Band To Know: Sybris - "Oh Man!"

Download: Sybris - "Best Day In History In Ever" (from Sybris)
Download: Sybris - "Breathe Like You're Dancing" (from Sybris)
Download: Sybris - "Happy Birthday America"
Download: Sybris - "Oh Man!" (via P4K)

Not to sound like Jon Q. Derrierbaisent, professional asskisser, but Chicago-based indie label Flameshovel Records has been having a hell of a year. In 2007, they've put out great records by the likes of The Narrator, The Race and Mannequin Men. Judging by the quality of "Oh Man!", the first track released from Chicago "newgazers" Sybris' forthcoming full-length Into The Trees, both the label and the band should be in high spirits come 2008.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Sybris are a Chicago band. They've been playing together since the Spring of 2003, when a chance encounter at a local bar lead to a jam session which consisted of "sonic gluttony". From there, the quartet created a sound which blended the youthful, rambunctious energy of punk with the more serene sounds of shoegazer. In 2005, the group released their kid-tested, Pitchfork-approved self-titled debut album for which they toured constantly over the next two years.

During that time, Sybris also managed to record a follow-up at Pachyderm studios, the Cannon Falls, MN, studio where Nirvana recorded In Utero and PJ Harvey recorded Rid Of Me. That album, as mentioned before, is titled Into The Trees and will be released in the spring of next year.

A few days ago, P4K posted and reviewed "Oh Man!" on their website. The track starts off with a guitar part which is both droney and melodic, like Goo-era Sonic Youth with a steadily shuffling beat anchoring the music. It's all pretty, upbeat and straightforward, song structure wise, until the band abruptly slows down into a more atmospheric section before roaring back to conclude the song with an enthused last rendition of the main refrain. Sybris may be the ones wanting to go find some shade in the trees, but if this track is any indication of what the band has in store for next year, they'll have many other people wanting to keep them company under the branches.

Listen to "Oh Man!" at the top of the post, as well as two songs from their self-titled debut and a 4th of July-themed B-Side from earlier this summer.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Times And Troubles, They Just Wash Right Over Us

Maritime
Heresy & The Hotel Choir (Flameshovel, 2007)
Grade: B

Download: Maritime - "For Science Fiction"
Download: Maritime - "With Holes for Thumb Sized Birds"

Heresy & The Hotel Choir, the third album from Promise Ring and Dismemberment Pan offshoot Maritime begins with a trio of songs that make up a musical triumvirate, before settling into a satisfactory string of songs. The tracks are not as transcendent as the hugely hook-filled choruses would have you believe, but there are some notable peaks which make up for Heresy's occasional valleys.

Maritime's sound combines the punk wistfulness of emo with the jingle-jangle mourning of classic 60s inspired alt-rock. The end result is that many of these tracks start out with a shimmering guitar arpeggio (usually under a jangly, or riffy rhythm guitar) and a steady, uptempo drumbeat, then eventually build their way up to an refrain that reaches for the rafters. Some songs do this better than others - particularly in Heresy's first few songs, with tracks like "Guns Of Navarone" and "With Holes For Thumb Sized Birds" being early album highlights. Once Heresy reaches its comfortable middle and the album, while perfectly listenable, doesn't stray outside that comfort zone.

What a shame, because when Maritime make dramatic departures, like with the "Answering Machine" intimacy of "Peril" or the truly epic "Love Has Given Up", they really hit the nail on the musical head. But Maritime also sound like veteran musicians finally getting comfortable in their own skin. While that doesn't make for the most adventurous listening, it does show that if a band keeps at a stable pace, they can easily draw acclamatory, though not ecstatic, attention.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Maritime Wades In For Daytrotter Session

(Maritime)

Download: Maritime - "Guns Of Navarone"
Download: Maritime - "For Science Ficton"
Download: Maritime - "Calm" (from We, The Vehicles")
Download: Maritime - "Parade Of Punk Rock T-Shirts" (from We, The Vehicles")

Yesterday, Daytrotter posted their session with Maritime, who, in a week, will be releasing their third album, Heresy and the Hotel Choir, on Oct. 16th. via Flameshovel. Maritime is, of course, a band that spawned after the demise of The Promising Ring. If you love the huge choruses of that band, then you should like "Guns Of Navarone," which is one of the more anthemic tracks on Heresy. The band played four songs, including "Guns", from the upcoming record.

