Band of Horses | Cease to Begin

The opening track of Band of Horses' new release, "Is There a Ghost," was one of the few tracks that I actively sought out after hearing it on the radio. I was immediately hooked on this band's sound, a sound that was familiar but entirely new.

Band of Horses was formed by Ben Bridwell and Mat Brooke in 2004 Seattle. They're currently signed to Sub Pop Records, a Seattle-based independent label which also manages The Shins, Iron & Wine, and The Postal Service. BoH started out opening for Iron & Wine, and on the cusp of their October 2007 release they started playing their own, packed, giant shows.

Their popularity is merited. Cease to Begin is a notable improvement upon their debut Everything All the Time: It is more straightforward, more refined, more likeable. Lead singer Bridwell's voice had me confused upon first listen, thinking I was hearing a new MMJ track, as his voice is sometimes identical to Jim James's (especially in the reverb-soaked stuff James is so well-known for), only less dark and more pop-friendly. They sound like an amalgamation of My Morning Jacket, The Shins, and a little Coldplay. Their myspace bio claimes that "Band of Horses' woodsy, dreamy songs ooze with amorphous tension, longing and hope," and this is very true.

"Is There a Ghost," beginning with slow anticipation, builds into some powerful stuff, while the next three are very beautiful indie-pop songs about loss that are ironically optimistic. I've gotten into the habit of listening only to the first four songs--which are undoubtedly the strongest--but the rest of the album is quite good. The twangier "The General Specific" and the more upbeat "Island on the Coast" would fit perfectly on a Shins album, while "Marry Song" suggests an attempt at singer-songwriter-ism (MMJ, I&W), but suffers from being too repetitive and not seemingly heartfelt. "Cigarettes Wedding Bands" is another rocker, which sports a catchy chorus, and the closer "Windows Blues" is another slow song, which works much better, since they don't play around with harmonies which allows Bridwell's voice to shine through. It's a quick listen, at only 35 minutes, but it's definitely repeat-friendly.

Download "Is There a Ghost" and listen to "No One's Gonna Love You" at their myspace.

"August and Everything After" by the Counting Crows

(The song, not the album). If you didn't know this song existed, you're in for a treat. It's not a song you play in the background. It's a song you listen to, in your chair or in your bed, with your eyes closed. Adam tells you this story in bits and pieces, like a collection of memories, and you feel at the end that you've seen his life through his eyes. It made me realize how many different types and purposes of songs there are out there. It's so long-how does he have the whole thing memorized? It must be autobiographical. Maria is the beginning focal point, who's a staple in much of his songwriting (recall the line from "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby": And there's a piece of Maria in every song that I sing). This song is similar to that one, not only in its length but in its story-form and its incorporation of the mundane and the profound instances and lessons from life. The loudest cheer from the crowd is right after the first time he sings "August and everything after," when the audience realizes that this is the long-lost song that was supposed to be on, and may have been the origin of, their stunning debut.

August and Everything After [Live].mp3
If you have a different version than the one I've posted, please let me know!

Lyrics

They're wakin' up Maria 'cause everybody else has got some place to go
She makes a little motion with her head,
Rolls over,
And she says she's gonna sleep for a couple minutes more
I said "I'm sorry" to Maria for all the cold hearted things that i have done
I've said "I'm sorry", by now, at least once to just about everyone
She says, "I've forgotten what I'm supposed to do today,
And it slips my mind what I'm supposed to say."
We're getting older and older, and older
And always a little further out of the way
You look into her eyes, and it's more than your heart will allow
In August and everything after, you get a little less than you expected, somehow...

I stumbled into Washington Square just as the sun began to rise
And I walked across the lawn to the cathedral
And lay down in the shadow of St. Mary's in the sky
I'm just one of these late-model children waiting for the king
But there ain't no sign of Elvis in San Fransisco
It's just me, and I'm playing this rock and roll thing
And she wants to be just like me
And I want every damn thing I can see.
One day, you're Daddy's little angel,
The next day you're everything he wanted you to be
They dress you up in white satin
And they give you your very own pair of wings
In August and everything after, I'm after everything.

And I said, la la la la la la la.....

Well now I got my reservations, and I got my seven million-dollar home
And I got the number of some girl in New York City
Who's always wide awake so I never have to spend the night alone
I got this nasty little habit of peeking down the shirts
Of all the little girls as they pass me by
And i wonder, if it all catches up to me
I'm finally breaking down, now
Did you think i was gonna cry?
Well, I've already got my disease,
So take your fucking filthy hands off of me
Well I hope you don't expect me to be crucified,
The best that they can do is just to hang me from the nearest tree

'Cause it's midnight in San Francisco
And I'm waiting here for Jesus on my knees
In August and everything after
I want somebody else to bleed for me

I said la la la la.... na na na....

