Hey guys,
Sorry I haven’t been updating much, but all of my efforts were aimed at creating the most comprehensive interview-based guide to Pygmalion Music Festival in Champaign-Urbana, IL, EVER. I organized interviews with 20+ bands including Explosions in the Sky, Braid, Deerhoof, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, some local bands and more. Here’s the link. Share it with everyone. I’ll be back soon.
http://the217.com/articles/view/pygmalion_festival_guide_interviews
Sincerely,
Bear Girls
Artist: Yellow Ostrich
Album: The Mistress (Barsuk)
Release Date: August 16, 2011
RIYL: Maps & Atlases, The Dodos, Dirty Projectors
Within the framework that surrounds pop music defined as a genre, harmonies, even in their simplest form, make people swoon, shiver, or at least cause them to be more aware of what’s going on harmonically without the song merely passing on as “catchy.” The Backstreet Boys capitalized on it, Fleet Foxes have reached international fame because of it, artists throw it in the mix in order to build upon a lyrical idea or melody. Rarely are albums based upon the existence of vocals as a chordal instrument.
Alex Schaff AKA Yellow Ostrich self-released his second LP The Mistress on his Bandcamp for the price of “pay-what-you-want” back in late 2010 to some buzz, but the looped-harmonies driven record clearly didn’t reach the critical acclaim of those previously mentioned harmony machines. Almost a year later, Barsuk picks it up, and that’s where this review comes in. I finally heard Yellow Ostrich’s The Mistress, and without hesitation, I will say that you should hear it too.
While I wouldn’t necessarily label The Mistress as a modern folk record, a particularly twangy guitar and ostrich neck-like stretchy melodies might beg to differ if left on their own. There’s a dirty-sort of production filled to the brim with muffled, but hard-hitting percussive booms and clicks; Schaff’s lead and backing vocals are filtered fantastically to incorporate voices from various octaves and frequencies; the instrumentals are smartly sparse and effective.
Towards the middle of the record, though – possibly the most important part to keep things varied – Schaff doesn’t seem to vary it much. Or if he does, the variations are staunched by his tendency to loop short harmonized melodic phrases that set up each song. Doing this live ala Andrew Bird or Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) – I’ll just say I would love to see a Yellow Ostrich show somewhere cozy and personal. But recorded, the loops become tired and predictable. But, Schaff is so authentic and masterful in constructing his main melodies, it’s an easily forgiven repetition that eventually grows on you once the harmonies fall atop a very free-flowing guitar and a cool-toned bass.
The first tone heard on the record is a muddy note droned on the guitar followed by Schaff harmonizing “I think you are great” along a very surreal melody, but it’s a good start to an album that leaves you thinking, “Where the hell is he going with this?” in only the best possible ways. It’s a short track that goes into what might be considered the single of the record “WHALE.” Schaff isn’t necessarily an established poet who leaves a ton of mystery underneath his lyrics; most of his lyrics are easy to understand. He isn’t even necessarily a story teller, but more of a scene-setting conversationalist. “Come with me whale/We will go far into the blue” is sung over human-made whale noises and plucked guitar and eventually a big breakdown at the end. Are we the whales? I definitely wouldn’t mind being a whale, and I think that’s just the mindset this kind of song puts me in.
Schaff builds up each song like it’ll have a breakdown somewhere, and some do and some don’t. He probably shouldn’t go crazy at the end of each song in The Mistress, but it’s a bit of a let down hearing songs like “I’ll Run” that build and build throughout, but undesirably end abruptly, leaving the listener unfulfilled. But then he spawns some fantastic dramatic effects in “Mary,” a tune that spends some of its time as a lullaby, a somber-but-hopeful piece of advice led by Schaff crooning “Everything turns around” over looped “ooh’s” and gentle arpeggios. Instruments and loops cut for a vocal interjection of “Mary, you are doing drugs/ Don’t you think we know?/ You always seemed a little too happy/ Mary, Mary.” Then: clicking – pause – everything comes back in over a beating kick drum and an incredible wall of sound.
