Bunches and bunches of EP's. They're everywhere!

I have been listening to a lot of EP's, and I am just going to list two tonight.

First up, The Givers. I saw them live a couple weeks ago at Nitetown in Lafayette, LA; and they rocked my socks off. Their EP is not as good as hearing them live which is something everyone should do before they die in 2012. see them live. They give so much.

I really did enjoy this little preview of music though. This is a real feel-good band that is able to change my mood quickly. They literally use colorful looking instruments, and their percussion section comprised of Tiffany Lamson (random stuff) and Kirby Campbell (drums) is special. Special because of their ability to work together compiling extremely complex beats that I enjoy very much. They even use electric drum beats sometimes which is pretty cool. The vocals and guitar riffs are pretty basic, and their lyrics are exciting (listen to "meantime"). Another thing that sets this band apart from others is their keyboardist Will Henderson; he creates crazy sounds. His sounds fall in line with distortion patterns from Radiohead, and I happen to be in the mood for that kind of sound.

Next up is Bon Iver, with his EP Blood Bank. I think that Bon Iver literally plays music that contrasts very well with The Givers' style of play. He was a one-man show when he released For Emma, Forever Ago and now he has a little bit of help filling in "Engineering and a little guitar" from Mark Paulson.

Bon Iver is actually a pseudonym for Justin Vernon, and for this EP he has expanded to another instrument: piano. It does not add much to the overall sound of Bon Iver, but I feel that it does not take away from the band at all. I really like that he is moving into using other instruments and adding other members, but I am a little skeptical of the output. It is moving into a more instrumental zone, and I feel that Bon Iver is known for its lyrical qualities. Granted, For Emma, Forever Ago was written in a time of major transition for Justin, I believe he should not lose sight of what makes his music so awesome: lyricism and vocal quality. Blood Bank stylistically does not express the same kind of emotion that Forever Ago was able to portray, and sadly these two samples of music have to be placed side-by-side since they were both made by the same musician.

Enjoy these little holiday gifts, and check out Bon Iver on the Hype Machine.

Tracks for Blood Bank are "Blood Bank," "Beach Baby," "Babys," & "Woods."

Caddywhompus have a show in Lafayette Saturday night

Blake and I would like to post a list of shows we think will be interesting to go to, but as of now we have not figured out how. So, for now, I'm just going to have to tell y'all about them like this:

Caddywhompus is playing at Caffe Cottage in Lafayette, La, at 9pm. I have never been to this venue, but I definitely plan on going to see this show. Since I blogged about Caddywhompus a couple weeks ago, I thought it would be a good idea to tell y'all about their current nearby shows.

They will be playing with Wildfires & Jupiter Death Brigade. I don't know much about either of them, but what could be better than live music and coffee? The menu for Caffe Cottages looks delicious. Gonna try some of those Caffe Liquor's. It's at 1013 Pinhook Rd Lafayette, LA 70503.

If you need a ride, send me a facebook message.

-Cory Vogel

Calling all readers! Make a post, tell me about your favorite albums, and have a good week.

Hello everyone!

I was not able to listen to any new albums this week and I thought I would mix things up a little bit. So, I'm going to talk about one of my favorite albums. Please post something about your favorite album, even if it's just mentioning it. Or, if you can't decide on one, post about a new release that you think is really worth listening to.

An album I couldn't stop listening to in high school is Is this It by The Strokes. I really felt at the time that it was the "essence of originality." The artwork in the CD case is trippy and the music is, to say the least, cool. Not awesome, just cool.

Stemming out of New York, these guys put together a style of play that stood out like a sore thumb in 2001. Most people would think that The Strokes were able to ignore the common trends in music and set their own path, and I agree with that.

Their lyrics are insanely simple and they are pretty much just fun to sing along to. They really don't keep me up at night thinking about things, and I doubt they ever will. Julian Casablancas's voice is very rough, but I don't get the feeling that he wants to sing perfect notes. The rhythm guitar playing and drumming of this album are what stick out to me as the most important. The bassist and lead guitarist aren't really the reason I loved it so much. In songs like "Is This It," I really find myself enjoying these simple textures that the beats and careful melodies pump out. "Soma" has to be my favorite song on this album because its lyrics are a little more complex, and the drumming on this song is perfect.

