♫Makin' a soundtrack for another planet to hear♫" on Episode067 - Temporary Paradise which features brand new sounds from Jonny Fritz, La Vida Boheme, Low, Boards Of Canada, Natalia Clavier, Goat, Sonny and The Sunsets, Bostich and Fussible, Mudhoney, Susanne Sundfor, Carla Morrison, METZ, First Communion Afterparty, Mexican Institute of Sound and Father John Misty...
Previous: Episode066 - Things Will Change
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♬Liner Notes♬: I thought this episode was gonna be a strange one, but it's actually awesome! Anytime one of our song sources has a 'theme week', we pretty much have a theme week. It's jarringly beautiful and there's also one of my personal favorites: Boards Of Canada! Plus return appearances from Jonny Fritz, Low, Natalia Clavier, Mudhoney, METZ and Father John Misty... All that and so much more, so let's get right to it and Pump Up Tha Volume!
Jonny Fritz
"Trash Day"
'Dad Country'
ATO, 2013
Note: We begin with the artist formerly known as Jonny Corndawg. The last time he was here on Episode058 he was already saying "Goodbye Summer", but now he's back for "Trash Day"! Paste says, "Country music loves a smartass... Now, the digital generation has its own yukks-and-plucks guy, Jonny Fritz. A native Montanan who’s been touring for a decade now, he’s squarely in the (Robbie) Fulks mode, with a similarly strained voice and an ear for older country music in constant danger of being forgotten or disregarded."
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La Vida Boheme
"Cementerio del Este"
'Será'
Nacional, 2013
Note: Our first of five Latin alternative tunes from KCRW this week is from Caracas, Venezuela. Sounds And Colors says, "La Vida Boheme crashed on the scene in 2010 with the punk rock fury of Nuestra, an album so angsty and so fun that it managed to blow up everyone’s radar. That’s why their sophomore effort Será may come as a surprise to those fans waiting for that trademark sound. This is not to say that punk has left the building for the band, but Será demonstrates a more mature sound for La Vida Boheme, where they’re more willing to experiment with different tempos and genres. From new wave to folk and cabaret punk, La Vida Boheme’s Será signals a new era for Latin American rock."
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Low
"Plastic Cup" (Live at KEXP)
'The Invisible Way'
Sub Pop, 2013
Note: The mighty Duluth trio known as Low are back on PUTV for the third time with a KEXP exclusive live version of their last track heard here. "For their 10th album, Low have enlisted Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy to produce The Invisible Way... “Plastic Cup” has a dark, yet gorgeous sound where Tweedy’s influence is present without toying with Low’s defined sound too much. Low decided to work with Tweedy after visiting Wilco’s studio and hearing tracks from Mavis Staples’ You Are Not Alone..."
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Boards Of Canada
"Reach For The Dead"
'Tomorrow's Harvest'
Warp, 2013
Note: Oh man, it doesn't get much better than this for me as I f%^#ing LOVE BoC. Ever since I heard their debut full-length in '98, most other electronic music has paled in comparison. NME says, "They may both be camera-shy electronic music duos with long-awaited new albums, but ‘Tomorrow’s Harvest’ shows Boards Of Canada to be essentially the anti-Daft Punk. While the Parisian robot duo’s ‘Random Access Memories’ is full of sunshine, light and high-profile collaborations, ‘Tomorrow’s Harvest’ is a dark, often uncomfortable affair, more nuclear winter than summer anthem." And again, the little fanfare at the start of the record is just the best touch!
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Natalia Clavier
"Adios" (w/ The Echocentrics)
'Lumen'
Nacional, 2013
Note: Two weeks ago we heard the beauty of Natalia Clavier, but now she's back AND she brought some friends! Culture Remixed says, "Natalia Clavier honed her craft as a long time vocalist for Thievery Corporation. Her new LP Lumen was released on May 28, 2013 through Nacional Records. Produced by Adrian Quesada (Ocote Soul Sounds, Grupo Fantasma, Brownout), the album takes you on a journey of various styles and influences united by Clavier's soulful vocals."
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Goat
"Dreambuilding" single
Sub Pop, 2013
Note: The strangeness of Sweden's Goat was last heard here on Episode046. "“Dreambuilding,” the first side of a forthcoming 7” single, finally spotlights that concision, as it lands its chant-along hook, a brilliant crybaby riff and a shake-it-out drum break in less than three cycles of the clock. What’s most impressive, though, is that Goat actually does all of this in the song’s first half, leaving the back half of the track open for a guitar solo that’s so gnarly, damaged and great that you might wish the side of vinyl went on forever."
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Sonny and The Sunsets
"Void"
'Antenna to the Afterworld'
Polyvinyl, 2013
Note: The Amoeba record store makes the awesome "What's In My Bag?" video series AND writes reviews, too? "Sonny & the Sunsets have been releasing awesome, diverse records for some time now. Though they often get lumped in with a generic “garage rock” tag that seems to envelop a number of disparate bands from SF or LA, each Sunsets record is quite a departure from the last... The latest album from Sonny Smith and his crew is his best yet. Antenna to the Afterworld finds Smith delivering surrealist lyrics about aliens and robots, yet they’re rooted in human emotion."
