The Almighty Oracle

When the Boekbinder sisters of Vermillion Lies announced that they were parting ways to work on solo projects, my heart skipped a beat. Mostly because the end of a good band is always a strange event and even when it’s not forever, solo projects can be very obscure and not live up to the wonderful alchemy the members used to have together.

A week ago A few months** ago, I received Zoe Boekbinder’s solo album, Artichoke Perfume in a wonderfully decorated envelop, which is usual in the Vermillion Lies world. After admiring the lovely (signed and personalized!) poster  that came with the album, I popped the CD in my stereo, sat down and let the music fill the void of my room.

From the first acoustic guitar chord and brass band notes of Paralizing, I knew I was in for a nice adventure. Then comes in Zoe’s instantly recognizable voice and her first words : “When you go you don’t look back“. They may sound like a warning but they’re an invitation to enter her world, its imagery and atmosphere; quite an experience. Continue Reading »

mel :: Dec.30.2009 :: Artichoke Perfume, CD Review, Zoe Boekbinder :: No Comments »

2006: Standing In The Way Of Control hits the waves and conquers everyone who happens to hear it. Along with other singles Listen Up! and Jealous Girls, the third full length release of the Olympia, Washington-based trio is a success. 2009 sees the arrival of Music For Men, the new Gossip album. Does it live up to the expectations built from the previous effort or did the band lose their soul after their breakthrough album?

Gorgeous.

Continue Reading »

mel :: Jul.13.2009 :: 2012, Beth Ditto, Brace Paine, CD Review, Gossip, Hannah Blilie, Music For Men, Nathan Howdeshell :: 1 Comment »

Let’s be honest here : I love Metric. I doesn’t mean I’ll love everything they release, on the contrary, I kind of have high expectations when it comes to them. So, does Fantasies live up to my cruel standards? The answer comes after the jump.

Continue Reading »

mel :: Mar.31.2009 :: CD Review, Fantasies, Metric, Twilight Galaxy :: 3 Comments »

Kaki King never does what people expect. Everybody Loves You was 1 acoustic guitar and nothing more (didn’t require anything more, really), Legs To Make Us Longer added a few more layers plus very little vocals, …Until We Felt Red kept adding vocals and percussions plus switching to electric guitar at times and this naturally lead to the ultimate pop song that is Pull Me Out Alive, present on the fantastic Dreaming Of Revenge. The progression is logical, adding one feature each time. So what’s next, you ask? Kaki King goes heavy metal, maybe?

Not quite but it’s close enough. Continue Reading »

mel :: Mar.30.2009 :: CD Review, Kaki King, Mexican Teenagers :: No Comments »

I first heard of Emmy The Great [very modest name - says the one who hides behind The Almighty Oracle] via another music blog that had posted their cover of The Pixies‘ Where Is My Mind?

First Love is their debut full length and features simple acoustic pop melodies with some folk accents here and there. The 13 songs tell stories that aren’t necessarily happy but they’re well built and make the journey enjoyable. They remind me of many good bands and even refer to Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah on the title track, this can’t be bad. See/Hear for yourself :

Tracklist:

1. Absentee
2. 24

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3. We Almost Had A Baby
4. The Easter Parade
5. Dylan

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6. On The Museum Island
7. War
8. First Love

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9. MIA
10. The Easter Parade 2
11. Bad Things Coming, We Are Safe
12. Everything Reminds Me Of You
13. City Song

Pre-order First Love from Rough Trade.
Visit Emmy The Great on myspace.

mel :: Jan.28.2009 :: CD Review, Emmy The Great, First Love :: No Comments »

Emil Svanängen is the mastermind behind Loney Dear. Dear John is his fifth album, still recorded all on his own at home.

Airport Surroundings opens up on a good rhythm and is backed-up by Everything Turns To You and their shared feeling of urgency. The rest of the album flows as a juxtaposition of styles (pop, folk, electro…) and sounds from the 80s that happen to work together to build the Loney Dear typical atmosphere. There’s a certain melancholy, a feeling of loss and abandonment haunting the eleven songs as if they were trying to take some weight off the listeners shoulders.

