This week's biggest release is probably LCD Soundsystem's return from "retirement." But, come on that cover art is atrocious. Can we all just agree that having something that looks bad just looks bad?
New Records
Off-the-radar
Friday Streams -- August 25, 2017
As the summer release season winds down, we've got a peach of a stream day for you, with three important indie records and a new single by Beck.
New Releases
The War on Drugs - A Deeper Understanding
Iron & Wine - Beast Epic
Thee Oh Sees - Orc
One-Hitters
Beck - "Dear Life"
Off the Radar
The Innocence Mission - The Innocence Mission
REVIEW: Bomba Estéreo - "Ayo"
Bomba Estéreo - Ayo
Sony Music
August 11, 2017
"Despacito" has been the song of the summer. And, in the last few weeks, the think pieces have been landing, wondering what this Spanish-language mescla means for the US in the Age of Trump. The most popular YouTube video of all time is shot in La Perla in San Juan, Puerto Rico in the midst of a crippling financial crisis. It's a testament to the growing popularity of Reggaeton and Caribbean music and a global musical culture, which seems to fly in the face of the politics of racial resentment.
While "Despacito" has been championed as a path-breaker, the uncomfortable fact for many of us who love independent music is that we often travel in some of the whitest areas. Indie music plays to particular niche with little incentive to break out. For me, that realization hit hardest back in 2012 with Pitchfork's infamous "People's List." The "people," it turned out, were mostly like me: white dudes. As much as we may cringe at "Despacito" on repeat, or the general misogyny of Reggaeton, we also have to recognize that the demands of a commercial market, one which has now regularly created Latinx stars from Pitbull to the rising star of Kali Uchis, often create a greater motivation toward inclusivity.
Colombian band, Bomba Estéreo is one of those groups that I think has fallen in the cracks of US musical consciousness. They've been a pet project of mine since seeing the group at SOB's in New York a few years ago, when Li Saumet established herself as one of the most dynamic MCs working. In their early albums, Saumet and Simon Mejía, Bomba Estéreo's founder, seemed to forge a new path through the history of Latin American music by mixing traditional Colombian forms like the Cumbia with 1970s South American psychedelia, like Aguaturbia, and with a splash of contemporary electronica thrown in for good measure. In many ways, the music matched the Colombian nation with a wildly diverse and vibrant social and musical life mixing the indigenous, African, and European cultures.
The success of Bomba Estéreo's Estalla and Elegancia Tropical left the band in somewhat of a bind. Well-known enough to take a next step into a wider audience, there was a good chance to take this leap they'd have to start dueting with Shakria or leave their carefully cultivated sound behind in order to play to an Anglo audience. Amancer, Bomba Estéreo's 2015 album, attempted to answer this conundrum by expanding their sound into a world party. Will Smith guested on the remix of Amancer's single "Fiesta." Yet, on cue, the indie media lamented Bomba Estéreo playing to a wider audience as a turn away from their musical roots.
Ayo, this year's offering, is a markedly more subtle affair than Amancer. The big guest isn't Will Smith, but Balkan Beatbox, whose contribution to "Química (Dance with Me)," turns the track into a minimalist organic club hit. And while this record does seem to have more in common with the Elegancia Tropical, there's no doubt that Amancer has left a big effect on Mejía and Saumet. The chorus to "Duele," the lead single, creeps up on you like "Fiesta," but rather than going hard on the synth, the hook repurposes a flauta de millo, a traditional woodwind used in Cumbia, with a sneakily earworm effect.
Throughout the album, the bombast that had been the signature of Bomba Estéreo's style since "Fuego," feels like it's seeped into the instrumentation. The most explosive track, "Money Money Money...," cuts against its sound with a critique of the global one percent and the soullessness of consumption. Similarly, "Flower Power" appropriates and critiques Caribbean sounds with a call for women to enjoy themselves rather than be objectified. Saumet addresses women saying the track isn't Reggaeton, but it's here to make you move your ass.
"Flower Power" follows on a long trend in Saumet's lyrics of greater consciousness toward personal power. The standout video from Amanacer, "Soy Yo," later adapted into a great voting video during the 2016 election, shows a young Latina delightfully reveling in her own personality. If Amanacer was a reach toward a more popular audience, then Saumet and Mejía came with their own brand of woke, conscious music to make you shake your ass.
