Owner: RegnYouth Archives URL:http://www.regnyouth.com Join Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:06:44 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The RegnYouth Archives provides the reading audience with music related selections, reviews, and interviews, introducing new and upcoming artists and bring older, extraordinary artists back into the spotlight. Site statistics:Click here
Daily Digs: Animal Collective, Scouting For Glory, Jeff Tweedy & More… 2007-12-02 21:09:47 Dancey, updated Krautrock from Beyond The Wizards Sleeve, flailing, pulsing beeps smashed over evil electronica courtesy of a band named after She-Ra’s castle, and a truly unique post-hardcore collage (a blend of metal, hardcore, classical, industrial, etc.) entitled ‘Melonwhisper’ are the top selections on this ‘Daily
Digs’. Other notable artists include Arctic Monkeys, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Shudder To Think.
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The Valerie Project - The Valerie Project 2007-12-02 20:56:37 When Greg Weeks, the leader of Philadelphia nu-folk combo Espers, was invited to present a “music to film” event at the city’s International House, the film for which he chose to devise a new soundtrack was ‘Valerie
and Her Week of Wonders’, a late Sixties surreal coming of age fantasy by the Czech director Jaromil Jires. Bewitched by the movie’s symbolist style and its intertwining of sexual, folkloric, religious and mystical themes, Weeks assembled a 10-piece band from Philadelphia’s flourishing folk-rock scene to create this score, which was performed at the final night of this year’s Meltdown Festival. The tone is heady and psychedelic: one moment, the sinister multi-tracked recorders and percussion recall Sun Ra’s quieter musings; the next, a blend of delicate harp-picking, cymbal swells and psychedelic guitar-noodling resembles some forgotten Krautrock artefact. Flutes flirt with celesta, strings swirl round jew’s harp, Read more:Project
Volcano The Bear - The Noise And Twigs 2007-12-02 20:53:41 The Volcano
the Bear is an experience that could forever be imprinted on one’s memory. There’s soulful wailing, suggesting mullahs on top of white towers in North Africa, righteous free jazz freakouts, eerie plucked strings and song from Aaron Moore and Nick Mott and, apart from moments when the auto level control does the job a bit too viciously, the sound quality is pretty good. This record pours slowly and resolutely like a folk-psych dream urn, loaded with full metal banjoes; crumhorns at 12 O’clock; and autoharps at defcon 5. The experimentalism is couched in shifting tides of self-spun acidic harvest ballads that noisily well up into proto-Kraut thrums and tribal night trips around the pyre. A rural, squelchy, DIY delicacy which stinks of occidental embouchure so crystal crisp that every skkrrrr, pphaaapph and brrruuuummmm resonates like a small, sound-specific God, intertwined with beautifully skewed notes, voices and rhythms. ‘Amidst The Noise
And Twigs&rsqu
Bogdan Raczynski - Alright! 2007-12-02 20:51:00 It’s been a good five years or so since Bogdan last graced listeners with his presence, and in that time he’s not only had a secret underground collaboration with Bjork but has also apparently collected his best recipes for a sultry cookbook. ‘Alright
!’ is a hugely entertaining eight track album in a classic Braindance style, shifting from raved-up gabba-lite to Junglist tumbles, 8-bit pop segments and padded IDM. There really is nothing to dislike about this set, it breezes through effortlessly and raised several nostalgic smiles in the office all afternoon, a mark of its signature production style and of Bogdan’s rightful place as one of the originators of that sound. Just don’t leave it another 5 years eh?
