Interview w/ Lord Huron

Hey --


I've been out of town this week and haven't had much time to post - as always I apologize.  In the mean time, here is a very brief interview with Lord Huron, whom I posted about right here (and will most likely be seeing at the Troubadour in a few weeks).  In retrospect, I could have asked much better questions, but oh well!  


I will hopefully have an interview with the Cloud Nothings coming up (who are excellent, and whom I saw with Toro y Moi and Braids a week or two ago - I actually had a long conversation with Tyler, the Creator from OFWGKTA - more about that later).  Without further ado, Ben Schneider.


Me: You are still fairly new to the LA music scene - What do you think listeners should know about your music?


Benji Schneider: Hopefully everything folks need to know is there in the music.  


Me: How did you first start making music/how long have you been together with the rest of your band?


BS (Maybe I should switch to LH for Lord Huron...): I've been making music for some time. I grew up playing bass in the orchestra and started my first band with Mark (drummer in Lord Huron) when we were 12 or 13. We played together for years and then went our separate ways for college. I was in some other bands and so was Mark, but I always knew I wanted to play with him again. We both went off into the world and learned a few things and now this project has brought us back together. We were lucky to find a great gang to join us.  


Me: How would you describe your music?


LH: I don't believe I've figured that out. For better or worse, I leave that to others.


Me: What's your writing and recording process like, and do you think it directly influences the sound of your music?


LH: I often conceptualize a song visually and set out to evoke that image sonically. I hope that comes across here and there.   


Me: Do you think you have a theme that you like to make music about/consistently find yourself writing songs about?


LH: I'm interested in telling stories or portions of stories and letting the listener fill in the details. I find that to be a very worthwhile challenge. Nature and girls always seem to make their way in there. I have to resist the urge to write songs about cheeseburgers.


Me:  Again, thank you so much for your time, and keep up the awesome work!






Be Seein' You!
--me.

Lord Huron (Updated with Interview)

Lord Huron :: Mighty EP


All the solo recordings of Lord Huron consist of just Ben Schneider, however he now has a full band composed of all Angelenos (by way of Michigan I believe).  He is a perfect example of how somebody can take a sound that as listeners we may have become very accustomed to and turn it upside down.  He could easily be grouped with Bon Iver or Fleet Foxes, however I think that would just be wrong.  Just as Local Natives transcend their associations with Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear through establishing their own energetic feel with genuine, adroitly crafted lyrics, Lord Huron carves his own niche through his mixing of extremely unique percussions with beautiful vocals and guitars.

Yes, he is also certainly rooted in American folk rock and features some awesome harmonies, but he completely distinguishes himself from the "soft indie rock" tag that some people might throw on him through his use of extremely inventive African drums and rhythms.  They bring a whole new life to songs, making them feel alive and jumping with color, like on "Mighty's" grand, almost jungle-evoking drums, or "Son of a Gun's" subtle maracas and rhythms.  He expertly blends this with his acoustic guitarwork to create vivid images of people almost overwhelmed by the huge, usually, but not always beautiful world around them through his simple stories of love,  falling from innocence, and nature.  His lyrics really are great, and they fully contribute to building these fantastic contained worlds.

My favorite song is easily "The Stranger" - all I'll say about it is how much I love the lines
"I've decided if it kills me I'll find out what you're about. / I can't trust anyone or anything these days but I know what you want and why ./ Of all the strangers you're the strangest that I've seen. / I'm not afraid to die."


Listen to this, and really, just go buy the EP (that's right, now free mp3s for you today!), its only 4 dollars.

You can really get the idea of the sort of simplicity and natural imagery that he is going for through the way he responds to my questions.  They are not exactly incredibly great questions (sorry, I wasn't in a creative mood!), but enjoy!

Me: You are still fairly new to the LA music scene - What do you think listeners should know about your music?

Benji Schneider: Hopefully everything folks need to know is there in the music.  

Me: How did you first start making music/how long have you been together with the rest of your band?

