Review: Basement Membranes

True Womanhood is a DC band I've been hyping for a long time. Here is a review of their new record:

Their early, chaotic performances drew comparisons to Sonic Youth, a juxtaposition that never really captured the band's sound, but was nonetheless virtually unavoidable for a period of time. To hear True Womanhood today, upon the release of their debut EP, the moody, ambient Basement Membranes, it would be difficult to ascertain how anyone ever made the comparison.

It seems worth of injecting a bit of band history here. Founding member Ross Kerr, whose noisy, bombastic guitar heroics were incontrovertibly a huge part of the True Womanhood sound, quit last year shortly after their first northeast tour. Rather than attempt to replace Kerr, the band chose to continue as a trio. This necessitated a drastic re-imagining of virtually every song in the band's repertoire. A comparison the versions of "Rubber Buoys" and "Shadow People" in the above-linked post to the ones found on Basement Membranes is telling. Where squalls of angular guitar once dominated, now a more subdued, almost claustrophobic ambiance prevails.

This approach is not always well-suited to the material. The aforementioned two tracks, which seem to have been notched down not only in volume, but also in tempo, feel particularly lethargic. However, tracks like "The Monk" and "Dignitas", which open the record, work quite well. The former, in particular, is gorgeous here, its chorus positively soaring.

As Sonic Youth comparisons once prevailed in reviews of True Womanhood, so do Radiohead comparisons today, and understandably so. Thomas Redmond's vocals really do sound an uncanny amount like Thom Yorke's, and tracks like "Magic Child" and "A Diviner" could almost be outtakes from Hail to the Thief and In Rainbows, respectively. That said, there is more than that going on here as well, and the majority of the tracks bear little overall resemblance to The Greatest Rock Band Since The Beatles.

True Womanhood have accomplished something here that would be an impressive feat for even a much more seasoned band. They have recovered from the loss of a core element of the group's sound and managed to release a strong, coherent set of songs that neither pines for their past nor dispatches with it entirely. I have complete faith that the band's debut full-length, which they have already begun recording with Baltimore studio wizard J. Robbins, will further refine their already-impressive material.

Stream and buy Basement Membranes from Baltimore's Environmental Aesthetics here. Find True Womanhood on Myspace here.

A Brief Exchange on the Viability of Paid Downloads

Friend: It's like if your office has an Evian water cooler but you go out and buy bottled water anyway.

Me: Well, no. It's more like your office stole another office's water cooler, and you go out and buy bottled water

Wow

I cannot overstate how good the new Built to Spill is. Seriously. Streaming here at the moment.

A Few Thoughts on Mary Travers

So... I've come out of my blogging hole to write a bit about the passing of a musician whose music was tremendously important to me. Mary Travers died overnight at the age of 72 after a long battle with leukemia.

Peter Paul and Mary were never cool to like in my lifetime. They were too commercial to be remembered fondly by many folk purists, and most people of my generation remember only their 1971 children's album, Peter Paul and Mommy. That's a mistake, though. They were so popular in 1963 that all three of the albums they'd released to that point were in the top ten simultaneously, a feat matched by relatively few artists in the history of popular music.

They were not prolific songwriters. Other than "Puff the Magic Dragon", most of their best known songs were written by other artists. What they were, however, were skillful arrangers, guitarists, and vocalists who brought pop sensibilities to the storied traditions of folk. My first concert was a Peter Paul and Mary show in Reading, PA, before I entered elementary school. I don't remember very much about it, but my parents tell me that I sang along with every song. Their version of Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Mornin' Rain" is one of my favorite songs of all time, and as I told a friend this morning, the amount of time I spent listening to their records left a mark on my tastes so deep and indelible that I find it hard to fully comprehend.

Though they only rarely performed new material together in my lifetime, I owe a profound musical debt to Mary Travers and her musical partners Noel Paul Stookey and Peter Yarrow. May she rest in peace.

Yo La Tengo's New Record is Good

Hello again!

Rainy Friday Music

Ladies and gentlemen, Maggot Brain:

A Place to Bury Strangers

I had the opportunity to check this band out a couple weekends back at the Rock and Roll Hotel in DC. Excellent stuff. Noisy, heavy shoegaze. Sorry for the short post, but hopefully it's better than nothing.

A Quick Note

Please note that many files of a certain age have vanished. Unfortunately, they are gone. Nothing I can do about it. Sorry.

RIP

The great Jay Bennett died in his sleep last night. I don't have much to say about this, except that the man was only 45, and I hope this can serve as a reminder to everyone that life is short and that it's important to appreciate what you have. Chicagoist has some great Bennett video.

