The Hazards of Love

I recently acquired The Decemberists‘s latest album The Hazards of Love. I must say, it is a very enjoyable work, and one I recommend.  One must understand that this album is what one might call a concept album.  In The Decemberists fine tradition of storytelling, this whole album cover a kind of story.  However, please, do not do as I did and try listening to it without an idea of the plot and characters.  First off, as I am sure you are aware, listening through an album the first time means you usually cannot decipher all of what the artists is saying, this is further compounded by Mr. Meloy’s propensity for poetic, and elaborate language.  Secondly, Mr. Meloy plays the voice of both the hero and the villein.  If you are not aware of this, you will be incredibly confused when our dear sweet lovelorn hero suddenly starts going on about killing babies and what not.  You’ve been warned.

Also, in this album The Decemberists are joined by Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond fame, as well as Shara Worden from My Brightest Diamond.   They play other characters in the songs.

All-in-all, I must say this album has much more of a rock element to it than their previous albums, my favorite song from the album being The Rake’s Song.

So there you have it, enjoy.

I remain…

Your Rakish Servant,

-G. Sims

Bachelor Mariners

Well, it’s been a quiet week here on the music blog.  Today I bring you the delight of Unwed Sailor.  Formed around the nucleus of Johnathon Ford, it is a post-rock band originally from Seattle.  They have a tightly woven sound, all backed by an incredibly intense drummer.  The drum parts in their songs always seem to pound away like the shelling of distant artillery.  The constant, intense bombardment offset by the jittery flow of the melody.  It plays like a memory of a cool, and quiet day being remembered by a beleaguered and dazed solider in some fox hole.

Anyways, you can no doubt find them on the YouTube, though they have no official videos (as far as I know) and the pickings are meager on the YouTube.  That said, here is their MySpace.

I remain…

Your Unwed Servant,

-G. S. Sims

The Meaning of Eight

Cloud Cult is a band very dear to me.  Their music has filled my summer the last three years, and many memories are attached to each track.  That said, they are a unique and amazing band in their own right.  Formed around the nucleus of Craig Minowa, Cloud Cult consists of all manner of artists, including visual artists.  Each show Scott West and Connie Minowa paint on stage, then auction the paintings off at the end of the show.

Much of Cloud Cult‘s music was generated with the unexpected death of the Minowa’s two year old son.  Craig wrote over a hundred songs in response, and they have slowly been oozing out since then in the form of Cloud Cult albums.  Their songs are songs about life, love, happiness, sadness, and what it is to be human.  It is music that one should sit a listen to the lyrics, and really get a sense of what is trying to be conveyed.

Albums are recorded on the Minowa’s organic farm in the middle of nowhere in Minnesota.  They tour around in a solar/bio-diesel fueled van, and all their profits go to various environmental charities.  They are particularly known for have a sort of daycare set up off stage for the children of the various band members, and even audience members, so that all may enjoy their concerts.  They are an incredible and unique band that stand far, far above the contemporary field of music, and should be known far and wide as an inspiration for the whole world to follow.

However, their latest album Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) may well be their last.   A full length documentary about them will be out soon, and a trailer for it can be found on their website.

Please enjoy.

I remain…

Your Cloud Servant,

– G. S. Sims

The National

Haven’t posted in awhile.  I’ve been meaning to, but very busy.  Anyways, enough cliche Internet blogger angst.

Today I give you The National.  An indie rock band fronted by the smooth baritone voice of Matt Berninger.  Based in Brooklyn, the group is formed of folken from Cincinnati, Ohio.  Their sound is about would you would expect from a straight-out indie rock or alt rock band.  Their charm lies in that smooth rumbling voice of Mr. Berninger.  Now, from what I understand they are a well-known band in the indie scene.  However, I get to claim indie-snobbery rights by virtue of having originally learned of them through the instrumental post-classical group Clogs of which share several members.  Both bands are well worth a listen through, though you would more than likely have to be in different moods to listen to each.  I’ll do a write of the Clogs soon so that you can get some info on that band as well.

As per usual, you can find some of their music here.

I remain…

Your National-Servant,

– G. S. Sims

p.s. It is supremely ironic that the spellchecker on this, a  blogging application, recognizes neither “blog” nor “blogger”.