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Offwhyte - Mainstay 2007-12-02 20:48:28 On his third studio album, Offwhyte offers a soundscape filled with charismatic philosophies and cogent imagery. ‘Mainstay’ provides a magnificent listening experience for the vibe-driven style enthusiast and lyrical junkie alike. Boasting a beautifully eclectic range of songs and sounds, the album is a breath of fresh air in this era of identity crisis and unwarranted braggadocio. Offwhyte has been a mainstay of underground originality and sly wordplay. With this new release he personifies this notion. The artist has tapped into a new grittier sound with tracks like “GWARN!” and “Whimsical”, while never compromising his mellower soul ballads like “The Metropolitan People”. The album also packs plenty of surprises, including a few tracks with subtle reggae influences, and a storytelling track about his grandfather, “Wise Conscience”. A highly-anticipated album, ‘Mainstay’ flaunts a fluidity that transforms a collec
Skrein - The Eat Up 2007-12-02 20:45:56 North Londoner Skrein rips through this debut LP with reckless abandon, full of mischief, arrogance and politically-incorrect humor. Possessing a sharp delivery and character in abundance, the acid-tongued rapper fully deserves his reputation as one of the most entertaining new voices to hit the UK rap scene in recent times. Seamlessly blended together by DJ IQ but so much more than just another mix-CD, ‘The Eat Up’ is a rambunctious collection of tight beats and gleefully corrupt verbal dynamics. The venomous “Skrizzle” finds Skrein dealing with unwanted mobile phone calls in an inimitable fashion, reminding hangers-on that even though his music is for everybody the rapper’s time is his own. The jazzy “Bastard Like” features Dubbledge joining the self-proclaimed Dinnerlady Pimp to question why so many women say they want a good man yet still gravitate towards a bad boy, while the celebratory “Raise Ya Glasses” is a drunken duet with the irrepr
Manic Street Preachers - Send Away The Tigers 2007-12-02 20:43:10 On 2007’s ‘Send Away The Tigers
’, the long-running Britpop act ManicStreetPreachers
reconvened after the debut solo albums by vocalist/guitarist James Dean Bradfield and bassist Nicky Wire (’The Great Western’ and ‘I Killed the Zeitgeist’, respectively). Clearly reinvigorated by the time off, the Manics offer up some of their edgiest songs in years (see the raucous “I’m Just a Patsy”), while also presenting some engaging pop-oriented moments, most notably “Your Love Alone Is Not Enough,” a soaring duet that pairs Bradfield’s plaintive voice with the breathy coo of the Cardigans’ Nina Persson. Arguably the finest Manics outing since 1996’s ‘Everything Must Go’, ‘Send Away The Tigers’ proves that the Welsh band can still rock with fury while keeping its hooky, accessible veneer intact.
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Osawa Shinichi - The One 2007-12-02 20:40:48 For many people familiar with Mondo Grosso, the music of Osawa Shinichi (or Shinichi Osawa for those who know of his work in the US) or perhaps were introduced to a few of his songs via the Sony PSP game ‘Lumines’ have enjoyed his music for years. ‘The One’ is a digital smorgasborg of digital music that combines his frenetic digital style intermeshed with rock music which Osawa calls “electro”. The album features a mix and mash of music genres of digital pop, rock and a bit of the 80’s New Order/Pineapple electro pop that old school fans can help but smile to. Also, one of the most brilliant parts of the album is the various collaborations on this album, thus giving each song its own unique vibe. “Our Song” features Osawa collaborating with Ultra Brain and another “electro” sound featuring rock with digital music, while “Dreamhunt” features Osawa collaborating with Simone Rubi of the trio indie group Rubies; this one does not feature the rock
Scratch Massive - Time 2007-12-02 20:38:13 On their second album, ‘Time’, Scratch
Massive’s “black electronic” cuts adds new wave to a potent mix of acid, industrial, electro, and funk. Sometimes resembling Kill Memory Crash in disguise, opening cuts like the throbbing “Fake Lesbian” and burning “Girls on Top” promptly set the bar high. Gravelly male voices, hammering percussion, hornets’ nests of synths, and horror-film organs bring dark ambiance to the album’s storming electro-house. Highlights include the haunting “Soleil Noir,” so elegant it verges on symphonic, and “Dance,” a slow-burning electro-funk raver. Time’s peak moment arrives, though, with “Shining in My Vein,” a spectacularly tripped-out, electro-industrial-funk mix of subterranean bass hum, distorted cyborg vocals, and tight beats (even better is the raunchy guitar motif that crash-lands throughout). But what a shame that Time’s quality level drops off in its final three tracks: the anomal
Ceremony - Disappear 2007-12-02 20:27:29 Ceremony mix up noise pop and shoegaze sounds whilst adding a more electro feel. The band take influences like New Order, My Bloody Valentine and early 80s Sisters of Mercy (maybe it’s the use of the drum machine that makes one think of the early goth rockers and their ‘Dr. Avalanche’ recordings) and meld it together to make a beautiful cacophony, where drum machine beats compete against guitars. ‘Disappear’ is the follow up to Ceremony’s self titled mini CD that came out back in 2005. Ceremony have a fairly electronic feel on songs like “Nothing Inside”. Whilst “I Heard You Call My Name” is awash with guitars - this is probably the closest they come to the old Skywave sound. But that’s the beauty of Ceremony that they are taking their sound forward and moving to incorporate electro pop into their wall of sound approach.
