I started this post over at least five separate times – mainly because Spirit Night’s sound defies me to pigeonhole the band into easy categories. It’s lo-fi/bedroom/noise, but the songs aren’t being permeated by a constant buzz like many of the band’s contemporaries are fond of. It’s rock in a vein similar to that of Jets to Brazil – edgy, like being paranoid when you’re high. (And the vocals sound strangely like Blake Schwartzenbach’s.)
Dylan Balliett, the creative force behind the music, isn’t afraid to allow his songs to stand on their own. He accessorizes them with various sounds – a triangle, the shaky twang of a guitar when a note is held and twisted, a smattering of voices recorded in a crowded room – but nothing that will detract focus from the song’s skeleton. He sings about angst and drugs and the pains of longing. And he writes a hell of a good song.
What We Will Be is an album that gets under your skin; there is plenty here to digest and enjoy. To be honest, I could have posted numerous songs from the album since there are so many good ones. Happily, you can get the rest of it yourself for free at their Bandcamp page. As of right now, there is no physical release planned. There are no tour dates planned either – at least according to their MySpace, but that should change in the near future. Or at least I hope so.
Spirit Night – The Medicine (mp3) from What We Will Be
Spirit Night – Green Street (mp3) from What We Will Be
Bowerbirds are a name. Certainly they possess an interesting and unique band name, but what I really mean is that I recognize their name more than I would recognize anything they actually do or produce. Apparently I had previously downloaded both of the tracks which were sent to us by their publicist in anticipation of a fall tour; I never gave either track much of a chance. They author a brand of folk-ish music I don’t normally pay much attention to, but there is clearly a reason there is name recognition here. “Northern Lights” has a simple yet immediate quality that I can clearly see myself enjoying while lounging, drinking a beer and reading a book. As I grow older, I imagine music of this nature will appeal more and more to me.
I don’t know how I missed out on this particular Florence and The Machine song, but I clearly did considering I first heard it just this past week when I came upon it over at Sunset in the Rearview. I’m sorry I’ve missed it for so long because it is in fact quite stunning. With an intro and sustained beat that sounds like something Utah Saints might have conjured, “Swimming” is a b-side that was included both in the iTunes version of Lungs, and was also tossed in on the b-side/rarities disc of the ‘Special Box Edition.’
I was unaware even that a limited box set existed, so I suppose I’m happy I found the song eventually instead of wading through all the superfluous Lungs-related nonsense. I’m just curious what decision led to this track being left off the official album release. It is as grand and dramatic as anything off the entire record, and I’m certain it would have given “Cosmic Love” a run for its money in regards to my favorite off the record. She sings of the power of music to shake people from their stagnant lives to get back on some path they may have faltered from. Art in its many forms certainly has this ability, and a song about something like this would certainly serve as a potent reminder of some wayward dream or vision.
Needless to say after all this fawning, if you haven’t heard it yet and you enjoyed Lungs, I promise you won’t be disappointed. If all box sets included something so good I think they might appeal to me more.
Andy has become our inbox gold-miner, while I only occasionally peek in there to find something. Usually when I take a look, he has left the cupboards fairly devoid of anything useful. I wish I had more time to listen to our submissions, but as of now I am not so blessed. Still, I find something vaguely interesting here and there that Andy has missed or glossed over. While Entrepreneurs “Hunting Roger Rabbit” is not something I might normally listen to, it certainly caught my attention upon inspection. With a pulsing beat and caustic vocals, it’s not quite the same as a lot of what we’ve been posting lately, but it is still something worth checking out. I personally enjoy “Bubblegunk” a bit more; it’s almost like if Brandon Flowers decided to work with a pop producer to tweak his image to appeal to a completely different and possibly less wholesome crowd.
Feel free to head over to the band’s Bandcamp or MySpace pages if you are interested in checking out more.
I was listening to the radio with my family last night, and on came a tune I hadn’t heard before. It sounded an awful lot like The Talking Heads, with what seemed like another vocalist contributing bits here and there. I am not as much of a music historian as I might like, so I shazam-ed that shit. Suffice to say I was disappointed in myself when I learned it was a song released at a time when I should have been paying attention, and then further disappointed to learn I actually already had the song on my computer without ever having listened to it (at least on this hard drive).
