Summer Comes Every Year

Those of you who are jealous of the Northern hemisphere which is right now bathed in glorious sunshine can lie back and indulge in some sultry, sunny American folk music. The Ocean Floor is a band from Portland, Oregon, associated with the Electricity/Lust record label, home to other warm hearts like Polka Dot Dot Dot and Jordan O’Jordan. If you have a little bit of spare time go and have a little poke around the Electricity/Lust website, there are free MP3s to pick up and some very colourful looking vinyl to purchase.

The Ocean Floor’s main creator is Lane Barrington; a songwriter whose quest has taken him from Florida to Portland in search of the perfect musical arrangement and the ideal location to record music. He’s been joined along the way by a revolving crew of musicians, all helping to shape and curve a sound territorialised by traditional folk music and bluegrass pop. His current companion, violinist Shannon Steele, adds a country touch to the band’s latest album Pop Quiz. It’s The Ocean Floor’s fourth album and is based on a series of twenty seven questions, designed to provoke the idea of ownership over knowledge. Barrington plays the role of the theologist, asking thought provoking questions in his wavy American twang. His arguments are well-informed and come wrapped in lush string arrangements and princely analogue synths, finely tuned to precise sound modules. It’s an album of immense beauty, with a wealth of knowledge presented in an unobtrusive, well mannered style. Barrington reaches out but asks for very little, he provides the kindling to start the debate and takes the opportunity to explain himself thoroughly and effortlessly. Like a good Pop Quiz, the album provides questions and answers.

Pop Quiz was released on July 13, 2010. You can land yourself a copy by visiting the Electricity/Lust online store.

The Ocean Floor will be touring New Zealand in February 2010.

 The Ocean Floor- What’s The Dream: MP3

The Ocean Floor- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under Portland, U.S.A, Washington
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Future Sex

In October last year we bought you White Hinterland’s fantastic cover version of Justin Timberlakes’s ‘My Love’. It was our first encounter with Casey Dienel’s soft, eloquent voice, and we’ve since discovered that White Hinterland has a new album, titled Kairos, coming out on March 9 via Dead Oceans (Bishop Allen, Akron/Family).

After releasing two previous albums, one under her own name and one as White Hinterland, Dienel has now been joined by Shawn Creeden, officially making the band a two piece. The result is a minor step-up in tempo and intensity, revealed on two tracks released off the forthcoming album. ‘Icarus’, first heard in mid-January, bounces on a pulsing electronic beat layered with dreamy vocal loops and a gentle keyboard whisper. It’s comparatively similar to Beach House, structured around the interaction between voice and keyboard. ‘No Logic’, unleashed yesterday via Gorilla vs. Bear has a rattling drum cackle, a very light bass riff and an often rigid guitar sound. It’s the most complex song we’ve heard from White Hinterland but it still keeps within their cone of making dashing dream pop.

Leading up to the release of Kairos, Dienel has been playing keyboard in Taken By Trees, Victoria Bergsman’s live band. White Hinterland also played support for Taken By Trees at the sold out Union Hall show in New York City on February 13.

If you pre-order a hard copy of Kairos (vinyl or CD) you will instantly receive a free download of the entire album. 10 pre-orders will also be randomly selected to receive a unique piece of art-work, designed by White Hinterland’s Shawn Creeden.

White Hinterland- Icarus: MP3

White Hinterland- No Logic: MP3

 White Hinterland- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under Oregon, Portland, U.S.A
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Phosphorescent Shit Ripper

Driving across the desert listening to the Dead Man soundtrack just took another twist; try listening to Castanets’ latest album Texas Rose, The Thaw & The Beasts next time. With its concrete sounding blues grime and solid Americana core, Castanets’ fifth album oscillates wildly for 39 minutes giving you the perfect rusty awakening. It was released in September, 2009 on Asthmatic Kitty Records, a label packed full of underground heroes like Jookabox and Chris Schlarb, and Castanets has been in the AKR family since releasing their debut record in 2004.

Songwriter Ray Raposa is a nomadic warrior of the blues genre, writing songs that transcend time, echoing the pain and fury of the Mississippi Delta through to ’90s Americana, leading with wind swept rhythms and desolate whispers. Throughout his career he’s layered noise and experimented with free-jazz, but it’s always had a dark deserted quality filled with a menacing sense of loneliness and desperation. He often grinds his strings and delays his voice, an effect that makes him sound imposing and otherworldly.

Castanets is touring New Zealand this weekend, playing four shows with fellow Portland band Tiger Saw and Alps Of NSW from Sydney, Australia. All shows cost $15.

 Castanets- Thaw And The Beasts: MP3

Castanets- Worn From The Fight (With Fireworks): MP3

 Castanets- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under Portland, U.S.A
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In A Dungeon Without Light

Reigniting memories of her live performance last year in Auckland, Grouper’s new tracks recently added to her myspace page perfectly capture her live persona. Using minimalist guitar chords as a back drop to her whimsical, shady voice, she creates a dark atmosphere, still and lifeless. ‘Hold The Way’ and ‘Vessel’ purr with an emotional instability, focusing on the mind and laying to rest the darkest of secrets. Both sound like lullabies written inside a gloomy dungeon; the type of music that insomniacs use to put their minds to sleep.

