UsedWigs

OK so, last week my good buddy Phil (our Jandek correspondent) offered me a last-minute ticket to see R.E.M., Modest Mouse, and The National at the Mann in Philadelphia. Even though I already had thrilling plans for the evening (patching stucco), I sucked it up and relented. A very quick review:
The National: they went on at 7:00, [...]

When Jeff wrote My Fun Dad in 2005, I thought it was absolutely fantastic, and it made me think that at some point I should do something similar…but it has always seemed a very difficult task because when telling stories about my dad there’s such a big physical component (lots of [...]

The first thing that you’ll be hit with is Sollee’s amazing soulful voice – it’s somewhere between David Mead and Amos Lee for me (check it out in “How To See The Sun Rise”, over a bouncy undercurrent). It grounds some of the more spare arrangements, and is the undisputed focal point – again, a mature choice for someone who can rip it up on their instrument like he can. But like everything else here, the musicianship is there to discover for those who get off on that sort of thing, but is in no way jammed down the throats of those who don’t.

Musically, this collection couldn’t have come out at a better time; it just sounds PERFECT this time of year. It’s a windows-down affair with great hooks, the ambiance of a performance in an old barn somewhere (with plenty of power for amplifiers and a couple of good kegs on tap), and there are few things as satisfying as Slim’s primal screams when he’s about to bring it on home (for evidence, check out the rollicking “She’s Gone”).

CD: In Advance of the Broken Arm
This is the most oddly compelling record I’ve heard in a long time, and I hereby declare it genius. A grossly overused word, but completely justified in this case. This album, and most likely this artist, will be misunderstood in the same ways Philip Glass and Frank Zappa are [...]

EP: “There Is Only One Thing”
“LiPSTIK”? When I first saw that name I thought it was probably another of the legion of bands trying to jump on the already tired glam-rock revival or maybe it was a band that’d be sharing the bill with Limozeen. I was pleasantly surprised to find out otherwise. I spoke [...]

CD: Fourteen Trips Around The Sun
Although it has nothing to do with me liking the music of Half Acre Day, it’s very tough to argue with any group that, after some very light correspondence, sends you a high-quality fake mustache that can be bent and fashioned into the “handlebar” and other dashing styles. Cunning.
Anyway, I’ve [...]

CD: Our One Mistake
I have definitely been remiss on this one. I played a track from The Old Ceremony back on Podcast 28, and their full length hasn’t left my player since. Sadly, I’m only getting around to writing about it now. For shame!
The first time I listened to this Chapel Hil band’s latest [...]

CD: Ticker Symbols
For years a good buddy of mine has been telling me to check out local Philly band Overlord (they’ve now relocated to Brooklyn), and it became an (admittedly lame) joke between us how little I knew about their music. Of course there was the typical banter that has plagued the band from the [...]