Soundtrack2

Posts Tagged ‘Wooden Shjips’

Killer 2011 tunes from Veronica Falls, Damien Jurado, The War On Drugs, I Break Horses, M83 & more

Photo by Phil Askew luminouslives.com

Every week or so, we feature a hot mix of brand new tracks with classic gems. But this week, we decided to look back at some of 2011′s best bands. Though we’ve featured some of them on previous podcasts, now we’re dropping other great tracks from their albums.

Of course, once we started we couldn’t stop – so enjoy your 90 minute journey deep into shoegaze, psych and electronic territory.

Tell us – is there anyone we missed?

Soundtrack2 Ep. 91 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1.   The Black Tambourines – White Album
UK band kick things off with some incendiary psych garage. Pick it up on the Chica EP.

2.   Cloud Nothings – Understand At All
This lo-fi popper bore its way into my head.

3.   Doctors – Heaven’s Gate
Imagine A Fistfull of Dollars crossed with Easy Rider.

4.   The Raveonettes – Recharge & Revolt
Raven In The Grave didn’t grab me at first listen, but this wistful pop number owes as much to The Radio Dept. as it does their other rock and roll influences. In other Raveonettes news, they released a rarities album that I’ve yet to dig into.

5.   His Clancyness/ Shimmering Stars – Not Growing Up
More great garage lo-fi, mixed with some Phil Spector beats.

6.   Real Estate – Younger Than Yesterday
The best bands often make music that sounds simple. If you don’t own Days,  you’re missing some of the simplest pop perfection out there.

7.   Veronica Falls – The Fountain
Another great 60s-indebted harmonizing band. Love the sadness and menace put to music as love goes wrong.

8.   Damien Jurado – Nothing Is The News
Wow. I didn’t know Mr. Jurado, so I expected to hear a mellow singer-songwriter or something. But this track conjures up images of a groovy band jamming in a cellar while a hurricane rages outside.

9.   //orangenoise – Rabblerouser
This heavy melter from Karachi’s finest just squeaked onto the list due to its early January release date.

10.  Wooden Shjips – Rising
West tune busts out the smoke machines for more than five minutes of disorienting drone.

11.  Odonis Odonis – Seedgazer
Another off-kilter rock and roll tune from the Toronto crew’s Hollandaze album.

12.  Ringo Deathstarr – Down On You
Re-discovering the heavy, dark shoegaze of Sparkler.

13.  The Horrors – I Can See Through You
Another gem from Skying that reminds me yet again that lead singer Faris Badwan is a cross between Killing Joke‘s Jaz Coleman and Simple Minds‘ Jim Kerr.

14.  Tammar – The Last Line
The track of the week  comes from a band that seemingly came out of nowhere. Soaring rock and roll with krautrock textures. File this song in the “Never want this song to end” category.

15.  The Joy Formidable – Whirring
The Big Roar had a lot of great tracks on it, and this one’s just huge. Looking forward to more from this band in 2012.

16.  I Break Horses – Load Your Eyes
Beautiful glacial electronic shoegaze from Hearts. Vocals here remind me a bit of Emm Gryner. Is that Anthony Gonzalez adding synth texture?

17.  The War On Drugs – It’s Your Destiny
Slave Ambient  had a great downhome electronic vibe, kind of like Grandaddy. But what makes it really special are all the unique, memorable tunes on it like this.

18.  Bachelorette – Not Entertainment
Her latest self-titled album didn’t get a lot of fanfare this year, but I suspect there’s a hardcore bunch of people like me who drool over her exquisite ethereal electronica.

19.  Tycho – Hours
Chillwave anthem from earlier this year.

20.  Washed Out – Amor Fati
Another big chillwave track that I’m glad I dusted off for this. Profound and passionate.

21.  M83 – New Map
Speaking of which, here’s some glorious electronic shoegaze from what many consider one of 2011′s best albums.

Psychic Ills, Deerhoof, The Chambermaids, Wooden Shjips, Sleeping Bags & more

Photo by Phil Askew luminouslives.com

Soundtrack2 Ep. 84 [ 1:05:23 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1.   Husky Rescue – Rainbow Flows
Chilling out at a hookah bar on Venus.

2.   Psychic Ills – Mind Daze
Hazy psych roots rock off Hazed Dream, due out later this month.

3.   Duelelectrum – Ultrasensor
São Paulo band gets murky on this one from Exploding Galaxy.

4.   Neutral Milk Hotel – You’ve Passed
Recent touring and reissues made me dust off this powerful drone rock classic.

5.   Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Too Real
The trip down memory lane continues with this great midtempo dream pop tune from their first album.