The standing of Bomba Estéreo echoes a conundrum of many "world" or "global" musicians--their music, formally, has to be both tied to their particular cultural identity, but in such a way that the form is also exceptional enough to be notable; however, if the band strays too much from their particular formula, the record is discounted. Another way to put this is that we're always judging from the vantage of indie rock without taking the band's interest into account assuming that groups have to address the preoccupations and desires of the US-based listener.
What's clear on both Amancer and Ayo is that Bomba Estéreo's is working their music toward an explicitly empowering angle, confronting assumptions of social roles. Ayo continues the band's formal explorations while drawing on their widening catalog. The album's ending track, "Vuelve" is a psychedelic instrumental mash that would make Andrew Bird and Susana Baca proud. It's just the sort of music that should be making bigger waves in the indie world for its politics and invigorating musicality. It's not simply a political act or a way to make a stand in the face of more and more explicit xenophobia and sexism. But, as Saumet reminds us in "Internacionales," music transcends by returning us to the root of what it is to be human.
Friday Streams -- June 16th, 2017
Hank's traveling the world so here are my picks for streaming this week:
NEW ALBUMS:
OLD FAVORITE:
- A must own on vinyl. Grab it HERE (Numero Group 2xLP)
SINGLE OF THE WEEK:
Friday Streams -- June 9, 2017
This week's streams highlight the geographical diversity of "American" music. I'm on the road for the next few weeks, so if you got streaming issues, leave a comment and we'll try to rectify.
New Releases
Big Thief - Capacity
The unflinching stare. Big Thief's record covers are the opposite of pretension. You can't quite tell if the photos were found at the end of a roll of film or if they're Alec Soth creations. But, they match the music almost perfectly. Imperfect situations, hard won lessons (and if not lessons then at least warnings) have been staples of a gothic Americana since time immemorial. Big Thief does them by mixing the adrenaline of Springsteen with the melody of Jessica Pratt.
Sleepy Sun - Private Tales
As Big Thief evinces the hard scrabble lives of fly-over country, so too does Sleepy Sun's new record ring of pure West Coast psychedelia. While Fever seemed caught in another decade, by the time "Seaquest" hits on Private Tales you can feel the contemporary world crack into your trip.
Carla Morrison - Amor Supremo Desnudo
Carla Morrison is an indie diva in any language. This acoustic version of her 2015 release, Amor Supremo, just gives her more room to shine.
Extended Players
Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Nathan Salsburg - Untitled
They say that you know America by her rivers. Here, Americana royalty, Will Oldham & Nathan Salsburg highlight 3 creeks in song.
Off the Radar
Dustin Wong - Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow Leads
Ex Ponytail guitarist, Dustin Wong does stuff with a guitar that you couldn't even dream of. This album of post-rock deconstructionism is vivid evidence to that
Friday Streams -- June 2, 2017
TiME to gET yoUR streAM on!
New Releases
For my money, ChestnuTT isn't just one of the best names to capitalize, he's one of the most rewarding artists out there. Try not to love every moment of Landing on a Hundred.
4 years later, Beach Fossils return with all the melodies still in tact.
The "she" in the "he said, she said" of post-Dirty Projectors.
One Hitters
The contribution to the 20 year anniversary of Ok Computer one of the albums that truly changed my life.
Off-the-radar
An exquisite chamber-folk album (a la Horse Feathers) from Iceland's Seabear.
THE OUTRAGEOUS STORY OF CASSANDRA JENKINS
The music industry seems to be banking heavily on over the
top personalities and it’s leaving an aging music blogger like myself wondering
where the truth in music went. If you
talk to any honest music publicist today, they will confirm the idea that the
story behind the band/artist is just as important, maybe more, than the music
itself. I’ve always balked at covering a
band because the frame work was written for me.
My concern is and always will be talent, connection, emotion, and the
document itself without bloated outside context. I beg to a next to nothing readership, let’s
get back on track and start finding the story within the music rather than
discovering music because of the story.
Cassandra Jenkins spent most of 2010 as a struggling folk
singer in New York City's Greenwich Village. Her musical partner, Mike Timlin,
died by suicide and her independently released solo album Inside Cassandra
Jenkins was not selling; she had no money and was sleeping on the couches of
friends and acquaintances.
