The Daily Sabbatical

This is for Pedro and Ana.

Nothing makes me happier than a purchase out of the blue that turns out to be a highlight of the year.  Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson is a transplanted Oregonian–and a current Brooklynite–who has completely blown my mind.  None of the comparisons I am apt to make do him justice–Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Walkmen come to mind, but great as those bands are I don’t sense in them the purity of inspiration that I get from Robinson.  He’s like a Bob Dylan who rocks.  I’m not going to say any more, or I’ll sound like a fool, but suffice it to say I’m excited as hell about this guy. Just listen up.
Woodfriend.mp3

This song and this video are the complete shit. Check out the rollerskating! Right on! Thanks to DJ ZOO for exposing me to this one!

By any rights Sarah Jaffe will soon be famous.  She’s too good to continue as an opening act for tours through Dallas.  That’s not all she does, of course, but it was in that capacity I saw her.  I don’t recall whom she was opening for, because she is the one I recall.  She’s somewhat folky, if a bit too dark to be granola, and she plays a mean guitar in front of a truly powerful voice.  Seriously: this is a voice that stills a room.  All this wouldn’t mean a damn thing if her songs were weak, but her writing doesn’t let her down.  She’s less country–and perhaps a tad more Lilithy–than Lucinda Williams, but that’s the company Jaffe deserves to keep.  Since she’s only 21, this Dentonite has some time to get noticed.  But it shouldn’t take long.  Take a listen and then go buy her EP “Even Born Again” from Good Records.

Even Born Again

One of my favorite bands of all time is back playing live shows.  First the Pixies, now My Bloody Valentine?  What have I done to deserve this?  Now, if only Slint would reform for a live show…oh wait, they did.
It’s silly to think MBV can be captured on video cam, but someone tried it and it doesn’t sound all that bad.

There’s been a tribal current flowing through the music scene in the last several years.  Bands like Man Man thump the hell out of their drums while jumping and screaming onstage, Yeasayers adds chantlike sounds to their synthier sound, and  Wilderness howl in their contribution from Baltimore, Maryland.  Wilderness put out a self-titled album to some acclaim a few years ago and…I didn’t hear it.  They put out another album called Vessel States a year later and…I didn’t hear it.  In November, however, they release their third album and this time I’m all ears.

Wilderness might be the best representative of urban tribalism yet.  Rhythm from multiple drumsets spreads a dark backdrop through which James Johnson throws sounds from his belly.  Sometimes the sounds are words, sometime not, but it doesn’t matter.  The vocals add a sort of pressing fluidity, a wavelike urgency to the already compelling drums, and they are followed by sparse Joy Divisionish riffs from the guitar which lend an element of restraint, control and beauty to the songs.

Did I say songs?  Really, this is an album.  I can’t listen to it at all without listening to it from beginning to end–the individual tracks are strong, but they gain from their context.  The songs blend into one another, usually just changing enough to recharge the experience.  It’s a pretty dark, desperate experience, but it’s one I keep coming back to.  I think this might be one of this year’s creeping standouts.  If you can find it before it comes out on November 4, count yourself lucky.  If not, you’ll have to relish the sample below.

Silver Gene.mp3

If this doesn’t make you happy, you’ve got issues.

Radiohead will be webcasting their last show of their US tour tonight from Santa Barbara. Find info about the webcast here.