MP3: “Revival” by Talkdemonic

Portland-based Instrumental post-rock duo Talkdemonic are releasing their fourth album, Ruins, October 4th, 2011 on Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock’s Glacial Pace Recordings. According to the press release, Ruins is “the most cohesive and exploratory Talkdemonic album to date. Building on a near-decades worth of partnership and collaboration, the pair have achieved an incredible set of instrumental tracks that slide dynamically from fluttering grooves to full on landscapes of sound. Armed with a new arsenal of processing pedals, Lisa’s viola parts teem with vibrant textures and surge from serene tenderness to wild cataclysmic intensity. Kevin expertly paces each song out, augmenting spaces with live drum beats and coloring the canvas with an array of deftly employed synth and acoustic guitar flourishes.”

Stream and download “Revival” by Talkdemonic below (click down arrow for download):

Revival by Talkdemonic by PMA

MP3s: “Here’s To Now” and “Lay Me Down” by Ugly Casanova

Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock’s Ugly Casanova contributed nine songs for the soundtrack of new documentary 180° South. The soundtrack is released today via Universal Republic. Amazon is streaming samples of each track here. Download “Here’s To Now” and “Lay Me Down” or stream the tracks below:

Here’s To Now:

Lay Me Down:

Christmas on Mars Gets Theater Run

The long-awaited film and psychedelic freak out, Christmas on Mars, by the always weird and unpredictable Flaming Lips is being released to select theaters (maybe in your area). The band started making the film back in 2001 and has teased fans with a number of trailers since then. The first trailer appeared on the band’s 2003 Fight Test EP. The newest trailer was officially released by Warner Brothers Records and can be seen here:

After years of anticipated release dates, Christmas on Mars has finally seen the light of day. Although filming completed in 2005, the film was first showcased on a live festival tour where the band members played live music with the movie acting as a visual backdrop. Although Christmas on Mars was originally intended to follow the band’s The Soft Bulletin album, the DVD is set to release on November 11. Lead singer, Wayne Coyne shared the film’s synopsis with MTV:

“Against a background of descending madness, Major Syrtis is trying to use the pageant to provide hope amongst the colonists, and the film tells the story of his struggle. You see his humiliation and his self-doubt because there are all these haphazard things that keep getting in the way of his determination to celebrate this first Christmas on Mars. A lot of the people are committing suicide, and one of them is this sort of Santa Claus that’s supposed to preside over this big celebration. He dies right at the beginning and this presents Steven’s character with several problems. A Martian lands, but the Martian isn’t really perceived as a Martian. People just sort of think he’s another crazy guy who’s flipped and turned himself green. They can’t find a quick replacement for Santa so they just use this Martian guy. So the Martian guy becomes the Martian and Santa Claus at the same time.”

An interview with Wayne about his inspiration for the film can be viewed here:

Several notables appear in the film, along with the band members, including Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, Steve Burns of Blue’s Clues fame, Fred Armisen of Saturday Night Live, Adam Goldberg, and Frodo himself, Elijah Wood. A behind-the-scenes clip was posted by the film’s 1st assistant cameraman, Peter Hermes:

According the band’s MySpace page, there are showings of the movie in the following cities:

Playing now until the end of the year if not the end of time:
New York, New York: The KGB Complex’s Kraine Theater
From October till the end of the year:
San Antonio, Texas: Alamo Drafthouse, starts October 19

Limited Engagements:
Des Moines, Iowa: Nova 10 Cinemas, October 1
Columbia, South Carolina: The Nickelodeon, October 3-5
Moline, Illinois: Nova 6 Cinemas, October 5
Atlanta, Georgia: Plaza Theatre, October 8
Peoria, Illinois: Reynold’s Cinemas at Landmark, October 10
Naperville, Illinois: Nova 8 Cinemas, October 11
Nashville, Tennessee: The Belcourt, October 17
Dallas, Texas: Landmark Inwood Theater, October 17-18
Whitewater, Wisconsin: Theatres of Whitewater, October 17
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: Geneva 4, October 18
West Bend, Wisconsin: Paradise Theatre, October 19
Madison, Wisconsin: The Orpheum, October 21-24
Waterville, Maine: Railroad Square Cinema, October 23
Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Brattle, October 31-November 9
Omaha, Nebraska: Film Streams / Ruth Sokolof Theater, October 31
Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Cinematheque, November 8-9
Columbus, Ohio: Landmark Gateway Theater, November 14-15
Denver, Colorado: Landmark Esquire Theatre, November 14-15
Hartford, Connecticut: Real Art Ways, November 21-23
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Landmark Uptown Theatre, November 22

