Song of the day

I just felt like posting this for no other reason than that it is amazing. A performance of "Chelsea" from when it was brand spanking new. Check out Costello's solo and the breakdown here. Amazing man. Amazing band.

New Arcade Fire single out now

Arcade Fire's new single "The Suburbs" with "Month of May" is out now for a $1.99 download on the band's website. According to the band's site, the album, also called The Suburbs is due out on Aug. 3, which now seems like an impossibly long time to wait.

I've only had the single now for about two hours, so it's hard to say anything definitive about it... And there's a great likelihood that I'll change my mind, but so far, the single feels to be both a hit and a miss.

"Month of May" sounds a little slapdash to me. It's a straightforward rocker, a pulsing, guitar-driven number. There's not much else to it. It's good, but not Arcade Fire good. One thing I do like, though, is the guitar sound. Some of the edge that made Funeral so fantastic is back.

"The Suburbs" is a mid-tempo piano romp that sounds more worthy of the Arcade Fire we've come to love. Yet, like "Month of May," the song is simple and, frankly, a little more conventional than I'd expect. Of course, the thing that Arcade Fire does better than just about any other band is write and perform a whole record. They're not a singles band. These are songs out of context at the moment. And as revolutionary as they've sounded, they are essentially a pop-oriented band. 

While I'm not bowled over, there's nothing in these songs to suggest that the new record won't live up to expectations (though one wonders how any band that's done what Arcade Fire has done could possibly live up to expectations). The conventional sound  might be part of the overall theme. This is a record called "The Suburbs," after all.

Super songs for sad sacks

Sometimes, I think we might be in the final days of rock as relevant music.

So much has been done with the form. The possibilities of the basic instruments -- guitars, drums and bass, maybe keys -- have seemingly been exhausted. Thematically, the form has explored everything from the primitive (cars, sex) to the future (robots, apocalypse). We've had garage rock and prog rock --  noise rock and rock operas. We even have post rock (which, ironically is almost 20-years old).

Where's a band to go these days? If there is something new going on, it's the rock band as a chamber orchestra -- a band that uses rock instruments to compose songs that do more than swing between verses and choruses, with a bridge and/or solo thrown in to break up the monotony. The goal is far beyond a swinging beat or a raising a holy guitar howl. It's rock music as cinema score. Songs as mood and scenes. It's serious art, always a dangerous move for music, which is often best when felt, not thought about. Orchestra-like composition is not new to rock, but the emphasis on arrangement and composition has definitely never been more prominent.

Some prominent bands have taken rock down this road recently. The Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective are some of the most well received bands in recent years. All are bands that have taken us far from the stripped-down paleorock that was the rage 10 years ago. 

Among the most interesting of this sort of rock band is the Ohio-to-Brooklyn band, The National. The National is a band that runs at a different speed than just about any other rock act I've ever listened to that I actually like. The band's music weighs a ton. Even when the tempo rises -- often led by some terrific drumming by Bryan Devendorf -- singer Matt Berninger's moody delivery doesn't waver. 

At first, it's tough to get over the dreary weight of The National. Like every other dreary baritone crooner, Berninger is compared to Joy Division's Ian Curtis. Also, like Curtis, Berninger is more than melancholy. He seems, at times, to be absolutely miserable. Comparisons to Joy Division should end there. Berninger may be dark, and he barely ever sounds like he's trying hard, but he can hold a melody very well. He can sing. The band, unlike Joy Division, is terrific at backing him up with lush, evocative layers of sound. It's actually hard to remember that this is supposed to be a rock band. 

The band's new album High Violet is more of the same sound the band has perfected for the last 10 years. It's not much of a change at all from Boxer. But for a band like this, I don't think that's a bad thing. The mood is at times subdued, depressed. Other times agonized. A look at the album's song titles says a lot. For example: "Terrible Love," "Sorrow," "Little Faith" and "Afraid of Everyone." In "Conversation 16" Berninger even gets demented. He sings "I was afraid I'd eat your brains/Because I'm evil." He makes Morrisey look like Santa Claus.

