Flatbasset Radio: Episode #86 (Local Show!)

Who cares about music anyway?

Well hello again, podcast fans! Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #86!

As you can see from the title, this week's show is a special episode. As you've hopefully noticed if you've been listening over the years, I do my best to work in plenty of local music on the show. There really is so much good stuff coming out of Minnesota that it's nearly impossible to keep up.

So, with that in mind, I decided that I was well overdue for a strictly-MN based show. I'm also feeling pretty good about the way last week's show turned out (if you recall, it was just a 45 minute mix with none of my usual speaking parts). With that in mind I thought I'd just go all in and put together an hour long mix of some of Minnesota's finest jams.

Of course, just because I didn't take the time to speak during the show doesn't mean I don't have things to say about these songs. Like last week, if you scroll down you'll find the track list and some random thoughts about each of the jams.

As always, Flatbasset Radio is completely free. I've finally set up a decent downloading site, so if you'd like to download Flatbasset Radio: Episode #86 (with all the appropriate iTunes tagging), just click here.

If you don't have the time or desire to download the show, just click the Mixcloud player below and you're good to go.



Here's how Episode #86 plays out:

01. Color TV - Meat Wagon

Rather than ease into this mix I figured we start it off with a bang. I got turned on to Color TV a couple of weeks ago when one of my co-workers said, "Hey, my buddy's band is going to be opening up for the Descendents. You should check them out." As somebody who's been counting down to that Descendents show for 20 years you better believe I had tix tucked away at Planet New Basset. I figured I should find out what these guys were all about before the show. As you can hear on "Meat Wagon," these guys are definitely... ummm... descended from their headliners. The concert acted as a bit of a release party for this new 7", which you should probably look into.

02. The Social Disaster - Bad Boys With Big Hearts

Duluth's lone representative on this mix. I did a write-up of The Social Disaster's Dark Side Of The Roller Rink earlier this year, so I won't bore you by re-hashing that (because I know you all read those posts religiously). "Bad Boys With Big Hearts" is the lightest moment on the album and it is also the most charming.

03. P.O.S. - Wearing A Bear

P.O.S. has been bringing the fire since fully recovering from his kidney transplant. "Sleepdrone/Superposition" stood as a renewal of his mission statement, "Waves" was a stellar, collaborative one-off, and the crew track "Spill Me Up" sounded like a 'Welcome Home" moment. With "Wearing A Bear" we have P.O.S. & Lazerbeak teaming up to bring the best out of each other just like they've been doing since high school. A bananas Lazerbeak beat, straight throwback P.O.S. flow, in-jokes, Minnesota accents... It's good to have Stef back fully functional.

04. Total Gaze - Pink Line

Checked these guys out strictly because of a Facebook share from my buddy Dr. Bill. I trust his taste in music completely and he did not disappoint with Total Gaze. Their album We Need More Condos just came out and, like "Pink Line," it's an off-kilter affair. It's like the band wrote all these tight, scrappy indie rock songs and ran them through a Sonic Youth filter. I mean that as a compliment. It's a delightful little album.

05. Cruel Love - Kissing In The Corner (w/Botzy, Beasthead, & Godelt)

Mo Bluntz & Bonnie Stitches put their self-titled album out back in October of 2014 and I've been meaning to play something off of it ever since. Sorry about that. "Kissing On The Corner" is a fascinating entry in their catalog because it pulls back just enough layers of fuzz to make this song sound spaced out as fuck.

06. Graveyard Club - Nightcrawler

Graveyard Club seems to have turned up out of nowhere. I'd never heard of them and then, with the release of Cellar Door they were suddenly tearing up my Twitter feed. Turns out they've been active since 2013.How was I to know?!? It's not like a write a blog focused on local music or anything.

Better late than never though. While popular taste implies that they've missed the halcyon days of the 2010's synth-pop boom, they're doing it better than almost anybody I can remember. Their secret? Hooks for days. Even when the lyrics turn dark, the band sells every chorus like it might be their last.

07. Eric Mayson - Flatspin

Another artist I've been meaning to play since before his album came out. If I remember correctly, Detail was my second or third most-played album of last year. In my defense, the album is really meant to be taken as a whole. As you can hear on "Flatspin," most of the songs are between two & three minutes and have little room for fat. While that makes for a delirious listen as an album, it can be difficult to work the songs into this show. Consider that problem resolved though. Even standing alone, "Flatspin" is a gem.

08. Psymun - Banani

Psymun is probably now best known as 1/4th of The Stand4rd, and that's cool, but before their breakthrough he was cranking out beat tapes at a ferocious pace. "Banani" is taken off his Heartsick tape from 2013. I enjoyed that Stand4rd album (and really enjoyed his album with K.Raydio), but there's a special place in my heart for these crazy old EP's. Great bus-riding music.