Lunascape

Today I bring you the prolific Belgium trip-hop band Lunascape.  They have all you could want in a trip-hop band: down-tempo beats, all manner of neat electric blips and sounds, as well as the sultry voice of Kyoko Baertsoen.  For a taste of this fine musical electro-wine, check out their website here (Warning: It will autoplay music, be prepared!).

They also have some music videos, like this rather freaky one for Sequoia.

Enjoy.

I remain…

Your Mind-Servant,

-G. S. Sims

Ms. Torrini

I went on a big Emilina Torrini kick a couple months back.  She has a very pretty voice, kinda smokey.  Emilina comes from Kópavogur a suburb of Reykjavík, Iceland.  She is most widely known for singing Gollum’s Song from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.  I know her mostly from her fantastic 1999 album Love in the Time of Science.

She was trained to sing opera as a young girl, though her overall sound has developed into folk-rock.  At least, that it what I hear it most often described as, though I feel there is an awful lot of electronic/down-tempo influence in her music that many seem to ignore.  Either way, she is well worth a listen.  My songs of choice are Tuna Fish, Baby Blue, and Fingertips.

She is a pretty prolific video producer, so you can take a look at YouTube for some of that stuff.  Her MySpace music page is found here for further sampling.

She also gets bonus points in my book for being an Icelandic artist that I have no trouble in understanding what she is saying.

That is all.

I remain…

Your All-Too-Eager Servant,

-G. S. Sims

Steampunkery

Titanomachy - fall of the Hyperion by Marcin Jakubowski

I have a confession to make.  I am a bit of a closet steampunk.  I like to follow along, and it all appeals to me aesthetically.  That said, it recently came to my knowledge that the fine folk at CG Society recently posted the results of their steampunk themed art contest.  The results are very interesting.  The video’s are of a top notch quality, as are the pictures.  So, if you have a spare minute or fifteen to spare, go ahead and take a gander.  It all can be found right here.

The Puppini Sisters

Continuing my current noir theme, I want to give you the heads up about the lovely Puppini Sisters. Though not actually sisters, the trio are leading the charge in such realms as swing-punk, retro-revivalism, and are associate with burlesque revivalism.  They focus on the sounds of the close harmony female vocalists associated with the 1940’s and 1950’s in the United States.  Their name The Puppini Sisters is itself a tribute to The Andrew Sisters.  They have done covers of many well known songs such as Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Jeepers Creepers, and I will Survive. Think a yankee Rasputina.

They are fine to listen to when you want a retro atmosphere going, maybe mix them in with that stash of Frank Sinatra that most everyone has hidden away somewhere.

A sample of their music can be had at their website. (Click on their picture above)

They are also quite prolific in making videos, my favorite being Spooky. Java Jive is excellent as well.

I remain…

Your Jive Servant,

-G. S. Sims

Bohren and der Club of Gore

The discovery of this band occured when a friend of mine called upon me to find the music like that in those old film-noir films.  You know, the dark, simple jazz that oozes along like molasses.  Low and behold, I came across what happens when you combine the dark industrial/metal influences of Germany with jazz.  That result is Bohren & der Club of Gore, which was formed in 1992 in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.  It all began when a bunch of musicians from various hardcore type bands got together to experiment in the realm of ambient and jazz.  Their line up has shuffled a bit over the years, but their sound is what they call, fittingly enough, noir jazz.  The music is just as I described it above; slow, dark, atmospheric music.  Something to play on a rainy night to make you evening feel that much more dramatic, and brooding.  Yes, that’s it, it is perfect brooding music.

Also, true to their hardcore heritage, most of their songs have ridiculous names, like: Destroying Angels, On Demon Wings, and Der Maggot Tango.

You can get a taste of their music here.

Be prepared to brood.

I remain…

Your Club of Servant,

-G. S. Sims

The Old Ceremony

Keeping up the recent genre juggling I’ve been doing here, I give you The Old Ceremony.  They are a mix of indie pop/rock, with a self-described sound called “pop-noir”.  Pop-noir is an accurate way to describe these gentlemen from Chapel Hill, NC.  The eight or so members that form the band are a mini-orchestra.  Though I would say it is more of a rock band grafted onto a jazz band.  That said, their songs are generally intelligent, and catchy.

A sampling of their wares can be found here.

I would contend that Believer by them is one of the more…seductive songs ever made.  Also, their music video for Papers in Order is rather cute.  Anyways, have at it.

Your Old Servant,

-G. S. Sims