u r the ocean

I was reading Spin (the U.S. equivalent of NME) recently and, much to my surprise, Phantogram was featured on their summer mix-tape. I downloaded their debut album Eyelid Movies a few months back, so I decided to give them another go. It's very chilled trip-hop that switches from male to female vocals on a track-to-track basis, but to be honest I prefer the female vocals. Almost every melody is super-catchy, and if you aren't humming along to it you're probably sleeping, which is something Eyelid Movies is pretty good for if you're in the mood (though I wouldn't call it ambient). The synth is nice and distorted, while the drum beats are comfortably familiar. Oh, and is that some electric guitar? It meshes together well and creates a spacey atmosphere that hipsters crave.

So kiddos, you heard it here first: Phantogram is the next Crystal Castles [EDIT: Except it's good]. Hop trends before it's too late!

feel like a piece of shit

I feel like a piece of shit. This blanket just came out of the dryer, but the fresh smell is giving me a headache. My head feels stuffy, I'm depressed, and my throat feels swollen. I need a nap. But I haven't posted in a while and Valentine's day (bullshit angst day) is around the corner, so I'll delay my sleep for you, the royal reader. 'Cause I'm soooooo nice. Sorry, did you say something? I can't hear you over the sound of me fapping.

So yeah, The Antlers. Apparently Pitchfork feels that by giving albums by aspiring young artists a good review, they're kickstarting their career. It has an opposite effect on me, to be honest. It's always the same story: Pitchfork gives [band]'s debut/"breakthrough" album an 8, [band] gets a shitload of scrobbles for two weeks, then the hipster backlash kicks in. It happened with The XX, Merriweather Post Pavillion, and, yes, Hospice. I guess I'm not hip for know about them before Pitchfork 8.5'd them, but isn't being hip arriving late for old trends? I don't know, and I don't care. All I know is that Hospice is fucking haunting. I had it on in the background while I was reading an article about the Virtual Boy (ONM: a necesarry evil) when the track Bear came on, and I just had to stop. It's that good. While the vocals are pure, the static and the horns
in the background create a contrasting atmosphere. And then the lyrics. Oh Jesus, the lyrics.

"And all the while I'll know we're fucked/And not getting unfucked soon."

"Sylvia, get your head out of the covers/Let me take your temperature,
you can throw the thermometer right back at me/if that's what you want to do, okay?"

Just mouthing them makes me feel uneasy. If you really need music that makes you think, this is it. If you need to cry or release some demons, this is it. Bring a noose.

christopherwalken (http://www.last.fm/music/christopherwalken)

I live in a small village. In England. You'd think that I would be involved in some sort of music scene/genre that's on the rise, but no, no I am not. Maybe if it was 1996 right now I would have just come back from a concert in hopes that the local brocore band Prize Crane will make it big time (and release that fucking EP Paul was talking about). No, there is no such genre as brocore. There is no Prize Crane. This is no Paul, and there is no EP. The closest thing I've seen in England that even faintly resembles a "music scene" is a bunch of long-haired college-bound street performers that cover 70s pop songs - but I digress.

This brings me to christopherwalken, an offshoot of a bunch of college kids who "have more dreams than talent". They've released a demo (fucktheworlddemo) and a three-song EP (Winter Songs). So how's the music? Well, it's pretty garage. The main atrraction, so to speak, is the vocals, but they're drowned out by the drumming. In fact, the drumming drowns out the guitar as well, which is a shame considering it's very surf-rockish. They show promise, and underneath the fuzz they're actually quite good.

Fortunatley Winter Songs fixes these problems. They ditched the garage-rock undertones for a sound that's hard to describe. It's almost like they have some personal demons that are only being articulated halfway through. It really leaves you asking for more, and it's hard to imagine a band making so much progress in, what, half a year? Colour me impressed.

WINTER SONGS
FUCKTHEWORLDDEMO

Three more favorites of mine

Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West

When I was told Good News... wasn't an accurate repesentation of Modest Mouse, I was intrigued. Well, not really, seeing how it took me a fucking month to actually download The Lonesome Crowded West. Man, I was missing out on so much. The opening track Teeth Like God's Shoeshine is erratic, noisy, and a representation of what to expect from the rest of the album. Best Tracks: Trailer Trash, Heart Cooks Brain, Cowboy Dan, Convenient Parking,

Lounge (Closing Time)

oh my god elephant - Five Song EP(?)
"Real" emo with math-rock undertones. That's all I can say about them, besides "FUCK YEAH". Oh, and they changed their name to Rainbow Tornado. Best Tracks: Dan Dan Dan Dan, Evan Tuckerman

Ape Up! - Demo '09

Judging by the title of the band and the cover of the album, you'd think the guys behind Ape Up! are total assholes. I guess that's plausible, but their demotape (released earlier this year) is really good. I believe the singer is the same bro behind Snowing (I don't really know, all I have to go off of them is their MySpace page), so you can expect God-tier vocals. Top tracks: Two Tickets to Stink Town, Nice Marmot, Rudich Ranch