09. I Self Devine & Muja Messiah - Midnight On Jupiter (w/Lady Midnight)

Yet another I've been keeping in my back pocket for too long. This may sound like a backhanded compliment, but once you get past the more nationally known hip-hop artist in the Twin Cities, these two guys are two of the kings of the Twin Cities. Both are long-running, well-respected rappers who have found success as solo artists and as collaborators. Both sound completely at ease on 9th House.
 

10. The Farewell Circuit - Birdless Sky

Moment of truth: This is the only Farewell Circuit song that I know. That's a bit unfair to a band that has been around since 2009 and has a nice following around town. I'm trying to make up for that by making this 3/4-time powerhouse the centerpiece of the show. That seems fair.

11. Tony Peachka - Idle Hands

I was so taken with Tony Peachka's debut EP Hello Tony that I dug into the Radio K In-Studio tracks to download their performance from earlier this year. As you can here from this charmingly smutty little jam, the gals in Tony Peachka have a way of seeing the glass as half full (nevermind that the beer in the glass is likely room temperature).

I just read the other day that Jordan Bleau (of Frankie Teardrop fame) has recorded their new album and plans to release it on No Problem Records, all of which bodes well for the ascendant trajectory of Tony Peachka.

12. Big Quarters & Mux Mool - Dragon Princess

Back in 2008 when I was a younger & more social person my buddy and I went to the EP release show for Big Quarters & Mux Mool's Fall in Love EP. We were there to see BQ and left mostly confused by Mux Mool. I've since come to appreciate both artists and what they do. And this EP is still killer (with one of the great covers of all time).

13. Al Church - You And I

I picked up Next Summer in one of my frequent Cheapo Records "Local" Section scavenger hunts. I had no idea who Al Church was, but it was summer and I was definitely digging that artwork. Turns out the sound on the album matches the cover to a T. Take note of the dual saxophone/G-Funk keyboard about halfway through the song. Classic.

14. Ego Death - Untitled (In The Morning)

I was a huge fan of Ego Death's self-titled LP, so I was pretty pumped when I heard that they were releasing a new EP. While Daze's opening track "Deceiver" left me afraid that the band had abandoned their hooky-roots, "Untitled (In The Morning)" came rolling in second and picked up right where their debut record left off. Can't wait to here what these guys cook up next.

15. The Plastic Constellations - We Are Genius Millionaires

Fresh off their triumphant appearance on Sunday Night Football, the semi-defunct Plastic Constellations return to fill the coveted "late-mix-instrumental-interlude" spot here on Episode #86. Nice week, boys.

16. Tiny Deaths - Ever

I was digging Tiny Death's Night Flowers EP so much back in February that I opened Flatbasset Radio: Episode #74 with their song "Away." Here we are seven months later and I'm still digging the EP. Grant Culter and Claire De Lune certainly bring out the best in each other.

17. Allan Kingdom - Believe

Allan Kingdom started the year on a high after being featured on Kanye West's track "All Day." He followed that up by releasing this excellent Northern Lights album. If there was any justice in the world Northern Lights would have continued pushing him into the national consciousness. I suppose it's possible that it has and I just haven't noticed because I'm not reading the right sites or listening to the right people. Hopefully that's the case because this album is still fantastic.
 

18. The Karma Kicks - False

Technically The Karma Kicks released the song "False" on their 2014 album It's All Gone Wrong. However, I found out about the song (and the band) on yet another outstanding Ecstattic Studios compilation. This one was lingering near the tail end of ECS 013: Toward A Better Future (Through An Uncertain Past). These St. Paul boys were kicking up a playful jam that stood out from the rest of the more serious work on the album. Part pre-Beatles rock, part GBV, it's good clean fun.

19. Sophia Eris - Dust

I already spoke about Sophia Eris when I played her song "Blue Dream" back on Episode #84, so I won't re-hash everything. Just know that her debut solo EP Sophia Eris definitely stands up. She's deserved her moment in the spotlight for a long time. It's nice to see her getting her due.

20. The Person & The People - Paranoid And Sleepy

To be honest, the chance to close the show with "Paranoid And Sleepy" was the impetus for putting together this episode. The song is the opener on The Person & The People's latest album Dark And Low, but the dual-guitar, "Impossible Germany"-style freakout during the song's second half made the song seem like an ideal closer to me, one last lunge toward the peak before retreating back down the mountain.

There you have it, folks! Enjoy!

For more of my rantings you can give me a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on his Mixcloud page.  Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.

Album Of The Week: "Dark Side Of The Roller Rink" by The Social Disaster

Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of March 6th-12th, 2016:

The Social Disaster - Dark Side Of The Roller Rink

01. Queen Of Agency
02. Machinery
03. Gold
04. Little Girl
05. Bad Boys With Big Hearts
06. God
07. Want It All
08. Battleground
09. Quiet Savior
10. Voyeur

(The Social Disaster by Laramie Carlson)

Straight out of sunny Duluth we have Dark Side Of The Roller Rink, the debut LP from self-described "proto-pop, gloom pop, dance & doo-wop" quintet The Social Disaster. While that may seem like a curious description for a band, it's appropriate. For better or worse, on DSOTRR, the band manages to cover those bases and and more.