The Night Air is Cold, The Freeway is Clear

Here's a couple versions of an obscure relic. Former Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn released his last electric record in 1991. I'd only ever heard the single, "King of the Hill", up until a few weeks ago, when I found an incredibly cheap copy of the album at a used CD store. It's not half bad. It's basically like a lost Tom Petty record from that era. I say that primarily because in addition to the fact that Tom Petty's whole shtick has kind of always been rockified Byrds, this record's got very similar production to classic Petty records, and Mike Campbell and Tom Petty are all the place. Also, like a Tom Petty record, it's a few killer songs plus a lot of pleasant filler. Anyway... here's two versions of the aforementioned single "King of the Hill." The first is the official music video, the second is a Letterman performance. Note how McGuinn looks like Don Henley with a mullet in this period.

Archie Bronson Outfit

The Archie Bronson Outfit are a pretty cool English band. My favorite song of theirs is a jam called "On the Shore" from their debut, Fur, but that's not online, so here's a pretty good song from their second record, Derdang Derdang. Enjoy.

I've Been Trying to Forgive Billy Corgan for His Recent Actions, but...

stuff like this sure doesn't make it any easier.

Please Remember Me

In a random piece of news that made me happy, in the buildup to the release of the new Iron and Wine rarities comp Around the Well (preorder CD or vinyl), Sub Pop is giving away an mp3 of my favorite Iron and Wine song (from which the title of the comp is derived), "The Trapeze Swinger." I think the studio version is a little busy, but it's still an amazing song. If you want to hear a more stripped down version, somewhere way back in an old post (January 07 maybe?) there's a live version from a few years ago, but for the full version, click through below.

Iron and Wine - The Trapeze Swinger

Sometimes I forget how awesome QOTSA is...

...and then I see something like this and remember.

I Have Been Remiss.

So, I fail at posting for the last month. Sorry. Trying to get better again. Anyhoo, here is a band I got into a really long time ago: Murder by Death. How long ago, you ask? Well, they were still called Little Joe Gould at the time. I'm not sure Murder by Death is any better of a name, but I suppose that's neither here nor there. Anyway their slightly gothy, slightly country brand of indie rock is music to my ears. Here's a couple old jams:

New Sonic Youth Stream

Via Newsweek:

Film School

One of my favorite modern shoegaze bands is San Francisco's Film School. Formed at the turn of the decade, they've been quietly releasing some very good records, most recently 2007's Hideout. Their particular brand of shoegaze incorporates elements of post-rock, which results in a fairly unique turn on an old idea. They don't appear to have any shows planned at present. I'm hoping this means they are working on new material. Fingers crossed. Here's the promo for "Compare" from Hideout, which you should buy at the link above.

YouTube Roundup: Sonic Youth Edition

I was scoping out some Sonic Youth YouTube videos for my own nefarious purposes, and I thought "hey, why not share?" So, here you go.

"Bull in the Heather", live on Letterman:


Tremendously low video quality, but not awful audio quality of Sonic Youth c. 1983 performing "Early American":


Decent quality German TV version of "Teenage Riot" c. 1996:

Grammy Video

To follow up on my ramblings below, here are a few video highlights from last night's shindig:

Liveblogging the Grammys (Why not?)

Since I am stuck watching this crap anyway at my housemates' behest, I might as well step in with commentary. Starting a bit late.

(8:28) -- Carrie Underwood's guitarist is extremely foxy. Then again, most women with guitars are. Otherwise though, this song is boring the shit out of me.

(8:32) -- Sheryl Crow and Leanne Rimes? Really? I wasn't even aware Leanne Rimes was still making music. Not looking too good.

(8:33) -- I am pulling for the Steeldrivers. I don't really know any of these songs, but that one sounds the most like something I would listen to.

(8:34) -- Of course not. I am not familiar with this song, but what they are playing of it sure sounds schlocky.

(8:42) -- Song of the Year. God I hope it's not the Estelle song. I hate that song. --- Coldplay. Well I guess that's ok. I think they have gotten really full of themselves. But, not a terrible song.

(8:44) -- Kid Rock, what the fuck happened to you? While I never liked dude all that much, this pales in comparison to what he used to have going.

(8:46) -- Annnnnd this performance just took a turn from bad to worse. What the hell is this Sweet Home Alabama thing?

(8:55) -- This is bland but it could be worse. Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus can at least sing, and she can play the guitar, and such. So that's good. Still, the song is kind of... inane.

(8:58) -- I'm okay with Plant and Krauss winning. Their record isn't all it's hyped up to be, but given the alternatives, not a bad choice.

(9:09) -- Cain and Abel reference? Really?

