2012 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Tim Presley and his basement 60′s-rock revival outfit, White Fence. First, he and Ty Segall collaborated on an album titled Hair, which is due out on April 28. Second, Presley’s own double LP, Family Perfume is due out on Woodsist Records this year, with Volume 1 set for release on April 3. And third, both albums are going to fucking awesome. Want proof? Grab “Swagger Vets and Double Moon” below.
Presley has cranked up the distortion a bit on this track and croons his monotone vocals over moody blues riffs and rough strumming. What was more reminiscent of 60′s pop outfits like Buffalo Springfield and The Byrds on his 2011 release …Is Growing Faith has now taken a turn towards the grittier side of things, and we’re all the more lucky for it. The style may be a bit edgier, but it’s the familiar voice and authentic spirit that unifies each piece of art that White Fence releases. This may only be the second single to be released from Family Perfume, but so far, Presley is batting 1.000.
Some bands opt to redefine their music on each release. There’s the acoustic and sparse album followed by the electric and grandiose album. Or the “prog album” followed by the “folk album.” Not Dr. Dog. The Philly rockers have been content to evolve their sound slowly and subtly, each consecutive album adding a bit of extra scenery to the musical view. Similarly, their fan base has grown slowly but surely. Like the tortoise, they’re winning the race at their own pace.
Their latest album, Be The Void, bucks that trend just a bit, but in a sporadic and undefined way. They were a little less subtle in the changes they’ve made and perhaps a bit too adventurous in making them. The album’s opening track, “Lonesome,” brings a bluesy folk layer to their oeuvre. It’s a decent sized leap for them and it works wonderfully. As the next track, “That Old Black Hole,” starts up with its funky beat, spacy backdrop, and bongo highlights, it is quickly apparent that the refreshing new sound found in “Lonesome” is not a harbinger for things to come. The album continues to fluctuate between different influences throughout the rest of the album, whether it be the late 70′s hair-rockers “Big Girl” and “Warrior Man,” the Eastern-infused “Get Away,” or the almost mirrored return to folk on album closer “Turning the Century.”
I am certainly not knocking variety as a whole, but in this case it seems that Dr. Dog may have added a bit too much too fast. The album ends up lacking cohesiveness and becomes rather a collection of songs. Some of the songs are great, and will be welcome additions to Dr. Dog’s excellent live show. It just doesn’t particularly work well in the album setting. The songs heard individually become more enjoyable then when they are played in the context of the whole album. This may not necessarily be a bad thing. I get the feeling that indie giants Wilco and My Morning Jacket have both progressed past their “great album” stage as they have suffered similar cohesiveness issues on their past couple of albums. Yet they are known to be two of the best live acts going in the indie-rock world and the albums still served well in adding new highlights to their concert experiences. Dr. Dog hasn’t gotten quite as much credit or popularity for their live show, but anyone who has seen them knows they’re among the best as well.
So perhaps they too have matured to the point where their best albums are in the rear view mirror and now we’re all humming along at Dr. Dog speed, enjoying the view. Or maybe it’s just a bump in the road. Regardless, I think Dr. Dog’s most ardent fans will find a lot to like here, just not sure how many new ones will be made.
For as much as I enjoyed The Maccabees’ first album, 2007′s Colour It In, I never found time to listen to their follow up, and I haven’t done any better with their newest release, Given To The Wild, which was put out less than a month ago. This video is for their track “Feel To Follow,” which is on that third album. And because I haven’t been paying attention to what the band’s been up to, this seems like a totally new direction for them, although they could have been at it for a while now. Whichever it is, I like it.
I’ll admit, it’s been a slow start to 2012 for me. Not a great deal in January really got me excited. Maybe it’s the prospect of a new Meat Loaf album in February that’s set my expectation bar pretty high for the year, but none of the year’s early releases really got me going.
So when I started listening to the new single “Wishing Well” by Finnish songstress Manna, it was with a slightly hopeless sigh of scepticism. I made my way through the first verse, minding my own business, enjoying her dulcet Nordic tones and then BAM!, the chorus hits and Mark Lanegan kicks through my speakers with snarls of electric guitar and shrill electronic whirls like Optimus Prime trashing a Kiss themed wedding party in Valhalla.
Lanegan doesn’t duet with just anyone, but it’s easy to see why he’s deigned to take part on this Manna track. Her sultry, slightly creepy verses play perfectly against a massive, industrial sounding chorus taken by Lanegan and his trademark growl. There’s superb interplay between the slow burning verses, adorned with lonely plinks of acoustic guitar, and the behemoth guitar thuds of the chorus. It’s a massive track, and has helped to add Manna’s upcoming sophomore album Shackles to my list of anticipated 2012 releases. And let’s hope Mark Lanegan spreads himself around a bit more too.
Miike Snow’s new album, Happy To You, isn’t due out for another six weeks or so, but that hasn’t stopped them from releasing a trio of tracks from it already. They put together this completely nonsensical video for “Paddling Out,” in which a guy is having a hell of a hangover hallucination and imagines himself dancing, being blasted by extraterrestrial ray guns, flying in outer space, etc. If that’s what Banana Juice does to a person, consider me not interested.
001: Joywave - Ridge/Traveling At The Speed Of Light 7"
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NOTE: Concerts are in Rochester unless otherwise noted.
1/5: Les Racquet
1/12: Joywave with Old Tapes, Dave & Marissa
1/13: The Dads
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1/17: Josh Netsky Band with Cuddle Magic
1/18: Tycho (Buffalo)
1/26: Avicii
1/26: A$AP Rocky (Buffalo)
1/28: The Crystal Method (Syracuse)
2/11: Blind Pilot (Ithaca)
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.
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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.
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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
![303726 207140659351676 109125289153214 476798 1457811825 n [mp3] White Fence // Swagger Vets and Double Moon](http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/303726_207140659351676_109125289153214_476798_1457811825_n.jpg "[mp3] White Fence // Swagger Vets and Double Moon")
![[album review] Dr. Dog / Be The Void](http://tympanogram.com/files/dr.-dog-be-the-void-cover.jpeg "dr. dog be the void cover")
![manna shackles cover [mp3] Manna (ft. Mark Lanegan) // Wishing Well](http://tympanogram.com/files/manna-shackles-cover.jpg "manna shackles cover")