The Social Disaster wisely aims to make their case on the opening track "Queen Of Agency." The band locks into a a decidedly indie-pop swing (complete with a bed of synthesizers) as singer Rachel Phoenix steps front and center to deliver no-less-than three different hooks. It's one of the real highlights on the album, a moment when everything the band is trying to accomplish comes together in the same song.

The Social Disaster spends the next three tracks leaning toward the "dark side" aspect of the album title rather than the "roller rink" side. Flashing a harder-edged sound on songs "Machinery," "God," & "Little Girl" Phoenix questions religion, sexism, technology, & a woman's role in the world. Perhaps the band's crunch is meant to mirror the gravity of the subject matter, but unfortunately it causes these three songs to lump together, doing an injustice to all three.



High-water mark "Bad Boys With Big Hearts" functions as a mood-lightening reprieve at the end of the album's first half. The band steps back from the rawk to indulge in some straight-up doo-wop-pop, with Phoenix playing the role of pin-up charmer, lamenting her inability to avoid the same bad-boy mistakes that are just too much fun to repeat.



The album's second half finds The Social Disaster moving away from the charm of the first half and doubling down on a sort-of post-grunge crunch. "God" is Phoenix's anthem to the modern woman, declaring "I am my own God!" as the band rumbles behind her. They continue in this direction for duration of DSOTRR's second half. Unfortunately, as Phoenix forces the issue lyrically and the band works up the anger to match, the album loses the playful energy that makes the first half of the album a real joy.

I hope that doesn't sound too harsh. I did enjoy Dark Side Of The Roller Rink. Like a lot of debut albums, though, it's a bit scattered stylistically and bit on-the-nose lyrically. The band seems to be trying to be everything all the time, which isn't tremendously surprising. It's completely understandable for a band to try to say everything on their first album. However, given how the band sounds when they loosen up, it's clear that they have the ability to be the kind of band that has a little something for everyone. I have very high hopes for The Social Disaster going forward. They're very close to striking the balance between their playful & serious side on this album. Going forward I certainly hope they find that balance, as the two sides of this band compliment each other tremendously.

If you'd like to check out Dark Side Of The Roller Rink for yourself, head over to The Social Disaster's Bandcamp page and give it a listen.

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on his Mixcloud page.  Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.

Songs Of The Week #70: TCDroogsma & MinneSarah

(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)

Los Campesinos!, Diego Garcia, Blood Orange, Tennis, & Red Mountain...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies!  Welcome to Songs Of The Week #70!
 
For those of you who are new to the SOTW column, here's the story:  TCDroogsma and MinneSarah are both fans of The Current's Song Of The Day podcast.  They're also both opinionated and have access to computers.  Seeing an opportunity to let them indulge in their MP3 habit and put them to work writing reviews we created the Songs Of The Week column.  Over a year later later and here we are.

As always, we strongly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself.  It's free and it's fun for the whole family!

To that end, once you've given each song a spin or two, feel free to cast a vote for your favorite song of the week in the poll to the right side of the page.  The artist who accrues the most votes wins the validation that comes from winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the loftiest height to which a modern musician can aspire.

As per tradition TCDroogsma and MinneSarah have not read each other's reviews prior to posting

So... Droogsy, Sarah... thoughts?

01.  Los Campesinos! - Avacodo, Baby (from the album No Blues)

TCDroogsma:

     My knowledge of (and relationship with) Los Campesinos! has been built entirely through the SOTD podcast.  This is the sixth time the band has appeared in my weekly rotation.  This means that I'm currently in possession of what could probably be called a "Best Of..." EP.  It also means that I'm liable to have missed the little evolutions of the band, with each song coming as a fully formed dispatch as to where Los Campesinos! are now.

     Following along as the band went from poppy, hook-laden upstarts who relied almost solely on energy to the somewhat disillusioned, a little less poppy, more mature and still hook-laden space they occupy now has been a rewarding trek.  "Avacado, Baby" opens with the type of textured guitar hook that's indicative of how much more thought goes into the songwriting from an instrument standpoint.  Once the verse kicks in, however, we're reminded that singer Garreth Campesino's melodic snarl is still the star of the show.

     Lyrically, "Avocado, Baby" is not in a good place.  The third verse in particular is an example of well-crafted, psuedo-literate vitriol.  It also stands as a testament to just how well Garreth can twist pronunciation in order to rhyme a couplet.  The yelled out hook explaining just why he's called "the avocado" is pretty fucking corny, but it's delivered with a mix of anger and braggadocio to sell the whole thing.  Push comes to shove, I'm a sucker for spiteful lyrics, boy/girl harmonies, and hooks on hooks on hooks.

