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Review: Aviary Ghost – Memory is a Hallway

Matthew Montgomery

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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August 7, 2008 Tags: , ,
Posted in Downloads, Reviews No Comments »

Review: Conor Oberst

Matthew Montgomery

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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July 27, 2008 Tags: ,
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Spotlight: Team Genius

Matthew Montgomery

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]

March 6, 2008 Tags:
Posted in Artist Spotlight, Downloads No Comments »

Released This Week: The OaKs – Songs for Waiting

Matthew Montgomery

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]


March 5, 2008 Tags: , ,
Posted in Artist Spotlight, Downloads, Released this Week No Comments »

Spotlight: MGMT

Cody Hunt

MGMT / Via MySpaceSeveral tracks I’ve been into recently are by the New York-based duo MGMT. “Weekend Wars” starts off as a nice acoustic piece, with melodies and drums not out of place in ’60s music. At :51 the tracks starts to move into different territory, and soon the first chorus starts to hint of the epic heights the song will eventually reach. For me, this occurs at 2:28, as Muse-esque synth arpeggios gently glide over beautiful melodies. The track shifts into a steady march at around 3:21 as the group sings the song’s last message. Overall, the tracks reminds me of The Beatles vs. Muse.

“Time To Pretend” is a little different idea. It starts out with synthpop sweetness and sounds just like a Mates of State song, but with perhaps a wider variety of color and sub-melodies, each of which is a treasure hidden within the layerings of the song. The lyrics are taking a shot at the typical rock star stereotype. This mellow, danceable tune should have you nodding your head with joy.

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

Matthew Montgomery

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]

February 27, 2008 Tags: ,
Posted in Artist Spotlight, Downloads No Comments »

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

Matthew Montgomery

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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February 25, 2008 Tags: ,
Posted in Downloads, Reviews No Comments »

Music Geek #9: Pre-mature expectation of spring cues mixtape musings

Matthew Montgomery

Matthew Montgomery wears funny glasses in a Cedar City, Utah park.As winter slowly phases out of season here in southern Utah, I’m drawn to the shocking realization that spring will soon be taking its place (as it does every year.) This, I suppose, isn’t actually shocking, but I am quite excited. What does this mean for me?

Well, for one, I’ll be able to go outside and take photos again. I suppose there was nothing stopping me, but I am a bit of a “wuss,” if you will, and am not terribly interested in having my hands freeze off. Can you blame me?

For two — and why don’t we ever say that? — it allows me to create a new playlist devoted to my regular walks from home to university and back! Now, I haven’t created one for winter, but I have realized that I often listen to the same styles of music when walking along snow-strewn sidewalks in the biting cold. So, rather than just trying to find styles that match these foreign weather patterns and attempting to conform to them a set of music, I’ll take it one step further.

I’ll make a mixtape!

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