The song is pretty excellent, with lyrics centered on writing a song in what happens to be nearly the exact same situation as the circumstances of the process of writing “Strange Overtones” itself might have been. I know, pretty meta. That aside, what it mainly signifies to me is that I don’t have nearly enough time to listen to all the music on our radar that is released, even though I would say I listen to a broader spectrum than most. I certainly wish there was enough time to listen to everything released, but with life and all its obligations that is damn near impossible.
NOTE: Concerts are in Rochester unless otherwise noted.
2/22: William Fitzsimmons
2/24: Mike Doughty
2/25: Charles Bradley (Buffalo)
2/29: Summer People
3/3: Matthew Good
3/5: Evening Man
3/23: The Men
3/30: tympanogram’s 3rd Birthday with Born Gold, Old Tapes, TBA
4/20: fun.
4/23: Cults (Buffalo)
5/6: Bear In Heaven (Ithaca)
5/7: M83 (Buffalo)
an examination used to test the condition of the middle ear and mobility of the eardrum, and the conduction bones by creating variations of air pressure in the ear canal.
Basically, it sounded like a cool name for a blog intended to be primarily about music. We’d both had other blogs previously, but over beers it was decided that more damage could be done as a joint venture. And here we are.
We share a passion for the undiscovered and under-appreciated, and hope that you’ll be able to find something you love as well.
Disclaimer
The music offered on this blog is for sampling purposes only. If you enjoy something you hear here, please go out and buy the music, see a show, or purchase some merchandise. Posted mp3s are available for a limited period of time only.
If there are any materials featured here that are your intellectual property, and you would prefer them removed, please notify us and we will be happy to oblige.
If you'd like to send us something via email, please send it here.
Please note that our personal email addresses are for just that - personal communication. Please don't send submissions to our personal addresses, as we'll probably tell you to take us off of your list. But if you want to say hello, tell us what a great job we're doing, etc., then use our personal addresses all you want.
About the Author: Dave
I like music. I can't describe how I came to like the music I do, because I don't know how or why, I just do.
Many years ago, Napoleon's brother, my great-great-great-great-great-great Grandfather, came to America. He was asked his name on Ellis Island while being processed as an immigrant. Not understanding English, he was under the impression that he was being asked how he had arrived in the new land. So he turned around and pointed at the sea vessel and said, 'LaBarge.'
About the Author: Andy
I come by my music taste of my own free will. My friends listened to 2Pac, my parents to contemporary Christian and me? Sunny Day Real Estate. I can’t explain it.
“Music, true music, not just rock ’n’ roll, it chooses you. It lives in your car, or alone, listening to your headphones…” - Lester Bangs
![Spirit Night 300x201 [mp3] Introducing: Spirit Night What We Will Be](http://tympanogram.com/files/Spirit-Night.jpg "Spirit Night")
I started this post over at least five separate times – mainly because Spirit Night’s sound defies me to pigeonhole the band into easy categories. It’s lo-fi/bedroom/noise, but the songs aren’t being permeated by a constant buzz like many of the band’s contemporaries are fond of. It’s rock in a vein similar to that of Jets to Brazil – edgy, like being paranoid when you’re high. (And the vocals sound strangely like Blake Schwartzenbach’s.)![3hhs NickHelderman02 5 [mp3] Bowerbirds Northern Lights](http://img.ymlp108.com/3hhs_NickHelderman02_5.jpg "[mp3] Bowerbirds Northern Lights")
![[mp3] Bowerbirds Northern Lights](http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tympanogram-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002EHTJN6 "[mp3] Bowerbirds Northern Lights"){kind=small}
![florence [mp3] Florence and The Machine Swimming](http://www.popcoast2coast.com/images/florence.jpg "[mp3] Florence and The Machine Swimming")
I don’t know how I missed out on this particular Florence and The Machine song, but I clearly did considering I first heard it just this past week when I came upon it over at ![[mp3] Florence and The Machine Swimming](http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tympanogram-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002F6FQGK "[mp3] Florence and The Machine Swimming"){kind=small}
, and was also tossed in on the b-side/rarities disc of the ‘Special Box Edition.’![2008 08 15 guardian a [mp3] David Byrne and Brian Eno Strange Overtones](http://www.davidbyrne.com/music/cds/everything_that_happens/press/images/2008_08_15_guardian_a.jpg "[mp3] David Byrne and Brian Eno Strange Overtones")
![[mp3] David Byrne and Brian Eno Strange Overtones](http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tympanogram-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001GGXGKI "[mp3] David Byrne and Brian Eno Strange Overtones"){kind=small}