MinneSarah:

     A band out of Wales should not be called "Los Campesinos!," it's misleading.  Otherwise, this band sounds a lot like pop punk acts like Panic at the Disco!  The lyrics are brooding but childish - they sound like the spoken word diary of a angsty teenage boy.  Though I know dance alt pop punk was a big deal ten years ago (who didn't have that Killers album), I had no idea that a song like "Avacado, Baby" could be relevant in today's music scene.

     While I'm a huge fan of British music, I would have pegged the lead singer as faking this accent (shows how much I actually know), but again, it draws comparison to all those bands in the early 2000's that actually used that tactic.  The end of the song features a children's chorus and or cheerleaders? The takeaway from this song is that avacados shouldn't be used as metaphors. 

Final Score - TCDroogsma: 4/5
                               MinneSarah: 1.5/5

02.  Diego Garcia - Start With The End (from the album Paradise)

TCDroogsma:

     Quick sidenote for anybody who reads these columns regularly:  I couldn't help but laugh when the bongos come in at the beginning of this song.  MinneSarah's been railing against bongos in indie rock all year and I'm sure hearing them at the start of this Argentinie-styled song made her angry even though it's an Argentine-style song.

     Alright, back to the plot.  "Let's start with the end and stay 'til the end," is the opening line of this song.  Garcia spends the rest of the song arguing the virtues of living in the moment, staying friends, and the circular nature of the universe?  Time travel?  It's tough to say.  Even though I kind of like the song, the lyrics seem willfully cliche, which detracts from Garcia's pleasant sentiment.

     Garcia has a warm, pleasant voice that fits the song's style.  He's not passing down hard-learned lessons, but rather making suggestions that he thinks are probably, y'know, a pretty cool way to approach life.  I"m not totally sure I'm buying what he's selling, but he certainly put a lot of work into the wrapping paper.

MinneSarah:

     Fun loving Diego Garcia wants us all to relax, enjoy some fancy Latin guitar, and enjoy our lives.  From my cynical perspective, it seems a little rose-colored to think that most relationships are not going to become monotonous or sour, but Diego promises that by pretending to start at the end, we'll be better to each other.  The soothing buttery cello and vocal optimism almost convinces me that I've been doing everything wrong my entire life - but as the end is still ahead (or behind?), we've all got a little time.  

Final Score - TCDroogsma: 2.5/5
                               MinneSarah: 2.5/5

03.  Blood Orange - You're Not Good Enough (from the album Cupid Deluxe)

TCDroogsma:

     Blood Orange is just one of the aliases of Dev Hynes.  While I'm not super-familiar with his work, I know that his song "All My Friends Are Listening To Crunk" under his Lightspeed Champion moniker is still one of my favorite SOTD tracks.  "You're Not Good Enough" has none of that songs strummy humor, but rather lays some ice cold lyrics over some warm, bouncy synth lines.

     "You're Not Good Enough" actually comes off like a morning-after version of Daft Punk's ubiquitous "Get Lucky."  The Nile Rodgers-esque chka-chka guitars and bouncing bass aim for the same dancefloor, but where Pharrel was up all night to get lucky, Hynes is dealing with the aftermath (specifically, forty-nine days later) and probably questioning the definition of "lucky."  A chorus of, "I never was in love, you know that you were never good enough..." leaves little to the imagination.  The spark of lust may have been extinguished, but that's no reason to stop dancing.

MinneSarah:

     Funky, bass-y songs that sound like they would soundtrack a detective show from the 80's are an actual genre in 2013.  This song doesn't even sound out of place, and blends nostalgia with catchiness.  As far as lyrics are concerned, "You're Not Good Enough" goes for the jugular. If you've ever wanted to tell someone that they were a mistake, you've never actually loved them and they were horrible in bed, this might be the song to put on the stereo in lieu of an awkward talk. Girl/Boy vocals can be hit or miss, but both singers sing at the same time, making it sound almost like one congruent voice.  Despite the fact that I love a good revenge song, I became despondent while listening to it - it might be too mean unless you are in that mind state already. 

Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3.5/5
                               MinneSarah: 2.5/5

04.  Tennis - Mean Streets (from the EP Small Sound)

TCDroogsma:

     Tennis is the husband & wife duo of Patrick Riley & Alaina Moore out of Denver.  As you may or may not recall (the hype machine runs so quickly these days), they were all the rage for a couple of weeks back in 2012.

     "Mean Streets" starts as a character portrait, which we join halfway through with the opening lines, "Summer up in the Catskills, baby, singing just for the thrill..."  Oddly, however, that's just about as far as our protagonist's story goes.  Over a spry keyboard bounce, Tennis aims for ambiguity with the chorus and hits its mark dead on, letting us (or, possibly, her?) know that, "whatever's left, you'll find you've got to give it what you got."  You can choose your own meaning for that chorus.

