Three Imaginary Girls - Sleeping in the Aviary

Expensive Vomit In A Cheap Hotel

imaginary brooklyn — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:04:55 +0000

8.5

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001F9GV4Y/wwwthreeimagi-20/

Sleeping in the Aviary -- Expensive Vomit in A Cheap Hotel.jpg

Departing (if only slightly) from the irresistibly catchy punk ditties of their 2007 debut, Sleeping in the Aviary’s Expensive Vomit In A Cheap Hotel is a solid, genre-bending follow-up. Tossing accordion/saw player, Celeste Huele, into the mix, SITA have developed their sound into more of an indie-folk likeness, but that’s not to say they have forgotten how to write a deliriously appealing hook.

This instantly likeable, airy lo-fi conjures the good times had in basements lit by Christmas lights and rooftops lit by street lamps. Similar to such acts as Flaming Lips, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Two Gallants, Expensive Vomit In A Cheap Hotel displays impeccably well-rounded rock sensibilities and stays cohesive despite a great deal the movement between genres. The constant presence of triple meter is like the musical glue holding together a truly emotionally dynamic experience. At times the rhythm is uplifting, swaying your body uncontrollably, such as in “Things Look Good.” Other times it is bittersweet and heartfelt, or melancholy and introspective, such as in “Maybe You’re the Same” and “Windshield.” Even the sound quality of the recording is emotional, the presence of a slight echo to the music creating a sense of space, as if the album was recorded in big room in a cabin tucked away in the mountains.

There were some artistic choices I could have done without. There is a hacking cough at the end of “Things Look Good” that kind of grossed me out, and I could’ve done without the wild distortion bit at the end of “Write On.” There are about five seconds at the beginning of “Everybody’s Different, Everybody Dies” that sound like an awful recording mistake, and the digital, synth, and experimental sounds at the end of “Ladybug Death Song” and the untitled bonus track felt really out of place.

However, these miniscule moments do not overshadow the overall quality of this album. The insatiable hook to “Write On” (“I just wanna write you out of my heart”) invokes the melodic sentiments of the Undertones, calling to mind childhood bike rides in the summertime. “Calm Me Down” features irresistible harmonies and a hook I was singing before the end of the song. The banjo, tambourine, and multi-part harmony found in “Girl in The Ground” reminded me (in a good way) of a summer camp talent show performance. And the saw in “Gas Mask Blues” effectively builds a heavy mood, conjuring the sense of grief after tragedy. This song, and true of the entirety of Expensive Vomit In A Cheap Hotel, is testament to SITA’s incredible ability to meld and blend genres, fusing twang, blues, and punk rock. A truly graduated effort, like a fine wine, this album is a beautiful example of a band able to mature with time.

Sleeping in the Aviary grows up a bit, delivering genre-defying, lo-fi goodness with Expensive Vomit In A Cheap Hotel.

Best of 2007: imaginary Dana's picks

imaginary dana — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:16:45 +0000

I have so many favorites for 2007 that narrowing the lists was tricky. Plus I'm preggo as a house and have NO memory at this point, so I'm sure I've inadvertently omitted some really great releases and songs. Forgive me and my wacked out hormones.

But that said, here are some Top of 2007 lists from me, to you. Feel free to leave comments both nasty and supportive. I likely deserve both for some of my erratic tastes.

The official results of the TIG Best NW Releases of 2007 Readers' Poll are coming VERY soon... stay tuned! In the meantime, some of my personal picks for a wonderful year in music past:

Favorite Releases of 2007:

Amy Winehouse Back to Black
Okkervil River The Stage Names
Tullycraft Every Scene Needs a Center
Beirut The Flying Cup Club
The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir
Shake Some Action Shake Some Action
Math & Physics Club Baby I'm Yours
John Vanderslice Emerald City
The Cave Singers Invitation Songs
The Fratellis Costello Music

Favorite Northwest Releases of 2007:

igAsh's favorite songs of 2007, with {some} free downloads!

imaginary ash — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 06:46:04 +0000

I made a 'Best of '07' compilation for coworkers and thought I'd share my picks with you, in no particular order. Hope you've got a little time to spare!

