Bears on Mount Magic

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Thursday Jams: The Weeknd

Who doesn't like slow jams? No one who counts- at least that's my theory behind the rapid hype building around The Weeknd, the project of Toronto songwriter Abel Tesfaye. With an elastic voice which goes from whispering urgent somethings into your ear to the acrobatics of early 2000's, pre auto-tune RnB, Tesfaye fills his mixtape House of Balloons with spare grooves and seduction anthems. Think the echoey minimalism of the xx, but with less chilliness and a lot more soul. If atmospheric electronics and a genuinely great use of a Beach House sample sound like the ideal soundtrack to your Saturday night, definitely check this out. The whole mixtape is streamable on The Weeknd's soundcloud page.

The Weeknd - Wicked Games by The_Weeknd The Weeknd - The Morning by The_Weeknd

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LISTED// Five Ambient-Instrumental Albums

In this album list I have included five of my favorite ambient/instrumental albums, each of which offer the listener a break from everyday stress, and an opportunity to slow things down (if only for an hour). While these are not the sort of albums that you would want to pull out to liven up a party, when approached within the right context (I hesitate to say "when the mood is right"), they offer the listener an experience that is both truly special and therapeutic. -Tyler

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5. Stars of the Lid: And Their Refinement of the Decline (2007)

And Their Refinement of the Decline is the seventh album from ambient wizards, Stars of the Lid. SOTL have truly mastered of their craft, utilizing soft swells and droning-simplistic compositions played on a variety of instruments to produce one of my all-time favorite ambient albums.

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4. The Dead Texan: The Dead Texan (2004)

The Dead Texan was released by Adam Wiltze of Stars of the Lid. The record features a similar style of drone compositions that have become characteristic of SOTL. That said, the side-project succeeds in establishing its own identity, and avoids coming off solely as Wiltze's b-sides. The record primarily features simplistic acoustic instrumentation, coupled with the occasional faint vocal track, giving the mini compositions a distinctive, organic warmth that are all their own.

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3. Helios: Caesura (2008)

Helios is the moniker of Keith Kenniff, who has been releasing albums under the name since 2004. Caesura uses the same formula that can been seen in Kenniff's work across each of his previous releases; featuring simple drum-machines, playful electronic riffs, and creative acoustic/electric guitar lines to generate a perfectly calming atmosphere.

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2. Ulrich Schnauss: A Strangely Isolated Place (2003)

A Strangely Isolated Place comes from German-born Ulrich Schnauss, who has been releasing electronic music since the mid 1990s. The record feels like it might be what Karl Sagan was playing in the 8-track of his spaceship throughout the Cosmos series (it looks like whoever synced up the song with the opening sequence to "Contact" in the below video agrees). The album is filled with lively, ethereal compositions that gently flow over the listener with incredible ease.

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1. Eluvium: Talk Amongst the Trees (2005)

Talk Amongst the Trees was one of the first albums I acquired in this genre, and has consistently remained one of my favorites. Matthew Cooper (who operates under the Eluvium moniker) successfully blends electronic instruments with effects-layden classical piano and violin; what emerges from the meeting of these two forces is something wonderful.

"New Animals from the Air" softly opens the record, immediately drawing the listener in with a myriad of warm synth textures, which fuse together to generate a gentle wall of sound. The soothing repetition of tones carries the listener slowly through the album, each track serving to perfectly compliment those that came before, and create a smooth transition to the next.The album comes to a close with "One", an extraterrestrial sounding track  that sends the listener away with a slow fading. Yet, as the song is pushing you back towards reality, there still remains a strange lingering sensation that it will be waiting for you to come back.

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Fleet Foxes: "Bedouin Dress"

Fleet Foxes' first album was something special when it came out in 2008: resolutely hi-fi in an era of do-it-yourself production, warm and harmony-rich in ways distinct from the ethereal distance of Grizzly Bear or Dirty Projectors' surgical pop deconstructions. "Bedouin Dress" layers the full production of a 70's folk-pop song around Robin Pecknold's strong melodies. It's at once familiar and decidedly their own, with a hint of melancholy behind the major chords and harmonies. Fleet Foxes' new album, Helplessness Blues, drops this May on Sub Pop.  