Read their feature about the bandhere and listen to the sessions here. At the top of this post, you can find MP3s from Heresy and two MP3s from their second album, We, The Vehicles.

Look for an MFR review of Heresy next week.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Stream Mannequin Men's Fresh Rot

Download: Mannequin Men - "Weekender"
Download: Mannequin Men - The Boys (They Don't Mind)
Download: Mannequin Men - "Grapefruit"

Chicago proto-punk revivialists Mannequin Men released their second album, entitled Fresh Rot, yesterday on Flameshovel. For those of you who are cautious consumers, or just like to listen to music for free over the interweb, the album is available for streaming. Just click here to listen away. If you like what you hear, then buy the album from Flameshovel here.

For those of you who like live music, you're in luck. Mannequin Men will play a show this coming Friday, the 21st, at the Triple Rock. Show is 21+ and costs ten dollars on the day of the show. Buy tickets for 8 dollars in advance here.

(Jonathan Graef)

Mannequin Men - Fresh Rot

Download: Mannequin Men - The Boys (They Don't Mind)
Download: Mannequin Men - "Grapefruit"
Download: Mannequin Men - "Weekender"
Download: Mannequin Men - "Pigpen"

Mannequin Men are a rowdy, raucous and utterly infectious garage-rock band that likes to write and record albums in a single, unholy day of productivity. That approach is what led to their second full-length album Fresh Rot. They rock directly, enthusiastically and hard in way that way that recalls simpler times without resorting to fashionable irony or needless post-modernism. Basically, they are like The Dandy Warhols, or The Hives maybe, without the quotation marks and with much better hooks.

Songs like "Grapefruit" and "Pigpen" are ripe with the sort of hyperactive emotions and power that could fuel a thousand teenagers jumping on a thousand beds playing thousands of air guitar chords. Fittingly, the band has a reputation for glorious drunk live shows. You can see them for yourself when they come to your town to promote Fresh Rot, which comes out on September 18th via Flameshovel. Listen to the four tracks at the top of the post to get an idea of what you're in for.



Tour Dates:

Sept. 8th 2007
6:00P
Pass Out Records In-Store
Brooklyn, NY

Sept. 8th 2007
8:00P
Don Pedro’s
Brooklyn NY

Sept. 9th 2007
10:00P
Piano's NYC
New York City, NY

Sept. 21st, 2007
8:00P
Triple Rock Social Club w/ THE VIBRATORS!!
Minneapolis, MN

Sept. 22 2007
8:00P
Vaudeville Mews I
owa City, Iowa

Sept. 28th 2007
8:00P
LSA w/ BLACK LIPS, Selmanaires FRESH ROT RELEASE SHOW
CHICAGO

Oct. 3rd 2007
8:00P
400 Club
Minneapolis, MN

Oct. 14th, 2007
8:00P
Velvet Lounge
Washington D.C.

Oct. 18th, 2007
8:00P
CMJ Music Festival
New York, NY

Oct. 19th, 2007
8:00P
CMJ Music Festival
New York, NY

Oct 20th 2007
8:00P
CMJ Music Festival
TBA
New York NY

Oct. 21st 2007
8:00P
P.A.’s Lounge
Boston MA

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Live Review: The Narrator, Double Door, 5/27/07

When you’re attending a show by a band that writes as many wiseass anthems as The Narrator does, twenty-something hipsters ironically wearing trucker hats and second-hand t-shirts is as inevitable as mortality and annual payments to the government. One shirt, in particular, stuck out to me. It said the following: “Genius by birth, lazy by choice.”

All That To The Wall, the new album from up-and-coming band The Narrator, is the sound of that t-shirt slogan as a rally cry. Whether that’s intentional or not is one thing. But what is truly certain is that, both live and on record, The Narrator articulate the woes and tribulations of people who are others see as working beneath their potential, but who see themselves as not quite ready to sell their ideals out to the adult world yet.

