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PICKWICK IN-STORE SATURDAY, JUNE 23 (1PM); FREE, ALL-AGES AND AWESOME!

June 22, 2012 - Live Shows , Live@RX - by - No Comments

Seattle soul-rock revivalists and Treefort Music Fest favorites Pickwick will perform live at The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St., Downtown Boise) at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 23. As always, this Record Exchange in-store performance is free and all ages. The band is performing at Neurolux Friday night and we have tickets for sale here at the store!

ABOUT PICKWICK

Pickwick was formed in 2008 when singer Galen Disston began writing songs on his acoustic guitar while drummer Matt Emmett kept time in the background. The duo settled on the name as an homage to ‘The Ostrich,’ an obscure dance song written by Lou Reed and released by Pickwick Records in 1964. With the later additions of Emmett’s childhood friend Cassady Lillstrom on keys, Kory Kruckenberg on vibraphone, and brothers Garrett and Michael Parker on bass and guitar, the six-piece began playing shows in small clubs around Seattle.

By the beginning of 2010 the band was in a state of disarray. Frustrated by the direction the music was taking, the band began having discussions about throwing in the towel and going their separate ways. Up until that point, band members had little to do with the writing process and simply added color to Disston’s songs. Ultimately, the band decided to throw out all of their old material and start over from scratch with a new collaborative approach to songwriting. This rebirth allowed the band to take a new look at their individual and collective strengths, as well as look to new places for inspiration.

Raised on indie rock and a love for lo-fi garage bands, the members of Pickwick found themselves entrenched in underground gospel and blues recordings from the 1950s and 60s as well as popular northern soul artists. This new reference point combined with a renewed appreciation for UK bands like The Animals, Spencer Davis Group, and The Zombies helped the members of Pickwick cultivate their own unique take on garage rock, gospel, and 60s-era pop while interpreting those genres through a modern lens.

Along with a shift in musical aesthetic, Disston began exploring darker, more complicated themes in the lyrics of his songs. Contrasting stories of murder, mental illness, and confused sexual identity with major chords, three-part harmonies, and church organs. This unlikely pairing quickly became a mainstay of the band’s approach to songwriting. “I’ve always been drawn to music that seems a bit schizophrenic,” says Disston.

Inspired by a new burst of creative output, the band wasted little time to self-release their music. Instead of waiting to record a full-length record, the band decided to do things on their own terms, putting their music out exclusively on vinyl with three installments of a 7-inch series. Each 45 was accompanied by a record release show at a different club in Seattle. With the release shows under their belt and a series of DIY live videos gaining attention online, the band had cultivated a strong local following by the middle of 2011.

By late 2011, Seattle independent radio station KEXP caught wind of what the band was doing and began playing the band’s music on-air. By the end of the year Pickwick’s 7-inch series ‘Myths’ was voted the #9 record of the year by KEXP listeners alongside artists such as TV on the Radio, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Wilco, Adele and Radiohead.

The band is currently finishing up work on their debut LP and writing new material.

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RECOMMENDED: BRANDI CARLILE

June 21, 2012 - The Record Exchange Blog - by - No Comments

BUY THE CD HERE
BUY THE VINYL HERE

Were we ever gonna get out of this town? – “Just Kids” from Bear Creek

“If you start a band with me, I’ll get us signed and on the road within a year.” Not only did the determined, confident and tenacious 22-year-old Brandi Carlile come through with her promise to twin bothers and initially reluctant band members Phil and Tim Hanseroth, but she also exceeded their expectations. Carlile landed the prophesied record deal with Columbia Records one year later, and with the guidance of producer Rick Rubin, they recorded and released their eponymous debut album in early 2005.

Bear Creek, named after the studio where it was recorded, is certainly a departure from 2007’s breakthough The Story and its critically acclaimed follow-up, 2009’s Give Up the Ghost. Having been steered on her previous albums by super-producers T Bone Burnett and Rick Rubin, this time Carlile was determined to take the wheel. “I would liken working with A-list producers to going to college,” she says. “You don’t want to be a perpetual student. At some point, you need to apply your knowledge.” For the first time, Carlile was eager to work in a studio environment closer – both physically and in spirit – to her own rural abode. Bear Creek, a converted turn-of-the-century barn nestled among the tall trees of Woodinville, Washington, proved to be ideal. “Bear Creek is very similar to home for all three of us — musically, you’d be amazed at how you act when you feel at home.”