6.   Spectrum – How You Satisfy Me
Also recording under Sonic Boom, here the former Spacemen 3 member drops shimmering organ psych like this one from Refractions.

7.   Wooden Shjips – Black Smoke Rise
Leadoff track to new album West.

8.   Model Morning – We Go All Night
A fantastic rock and roll epic. Anyone hearing a similarity between the lead singer and Peter Gabriel?

9.   Starfire Connective Sound – Acid Morning Ride
Bombastic Brazilian rock and roll.

10.  Broken Water – Heart Strings
Fulfilling my quota of tunes inspired by Sonic Youth. Available on Exploding In Sound’s sampler.

11.  Deerhoof – Scream Team
I went to the Battles show last week. Deerhoof singer Kazu Makino was featured on a video screen singing their very cool “Swinging & Shag.” Now I’m paying it forward by dropping this gem from The Runners Four.

12.  Azma – Sweetness and Light
This melody is 100% guaranteed to get inside your head.

13.  The Chambermaids – China Blue
Twin city garage power pop. Lovely.

14.  Weekend – Hazel
Indie power pop with a splash of shoegaze.

15.  Sea Dweller – Settings
Love Is Coming track of near-perfect C86 shoegaze.

16.  The Ludvico Treatment – The Last Thing You Should Do
Blistering cover of David Bowie’s 1997 Earthling track.

17.  Sleeping Bags – Canteloupe
Released last month, this may be placed in the chillwave category. But to me it’s just a fantastic, huge tune.

Washed Out, M83, Girls, PacificUV, Dum Dum Girls & more

Photo by Phil Askew, luminouslives.com

Tons of great new stuff this week. Dig in.

Soundtrack2 Ep. 76 [ 1:09:38 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1.   Burning God Little – Notes On Being Snowblind

Swinging track that puts a spring in your step.

2.   Tahiti 80 – Defender

French electro poppers come back with a vengeance on The Past, The Present & The Possible.

3.   Battles – Sweetie and Shag (featuring Kazu Makino)

Slept on their latest, but I’m catching up now. Sweet vocals courtesy of the Blonde Redhead singer and very cool disonant keys during chorus – is that a steel drum I hear?

4.   M83 – Midnight City

Another new huge tune from Mr. G. Less shoegazy than his last record, but just as 80′s-influenced. Available for free download via his site.

5.   Public Transport - Up All Night

Sweet, big electronic pop courtesy of Duncan Bailey. I like my instrumentals, but this tune would just soar with female vocals.

6.   Washed Out – You And I

The chillwave masters return.

7.   Valentin Stip – Anytime Will Do

Montreal noir minimalism, available on RCRDLBL.

8.   PacificUV – I’m Here (But It’s Not Me)

Intimate and lovely. The latest track in their monthly free series.

9.   Stargazer Lilies – Ahhh

Glacial shoegaze.

10.  Dum Dum Girls – Coming Down

On their latest, I hear a cross between Mazzy Star and Low. This band just keeps getting better.

11.  Alec’s Band – The Great Dong Of Darkness On A Motorcycle

Noise rock instrumental that transforms from ballad to bombast. And based on this band’s song titles, I’m thankful there are no lyrics.

12.  Wooden Shjips – Lazy Bones

Groovy psych journey into the swamp. RCRDLBL.

13.  The Jesus And Mary Chain – Supertramp

Hey, this isn’t “The Logical Song!”  Brace yourself for this Munki classic with “Tomorrow Never Knows” drumming, punchy bass and a cool chorus.

14.  The La’s – Failure

Someone wrote Mojo to diss The La’s. Yes, they’re overhyped because of their low output. But listen to this performance and tell me you’re not blown away.

15.  Veronica Falls – Come On Over

London crew runs down some pounding indie rock.

16.  Girls – Vomit

The online reviews I’ve read of their latest tune don’t describe it well. Best I can do is Led Zeppelin‘s “Since I’ve Been Loving You”, mixed with Eels that ends as a Bowie or T. Rex glam soul anthem. “Come into my heart…”

The Raveonettes, Moon Duo, Junip, Swans, Ambulance Ltd. & more

Photo by Phil Askew, www.luminouslives.com

Soundtrack2 Ep. 65 [ 1:17:15 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1.   Junip – Without You

Beautiful, pastoral psychedelia from José González’s other band that ascends heavenward as the synth comes in. Wow, this Daytrotter session really deepened their sound.

2.   Panorama – Sol Brillar

What could be a lost gem from Dark Side of the Moon, but straight out of Medellín, Columbia. Available via above link.

3.   Ambulance Ltd. – Swim

A classic midtempo tune from their brilliant self-titled album from quite a few moons ago. Great chord progression.