This isn’t exactly a cheerful album but its first person phrasing about some vague you’s make it very personal but incredibly universal at the same time. The lalala choruses, wonderful melodies and overlaying instrumentalisation make it easy to listen to. And despite some other big releases this month, Dear John is my album of the month without any hesitation.

Tracklist :

1. Airport Surroundings

mel :: Jan.25.2009 :: CD Review, Dear John, Emil Svanängen, Loney Dear :: No Comments »

A couple weeks ago, a co-worker asked we where I find all these bands no one else has ever heard about. My answer to that was that I don’t find them, they find me. Saying this, I had a special group of talented people in mind : Aria Orion which is the latest project of Jules Gimbrone [formerly of Our Lady Of Bells] and actually Jules’ first attempt at composition. A success? Yes.

Let The Sharp Stone Fly is quite conceptual as it is a narrative album. Continue Reading »

mel :: Jan.10.2009 :: Aria Orion, CD Review, Let The Sharp Stone Fly :: No Comments »

“I wanted to make music that could put a smile on people’s faces and give them a feeling of nostalgia even though they may be hearing my songs for the first time.
I love how music evokes memories of a certain time, I wanted to see if I could find a method of songwriting that would evoke those feelings from me on writing the song and then on the individual when listening to it for the first time.” – from the Biog section of Ladyhawke’s official website.

Ladyhawke (aka Phillipa “Pip” Brown)’s debut album is one of the nicest surprises of 2008. Her electro-pop sound is efficient, catchy and has huge repeated plays potential. The influences range from the 60’s and 70’s with a touch of the 80’s and a modernity that makes the music an interesting mix.

Ladyhawke started as a drummer at age 11, it shows. The drums, even when quite simple have their own important place in all the songs. [Or maybe I'm too obsessed with rhythm and drums to be objective here] There’s also a fair share of rhythm guitar with some solos punctuating here and there. Add some vintage keyboards and some sweet bass lines and the music builds up very nicely. Phillipa Brown’s quite shy but always right on voice works perfectly with all the overall catchy feeling. What could top that? Handclaps! [another thing I'm obsessed with, it seems] There’s some good use of those throughout the album and honestly it only makes you want to dance around and clap in time.

“I only ever wanted to create something that evoked feelings.
I hope that Ladyhawke does.
We were all once teenagers, listening to music at full volume, jumping on the bed with the door shut.” - from the Biog section of Ladyhawke’s official website.

My conclusion : Ladyhawke definitely does evoke feelings! And I’m no teenager anymore but I still listen to music rather loud and I have to admit this album woke up the secret dancer in me despite the happy-sad feeling of the songs. Will it work on you? Let’s try :

Dusk Till Dawn : 

Magic : 

Liked it? Get the album! Now.

mel :: Dec.02.2008 :: CD Review, Dusk Till Dawn, Ladyhawke, Magic :: No Comments »

Moriarty play what could be called circus folk. Read : folk with a twist. They have their own imaginary world and paint it around the listener a little more with each song. Their debut album, Gee Whiz But This Is A Lonesome Town, was first released in October 2007 but November 2008 witnessed the release of a second edition that comes with a bonus CD, The Drifting Letter Office Archive, filled with live versions, demos, covers and new songs plus the videos for Jimmy and Private Lily. And the fact that it’s shaped as a lovely little hardback book is a nice touch.

The first thing you notice about Moriarty is the voice. Rosemary has a unique tone, a voice that you could recognize among a million. Then come the cleverly imaginative orchestrations that almost come from another time. From the first measures of Jimmy, it’s like you just teleported into some western movie. The lyrics are right on, telling stories you somehow never get tired of.