Embracing her own philosophy that “a live show should never sound like a record; a record should sound like a live show,” Carlile and the Twins brought in members of her “road family,” including cellist Josh Neumann and drummer Allison Miller, as well as her touring sound engineer and guitar tech. “We basically pulled our bus up to Bear Creek and then everyone got off of it and made a record, band, crew, cheap tour beer and everything … we wanted it that way for once.” Carlile also realized a long-held ambition to work with Grammy award-winning engineer and producer Trina Shoemaker, who fully embraced and nurtured the band’s live approach in the studio and “rough-around-the-edges sonic appeal.” They veered off into new musical territory, fusing classic rock ‘n’ roll, folk, bluegrass, and “Shoemaker-inspired soul” to create their own distinctive sound. Carlile and her band took full advantage of the vintage equipment at Bear Creek, dusting off “pianos that smell like Grandma’s house” and experimenting with bluegrass instruments “feeling no self-consciousness about the fact that we didn’t know how to play them … without a producer it was like ‘OK, now what are we gonna do while Dad’s gone?’”

Comprising of songs inspired by faith, heartache, addiction, childhood, accidental piano chords and thunderstorms, Bear Creek promises to be Carlile’s most revealing and personal record to date. “It scares me how much of who we are is in this album.” However, she admits, “I can talk about making records all day long, but what really drives me is what I’ve been doing on the road all this time. When we play these songs for you, what’s going to happen between you and us? That’s what matters most to me.”

Bear Creek stands as a major milestone for Carlile; the moment in which she and The Twins embraced simplicity, familiar faces and trusted musicianship to craft a stripped-back, honest and timeless record; perhaps her bravest work to date “because without anyone to hide behind or acclaimed cameos and guest appearances, it’s just us … terrifying but real life.” In fact, the only guest appearance comes from a chorus of frogs (courtesy of Bear Creek) who appear on the closing track of her most definitive album thus far – and listen all the way to the end? You most definitely will.

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THE VINYL WORD: BILLY CORGAN RETURNS WITH THE BEST SMASHING PUMPKINS ALBUM SINCE THE 90s

June 20, 2012 - The Record Exchange Blog - by - No Comments

BUY THE VINYL HERE

There’s a long-running joke about seeing a beloved band, maybe one you’ve followed since your childhood, and hearing the worst phrase that the frontman could utter: “We’re going to play a few songs from our new album.”

The feeling is familiar, whether you were hoping to hear a choice cut from The Beach Boys’ SMiLE during the band’s current tour and instead got their new single, “That’s Why God Made the Radio.” Maybe you walked away relieved when Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum didn’t pull out any new cuts in recent live appearances. The point is, it’s almost more comforting to toss a new disc into the never-to-be-listened-to-again pile than to remember that your 13-year-old self wasn’t in love with The Wall or didn’t care for the deeper cuts on Siamese Dream until a year after its release.

This must be Billy Corgan’s frustration—that in a musical landscape that’s littered every day with countless singles and rough YouTube performances of new songs, whole albums aren’t getting the attention, the repeat listens, the second chances they deserve.

And now, after a dormant phase in the Pumpkins’ steady flow of releases, audiences have their first extended listen to the band since 2007’s Zeitgeist, a respectable effort that, while not the most concise or hard-hitting, did see Corgan getting his vision of the Pumpkins back on its feet. Oceania … is the group’s most focused, and solid effort since 2000’s Machina/The Machines of God.  And although the band has put an emphasis on slowly releasing single songs, the album feels like its own focused piece, and not just 13 different studio tracks, and Oceania very much sees Corgan and company settling into album, not single, territory. And that’s probably where long-term fans have wanted to see them for a long time. — Paste

OTHER NEW VINYL RELEASES:

Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals The Lion, The Beast, The Beat
Glen Hansard Rhythm and Repose
Brandi Carlile Bear Creek
Dying Fetus Reign Supreme
Walk the Moon Walk the Moon
Terror No Regrets, No Shame: The Bridge Nine Days
The Black Angels Directions to See a Ghost
The Small Faces Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake
Richard Thompson Live From Austin TX

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NEW RELEASE TUESDAY 6/19: FREE PIE HOLE PIZZA, GLEN HANSARD LISTENING PARTY, RADIO BOISE TUESDAYS SERIES!