The Narrator’s set for Flameshovel’s Memorial Day showcase at the Double Door emphasized the more upbeat cuts from Wall and, as a result, the band effectively contrasted the slacker malaise of their lyrics with an energetic, crowd-pleasing performance. Album highlights such as “Surfjew” and “Son of the Son of the Kiss of Death” were upbeat and catchy, with the latter’s twin-guitar attack recalling fellow Chicago band Chin Up Chin Up’s work on This Harness Can’t Ride Anything.

The band’s lighting helped emphasized the tension between the band’s lackadaisical sarcasm and its tight, rhythmical attack, as the stage was bathed in strong reds and laid-back blues. Other times, the music itself was provided served as the juxtaposition for the band’s ethos, as songs that started out slow, ambient and feedback-laden would suddenly switch to double-time and come ragingly back to life. It’s as if the band had just woken up from an afternoon nap and then proceeded to accomplish a day’s worth of tasks in ten minutes.

That quality, along with the fact that the band’s music can be highly energetic and charming (in spite of whatever doubts and reservations about mid-20s life that are expressed), is what The Narrator has in common with legendary groups like Pavement (to whom they are strongly indebted) and Dinosaur Jr. (to whom they bear zero sonic resemblance). Most of the band’s likeability, though, comes from their stage patter, as singers Sam Axelrod and Jesse Woghin joked about winning a Grammy, told the audience in mock-reassurance that there was no pressure to smoke that night, and introduced their cover of Bob Dylan’s “All The Tired Horses” as U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

It was that set closing number which showed the band’s capacity for being both sincere and sarcastic simultaneously. The Narrator invited audience members to come up on stage to sing along with them, and then dropped down one of those sparkling disco balls you saw at your junior prom. The moment may have meant to been ironic, but ended up as a great sing-a-long for the audience and a sweet way to have ended the set. If it’s true that by scratching a cynic, you’ll actually find a disappointed idealist, then The Narrator’s set last Sunday at the Double Door was like slacker aloe for the fresh wounds of adulthood.

Following The Narrator were fellow Flamshovel labelmates Bound Stems and Russian Circles. With regard to the art-pop (think Deerhoof or The Fiery Furnaces) of the Bound Stems, I can’t help but think of their music as simultaneously hearing two songs separated by a common melody. The band’s creative hodgepodge included such diverse elements as quirky boy-girl harmonies; folksy acoustic-guitar; classic pop chord progressions; ska-influenced bass lines; and finally, polyrhythmic drums. Here’s a group with a definite case of musical ADD. Luckily, the songs were always melodious, even a bit melancholy at times, but sweet merciful crap, they were hard to follow. The band’s Franken-pop was the sound of permanent transition. I stopped keeping track of the stylistic changes after a while, but I also vowed to spend more time with the band’s work.

Russian Circles then closed the evening with their brand of instrumental post-metal. The band’s guitar riffs crunched like a captain, and the snare hits of the drums blasted out like a gunshot. Songs started out quietly, with an eerie, cryptic guitar line straight out of Metallica’s Cliff Burton-era catalog segueing into a jabbing, riffy distorted guitar. The twin guitar-play was masterful, and, at its best, the music of Russian Circles approached cinematic proportions. The Russian Circles proved themselves to be the true masters of the Metalocalypse.

This article has been cross-published at Yerp Magazine.

(Jonathan Graef)

New Video from The Narrator

Download: The Narrator - "Surfjew"
Download: The Narrator - "Start Parking"

Lots of news lately from Chicago's The Narrator, all of it quite good. First, the band released a video for the song "Breaking The Turtle," from their newly released album, All That To The Wall. That one you can find posted above. Second, the band staged a triumphant show this past Sunday (5/27/07) opening for fellow Flameshovel labelmates Bound Stems and Russian Circles at Chicago's the Double Door. The show was free, and, yes, I attended, and a good time was had by all. Expect a review of the concert sometime in the next couple of days. Thirdly, the band was featured as Spin's Band of The Day this past Friday (5/25/07). And last, but certainly not least, the band is about to launch a nationwide tour in support of All That To The Wall. Dates are posted below:

05.31.07 @ The Waiting Room | Omaha, NE
w/ Cursive, Malpais
06.01.07 @ Larimer Lounge | Denver, CO
06.02.07 @ Kilby Court | Salt Lake City, UT
06.04.07 @ Comet Tavern | Seattle, WA
w/ The End of the World
06.05.07 @ Towne Lounge | Portland, OR
w/ The End of the World
06.06.07 @ Press Club | Sacramento, CA
w/ The End of the World
06.07.07 @ Hotel Utah Saloon | San Francisco, CA
w/ The End of the World, Dame Satan, Cervantes
06.09.07 @ Che Cafe | La Jolla, CA
w/ The End of the World, Lanterns, Cancer Leo
06.11.07 @ Knitting Factory | Hollywood, CA
w/ The End of the World
06.12.07 @ Modified | Phoenix, AZ
06.14.07 @ Emo's | Austin, TX
w/ Ume, Bring Back the Guns
06.16.07 @ Rudyard's | Houston, TX
06.17.07 @ Fletch & Gabe's House | 440 E. State | Baton Rouge, LA
06.19.07 @ Lucky's Pub | Wilmington, NC
w/ The Ataris
06.20.07 @ Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar | Charlottesville, VA
w/ Cataract Camp
06.21.07 @ Maxwell's | Hoboken, NJ
w/ House and Parish
06.23.07 @ Cake Shop | New York, NY
w/ The Subjects
06.24.07 @ T. T. the Bear's | Cambridge, MA
06.25.07 @ Black Cat | Washington, DC
w/ Cataract Camp, The Ear The Eye The Arm
06.26.07 @ Bug Jar | Rochester, NY
06.28.07 @ Carabar | Columbus, OH
w/ Get Him Eat Him
06.30.07 @ Beat Kitchen | Chicago, IL
w/ Get Him Eat Him (18+)
08.01.07 @ Beachland Ballroom | Cleveland, OH
w/ Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, The Jai-Alai Savant

Boo-urns to the fact that they're not playing in Minneapolis, but I am sure they can be persuaded by massive demand for them. Get to it, Minneapolis folk!

(Jonathan Graef)

Chicago F'in Rocks: Flameshovel Records

Download: The Narrator- "All the Tired Horses"
Download: The Narrator- "Breaking the Turtle"

May is going to be quite the month for Chicago's Flameshovel Records. First off, the Windy City label releases a very strong album from The Narrator today, 5/15/07 (which I have reviewed here, on this very blog). The Narrator record will very likely be on my local best-of at the end of the year. By clicking the link in the previous sentence, you can read my more in-depth thoughts on All That To The Wall. Also, The Narrator was profiled in the last issue of Chicago's alternative newspaper, The Reader. Read that article here.

MySpace Page




Download: The Race - "Feathers" (from Ice Station)
Download: The Race - "Safe and Sound" (from If You Can)

Also released on Flameshovel today is the latest record from Chicago's The Race. The album is titled Ice Station. As you may have guessed already, I have written about The Race on this blog before, and you can click on the link to read my thoughts about this excellent band. The Narrator's success may threaten to overshadow The Race. If that is the case (which I obviously think it shouldn't be, as they are both praiseworthy bands deserving of success), then expect Ice Station to become one of the year's most underrated records. The Race plays a record release party at Chicago venue The Hideout on June 2nd, 2007. Read more about the band here.

MySpace page



Download: Bound Stems - "Andover"
Download: Bound Stems - "Western Biographic"

Last, but not least, are the Bound Stems, who released their most recent record, Appreciation Night, on Flameshovel in 2006. Click the two links above to get a sample of what the band is about (fans of Modest Mouse may find a kindred spirit in this band). The stems are playing a FREE show at Chicago's Double Door on May 27th, 2007, at 8 p.m. with...(drum roll)...you guessed it, The Narrator and The Race. Good times, indeed. If you don't have anything going on that night, you should definitely go, as you'll be seeing many of Chicago's finest bands for a price that's almost too good to be true. Get a better background on the Bound Stems here.

