And with this post, tympanogram will be going (relatively) dark. We don’t want to go all Hipster Runoff and say we’re quitting and then come back the next Monday like nothing happened, so we may appear every so often if something really strikes our fancy, but there isn’t going to be regular posting here anymore.

We’ve loved doing this for the past three years, but the blog has come to a point where it’s more of a frustration than it is a joy to do, and since it’s no longer fun, we’re not going to keep it up. I have kids, Andy just bought a house, and the demands on our time are only going to increase from here on out. It seems like now is the best time to step back, say thanks, and move on down the line.

We’re not going to delve too deeply into the reasons it’s no longer fun, but the turnout for two shows this past week in Rochester had a lot to do with our personal frustration level, and were a stark realization of our lack of impact. The resulting existential crises are not brand new, but they’ve come to a head and it seems better to take a break from the whole thing. We still love music, and hopefully this time away will reinvigorate those passions and allow us to return to the frame of mind in which we decided to start this damn thing.

There are many, many people to thank for their help over the past few years, and a complete rehashing of all those who we’re indebted to would ultimately be incomplete, but please know that if you’ve taken the time to read our posts, follow us on Twitter, friend us on Facebook, interact with us at all, you’re appreciated. Thanks to the bands who have sent us their stuff. Thanks to the blogs who accepted us into their ranks without question. Thanks to our local friends who have let us try our hand at actually creating concerts, records, etc. We’ll see you around for sure.

And lastly, thanks to the group of writers we assembled for all of their hard work. We appreciate that you shared your love of music through us, and we’re sorry we couldn’t ever pay you all in anything more than free tunes. Out of all of this, the actual friends we made through our virtual ramblings will be more important than anything else.

Unfortunately I missed The Men when they played Bug Jar last week. With my birthday last Saturday, I was just too busy to make it work, but I made it up to them in part by purchasing their debut album on vinyl on Sunday. I hadn’t listened to it before hearing their solid new album, Open Your Heart, but I loved the energy and brashness that one displayed.

And then, I we got word in our inbox that the band was releasing another new song, this one called “A Minor.” Their label, Sacred Bones, is releasing a compilation in conjunction with Record Store Day, and “A Minor” is a part of that release.

The track is large, winding it’s way over the course of the it’s eight-plus minutes, sounding like it could be divided into a couple of different songs. It showcases what drew me to The Men’s most recent effort; the Brooklyn band defies being put into simply a punk category, incorporating fuzzy psychedelics, country twang and eschewing the need for vocals for the most part. Stream the epic “A Minor” below and head back to check out Open Your Heart to see what you’ve been missing.

Connect with The Men // web

I was supposed to write a review of Frankie Rose’s Interstellar, but clearly I never did. Every time I attempt a review I’ve assigned myself, I always suffer a lack of things to say. The only reviews I truly feel compelled to write are those I form strong opinions about in complex ways. Interstellar is a pretty good record, it’s just not one I had a lot to say about. Here is the video for “Night Swim,” a typically good song from the release.

If you’re not from around Western New York, it might come as a surprise that here in Rochester, we’re closer to Toronto than we are New York City. In terms of driving, it’s quickest to go down through Pennsylvania and cut across New Jersey in order to get to NYC – a total of six hours or so, depending on the severity of traffic. Toronto, on the other hand, takes about half that time, depending on how the border crossing goes.

So, while Brooklyn is an obvious hotbed of great music, our neighbors to the north in Toronto have their fair share of excellent music as well. The latest I’ve found is Indoor Voices. It’s the work of one Jonathan Relph, and recorded over the span of two years from 2009-2011, with the resulting album, Nevers, being released last fall. It’s a fantastic post-rock, shoegaze album, comprised of nine songs, none of which miss the mark. It’d be easy to pick any song from the album and have it be representative of what you’re going to get, which made it difficult for me to narrow my choice down to just one song. (And why I settled on the title track.) That said, Nevers is available for free in its entirety through Indoor Voices’ Bandcamp page, so if you like what you hear, you don’t have to make a choice. Get the whole thing.

The album is available physically as well, in an lasercut CD form which is limited to 50 copies.

