see what you hear.com

Isbells – As Long As It Takes

For a sound not dissimilar to Bon Iver, there’s a hint of familiarity about Isbells’ back story: Belgian Gaëtan Vandewoude spends 15 years working with various rock bands before retreating to a decrepit stable where he would spend the nights recording a series of introspective songs inspired by his surroundings… before drafting in some friends and releasing a surprisingly beautiful collection of acoustic material. Continue Reading »

Popularity: 84% [?]

Ty Segall – Dating

Ty Segall – The Drag

I just have to sing Ty Segall’s praises once more. I know I didn’t compile a Top 10 Albums of 2008 list (partially because I had to give two magazines my Top 5) but if I was to compile an alternative Top 10 of the year, this would be right up near the top. I don’t know how many times I’ve listened to Ty Segall’s self-titled album since getting it a month ago; it’s short, infectious and energetically lo-fi. He’ll be playing SXSW in March so I’m expecting his simultaneous guitar crunching and drum pedalling to win everyone over and blow up in 2009. Video below… Continue Reading »

Popularity: 2% [?]

[audio http://www.filefreak.com/pfiles/50153/LIARS%20-%20Your%20Not%20There.mp3]

Liars – ‘Your Not There’

Liars have just put a whole host of unreleased songs up on their MySpace site, once again demonstrating the sheer variety that these guys are capable of. As producer Jeremy Glover comments in the video below: “So much stuff is called avant garde these days because everything else is middle of the road.” But you have to love ‘em just for what they’re doing… Continue Reading »

Popularity: 1% [?]

As one of the best albums of 2007, much of the attention that Liars’ fourth (and, arguably, best) album received centered on how the band had finally forsaken their conceptual efforts to simply focus on the art of the song, and the diversity that yet another stylistic U-turn displayed. No experimental electronic music with elaborate titles, just stripped down, visceral rock-pop with refined song structures.

But beyond the straight-ahead thrusts of the singles, the real heart of this album lies in two Aaron Helphill-penned tunes that showcase his incredible songwriting talents…

Continue Reading »

Popularity: 2% [?]

Living up to their indistinct but apt choice of name, this 8-piece group from Vermont use feather-light vocals to deliver one of the best tracks I’ve heard this year. Opening the album with falling waves of harmonies, there’s more than a touch of Marc Bolan to these dreamy descents, but they can’t help but be entirely absorbing. While it may be a stretch to decipher some of the words, the interplay of these shimmering lines has an addictive quality, leaving a taste that has you wanting more before the song has even ended.

Musically speaking, it should come as no surprise to those familiar with Devendra Banhart’s “Cripple Crow” that Feathers guest appeared on that release, as there is quite a similar presence and texture to these songs. But no matter how many fad labels you attach as a prefix, this is just good old timey folk. Flush with an range of “world” instruments (undulating guitar, mountain dulcimer, lap harp, sitar, and banjo among them), “To Earth His Own” is another vibrant, intoxicating affair, the vocals again low in the mix as a rhythm rich with the air of a time long gone winds a trail into the soft and simple “Alna.”

Led by a female delivery this time, the track is buoyed with an almost pious element, its slow, sleepy feel fading out to a strangely misplaced squeal of distortion before the ascending acoustics of “I Bex Horn” stabilise the LP’s momentum comfortably. Here, the inclusion of a distorted guitar is the only reminder you’re bound to find that what you’re hearing isn’t from the antiquated music sheets of centuries bygone.

From crickets to radio-waves, “Van Bal” is an impressively eclectic mix of sounds, reverberating with a surreal degree of balance despite the sheer volume of ingredients involved. From “Silverleaves in the Air of Starseedlings” on, the Feathers LP begins to feel like it has the stamp of George Harrison all over it – the same soothing voices that weaved the warm “Old Black Hal with a Danelion Flower” together here sounding like a blissful choir of strung-out angels.

After the rather more stripped down and straightforward “Past the Moon,” there is an eerie similarity to a blend of Harrison and Lennon on “Come Around,” a number that presents itself like a well-rounded, traditional gospel folk tune, completing the Feathers experience nicely. Though the album is arguably a little too light in places (even for feathers), in all, if it can catch your attention in just the right frame of my mind, this is an extremely comforting release among the year’s best.

Having made the transition from CD-R to a limited run of 1,000 LPs, it may be some time yet before Feathers begin to gain the kind of attention they deserve, but rest assured they are a welcome addition to the ever-blossoming folk revolution.

Artist / Group:
Feathers
Album:
Feathers
Label:
Cargo

Popularity: 2% [?]