‘Music’ Category Archives
Aug
Check the Wall of Harmonies on New Dum Dum Girls Song “Lord Knows”
by Lefort in Music

Check out below Lord Knows, a new song from the dandy Dum Dum Girls off of their impending EP, End of Daze. The song treads nicely in Neko Case territory, but the Dum Dum’s (don’t believe it) add their own sorcery and spin via the sweetest wall of harmonies we’ve heard in quite some time. And the Dum Dum Girls go: “I want to live a pure life. I’d say it’s about time. Don’t judge me for the things I’ve done.” We won’t judge, except to say this song is a beauty.
While we’re on the Dum Dum Girls, after Lord Knows check out an unplugged version of their great song, Coming Down.
Aug
New A.C. Newman Album Imminent–Listen/Download New Song “I’m Not Talking”
by Lefort in Music

Most know A.C. (“Carl”) Newman as a key component of the pop-complex known as The New Pornographers. Together with Destroyer’s Dan Bejar, Neko Case and backers, The New Pornographers have made some of the headiest pop-rock crafted in the 21st century. Some may be unaware, though, that Newman has also released two of the best solo albums we have laid our ears upon, 2004’s Slow Wonder and 2009’s Get Guilty.
Now comes the grand news that on October 9th, he’ll release his third solo album, Shut Down The Streets, on Matador Records. Newman came through an emotional period prior to recording the album, and he’s lived to sing about it on Shut Down the Streets, all as explained to Pitchfork recently:
“This record was written during a very heavy time in my life. I was right in that in-between space where I’d just lost somebody [his mother] that’s amazingly important to me, and I was also anticipating the arrival of somebody incredibly important, too. It made me think a lot about family, life and death, happiness and sadness, and how to reconcile them all. All the big questions. The months before and after Stellan was born, I couldn’t think about writing at all. I’ve always been like that; I don’t work that well when there’s distractions taking an enormous emotional toll on me. Other people do, apparently. Eventually, I thought, ‘Well, I’ve got a kid to support now. Get back to work.'”
The new album was recorded in Woodstock, NY and features Neko Case. Perhaps given the recording environment, the album is said to bear the influence of classic ‘70s folk and pop, a departure from the New Pornographers’ sound.
Check out the evidence on first track, I’m Not Talking, released off the new album below and go HERE to download it. It’s a smooth-talking, rapturous song that bodes well for the album.
Newman’s Fall Tour listings follow the song.
A.C. Newman–I’m Not Talking:
[audio:https://www.thelefortreport.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/a_c_newman_not_talking.mp3|titles=a_c_newman_not_talking]on tour this Autumn :
10/21 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace (Exclaim! 20th Anniversary Concert Series)
10/22 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/23 – Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
10/24 – Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s
10/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
10/26 – Washington DC @ Black Cat
10/27 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
10/28 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
10/29 – St. Louis, MO @ Duck Room at Blueberry Hill
10/30 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
11/1 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
11/2 – Winnipeg, Canada @ West End Cultural Centre
11/5 – Edmonton, Canada @ Starlite Room
11/6 – Calgary, Canada @ The Republik
11/8 – Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore Cabaret (Exclaim! 20th Anniversary Concert Series)*
11/9 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile*
11/10 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge*
11/12 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent*
11/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex*
11/14 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah*
*with special guest Harriet
Aug
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon Writes Song for The Silver Lake Chorus
by Lefort in Music

Justin Vernon must just have songs laying around. Either that or he appreciates choral music? Or maybe it’s just that he’s gotten wrapped up in the buzz about The Silver Lake Chorus and their choral arrangements of indie music. Produced by Ben Lee, their debut album features original songs written especially for TSLC by indie artists such as Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Carl Newman (The New Pornographers), Aimee Mann, Sia, The Bird & The Bee, Tegan & Sarah, and Of Montreal. They are led by artistic director Sam Rader and music director Mikey Wells.
The group is now self-releasing From The Snow Tipped Hills, written for them by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, & Wreckage, written for them by A.C. Newman of The New Pornographers, both available online September 14.
Check out Vernon’s From The Snow Tipped Hills below as performed by The Silver Lake Chorus. Magnifique.
Aug
Watch Damien Jurado Perform New Song “Let Us All In”
by Lefort in Music
Check out Damien Jurado directing and cajoling a Haldern Pop Festival audience into singing with him on a new song entitled Let Us All In. It takes a bit to get going, but eventually pays off handsomely and feels like Sunday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=te4VrC2ulHA
Aug
The Joy Formidable–Watch/Listen to New Song “Wolf’s Law”
by Lefort in Music
The Joy Formidable put out a powerful-punch of an album (The Big Roar) last year, and then blazed through concert halls everywhere. We confess that while their sound grabbed us initially, by the time the band came through Santa Barbara we had grown weary of their somewhat monotonous (though still riveting) distortion sonances. So it comes as a relief that Wolf’s Law, the first track to be released post-Big Roar, evinces a quantum shift in sound with different instrumentation (now including strings and piano) and more-subdued vocals from singer Ritzy Bryan.
And the official video has some cool effects too. Check it out below.
Aug
Watch Polica on Jimmy Kimmel Show
by Lefort in Music
The beguiling Polica performed their song Dark Star on The Jimmy Kimmel Show last night. Check it out below. Slick compared to the radio show performances, but compelling nonetheless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWi3hcqdiS4&feature=em-uploademail
Aug
Stream/Watch Animal Collective’s New Album “Centipede Hz”
by Lefort in Music

