♫Makin' a soundtrack for another planet to hear♫" on Episode066 - Things Will Change which features brand new sounds from Treetop Flyers, Mavis Staples, Mikal Cronin, Alela Diane, The So So Glos, Standish/Carlyon, Surfer Blood, Moon King, Holy Folk, Futurebirds, Daughn Gibson and The Trouble Starts...
Previous: Episode065 - The Secret Is Out
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♬Liner Notes♬: What a beautiful way to hear the holiday weekend! We've got everything from Surfer Blood to Mavis Staples, return visits from Daughn Gibson, Alela Diane and Mikal Cronin + a host of other new sounds from around the world on Pump Up Tha Volume!
Treetop Flyers
"Things Will Change"
'The Mountain Moves'
Partisan, 2013
Note: This London band opens this week's show with a California sound as KDHX notes, "There's no denying it: Some songs just cry out summer, and so it is with Treetop Flyers' "Things Will Change," a rhythmically flaring, sun splash of pure jangle and harmonies." Sounds like America to me!
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Mavis Staples
"Far Celestial Shores"
'One True Vine'
Anti- / Epitaph, 2013
Note: Pitchfork says, "Mavis Staples’ One True Vine, her second record with Jeff Tweedy... ["Far Celestial Shores" was] written by Nick Lowe. An upbeat tune with a sharply strummed guitar propelling its quirky melody...promising a reward in the afterlife for the trials of this life." Unfortunately, her unofficial Twitter feed notes Mavis has canceled tour dates due to knee surgery.
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Mikal Cronin
"Change"
'MCII'
Merge, 2013
Note: We heard the lead cut "Weight" as our lead track back on Episode058, now Cronin returns with a "Change". Spin says about his second solo LP that, "Somehow, every song here sounds urgent enough to feel like the album's centerpiece. But it's "Change," MCII's most aggressive four minutes, that provides the most catharsis. Wild and wooly, with an expertly crafted, cliff-like crescendo for a coda, it's a white-knuckle freakout made more forceful by dizzying strings and woodwinds."
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Alela Diane
"Rose and Thorn"
'About Farewell'
Rusted Blue, 2013
Note: For the second week in a row we get Portland, Oregon's own downhearted songstress. (We are called Rose City, you know?) "Alela Diane comes to terms with lovers past and the pain of divorce through a collection of tracks that allow this songbird to soar again."
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The So So Glos
"Everything Revival"
'Blowout'
Shea Stadium, 2013
Note: Song source KEXP says, "Like their comrades and frequent touring partners Titus Andronicus, Brooklyn’s The So So Glos create raucous, garage-tinged punk rock filled with youthful energy and an unwavering optimism... Opening with a Springsteen-esque glockenspiel, [this] scuzzy track quickly jumps from the Jersey Turnpike into the gutter, rolling around with clanging drums, buzzing riffs, and shouty gang vocals."
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Standish/Carlyon
"Gucci Mountain"
'Deleted Scenes'
felte, 2013
Note: Our second London band this week is actually "Aussie duo Standish/Carlyon... the looming “Gucci Mountain.”... a crawling slow jam with building synths and wobbly falsetto — perfect for prom on the moon."
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Surfer Blood
"Weird Shapes"
'Pythons'
Sire/Warner Bros., 2013
Note: Finally! If you follow the Media Monarchy kingdom then you know I'm a fan of these guys and I'm glad KCRW got them here on PUTV. Warner seems to really be promoting the new second full-length from the young Florida quartet, what with all the videos that have been produced... either that or I just get all the targeted ads now cause the Google gods know I like them! As usual, Pitchfork makes great points: "Pythons is a sleeker affair than 2010's bedroom-born Astro Coast and 2011's knotty Tarot Classics EP. With 10 lean songs in 32 minutes, there's hardly a second to waste, so Pythons largely dispenses with pageantry and heads straight for the stomp box... Pythons' musical confidence is not shared by its narrator. Pitts spends the record sounding one kind of despondent after another: he points fingers, apologizes profusely, hopes something will change, realizes it won't."
