DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
George, Washington’s Sasquatch’s lineup was announced today and it is chock full of goodness. They’re boosting a pretty impressive lineup this year which includes the recently reunited Pavement, Massive Attack, My Morning Jacket, Ween, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Broken Social Scene, and Band of Horses. Along with those “big” bands tons of artists mentioned here in the past will also be descending on the most beautiful location not named Red Rocks to host a concert – The XX, Phantogram, Passion Pit, Neon Indian, The Middle East and today’s buzzed about band: Local Natives. The Sasquatch announcement coincidentally comes on the same day that Local Natives (who happen to be local natives of Silverlake: yep they had a month long free Mondays residency @ Spaceland last August) release their debut CD, Gorilla Manor- a great CD that is full of soaring voices. Three voices to be exact. No one ever seems to be in charge, vocally speaking. Instead, to great effect, they let the three part harmonies wash over the music and create a different sound. This approach might not work for most bands (please keep your Grizzly Bear comparisons to yourself. Thanks) but it works here for the Local Natives. In case you’re not sold on checking them out I should also mention that they cover the Talking Heads song “Warning Sign“. I’m a sucker for covers and I’m a whore for the Talking Heads…so I became an instant fan.
Yep, I’m an easy mark.
Highlights: “Airplane,” “Sun Hands,” “Warning Sign,” “Who Knows Who Cares”
For those of you who don’t feel like trekking up to George, Washington you can catch the Local Natives and their small font brethren @ SXSW, Coachella, or Bonaroo.
Mar 18 2010 8:00P - SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 19 2010 8:00P - SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 20 2010 8:00P - SSXW Austin, Texas
Apr 18 2010 3:00P - Coachella Indio, California
Jun 10 2010 8:00P – Bonnaroo Manchester, Tennessee
DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: Phantogram – Eyelid Movies
This is all about the power of the Internet. Four days ago I literally knew nothing about this band. I learned of Phantogram through a tweet by the Antlers of all people. (you see, twitter is good for something. I feel like that is a recurring theme with me) I figured if they were good enough for the Antlers it was worth delving into. Resources like the hype machine and myspace (yes it is still good for something) make it possible to experience bands before they’ve released any actual albums or EPs. I can’t stress enough how invaluable these two sources are for when I’m looking to track down band content. From there I hit Amie St looking for cheap cds. If Amie Street is a dead end I make my way to Amazon. Never do I go to iTunes. Those Apple bastards have stolen enough from consumers. Screw them and their useless iPads. Through the resources previously mentioned I came across a track by Phantogram called “Mouthful Of Diamonds“. Fifteen seconds into the track and I knew I’d be a huge fan. Their sound, which is awesome, is best described visually through this promotional photograph:
That’s a simple shot, but there’s a lot going on here. That’s exactly how I’d describe the sound of Phantogram; Two unassuming Up State New Yorkers throwing down psychedelic melodies on top of hip hop beats. Easy enough one would say..but there’s so many more layers to their sound. Unfair as it sounds but thanks to the girl/guy vocals and the moody sexiness to the.their songs I predict lazy comparisons to the XX. Mind you they are quite different. I’m a huge fan of the XX’s debut album but something has really struck a chord with me on Eyelid Movies. Today I stand before you as a huge advocate. I’ll go as far as saying this is my favorite album of 2010 so far. Sure it’s not even February yet but January had some great releases (Beach House, Spoon, Vampire Weekend) That’s saying a lot from me. I guess the fact that I was witness to zero hype for this band is making me love this album even more. You can’t put a price on zero expectations. In today’s landscape of instant information and constant spoilers ignorance truly is bliss. I realize by writing this I just spoiled your ignorance . It was bound to happen sooner or later…so it might as well come from me.
Highlights: “You Are The Ocean And I’m Good At Drowning,” “Mouthful of Diamonds,” “Futuristic Casket,” “Running From The Cops”