It’s a record of sparse personnel but apparent beauty. However, some tracks are too short for this full spectrum of beauty to make itself apparent. While Schaff’s recordings are bright and inspiring, he still needs to grow a new pair of wings and get this off-color flightless bird off the ground somehow.
Bear Factor: 3.5/5 Hunny Pots
Listen to Yellow Ostrich – “WHALE”
*Originally published on the217.com*
Bear Girls got a Twitter!
twitter.com/beargirlsblog
Follow it for updates, short news blips and other fun things!
Love,
Bear Girls
*Note* Bear Girls refers to both the voices of Adam Barnett and Dylan Sutcliff in this article.
Murder by Death definitely qualified as one of the most engaging sets at Wicker Park Fest this Summer. It seemed that everyone around me knew the words to songs, while I didn’t know much. Though, that didn’t really matter as everyone slammed into each other to some obscure, but familiar folk mixed with rock. And I’m not just talking folk-rock. I’m describing hard-hitting rock performed on cellos, trumpets, Theremins and good ol’ fashioned guitar. Before the set, frontman Adam Turla decided to chat with us after our short adventure locating the band’s black van.
Bear Girls: I heard one of your first shows was at The Red Herring –
Adam Turla: Actually the first out of town show we ever played was at the Illinois Disciples Foundation in Champaign. The Red Herring was a little bit after that. But yeah, I remember it pretty well. There was a band that we really liked called Nam- who I think was from Chicago, and this was in 2001. We had played with them in Bloomington, IN, where we’re from. They invited us to come play this show with them and we were like, ‘Woah, out of town!’ because we had never left Bloomington, not even to go to like Indianapolis or something. So we thought we were pretty special.
But it was cool, there were probably like 40 people there so at the time that was just what a good show was. So that was everything we hoped for, and we sold some CD’s and started coming back. The Red Herring was the second time with DMS and there was like no one there at that one.
Then we started playing the University a lot back in the day. We were doing those $5 shows at the lounge, the… Courtyard Café. We’ve played Champaign, no joke, 25 times, maybe 30.
Bear Girls: Do you guys like the spot, or what makes you want to go back?
AT: Well, it was the first place we played out of town, so we’re not gonna blacklist it. There’s no reason we shouldn’t go there. We tour a lot, but Champaign is just a great starting place or ending place for a tour. It’s like 45 minutes from us. We ended up putting out DVD from the Canopy Club show from Feb. 2009.
Bear Girls: How did you get connected with Wicker Park Fest?
AT: This is exactly what we’re try to do this Summer, just like, free shows that get new people out. We’re doing it in Cleveland, we did it in Denver. Everybody would love to play a free show every night where they still got paid. I mean, a free show is great when you have a sponsor, because it’s like I’m 30 years old. You have to work, you have to show up for work, and nobody goes to work for free without being shitty about it. The realistic thing is that I love to do these shows, but when you get somebody to help facilitate the show, I love those shows because they’re great for the audience and the band.
We typically just do a regular club show, bars and theaters. That’s our bread and butter, that’s like, that’s our day-to-day life. Playing a rock ‘n roll show at a drunk bar or theater.
Bear Girls: You just added Scott to the lineup, how has that affected the band’s dynamic?
AT: We just started writing together so I’m curious to see how that goes. We’re working on a lot of new songs right now. But live, it just opens up a lot of doors, Scott is playing accordion, keys, trumpet, percussion, backup vocals and Theremin. It’s this huge variety of stuff that we had on our recordings or wanted on our recordings but never got somebody to do. It just makes the whole show more dynamic, I think the show rules now. I’m really excited about having him come on.
Bear Girls: For recording do you work together or separately?
AT: We do eventually. I write the lyrics and the melody and then bring them to the band. You’d be surprised how much they change. You have a song that just kind of chugs along great in your head and then you start playing it and you think, “”Aw man, this needs intrigue, someone’s gotta do something really cool here otherwise it gets boring.” I’m not really into solo performers because there’s so much room for nuanced performances or a memorable keyboard line or cello line or drum beat that captivates you.