Sorry, that’s the first line in the plot summary on
Wikipedia for the film Inside Llewyn Davis with Jenkins name substituted here
and there. I really don’t know anything
about Jenkins, but I can say her newest release Play Till You Win is one of my
favorite albums of 2017. Melodically
it’s a gentle and confident album of beautiful music framed by Jenkins’ talent
for the investigation of life presented as universal storytelling. Jenkins’
track “Tennessee Waltz” is a simple, yet heartbreaking short story through song
addressing the moment you understand that individual love must be given away to
allow for true love. This is a sacrifice
many of us know and using it as the spine for a song allows for the music to
elevate an already considered human struggle.
Jenkins’ adds to the exploration of this theme and within it the listener can find perspective, character, and the connection we all
want with our musicians/bands.
“TENNESSEE WALTZ”
I remember the night and the Tennessee waltz
I must have heard it a thousand times
and it wasn’t till now that I’ve come to see
the view from behind those lines
We were singing along to an old familiar song
when she came waltzing through the door
with her head held high and a look in her eyes
I could see that it was her you adore.
I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz
Now I know just how much I have lost
I used to think that I knew the words
until they hit me all at once
I can’t say it’s wrong, but I know it’s true
It’s with her that your heart belongs
ever since I introduced her to you
We were singing along to an old familiar song
when she came waltzing through the door
with her head held high and a look in her eyes
Now I don’t see you anymore
I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz
It’s always a blessing and a bit of a curse when your
favorite track on an album is the opener.
“Candy Crane” is a song that explores perspective and what we as humans
waste our time and concern with. This is
all investigated through a story of a person playing a crane machine game, a
frustrating device most of us can relate to with a simple reward. Although the crane
game prize is rarely obtained, when achieved all it adds up to a piece of
plastic or doll…a momentary and nearly pointless satisfaction. Play Till You Win explores the theme that
humans are blinded by the end result and not the moments that make up the
journey. Jenkins seems fascinated by
time and the confusing wonderment of how present day and memory can work together
in the building blocks of who we are as people.
The exploration of time appears again on “Some Time”. The song works in many ways, but I like to
imagine it as a poem written by Jenkins to Jenkins. It perfectly captures self-motivation and
that relatable moment where our minds connect with individual want.
“SOME TIME”
Give yourself a few years
Give yourself some time
None of them are like you dear
Give yourself some time
Everyone is in it
Give yourself some time
No way to get around it
Give yourself some time
For all the place you have yet to be
and the faces yet to see
Come spring they’ll all be here
and they’ll be back
with the same songs every year
None of them are like you
So give yourself a few years
Give yourself some time
None of them are like you dear
Give yourself some time
The album Play Till You Win accomplishes everything I want
from an album, specifically a connection to the creator that grows and matures
track to track. Just as I consider the writers of my favorite novels familiar
friends who can comfort through their brilliance, new artists and bands need to
be given the opportunity to introduce themselves through their talent,
perspective, and personality. We are constantly told how to feel about a band,
how to contextualize their music, and how important it is before listening
to a single note. The stories attached
to bands are strategic attempts to attract a specific audience. We should be aware of this trap and only
trust the music itself and the importance we place on it as the ultimate truth
of its quality.
We’re coming up on the tenth birthday of We Listen For You
and we’ve always operated under the idea that the music we write about is the
music we love. You shouldn’t always love
what we love. Taste and personal connection within art is a universe…a huge
space where it’s impossible for complete agreement of what is best and what is
worst. What is worthy. What is cool.
All that comes from you and you alone.
Where we can all improve and challenge ourselves is how we discover what
we will eventually love or hate. Don’t trust
the story...trust your friends, outlets that are sincere in their
recommendations, and always trust yourself.
Your taste is your identity.
Finding a short cut when building you through art is as fruitless and empty as that claw machine.
I’m fully aware how preachy this writing has been and I want
it noted that I needed to say these things not just to you but to myself as
well. The number of times I’ve clicked
on a sensational headline or investigated a band because they are the “it” thing
of the moment is endless. I want to be a
better listener and explorer of new sounds.
I want all of us to be better. If
we question why we arrived at the moment of clicking play on a new album then
everything competes on the same level and we’re back to letting music work on
its own. Only then can the magic of
sound enter of lives, wrap itself around formed memories, dictate character, influence
dreams, and smash against everything that was known to form a new self.
---
Starting with this piece, essays or reviews on WLFY will
occasionally challenge the original intention of this website: to help
independent artists. Each piece that
features an album that we highly recommend will come with a challenge to sell a
certain amount of copies. We’ll always
kick off the challenge with a purchase of our own.