June 19, 2012 - DVD and Blu Ray , Live Shows - by - No Comments

The Record Exchange’s New Release Tuesday series continues on June 19 with one of our favorites, Glen Hansard (The Swell Season, ‘Once’).

Hansard’s new album Rhythm and Repose will be featured during our weekly listening party at 6 p.m. Enjoy free Pie Hole pizza while you listen to the album and enter to win a groovy prize or two!

Are you a proud owner of a Radio Boise KRBX Card? Bring it in every Tuesday from 6 to 9 p.m. and receive 20% off gift shop items and used CDs, vinyl, DVD/Blu-ray and cassettes (excluding collectibles – individual items $100 and over).

Speaking of our beloved community radio station, their new Radio Boise Tuesdays series at Neurolux is quickly becoming a new favorite on the music scene. The weekly series features local and touring bands as well as a Radio Boise DJ after each show. Radio Boise receives 20% of drink sales from every Radio Boise Tuesday show. You receive the benefit of DRINK SPECIALS at each one. The music kicks off at 7 p.m. — right after you’ve filled your belly with pizza and heard some new music at the RX!

Check out the Radio Boise Tuesdays performance schedule HERE.

Here’s a quick look at the bright and shiny new releases this week at The Record Exchange:

CD

Glen Hansard – Rhythm and Repose

Fiona Apple – Idler Wheel (deluxe edition also available; free 7-inch with purchase!)

The Smashing Pumpkins – Oceania

Can – The Lost Tapes (box set)

The Dirty Heads – Cabin By the Sea (free 7-inch with purchase!)

Kenny Chesney – Welcome to the Fishbowl

Justin Bieber – Believe (deluxe edition also available)

Hacienda – Shakedown

LIT – View from the Bottom (free shot glass with purchase!)

Kylie Minogue – The Best of Kylie Minogue (deluxe edition also available)

Whitechapel – Whitechapel

Chris Smither – Hundred Dollar Valentine

Don Williams – And So It Goes

Lostprophets – Weapons

Dying Fetus – Reign Supreme

Peaking Lights – Lucifer

Blood on the Dance Floor – Evolution (deluxe edition also available)

Paul Hardcastle – Chill Lounge Vol. 1

Delta Rae – Carry the Fire

Big Smo – Grass Roots

Walk the Moon – Walk the Moon

Groove Armada – Late Night Tales

Juvenile – Rejuvenation

Tony Sly and Joey Cape – Acoustic Vol. 2

Firewater – Various Reissues

Various Artists – Brave Soundtrack

Moby – Destroyed Remixed

Nickodemus – Moon People

Senses Fail – Follow Your Bliss: The Best of Senses Fail

The Ghost Inside – Get What You Give

White Arrows – Dry Land is Not a Myth

The Ventures – Various Reissues

Buck Owens – Live at the White House

Return to Forever – The Mothership Returns

Steve Roach – Day Out of Time

Al Jarreau – Al Jarreau and the Metropole Orkest Live

Burning Love – Rotten Thing to Say

Zulu Winter – Language

Ravi Coltrane – Spirit Fiction

Rumpelstiltskin Grinder – Ghostmaker

Dr. Acula – Nation

Charles Dukowski Sextet – Haunted

Sophie B. Hawkins – Crossing

Lita Ford – Living Like a Runaway

Kate Miller-Heidke – Nightflight

Hawkwind – Onward

Mnemic – Mnemesis

Eye Empire – Moment of Impact

Ignite the Borealis – Coup de Grace

Todd Rundgren – Healing

Richard Marx – A Night Out with Friends

MC Yogi – Pilgrimage

Devin Townsend Project – By a Thread: Live in London

VINYL

Fiona Apple – Idler Wheel

Glen Hansard – Rhythm and Repose

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals – The Lion, The Beast, The Beat

