THE VINYL WORD: MOGWAI ‘EARTH DIVISION’

With a running time of 15 minutes and an almost complete absence of live drums, Earth Division doesn’t need to make any effort in order to differentiate itself from the rest of the Mogwai catalogue; the violins and cellos which weave in and out of proceedings add just enough grandeur without ever sounding jarring or pretentious. While Braithwaite has also stated that the EP’s sound is similar to that of Hardcore’s 23-minute art-installation bonus track ‘Music for a Forgotten Future (The Singing Mountain)’, there are also shades of the band’s soundtrack to Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait; the use of orchestral strings in rock music often implies a cinematic undertone but it is rare for it to be quite so seamlessly integrated as on Earth Division.

While the EP’s instrumentation may imply a consistent theme, each of its four compositions maintains a distinct identity separate from its cohesive whole. ‘Drunk and Crazy’ is, as one might expect, the noisiest track on offer, and also the closest to a full band experience as colossal shoegazed waves of sound meet synthesized beats before surrendering to a gorgeously subdued string passage. Conversely, ‘Get to France’ is amongst the most unsettling, downright eerie Mogwai compositions in recent years, while fans of the band’s signature fragile vocals will be quietly content with the inclusion of ‘Hound of Winter’, replete with acoustic (!) guitar and even the odd dab of harmonica. – Drowned In Sound

OTHER NEW VINYL RELEASES:

Cake Showroom of Compassion
Devil Wears Prada Dead Throne
Jimi Hendrix Hendrix in the West
Primus Green Naugahyde
Mason Jennings Minnesota
Mates of State Mountaintops
Toro Y Moi Freaking Out
Wild Flag Wild Flag
Hank Williams 20 Greatest Hits
Wooden Shjips West

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WILD FLAG ‘WILD FLAG’ AND OTHER NEW CD RECOMMENDATIONS

September 14, 2011 - On Sale , The Record Exchange Blog - by The Record Exchange - No Comments

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Finally, a supergroup that’s actually super. For those who thought Mister Heavenly was good-not-great, Them Crooked Vultures were disappointing and Monsters of Folk were positively sleep-inducing, enter Wild Flag. Two parts Sleater-Kinney (Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss), one part Helium (Mary Timony), one part The Minders (Rebecca Cole) and many parts other various bands these ladies have been involved in during the past couple decades (Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Quasi, Autoclave, Excuse 17, etc.), the Portland/Washington D.C. foursome sounds utterly, unfuckwittably fierce on paper alone.

Luckily, the promise is kept in the music as well. Throughout Wild Flag, guitars reign as king, like so many triumphant Brownstein rock kicks in concert. But on songs like “Romance” and “Boom,” the hooks creep in as well, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself singing along. In fact, for all the easy comparisons—Sleater-Kinney fans still holding out for a reunion will find plenty to enjoy throughout here—and the fact that these are all seasoned musicians in a brand-new band, the real joy of Wild Flag is just that: the joy. These songs are like shit-eating grins from ear to ear, and you can simply feel that they’re played with such happiness, especially with lyrics that are so exuberant that, well, there’s no way to follow this up: “We dance ‘til we’re dying / we dance to free ourselves from the room / We love the sound / the sound is what found us / sound is the blood between me and you.” – Paste Magazine

OTHER NEW CD RECOMMENDATIONS:

Reckless Kelly Good Luck & True Love
JJ Grey & Mofro Brighter Days
Blitzen Trapper American Goldwing
Jimi Hendrix Experience Wonderland
Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton
Lady Antebellum Own the Night
Anthrax Worship Music
Blind Pilot We Are The Tide
Nick Lowe Old Magic
Devil Wears Prada Dead Throne

Tags: cd new releases whats playing

NEW RELEASE OF THE WEEK: PRIMUS ‘GREEN NAUGAHYDE’

September 13, 2011 - On Sale , The Record Exchange Blog - by The Record Exchange - No Comments

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Lane, Ler, and Les — the current incarnation of Primus — left us salivating over the course of a lengthy US tour, pushing 2011′s Green Naugahyde with tremendous force as recompense for a 12-year absence. (In hindsight, Antipop wasn’t that goddamned bad, was it?) Tossing in a maximum of four fresh tunes during the summer properly set a new stage in evolution for the funk metal act once smirkingly proud to suck. Demand spread to the LP-hungering masses, and their turn is here. Time to funnel some sludge into your ear holes, fellow prawns.