Bear Girls: You use a lot of instruments that don’t usually come about in rock music, how do you feel those add to your sound?
AT: It’s funny, whenever people ask what our band is trying to do or who we’re trying to be we never really have an answer. More recently, I’ve started to develop an opinion on that. Instead of just being an indie-rock band I want to be a rock ‘n roll band, but I don’t want to be heavy, and I don’t want to just do all of the classic rock things. I want to make aggressive music that has guts and fire but isn’t heavy. So that’s the thing, how do you use a trumpet to make an aggressive feeling? You can do sort of darts, hard hitting patches of trumpet that get people going or if you’re really banging out a fast accordion part that gets people moving. The cello has such a great range, you can do a sort of driving feel or these somber, sad melodies. We try to use our instruments to make something that’s aggressive without being traditional or standard. Whenever I write a traditional song I try to turn it 90 degrees so you can do something different, so you’re not copying another genre or artist. Just take something and weird it up a bit, that’s my approach to songwriting. That’s how it’s yours; make it your own. I truly think that… even though we’ve had a very slow career. It’s always been fine, just slowly growing and growing, never getting a moment in the sun. But I think it’s because people eventually respect you for who you are or the music you make, not because you were cool for a couple years. That doesn’t seem to last, I’d rather be the one that’s doing my own thing.
Bear Girls: You were in Alaska for 5 days; what did you do there?
AT: I love weird traveling shows. We try to go wherever we can that’s a unique idea. We were approached by a woman at a show and she said, “Listen, my boyfriends a promoter in Alaska, I want you to come up.” I knew that we would do well in the bigger shows in like Anchorage and Fairbanks. But she said we had to play this one town, McCarthy Alaska, population 22. It’s an old mining town from the 20s. Occasionally in the summer there are a few guides that give tours of a glacier and an old mine. She told us to trust her and I was like, “You know what? I’ll trust you. Fuck you, let’s do this.”
We went up and added a couple of other small town shows, like one in Denali and one at the foothill of Mt. McKinley. It was just really fun, that show in McCarthy, the mining town, was unbelievable. 150 people crammed into this, basically, living room bar. Population 22, 150 in attendance: those are pretty good numbers. It was awesome. There are these people crammed into this room crowd surfing in an old lodge. We played on the floor- it was nuts. We made it work because we were able to do the Anchorage show, which was big and covered our flights. But then this show, instead of taking a day off we had this really cool experience.
I’m always interested in hearing new, unique ideas for shows. I’ve currently been talking to the REC planner in Antarctica, so we’re trying to play down there.
Bear Girls: You said that you just started writing; do you have some new material ready?
AT: Not really ‘ready.’ We have two songs that are definitely done and then I’ve got nine more. We start Tuesday for five-weeks straight where the band can shape and mold. We’re probably going to record this fall or winter, we’re just starting to work out the details.
Bear Girls: Based on your name, what do you think would be the best way to die? Assuming you do die.
AT: Probably like, falling out of a plane at 30,000 feet. You just have fun with it, like, “I’m fucked.” You die as soon as you hit, but you have the experience of dying for a long time, which would be interesting to say the least. I’d be trying to do those spins from that Wesley Snipes movie, what’s it called… Drop Zone. Basically, I’d try to spend the last 6 minutes of my life being Wesley Snipes from Drop Zone.
Bear Girls: If you never die, what do you want to do as a band in 5000 years?
AT: Probably stop being in a band, fucking A, get a new job. We’ve already played 14,000 shows and that’s just 11 years. I don’ think I’d like any of those songs. I don’t think the Rolling Stones would like their songs after 5000 years.
*Originally published in buzz Magazine and readbuzz.com*
ICP and Jack White collaborate
According to a recent press release for Third Man Records, there is an old Mozart composition entitled “Leck Mich Im Arsch” that literally translates to “Lick Me in the Arse.” Upon viewing the Wikipedia for this composition, I am left to believe that this piece is completely real.