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Bostich+Fussible
"Temporary Paradise" (w/ Pilobolus)
Nortec Collective, 2013
Note: Our second of three exclusive tracks this week is from "Tijuana's Bostich & Fussible who recently collaborated with dance company Pilobolus to score their latest work. This classical and futuristic piece is an exclusive and not available elsewhere."
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Mudhoney
"Chardonnay" (Live at KEXP)
'Vanishing Point'
Sub Pop, 2013
Note: Also marking their third visit to PUTV, these Pacific Northwest legends are back with our other exclusive live track this week from KEXP, who notes the band sound "as fierce as ever, refusing to give in to age by trading youthful angst for an increase in the band’s trademark aged sarcasm and dark humor.”Chardonnay” isn’t a particularly deep song - according to Arm, it’s about “when the bookers don’t fucking pay attention to the fucking riders and we get chardonnay. I seriously do fucking hate chardonnay” - but it shows that Mudhoney’s still-potent mixture of punk fury and sardonic lyrics remains intact."
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Susanne Sundfor
"White Foxes"
'The Silicone Veil'
EMI, 2012
Note: Pitchfork says the album's "lead single, sets a scene that's thick with mythology and dark as a nighttime thicket. Sundfør's voice, high and tense, pierces through a foggy bassline while the drum line lopes steady behind her. Her vocal pirouettes and lyrics could have wandered in from a grief ballad, but the chorus's blooming synths and the electric-drill bridge suggest a tale far more contemporary and no less haunting."
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Carla Morrison
"Eres Tu"
'Déjenme Llorar'
Digitalpressure / Cosmica, 2012
Note: Song source KCRW says, "Mexican singer Carla Morrison is a breakout favorite on the Latin Alternative scene, having won a Latin Grammy award for her most recent album, Déjenme Llorar."
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METZ
"Headache"
'METZ'
Sub Pop, 2012
Note: We heard the heaviosity of METZ back on Episode039 and now the Toronto band returns to the show with more from their self-titled debut. "There's a surface graininess that amplifies the corrosive qualities of the band's sound and the strep-throat rawness of Edkins' voice, but also serves to accentuate some of the more surprising elements in the mix-- like the ascendant "ahhhhh" harmonies that provide a two-second respite from the village-pillaging assault of "Headache"."
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First Communion Afterparty
"Jesus Told You"
'Sorry For All The Mondays and To Those Who Can't Sing'
mpls ltd, 2008
Note: Song source The Current says this bubbling under band "conjures spirits of the past with their sprawling psychedelic jangle. From their 2008 debut "Sorry For All The Mondays and To Those Who Can't Sing," FCAP have captured a haze thirsty audience in the Twin Cities."
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Mexican Institute of Sound
"Un Raro Encanto"
'Politico'
Nacional, 2012
Note: Last heard back on Episode020, here's more new music from the critically acclaimed 2012 release 'Politico'. PopMatters says, "Camilo Lara, the principal producer behind Mexican Institute of Sound (notably also the president of the Mexican chapter of EMI) got started making holiday “best of” mixes for his friends. These mixes also included his own creations which sampled traditional Mexican instrumentation, song structure and mariachi guitars and horns. He was then encouraged to take those remixes to the next level and start cutting his own CDs as Mexican Institute of Sound. Politico is the 4th such record. "
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Father John Misty
"I'm Writing A Novel"
'Fear Fun'
Sub Pop, 2012
Note: We close with a Pacific Northwest artist who appeared on our pilot episode! With an 8 out of 10 rating, the NME says, "Having officially taken leave of his drumming duties in Fleet Foxes at the start of 2012, and with a host of solo albums as J Tillman packing out his suede knapsack, Josh Tillman has decided to start afresh. Casting himself as Father John Misty, a Laurel Canyon transplant equally repelled and fascinated by the self-centred sprawl of LA, his ‘Fear Fun’ is a country-leaning, wise-cracking masterwork. A droll riposte to those who think post-millennial folk music is po-faced, check out the urban hillbilly hustle of ‘Writing A Novel’ for lyrics loaded with offhand wit."
(More Info)
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@PumpUpThaVolume Music News:
Jailing Her Softly: Lauryn Hill checks into low-security prison
Morrissey postpones more shows, citing food poisoning
Randy Travis has suffered a stroke and is back in critical condition after stabilizing
Congress is still mad Jay-Z and Beyoncé went to Cuba, so they made a law about it
Jay-Z goes full-tilt hipster with a Third Man Records-produced playable letter
Here are ten songs that turned Chuck Klosterman (@CKlosterman) to the dark side
Watch Mudhoney, J Mascis, and more Sub Pop peeps play atop Seattle's Space Needle in real time
Watch Mudhoney's furious 'Fallon' set, during their first TV appearance in nearly 20 years
Damon Albarn's song with Flea, Nick Zinner, and Alex Kapranos is disappointing, but at least it's for charity
Franz Ferdinand hijack a Parisian hotel for the truly lovely "Love Illumination" live video
@ChkChkChk: "radio...it’s the exact same playlist...It’s sick...like reading the same newspaper every single day"
I just talked on the phone to Al Jourgensen of Ministry for 10 minutes!
(Thanks again to @KEXP, @KCRW, @TheCurrent, Twilight Circus Dub Sound System and you!)