     Lyrical ambiguity aside, the song swings along like with a warmth that makes me wish I was spending summer in the Catskills.  "Mean Streets" is warm & catchy in a way that seems to come very naturally to Tennis, leaving enough room to breath that I found myself liking it more & more as the week wore on.

MinneSarah:

     "Mean Streets" is chill and jazzy.  Piano mixes with drums, showcasing the singers vocal range from sultry to bubble gum.  The lyrics are about a girl gone good, singing on the mean streets until she has ubiquitously become a star.  The lyrics start out with the line "Summer up in the Catskills," which sounds like a far cry from the mean streets.  While the song is about a rise to success, the origins are covered, then the success, but how this primadonna got to where she is still is fuzzy.  "Mean Streets" is an enjoyable listen, and has a certain sophistication that would place this song in an upscale boutique or hip restaurant, but don't try and read too far into it. 

Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3.5/5
                               MinneSarah: 2.5/5

05.  Red Mountain - Put Me Through (from the album Scowl Lightly)

TCDroogsma:

     Red Mountain is a band out of Duluth and, before I go any further, I'm going to take a second to acknowledge that Scowl Lightly is arguably the most Duluth-ian title for an album that I can possibly imagine.

     Red Mountain opens "Put Me Through" by stacking harmonies that verge on white-boy doo-wop over a simple keyboard line.  When the song springs to life at the 1:20 mark, it doesn't break out the way you'd expect.  The drums turn up to shuffle along, giving the song a pulse that seems both nervous & resigned.  By the time the trumpets show up a minute later, it's become clear that "Put Me Through" is not headed for any Day-Glo payoff, but, like anybody who's going to survive in a Duluth winter, Red Mountain puts their heads down and presses forward, selling us on the same well-crafted hook that opened the song.

MinneSarah:

     The levels of genuine longing and melancholy pull this song together.  Vocals are sung in a round of one during the intro, but then have an echo chorus behind them.  "Put Me Through" builds continuously, and adds just the right touch at every change.  While usually, trumpets, cello, cowbell, and a chorus of "ahs" detract from a song, these components actually work to add emphasis.

     Lyrically, "Put Me Through" is about the longing associated with wanting to be with someone you just know would not work out in the long run.  Written from a realistic perspective, the possibility of dying alone is thrown in for good measure.  These are our options, love is not always pretty, but this song highlights those not so pleasant aspects and makes you happy to be able to experience the full spectrum of human emotions.

Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3.5/5
                               MinneSarah: 4/5

Well there you have it, MP3 junkies!  Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, & filed away!

As always, please keep in mind that neither Newest Industry nor our contributors are in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR.  We're just music fans with laptops and a bit too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio

For more MinneSarah be sure to give her a follow on Twitter (@MinneSarah).  She can also be found right here on Newest Industry filing reports out of St. Paul for our Big Day Out column




For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.   

Singles Mixer #5: "Just Make It Stop" by Low

(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)

You see I'm close to the edge, I'm at the end of my rope...

Hello again, music fans!  Welcome to Singles Mixer #5!

For those of you unfamiliar with the Singles Mixer columns, here's the scoop.  Whenever we find new singles from Minnesota bands we task one of our regular contributors with reviewing them.  As is Newest Industry policy, all singles are given a score of 1-5 (whereas albums are rated 1-10).

This time around we asked TCDroogsma to give us his thoughts on Low's new single "Just Make It Stop" from their upcoming album The Invisible Way.

TCDroogsy, thoughts?

How you feel about “Just Make It Stop” likely depends on how you feel about the recipe that Low has perfected over 20 years.

There are typically three things that define Low:

01. Instrumentation that makes as much use of the empty space as it does of the instruments.

02. Alan Sparhawk's distinctive, fragile vocals (often times complimented by Mimi Parker).

03. Lyrics that are somehow universal & personal, allowing the listener to find themselves in nearly every song.

“Just Make It Stop” only hits on one of these three ingredients. Lyrically, this song fits nicely into the Sparhawk/Parker canon. The lyrics are vague enough, with many of the couplets addressed to the “you” that always seems to be saying and doing things to fuck with people. Hell, even the titular “it” is never really addressed. The world? Time? The omnipotent, overbearing “you” (or, maybe, “them?”).

Regardless, when you sign up for the music of Low you sign up for that sort of lyrical content. There's something to be said for a band that can write songs that everybody can relate to in their own way.

Now, on to those other two ingredients.

I fully realize that Alan Sparhawk is not the “lead singer” of Low in the traditional sense. Still, when releasing the first single from a new album, it's a bold move to shelve the singer who is, to the casual fan, the voice of the band. I'm not complaining here, it's just a surprising left turn. I think Parker has a great voice and absolutely carries the song. Whether it's years of sharing the microphone with Sparhawk or my inability to separate new Low songs from my expectations, Parker manages the same aggressive fragility as her sometimes co-singer.