Gee Whiz But This Is A Lonesome Town tracklist :

1. Jimmy
2. Lovelinesse
3. Private Lily
4. Motel
5. Animals Can’T Laugh
6. (…)
7. Cottonflower
8. Whiteman’s Ballad
9. Tagono-Ura
10. Fireday
11. Oshkosh Bend
12. Jaywalker (Song For Beryl)

The Drifting Letter Office Archive tracklist :

1. Enjoy The Silence
2. Hanoi (Live)
3. Oshkosh Bend (Alt.Version Demo)
4. Bacon (Live)
5. (…) N°2
6. Private Lily (Alt. Version Demo)
7. The Crimson Singer (Live)
8. Jimmy (Live)
9. Jimmy [video]
10. Private Lily [video]

The new versions on the second CD are actually interesting. First off, they finally released the studio version for their cover of Depeche Mode’s Enjoy The Silence [which is fun, live], the alt. version for Private Lily may just be even better than the original on, Bacon has become my favourite song, the live version of Jimmy has kazoo in it and The Crimson Singer is epic.

Cottonflower :

Bacon (Live) : 

They’re touring almost non stop so if they come close enough to you, go! They’re talented, funny and simply mindblowing. Dates are here [including France, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and even a date in New York, NY!]. Visit Moriarty on myspace.

“some have chocolate
others have jesus
some have buddhas
and we have buffaloes”

mel :: Dec.01.2008 :: Bacon, CD Review, Cottonflower, Drifting Letter Office Archive, Gee Whiz But This Is A Lonesome Town, Moriarty :: No Comments »

When I sent my Christmas wishlist to my sister a week ago, I promised myself not to buy anything off of it till December 25th (it’s only fair). But yesterday, I was in shopping in town and entered the CD shop and walked directly towards the indie shelves. Bad move, right? I  ended up buying The Organ’s Thieves EP [and Psapp's The Camel's Back - but that'll be discussed in another post].

1. Even In The Night opens as a slow plaintive guitar-less song, for the main part. Deb’s guitar only comes in at the end to conclude the story.

“I thought it again and had that dream again last night
of drowning children in the river, oh good god you’ve got to find me.
Tens of children have drowned in my heart, oh I think you’d better find me
I don’t want all my clothes going back into charitable hands.”

2. Oh What A Feeling is more upbeat with a usual guitar/bass/drums driving combination. I’ve always loved this song live for the part when the whole band sings along near the end. On this studio version, this part is covered by the organ line, it’s quite a shame. It gave even more intensity to the song.

“You let in the ghost of her
Now I see it everywhere
Take yours body back
but oh oh please leave me the fear”

3. Let The Bells Ring was released as a single back in the day and you’ll find the same version on Thieves. The lyrics are cryptic as can be and the orchestration is solid.

“And then I take a sword in my hand and climb up a mountain
And call the names of the people who will rock me in the end
lie rest assured you’ll have your own reverberate the walls”

4. Fire In The Ocean is the shortest song with just 1:49. The drums stand out here along with the occasional over laying vocals. It’s still very cryptic but it’s haunting, as well.

“Who will love me oh like the ocean does
We are so much like eachother
We don’t see the need for each other”

5. Can You Tell Me One Thing  is reminiscent of There’s Nothing I Can Do for the overall melody. It’s probably the weakest songs out of the six.

“Can you tell me one thing, are you alright?
I don’t recognize your verbs tonight
Can you tell me one thing, are you alright tonight?”

6. Don’t Be Angry is very different in the way that its main part consists of acoustic guitar[or ukulele - not sure here] sweetly accompanying Katie Sketch’s voice while the rest of the instruments shyly join in as the song goes. It’s sweet, moving and haunting as well. My personal favourite. This song along makes the purchase of the EP well worth it.

“All that I want was here now it’s gone
Don’t be angry, I will die lonely”

The Organ don’t play happy songs but sad songs are always the best ones anyway, right?  It’s nice they finally released these lost songs even though the band is long gone and burried. They had a special sound, may it be thanks to the organ, the high pitched guitar melodies, Katie Sketch’s voice or the combination of it all and they’ll always have a special place in my personal musical history.

Don’t Be Angry : 

mel :: Nov.10.2008 :: CD Review, Don't Be Angry, The Organ, Thieves EP :: 2 Comments »