Brian Eyster’s Pitchfolk

It’s surprising how little music has been made in the crossing of acoustic Americana and modern electronics - what some have dubbed folktronica. Given the rising acceptance of the laptop as a bonafide musical instrument, few laptoppers have creatively ventured into the acoustic Americana scene.

What recordings we do have generally fall into the ambient category. Greg Davis’ Curling Pond Woods, is a gorgeous, but not exactly thrilling recording. Frequent collaborators Christian Fennesz and Jim O’Rourke both enjoy combining their guitars and laptops, notably on Fennesz’ breakthrough Endless Summer and O’Rourke’s excellent 1999 Eureka. But, in both cases, the folktronica pieces tend toward ambient rather than gritty folk.

The Books blew a lot of people away in 2002 with their creative “cut-and-paste found sound meets acoustic instruments” sound on Thought for Food. The critical impact of that CD should have ushered in a new era in folktronica. But it hasn’t.

One of the genre’s stars, Kieren Hebden / Four Tet now seems to have abandoned the genre completely. In an interview with Pitchfork he says: “I’d gone as far as I could with that. The whole folktronica thing was kinda making me crazy– it had become so boring and bland.”

What I’m waiting to see is a combination of gritty American old-time music and modern electronics. Modern celtic bands have been fearlessly combining traditional fiddling electronics (with mixed results) for over a decade - Ashley MacIsaac, Slainte Mhath, Simon Thoumire. American bands have introduced electric guitars and drums, but it ends up diluting both the folk roots and the modern aims. Someone needs to do it right: combine undiluted authentic American old-time music with modern electronics. The very old and the very new, with nothing in between.

The debut CD. It’s both a debut - intended to represent a young band to the world - and a CD - a timeless musical document. At some point during the recording of Bloc Party’s debut CD Silent Alarm the band and producer Paul Epworth had to make a choice: create a tight little post-punk firecracker of a CD or represent the increasingly diverse modern and retro rock sounds of the band. They chose the latter.

With all the comparisons to Gang of Four, it’s easy to forget that a full third of the CD is made up of New Order-influenced 80s rock. They’re not weak filler, per se, but they neglect Bloc Party’s strengths. The CD opens with “Like Eating Glass,” a piecewise construction of the band’s sound from bottom-to-top: moody guitar effects, tight bass, Matt Tong’s fearless drums, and Kele Okereke’s frenetic vocals. The pace is intense and slightly raw; filled with catchy little vocal and instrumental riffs.

The music has obvious precedents but it’s hard to dismiss. For four straight tracks, the arrangements are tight, the vocals are surprisingly catchy, and the pace is downright invigorating. [For a pseudo-mathematical description of Bloc Party’s influences, see Newsweek’s analysis]

But ultimately, the CD is weakened by the band’s ambition to present a varied collection of songs. In our modern iPod-playlist era, this isn’t such a bad thing. On my MP3 player I’ve created a Louder Alarm playlist - a taut 10-song post-punk workout. It’s what this CD should have been.

Everyone’s favorite Duluth, slow-core, Mormon, husband-and-wife duo Low were interviewed last week on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Alan and Mimi thoughtfully talk about the intellectual origins of the band’s sound, Alan’s recent emotional instabilities, and their family relationship. It’s an interesting interview, but Terry (arguably radio’s greatest interviewer) lacks her typically deep preparedness.

NPR has been steadily ramping up their coverage of indie rock over the past year. For me, the strangest show still had to be Wilco’s appearance on the daily phone-in show, Talk of the Nation.

Not sure what to make of the ridiculously hyped M.I.A.? NME is offering her debut Arular as a free high-res RealAudio stream. I’m still not sure what to make of it, but that’s a good thing. Definitely worth the bandwidth.

In describing his 8.6 Arular rating, Pitchfork’s Scott Plagenhoef writes “it’s a taut, invigorating distillation of the world’s most thrilling music; a celebration of contradictions and aural globalization that recasts the tag world music as the ultimate in communicative pop rather than a symbol of condescending piety.”

It’s about time our state governments start confronting the important role tater tots play in our nation’s economy… The State of Idaho recently passed House Concurrent Resolution No. 29, honoring the quirky Idaho-based cult hit Napoleon Dynamite.