(Via Stereogum)

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J Mascis: "Not Enough" video

J Mascis, guitar legend and long-hair-haver of Dinosaur Jr. fame, just released this clip for "Not Enough" off his new solo record Several Shades of Why. It's a sweet, dark folk song, its psychedelic accents reflected in the clip's surreal and somewhat morbid animation. If you ever wanted to see an animated J Mascis thrown into an oven while wearing a tie dye drug rug, now is your chance.

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New video: "The Blitzen Trapper Massacre"

  Rainn Wilson and folk rockers Blitzen Trapper star in a cautionary tale about the darker side of music fandom. Fair warning: includes graphic violence and moustaches.

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Song of the week//The Jay Vons: "Never Take Me Back"

Click the image to be directed to the Jay Vons fan page

From Brooklyn rock/soul group The Jay Vons, "Never Take Me Back" features bright infectious drum beats, crystal clear vintage guitar tones, and classic soul keys. I've been waiting for The Jay Von's to get into the studio to record for a while now, and if this song is any indication there are only great things to come from this band. Show your support by becoming a fan, or purchasing this song (only on 45) from Cryptovision Records.

For best quality play in 480p

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TV on the Radio release official video for "Will Do"

From their upcoming album Nine Types of Light, Brooklyn-born TV on the Radio released the video for "Will Do." The track has been available for a few weeks now, but the video is worth the viewing.

Check back for the full album review!

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Album Review//Radiohead: The King of Limbs

              Click the image to be directed to the Radiohead website

A new Radiohead album is an odd beast to write about. For many of us of a certain late 90's upbringing, Radiohead were the gateway drug of our musical experiences. You like some brit rock? Go on, try this techno-paranoiac concept album. Yeah, that's the stuff. Before you know it you're begging for a fix of dark, spartan electro-rock with lyrics about global warming, by which point you've bought tickets to SXSW and it's much too late to do anything about it. As the brilliant, youth-defining band which they were to me, I'm in the uncomfortable position of being completely partisan about any new material they produce. When Radiohead, with a fuck-you nonchalance that shouldn't surprise anyone at this point, announced without any previous hinting that they were a week away from releasing a new album, my first thought was simple- “I hope to god it's good.”

Luckily, The King of Limbs is a good album, just not in the way one would expect from Radiohead. "Bloom" starts with a skittish piano loop before a shuffling, bass heavy beat drops, lending an off kilter grace to Thom Yorke's melancholic vocal lines. It's far from the organic warmth of In Rainbows; the closest analogue would be one of Hail to the Thief more jittery cuts with cleaner production. Yorke's voice, draped in rippling echo and electronic textures, is as mournful and pretty as ever. "Morning Mr. Magpie" is another standout, with an insistent groove and percussive guitar lines that twist and thrum under the wandering vocal melody. The spoons-on-trashcans beat of "Little By Little" gives way to the slightly twisted soul of Yorke's falsetto. It seems a bit familiar, but effective- a twitchy beat, paranoid vocal line, paired with Jonny Greenwood's guitar glissandos, all staples of late-period Radiohead. "Feral" fares the worst out of the album's electronic tracks, its beat to similar to the ones before and the cut up syllables of Yorke's voice come out too repetitive to be interesting.

The official video for "Codex" off The King of Limbs

One of Radiohead's signature traits is the way their albums function as complete works, greater than the sum of their already excellent parts. King of Limbs feels jarring because it lacks any such coherence as a whole. The records plays as two EPs stitched together at the track five mark- the electronic beats and textures of side one moving without transition into more traditionally structured songs of side two. "Lotus Flower" is the closest thing to a single on the album; the track has a dark, sinewy groove and Yorke's vocals flow seamlessly into the slow-jam catchiness. "Codex" is a slow, lightly processed piano ballad with featuring a horn section which gives up just as it's making itself welcome- pretty, but not very consequential. "Give Up the Ghost" reverses the format of the first half of the album, building acoustic guitar and vocal melody around a loop of Yorke's voice. The track builds to a final two minutes that are harmony-rich and affecting, in a sleepy, eyes-half-closed way. "Separator" ends the album on a strong note, striking the right balance between an infectious beat, soulful melody, and chiming guitar arpeggios. “If you think this is over, then you're wrong,” Yorke sings in falsetto- while King of Limbs doesn't break much new ground, fans should hold Radiohead to that promise. It'll be worth it.  - Dan G.

Dan is one of the new contributors who will be writing for Bears on Mount Magic.                            

