El*Pieces of El*Pus

I happened to see El*Pus live last night at a Reel Big Fish concert. They were the third of three opening bands. The first two bands had a pretty lousy time of things. The first Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer had potential, but there were some major issues with the sound quality which seriously detracted from the show. The second band Punchline had fine sound quality but their punk flavored boy band pop music made me sick to my stomach.


Then El*Pus took the stage... 5 huge bad ass gagsters from Atlanta... right away it was clear that they were going to offer something that the pale skinned prepubescents of Punchline just didn't have. El*Pus started their set and the energy of the crowd finally picked up, responding to the fast paced rock/rap blasting from the stage. They had an awesome energy, interacted with the crowd --something I enjoy about live concerts--, and I think they left the stage with quite a few new fans. Their album, Hoodlum Rock: Vol 1 is excellent, and the title is perhaps also describing the genre of music they play. It isn't rap, it isn't rock, it's more rock than Eminem, it's more rap than Rage Against the Machine or Beastie Boys, whatever it is it's a lot of fucking fun! An excerpt from their website describes their sound as: rumbling jams that mix a rock aesthetic, a soul groove, rap lyricism and punk energy.

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On the down-load from the album:
Monday Morning - They played this song at the concert and had the audience singing the "Uh-Oh" hook...

Days of the BKs (I Remember) - They played this at the concert as well, they had everyone clapping and singing I Remember... there's nothing like a mass of sweaty people hand clapping and singing together.

Check out their official site as well, there are three songs you can listen to there; click on preview tracks in the top right corner. Finally if you get a chance to see these guys live DO IT, they will rock the house and you won't want to miss it!

Ditties from the Decemberists

Here is a particularly colourful quote about The Decemberists from a 2003 Pitchfork Media review:

This is a band with about a thousand-and-a-half layers of musical genius, and that's sort of fucking awesome.

I couldn't agree more! This eclectic group manages to write catchy and distinctive sorta pop with an old world charm that is hard to describe. Their latest release Picaresque is full of varied instrumentals --from acoustic guitars to accordions-- scenic story-songs, and more melodic charm than you could shake the proverbial stick at.

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The Mariner's Revenge Song (lyrics) exemplifies many of the before mentioned sensibilities of this album. The song is a doosy, clocking in at well over 8 minutes, it tells the story of a son (the singer/narrator) whose mother is widowed when his father dies at sea. She remarried a drunken slob of a man who eventually leaves her. On her death bed she asks her son to get revenge.... you'll have to discover the rest yourself.

A bit more on the 'ol catchy-hook-line side of things is The Sporting Life (lyrics). This is a delightfully up-beat song about a guy who is playing some unspecified team sport and sees his girlfriend with the captain of the other team.... Ouch! Add to that his father and coach who seem to be disappointed in his playing ability and you have all the ingredients for a really shitty day, and apparently a really good song.

Lastly, here is The Engine Driver (lyrics). Shamelessly linked to from the Decemberists page on Kill Rock Stars.

UPDATE: I accidentally had The Sporting Life linked to The Soldering Life... oops It's fixed now, and if you want to hear The Soldering Life you can check it out here.

Servings of Sufjan Stevens

It's so nice when an artist has a name that lends itself to alliteration, it makes my thematic post titles all the more obvious.... but I digress (which is impressive considering I have nothing yet to diverge from except expectation).


The unassuming young man photographed above is Sufjan Stevens, his latest album is part of an unimaginable project to compose intimate, engaging, epic, and to date remarkable albums for all 50 united states of america! Granted he has only produced two such albums... and at his current rate he'll be a few years in the grave when he composes New Jersey's tribute... but the immense hutzpah of such a venture must be respected, especially when one accounts for the quality of existing product.

His first state album was his home state Michigan; his latest offering is Illinois (cleverly entitled Illinoise, or in its entirety Sufjan Stevens invites you to: Come on feel the Illinoise) is a folk-pop adventure of melody and instrumental diversity through the prairie state.

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Interestingly if you visit the Amazon site you won't see the little Superman in the cover art because of legal issues. Luckily for me the old cover art shipped before the cease and desist was issued so I have a copy as pictured above.

This album is very much a collected work, clocking in at over 74 minutes it flows through musical styles as well as historical and geographic landmarks.

Here are the songs I want to share (Oh yea, did I mention most of the song names are incredibly long!):

Come on! Feel the Illinoise! -Part I The World's Columbian Exposition -Part II Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream

Chicago

They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhhh!

These are the more upbeat, popish, offerings... which I think are more immediately appealing.

You can check out more Sufjan Stevens at Athmatic Kitty records (a label he and his step father started) look for the mp3 links on the left. I also recommend reading the biography there it is witty and sarcastic, and shows the twisted path that has put Sufjan where he is today.

Nuggets of A.C. Newman

What do you get when you take the lead singer from The New Pornographers and let him do what he does do so damn well? A kick ass pop rock album that melds soothing and electrifying, leaving you little choice but to leave the player on repeat and sink into phononic bliss. A.C. Newman's first --dear god don't let it be the last-- solo effort is:

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The album opens with a song destined to make it to the air waves Miracle Drug (lyrics). Listen to it, it's catchy... but not in an annoying over-produced pop sort of way.

Drink To Me Babe, Then (lyrics) follows the power pop intro with a mellow tune sporting some killer hooks, as evidenced by the chorus:

Drink to me, babe, then. Think of me, babe, then.
Lady, we both know what the scores don't show,
Drink to me, babe, then.
And did I mention there is honest to goodness whistling in this song.... it's pretty sweet stuff.... why don't more songs have whistling?!

Just to show you New Pornographer fans that he's still got a bit of that feel to 'em check out Most Of Us Prizefighters (lyrics). There is actually a song much more reminiscent of The New Pornographers called On The Table, but I don't like it as much.... sorry :)

I should mention that A.C. Newman was in a band with Jason Zumpano of Sparrow, another band I recently posted about. They recorded two records under the name Zumpano on the Sub Pop label.