Which brings us to the instrumentation.

What's the one thing that casual indie rock fans know about Low? That they're slow and quiet. Obviously “Just Make It Stop” is neither of those things. It's actually a pretty rollicking affair considering who's playing the instruments.

Much has been made about the fact that The Invisible Way was produced by Jeff Tweedy. Admittedly, I didn't put a whole lot of stock into his involvement (though, as a Wilco & Low fan it did breed some curiosity). I was hoping that the lessons learned about spacing and silence during A Ghost Is Born and Summer Teeth would translate to “Low with a Wilco twist.” Rather, if this single is any example, we're being treated to “Low plays Wilco.” Rather than an experiment in organic, live silence (I feel so pretentious just typing that), “Just Make It Stop” has much more in common with the country-tinged feel of Being There.

I realize that this all makes me sound like a curmudgeon who wants his Low to sound like Low. There's a grain of truth to that, as I really do love the band's work. More accurately, I'm a bit disappointed that rather than pushing toward the sound explored on Drums & Guns (a masterpiece in my book), Low seems to be pushing toward sounding like everybody else. For a band that spent twenty years carving out a niche that was theirs and theirs alone, “Just Make It Stop” sounds more like compromise than evolution.

Final Score – 2.5/5

There you have it, folks!  TCDroogsma puts Low's new single "Just Make It Stop" square in the middle of the rankings.

For more information on Low's new album The Invisible Way and their upcoming tour, be sure to visit their website here.  They can also be found on Twitter (@LowTheBand).

For more TCDroogsma, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found here on Newest Industry hosting our weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.  Be sure to tune in each week, as winter's slowly causing him to lose his mind.

Of course Newest Industry also has a home on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1).  Give us a follow to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free and highly effective way to support the blog. 

Songs Of The Week #20: MinneSarah & TCDroogsma

(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)

Sun Airway, Kopecky Family Band, Ra Ra Riot, Paul Banks, & Southwire...

Hello again, music fans! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #20!

That's right, everybody. SOTW turns the big 2-0 today! One more week and we won't have to ask our older brother to buy us beer anymore!

But that's for next week. This week we're putting the holidays behind us and getting back to the grind: downloading and judging other people's hard work just because we can!

As always, we encourage you to hit up The Current's website here and subscribe to the podcast yourself. Free music is a hell of a gift.

Also, as you probably know by now, there is a poll to the right side of the page. Please give the tracks a listen and vote for your favorite. The winner receives an amount of encouragement wholly related to their opinion of stranger's opinions. So, y'know, every vote counts.

This week we asked MinneSarah & TCDroogsma to take a break from Christmas drinking and give us their thoughts on this week's tracks. They have not seen each other's reviews prior to posting.

Hungover kids, thoughts?

01. Sun Airway – Black Noise (from the album Soft Fall)

MinneSarah:

     I had the hardest time reviewing this song.  It's catchy enough, the lyrics are convincingly nostalgic, and I'd love this to be in the background as I do some of my favorite things ( likethrift store shopping). This song may be the definition of "black noise." If this song itself is black noise, then mission accomplished.  I'm not a fan of the gaunt vocals that are so popular now, but I'm a sucker for keyboard breakdowns.  Mostly win.

TCDroogsma:

     This one really grew on me as the week went on.  Sun Airway is certainly synthy and dancy, with just enough drunky slurred vocals to make me forget that this could easily be a new Stars single.  I'm not totally sure why this guy is so obsessed with hearing this woman's voice, but if all he wants is her voice and "black noise" it must really be something special.  Let's hope this woman wants to hear his voice on the radio as much as he'd like to hear hers, because this track is catchy and non-threatening enough to live on The Current until spring.

Final Score: MinneSarah - 3/5

                   TCDroogsma - 3/5

02. Kopecky Family Band – Hope (from the album Kids Raising Kids)

MinneSarah:

     While I was not expecting to like this song as much as I do - the band is from Nashville, they have a lot of members, they are described as folk disciples.  

     However, this song is well constructed, with dissonants thrown in to showcase the upbeat nature of the rest of the song.  The lyrics are equally on the scale of the title - when someone hopes, it is overall optimistic but also peppered with doubt.  I don't even mind that there are probably ten people playing at once.  I'm tapping my foot and hoping that the rest of their songs sound like this one.

TCDroogsma:

     Thank god those drums that start and end the song are merely hipster affectations.  I'm not sure I have the patience to sit through another "afro-beat influenced" indie jam.  I mean, I'm just one man.

     That being said, the rest of the song is pretty straight-forward indie pop.  Charming, but incredibly disposable.  If I didn't know any better I'd swear this was Stars covering Sun Airway.  Sorry, but it's getting real incestual on the radio.