All downloads have been posted with permission from the bands themselves. Thanks bands!

1. Nicole Atkins and the Sea: "The Way It Is"

I think this is my favorite song of the year. Here's the clip from Letterman.

2. Peter Bjorn and John: "Young Folks"

I'm such a sucker for whistling. And isn't this the most visually satisfying video ever.

Elliott from Sleeping in the Aviary releases solo CD

imaginary ash — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:27:40 +0000

Madison, Wisconsin's Sleeping In the Aviary released a stellar album earlier this year that was a hit here on TIG {review}, and now singer/guitarist Elliott Kozel is releasing a collection of solo work under the moniker She Is So Beautiful/She Is So Blonde.

He has made two lovely songs available for download on his MySpace, so go download them and support him, and his talented Madison music community cohorts (like A Paper Cup Band and Pale Young Gentlemen).

Viva la Wisconsin!

TONIGHT! Sleeping in the Aviary at the Sunset

imaginary dana — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:26:48 +0000

One of our collective sleeper-favorite-records-of-the year has to be Oh This Old Thing by Madison, Wisconsin’s Sleeping in the Aviary...

Three Imaginary Girls AstroPOP! May 2007

three imaginary girls — Mon, 07 May 2007 03:42:32 +0000

AstroPOP! for May 2007 features astrologically-inclined record reviews from Sleeping in the Aviary, Grand Archives, Ether Aura, Your Favorite Book, The Icicles, Team Gina, Elk City, The Ballet, Los Campesinos!, Winterpills, Dolour, and The Rosebuds. Read, listen, and be prepared for the month ahead!

44:03 minutes (8 MB)

Betsy Boston's live show recap for 5/4/07

imaginary ash — Fri, 04 May 2007 14:12:16 +0000

SleepingInTheAviary07may.jpg

It's been a busy week here in the east! Let's recap.

Last Thursday night I made it over to new (and awesome!) Boston venue Hennessy's for a show featuring Tiny Whales, Big Digits, and Math the Band (sadly, I missed the first set by Crystal Understanding, but heard it was great). Three-piece Tiny Whales wore striped jumpsuits and played synth-driven pop songs with heavy beats. They were followed by the outstanding Big Digits, two guys who rhyme and dance up a storm over luscious laptop-supplied beats and melodies. Sample lyric: "So you think that you can model for American Apparel / But you get your fashion sense from Perry Farrell..." They're hitting the road soon, so go see them! Check their MySpace for dates. I will no doubt remind the shit out of you.

After that, Math the Band — who turned out to be one guy with a laptop — came on and did a set of what I dubbed "Psycho Karaoke," in which he scream-sang over reworked versions of such classic hits as "Semi-Charmed Life," "The Sign," and "You Shook Me All Night Long." Funny, yes; noisy, yes; perplexing, definitely yes.

Friday night, I headed over to Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway Theatre for The Ego and The Oracle, a stage show featuring Jim's Big Ego and Andras Jones. Based on Jones' Olympia, Washington radio show Radio8Ball, The Ego and The Oracle is an audience-interactive revue in which audience questions are answered through Jim's Big Ego songs, interpreted by Jones and the band. For instance, audience member Elizabeth Lay was called up to ask her question: "Will I ever be famous?" She spun the wheel and it landed on the song "In A Bar," which the band immediately launched into. Afterwards, it was revealed that Lay indeed works in a bar, and Jones honed in on how her name may suggest a calling in the porn industry. Hilarity ensued. Other questions were more serious — at one point, audience member Ann asked "Will my oldest niece be ok?" and the wheel very nearly landed on "She's Dead" before clicking over to the next song. For the finale, Jim collected the questions that hadn't been chosen and ran through them all in song, repeating certain ones as a chorus ("Will I get a pet monkey?"). It was at times hysterical, inspiring, casual, and lots of fun, and I recommend it — the show runs every Sunday through June 17 and tickets are $15 (plus you get discounts to area restaurants like Redbones and Diva by bringing along your program. And if cheap ribs and Indian food isn't incentive enough, girls, Jones is pretty foxy.) Note to imaginary boy e: the Harry Potter question wasn't picked, but in Jim's finale number, it got quite a laugh.