The thing that sets The National ahead of some of the other acclaimed Brooklyn bands that I don't particularly like very much -- Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear -- is a strong purpose of vision. These songs are sad. They are slow. But they are also focused. The band is orchestrated -- there are nearly 30 extra musicians credited on the album -- and the songs fussed over, but they are not tinkered into a mushy oblivion of noise and harmonized vocals. Berninger as a vocalist is incredibly compelling, lyrically and melodically. It's more than just cool sounds or some regurgitation of what hipsters think Brian Wilson or The Fairport Convention were about. The National writes real songs. They are every bit as good as Arcade Fire, even if they're not quite as dynamic.

Yeah, it's interesting to muse about rock's relevance, but it's more an intellectual diversion. If rock continues to be relevant and contemporary, The National definitely represent one way of doing it. And as long as melody and musical instruments remain important ways of expressing ourselves, I think rock -- whatever it is at the moment -- will continue to be vital even if its not a top-selling form.

Today's post brought to you by the letter B

Black Keys: Brothers
After the release of the Black Keys' fifth full length studio album, their major label debut Magic Potion, it's clear guitarist/singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Pat Carney realized they had maxed out the garage/blues revival sound they had mastered in the early aughts.

Magic Potion was good, but the studio recording of the duo -- no matter how loud the guitar got, how much depth of tone captured from the drum kit -- was thin. Their primitive sound, so intriguing when recorded in Carney's basement or the old tire factory (where Rubber Factory was made), didn't cut it in a studio setting. Also, the band seemed out of ideas. There was no where to go with the whole project. The band was getting bigger but the sound and the songs were not.

The Black Keys' next album Attack and Release, recorded with Danger Mouse proved the band had learned its lesson. Danger Mouse deepened the band's sound and added other instrumental layers. There was bass, keys, sound effects and even a flute. (A flute!) Suddenly the music had atmosphere that matched the otherworldly quality of Auerbach's soulful howl, which always sounds as if it's being broadcast from 50 years ago. Song ideas were stretched, too. There were still some great soulful rockers, There was less predictability -- less dependence on the pentatonic riff and more melodic compositions.

On the Keys' new release, Brothers (released in Tuesday), the band continues down the same path it began with Attack and Release. The new record is all about branching out and going where the BLack Keys have not gone before. There are no simple guitar/drum duos here. Every song is drenched in layers of sound. Not bound by the confines of the two-man sound of their live shows, The Black Keys have become a formidable recording act -- these guys now know how to use a studio and the result is an expanded sonic palate that may not be completely revitalizing, but it's close.

That sound has also let the band further broaden its composition scope. There is even more more distance back to the bands breakthrough second record Thickfreakness. That material seems a generation ago. The Keys still tick to a fairly familiar soul sound, but where past Keys efforts were soaked in the post-war Chicago sounds of Muddy Waters and Howling Wolf, the new material seems most closely inspired by the most experimental soul and proto-funk of the '60s -- There are moments that recall early Isley Brothers and a good dose of Maggot Brain-era Funkadelic. In a futher twist, Auerbach tackles several songs in a very good falsetto. It's a shock to the ears delivered on the first album Track "Everlasting Light," and several other tracks later on (Including a cover of Jerry Butler's "Never Gonna Give You Up.")

Brothers is certainly not The Black Keys' Yankee Hotel Fox Trot or Kid A. This is a band that still sounds like the same band. They've just added a lot of new tools to the toolkit. In one way, the Keys might be seen as doing to their sound what so many English producers have done to the bevy of "soul divas" who have released records that were made far more interesting by the richness of the recorded sounds than the songs themselves (From Amy Winehouse to Duffy). But the Keys are clearly interested a lot more in song craft than selling records or making postmodern artistic statements. They are a band that gets more interesting with every release. You can't ask for much more than that.

