Posts Tagged ‘Woods’

Woods // I Was Gone 7”

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

After seeing that order shipments from Woodsist have been delayed until April 1, I got a nice surprise when my I Was Gone 7”, the latest from Brooklyn experimental folk group Woods, came in the mail this past week. Although probably not considered as rare as some of their other albums (an initial pressing of 1500 7′’s is the vinyl equivalent of what Dan Brown got for The Lost Symbol), it’s still one of my favorites as it explores what post-Songs of Shame Woods might sound like.

Similar to “Creeps Collage” off of their Woods Family Creeps S/T, the A-side “Days Gone By” is a mix-and-match of track snippets, transitioning from one to another sometimes abruptly, sometimes smoothly. No doubt the mid-section of the song is the preferred part, featuring a soulful guitar line and the delicate falsetto of Jeremy Earl chanting the line “many days gone by”. The B-side is filled with a duo of jamming two-minute tracks. The first of which, entitled “I Was Gone”, is certainly “Eastern inspired”, prominently featuring some sitar-like sounds that mesh well with the psychedelic-tinged tendencies of the band. On the other hand, “Hang On” is one of their patented creepy songs which showcases spidery guitar lines and haunting background moans that no doubt add to the overall sense of uneasiness of the track.

You can check out the mashed together “Days Gone By” below, and, if you like it, cop the record from Midhaven Mailorder for a timely delivery:

Woods // Days Gone By

Dick Diver // “Tender Years”

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

(Courtesy: Juhi Sharma)

I vaguely remember first hearing about the Australian band Dick Diver from a fellow Aussie girl oozing compliments about them during Portland’s Music Fest Northwest this past fall, however it took a certain Swede’s year-end favorites list to properly jog my memory and steer me towards checking out their music. Although their myspace page doesn’t provide much fanfare, the two tracks featured, “Tender Years” and “Walk for Room”, make for great listens, with the former providing me with enough incentive to buy their Arks Up EP off of iTunes.

No doubt the band name and possibly the track title is a nod to the F. Scott Fitzgerald work — with the slinking melody of the song providing a good hypothetical soundtrack to multiple scenes in the film adaptation. Opening up with a slow paced surf & flamenco guitar line that the Danish act The Good The Bad would be proud of, the dusky tone is set from the beginning and escalates over the course of the five-minute song. Lines like “take one step back from the edge…” and “he loves you / and he don’t want you to die / not just yet…” sung by the vocalist in an Alex Kapranos-like fashion certainly heightens the film noir feel, leading the track through dark passages and corridors similar to The Raveonettes’ “Aly Walk With Me”. As expected, everything keeps building until the inevitable climax — and boy is it a payoff! Reminiscent of Woods’ opening of “To Clean”, guitarists Alastair McKay and Rupert Edwards absolutely slay the last 90 seconds of the song before abruptly resolving and leaving the listener with only a haunting last chord echoing in their ears.

Embarrassing to admit I know, but I think I would have a problem generating a Top Ten Australian bands list. If it wasn’t for Cut Copy and The Presets — both acts who are immensely popular in their home country — I would have to at least scratch my head to come up with some names off the top of my head. However, if I take anything from Dick Diver’s tunes it’s that I need to be looking more closely because there is definitely something going on — something great — in the land down under.

Dick Diver // Tender Years

PT Music Mixxx // Laid & Paid: Weak ‘n Mixxx

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

We’ve all had those moments waking up late on a Saturday morning after a long night of partying where the only plans for the day is laying on the couch, mindlessly surfing the net, and drifting in and out of sleep. Well my new mix Laid & Paid: Weak ‘n Mixxx is the soundtrack for these times — keeping it nice and chill so not to exacerbate the hungover headaches.

You can download the mix directly from here (EDIT: rapidshare seems to be having problems this morning, so here’s a more direct link) and after which sit back, relax, and enjoy the 75+ of smooth tunes while drinking your Bloody Marys and downing your Ibuprofen. There’s a good blend of foreign/domestic, popular/obscure, full-band/instrumentals, so you’re sure to be able to pick up a couple of new favorites while revisiting some classic songs you might not have heard in a while. Here’s the tracklist:

Jóvenes y Sexys // El Reloj
Mountain Man // Animal Tracks
jj // Let Go
Jens Lekman // Jag Tyckte Hon Sa Lönnlöv
Broken Bells // The High Road
Acid House Kings // The Heart Is a Stone
Cryin’ Sam Collins // Lonesome Road
Sara Lov // My Body Is a Cage (Arcade Fire Cover)
El Perro del Mar // From the Valley to the Stars
The Wave Pictures // Just Like a Drummer
Woods // The Dark
Beach House // Gila
Chromatic Flights // I Am a Rock (Simon & Garfunkel Cover)
Man Man // Doo Right
Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba // Bambugu Blues
The Knife // Vegetarian Restaurant
A Studio // Self Service (Short Version)
Run DMT // St. James
Cass McCombs // Don’t Vote
Moonface // Marimba and Shit-Drums (Excerpt)
Ducktails // On the Boardwalk
jj // My Way

If you like the mix, check out the Pre-Party one I did a month ago.