Furious Dance

So my song of the day post yesterday inspired me to get one of the two Rosebuds albums that I was missing. I stumbled across the song "Get Up and Get Out" on Youtube while I was writing, and I was struck by the very different sound of it. Naturally, I was intrigued and so I got the Rosebuds' third album: Night of the Furies. It's excellent.

As I mentioned in the last post, I have two albums by the Rosebuds, and I love the chill, acoustic, yet sometimes frantic songs that are their trademark. The sharing of vocal duties between Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp (the two members of the band) makes for constant, refreshing changes and allows for varied styles of the songs while keeping with the band's overall sound structure. Night of the Furies, however, brings something new to the band's style (which I found strange since it is not their most recent album). While the subtly driving guitar chords and bass, in conjunction with the haunting vocals that make up the framework for a majority of the Rosebuds' songs are still to be found on this album, these trademarks are joined by the addition of bouncing electric effects, some quiet synthesizers, and a new emphasis on riding the high hat. Night of the Furies is like the child of the Rosebuds that was kidnapped from the hospital and raised on the dance floor.

The opening track "My Punishment for Fighting" immediately establishes this new style by kicking off with a synthesizer to accompany the train-like guitar. The next track, "Cemetary Lawns" also seeks to buck a trend, opening with drumming that introduces the song a mere instant before overstaying its welcome. Third on the album, is what is so far my favorite track: "I Better Run". It introduces a calm bass drum followed by slow guitar chords, at first not seeming very different from the older Rosebuds tracks. However, the track suddenly kicks into a higher gear with a drum roll that leads into an intense riding of the high hat cymbal and a playing of what sounds like a harpsichord...the combination is one that is impossible to NOT dance to. What I like about this track is that in spite of its upbeat instrumentation, the lyrics present a very dark story. Next up is "Get Up and Get Out", which recalls elements of disco music coupled with the classic sound of Howard's vocals. This song would be a great fit on the dance floor for sure. The album continues with a parade of great songs, some more 'normal' sounding than others, but generally infused with shots of energy that are generally absent from the Rosebuds' music. While I like their other stuff perfectly fine the way it is, the change on this album is definitely nice.

Here are the grades as I see them:
1. My Punishment For Fighting: B+
2. Cemetary Lawns: B
3. I Better Run: A+
4. Get Up and Get Out: B+
5. Silence by the Lakeside: A
6. Hold On To This Coat: A
7. Silja Line (On Settling For a Normal Life): A-
8. When The Lights Went Dim: A
9. Night of the Furies: A+
Overall Grade: A



You might have missed this great band and great album so far...but you shouldn't continue to do so.

You can visit the Rosebuds' official website here.

Song of the Day 10/13/09

I absolutely love the Rosebuds. I need to get more of their music, because I very much enjoy the two albums of theirs that I have (Life Like and Birds Make Good Neighbors, both excellent CDs). My media library on my computer was on random tonight, and I happened upon what is probably my favorite track by the Rosebuds, and as it is a fairly recent find, I deemed it worthy of 'Song of the Day' status and I thought I would share.

Black Hole, from their album Life Like is a very chill, moving piece with great vocals and a calm, yet piercing guitar part throughout the track. The tempo is just about perfect for any sort of listening. I can't tell if the song makes me happy or sad, and that is a confusion that I am entirely okay with.

You can listen to the song by clicking on the link. You know the drill.
Black Hole - The Rosebuds

I Think I Like The Like

I'm about to sleep...but before I do, I have a new band to share. As the title of this post implies, I have not firmly made up my mind on this band, but I think despite a desire to do otherwise, I am leaning towards liking The Like. I have zero problems with female vocalists, in face some of my favorite singers are women (Regina Spektor, Neko Case (of The New Pornographers), Mette Lindberg (of Asteroids Galaxy Tour) etc.)...however girl bands are a bit different, and I tend to avoid what I for some reason refer to as 'lip glossy music', which I in some ways categorize The Like as. I saw Arctic Monkeys in concert last week and after waiting for a good thirty minutes for them to come on, I was thrilled when the lights finally dimmed and a band came out on the stage. Naturally, I was disappointed to find that it was not in fact the Arctic Monkeys. I was a bit indifferent towards the 'strange looking chicks' who were on stage...of course, this band was The Like. They played a good ten song set, and while it was a bit too loud to fully understand the lyrics, I enjoyed it for the most part. They had a good sound and had a fun set. The lead singer's voice wasn't exactly my thing, though she displayed some serious vocal talent at several points. The instruments, especially the organ, were great...nice and loud and perfect for some good old hair shaking. Their sound packed a good bit of nostalgia, recalling some great aspects of the 'classic rock' style, and I like that. Despite my initial impressions, I enjoyed their set. Today I finally checked out their website and spent a good while enjoying the catchy tunes.

So I believe it is safe to recommend them. Check out their myspace page here.

Apparently the band I saw is the 'new and improved' version of The Like, featuring a new bassist and the addition of an organ player. I felt watching them that these new members were perhaps the strongest part of the band as far as the sound they contributed.

Check out their new single by clicking the link below.
The Like - Fair Game

Song of the Day 10/08/09

Ok, so I don't have much time to discuss stuff since the Office is about to come on (exciting!), but I thought I would share my song of the day. I got it a couple weeks ago and have been unable to share it with anyone since I can't find it anywhere online...and since I think people should get to hear excellent music, I thought I would try to fix the problem. So I uploaded the song to youtube, and now you can listen to it.

Click the link to listen to 'Fortune', an unreleased track by one of my favoritest of bands, The New Pornographers. It comes from the bonus CD for their most recent album (released in 2007, now PLEASE come out with another one!), Challengers. If you do not already have this album, please get it...it's for your own good that I tell you these things. Of course, if you don't like good music, please continue to not have this album...otherwise GET IT NOW!!!

Fortune - The New Pornographers

Song of the Day 10/07/09

So I have been thinking about this blog and I hate that I have abandoned it the last several months. In my defense, my computer crashed at the end of last semester and that is what caused me to originally stop posting here. Hopefully I will be able to get back in the groove of posting soon. For now, please be content to listen to my song of the day (I've liked it for a while, and have had the album for a month and a half, but as I saw the band this last week, it's risen to the top of my playlist again).

Arctic Monkeys - Dance Little Liar