Band of Horses: Infinite Arms

On the other end of the spectrum is the new album by the Band of Horses, Infinite Arms.

Infinite Arms finds Ben Bridwell with a whole new band and a sound that's easily recognizable: driving rockers and quiet, acoustic ballads drenched in Bridwell's unique high-pitched singing. For those unfamiliar, think of My Morning Jacket without the grandiosity.

I wouldn't call the Band of Horses a guilty pleasure for me, but I like them a lot despite the fact that there's nothing amazing about the band. The debut Everything All the Time is one of my favorite records of the last 10 years, and part of it is that the band and Bridwell were able to make a beautiful rock record that is beautiful, dreamy and a joy to listen to in a way that seems almost effortless. It's indie rock composed and performed around a camp fire in the Carolinas or at a windswept beach in Northern California. If I were to suggest a soundtrack for just about anything, I'd try to put a Band of Horses song on it.

So I was not disappointed by the sleepy Infinite Arms. But I was left a bit bored by the ban, which seems to have spent a lot of effort (supposedly 16 months in the studio with major label backing) moving backwards.

There are some good songs on Infinite Arms. I really like the first single, "Compliments" (the hardest-charging number on the album), "Laredo," and "Blue Beard." But the overall pace of the record is quiet and slow. Most of that campfire crowd is asleep and Bridwell's hauled out the acoustic for a few late-night lullabies. Suddenly that terrific voice of Bridwell's is often in harmony (with himself or the band, hard to tell) for a sound that's eerily reminiscent of The Eagles.1 The song "Older" is nice, but it's a full-blown country western song, complete with steel guitar.2 The band has gotten a little too close to late '70s easy listening for my comfort.

Fans of the band should definitely pick up Infinite Arms. It's not as powerful as the band's other two records, but it has its moments. It's at least a better than average outing. Band of Horses, though, seems ripe for a little bit of reinvention. If not reinvention, reinvigoration. The Magic of songs like "Funeral" and "Great Salt Lake" is gone. Here's hoping Bridwell and crew figure out how to get it back.

Footnotes:

1. To truly appreciate this comparison, the reader should know that I despise the Eagles and Don Henly. I think Joe Walsh is OK, but overrated.

2. This song REALLY sounds like the Eagles.

Jack White must be stopped

There is probably no one person more important to, or better yet, representative of rock music in the aughts than Jack White. He's the front man of three successful rock bands -- The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, which just released it's second album, Sea of Cowards, in a little more than a year. He's even done what only a very select number of music artists get to do: compose and perform a James Bond theme song.

Jack White is everywhere. And I think it's about time he was stopped.

The reasons in favor of stopping Jack White have been mounting since what appears to have been his creative peak in 2005. He had recently produced Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose and The White Stripe's 5th LP, Get Behind Me Satan. With those two accomplishments to his credit, White was the new master of the Rock Universe. He had managed to make art of recycled Led Zep riffs and old roots motifs. No performer in his class was more well known.

Think about it. In 2008, White was selected to represent no less than his generation in the rock guitar documentary It Might Get Loud with Jimmy Page and The Edge. This despite the fact that White represented a "full-circle" back to the blues-based monster riffage of Page. Jonny Greenwood or Graham Coxon would have been much more suitable choices for the instrument's evolving place in rock (and both, like Page and the Edge, from the British Isles).

By the time that film came out, White had the ability to treat the public to any and all of his musical whims. Each, an artistic step backwards. The Raconteurs was interesting, but a bit conventional. Now, the Dead Weather are a Page and Plant parody. It doesn't take a lot of time listening to Sea of Cowards to realize that the album's jams were probably written and recorded in a week's time. It's throw-away arena blues.