Green Naugahyde is the end result of taking it back to the old school (“Eternal Consumption Engine”), the chronicled echoes of a fisherman’s mind fuck long forgotten (“Last Salmon Man”), plus a taste of honorary personal reflection stained with pork soda (“Jilly’s on Smack”). In truth, there are few better ways to describe the definitive Primus sound than “funky nightmare rock,” and the album cover echoing Billy from Saw with a little Moral Orel stirred in conveys that pretty well. Everything between self-deprecating humor (“HOINFODAMAN”) and a dose of “Lacquerhead” with the Frizzle Fry touch (“Moron TV”) unrelentingly shoves listeners into bouncy grooves direct from Wonka’s boat rid. – Consequence of Sound

Tags: cd new releases vinyl whats playing

NEW DVD/BLU-RAY: JJ GREY AND MOFRO ‘BRIGHTER DAYS’!!

September 13, 2011 - DVD and Blu Ray , On Sale , The Record Exchange Blog - by The Record Exchange - No Comments

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Brighter Days is JJ Grey‘s first-ever live CD/DVD. The two-disc set includes a full-length movie and a long-awaited live album. Directed by filmmaker/musician Spookie Daly (whose work has been aired on MTV Networks, Much Music and Fuse), the film intersperses riveting concert footage with the stunning beauty of Grey’s north Florida home, the inspiration for so much of his music. The film also follows Grey and company into the studio and features band interviews along with insightful commentary from Grey and others, recalling the format of classic “rockumentaries.” 78-minutes of stellar performances from the film are captured on the accompanying CD.

Shot on January 22, 2011 at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, Georgia in stunning HD and boasting 5.1 surround sound, Brighter Days finds JJ (vocals, guitar and harmonica) and his band — Andrew Trube on lap steel and electric guitar, Anthony Farrell on organ and piano, Art Edmaiston on saxophone, Dennis Marion on trumpet, Todd Smallie on bass and Anthony Cole on drums — giving everything they have. Singing and telling stories with preacher-like conviction, JJ breaks down the wall between the audience and the performer.

The idea for a film was born several years back when Spookie Daly came to Florida from his native Boston to film JJ at his backwoods home. “For years people have been saying to me, ‘You should do a documentary on where you’re from and show that connection to the music,'” states Grey, “and then others have been saying, ‘Y’all should make a concert DVD.’ Meanwhile, every time I turned around someone would say, ‘Y’all need to do a live album.’ So I thought, ‘Let’s do them all!’ That’s when I called Spook,” says JJ.

Both as a film and a live concert CD, Brighter Days perfectly captures Grey’s power as a performer and writer, as well as the talent of his heavy-hitting band Mofro. As old fans know well and new ones keep discovering, a JJ Grey & Mofro show is a musical celebration shared between Grey and his audience, with each driving the other to greater heights. With Brighter Days and an overflowing tour schedule, the bond between Grey and his fans grows deeper and JJ Grey’s future looks brighter with each passing day.

OTHER NEW DVD/BLU-RAY RELEASES:

Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop
Jim Hendrix Blue Wild Angle
Jim Hendrix Jim Hendrix: The Dick Cavett Show
Sonic Youth Sonic Youth 1991: Year Punk Broke
Silence of the Lambs
Fantastic 4 – Rise of the Silver Surfer
Jackie Evancho Dream With Me in Concert
Carrie (1976)
28 Weeks Later
Donnie Darko