I came down from North Dakota
'Cause I had a confidence in the military mind
And now, everyone I know is turning show girl
And dancing with their shirt off in some Las Vegas hotel line
So I'm going to New York city, because it got a little sleazy here for me
When I find myself alone, I know I'm never going home
You make the changes, the changes that you need
But I no longer know how to pray
I live in a dog-town and it's a dalmation parade
I change my spots, over and over,
But they never seem to fade away
I am the last remaining Indian,
Looking for the place where the buffalo roam
In August and everything after,
Man, them buffalo ain't never coming home
In August and everything after,
Man, them buffalo ain't never coming home

La la la la la.....

Sigur Rós | Hvarf / Heim

Everyone seems to be wondering about Sigur Rós's new release. This double EP, released 11/06/07 is a separate companion to their first live film, Heima, which was released today in North America. Although this collection (11 tracks, two discs, 72 minutes total) doesn't have any new material, most of it hasn't been released before. Hvarf is a collection of studio-recorded rarities, and Heim is a collection of live acoustic favorites. I found the selections on Hvarf to be somewhat repetitive in their sound, although the remake of Von (from their debut) is pretty good. The live material really makes this cd worth buying, however; if you're a fan of Sigur Rós and you haven't seen them live, this is an essential buy. Hearing their material live proves their musical talent: without the help of synthesizers and everything else they still make incredibly beautiful music. These stripped-down versions also confirm the delicacy of their sound, that is, their ability to create emotion-evoking moments without their characteristic 'noise.' The recording quality is perfect, and the familiar songs chosen for Heim take on a new life.

Sigur Rós's official website on the new EP & DVD, including full descriptions of each song:
Hvarf-Heim CD
Heima DVD

Favorite Song #6: "She Says [Live]" by Howie Day

Sometimes I wonder if I love a song because of the song itself, or because of the memories and emotions it evokes. Well, now that I wonder that, I'm pretty sure it's both. I found Howie Day back in 2001 shortly before the Sony re-release of his debut album Australia, on an Aware Records compilation. I quickly realized how talented this guy was, and was happy to see how much popularity he earned. A direct result of this was an increasingly large collection of live show recordings on the internet, which was so nice with Howie because he played twice as much material on the road than he had (or ever did) released in his albums. My junior year of high school I listened to him nonstop, usually while driving around in my car aimlessly.

This is by far my favorite of the 7 versions I have of this song by the American singer-songwriter. Day doesn't use the looping for which he's known; he uses his guitar and the passion in his voice to fill this song out. This version has a sweeping, ethereal quality to it: listen to the first two seconds and you'll know what I mean. This version in particular, especially over the two album versions, has a much more honest feel, like he's singing-wailing-from his heart; beautiful and fervent, this might just make you a fan of Howie if you're not already. Too bad he hasn't released anything in over two years :-/

*Photo: Barry Brecheisen / Rolling Stone*

She Says [Live].mp3

Cat Power | The Covers Record

Since falling in love with The Greatest, I've found it difficult to really enjoy her earlier albums. It seemed to me that they were more avenues for her own catharsis than adequate representations of her talent. The focus-being completely independent the first two albums, and on a rather small label up until her newest release-did not seem to be primarily on the music: her lyricism was good-at times astounding-but her musicianship was only moderately interesting and her voice did not sound like it does today. Although there are a few gems in her back catalogue that truly shine, most of the songs are too raw, hard, or unpolished to create a pleasant listening experience (they seem to work on some level in the background, or if you're really down, but they're difficult to love). The nature of her (past) music makes sense, considering her battles with alcoholism and depression. Here's a relatively recent NY Times article and video in which she explains some personal things.

After taking a couple years off from music after her 1996 album What Would the Community Think, she released a collection of covers she'd played on the road between 1998 and 1999. It's very interesting how much different the sound of this record is from her prior releases, and even You Are Free, which came out three years later. Perhaps the main difference is that there is no evidence of any other musicians: it's only Chan. She mostly plays her guitar, sometimes the piano, which allows her gentle, smokey voice to be heard as it should without detracting from its almost unnverving intimacy. She covers The Rolling Stones (I don't know if I've ever heard a more radically satisfying cover of a song than her version of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"), Lou Reed, her (ex?) boyfriend Bill Callahan of Smog, and even herself, transforming each song into something nobody else ever could. The most similar song on The Greatest would have to be "Where is My Love," but somehow the songs on this album each have a weighty significance, like she inspected each of them with her heart and expects us to (i.e. knows we will) do the same. Chan's "Wild is the Wind" is perhaps the most hauntingly poignant, soul-piercing song I've ever heard. I absolutely love this album. It is a supremely satisfying listen straight through, and is best suited for listening at night, with quiet stillness, disturbed only by Chan's hauntingly beautiful voice.

Look for a song in my upcoming mix.