The White we have now is one that no one would ever say no to. The next logical step for him would be to record a 1-track, 45-minute-long album of guitar feedback (no need to play, he'll plug in and prop it against one of those great vintage cabs he uses) while he plays kazoo and a half-dozen monkeys beat a dozen various pots and pans. He could make that record. And I bet it would sell....

The thing is, White deserves his fame. He is a remarkable talent, even if he is a museum piece of sorts. With the White Stripes, he managed to resurrect a number of old forms in a compelling way. The White Stripes are a great act -- an aesthetically coherent work of rock as art. And at its best, the band really kicks ass at high volume.

White needs to stop indulging himself with the kind of easy-selling sludge that diminishes his artistic value (It's not like The White Stripes records don't sell). I can understand getting tired of playing with nothing but a drummer (who can just barely play at that). He's a great artist and should experiment, and perhaps even fail, like he so clearly has with The Dead Weather. But there's nothing experimental to the Dead Weather or, for that matter, The Raconteurs. White's original project remains his most artistically exciting.

Sure, he should stretch out, but with The Dead Weather, White is not simply in danger of watering down his output. It's already a watery, tasteless, bluesy soup.

How many Canadians does it take to make Indie Rock?

When I was younger, Canadian indie rock was not something to be taken seriously. Back before the term indie was in use -- and we referred, without irony, to non- mainstream music as alternative, the best of the bunch was Moxy Fruvus. And I didn't like the band one bit. They were the lesser evil to the intolerable Bare Naked Ladies ("One Week" is the stuff of nightmares, really). Indie music to these bands was an opportunity to tell jokes and show off (witless) wit.

During the last decade, though, Canadians have been a lot more serious about their music. The bands that have been able to catch on here "in the south" are among some of the best and most innovative indie bands at work anywhere. Arcade Fire, New Pornographers and Neko Case are well known. Lesser known acts like Galaxy 500, Hayden and The Dears have released some thoroughly enjoyable material.

Among the best of this group is the collaborative Broken Social Scene, which released it's fourth studio album Forgiveness Rock Record early last week. Like the New Pornographers, Broken Social Scene is a shape-shifting lineup led by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. On tour, they can have between seven and twelve musicians. Some have been famous in their own right, like Leslie Feist, whose Remainder you likely heard on XPN a few years back.

What's interesting about BSS is not the sheer size of the band (which is as large as fellow Canadians Arcade Fire) or that it is composed of members who have other successful projects (like New Pornographers). Unlike their fellow Canadian indie powerhouses, BSS do not have "a sound." Each track on Forgiveness Rock Record is different from the one before it. There are hoppy pop numbers, synth-driven electro dance numbers, messy guitar rockers and sleepy acoustic jams. It's as if Drew and Canning decided to form an ensemble that would review indie sounds of the last 20 years. The record could be an indie single mix tape or a soundtrack to the latest Zooey Deschanel film.

A similar lack of focus might doom other bands, but BSS pull it off successfully on Forgiveness. In fact, they have experience with this sort of thing. The band's second album, its breakthrough You Forgot it in People was a similarly diverse outing. The strength of both of these records is in the songs. They may not be thematically coherent, but each song is quite strong. It would be tough to pick a single off of Forgiveness Rock Record, particularly from the first eight tracks, all of which are really quite terrific. High points early are the poppy "Texico Bitches," the rocking "Forced to Love" and the sweet electropop number "All to All," sung by Lisa Lobsinger.

Forgiveness Rock Record does, however, seem to slow down in the second half. The songs are good, but do not have the same intensity as the first half of the record. "Sentimental X's" and "Romance to the Grave" are good, but overlong. Lyrically the songs are vague and the ideas behind the songs nearly impenetrable. With a little tightening, the record might have been much better in total.

So far, Forgiveness Rock Record is a great listen by a band that can do nearly anything it wants. It seems there's not a trick in recorded music that these guys can't pull off. It sounds great over a nice pair of speakers. It could be the best Canadian album this year, its status threatened primarily by expectations of a new Arcade Fire album sometime in 2010.