Author Archive

Released This Week: The Telepathic Butterflies – Breakfast in Suburbia

The Telepathic ButterfliesThe Telepathic Butterflies
Breakfast in Suburbia
Rainbow Quartz, 2008

The Telepathic Butterflies – “Telescope” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/telescope.mp3]

One thing is made clear from the opening track of Breakfast in Suburbia: The Telepathic Butterflies (what a name!) are rooted in a 1960s pop aesthetic, their apparent influences a combination of the usual suspects: The Beach Boys and The Beatles, most notably, with a nice dose of surf rock playing out in the guitar tones. There’s enough of a psychedelic inflection in the music produced by the duo that citing Barrett-era Pink Floyd wouldn’t be completely off the mark, either.

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State of the Music Geek: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

As you may or may not have noticed, there’s been quite the absence of new material coming from the MusicGeek.org camp. I can’t help but feel wholly responsible for this — MusicGeek.org is, after all, a site I run. I won’t go into reasons or make excuses: I will, however, say that running a site like this is sometimes hard work, and I’ve neglected it. I will be posting more here about new, interesting music (or at least, I will think so,) and it is up to you readers to do any reading that may or may not take place. Do expect, however, to see more reviews (especially in the new section, Released This Week) and fewer spotlights, but don’t expect two to three posts a day: I’ll post when I can. That should be fairly often, but in the case it isn’t, I’ve covered my proverbial ass.

Much thanks to those friendly PR people (and less thanks to those pesky ones) for supplying me with an influx of music I might not have heard otherwise. They are a vital part of this site: Music PR is a difficult business (I imagine) and not terribly respected. Those of you I’ve worked with regularly, you’ve been very helpful, and I am looking forward to continuing my work with you.

Review: Aviary Ghost – Memory is a Hallway

Aviary Ghost - Memory is a HallwayAviary Ghost
Memory is a Hallway
Self-released, 2008
Aviary Ghost – “Somewhere Else” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/2008/08/aviaryghost-somewhereelse.mp3]

There are times that self-releasing an album can be the best option for a band, especially given the many instances of hot-air blowing by music industry personnel — and it’s not just major labels that have been known to play the game in miscreant ways. Sometimes, though, artists just don’t want to deal with the hassle of marketing their release, preferring to just put the music out for public consumption.

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Review: Conor Oberst

Conor Oberst’s self-titled release hit shelves August 5th.Conor Oberst
Conor Oberst
Merge Records, 2008

When I first heard Conor Oberst, I was an impressionable 14 year-old in grade nine. Following the recommendation of Bright Eyes by a friend whose musical interests I trusted (“Download ‘The City Has Sex With Itself,’ by Bright Eyes” he told me,) I engaged in musical exploration, learning of a great many styles, genres, and tepid over-classification, all of it new to me.

It wasn’t more than a year after my discovery that I ran into Conor Oberst’s first album he recorded and released: 1993’s cassette-only Water, an uncertain, less-confident release by the man that became, for all intents and purposes, Bright Eyes. He was a young 13 at the time of the release, and it was the first on Lumberjack, which later became the now-influential Saddle Creek Records.

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Spotlight: Team Genius

Team Genius / Courtesy of Fanatic PromotionAh, gentle-but-active pop music — Team Genius, who released the Hooray EP on Feb. 26, are the perpetrators of some fairly simple music, but that doesn’t mean they don’t create something addicting, too. Of course, this much is likely obvious: Much music, historically, has been simplistic, and some of it has been successful. Big surprise. Still, Team Genius provides an interesting perspective on the matter, with their irreverent indie pop taking on a variety of historical styles without much concern for public opinion. That’s where the band’s strength is, I’d argue, but given I have heard relatively little of their music, I can’t honestly make a quality assertion in one direction or another. At any rate, they’re worth writing about if just for the chance to include their over-the-top, quirky photograph. It’s a bit creepy, really.

Team Genius – “Sing Song” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/teamgenius-singsong.mp3]

Team Genius – “I’m Just An Idiot” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/teamgenius-imjustanidiot.mp3]

Released This Week: The OaKs – Songs for Waiting

The OaKs - <i>Songs for Waiting</i> The OaKs
Songs for Waiting
Self-released
March 4, 2008

The OaKs, previously the subject of a MusicGeek.org spotlight, self-released Songs for Waiting Tuesday. Opening track, “The Two Calls (of Dietrich Bonhoeffer)” — posted below for download and streaming — isn’t rough, and it’s certainly not too soft. The historical narrative, written by one of two founding members, Ryan Costello, is, at the very least, interesting. The arrangements involved in this new release are well planned, providing a listening experience that’s bound to impress.

The OaKs / Photo by Steven Taylor, Courtesy of Fanatic Promotion

The OaKs – “The Two Calls (of Dietrich Bonhoeffer)” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/theoaks-thetwocallsofdietrichbonheoffer.mp3]

The OaKs – “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/theoaks-theheartisalonelyhunter.mp3]


Spotlight: Colin Stetson | Frantic jazz evocative, but dangerous to public

Colin Stetson / Courtesy of Fanatic Promotion
New History Warfare, Vol. 1 Releases March 4 on Aagoo Records

Let’s get one thing straight: it’s not everyday one runs into music like this — nor should it be. Colin Stetson performs a frantic, solitary-instrument jazz on the bass clarinet and bass saxaphone, and while it’s certainly not bad, it ventures far into the realm of experiment: This may be a good thing for you and I, but if the common man were to hear things like this on a regular basis, a backlash not unlike reactions to Frankenstein’s Monster might be unleashed. Still, the two tracks posted below, “Letter to HST” and “Groundswell” are interesting, evocative, and all those other adjectives you look for in music. Be warned, though: It’s not your grandpa’s jazz.

Colin Stetson — “Letter to HST” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/colinstetson-lettertohst.mp3]

Colin Stetson — “Groundswell” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/colinstetson-groundswell.mp3]

Review: A Faulty Chromosome — As An Ex-Anorexic’s Six Sicks Exit, …

A Faulty ChromosomeReleased Feb. 19, 2008; self-released.

A Faulty Chromosome, previously the subject of a Feb. 19 MusicGeek.org spotlight, is an unruly shoegaze group; while they do pull from a variety of influences — and it’s evident, it’s not just some blurb on the band’s MySpace — they create music that sounds as if it’s all essentially the same song, repeated ad infinitum. It’s not a bad song, though, just a bit on the repetitive side.

A Faulty Chromosome — “Jackie O” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/afaultychromosome-jackieo.mp3]

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