BS (Maybe I should switch to LH for Lord Huron...): I've been making music for some time. I grew up playing bass in the orchestra and started my first band with Mark (drummer in Lord Huron) when we were 12 or 13. We played together for years and then went our separate ways for college. I was in some other bands and so was Mark, but I always knew I wanted to play with him again. We both went off into the world and learned a few things and now this project has brought us back together. We were lucky to find a great gang to join us.  

Me: How would you describe your music?

LH: I don't believe I've figured that out. For better or worse, I leave that to others.

Me: What's your writing and recording process like, and do you think it directly influences the sound of your music?

LH: I often conceptualize a song visually and set out to evoke that image sonically. I hope that comes across here and there.   

Me: Do you think you have a theme that you like to make music about/consistently find yourself writing songs about?

LH: I'm interested in telling stories or portions of stories and letting the listener fill in the details. I find that to be a very worthwhile challenge. Nature and girls always seem to make their way in there. I have to resist the urge to write songs about cheeseburgers.

Me:  Again, thank you so much for your time, and keep up the awesome work!

Best,
Sam.

The Dodos

The Dodos


I've been listening to these guys for a few months and now the album is out, I finally have had a chance to really listen to it, and I have time to post!  I really like these guys from San Francisco - for me its the percussions that really make them sound unique and what gives their songs energy and passion.  They never seem to take over the song though - the guitar work and vocals give the songs emotion while the drums give you that energy to get up and move.  The lead single "Black Night" is what I had been listening to for a while and loving, and the rest of the album really lives up.  You can grab Black Night below; my other favorites from the album are "Don't Stop", "Going Under", and "Sleep."  If you are fans of Local Natives, you will definitely really like these guys!




mp3: Black Night
mp3: Sleep
mp3: Don't Stop

--Sam.

Neighbors :: Attention (Updated w/ Interview)

Neighbors
These two teenagers are from LA ('cause really, where else is there besides LA?) - they are barely out of high school, but they have already made some top notch music.  This song, "Attention," features some great harmonies and a simply but very multi-layered tune to keep it flowing smoothly; the use of banjos, autoharps and acoustic guitars really build a great summer feel.  It is (even if it's just one song) far better than Tennis, who I enjoy thoroughly, simply due to all the variety you get within the one song - when it breaks down from 3:20 on to the end and really, Augusta's vocals throughout are just simply beautiful.


Not to mention the fact that the video is done extremely well - the simple act of repeating them in one frame seems to add to the depth of the song - not to mention the fact that is just really cool.  The whole aura that both the room and they give off just makes everything about this song seemingly perfect in its own little world, even if they haven't done much else besides this song.  Check the video out below, and their Facebook page here.  Interview below as well.





Me: You guys are clearly just getting started on the LA music scene - what would you like listners to know about your band and your music?


Neighbors: We have a very personal relationship with our music and we're happy to know that people enjoy listening.


Me: How did Neighbors come together?


Neighbors: We became friends on a school trip to China.  We were 12 years old and bonded over mutual interests.  Since then we've been buds and started playing music together during free periods in high school.


Me: How would you describe your music? What are the writing and recording processes like for it?


Neighbors: Our music is an organic fusion of what we listen to.  We both love early American folk music, and a lot of doo-wop.  An average practice for us would be Dakota fiddling on the guitar and Augusta singin' different melodies until both lined up nicely.  Lyrics are usually drawn from personal experiences or fictional stories we wanna tell.  Some, like John Muir, are about people we love/ are inspired by.  Most of our friends play music which provides a great community to workshop our songs.  Now Dakota lives in Chicago our writing process has become more dependent on the internet connection.


Me: Are there any bands that influence your music directly? Or any that influence you to write something polar opposite?


Neighbors: There are so many bands that influence us. Some of our shared influences are the Everly Brothers, Harry Nilsson, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Beach Boys, everything that Sublime Frequencies releases, Ry Cooder...the list never ends.


Me: Thanks so much for your time, and keep up the great work!




