Review: Truck America – Full Moon Resort, NY
The first ever Truck Festival landed this past weekend in Upstate New York. The three day festival is taking place at the off the grid Full Moon Resort. And by “off the grid” I mean no TV, no wi-fi, no cellphone reception… nothing. This made for a truly, er, ‘distraction-free’ weekend – it was going to be just about the bands.
The lineup was full of a lot of surprises including Willy Mason and Joan As A Policewoman. However, the true highlight of the weekend was Mercury Rev’s dreamy performance accompanied by a chamber orchestra. The band performed a mystical two hour set that had everyone captivated. The Dig and The Joy Formidable were the other two acts that really blew me away during the festival. I had already been high on The Joy Formidable’s debut record but couldn’t have foreseen their blistering live set.
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, such as forgetting the battery for my camera, I was unable to get any quality shots during the show. But the added lack of technology seemed to add to the experience. The festival was in such a remote and intimate location that it turned out to be more of a secret weekend retreat more than a full blown event. For its first go around, the weekend was impressive. As with anything new there are room for tweaks and enhancements but Truck is something that we desperately need in the Northeast and hopefully this becomes a weekend we can all mark in red year after year.
Review: Efterklang & The Danish National Chamber Orchestra – Performing Parades
Efterklang teamed up with The Danish National Chamber Orchestra to recreate the bands album “Parades.” In this release you get both CD and a DVD of the live concerts. This is a rare set because the songs are actually stronger on this live album. The DVD gives you a almost an hour of concert footage plus a little mini documentary about the project as well as videos from the original Parades push. For those of you who are new to Efterklang there is some post rock elements to their sound but they add a lot via the breathe and sureal vocals of Casper Clausen. “Performing Parades” is a special release that should be a required purchase for everyone this year.
The thing that struck me the most about “Performing Parades” was on the DVD side. The concert was a very stunning visual piece. The band were all wearing these hats and had their faces painted. The stage was decorated with a lot of lively colors and a beautiful centerpiece.
“Performing Parades” captures what most live albums need to for me to really have a place in my collection. It makes me feel like I was actually in the crowd during the performances. The sound is dead on sounding so full and crisp. Last, it makes me itch to see the band live. It is almost like a sample of what I could be seeing. Obviously, there were some logistical issues with this performance but you get the idea.
Tracks like “Horseback Tenors” and “Frida Found A Friend” burst through my headphones with loud soars of sounds from every which direction. This is not to say that the original is a bad record. I think that in this setting the songs are allowed to breathe a little more and we get to sample those benefits.
Review: The Temper Trap – Conditions
Melbourne’s The Temper Trap have already been generating a lot of good noise with the most recent singles from “Conditions.” “Sweet Disposition” was featured in the movie 500 days of Summer and “Science Of Fear” was recently released as a single. The album is slowly making its way across the world with a UK releases this summer and a US release due this fall.The two big singles have given this record a lot of hype and excitement prior to the release. I for one have listened to “Sweet Disposition” a few hundred times this year.
The record is produced by Jim Abbiss who has worked with such hit-makers as Arctic Monkeys and Adele. The hype, producer, and singles are all in places in the run up to the album release but the question will be does it deliver?
The record is a very polished effort and it feels like the band are on the verge of some mega success. The records lead track “Love Lost” really shows off Dougy Mandagi’s vocal chops. He seems like he could be a very interesting character/personality. “Sweet Disposition” is a track everyone should own. Yeah, I went there. “Fools” is another track where you get a different vocal sound from Doungy and it at times sounds like someone completely different. “Drum Song” finishes off the album with a song that would be fitting for The Stone Roses with a big bouncy and jangly drum off.
The album does have a few down moments that would could do without but for a debut it is sharp and quality listen each time out. It is worth it so that you get the singles and “Fools” and “Love Lost” alone.
Review: Simian Mobile Disco – Temporary Pleasure
As we creep closer and closer to the end of the summer that seemed to have never really came there was always something that seemed to miss from the Summer of 09. It is about 90 outside today and these days will come few and far between. I have a rare night off of work and there is one thing that keeps coming to mind while listening to this record. It just feels right.
This is SMD’s second full length following up 07s “Attack Decay Sustain Release.” “Temporary Pleasure” is also littered with guest vocalists. The line-up is diverse including Gruff Rhys that proves the man can really do anything and do it well.Gruff’s track “Cream Dream” is the first track on the record and it is an interesting way to launch the album. But, Gruff shows he has got the chops to handle the task. The albums first single “Audacity of Huge feat. Chris Keating ” is a track that I have been loving all summer. It is very catchy with a massive sound to it. Next up we have, “10,000 Horses Can’t Be Wrong” one of the few tracks on the album minus a guest vocalist and it is slowly becoming a favourite of mine on the record. The song starts off with a little starry eyed beat and feels verytrippy /spacey that is a fun little journey. “Bad Blood (feat. Alexis Taylor)” is a track that just feels like a natural marriage of the two acts.
“Temporary Pleasure” is a record that will most likely split fans. It is naturally a friendlier album than the bands debut and some of their fans might find that off putting. But, for me it is a notch above their debut and a great way to end this wild and wacky summer.