MySpace page

You can stream or, better yet, order all three albums from the Flameshovel website

(Jonathan Graef)

The Narrator - All That to the Wall

The Narrator
All That To The Wall (Flameshovel, 2007)
Grade: A-

Download: The Narrator - "August 32nd"
Download: The Narrator - "SurfJew"
Download: The Narrator - "Panic at Puppy Beach"

This record scares me. No, not because that The Narrator are a death-metal band (they're obviously not). To be totally truthful, The Narrator owe their sound more than just a little bit to Pavement's charmingly slack ways. Rather, it's the way that The Narrator's latest record (due out this Tuesday on Flameshovel Records) is a frighteningly accurate document of the internal mix of confusion, uncertainty and stagnation known as your mid-20s. I believe Jeff Buckley referred to this period of your life as when you're "too young to hold on, but too old to just break free and run."

You have a stable job and a steady relationship, but you aren't quite ready to settle down and give up your freewheeling college ways just yet. Adulthood is right around the corner, but you're still having a good stroll down the sidewalk of your somewhat reckless youth. You don’t quite feel tied down to anything just yet, but you still have the sense that you need to settle into a routine that will eventually become the rest of your life, It’s a confusing time. By expertly capturing this specific kind of malaise, All That To The Wall serves as the kind of record that may not necessairly change lives, but will certainly make living through them much, much easier, due to its slacker empathy.

Like Oxford Collapse, The Narrator are best thought of as being a kind of indie-rock comfort food. The songs are energetic and passionate to the point where you forget that this is a band who wears its influences almost too proudly on their sleeves. However, the lyrics are sly, self-deprecating and, most importantly of all, have the ring of truth to them.

What makes the songs on All That To The Wall really interesting is that they are simultaneously driven and laid-back. This is due to the fact that while the guitars are fuzzy, jangly and explosive, but singer Sam Axelrod has a voice that serves as the intersection between Stephen Malkmus and Gordan Gano.

As you can imagine, Axelrod has a bit of a sarcastic streak, and it serves him well on on songs like "Surf's Up" where the off-kilter hooks serve to buoy sly lyrics like "Yeah, I Miss The City/I Miss Every City," as the rhythm section thrashes around like a deliriously happy toddler.

Other lyrical highlights include "My brain's working overtime/but my body's on salary" and "with happiness comes responsibility/I think I'll quite while I'm behind." The music, with distorted electronic drums and pentatonic guitar riffs reminiscent of bands like Modest Mouse, Pavement and Chin Up Chin Up, is an upbeat force to be reckoned with, and always remains catchy and clever. There's some musical stretching as well, with banjo and organ enhancing on "All The Tired Horses."

Listening to The Narrator is like commiserating with a friend about the uncertainties of your life at that moment. You compare notes, you laugh, and you relate. But unlike your real friends, these friends can rock out and you can dance to their thoughts. As you select a soundtrack for your mid-20s malaise, you should put on Narrator's All That To The Wall

(Jonathan Graef)

Chicago F'in Rocks: The Race - Ice Station

Download: The Race - Walls
Download: The Race - Feathers

Chicago band The Race are going to release their latest album, Ice Station, on May 15th. It's just really good indie-pop with vocals that croon, then soar, all delivered with a slightly melody-ramatic touch (did you like what I did there?) drums with an electronic tinge, and the warm, echo-laden trebly guitars that will make your heart melt. It's very warm-sounding, and absolutely perfect for complementing your mood on a rainy day.

The record was written after a period of inter-band creative strife that ended with the line-up of the band being completely reconfigured. It's certainly unfortunate that The Race had to go through so much trouble after recording their well-regarded If You Can, but if anything, Ice Station shows that they came out at the other end of the proverbial tunnel (because I'm not entirely sure they're any actual tunnels in Chicago, or at least in the downtown area) with an album that should be as renowned as their last record.

Ice Station will be released on Flameshovel Records on May 15th. Stream the album here. Better yet, buy it through Flameshovel or Insound.

(Jonathan Graef)