Author Archive

Album Review: Elizabeth & the Catapult – Taller Children

Elizabeth & the Catapult - Taller Children

Elizabeth & the Catapult - Taller Children

Despite what could be construed as a strangely typical name for this era of music, Elizabeth & the Catapult are hardly the typifying outfit of the accompanying sound. Inflected with vocals with a style more keen on jazz than post-punk and an outright affinity for Cocteausian dream pop, Taller Children is something “new” from the outset.

Elizabeth & the Catapult — “Taller Children” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/TallerChildren.mp3]

Produced largely by Saddle Creek alumnus Mike Mogis — the one exception is the titular track, which was produced by Jim Eno of Spoon and the dubious-careered Jon Kaplan (who has produced such masterworks as … the Jonas Brothers!) — Taller Children is a solid pop record with a cheerful melodic bent taking the musical front seat in the recording, and the production supports that without becoming intrusive. Never does a song sound overproduced or forced, much to the album’s benefit. (more…)

Music Geek #16: 10 years of Agaetis Byrjun

Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun

Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun

While I can’t say I’ve been listening to Sigur Ros for ten years (I’m only 23, after all,) the anniversary of Agaetis Byrjun still holds a notable impact in my development of musical tastes. When I first heard this album, I was an impressionable 15-years old and only beginning to realize the breadth and depth of music at my digital fingertips (ah, a pun!)

It introduced me to a world of post-rock and soaring, dynamic soundscapes — and though I wasn’t necessarily unfamiliar with the latter, the Icelandic outfit took it to a logical extreme I hadn’t yet witnessed. This, I thought, was music that made me feel emotional, excited, happy, sad; truthfully, the state of emotion didn’t much make a difference, but the magnitude. As a happy teen listening to Agaetis Byrjun, the album took on a bright, shimmery light; as an occasionally angst-ridden 16-year-old, the album came in a more sad, depressed form. As a teen who avoided some of the emotional highs and lows of his peers (though I wasn’t without fault, by any means) Sigur Ros gave me something to feel when I didn’t want to worry about feeling other things. (more…)

Review: Chase Pagan — Bells & Whistles

Bells & Whistles

Bells & Whistles

The last time I heard much of Chase Pagan, he was performing at The Electric Theater in St. George, Utah: That was somewhere around four years ago, before the birth of MusicGeek.org. It’s with some pleasure, then, that it is that I give Bells & Whistles, his latest, a listen.

“Life Garden” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/LifeGarden.mp3]

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News: Monsters of Folk set debut album release date

Photo by Autumn De Wilde

Photo by Autumn De Wilde

Monsters of Folk, with its obvious tribute to the festival Monsters of Rock, is threatening to create quite a stir in the music world. Having already announced the concept — the band is comprised of Bright Eyes alumni Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and songwriter M. Ward — they’ve now confirmed their plans to release a debut album on September 22, 2009. The album will be released in the U.S. on Shangri-La Music and internationally on Rough Trade in the UK, Spunk Records in Australia and New Zealand, and P-Vine Records in Japan.

The album was produced by Mogis and features all four members of the band performing every instrument on the album.

Source: Girlie Action Media and Marketing

Concert Video: Felina’s Arrow

Video of Felina’s Arrow performing at The Grind Coffee House, taken by Steven Swift, Cedar City musician. View his YouTube profile.

Review: Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Grizzly Bear - VeckatimestDespite a newly inducted sonic clarity, Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest takes the high road: This is not an album that relies on “slick” production to craft something of quality. No, while Veckatimest is undeniably better recorded than previous Grizzly Bear efforts, there’s something undeniably exciting in this frenetic indie pop.

Grizzly Bear — “Cheerleader” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/cheerleader.mp3]

Claims of Veckatimest being a more accessible pop record aren’t actually wide of the mark — but don’t for a minute be detracted by the notion of accessibility. Grizzly Bear’s psych-folk tendencies really shine in the open, spacious reverberating soundscape, and rather than getting lost amongst the noise, listeners are rewarded with a clarity that’s a bit unusual for the many-layered recording here. (more…)

Music Geek #15: Music as Emotional Memory

In dealings with my friends and colleagues, I have noticed, as have many, many others, an undeniable commonality. Of course, this is not to say this does not apply to all people, but I’ll qualify my statement, as I haven’t really done further research on the matter.

It seems the large majority of people with which I have regular conversation are inclined to form connections to music as a method of reliving emotion. I suppose I sympathise with the notion: Music, I’d argue, is a much more powerful creation than simple words. It resonates (quite literally) through us in ways undeniable, whether they are cultural, personal, or innately human. I’m inclined to think it may be the latter, but this is another topic for another day. (more…)

Music Geek #14: Success as Failure

In reading an interview with once-internet-sensation Tay Zonday by Broken Cool, it becomes evident the outlook “the ‘Chocolate Rain’ guy” has about popular music is by no means one major labels — nor the artists on them — want you to hear. He embodies an almost embroiled bitterness toward mainstream media (or, perhaps, media altogether) and the Western notion of success.

“Success Level” is a fairytale invented to give journalists something to print by each deadline. It allows readers to vicariously live a celebrity soap opera about who makes it and who doesn’t. It turns the world into comic fiction that has nothing to do with music or life.

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