Brandi Carlile – Bear Creek

The Smashing Pumpkins – Oceania

Terror – No Regrets, No Shame: The Bridge Nine Days

Dying Fetus – Reign Supreme

Black Angels – Directions to See a Ghost

Al Green – Gets Next to You

Richard Thompson – Live from Austin TX

The Ventures – Various Reissues

The Small Faces – Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake

Walk the Moon – Walk the Moon

Sierra Leone’s Refugee Allstars – Radio Salone

Tony Sly and Joey Cape – Acoustic Vol. 2

Thin Lizzy – Black Rose: A Rock Legend

Clutch – Pigtown Blues

DVD/BLU-RAY

The Raconteurs – Live at Montreux 2008 DVD and Blu-ray

Big Miracle DVD and Blu-ray

Project X DVD

Motorhead – Bonecrusher DVD

Punk Revolution NYC DVD

Neil Young DVD Collector’s Box DVD

John Lee Hooker – Cook with the Hook: Live 1974

Charlie Daniels Band – Live at Rockpalast DVD

Lydia Lunch – Road Rant DVD

Comic Book Independents DVD

Jeff, Who Lives at Home DVD

Spalding Gray – And Everything is Going Fine DVD

Spalding Gray – Gray’s Anatomy DVD

Louie Season 2 DVD

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NEW RELEASE OF THE WEEK: FIONA APPLE'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN

June 19, 2012 - The Record Exchange Blog - by - No Comments

PREVIEW/BUY THE CD HERE
PREVIEW/BUY THE DELUXE EDITION CD HERE
PREVIEW/BUY THE VINYL HERE

Unguarded honesty doesn’t go out of style. This is especially true in 2012, when major artists can get so caught up in “brand management” and web-based “social engagement” that the core of their art — emotion, intelligence, meaningful connectivity — is sometimes lost amidst bottomless scrolls. Being able to slice through the bullshit is arguably more coveted now than when Fiona Apple did just that during her ferocious acceptance speech at the 1997 VMAs. Another famed modern truth-teller and award-show crasher (and noted Fiona fan), Kanye West, has been able to harness technology, the media, and his own public projection by constantly negotiating with all things fresh and new. Apple doesn’t really care about all that. In interviews from both 2000 and 2012, she claimed to not listen to any new music whatsoever, and when she recently sat down with Carrie Battan for a Pitchfork interview, she referred to Google as “this whole Google thing,” like an overwhelmed grandmother. On her entirely acoustic fourth album, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, the 34-year-old makes herself heard with her voice, her words, her piano, and not much else.

This is the most distilled Fiona Apple album yet. While her celebrated previous work was marked by eclectic musical flourishes courtesy of producers including Jon Brion and Mike Elizondo, The Idler Wheel is fearlessly austere in comparison. She worked with touring drummer Charley Drayton on the album, and his touches are light and incisive. Speaking of the record’s signature clattering percussion — including thigh slaps, truck stomps, and “pillow,” according to the credits — Apple associated the homemade sounds with an increased freedom: “I just like that feeling of: ‘I’m in charge, I can do whatever I want.'” And this musique concrète approach is not random. Every single waveform is pierced with purpose, from the muted heartbeat thumping through “Valentine” to the childlike plinks popping around the uncharacteristically optimistic “Anything We Want” to the chugging factory sounds that give “Jonathan” its uneasy rhythm.

It’s an old-school approach, though it rises well above mere sepia Instagrams. Instead of being far-off and dreamy, her throwback moves are the opposite — intrusive, corporeal. This is not background music. It demands attention. “Look at! Look at! Look at! Look at me!” she pleads on “Daredevil”, a knowing admission of her self-destructive tendencies. But even after being thrown into the media spotlight at a young age, and having to deal with crippling doubt, Fiona Apple didn’t go boom. She’s still here, brave enough to indulge in raw emotion and smart enough to make those feelings carry. — Pitchfork

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