moe. Guitarist Al Schnier let the cat out of the bag about some of the band additions to the Summer Camp Festival at last night’s moe. concert in Chicago. Schnier
For this week’s B List we would like to introduce our friend Jon McLennand. McL works as the Street Team Coordinator for Umphrey’s McGee, and also produces the band’s incredible podcast series. But don’t let those credentials fool you: McL listens to an incredible range of music from many different genres. Jon has turned me onto some incredible new bands over the past few years so I asked him to prepare a list of albums we need to hear. Take it away McL…
Now that the bombastic orgy of year-end lists has passed and we’ve turned the page to a fresh month in the new calendar year, it’s time to look ahead into what’s going to be tickling your ears in the coming months. There are some big names releasing albums this year that everyone will be talking about (Radiohead, Wilco, Modest Mouse), but there’s also a slew of acts just underneath the surface, on the verge of making their mark and stepping into a little bit of that primetime light.
So, I’m here to catch you up on music pre-2006, so that you can be ready for 2007. Don’t worry, it’ll all make sense in the future. Let’s look at four earlier efforts from bands poised to make their mark this year. To make it a ‘list’, I’m going to throw in a “debut” album released last week. That’s why we kind of had to be shifty with the title.
LCD Soundsystem and !!! (pronounced chk-chk-chk) are the dance punk trendsetters. In 2007, they’re sure to storm major festivals across the globe, where I expect them to occasionally steal the show from some more established headliners. Dance punk certainly owes a lot to the spastic rhythms of the Talking Heads as well as the European club culture. Whereas LCD Soundsystem tends towards droning house rhythms and textures, !!! is more angled towards psychedelia with a pulsing rhythm section.
The Bees and Field Music hail from the U.K., an obstacle for some indie acts in propelling themselves into the US spotlight, even with their considerable songwriting talent. Both bands have an impeccable knack for melody and a keen ear for arrangements, which distance themselves from the pack. The Bees vintage soulful sound can drip with sexy horns or gently drift you into a trance with their hypnotic textures. Field Music takes the guitar pop of The Shins and XTC, and tosses in some clever arrangements and dynamics, as well as the occasional verse in 7/8.
Lastly, I take a look at The Good, The Bad & The Queen, one of the most curiously (mis-)matched “supergroups” to come along in a while. Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) is the brainchild, putting together a hodgepodge of musical styles and influences…Paul Simonon (bass, The Clash), Simon Tong (guitar, The Verve) and Tony Allen (drums, Fela Kuti) as well as the masterful Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley, The Grey Album) manning the boards. It’s impossible to look at that lineup without projecting some expectations upon it.
Read on after the jump for McL’s full list of 5 Albums You Need to Hear for 2007…
Relix Magazine has recently started a group on YouTube. In what could be the best idea since Steven Colbert’s Green Screen Challenge, the magazine has started a contest looking for
RCA Records is proud to announce the release of Kings of Leon are set to release their third record – "Because Of The Times," on April 3, 2007. Turning once
Gov’t Mule’s MuleTracks.com is approaching it’s Millionth Mule Tracks Download. In appreciation of it’s fans interest in their concerts, Gov’t Mule will host the "Download The Millionth Song At Mule
The music of the late Joe Strummer is celebrated on the soundtrack to the new documentary "The Future Is Unwritten," due April 3 via Legacy Recordings. The album features a
Although Infradig’s Clinical Indifference/The Psychology of Breathing purports to be a jazz rock record, it comes across more as mood-making electronic rock, pop, and hip-hop. T
A unique bi-costal tour popped up at the end of the last year. It was announced that the indie buzz band, the Cold War Kids, would be playing intimate New York venues three Wednesday nights in January, before flying cross-country each Friday night to play their hometown L.A. clubs. This approach might infuriate the dozen or so people living in the vacant prairie land between New York and Los Angeles, but it’s a strategy that solidifies the band’s foothold in the two U.S. music Mecca’s in a very short period of time.