The prodigiously talented electro-psych band, Animal Collective, is soon to release its ambitious new album Centipede Hz. Centipede Hz follows on the heels of the band’s breathtaking last album, Merriweather Post Pavilion. Centipede Hz is currently streaming on Animal Collective‘s site. Go there and stream the entirety of the new album, conveyed via videos. Check out this audio-visual magical mystery tour, and then submit your own custom mixtape to be eligible to win a vinyl pressing of the album. More info on that on mixcloud.
There’s a lot of shimmering sound to chew on with the new album, but the trademark Animal Collective quality continues to shine through.
Aug
San Francisco Soundtracks–Check Out Stephanie Finch and the Company Men
by Lefort in Music

We haven’t been able to get back to our beloved San Francisco since deep, sunny winter. So we had to pull up the official videos for two phenomenal pop songs by Stephanie Finch and the Company Men (Chuck Prophet, Kelly Stoltz and Rusty Miller). Ms. Finch is the very talented spouse of the sorta-talented Chuck Prophet (jk, Chuck) who has also collaborated with Jonathan Richman and Mark Kozalek. If you haven’t had the pleasure, Finch has crafted pop songs of the highest order. There’s nothing new under the fog, but these songs still wrap you up in pop velvet.
The two featured songs (Transmission and Don’t Back Out Now) are off of her underrated, under-appreciated 2010 album Cry Tomorrow, her consummate compendium of “love letters to classic song.” The videos for these fine songs feature multiple facets of San Francisco and together function as a veritable travelogue of that fine City. On the recently released video for Transmission, Finch hints at Neko Case and busks at BART, while on Don’t Back Out Now Finch and the fellas goof off all over the fabled village. Check ’em out below, and go buy Cry Tomorrow at the link above.
For those attending October’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Chuck Prophet and Stephanie (as a member of Prophet’s backing band Mission Express) will appear as a part of this year’s vaunted lineup. San Francisco, we’re comin’ for you soon.
Aug
Feist-Heavy: Check Out Feistadon
by Lefort in Music
This is starting out to be a very Feisty week for us. First, the multi-talented femme simply slayed Sunday night on the From the Basement broadcast (check back for that video–not to be missed). And we’ve been off the grid and have been playing catch-up with the world. We just discovered that Feist is dabbling deliciously in the world of heavy metal. We’ll admit that metal isn’t the first genre we reach for in the morning (or at night) for listening pleasure. While we grew up on the thrash of ’70s punk music from NYC, London and LaLaLand (in that chronological order), we nonetheless have not given metal much mental bandwidth. Historically, the rare lyrical intelligence (a primary driver for us) in metal, coupled with the seeming (we admit ignorance, ye metal experts) monotony of the sound has pushed us away. Ya gotta give credit to Leslie Feist and Mastadon. In combo, they’ve made a great argument for the possibilities of the genre.
As a part of this year’s Record Store Day celebration, Feist and Mastadon collaborated on a split seven-inch record, with Feist covering Mastodon’s Black Tongue and Mastodon covering Feist’s A Commotion. Now both tracks are available digitally. In addition to the digital release, an interactive video has been put together for A Commotion that shows Feist in full metal mode and enables users to slide a bar back and forth to choose between the original Feistian version (full to the left) and the Mastodon cover (full to the right), and all parts in between. We recommend splitting the difference and setting the bar in the middle.
Check out immediately below that interactive version, followed by the just-released official video for the Mastodon version. And then check out at the very bottom Feist’s hair-raising version of A Commotion as performed this year at Bonnaroo. Brava and bravo!
Aug
Watch Grizzly Bear from Colbchella Festival
by Lefort in Music

As proof that this music festival thang has reached critical mass, even Stephen Colbert has gotten into the game with his Colbchella Festival held last week in NYC on the US Intrepid. The major upside was that Grizzly Bear was one of the featured performers. In case you missed it, check out their performances below of Yet Again, Sleeping Ute and Two Weeks, followed by a classic Colbert interview with the band.
The Colbert Report
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The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