4.   Stumbleine – Lunar

Love the broken soulfulness of this track. Just fantastic, genre-defying music that may take a few listens for you to fall in love. And they’ve been nice enough to make it available on their Tumblr.

5.   Slowness – Black & White

San Frans drop some trippy power pop, with nice guitar effects towards the end.

6.   April Fool’s Day – Being Phil

Great guitar-driven, crunchy rock and roll. Hard to tell where they’re from…Spain?

7.   Jetman Jet Team – Cosmic Age

Clandestine stratospheric shoegazing by promising Seattle-ites.

8.   The Raveonettes – Evil Seeds

Don’t be fooled by the (not so good) post-rock intro. This dark guitar pop tune from new record Raven In The Grave gets darker and deeper. Nice to see them mess with their formula.

9.   Mock – Poppy

Now we’re getting crazy. Like A Place To Bury Strangers, Ringo Deathstarr or even No Age? Then this one from ’94 is for you.

10.  Sphere – Low-altitude Flight

Wall of sound over loud beats and great female crooning vocals. Chorus kicks it up a notch.

11.  Transistor Photograph – Like A Dolphin

Flash of sound and light, with a steady groove and sweet breakdown.

12.  Last Remaining Pinacle – Students Of The V.U.

Drone, sitar and – is that a zither? Theremin maybe? Nuff said…

13.  Moon Duo – Fallout

Now add some rock and roll to the drone and you’re off. Yes!

14.  Swans – The Great Annihalator

More sitar! This corker’s off the LP of the same name, but this recently re-activated band is touring again.

15.  Ty Segall – Standing At The Station

No words can describe the joyful cacophony here. And don’t ask me what this song has to do with a station.

16.  Royal Bangs – Triccs

Ripping new post punk/rock and roll with a wonderful, distorted bottom end that gives it a great dirty groove.

17.  The D’Ubervilles – Magic Arrow

Fellow Torontonians do such a stellar cover of Timber Timbre‘s track that I actually prefer it. The mood they create here really breathes life into the song.

18.  Achievement House – Summer Spirit

Summer’s not here yet, so we’ll describe this as the soundtrack to a glorious Spring day. It brings to mind free spirits in Broken Social Scene.

Atlas Sound, Ten Million Lights, The Telescopes, Wooden Shjips, The Hidden Ratio & more

Cover of Funki Porcini's Fast Asleep

Soundtrack2 Audiocast51 [ 1:02:24 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1.   Soft Circle – Night Hike

Propulsive, slightly Krautrock beats take us deep into the woods.

2.    Suuns – Arena

Montreal band get into an evil synth groove at Daytrotter session.

3.   Atlas Sound – Lanterns

World-y beats with ambient noises. One of the many different directions Mr. Cox takes on his four albums of bedroom recordings, which you can find here. Better get a new hard drive.

4.   Maserati – Bye M’friend, Goodbye

All’s well in the world if you start your day off with this electronic shoegaze track. The bassline just kills me – reminds of Deep Purple‘s “Highway Star.” I’m no drummer, but I’d love to play on this one.

5.   Wooden Shjips – Motorbike

Suicide meets Spacemen 3 on this drone-y psych monster off Dos.

6.   My Disco – Closer

Australian post punk with loud, repetitive guitar available here.

7.   Ten Million Lights – Fast Asleep

These guys are the real deal. Second time they’ve been on the podcast this year. Solid midtempo shoegaze.

8.   Amusement Parks On Fire – Echo Park / Infinite Delay

Vocalist seems overly inspired by The Silversun Pickups and autotune, but this one from Road Eyes rocks.

9.   The Hidden Ratio – Crystal Growth

Bombastic shoegaze psych with tremolo and ringing guitars.

10.  The Telescopes – Everso

Classic stuff off the Everso EP. There’s even sitar in there!

11.  Iowa – Lose Yourself

Dinosaur Jr. much? I’ll forgive them this time, particularly since they made it available on their bandcamp.

12.  Garageland – Fay Ray

Bratty 90s indie rock and roll out of New Zealand.  These guys are for you if you’re into Pavement or Imperial Teen.

13.  Rec Centre – Funner

It’s rarely sunny in Vancouver, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do sunshine pop! Pick it up here.

14.  Au Revoir Simone – All or Nothing

This chillwave tune didn’t do much for until I saw their KEXP video. Subtle and beautiful.

15.  Goatface – Creekside

Weird electronic raga from Georgia.

16.  Eric & Magill – Birthdays Are Important

Transcendant use of harmonies and space off All Those I Know. Mercury Rev fans dig in: “Here’s to another trip around the sun.”