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BoMM Returning March 22, 2011

So I started this blog around this time last year as a personal page where I could do some writing about music in my spare time. As the summer came and I began to work full time, I fell behind and eventually stopped posting.

The GOOD NEWS is that I will be resuming my posts next week following my spring break, AND additional contributors will begin writing for BoMM. Some of the new sections I plan on include:

Weekly (or biweekly) reviews of new albums.

Tour tracking information.

Album lists!

Periodic local music sections.

Please check back on March 22 to see the new + improved Bears! If you have any comments or suggestions for things you would like to see please feel free to contact me at tyler.kerxhalli (at) gmail.com

Thank you!

Tyler

[bearsonmountmagic]

Wolf Parade's "Expo 86" Leaked

Wolf Parades new album, Expo 86, which I wrote about two posts down, has been leaked and can be found on various rapidshare links. Now that I have had a chance to listen to Expo 86 in its entirety, I am delighted to find that Wolf Parade's new album is not only not disappointing, it is also immensely enjoyable to listen to. If you aren't patient enough to wait until the official release date, go to google and type in "expo 86 rapidshare", and you will undoubtedly find link to a copy of the leaked album. However, if you like Expo 86, go out and purchase a digital/CD/LP version of the album when it comes out. Great Job, WP.

[bearsonmountmagic]

New Album: The National's "High Violet"

Click on the image to be directed to The National's website

Remaining within the comfort zone seems to be the primary objective of High Violet, The National's fifth album, which was released this past tuesday (5/11). If you were a fan of The National's earlier releases, then it is reasonable to assume that you will also like the newest, as it offers little divergence from the musical style that has been consistently characteristic of the band. While I've found myself enjoying the High Violet, it does not seem as though The National really knows how to do anything different. So if you liked 2007's Boxer,  then get High Violet, and appreciate the album for what it is.

The National playing "Terrible Love" off High Violet live:

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Wolf Parade's New Album, Track List and Two New Songs

Wolf Parade has set a June 29 release date for their latest album, Expo 86. The new album will be the band's third full length release to date, following the 2005 debut Apologies to the Queen Mary, and At Mount Zoomer, released in 2008. The band has released two tracks off Expo 86 titled, "Ghost Pressure" and "What Did My Lover Say? (Always Had to Go This Way)". Wolf Parade will also be touring a bit this summer in support of their new album

See Wolf Parade Summer Tour Dates

Expo 86 track listing:

Cloud Shadow on the Mountain

Palm Road

What Did My Lover Say? (Always Had to Go This Way)

Little Golden Age

In the Direction of the Moon

Ghost Pressure

Pobody's Nerfect

Two Men in New Tuxedos

Oh  You, Old Thing

Yulia

Cave-o-sapien 

Listen to "Ghost Pressure" and "What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)" below.

Wolf Parade - Ghost Pressurebysubpop

Wolf Parade - What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had to Go This Way)bysubpop

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New Album from Band of Horses Leaked

Click the image to be directed to the Band of Horses website

The new Band of Horses album Infinite Arms was set for release on May 18, 2010, but in the past few weeks a high quality leak of the record has been making its way across the internet. I've listened to BoH for years and thoroughly enjoyed the first two albums that they put out, Everything All the Time  in 2006, and then Cease to Begin in 2007. I had been waiting for Band of Horses to release a new album for quite some time, and find the record immensely disappointed now that it has arrived.

The band departs from the musical style that they developed on the earlier albums, which I had grown attached to. The instrumentation on most of the album lacks any real dynamic, sounding more like a hired back up band for Ben Bridwell, the bands singer, than a group of people creating music together. For some reason, whoever was in charge or producing this album also opted for the layering of excessive reverb on all of the vocal tracks, which further detracts from many of the songs on this album.

Overall, Infinite Arms isn't entirely awful or anything, just feels hopelessly generic. The new album seems to indicate that Band of Horses has decided to pursue a different path with their music, which is not always inherently bad, but this time they stripped most of the character that drew me to the music in the first place.

You can stream the entire album on the Band of Horses website

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Broken Social Scene Announces 2010 U.S. Tour to Support New Album

  Broken Social Scene is heading back on tour this year in support of their new album, Forgiveness Rock Record. The album features a musical aesthetic similar to that which characterized the 2002 BSS release, You Forget In People combined with the vocal production on Spirit If..., Kevin Drew's 2007 "solo" album. The tour will be stopping at major cities across the U.S. then travelling north to Canada to play a few shows closer to home. 

