Another solid effort from Fujiya and Miyagi

By Greg Swan, on January 20th, 2011%

I’ve written about Fujiya and Miyagi quite often and highly enjoyed their sold out gig at 7th Street Entry back in 2009. F&M craft solid albums that you can just hit play on and enjoy.

I got an advance of their new LP, Ventriloquizzing set for release on January 25th on Yep Roc Records and was not disappointed.

It’s their same brand of head bobbing, too-cool-for-school beats partnered with thick bass and purring, whispery vocals. “You don’t know which side your bread is buttered on… has the cat got your tongue…has the cat..got your tongue.. ah ah aha…”

Here’s “Yoyo”

MP3: Fujiya And . . . → Read More: Another solid effort from Fujiya and Miyagi

New Decemberists record too grown up for me

By Greg Swan, on January 14th, 2011%

I snagged a review copy of the new Decemberists album, The King is Dead, this week and think just listening to it may have aged me a bit.

A long harmonica fill serves as the herald that a new Decemberists’ record is upon us, closely followed by the first verbose verse of the Portland band’s first track, “Don’t Carry it All.”

Here we come to a turning of the season,
witness to the arc towards the sun,
the neighbors blessed burden within reason,
becomes a burden borne of all in one,
but nobody nobody knows,
let the yoke fall from our shoulders,
don’t carry it all don’t carry . . . → Read More: New Decemberists record too grown up for me

Still rocking We Are the Willows a year plus later

By Greg Swan, on December 16th, 2010%

If you haven’t listened to We Are the Willows yet, I highly suggest you check them out.

I’m still enjoying A Collection of Sounds and Something Like the Plague a year later. I actually seek it out on my iPod – particularly on planes. And with the amount of music I consume, that hardly ever happens with a band I first heard a year ago with no “new” material out.

MP3: We Are the Willows – “A Funeral Dressed As a Birthday

Also highly recommend “The Sorry . . . → Read More: Still rocking We Are the Willows a year plus later

Block the addiction gene and quarantine his temper: Only Son orders the perfect child

By Greg Swan, on December 15th, 2010%

Only Son released the official video for “It’s a Boy” last week. The video is directed by Peter Sand and the track is from OS’s forthcoming album, Searchlight, out January 18.

Frankly, the video is cool and all, but I’m really digging the track itself. Check out the opening lyrics:

Let’s start with the baby’s gender
Do you know what you both want?
Well, we’ve discussed it and we’re pretty sure we’d like to have a boy.

Later:
Block the addiction gene and quarantine his temper.

Earlier this week I was recommending a coworker check out E.M. Forster’s short story “The Machine Stops,” which is about the role . . . → Read More: Block the addiction gene and quarantine his temper: Only Son orders the perfect child

Easy Star All-Stars have a remix hit with Dubber Side of the Moon

By Greg Swan, on December 14th, 2010%

The Easy Star All-Stars are a New York reggae collective who made a name for themselves with their 2003 cover album, Dub Side of the Moon, which you can probably guess was a dubstep take on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

I never heard that one, but I did snag a copy of the All-Stars’ new Dubber Side of the Moon and have to admit I’m impressed. I wasn’t overly familiar with the dubstep genre — reggae-influenced, bass heavy electronic dance music which is usually syncopated and often shuffled or incorporating triplets — although I’m widely familiar with . . . → Read More: Easy Star All-Stars have a remix hit with Dubber Side of the Moon

Kurt von Stetten puts the Y in DIY

By Greg Swan, on December 14th, 2010%

Boston’s multi-instrumentalist, photographer and BMX flatlander Kurt von Stetten sent this track of true-blue DIY indie rock off his latest album, Pyramid.

It feels kind of old school-Malkmus-y, but only if Malkmus played EVERY SINGLE INSTRUMENT.

MP3: Kurt von Stetten – “Come . . . → Read More: Kurt von Stetten puts the Y in DIY

Designed Delight: Dearling Physique’s new Deadeye Dealer

By Greg Swan, on December 3rd, 2010%

Dearling Physique sent me their new album, Deadeye Dealer, and it rose to the top of the massive stack of little plastic discs that came in the mail last week.

Part industrial rock, part poetry, part avante-garde art, and all Domino Davis, Dearling Physique is probably as close to Prince nouveau we’ll get in the Obama generation.

I interviewed Dom back in 2008 and am quoted in the promotional packet saying this about DP’s sound: “It’s a romping mess of rhythm, foreboding vocals, grating electro blips, eye of newt and euro trash. This is my kind of music.”

The same pullquote . . . → Read More: Designed Delight: Dearling Physique’s new Deadeye Dealer

A new generation of kids’ music arrives: Caspar Babypants

By Greg Swan, on November 29th, 2010%

Photo credit: Brian Kasnyik

Chris Ballew conquered the nation’s pop charts with his Grammy-nominated band, Presidents of the United States of America, in the 90s. But after penning some songs to complement his wife’s art collages, Chris realized he had a knack for children’s music – and Caspar Babypants was born.

Being an elitist music blogger and all, I’m pretty sensitive to exposing the “right’ music to my kids. I consider the foundation in classic rock my father instilled in me to be a key element in the formation of my personality.

When it comes to new music, after a quick screen . . . → Read More: A new generation of kids’ music arrives: Caspar Babypants

Camden goes too far down its own rabbit hole

By Greg Swan, on November 23rd, 2010%

So the kids got up at their normal, pre-dawn time this morning, and before the coffee hit my lips I opened the Perfect Porridge e-mail box here and found a little surprise amidst the blast pitches rife with formulaic crap and soda companies pretending to be record labels. It’s an advance of the new Camden album, Living Image.

Cole Weiland from Daughters of the Sun, a highly recommended Minneapolis group, has a a side project called Camden.

It’s a gutsy effort. All seven tracks are a murky mess of layers upon layers of electro tinkering, knob tinkering and self-aggrandizing experimentation.

Here’s . . . → Read More: Camden goes too far down its own rabbit hole

Invisible Hand, a welcome surprise

By Greg Swan, on November 9th, 2010%

Although I rarely respond to the 100+ e-mails I get every day and absolutely fail to review every album that arrives via snail, I do make an effort to listen to every physical album that comes to the Perfect Porridge PO Box.

Sometimes this is an extremely disheartening process.

The process: I pop a disc in the car’s CD player, let the first track play, cringe, advance to Track 2, wait 30 seconds, try to find something good about the music, cringe, see if I can tolerate Track 3, put the album in pile to never listen to again. Repeat.

It . . . → Read More: Invisible Hand, a welcome surprise