Her live show saw her playing in a dark corner lit only by a projector screen that at times barely exposed her face and guitar. She had a passive control over the audience that hushed every corner of the room, making for a very tense, intimate environment. It’s something that comes through in all of her music, if you can imagine yourself surrounded by strangers standing silent in the dark you’ll be able to understand what it was like to be there.

There is no details yet as to whether the songs will appear on any upcoming release, but if you want to purchase some of Grouper’s music then check out her myspace.

Grouper- Disengaged: MP3

Grouper- Heavy Water/ I’d Rather Be Sleeping: MP3

 Grouper- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under Oregon, Portland, U.S.A
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Make the hipsters dry heave

The three girls who make up Portland, Oregon-based band Explode Into Colors all bring an intense array of talents to the band. Their sound, punctuated frequently by low, rousing yelps, jazzy, climbing bass lines and continuous looping drum rolls like thunder creates a momentum that’s invigorating. EIC combine a mix of playful melodies the likes of Moron Says What?! with offbeat, eccentric song structures akin to Lightning Bolt and the earthy ambiguity of a tribal African band. They also chant “bombs over Baghdad” in the slowed-down sounding refrain of their song ‘Heat’ over ’60s bass you’re more likely to hear in a WOMEN song.

Claudia Meza (who sings and plays a Danelectro baritone guitar in EIC, which she named Nico) is a freelance graphics and video artist, Lisa Schonberg (drums) is an illustrator and Heather Treadway (melodica, keyboard, percussion) is a fashion designer and dancer with Janet Pants. Claudia recently said in an interview with Under The Dog that EIC was started as a creative vehicle for all of their artistic interests.

Members of EIC have played in other bands including Thunder!Thunder!Thunder!, Hornet Leg and Japanther, and currently Lisa also plays with Kickball and Heather plays in Tender Forever.

NME called EIC’s “arty mechanics and party semantics” the B-52’s lost kraut-core album. They recently released the first two of a set of three 7″s;  ‘Eyes Hands Mouth’ b/w ‘Wooden Ghost’ on Kill Rock Stars, ‘Coffins’ b/w ‘Sharpen The Knife’ on M’Lady’s Records and the third, yet to come out, will be on Just For The Hell Of It. Later all the songs from the 7″ series will be released in an EP on CD and vinyl, and following that will be EIC’s first full-length album, to come out on Kill Rock Stars.

Explode Into Colors- Paper (Hot Sax Version): MP3

Explode Into Colors- Sharpen The Knife: MP3

Explode Into Colors- Myspace

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Oregon, Portland, U.S.A
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A Weird New World: Gudrun Gut

The good folk at Altmusic have some great things coming up as part of the Fringe Festival. In association with the Goethe-Institut, who are also very renowned in the international art scene, Altmusic present Gudrun Gut on March 4 with Disasteradio and Mr Hayday. An early member of Einstürzende Neubauten (a weirdo experimental/industrial group from Berlin), Gudrun Gut plays really cool, spacey indie/electronic laptop pop. An established experimental artist dabbling in new wave/techno/multimedia art/spoken word, Gut was a founding member of Malaria!, Mania D and Matador, and a member of Project Miasma. The Wire magazine described her as a “feminist agitator, festival organiser, entrepreneur. Plus of course musician, performance artist, DJ, radio presenter, club organiser, cultural ambassador and label owner…” I’m really excited to see Gut, who will seemingly fit in well with our own artistic entrepreneurs Disasteradio and Mr Hayday. I’m sure they will produce an intriguing and intelligent show at Cassette #9.

Gudrun Gut – Rock Bottom Riser: MP3

Gudrun Gut – Move Me: MP3

Gudrun Gut – Myspace

Disasteradio – Myspace

Mr Hayday – Myspace

Slowing Solace: Grouper

Also coming up is the Grouper and Pumice show at Whammy Bar on March 12. For those of you outside of Auckland they’re also playing at Happy in Wellington on March 14, St Lukes in Christchurch on March 19 and Chicks Hotel in Dunedin on March 21. Pumice fascinated me when I saw him years ago at the now-defunct Schooner bar, his simultaneous drum kit and guitar playing alone on stage had an eerie, isolated feel, but he was very charismatic in his shy and impersonal kind of way. Grouper is Elizabeth “Liz” Harris from Portland, USA. She plays stunning, simple, ethereal, cold-sounding haunting pop. Touring the states with Animal Collective in May, she’s also collaborated with Xiu Xiu, releasing Creepshow in 2007. Grouper has three albums out, the latest being the Type Records release Drag A Dead Deer Up A Hill. If you enjoy your music slightly surreal and hypnotic, and if you enjoyed the fascinating and lilting experimental bliss of High Places’ recent New Zealand shows, make sure you check out Grouper!

WIN! EMJ has two double passes to Grouper and Pumice’s show at Whammy on Thursday, March 12, courtesy of Altmusic. To win, email your name with ‘Grouper’ in the subject line to music@einsteinmusicjournal.co.nz. Winners will be notified by Wednesday 5pm.

Grouper – Heavy Water/ I’d Rather Be Sleeping: MP3

Grouper – False Horizon: MP3

Grouper – Myspace

Pumice – Myspace

Altmusic – Website

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Berlin, New Zealand, Portland
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