothic music for those of you need a soundtrack when drinking yourself to sleep, alone.
The only SFW image of this band… okay well one of few
With a name like XX Teens, I wasn’t sure what to expect of the British post-punk band who released their debut album just a couple of days ago. I couldn’t remember if Safe Search was still enabled, and I certainly didn’t want any h4wt p1x of XXX teenagers. Yikes! R. Kelly was just acquitted of something like that last month. Thankfully, I can assure even our younger readers that XX Teens’ sound is suitable for all sorts of ears.
XX Teens began their music making in 2004, releasing a series of six singles and an EP before finishing their full-length album, Welcome to Goon Island. The physical release of Welcome to Goon Island comes with a free postcard featuring the band that you can send to your friends and spread the word of XX Teens. Normally I don’t talk about an album’s artwork, but WTGI’s is fascinating. Sure it has it’s fair share of disturbing cartoon images including a bare chested blue woman lifting up her yellow tank top or headless bodies playing cards.
Onward to, you know, what they actually sound like. I’m really digging their music, which is apparent as this is the third time I’m listening to the album after discovering it. It melds classic post-punk sounds with a bit of an electronic indie flair.
The Way We Were begins with a Killers-esque “When we were young” type sound but turns to a more upbeat direction. I definitely prefer this song to anything by The Killers. “My favorite Hat” featues a bit of harmonica which always makes me think of Bob Dylan – and this is in a good way, rather than a lame, copy-cat attempt. (See our article on MCR and The Watchman). I haven’t found a favorite track yet, but I intend to keep listening long enough to eventually pick one.
Download 2 Free Tracks From Their CD
Order the entire Album from Insound
I have no idea how I got the upside down exclamation mark to work on here…
I stumbled across ¡Forward, Russia! on a list of bands with recently released CDs, however their latest album, Life Processes came out in mid-April in the UK. Nonetheless, ¡Forward, Russia! could use with some more exposure (I certainly had never heard of them before) so here goes my two cents.
Give Me a Wall, their previous album, was their last with no individual track names. The band simply named songs numerically, in order of their appearance on the album. This time, ¡Forward, Russia! took the normal approach and thought of titles that corresponded with the lyrics on each track.
“Breaking Standing”, is the first single from Life Processes and is an upbeat rock-infused dance song. Vocalist Tom Woodhead experiments with his falsetto producing a sound not unlike Vampire Weekend. It was also my favorite song from the album.
I really disliked “We are Grey Matter” which was nothing like their self-proclaimed “experimental indie” sound. At best it was sub-par Emo rock, which I should have guessed by the title alone. “Don’t Be a Doctor” was still a bit screamy a la Alkaline Trio but less so than the wretched “We are Grey Matter”. I’d consider giving it a second listen. “Spanish Triangles” was a fun song, and is also available as a free download, courtesy of the band (but you are welcome just to stream it if you’d like)
Overall, it’s not my cup of tea, but it’s nice to step outside the box (and use as many clichés as possible in one sentence). I listened to Give Me a Wall and I like a few songs from that CD as well. Their songs are hit or miss but it’s well worth it to look for those hits.
Download the Spanish Triangles MP3
Order the album from Insound
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