Final Score: MinneSarah - 3.5/5

                   TCDroogsma - 3/5

03. Ra Ra Riot – Beta Love (from the album Beta Love)

MinneSarah:

     There are many dangers in writing a song about the hypothetical phenomenon of robots falling in love.  Even using robot love as an analogy to describe human love can be a tenuous, or at least make us all feel bad - if unfeeling robots can find love, what's my excuse?  

     First of all, the name of the song:

01. Beta can mean "almost ready" in software terms - "Hey girl, this is almost the real deal" - not romantic.

02. Beta is a type of fighting fish that would never hang out with a robot - way less likely, still not romantic.

  But the singer pronounces the chorus "Betta" which makes the song sound as carefree as if two robots were in a park in Paris during the spring.  Maybe we are all robots, and Ra Ra Riot, in their infinite Ivy League wisdom, already knows this.  Assuming the rest of us androids are clueless - they'd still like to sell this song to an overseas cell phone company.  Win.

TCDroogsma:

     I saw Ra Ra Riot open for The Cribs once.  I also spent a bunch of time listening to their song "Dying Is Fine" when it was a SOTD a few years ago.  Taking those two things and adding "Beta Love" to the equation I'm left with only one conclusion: Ra Ra Riot is relentlessly average.

     Honestly, they're the Aughtie's answer to Better Than Ezra.  When I saw them (on on "Dying Is Fine") they were more of an upbeat chamber-pop outfit (lots of emphasis on hooks and violin work).  Evidently they've decided to embrace a bit more of an electro-pop sound for "Beta Love."  It's catchy enough, but Jason Lytle could sue them over the lyrics.  Clearly there's talent here, but "Beta Love" is desperately wanting.

Final Score: MinneSarah - 3/5

                   TCDroogsma - 2/5

04. Paul Banks – The Base (from the album Banks)

MinneSarah:

     Awww...  MinneSarah loves Interpol.  But does this translate to loving Paul Banks's solo album?

     Well, yeah, it does - it's like still liking an actor in a different series or with a different director.  Granted, this song is not as catchy as anything on any of Interpol's last four albums.  (Carlos, why did you have to leave?)  The breakdown is a weird electronic remix, but the same deadpan delivery of random lyrics are still there, forcing me to listen and bob my head a little.  While I approve, this song does not make me want to go see what else Paul has been working on during post-breakup Interpol.

TCDroogsma:

     I'll try to keep this brief, since I feel like I could spent 1,000 words trying to figure out Paul Banks.

     "The Base" features all the things you love about Paul Banks.  Sneaky good, monotone hooks.  Tense, angular guitar work. Baffling lyrics.  It's all there.  But that's kind of the problem.  Everything he's done since Antics (either as Interpol, Julian Plenti, or himself) keeps returning to this recipe to more and more diminishing returns.  If you're already on board with the Paul Banks show you'll really like this song (I include myself in this group)

     Still, why did this have to be a solo song?  I mean, it sounds exactly like everything Interpol's done for the last 6 years.  It even seems to get better the more I listen to it, with it's disparate parts coming together more fluidly every time.  Still, whatever wilderness the success of those first two Interpol record pushed Mr. Banks towards, he's still trying to find his way out by walking the same path.

Final Score: MinneSarah - 3/5

                   TCDroogsma - 3.5/5

05. Southwire – God (from the album Southwire)

MinneSarah:

     They can't all be winners, but sometimes a song excels at being bad that we can actually use the word bad in the 90's sense - as good!?!  Okay, no.

     This song relies on layering - tambourine, drums, extraordinarily intoxicated Patti Smith sounding vocals (the female singer sounds as if she just got done with an exorcism, she is completely unintelligible), and a guy talking/praying over the top.  Now, I'm no theologian, so the lyrics that are intelligible may be lost on me by how clever they are in their meaning.  I just have to say, clean it up in post-exorcism.  Slurred vocals are only okay at karaoke.

TCDroogsma:

     Over the last couple weeks Southwire started to get a bit of buzz on the old Twitter feed, so I was excited to hear what all the fuss was about.

     What I got is a bluegrass-leaning song about God with biblical lyrics sung by, as far as I can tell, a muppet.  And the muppet's a big Wesley Willis fan.

Seriously, Sota?  This is what you're excited about?  I'm really trying to restrain the vitriol here, but I don't ever want to here this song again.  The mumbled delivery (by both singers), the old testament lyrics, the refrain "gonna get a little god..."  I can definitely see a bunch of hipsters at a Southwire show eating this shit up, clapping in unison as some sort of communal, stoner grounding experience, but it does absolutely nothing for me.

Final Score: MinneSarah - 0/5

                   TCDroogsma - 0/5

There you have it, music fans. Another week's worth of free music downloaded, listened to, judged, and filed away.