To be announced soon:
Seattle, Washington
Austin, Texas
Los Angeles, California

The Flaming Lips are currently working on the follow-up album to At War With the Mystics. The new album  is currently scheduled for a June 2009 release. Coyne describes the new material as groundbreaking:

“Some of it sounds like John Lennon but if he got together with Miles Davis and they went back in time, but there was a supercomputer that they could figure out how to work!”

http://www.flaminglips.com
http://www.myspace.com/flaminglips

Love as Laughter Find the Holy Land

Love as Laughter was formed in 1994 by vocalist and guitarist Sam Jayne as a solo project following the break-up of his previous band Lync. Jayne and company released two records on K Records and three on Sub Pop before jet-setting to a new label started by Jayne’s old high school friend (who just happens to be Modest Mouse front man Isaac Brock).   Holy finally gives Love As Laughter some well-deserved attention.

Brock was so impressed with the new songs that Love as Laughter had in the works that he signed the band to his Glacial Pace Recordings vanity record label.  He also jumped into the studio with them to play guitar on two tracks, “Paul Revere” and “All Parts of Me.”  When asked about Holy Brock said:

“I’m so happy with this record. It makes me feel great in the way I always imagined running a label and helping put out badass music would feel. I really am proud to have had anything to do with this.”

Holy invites the listener to get swept away in a psychedelic river of guitars and harmonious vocal melodies.   The record opens up with the title track, which sets the pace for the remaining tracks.  It starts with simple guitar chords underneath Sam Jayne’s quiet vocals, but just over a minute in the band comes on full speed, and Jayne’s thrusting vocals take off.  The second track, “Crosseyed Beautiful Youngunz,” is a simple yet beautiful song filled with hand drums that give you the feeling like your sitting around a bonfire on a tropical beach.  Isaac Brock’s guitars on the aforementioned “Paul Revere” raise the intensity level and ”Konny and Jim” keep the record on a solid pace.

This record is definitely a great addition to the end of summer BBQ playlists.  it has moments of subtle brilliance built around Sam Jayne’s strong songwriting skills.   Brock’s stamp of approval can’t hurt get some crossover from the highly loyal Modest Mouse fandom. Holy has a healing quality but also has moments of controlled chaos from their unique brand of Indie Pop that will keep you listening.

Modest Mouse @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Brooklyn, NY – June 20^th 2008

It’s 11am on Thursday, and I’m checking my email. An email from Epic Records entitled “A Morning With Modest Mouse” is in my inbox. Most of these form emails from the record company list information you learned from reading a fan forum two weeks prior; but this was not the case. The email went on to announce a special early morning show at Music Hall of Williamsburg at 1:30am (yes 1:30 AM!) Friday morning. Fresh off the Madison Square Garden stage with REM Thursday night, the band would head over to Brooklyn for a special performance which would be in the middle of the night Thursday into Friday morning. Tickets would go on sale an hour later for $20. And 13 hrs later I was waiting in line to enter the Music Hall, as fans lined up in droves seeking extra tickets.  The Music Hall of Willamsburg has a capacity of 550, and the tickets sold out in less than 4 minutes.

Much like The Bowery, the Music Hall allows for an intimate show.  After a lengthy sound check (doors opened at 1am and MM didn’t take the stage until 2:30), drummers Jeremiah Green and Joe Plummer took the stage. To the crowd’s surprise, they dove into the drum pattern of “Trailer Trash.” Johnny Marr, Eric Judy and frontman Isaac Brock followed. The opener set the stage for MM to dig deep into their catalog for some classics off of “This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About,”  Thoughout the set, the band jammed on songs (for this all-Mouse audience) that perhaps might not have gone over with the REM crowd. After the opener, the band went into intense versions of “Breakthrough” and “Dance Hall,” before a crowd pleasing, long version of “Dramamine.”

Brock was talkative and commented about his affirmation for the Silver Jews and told a story on the origins of “Wild Pack of Family Dogs.”  Later a long/jam version of “Tiny Cites Made of Ashes” brought raw emotion, only available at 3:30am.  As if screaming into a guitar pickup for a distorted mantra of ”Does anybody know a way that a body could get away?” wasn’t enough, Brock started an impromtu mosh pit when he jumped into the crowd while the band continued the song. Brock was on fire thoughout the entire set and did not let up until finishing up with “The Good Times Are Killing Me,” right before they were forced off stage by a 4am curfew.

This “secret” show was one for the memories and easily the best show of the year.

The Set List:

Trucker’s Atlas
Breakthrough
Fire It Up
Dance Hall
Dashboard
Dramamine
Wild Pack Of Family Dogs
We’ve Got Everything
Satin In A Coffin
Little Motel
Paper Thin Walls
Tiny Cites of Ashes
Whale Song
The Good Times Are Killing Me