Some highlights:

• WHEREAS, tater tots figure prominently in this film thus promoting Idaho’s most famous export;
• WHEREAS, Napoleon’s bicycle and Kip’s skateboard promote better air quality and carpooling as alternatives to fuel-dependent methods of transportation;
• WHEREAS, Rico and Kip’s Tupperware sales and Deb’s keychains and glamour shots promote entrepreneurism and self-sufficiency in Idaho’s small towns;
• WHEREAS, the prevalence of cooked steak as a primary food group pays tribute to Idaho’s beef industry;
• WHEREAS, Pedro’s efforts to bake a cake for Summer illustrate the positive connection between culinary skills to lifelong relationships;
• WHEREAS, Kip’s relationship with LaFawnduh is a tribute to e-commerce and Idaho’s technology-driven industry; and
• WHEREAS, Kip and LaFawnduh’s wedding shows Idaho’s commitment to healthy marriages;

I really enjoyed Aiming for Your Head, the 2004 release from the exciting young New Zealand, err, Austraila, err, English band, Betchadupa. The CD combined the instantly recognizable melodic sense (and voice) of leader Liam Finn - son of Split Enz / Crowded house frontman Neil Finn - with wild youthful energy and a wealth of ideas.

After gaining a reputation as New Zealand’s best live band, they relocated to the larger market of Australia a year or so ago. Now while many of us in the U.S. await a stateside release of their 2004 release, the band just announced that they are relocating to the even larger market of London. It’s an interesting tactic in today’s electronic/global economy: focus on access to bigger gigs and larger local markets rather than sign with a major label with strong international distribution. It bodes well for a band when they elect to take the music to the people themselves, rather than let a multinational corporation do all the work.

Is there no end to the goodness over at EMusic? The royalty-free paid download service continues to add the most critically acclaimed releases of 2005, including the recent additions of Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm, Architecture in Helsinki’s In Case We Die, and Antony & the Johnson’s I Am a Bird Now (the fourth highest-rated CD of 2005 according to Metacritic).

If you haven’t treated yourself to their 50-100 free download demo (it depends which banner ad you find), you owe it to yourself. Right now. While you’re there, check out my ever-expanding list of Emusic’s 2005 indie rock releases.

In other Emusic news, they are now offering a 20% discount for annual subscriptions. Humm. This is either a nice reward for their dedicated subscribers or a desperate attempt to get some cash flow.

Everyone’s favorite Vancouver power-popsters The New Pornographers have released “Twin Cinema”(MP3), the title track from their upcoming full-length (due August 23, 2005). It cranks up the guitars more than anything on A.C. Newman’s outstanding The Slow Wonder, and mixes things up nicely with an impressive bridge interlude.

Thanks to Matador Records for making this available so early. And so free.

Mission of Burma, the Pixies, Gang of Four. What essential band will join the reunion bandwagon next? Stryper.

After a 10 year hiatus, Christian heavy metal band Stryper is planning a new studio release for August, currently titled Reborn. Also check out this 8-track version of their seminal album, To Hell with the Devil.

And landing squarely in the “wtf” bin… According to the Stryper website “Top 20 Internet Albums according to Billboard.com places Stryper 7 Weeks: Live in America at #4 the week of May 30th, 2004.”

From a purely practical perspective, the purpose of music reviews is to guide purchasing decisions. Next to the beloved numerical rating, “Buy this if you like XXX” is the best piece of information a critic can provide. But the problem with playing the sounds-like game is that it fills the listener with expectations that can unfairly color a new CD. Take Architecture in Helsinki’s excellent sophomore release, In Case We Die.

Stylus Magazine’s review cites the Fiery Furnaces’ Blueberry Boat at least four separate times. Certainly AIH share a penchant for non-traditional song structures, but it completely lacks the Fiery Furnaces’ depth of eccentricity. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing: AIH is far more welcoming than the Fiery Furnaces and their melodies hit the mark more often than the siblings Friedberger.

Metacritic’s summary paragraph compares the band to “the Arcade Fire dosed with happy pills.” Again, not an unfair comparison given the shouting-girl vocals on both CDs, but it leaves the listener disappointed by AIH’s lack of emotional intensity. It’s a trade-off: AIH trades the Arcade Fire’s intensity for an inspired attention to sonic and production details.

A safer tactic is to invoke an obscure, defunct band with few recordings to assist the fact-checkers. My choice here: a more symphonic, de-ska’d Me, Mom, and Morgantaler.