Cassandra Jenkins - Play Till You Win (Album Challenge)
GOAL: Sell FIVE vinyl copies
Current count:
4/5 vinyl sold
1. WLFY
2. PETE BROWN
3.) ROB PEONI
4.) BRETT McGRATH
1. WLFY
2. PETE BROWN
3.) ROB PEONI
4.) BRETT McGRATH
Send @welistenforyou a picture or screen cap on Twitter of
your purchase and we’ll list you as a supporter. A small amount of purchases like five won’t
change the world, but if we start working as a group to support independent
artists, it certainly can’t hurt.
Friday Streams -- May 19, 2017
This week's streams feature the return of a couple of our favorite artists.
New Releases
The Mountain Goats - Goth
John Darnielle & co. continue to craft some of the best records out there: heady, emotional, and revealing.
Do Make Say Think - Stubborn Persistent Illusions
DMST's newest since 2007's You, You're a History in Rust is just what post-rock kids need right now.
One-Hitters
Dent May & Frankie Cosmos - Across the Multiverse
Because, you know what's bigger than a universe...
Off the Radar
Ray Charles - The Atlantic Studio Albums in Mono (Remastered)
The ultimate soundtrack to a BBQ. Impress your friends by reminding them who really wrote Kanye's best songs.
Friday Streams -- May 5, 2017
Mac DeMarco's This Old Dog is probably the most noteworthy release of this week, but it's pretty deep outside of that, too, with 3 gems from Latin American artists.
New Releases
Mac DeMarco - This Old Dog
DeMarco seems like a throwback in so many ways that's not just his style. And, boy, do we need irony and not really giving a shit these days.
Perfume Genius - No Shape
The follow-up to 2014's brilliant deconstructionist album, Too Bright, Perfume Genius's latest doesn't let down.
Natalia Lafourcade - Musas
Lafourcade does the great Latin American song book on this record whose gentle instrumentations allow her one-of-a-kind voice to take center stage.
Juana Molina - Halo
I can't help but think that when histories of music are written from this time, when we have the great explosion of women making experimental music like Juliana Barwick and Julia Holter that the great unsung hero will be Juana Molina. If you haven't heard her before, Halo is a great into to her trippy corpus.
Café Tacvba - Jei Beibi
Anti-neocolonial stalwarts Café Tacvba return with their first album in five years.
Black Lips - Satanic Graffiti or God's Art?
Atlanta's Black Lips go semi rock opera with this booming, anthemic record.
Pond - The Weather
The synth is strong with Pond's newest. This Perth, Australia group has been one of my secret loves since I heard their album, with the greatest album title of all time: Beards, Wives, Denim.
Off the Radar
Pond - Beards, Wives, Denim
Because it is the greatest album title of all time.
Friday Streams -- April 21, 2017
After a hiatus last week, Friday Streams is back. And before you go wondering where were we to join in the nearly universal call to go listen to DAMN., let me just say that we got to check out The Magnetic Fields' 50 Song Memoir, which is a treat and unique experience. Should they be coming to your neck of the woods, check it out.
New Releases
A consistently rewarding group, Woods has long been one of our faves here for their mix of psych and folk.
Dilla died in 2006, but his posthumous output has been substantial. Motor City is a beat tape featuring two other legends, Busta Rhymes & Q-Tip.
Another fave of the blog is TJO, whose ethereal compositions, laid the groundwork for the recent successes of artists like Julia Holter and Grouper.
Off-the-radar
Adrian Younge - Something About April II
Younge was made famous for his work with Ghostface Killah and when he's not composing films, or creating albums, he's working as an entertainment law professor. This is the sequel to Something About April. Both records are beautiful throwbacks to 70s R&B with lush orchestration and incredible vocalists. Something About April II features, for example, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab.
Younge was made famous for his work with Ghostface Killah and when he's not composing films, or creating albums, he's working as an entertainment law professor. This is the sequel to Something About April. Both records are beautiful throwbacks to 70s R&B with lush orchestration and incredible vocalists. Something About April II features, for example, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab.
Friday Streams -- April 7,2017
It's a big release day--2 highly anticipated artists drop new records and my favorite opening lyric of the year so far.
New Releases
Father John Misty - Pure Comedy
Is anyone trying to make more erudite, intellectual music these days than Father John Misty? Also, I will listen to anything produced by Jonathan Wilson.
New Pornographers - Whiteout Conditions
The greatest working supergroup keeps working.
Timbre Timbre - Sincerely, Future Pollution
Creep on creepin' on.