Connect with Indoor Voices // Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp | web

Indoor Voices // Nevers (Loud) [mp3] from Nevers

The Flaming Lips have unveiled their duo with Bon Iver, taken from their upcoming Record Store Day release, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends. The album, which also features collaborations with Ke$ha, Neon Indian, Nick Cave, and Erykah Badu, will be released on April 21st, and will feature the blood of some of the performers in the limited edition packaging. If you didn’t already know, The Flaming Lips are weird dudes.

“Ashes In The Air” is a space-y track; Bon Iver is relegated to mainly singing each line after Wayne Coyne. It’s nothing mind blowing, and nothing worth listening to repeatedly either.

There has to be more of Flights’ Anywhere But Where I Am than what they have on their Bandcamp page. There are only two songs available there – “Taller” and “Pillars” – but the story that those two start to tell can’t possibly be finished in the ten minutes it takes to listen to them, because once I get to the end, I start them right over. It’s like watching the first twenty minutes of a fantastic movie and then having to restart it, over and over again.

Either song would be representative of the Nashville-by-way-of-Wisconsin pair, who can sound at times like Bread (yes, that Bread) or like Bon Iver, but I’m focusing on “Taller” here where the Bread comparison holds a little more true. It reminds me of the Boyfriend and Girlfriend EPs from Virginia Beach’s We Are Trees. It’s a little more folk-centric than those two, but it has the same lo-fi, swirling minimalism to it. It’s a gorgeous song that plays out over the course of nearly five minutes, though it could undoubtedly go on much longer, and it wouldn’t feel any more weighty.

Hopefully my inability to find more information out about Anywhere But Where I Am means it’s going to be released more widely than the pair’s Bandcamp page. Check out Flights on their Bandcamp page for a free download of “Pillars” as well.

Connect with Flights // Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Bandcamp

Flights // Taller [mp3] from Anywhere But Where I Am

Rize of the Fenix is out, if you must know, on May 15th.

Prior to our first go ’round at Toronto’s North By Northeast in 2010, we were able to secure an interview with Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast. How that happened for a minor music blog is no small miracle, but I remember Cosentino being likable during our time on the phone with her. (We don’t ask hard hitting questions either.)

The reason I’m relaying this story is this: was it obvious all along that Cosentino + Co. just weren’t that interesting? Because after hearing “The Only Place,” the title track from their new album which is out on May 15th, I’m wondering if we all just glossed over it the first time around. I know there was something good there, because “Boyfriend” is still a great song, as is “Sun Was High (So Was I).” But even then, I suppose I would have to admit that they are lyrically lacking. It’s just that, on “The Only Place,” it seems as if we’ve all been treated to a fourth grader writing songs for her family. Also gone is the lo-fi haze of the band’s previous work, replaced with a sunnier disposition and brighter guitars.

“The Only Place” reveals Cosentino’s love of California, although that fact has already been made clear by combining a) her band’s name with b) the visual clue of California on the cover of her first album. If you listen to the song too much, you just might get the feeling that you’re a sucker for living anywhere else. I can see this being a real crowd pleaser for shows outside of Cosentino’s home state.

Granted, lots of people write songs about where they’re from; New York City and Chicago are constantly repped in song. That said, if you listen to “Empire State of Mind” and then listen to “The Only Place,” which would you ultimately choose?

The Only Place, the album, will be out on May 15th via Mexican Summer, if you’re still looking forward to hearing it.

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Best Coast // The Only Place [mp3] from the forthcoming The Only Place

Four years really is too long. It’s that agonising length of time I mainly associate with the gap between football (soccer) World Cups. Recently, however, it’s become associated with Sigur Rós. It was June 2008 when the Icelandic post-rockers released their last studio albumMeð suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust. Since then, front man Jónsi has had a whale of a time launching a solo career but, despite being gifted in 2011 with the concert film/album Inni, some of us have been getting itchy with anticipation for a new LP.

Well, this week was a momentous one for beardy post-rock fans everywhere. Sigur Rós announced that their new album is to be titled Valtari, and is set for release on the 28th of May, as well as revealing an eight song tracklisting. Various audio snippets and the announcement of several shows later this year had indicated that a new release was imminent, but it’s another thing to know it’s for real. The announcement was accompanied by a video for the track “Ekki Múkk.” You can hear some of what the band meant when they described a more intimate and electronic sound, but it’s still classic stuff from Jónsi and the boys (that doesn’t really work for these guys, does it?)

The band have already got a run of festival and one-off shows set for the coming months, and this blogger is blessed enough to be headed to Vienna to catch them. Expect to hear about that one.