The latter tracks of most of the album are not really that great, so don't get too sad if you are not satisfied with them. Also, I'm looking forward to listening to Julian Casablancas's solo work that came out last week. It is supposed to be electronica-related.

Other than that, all I have to say is:

I didn't take no short cuts

I spent the money that I saved up

Aw mama runnin' out of luck

Well like my sister don't give a fuck.

Check out The Strokes: Is This It soon. And comment.

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down: We Brave Bee Stings and All

This past week I was searching through some of the postings on Tiny Mix Tapes and I found this band, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down. Thao Nguyen and the rest of her band comprise a very interesting group of individuals. In fact, one of the stories I read on Wikipedia about Thao almost makes her character seem more interesting than her music.

So they just released a new album Know Better Learn Faster; but since I recently heard about them, I thought I would dive a little deeper into their album history. We Brave Bee Stings and All (2008) is a great place to start.

It was a fun & calm Listen. Their myspace page has a lot of their older tracks from We Brave Bee Stings and All, so check it out quickly. This album really isn't too complicated. I'd consider it an alternative folk album that dives into a diverse set of instruments which don't overshadow one another. What I mean by that is that nothing really stands out, and it all meshes very well. However, Thao's vocals take over the album in a way since it is indeed folk, but it's not the kind of folk I'm used to listening to. That's what really caught my attention and made me want to listen to more of this band.

From the opening track, "Beat (Health, Life, and Fire)," I find myself enticed with little lines of wisdom and advanced culture. Thao's song "Bag of Hammers" is a fun little pop record that can grab most of the attention for the album, but the latter tracks contain a lot of important content. There are lines in "Bag of Hammers" that keep me occupied with thought, like 'shake the frame of this house/distress the wood/ make it shout.' Makes me think it's possible to accomplish. Furthermore, the track "Swimming Pools" seems to be the representative track for the album since it has lingering lyrics from the title, and it strives to satisfy the ears.

Banjo tunes, acoustic guitar riffs, catchy beats and melodies. It all adds up to their simple explanation of the music on their myspace page: "tangles of guitar, knots of singing, threads of beat and thump make a rope fit for hauling the heavy machinery of your day." I'm sold.

-Cory Vogel

RIlo Kiley: More Adventurous

Upon the/my editor's request I have gone far back in time to rehash an album that I "should have listened to a long time ago."

In 2004, Rilo Kiley released the album More Adventurous which I did not get wind of until now. I'm actually a little sad that I'm only becoming aware of Rilo. Lyrically, this album hit a lot of strong chords that have resonated for a very long time in people's hearts. It is a treasure chest of one-liners which are timeless.

This "alternative, indie, rock band" does not strike me as an alternative, indie, rock band though. The album's strength is in its vocals and lyrics. Intense subjects and catchy melodies leave me with poetic thoughts and another perspective of the ever expanding genre of indie. The song "Portions for Foxes" really taps into societal subjects like hooking up vs relationships, and then a song like "Absence of God" or "Love and War (11/11/46)" truly break content barriers.

The album as a whole plays out through my headphones like a notebook of life-long lessons. After intently reading the lyrics and reading about the band members' lives, I'm convinced that the group wrote the album together because the content never confines itself to one concept or idea. It breaks through many different topics like a sledgehammer intent on destroying imaginary walls.

Even though the album's strong point is its lyrics, it is still very respectable from an instrumental stance. Right around the same time of this release, The Postal Service was touring the United States with their tunes from Give Up, an album that pushed the bar on electronica & lyrically based sounds. It is apparent that Rilo Kiley was picking up on these ideas in More Adventurous, and Jenny Lewis, the lead singer of Rilo, was a singer on many songs on Give Up. So there is inevitably some overlap in styles. On More Adventurous there are subtle timbre effects from their keyboards which demonstrate their slightly electronic style, but for the most part the album is pretty traditional rock music.

I believe this album would be fun for a road-trip. It makes for good thought provoking moments, and it does not disappoint or annoy with its sound. It also offers a very diverse taste of sounds throughout the album which demonstrate the band's talent and understanding of music very well. One aspect of the album I truly enjoyed were the simple melodies that never seemed to get old.

Listen to Rilo Kiley's new stuff on Myspace, and don't steal this album off the internet. That is just bad. A lot of random tracks can be found on the Hype Machine as well.

-Cory Vogel