Broken Social Scene tour dates: 

5/29, George, WA (Sasquatch Festival) 7/16, Chicago, IL (Pitchfork Festival) 8/28, St. Louis, MO (Lou Fest) 9/8, Pittsburgh, PA (Byham Theater) 9/9, Asheville, NC (Orange Peel) 9/10, Raleigh, NC (Hopscotch Festival) 9/11, Richmond, VA (The National) 9/13, Washington, DC (The Warner Theatre) 9/14, Philadelphia, PA (TLA) 9/17, Boston, MA (House Of Blues) 9/18, New York, NY (Central Park, Rumsey Playfield) 9/20, New Haven, CT (Toad's Place) 9/21, Northhampton, MA (Calvin Theater) 9/22, Burlington, VT (Higher Ground) 9/24, Ithaca, NY (State Theater) 9/25, Buffalo, NY (Town Hall) 10/1, Ann Arbor, MI (Michigan Theater) 10/3, Milwaukee, WI (Pabst Theater) 10/4, Minneapolis, MN (First Avenue) 10/6, Winnipeg, MB (Burton Cummings Theatre) 10/7, Saskatoon, SK (Odeon) 10/8, Calgary, AB (MacEwan Hall) 10/9, Edmonton, AB (Winspear Centre) 10/10, Kelowna, BC (Community Theatre) 10/12, Victoria, BC (Element) 10/13, Vancouver, BC (Commodore) 10/15, Seattle, WA (Paramount) 10/16, Portland, OR (Crystal Ballroom) 10/19, Los Angeles, CA (The Wiltern)

New Broken Social Scene track "World Sick" played live

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Five Albums to Listen Through This Summer (Pt. 1)

The first installation of albums that deserve a thorough listen while you have some free time this summer. You can click on the images to be linked to the amazon store, where you can hear more previews.

Elephant Eyelash - WHY?

When I was first introduced to WHY? back in 2008, it took me a while to develop an appreciation for the nasally-monotone voice of the band's singer (and sometimes percussionist), Jonathan "Yoni" Wolf. Yoni's distinctive voice, paired with half-spoken lyrical delivery and the simplistic yet diverse instrumentation, ultimately leads to a fantastic album. Elephant Eyelash has grown to become, and remain one of my favorite albums, no matter how many times I hear it.

Sun Giant EP - Fleet Foxes

Released prior to the 2008 Fleet Foxes debut self-titled album, the Sun Giant EP stood out on its own, and received overwhelmingly positive reviews from a variety of critics. When the full length was then released, the EP, while not totally forgotten, was to a largely overshadowed. Most of the people who purchased the LP version of the full album also received a vinyl copy of Sun Giant however, I'm still consistently surprised that digital copies of the EP did not make it out to more people. So if you're hearing it for the first time, or just haven't gotten around to playing it on your computer or taking it out of its paper sleeve you found in the LP version, the Sun Giant EP fits perfectly within any summer day.

& Yet & Yet - Do Make Say Think

Do Make Say Think is an instrumental post-rock/jazz? band that is formed from some of the members of Broken Social Scene. While all of the albums that DMST has released over the years have been great, & Yet & Yet seems fallen through the cracks somewhere, and has not got the attention it deserves. The album is instrumentally complex, like many of the DMST albums, however, there are ambient qualities to & Yet & Yet, which make is especially unique and enjoyable.

Self-titled - Women

I randomly picked up a copy of Women's record two winters ago in a Brooklyn record store. The self-titled album was on display in the front, I gave it a quick listen in one of the headphone stations set up around store and was immediately impressed. Women's album sounds like some strange mixture of animal collective and new order, combined with lo-fi guitar loaded with reverb-overdrive and drums that sound like they are made of trash cans. Somehow, this all culminates in a great album, that remains dynamic throughout its entirety and warrants more attention than it has received.

All Hail West Texas - The Mountain Goats

All Hail West Texas was recorded early on in The Mountain Goats' discography on the lead singers panasonic boombox.The lo-fi recording, and the unique song writing characteristic of The Mountain Goats, blend together well to produce an album that seems to hold  degree of authenticity that is rarely seen. Regardless or wether or not you've heard All Hail West Texas before, the depth of the lyrical content and the overall aesthetic are consistently rewarding to revisit.