So, who best to bring up old vulgarities than modern “Neden Gamers” Insane Clown Posse. That part is believable. But, that’s not the gist of it. Backed up by Nashville’s JEFF the Brotherhood, Third Man plans on releasing a 7″ version of this modern arrangement on Sept. 13, produced by none other than the modern musical marvel, Jack White.
More information is available at the Third Man Records homepage.
Xiu Xiu - Daphne
AM & Shawn Lee – Celestial Electric (ESL)
Astronautalis – Dimitri Mendeleev (Fake Four Inc.)
Cloud Control – Bliss Release (Infectious Music)
The Front Bottoms – The Front Bottoms (Bar/None)
The Horrible Crowes – Elsie (SideOneDummy)
Peter Wolf Crier – Garden of Arms (Jagjaguwar)
The Rapture – In the Grace of Your Life (DFA)
Xiu Xiu – Daphne EP (Polyvinyl)
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
Alice Cooper – Welcome 2 My Nightmare (Bigger Picture)
Anthrax – Worship Music (Megaforce)
The Bangles – Sweetheart of the Sun (Model Music Group)
Big Harp – White Hat (Saddle Creek)
Black Francis – Paley & Francis (Cooking Vinyl)
Blitzen Trapper – American Goldwing (Sub Pop)
Blondie – Panic of Girls (Eleven Seven/EMI)
Bush – The Sea of Memories (Mad Dog Winston)
CANT – Dreams Come True (Terrible)
Cuckoo Chaos – Woman (Lefse)
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Lenses Alien (Barsuk)
Das Racist – Relax (Greenhead)
The Devil Wears Prada – Dead Throne (Ferret)
Dream Theater – A Dramatic Turn of Events (Roadrunner)
The Drums – Portamento (Moshi Moshi/Island)
Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost (True Panther/Matador)
Grace Jones – Hurricane (PIAS)
Lady Antebellum – Own the Night (Capitol)
Ladytron – Gravity the Seducer (Nettwerk)
Mates of State – Mountaintops (Barsuk)
Milagres – Glowing Mouth (Kill Rock Stars)
Mogwai – Earth Division EP (Sub Pop/Rock Action)
Neon Indian – Era Extrana (Static Tongues/Mom + Pop)
Pajama Club – Pajama Club (Lester)
Primus – Green Naugahyde (ATO Prawn Song)
Saves the Day – Daybreak (Razor & Tie)
S.C.U.M. – Again Into Eyes (Mute)
Slow Club – Paradise (Moshi Moshi)
St. Vincent – Strange Mercy (4AD)
Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge)
Andrew Jackson Jihad - Knife Man
Andrew Jackson Jihad – Knife Man (Asian Man)
Besnard Lakes – You Lived in the City EP (Secretly Canadian)
Caroline Smith & The Good Night Sleeps – Little Wind (S/r)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Hysterical (Wichita)
Halloween, Alaska – All Night The Calls Came In (Amble Down)
Nurses – Dracula (Secretly Canadian)
Opeth – Heritage (Roadrunner)
Thrice – Major/Minor (Vragrant)
Young Jeezy – TM 103: Hustlerz Ambition (Def Jam)
Wilco - The Whole Love
Apparat – The Devil’s Walk (Mute)
Big Troubles – Romantic Comedy (Slumberland)
Bjork – Biophilia (One Little Indian)
Blink-182 – Neighborhoods (Geffen)
DJ Shadow – The Less You Know, The Better (Roc-a-Fella/Island)
Dum Dum Girls – Only in Dreams (Sub Pop)
Family of the Year – St. Croix EP (PLAY ALL)
Jane’s Addiction – The Great Escape Artist (Capitol)
Pink Skull – Psychic Welfare (RVNG Intl.)
Twin Sister – In Heaven (Domino)
WALLS – Coracle (Dangervillage)
Wilco – The Whole Love (dBPM)
Various Artists – Japan 3.11.11 (Polyvinyl)
Bear Girls 