As always, let us take a moment to remind everybody that neither Newest Industry nor its contributors is in any way affiliated with the artists, Minnesota Public Radio, or The Current. We're just music fans with keyboards and a little too much soy nog in our bellies.

For more of the always charming MinneSarah be sure to give her a follow on Twitter (@MinneSarah). Her cat impersonates beer. Just think about that for a second.

For more of the seldom charming TCDroogsma he can also be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found rambling on his personal blog Flatbasset or rambling here on our weekly podcast. He's eaten enough ginger snaps in the last three days to kill a weaker man.

Of course Newest Industry also lives on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1). Give us a follow to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it may seem, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a great way to support the blog. It would make our Christmas.

Sounds Of Sota #2: "Plays Nice Places" by Low

(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)

"All you guys out there gonna wish you were Al Green..."

Hello again, music fans! Welcome to Sounds Of Sota #2!

For those who are unfamiliar with Sounds Of Sota, it's a running column in which we ask one of our contributors to review new albums & EP's from Minnesota artists. In sticking with our desire to rank and rate everything the albums are given a score of 1-10 at the end of the column.

This time around we asked TCDroogsma to give us his thoughts on Minnesota institution Low's new live EP “Plays Nice Places.”

TCDroogsma, thoughts?

When I first heard about Plays Nice Places I was intrigued for two reasons.

First, for nearly 20 years Low has perfected the art of getting just as much out of silence as they have out of sound. I was curious to see how that would translate to a live album. Would the crowd appreciate the silence with reverence or would the constant hum of a live album threaten the balance upon which the songs are built?

Second (and more personally), I've seen Low twice. The first time was an absolutely transcendent performance opening for Wilco on the banks of Lake Superior. Despite the presence of rain and temps that couldn't have been above 60, that show made me a Low fan for life. The second time I saw them was at the Mainroom as part of a packed bill for a Radio K benefit. Honestly, I could barely keep my eyes open during the set.

Now, what I've come to realize about both of those shows is that the band's performance likely wasn't dramatically different and that my experience at each one was driven almost entirely by surroundings and circumstance. With that in mind, Plays Nice Places had the potential to settle (at least in my mind) just what kind of live entity Low really is.

What we get with Plays Nice Places is a band at the peak of their powers, for better or worse.

Opening with the classic “Words,” Plays Nice Places starts on its highest note. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I've built something of a cottage industry in our Songs Of The Week column by taking shots at Ben Gibbard. Here, however, his voice provides a warmth that is almost non-existent in Alan Sparhawk & Mimi Parker's song-to-song existence. Despite the presence of some insufferable giggling, Gibbard's cameo gives the album some sorely needed color. It's just a shame that, as the opener, you don't realize just what a treat his presence turns out to be.

The rest of Plays Nice Places is certainly enjoyable (if risk-averse). While it's hard to believe that a band with the longevity of Low could be distilled to six songs, they manage to pull it off by pulling the 6 songs from 5 albums ("Waiting" stands as the only new track on the EP). Sadly, the songs, while very good in their own right, are rarely the highlight's from their parent albums. This EP is just dying for an elongated, fuzzed-out version of “Broadway” or perhaps a more fragile take on something like “Dust On The Window.”

Still, a sheen of professionalism hangs over the proceedings. With the exception of a joke introducing Gibbard and a brief introduction to “Murderer,” we're given precious little personality from the band. Whether it's the aforementioned reverence or editing, there is almost no existence of crowd noise during the songs. The band's harmonies are more calculated than inviting, and Sparhawk's singing stays between the lines so consistently that it's jarring to hear him channel a bit of Westerberg for a sneer at the end of “Witches.”

Depending on your expectations of Plays Nice Places, it's either an enjoyable (if somewhat disposable) portrait of a band (if you're one of the converted) or “...another Low record, eh?” (if you're not). Frankly, with 19 years in the bank, most people have formed an opinion of Low already.

Still, it would be foolish to complain about a free, live EP. As an unabashed fan of the band, I'm certainly thankful that this document exists. To the uninitiated, it's unlikely to be the skeleton key to fandom (The Great Destroyer is still their most important album from that perspective), but in an indie-rock world that currently celebrates a genre-hopping, bigger is better, more is not enough attitude, it's good to remember that Low, whether live or on record, commands a niche that belongs only to them.

Final Score: 7/10

There you have it, everybody. The new Low EP reviewed by a Low fan. As mentioned, “Plays New Places” is free. Click here to visit Low's page to download the album for yourself (right-hand side of the page).

For more TCDroogsma he can be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He also maintains a personal blog Flatbasset and hosts Newest Industry's weekly Flatbasset podcast. And no, he's never adequately explained to us what “Flatbasset” means.

Newest Industry also has a home on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) which you can follow to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it may seem, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a valuable way to support the blog. And it's free. Stop by, eh?