Afterwards, it was over to PA's Lounge to catch a bit of Casper and the Cookies' set. I know a song or two by this Athens band and have wanted to catch them live for some time. Their psychedelic screen projections and platform boots were over the top, and the music was a little chaotic so I moved on to try to catch Boston roots/bluegrass act Three Day Threshold down the street at the Sky Bar. Sadly I made it in time to hear half their last song, but I stuck around for the final band, The Andwutz, an all-female act who seemed a little too old for their Hot Topic (anyone remember Rave?) wardrobes. They played some forgettable originals, and covers of songs like "In Your Room" by The Bangles and "Fight for Your Right" by The Beastie Boys. Their musical talent was questionable but they seemed a band that gets by on showing lots of skin, and the men at the dive-y Sky Bar didn't seem to be complaining.

Saturday night, Township struck again, this time at PA's. I've already told you how much I love them (but have no problem telling you again). Absolutely unreal. The hot room left drummer Greg Beadle soaked in sweat by the end of the set, which many people said was even better than their Rumble-winning set a week earlier. Following them were The Diamond Mines and Willowz, but I missed most of those bands' sets because I was schmoozing and boozing in the bar side of the venue. I've seen Diamond Mines before and though they're full of talent, it's just not my cup of tea.

Sunday night, I rested up for the coming week. Amazing Race, anyone?

Monday it was over to the Paradise Lounge for the final show by Nicole Atkins and The Sea. Her Boston residency sadly never got much of a crowd — chalk it up to Bostonians not being ready to rock on Mondays, and the Paradise being an off-the-rocking-path location. Nonetheless, Nic & co. (I can call her Nic now cause we're totally tight) put on another fantastic set, this time more upbeat than the past few. She played only a couple of songs from her EP, but the majority of songs were from the upcoming full-length Neptune City, which I'm having my own little igLiz-Cassadaga frenzy over.

Opening for Nic & the Sea was Rose Polenzani, a Boston folksinger whose quiet and mellow songs were lovely, and whose voice reminded me of Shawn Colvin, with a few hints of Rickie Lee Jones.

Tuesday night, I went over to TT's for Electric Laser People, formerly The Product™, who were playing their first show in six months to celebrate the release of their new CD, Straight Talk on Raising Kids (which I'll review for you soon). The band puts on a hell of a show, high on energy and singer/bassist Dan Paluska's slick dance moves. Songs include "The Makeout Song" and "TYCO" (which stands for Take Your Clothes Off), so you know you're in for a good time. From start to finish, the set was pure fun. Plus, they brought their Thingamagloops!

And last night, I started off at the Lizard Lounge for an early, free set from the Chip Smith Project, a newly formed four-piece old-timey folk band featuring Morphine's Billy Conway. They were highly entertaining, telling humorous stories between songs about their fictitious origins (read their MySpace "About Me" section for more on this). Most songs featured guitar, bass, violin and keyboards or banjo, so it was a nice and mellow start to the evening.

From there, I biked over to the Abbey Lounge for a show I'd been waiting weeks for: Madison, Wisconsin's Sleeping in the Aviary. I loved their record, Oh, This Old Thing?. Sometimes you see a band live and they just don't live up to the expectations you have from hearing their recorded works; not so with Sleeping in the Aviary. They exceeded my expectations, delivering a fiercely energetic set that included most of the songs off the album plus a few others. They hardly took a breath between songs, much like on the album, and singer Elliott Kozel danced around in socks while bassist Phil Mahlstadt hopped up and down. Drummer Michael Sienkowski impressively kept the raucous beats while singing backup, and on one song lead. The whole thing was wicked awesome, as we say here in the Northeast.

