A lot of Music Briefly Noted:
The 1000voices board from the Deep Leap release.
Matador posted a No Age remix of “No Epiphany” by Fucked Up.
The remix is a nice blend of two very different discordant sonic approaches. I especially like the eerie ending of the remix that blends Fucked Up’s talent for dramatic staging and No Age’s abrupt-erratic eloquence.
The Chemistry of Modern Life and Nouns were easily my favorite records of 2008. I’m not alone in thinking these were great records. It’s nice to think that No Age is thinking of Fucked Up and vice versa since the two bands are reviving the spirit of a subculture that’s otherwise lost it’s soul to various forms of vanity (ideological, materialistic, nostalgic, etc.). I’m looking forward to the new Thermals record in a couple of weeks on that tip.
Wavves is also making a splash. Despite all the high-minded rhetoric being thrown around about the one man internet sensation, a lot of reviewers are missing the point. Wavves is great pop reworked for Pitchfork culture. Remember the early reports on the post-modern reflection of Los Campesinos? Besides probably being ripped directly off a press release, those reports only glanced at what was and continues coming.
Wavves is music of an emerging DIY aesthetic that values digital sampling clips instead of tape hiss. Strip a bitter coat of sugar off of Ben Kweller’s radio ready “Make it Up” and you get internet-hype-ready Wavves’ “Weed Demon.” Anyways, also sweet.
Fellow San Diegans Crocodiles have been making WAVVVVVES since No Age fingered one of their tracks a while back. Their record Summer of Hate comes out in late April on Fat Possum. Imagine alternating assault guitar and cascading synth layers… Think Flock of Seaguls and “Video Killed the Radio Star” turned into the aforementioned internet self-consciousness. Can’t wait to see it live.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are the latest band to be burdened with the post-shoe gaze torch. Jury is still out here, but it sounds a lot like great 90′s alternative to me. Got vibes from that Jesus an Mary Chain record. You know. The one that’s not Psychocandy.
Finally, Yeah Yeah Yeahs new record It’s Blitz is out as a digital download. I won’t look back nostalgically on the past, but I will say Yeah Yeah Yeahs are continue to prove themselves as skillfull pop artisans while shedding, musically at least, much of the guise of expiramental art students. The first single “Zero” is “Y Control” for a band in a different, equally expanisve place.