PUR Recap from 26 May 2009

1) Song of the Week: Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

Check out Grizzly Bear's new album Vekatimest (buy it).

"Cheerleader" (track 5) available for free download!

2) Jens Lekman Friday at the Velvet Jones!. Tickets are $13.50 here.

3) Read more about Conor Oberst's new album Outer South.

4) View tonight's plays here.

PUR Recap from 19 May 2009

1) Au Revoir Simone - Still Night, Still Light out today. Listen to "Shadows" and/or buy it.
Mark your calendar to check them out at the Velvet Jones in SB on June 12. Tickets are $13 here.

2) The Cool Kids played last Saturday during Xtravaganza at UCSB's Harder Stadium. While my attempt to get in to the free concert failed, there is another free opportunity to check them out in the form of their demo Gone Fishing.

3) Song of the week: White Rabbits - Rudie Fails
The new album, It's Frightening, is out today. Read a review, listen, and/or buy it.

4) Wolfmother has released a new track "Back Round" for free download (provided you give them your email address).

5) Jens Lekman at the Velvet Jones in SB on May 29. Tickets are $13.50 here.

6) Review last night's play list here.

Album Review: White Rabbits - It's Frightening

Sophomore syndrome for White Rabbits' second album, It's Frightening? Refreshingly, no. After being burned so many times in the last couple of years (Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah!; the Mystery Jets), its incredibly refreshing to hear a new band follow up their debut with something not only interesting, but well constructed. I do prefer the (happier/more poppy) debut Fort Nightly, but I can't complain. The White Rabbits have only changed the mood of the music, now quite a bit darker, but haven't lost any quality of song writing. They rely more on vocals, drums, and keyboards than Fort Nightly did which had numerous guitar focused tracks.

If there are stand out tracks, they are "Precision Gun" and "Rudie Fails." The former is the album opener and has a great beat and some pretty vocal harmonies. It builds musical tension that, rather than culminating in the song, propels the listeners attention toward the rest of the album. "Rudie Fails" (track 2; a response to the Clash?) continues this momentum and is the most poppy song on the album (I'll probably play it on the radio tonight). My favorite song, however, is "The Salesman (Tramp Life)" which starts out pretty, but with a dissonant twist after only a few seconds. It is in this song that the energy building throughout the album really comes to a head.

One last item: It's Frightening is on TBD Records, which is a subsidiary of ATO Records (Dave Matthews vanity label), which is a subsidiary of RCA Records...so this is a major label release? Very interesting, even moreso considering TBD is responsible for the U.S. release of Radiohead's famously "independent" In Rainbows. Hmm... In any case, label affiliation explains why I can't send you to the record label to buy the album, because their website links to Amazon. Grudgingly, so do I.

PUR Recap from 12 May 2009

Sean's (new) Song of the Week:
The Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move
Listen/read more at You Ain't No Picasso.

Wren's (old) Song of the Week:
Cosmopolitans - (How To Keep Your) Husband Happy
I can't find an .mp3 to listen to, but read more at Little Hits (awesome blog).

For you surfers whose interest was piqued last night when we were talking about Teahupoo, the contest in question is the Billabong Pro Tahiti, ongoing this week. Some nice footage of Round 1 is below, but get more up to date info at the ASP World Tour site.

Album Review: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - Outer South

Last Tuesday, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band released sophomore album Outer South. I find this album to be fairly typical of what you would expect from Oberst based on his history with numerous bands, namely Bright Eyes. To me, it sounds like standard blues/country rock with a nice mix of slower ballads and more upbeat poppy songs. Unsurprisingly, given my indie pop to shoegazer taste range, I prefer the latter category of songs, "Air Matress," "Rosevelt Room," and "Nikorette" especially. On the slower side, the stand-outs are "Big Black Nothing" and closing track "Snake Hill." Interestingly, three of my fav's aren't even Oberst's output, but different members of the Mystic Valley Band. Oberst takes a back seat to bandmates on six of the sixteen tracks on the album, a refreshingly humble act on a solo album. Overall, the album is solid, but it doesn't blow my mind. It's a pleasant listen for an indie fan, moreso for any who love Bright Eyes and/or bluesy indie in general.

Buy Outer South from Merge Records here.
Track List:
1. Slowly (oh so slowly)
2. To all the Lights in the Windows
3. Big Black Nothing
4. Air Mattress
5. Cabbage Town
6. Ten Women
7. Difference is Time
8. Nikorette
9. White Shoes
10. Bloodline
11. Spoiled
12. Worldwide
13. Roosevelt Room
14. Eagle on a Pole
15. I got The Reason #2
16. Snake Hill

Black Velvet Sun Live on PUR - 5 May 2009

Black Velvet Sun had their radio debut last night on Parallel University Radio. They played four songs (but I botched the recording of the first one). I was excited that their live-show energy that originally attracted me to their music translated to the radio format. To me, they sound like Oldies pop marinated in a youthful punk with a dash of virtuosic keyboard seasoning. BVS is currently recording a new demo. You can listen to most of their performance below and view the nights playlist.

Black Velvet Sun - Live on PUR


Check out the PUR playlist for 5 May 2009 here.