Wilco
Wilco
Wilco will love you baby

Wilco (The Album) hits real & virtual shelves today.

Pick it up on Amazon or on

Ickmusic Faves, Indie, Rock Wilco

I dipped into the inbox tonight and discovered this little gem from Halifax, Nova Scotia’s own Brent Randall and his Pinecones. Hell yeah, Brent and Band. It’s a catchy, dreamy little ditty and I thought I’d pass along…oh, and there’s an odd video to go along with it.

Hear: Strangelove (Don’t Be Lazy) [mp3]

Check out the album, We Were Strangers In Paddington Green, on

Links: Official Site | MySpace

Indie, Pop Brent Randall

Hype, the likes of which that have been heaped on Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear, can be an incredibly tricky minefield to navigate. On one hand you’ve got the ear of the tastemaker, the hipster elite and the blogosphere all clamoring to sing your praises before you’ve even released your first record. On the other, there are the uncontrollable expectations and the inevitable backlash when the wind blows in the next best thing. Needless to say, the expectation level going into the band’s second record Veckatimest is, in a word, epic. The question is, does it live up to the hype?

The answer is; Kind of. It’s a solid, meticulously produced record. The songs are engaging and it gets better upon subsequent listens. Veckatimest is clearly meant to be listened to as a whole and has a well definied beginning, middle and end.

The record opens with a breezy acoustic guitar shuffle accompanied by a Rhodes piano, building orchestration and the unsteady vocal warble of “Southern Point”. The ambition of the track and it’s use of dynamics hits the mark and sets the tone for the rest of the weekend. “Two Weeks” brings the choral vocal harmonies to the forefront of the Beach Boys inspired pop track. It bears repeating here that the production of this album is stunning and you’ll find that each voice is given it’s due space and the choral effect is spacious.

“Cheerleader” (mp3) evokes a slinky film-noir feel with reverb drenched guitars and provides a dark turn to the mid point of the album. The steady mid-tempo waltz of “Ready, Able” soars and is one of the true standout tracks. “I Live With You” starts quite simply and is beautifully orchestrated with the greatest of intentions and falls apart to delusions of grandeur that come off more contrite than convincing. Veckatimest closes with the stark and stunningly beautiful “Foreground”, providing a perfect coda to the record.

Whether you buy into the hype or not, this record at very least deserves a listen without any expectations.

Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks” (Video)

Buy Veckatimest: Amazon | Amazon MP3 | iTunes

Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace

Ick's Pick, Indie Grizzly Bear

Kingsbury has been at the top of my listening pile for what seems like weeks but is more likely months. Their latest release Lie to Me is a beautifully nuanced post-rock work (you can download the entire EP at the bands official site). The band recently released a pair of covers Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” and Tom Petty’s “Southern Accent” featuring Matt Butcher on vocals. Each track is a quiet reflection on the original, capturing the essence of the lyric and definitely worth the listen.

Kingsbury – “Atlantic City” (mp3)

Kingsbury – “Southern Accent (feat. Matt Butcher)” (mp3)

Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace

Indie, Post-Rock Kingsbury

Somehow I missed Ra Ra Riot’s sticky sweet video for “Can You Tell” but I’m fixing that now. Seriously how can you not love it for all it’s twee goodness?

Buy The Rhumb Line

Indie, Pop, Video Ra Ra Riot

This week I thought I’d adventure off to unfamiliar territory again. I just couldn’t get myself all geeked up to listen to the new Kelly Clarkson or Chris Cornell / Timbaland over and over. So I decided on Omaha’s Cursive, mostly because of their label, Saddle Creek, which was founded by Conor Oberst.

I can affirm, after a few listens, that:

1. Cursive do indeed rock. And…
2. Their drummer’s name is Cornbread Compton. That’s reason enough to buy this album as far as I’m concerned.

The album kicks off with “In the Now”, featuring a feedback/effects laden intro, and launching into the repeated chorus “Don’t wanna live in the now / don’t wanna know what I know”; followed up later with “So history repeats / ‘cause present won’t repent”. It’s short, simple and ferocious, like a lot of moments on this record. I find it pretty cathartic myself.

“From the Hips”, which the band kindly offers up gratis on their web site, starts off slow, before singer/guitarist Tim Kasher’s squealing “right?!” brings in the up tempo, double beat madness.

“I Couldn’t Love You” has Kasher channeling his inner Robert Smith – which makes sense – Cursive was picked by the Cure to open for them on their 2004 tour.

You won’t believe how soft and pleasant they can make a song called “We’re Going To Hell”. But there’s also an underlying doom and creepiness. The song has sort of a Pixies-like vibe going on too.

And the boys get downright evil on “Mama, I’m Satan”:

I’m writing out a confession
My fathers and brothers
Raped your sisters and mothers
We are the sons of butchers
All in all we’re pawns
The darkness of mankind stirs in us all

Songs like “Mama, I’m Satan”, “Let Me Up”, and “Mama, I’m Swollen” – and really the feel of the record – take the listener into the darkness – some ugly fugly places. I feel like taking a shower and finding a church, and I’m not even that religious. Holy smokes…

For those looking for some quality power-indie-post-punk, and aren’t afraid to step into the shadows for a while, this album fits the bill.