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Moon King
"Appel"
'Obsession II' EP
One Big Silence, 2013
Note: AltSounds says this Toronto duo has "a sound nestled somewhere between the fuzzed out bliss of The Jesus and Mary Chain and the icy sweetness of Cocteau Twins... The six songs on Obsession II burst with gigantic pounding drums, deep rumbling bass, jangling acoustics and hazy white-noise guitars cranked loud enough at times to feel like they're tearing your speakers in half."
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Holy Folk
"All's Forgotten"
'Motioning'
Silver Side, 2013
Note: L.A. Record says, "the quartet’s debut long-player, Motioning, is a slow, likeable ride, a sun-kissed collection of ten diverse songs... With crisp and clean production values and an arsenal of instruments that includes acoustic guitars, fiddles, keyboards, pianos, accordions, and chimes, Motioning comes off as a richly textured and mature record from a band that is clearly on the road to impressive things."
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Futurebirds
"Tan Lines"
'Baba Yaga'
Fat Possum, 2013
Note: Hear Ya says "Futurebirds are back for their 2nd full-length LP in effort to bottle their scintillating live show. For a band that thrives in a live setting, that is no easy feet. That being said, Baba Yaga see the Athens outfit getting more and more comfortable in the studio, and showing some tremendous growth from their debut Hampton’s Lullaby."
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Daughn Gibson
"Phantom Rider"
'Me Moan'
Sub Pop, 2013
Note: Last heard way back on Episodes009 and 014, the one-time trucker returns to PUTV with a new record on a new label. KEXP, not the song source for this one but they did write a good review by noting that "Gibson isn’t trying to prove he’s some badass cowboy - he just is. Thus, his sound shouldn’t surprise anyone. You just need to get on his level to really get it. In finding his new home on Sub Pop, Gibson’s dynamic has gained some mass. The tracks have quadrupled in size and impact, and Gibson’s croon soars clear and crisp. With Me Moan it looks and feels like Gibson has created a record that fulfills 100% of the vision he set out with. Tip of the cap to Sub Pop for that."
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The Trouble Starts
"Glaciers"
'EAST'
self-released, 2013
Note: Song source KEXP says our Pacific Northwest closer is "“Glaciers” opens with a guitar solo – how brave! But considering lead guitarist Starkey’s ability to jam, so it’s no wonder. The tune, reminiscent of Pixies’ “Monkey Gone To Heaven”, complete with complimentary backing vocals that recall Modest Mouse or even The Presidents of the United States, is a true product of the Pacific Northwest. The album was mixed in Vancouver, WA, and tracked and mastered in Seattle. “Glaciers”, the (ironically fast-moving) first single for the new LP, feels like a race at dusk – lights staring down, a peculiar, frantic hope in the runner’s eyes looking up. With heavy bass tones and crashing symbols, the song sticks in the mind. Melts, even."
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@PumpUpThaVolume Music News:
This is the only #DeathValley I want... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k0dJEkzXc4 … @thesonicyouth
MT @NME: @ArcticMonkeys announce new album 'AM' http://ow.ly/mkiDD plus UK/US tour
Derek Smith is just killin' it on @KMHD_Jazz_Radio for #July1! Roy Ayers, @MMWBand #LegalizeIt, Gerry Mulligan... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RL3b0LKisU …
Currently enjoying @MediaMonarchy: @PumpUpThaVolume: Episode064 - The Way Through http://mediamonarchy.blogspot.com/2013/06/putv064.html #InfoAge 4 #OurWorldChange
MT @wvgazette: #HankWilliams fateful trip through #WestVirginia linked lives http://bit.ly/17FGNHc Whoo, discovered dead in my home county!
#Video: "Orchids In The Moonlight" by #XavierCugat & Orch on 1958 Columbia LP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOhPVfoqJik … been spinning this one lately #loungey
20yrs ago today my first real concert: INXS, Iggy Pop, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, X, Posies & more http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWYhVsHnTHU … http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HFStival#Lineups …
#Video: #GoodFood by @AkbarTheMC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9UDtCFfCzU … #FoodWorldOrder h/t @brocwest
...but I was mostly in it for the @m83news #soundtrack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhHZaJAfFsI …
Glitches aside, 'Magna Carta Holy Grail' lets Jay-Z rewrite rules
Brit-folk rockers @TreetopFlyers's new album proves a decent alternative to the Eagles for those long road trips
(Thanks again to @KEXP, @KCRW, @TheCurrent, Twilight Circus Dub Sound System and you!)