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Discovery’s album is coming out July 7th, but between now and then you can download it from their website and two dollars of your purchase will be donated to OXFAM, an international relief and development program.
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A word of caution for anyone looking for "Young Folks" pt. 2: you won't find it here. With Living Thing, Swedish rockers Peter Bjorn & John are playing a whole new ballgame -- trading in the tightly wound, guitar-based indie rock of 2006's Writer's Block for minimalistic tunes heavy on the electro dance beats, synthesizers, and with plenty of open space for the sound to run around.
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After the lackadaisical and disappointing Uninvited, Like the Clouds (2006), it was uncertain as to the future of Australian psychedelic group, The Church. The band has reemerged with not only a new album, but with two E.Ps as well, all of which are on their own recently founded record label, Unorthodox Records. The great news is that Untitled #23 is a refreshing return to form after a bit of a slump in their career with the previous studio effort. The new disc reveals that the band still has the ability to craft exceptional music even despite the occasional misstep.
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The primary complaint I’ve been hearing against Art Brut’s new album, Art Brut vs. Satan, is that it’s not as fantastic as their debut album but merely “good” or “great.” Art Brut is a fantastic band and even their weakest material is head and shoulders above most other bands out there today.
Bang Bang Rock And Roll was solid gold, a witty mixture of Post-Punk musicality and rock deconstructing lyrics. The follow up album, It’s A Bit Complicated wasn’t gold, but it was still shiny. This latest release is also shiny and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Art Brut is witty and genuinely fun, something that feels rare in the musical world these days. Their music is post-punky guitar Rock with strong pop hooks, which on its own would be OK, but it’s front man Eddie Argos who gives Art Brut its character. I don’t know quite where to begin with this man. For one thing, he’s one of the greatest front men I’ve ever seen in my life. I still look back on the Art Brut show at Bumbershoot 2007 as one of the highlights of that year. Not just the festival, the year. This is because Argos has charisma pouring out of his being, I don’t know where it comes from, probably his nostrils—that’s where most people hide their charisma, right? At one point in the show he dove into the audience to dance with them, taking the microphone with him so he could still sing.
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“Smash the moral hypocrisy” is one of the lines in “Anti-Orgasm,” one of the many standout tracks on Sonic Youth’s brand new landmark album, The Eternal. The epigram is not only standard fare, but is also a sign that the group still has the characteristic unsettled angst that it is known for. After countless classic albums, the band still has the gritty edge and intellect that defined them some twenty-five years ago.
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I came to the party late on American Analog Set. A couple years ago I was invited to an event deep in Brooklyn for a publicity company celebrating their tenth year in business. Broken Social Scene played for a small crowd of jaded music writers. Andrew Kenny was there; his fiancée (wife?) was one of the publicists at the agency. I didn’t really know him outside of being “the guy who covered "Line of Best Fit" on a split EP with Ben Gibbard.
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While few major artists would dare even attempt to play a concert that included none of the songs that made them famous, PJ Harvey overwhelmed a Seattle crowd by doing just that on June 16th at the Moore. With John Parish handling lead guitar, Harvey unapologetically blasted through a set limited to material from their two collaborative albums, the recently released A Man A Woman Walked By and the 1996 Dance Hall At Louse Point.
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New Zealand (and sometimes Aussie) trio Bachelorette charmed their way into my heart last Saturday at the Triple Door. They opened the show for the bewitching Maryland native Bill Callahan, and I couldn't have picked a better inaugural Triple Door experience than that. Even though we arrived right as Bachelorette went on, we were seated at the front row of chairs, with a bird's eye view of the performers.
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David Byrne is the kind of performer that causes you to scratch your head when considering your expectations for one of his concerts. Will he pull a Bob Dylan and render old favorites abhorrent and unrecognizable? Is he, ala Dr. Frankenstein, ashamed of the creations that made him popular? What will he say about his former affiliation with his Band that Shall Not Be Named?
The answers: no, no, and well, if you don't have something nice to say... Byrne exceeded any and all expectations, delivering a show that was so incredibly high energy that the audience was barely able to contain itself in its seats. Seattle danced, people. DANCED. We are a city notorious for being stoic at best at the best of concerts. Byrne’s spectacular musicians and the high quality of the Eno-collaborated songs were so infectious that people popped out of their seats like something had bitten them. The ushers were hard pressed to keep the happy pandemonium under control, initially, and, by the end, had given up entirely.
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The Feral Children and White Rabbits (shown above) are two groups who are at their best calibur during their shows; their music and talent cannot truly be believed unless witnessed in person. Both are heavily instrumental bands with a multi-percussionist backbone, and both have a fiercly spirited way of playing their version of indie rock. These bands brought their sound to life Monday night at the Crocodile with a vivacious enthusiasm.
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My latest SIFF adventure was extra special for me because it was my son’s very first movie in a movie theater. We went to see the Family Picture Show, which is a series of 10 short films all made (ostensibly) for children, culminating with the newest Wallace & Gromit short, A Matter of Loaf and Death.
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The 35th annual Seattle International Film Festival is unraveling itself starting Thursday, May 21 and TIG's team of ChrisB, imaginary embracey, Roxie Rider and Amie Simon will be providing in-depth coverage from opening night until the final Golden Space Needle Award is given out.
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It’s now less than three weeks away and for the thirty-fifth time in thirty five years, the Seattle International Film Festival will once again be upon us. Even in a recession, SIFF has just unveiled a very strong program and one of the biggest and most ambitious lineups.
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The ground will, in fact, be proud just to hold this up.
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Encyclopedia broadside of future thought about the present, and prescient thoughts about the future of music and, um, the future.
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