Buy Mama, I’m Swollen

Links: Official Site | MySpace (be sure to listen to “Dorothy at Forty” – one of the rockin-est grooves I’ve ever heard) | Last.fm

Ick's Pick, Indie, Punk Cursive

Editor’s Note: The sheer volume of new music that I get every day is overwhelming at best so in an effort to get the best of it out to you I’ve decided to start the “Now Hear This: Best of the Inbox” series. I’m not sure what the frequency will be yet, but I’ll make every attempt to get a couple of these up a month. Enjoy! – Michael

The Hush Now

Recalling the lush reverb drenched textures of early 90’s shoegaze and retrofitting it with the power pop sensibilities The Hush Now’s self-titled debut is a solid listen and a must for fans of Guided By Voices. My current favorite track ,the appropriately titled “Subtle Like Bombs”, lulls you in with rich vocal harmonies and mesmerizing guitars only to abruptly end in transition.

Full Album Download: The Hush Now
Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace

The Deer Tracks

Swedish duo The Deer Tracks brings quirky electronic pop influenced post rock to the table on their latest release Aurora. The single “127sexfyra” bubbles along over various plinking and plucked chimes and horn beds with whispered vocals.

“127sexfyra” (mp3) by The Deer Tracks

Buy Aurora: Amazon | iTunes
Links: on Last.fm | on MySpace

Electronic, Indie, Now Hear This!, Rock The Deer Tracks, The Hush Now

Awesome album cover.

I came to know and instantly like M. Ward when I heard “Poison Cup” (mp3)  and “To Go Home”, the first 2 tracks off his 2006 album ‘Post-War’. Incredible atmosphere, and of course the unique, light sandpaper vocal of Matt Ward.

Ward’s new album, ‘Hold Time’, is another foray into the cool, lo-fi, retro sound that marks his music. There’s something about his voice – something that instills a sense of another era, an AM radio vibe.

There’s a handful of songs that have me clicking the back button:

• “Never Had Nobody Like You” – Starting out with a Gary Glitter “Rock and Roll, Part 2″ beat, and morphing into a “Spirit in the Sky” vibe, the tune features She & Him accomplice Zooey Deschanel.
• “To Save Me” features background vocals by former Grandaddy vocalist Jason Lytle. The tune sounds like a Brian Wilson outtake from the early 70’s (to these ears).
• “Stars of Leo” has one of the coolest transitions from guitar / vocals into full band I’ve ever heard (a minute and 30 seconds in).
• A cool cover of “Rave On”, also with Zooey Deschannel sharing vocals.

What isn’t clicking with me is a cover of Don Gibson’s “Oh Lonesome Me”, a duet with Lucinda Williams. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Lucinda, but the combination of her and Matt’s voice doesn’t work for me. While Zooey and Matt’s voice go together like a good PB & J, Lucinda and Matt are more like peanut butter and tuna. Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know. But rather than getting into the emotion of a slow and searing ballad, I think more of how their voices contrast with one another.

All in all though, a fine album. NPR is still streaming the entire record, so go give it a listen.

Buy Hold Time.

Links: Official Site | MySpace

Here’s Tuesday night’s Letterman’s appearance – “Never Had Nobody Like You”

Ick's Pick, Indie, Rock n' Folk M. Ward

My Brightest Diamond, “From the Top of the World” (Video)

Shara Worden’s voice is nothing short of truly amazing, add to it a string quartet and you’ve got a recipe for something astounding. Recorded back in December you can view the full concert at Baeblmusic.

Buy A Thousand Shark’s Teeth: Amazon | iTunes

Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace

Indie, Video Live, My Brightest Diamond

It’s been a few days for me. My Ickmusic command center (aka my loft) is in the process of a makeover (hardwood floors), so the Mac has been moving hither and yonder and I’ve been busy doing man stuff. My neighbor Kevin is a jack of all trades, and he works for beer (for his next door neighbors). So thanks Kevin for showing me how it’s all done…

So here’s some big news from Arizona’s coolest music festival, the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. They just announced the Flaming Lips as Saturday night’s headliner! Their past lineups have always been impressive, but have tended to lean more toward the jam scene and reggae, which I have no problem with at all. But with the announcement of the Flaming Lips, they’re clearly expanding into other territory that will bring in a wider audience, and give it more clout to pull in more impressive acts for years to come.

I’ve heard great things about the Flaming Lips live show, so I can’t wait. Now I need to get a good primer on the their music, because I just checked my iTunes, and I only have three tunes: “In the Morning of the Magician” and “Do You Realize” from ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots’, and “The Machine in India” off of ‘Zaireeka’. – - – Okay, well I just bought all of ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots’. So Lips fans, where do I go next? What’s the essential album? Any good DVD’s I can Netflix?

The Flaming Lips – “In the Morning of the Magician” (mp3) – from Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

[audio:lips.mp3]

McDowell Mountain Music Festival – 2009 (Web Site)

Friday, April 24th

• Michael Franti & Spearhead
• Hot Tuna
  
• New Riders of the Purple Sage
• Assembly of Dust
• Delcoa
• TBA

Saturday, April 25th

• The Flaming Lips
• Matisyahu
• Railroad Earth
• Indigenous
• Young Dubliners
• Random Karma
• TBA

Indie, Rock Flaming Lips, McDowell Mountain, MMMF