The Walrus is a Philadelphia-based music blog written by Michael. You may send me stuff through the send a tip page or email me. All mp3s should be sent as links. NO ATTACHMENTS, PLEASE. If I like your music, chances are I will write about it.
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eMusic has gone and done an adorable piece profiling the moms of some of today’s keeewwlleeesssst indie musicians (Bishop Allen, High Place, Holy Fuck).
Each indie mom chose which of their kids’ songs they loved most and discussed the reasons why. Don’t worry guys, even if some of you experience blog backlash you’ll still be #1 in mom’s eyes!
I often get tired of describing bands by using worlds like “ethereal”, “atmospheric” and “shoegaze”. Yes, all of these words could be applied to “Forth But First” by Philly’s Gildon Works, but none of them would really do it justice. You, my friend, will just have to listen to it and discover its beauty. However, I will say this, it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“Forth By First” is featured on Gildon Works’ debut album Artful Rifle, which available now from CD Baby.
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Jason Pierce’s Spiritualized was without a doubt one of the best space-rock bands of the 90s/early 2000, so it’s fitting that someone decided to re-score Kubrick’s classic space adventure with the various songs from the band’s catalog and dub it 2001: A Spiritualized Odyssey. Yes, it’s kind of like the Dark Side of the Moon/Wizard of Oz mash-up, but Spiritualized is the late-90s Pink Floyd, so ya know…
It’s broken up into 19 parts, but it’s totally worth it.
Here are the first 2 parts (keep in mind visuals don’t begin until 4:23 in the first video)
Part 1 featuring “Ladies and Gentlemen…”, “Pure Phase”, and “All My Tears”:
Part 2 featuring “On Fire” and “If I Were With Her Now”:
Originally featured on Skeletal Lamping, Of Montreal’s “Gallery Piece” gets a minimalistic electronic overhaul courtesy of multi-instrumentalist and producer Jon Brion (founder of The Bats (US) whose recent work includes producing the soundtrack for the film Synecdoche, New York). The result? A video-game pop explosion for your pants.
The Jon Brion Remixes album is out now digitally and on CD/LP on Jan. 27th, courtesy of Polyvinyl.
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Nobunny, the dude who rolled around the floor in his underwear while performing at Philly’s MRoom, is back with a new 7″ called “Give It To Me”. It’s a cool tune but the ultra lo-fi b-side “Motorhead With Me!” is absolutely irresistible and features the most charming hand-clap arrangements of the year!
Pick up the limited edition 7″ (just for the artwork alone) from Hozac.
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This twisted video only adds to my excitement over Karin Dreijer’s (The Knife) new project Fever Ray. It features a haunted house, a mysterious death, taxidermy and Karin ditching her iconic Knife crow costume for some freaky skeleton face paint. Ralph Macchio better run!
Trust me, it tastes really good and swirly and intense…just how you like it. “Get Older” is our first dose of mad-electro-scientist-and-certifiable-genius Dan Deacon’s Bromst, the highly anticipated follow-up to the wonderful Spiderman of the Rings. Oh, and as you may or may not have guessed, it’s a noodley symphony with brightly colored electronic hemorrhages that will melt your brain…in a good way. Listen:
Carolina Melis directed this beautifully minimalistic video for Danish band Efterklang. I’m not too familiar with the band’s work, but I am definitely digging this song and the lovely geometric visuals that accompany it. Plus, the ending is reminiscent of light-brights! Man, kids toys were so much cooler in the 80s…
One of coolest things about Abe Vigoda is their willingness to change up their sound…unlike so many bands these days.
“Don’t Lie” the lead track on their upcoming EP Reviver exemplifies that willingness by being slower, simpler and moodier than most of the tracks on last year’s Skeleton. Have a listen before they move on to the next sound…
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The 2007 documentary Heavenly Pop Hits: The Flying Nun Story, which aired on New Zealand, profiles the DIY influential 80s indie Kiwi label Flying Nun Records. The bands featured on their roster, including The Clean, The Bats, The Verlaines and The Chills influenced countless future indie bands such as Pavement, Guided By Voices and Jay Reatard. It’s a great story with great music so check it out after the jump…
Swedish Italo-Disco diva Sally Shapiro released a remix companion album to 2007’s Disco Romance. It’s a great collection featuring remixes from some really interesting and talented folks like Juan MacLean, Junior Boys and Lindstom, but the one that stuck out for me was Holy Fuck’s space-rock take on the ethereal “Find My Soul”. Have a listen.
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