Here's some more stuff by them.
Latest tracks by NEIGHBORS
-- ______Me____

Jeff Beam's Venus Flying Trapeze

Hey all --

So today I am going to try to begin a new schedule - Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.  Knowing me, I most likely will not succeed.  I apologize in advance.

Jeff Beam
More good music from the New York/Boston axis (and some New Jersey-ers in there as well I believe)!  (Yes I just made up that so-called "axis").  It sounds like there are some great classic rock influences here, as well as some very Elliot Smith-esque songs.  It sort of reminds me of an upbeat cross between Grizzly Bear and Elliot Smith, if either of them were ever happy.  I guess all I can do today is make poor comparisons to other musicians - yes for the power of terrible writing!

My favorites are Mister Sister, Wake Jolk (there's a play on words in there, but you most likely will not get it.  You just don't know very cool people I guess.), People Places, and Mere Mirror.  And Can You Feel the Curve of the Earth?.  And the rest of the album.

You can download some of them for free, but really, the album is only three bucks so I COMMAND YOU TO BUY IT.  Alright now listen.

Alright I know this was bad writing today, just respect the music

--Wam Solk

Glow Marrow

These guys hail from LA (woot!) and they are really darn good.  Their name might have "Glow" in it, but don't let that bias you into thinking they are just some more lo-fi/fuzzy Washed Out wannnabes.  They really do have a unique, fun, interesting sound.  They key is that they blend their deep electronic layerings with excellent vocals in a way so that you never feel like the vocals were just an after thought, mumbled to complete a track; they actually perfectly come in and take center stage when they should, and then fade into the background to let the synths do the work, and on some songs the guitars as well ("Build the Floor" is a great example of the vocal balance).  "Lights and Other Types" is the standout in my opinion, building up from some echo-y reverbed vocals and beat into an almost anthemic chorus.

The EP is long for four songs, clocking in at 25 minutes, but it moves at a brisk pace and the dense songs leave you always finding something new to pick out.  There is a certain laid-back exuberance to it all if that makes any sense - poppy enough to feel really happy but not cheesy or ever in your face about it.  They sound like guys you'd want to hang out with, if you can tell that from a song.  It sounds real, which is what ends up separating them from the pack, if you will.  They don't keep it all one sound though, mixing in some great acoustic guitar in "The Last Century."  I really did enjoy all four of these songs - check 'em out below or head over to their site to download them in various qualities.  

I look forward to hearing more from them!

mp3: Build the Floor

mp3: The Last Century

mp3: Lights and Other Types

mp3: Broadheart

Let's all hope they can make it - so share them with your friends, like 'em on facebook, etc.

-- I

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. + Bear Hands

Hey, so maybe I will actually try to post now.  Maybe not.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
I've been meaning to post about these guys since November, but just haven't.  They are from Detroit, and I refuse to mention the name because literally everybody has They have a really unique blend of synth/electropop sound with 60s Beach Boys/Beatles (particluarly the first side of the White Album...) sound.  You can really hear it in "Simple Girls" subtle opening synth chords that lead into a very simple acoustic and electric guitar laying.  It sounds a bit like "Blackbird" with a slightly happier twist.  In listening to the EP, you can really hear how they evolve their own sound which is pretty cool as it moves from a very nice (if not all that original) cover of "God Only Knows" to the Beatles-esque "Simple Girl" to "Vocal Chords" (which is just plain summery/good) and then the most electronic song "Nothing But Our Love," which actually has a very well done video (that was actually in reverse order, but whatever...o.O).  Check them all out below.

Also, they have their debut full-length, It's A Corporate World, coming out at the end of April; they are playing in LA next week, so you should go check them out.

mp3: Vocal Chords (probably my favorite song on the EP)
mp3: Simple Girl
mp3: God Only Knows

You can find the mp3 for this yourself.

 
And also, since Bear Hands played some shows with them, and I also really like Bear Hands, check out these songs by them.

mp3: Crime Pays
mp3: What A Drag

--Me.