Diet Cig - Swear I'm Good at This
Just listen to that first lyric and try not to listen to the rest.
Off-the-Radar
Pink Nasty - "Burn" (Usher)
No other reason than this track was in my head all day yesterday, which made that a pretty damn good day.
Friday Streams -- March 31, 2017
It's a slower release week, but there are a couple worthwhile check outs. Enjoy!
New Releases
I dare you 2017. Find better cover art than that (above).
Recorded live at RAK studios, London, In the Same Room is a studio-recorded live album featuring some new renditions of Holter's lush songs.
One-hitters
On this rainy day, there's little better music than the intelligent pickings and harmonies of these two gems.
Off the Radar
Because some times, you need some affirmation and just fucking dance.
Friday Streams -- March 24, 2017
This week's streams feature 2 records dealing with life-changing events and new beats from Madlib.
New Releases
After the untimely passing of Geneviève Castrée, Phil Elverum returned to the room where Geneviève, his wife, had passed and began to record. A Crow Looked at Me is the result of this labor.
Before the release of Portland band Braveyoung's second record, founding member Isaac Young was seriously wounded in a motorcycle accident. He's since recovered and the band is releasing their first record since 2011's We are Lonely Animals.
Who can say no to 18 new tracks of Madlib beats?
One-hitters
I used to think that "Creep Folk" was the appropriate term for Timbre Timbre, then I clicked on this track and heard the synth.
Off the radar
In prep for Café Tacvba's first record since 2012, take a little ride back to 2001 with Tiempo transcurrido. It's a collection of tracks from the band's work prior to 2001 and features the only official releases of "La locomotura," "Dos niños," and "La muerte chiquita." Tracks from what would become the band's abandoned second album.
Friday Streams -- March 17, 2017
It's Saint Patrick's Day and I'm still digging out after a blizzard. Here's the albums that I'm streaming/downloading/buying this week.
New Releases:
It's their return to Matador after Telefono, the band's '96 debut, and first without Eric Harvey since '02's Kill the Moonlight.
The leaders of Galaxie 500's fan club drop their first LP post Matt Mondanile's Ducktails departure.
One Hitters:
Probably the music news of the week is Feist's return with Pleasure on April 28. One presumes that this is the title track, and is the first new music from her since 2011.
40 years after Pink Flag, Wire keeps it comin'
Off the Radar
Once upon a time, out of college, I thought that I could earn some cred by working at venerable (and now defunct) Louisville record store Ear X-Tacy. The man who took my application was Jason Lowenstein, legendary member of Sebadaoh, bandmate of the the Fiery Furnaces.
I did not get hired.
Lowenstein is back with a proper record in 2017 ("Machinery" is our first taste). His 2002 debut is, still a great listen.
Friday Streams - March 10, 2017
It's a big musical world out there. And there are a lot of streaming options and sounds to fill your side face holes. So, from time to time, we'll try to offer you a map to what we're listening to, downloading, streaming, etc. with bite size responses based on things which (if I keep writing this at this hour) we probably haven't heard yet. Here's this week's edition.
New Releases:
The Magnetic Fields - 50 Song Memoir (Spotify isn't currently giving me a streaming link, will update when I get one)
The write-ups are already monumental and, in the first record in 5 years, Stephin Merrit returns to the giant scope that made 69 Love Songs so popular. This time, the subject matter is himself. Make some time for this, the album totals some 2.5 hours.
June's 2013 Pushin' Against a Stone is probably one of the most underrated records in an Americana-ssance that spawned a thousand insurance commercial jingles. June never played that way. Her bluesy vocals matched well with a minimal, rootsy instrumentation.
Besides The Magnetic Fields, odds are everyone will also be talking about Heartworms, The Shins first album in five years, too.
One hitters:
Speaking of bands that haven't released in a while, "And Boundless" is our first taste of DMST, cousin of Godspeed You! Black Emperor (GYBE), since You, You're a History in Rust.
Shelley's Ginko is probably the best record you've never heard. Excited for the new one.
Re-releases:
For me, this was always the masterpiece. The expanded edition remasters the old and brings in a slew of live tracks and includes the whimsical (not always a word that you associate with Smith) "I Don't I'm Ever Gonna Figure It Out." For the fist-timer or for the old-timer, there's practically no better musical experience than hearing "Say Yes."
Off-the-radar:
The only soundtrack for your Saturday vibraphone retro party, Big John Patton's Let 'em Roll is cooler than we will ever be.