(9:11) -- Stevie Wonder, what the fuck are you doing involving yourself with this performance?

(9:12) -- Oh no, I do not need to see the Jonas Brothers sing "Superstition". And flub a lyric, no less (I think -- sure sounded that way to me).

(9:14) -- Ah, the Blink-182 reunion. With a still semi-damaged Travis Barker.

(9:16) -- This one Coldplay did not deserve. Sorry.

(9:22) -- What is Craig Ferguson doing here? Oh, awkwardly introducing Katy Perry, that almost makes sense.

(9:27) -- I hate this song. Hate it. Hate, hate, hate it. Also note her use of a backing track on the chorus. Shows a lot of faith in her abilities.

(9:30) -- My vote goes to Adele ---- wait for it, it will not be her.

... shit, I'm wrong. Sweet. Girlfriend can sing, at least.

(9:37) -- Morgan Freeman! Yes! Wait, you consider Kenny Chesney a friend? Really? And what is this shlock?

(9:40) -- What a weird combination of people presenting. Herbie is looking good eh? Allison Krauss and Plant win again for Record of the Year. I guess I'm ok with that.

(9:48) -- Queen Latifah presents lifetime achievement to Dean Martin? Weird. M.I.A. is SO PREGNANT. This cannot be healthy. And we have Kanye, Lil' Wayne, Jay-Z and T.I. Damn that was tight.

(9:54) -- Kate Beckinsale looks really, really good. Wow. And introducing Sir Paul. Bomb.

(9:56) -- ... and this is surprisingly not an awful performance of "I Saw Her Standing There". Dave Grohl is pounding the drums a bit too hard, but that's okay. It's what he does. Epic guitar solo.

(10:05) -- Jack Black. Yes. Please give this to James Taylor or Paul McCartney. Really? Fucking John Mayer? Fuck that guy.

(10:07) -- Jay Mohr even bombs at the Grammys. What the fuck.

(10:10) -- This song is a lot better the way it's being performed here than the studio version they played earlier.

(10:11) -- and Adele. Cool with that too.

(10:19) -- Gwyneth -- what are you thinking with that dress girl? I mean. Not to be fashion bitch here, but ... oh well, whatever, Radiohead with the USC marching band, so there's that.

(10:21) -- This is kind of awesome. I was skeptical, but. Kind of awesome.

(10:28) -- Samuel L. Jackson really is in everything, huh?

(10:31) -- This J.T./T.I. jam is pretty tight. No further comments, really, but I'm enjoying it.

(10:35) -- Most boring part of the night. Blah blah blah, pat selves on the back, Obama won Grammys, lets steal his "yes we can" line, etc etc, stop talking, I'm bored, so bored.

(10:37) -- "The whole world watched as change was ushered in"? Really?

(10:38) -- Is that Jamie Foxx? Weird. (Edit: No, apparently not. Whoops...)

(10:41) -- Motown always brightens my day.

(10:47) -- Shocked, simply shocked(!) that Josh Groban loves Neil Diamond. I never got Neil Diamond, even from the ironic viewpoint. Still don't. Was crap, is crap.

(10:51) -- Have to admit that I never was all that into these dead people montages either. Everyone appears on screen for like 3-5 seconds, what's even the point?

(10:54) -- BB, I love you. John Mayer, what are you doing here? I admit my ignorance, but who are the other two?

(11:02) -- Gary Sinise? Whaaaa? Allen Toussaint, Robin Thicke and Lil Wayne? That's insane. And awesome. Insanely awesome?

(11:06) -- And the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. And Terrence Blanchard. Wow. Awesome.

(11:09) -- Really scraping the bottom of the presenter barrel now. Will.i.am and T-Pain? Seriously. Lil Wayne better win Best Rap Album. For real.

(11:10) -- And Wayne wins. Awesome.

(11:18) -- Zooey Deschanel. Yes. OMG, I love her. Why you gotta marry Ben Gibbard? Whyyy?

(11:19) -- Plant and Krauss sound really good together here. T-Bone Burnett, your hair is terrible.

(11:20) -- Things just took a turn for the worse. This rock stuff is not really working for anyone. I know, I just said that about Robert fucking Plant, but it's unfortunately true.

(11:22) -- Green Day. Hah. If I were still in High School I'd be SO STOKED right now. How did they get to do Album of the Year, seriously? I am pulling for In Rainbows, definitely.

(11:24) -- And showing just how out of touch the Academy remains, it goes to Plant and Krauss. That record was not nearly as good as In Rainbows according to just about any measure I can think of.

Alright I need to go to bed. That was... an experience. I'll probably never do it again, but it was fun to do once.