Incidentally, I asked Elliott how Maureen feels now (a reference to the song "Maureen" in which he repeatedly sings "Maureen doesn't like me anymore!"), and he says that she and Phil have patched things up. Awwww...

Next week, I'll be recapping sets by Antiques, Bon Savants, her majesty Amy Winehouse, and many others, so tune in! And let me know if you know of a show in the Boston area that I should hit.

Email me at betsy.boston@gmail.com, or message me on AIM: maginarybetsy

The Boston live show goodness, featuring reviews of performances by Township, Tiny Whales, Electric Laser People, Casper and the Cookies, Nicole Aktins and the Sea, Sleeping in the Aviary, and much more!

Oh, This Old Thing?

imaginary ash — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:00:00 +0000

8.4

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000MV8I6K/wwwthreeimagi-20

SleepingintheAviary07mar.jpg

In fewer than 25 minutes, Sleeping in the Aviary's Oh, This Old Thing? establishes the band as a viable contender for the Next Big Indie Thing. The Madison, Wisconsin trio's Science of Sound debut is flat out exciting — like riding the Gravitron at the carnival (minus the subsequent urge to vomit). The sound is at times reminiscent of bands like The Libertines and The Vines, filled with driving rock 'n' roll but also offering moments of delightful pop melodies ("Gloworm") or Art Brut-style calamity ("Maureen").

The one-two punch of openers "Face Lift Floats" and "Pop Song" is brilliant. The former perfectly launches the album's raucous lo-fi pop-punk pulse, and then with hardly a breath the latter kicks in, complete with hand claps, do-dos, yeahs, etc. "Another Girl" follows, still maintaining the velocity while toning down the pop, only to be re-initiated with "Gloworm," which winds down to nicely segue into the first ballad, "Sign My Cast" — a magnificently strong song where singer/guitarist/main songwriter Elliott Kozel's gut-wrenching delivery of the lyrics, "Is it safe to touch your broken arm" make you sorta almost start to choke up a little. But then comes "Maureen," one of two songs penned by bassist, in which the only lyrics, "Maureen doesn't like me anymore!" are repeated eight times in a fast-moving high-pitched wail.

"Drug Suitcase" is great fun, with a chorus of "Oh, your body's nice but your mind is a joke" that gets stuck in your head (I mean, who can't relate?). By this point, Elliott has fully sold you on his mastery of the punk vocalist technique. Next comes "No Socks," the second track penned by Phil, the raucous "Only Son," and the poppy "Lanugo," which would serve well as a lead single thanks to its terrific versatility — as much as it is pop (with bops and ba-da-da-das), it also continues the lo-fi rock vibe. "Love Song" follows in another instance of perfect song pairing; the equal-parts pop-punk/lo-fi-rock/emo ballad is one of the album's strongest numbers due to its sheer genre-bending ingenuity. "Getting Thin" brings it all to a climactic near-finish, culminating in a crashing, screaming frenzy that reverts back to quiet-ish for a moment before loudening up again with the lyrics "I'm a doctor trust me trust me trust me!"

The untitled final track, appearing after a brief pause, is a stripped down version of "Pop Song" with only vocals and piano, with an echo as if the recording was done in a cavernous space. It's a lovely rendition that serves well as the album's tranquil signoff, like stretches after a vigorous workout.

Effects and feedback turn up here and there, giving the vocals an occasional Strokes-like muffle or jarring the guitars. Not to be outdone, drummer Michael [last name unknown] provides a solid and inspired beat throughout the stellar album, freshly placing beats and drumrolls where you don't expect them. This is one of those bands whose recorded sound is so thrilling, one can only imagine what kind of high-octane live show they're capable of pulling off. Lucky for us they're on tour throughout most of the U.S. this spring. [Um, guys, could you come to Boston please?]

This Madison, WI band's debut is flat out exciting — like riding the Gravitron at the carnival (minus the subsequent urge to vomit).