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The Top 20 Albums Of 2007 2007-12-21 11:34:45 A fine year 2007 was musically, so fine that there was some serious debate as to what would be named the best album of the year. Against some stellar competition, Battles' ‘Mirrored’ seemed to be the best choice, simply because it seems to offer a little bit of something for everybody. Filled with anthemic, fist-pumping energy, the album appeals to those who like music that's spirited and unpretentious. But the expert musicianship and great precision of playing in each track satisfied the music geek too. But there's so much more to this great debut full-length from this local fourpiece. ‘Mirrored’ is forward-thinking and visionary, combining today's love of technology with traditional nods to math rock, prog, avant noise and electronica. It's unlike anything heard before, and that isn't something said often these days. Despite the mesmerizing virtuosity of the music - the interplay of drums and guitars is particularly dazzling - the music has a d
Wu Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams 2007-12-18 14:01:31 Wu-Tang Clan’s fifth album, ‘8 Diagrams’, comes at a time of group strife. Raekwon has called Wu ringleader and beatmaker RZA a “hip-hop hippie” and says the beats on the new album are too cerebral. And it’s true: While the minimalist production and movie samples evoke ‘Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’, ‘8 Diagrams’ is not exactly bringing da muthafucking ruckus. But it kicks into high gear with the safari-movie-sounding “Rushing Elephants,” and other highlights include “Unpredictable” and “Take It Back.” Throughout, the usual Wu-Tang samurai and chess metaphors are mixed with pop-culture references and bizarre narrative interludes. Almost everyone is in fine form, especially Method Man, Inspectah Deck and Ghost, though Ghost is notably absent on the appropriately beautiful/chaotic ODB tribute, “Life Changes.” Holding the whole thing together are RZA’s beats. Understated, a
Dawn McCarthy & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - Wai Notes 2007-12-18 13:58:46 This limited edition &lsquo
;Wai Notes
’ combines Bonnie
‘Prince
’ Billy
with Faun Fables’ Dawn McCarthy
for an alternate take on material penned for his last full length. These incredibly rough recordings were once demos for ‘The Letting Go’, an album that was about as hi-fi and full-blooded as one could ever hope to hear. Perhaps because of those maxed-out production values, the album tended to split opinion between long-term Oldham followers, but hearing the songs in their nascent form is sure to be unanimously well received among Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy die-hards. The format is pared down to just Oldham and McCarthy singing whilst accompanied by a little acoustic guitar and a whole lot of tape hiss. It’s rather odd to hear a song like “Cursed Sleep” bereft of its lavish string arrangements, but here it is complete with errors and fumbled lyrics, and it sounds just great. Of course to get the full benefit of an album like
CLARK - Throttle Promoter 12″ 2007-12-18 13:36:40 This alarmingly limited 12″ from Chris Clark finds the producer shifting away from the complex melodic electronics of ‘Body Riddle’ and, instead, honing his talents as a more dancefloor centric producer across four tracks of meticulous sound design and economical beat devastation. “See See” bursts into life with some utterly frazzled electro stylings, situated somewhere between Bitstream’s tangled-wire drum programming and Team Doyobi’s crispy digital mayhem. “Dirty Pixie” sounds like it’s belting out at the wrong speed, propped up by beats that are positively falling over themselves. The B-side only proves to sustain this tone of finely tuned excess, with “Kin Griff” dropping the heaviest of snares before erupting in Aphex-style breakbeats. Easily an outstanding 12″, and hopefully an indicator of the sort of material lined up for Clark’s forthcoming album, due in the new year.
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Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood 2007-12-18 13:34:44 ‘There Will Be Blood
’, Paul Thomas Anderson's film adaptation of Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel ‘Oil! Tipped’, is not expected to be a barrel of laughs. Phrases such as "reminiscent of Terrence Malick" and "150 minutes long" are already circulating. Thus, JonnyGreenwood
is the perfect candidate to accept the commission of creating the soundtrack. Here, he offers a dry collection of contemporary classical snippets of varying intensity (all between two and five minutes). The introductory “Open Spaces” is perfectly evocative, a gorgeous reworking on the old “train whistle” theme, and the stark, ambient Henry Plainview, one of two tunes partly recycled from his well-received “Popcorn Superhet Receiver” piece, is heroically bleak. For all the suggestions of experimentation, Greenwood's elegantly effective score evokes old Hollywood, at least in that odd period when an avant-garde fleeing a dangerous Europe washed up on Read more:Jonny Greenwood
The White Stripes - Conquest EP 2007-12-18 13:32:14 “Conquest
” was released as the third single from the White
Stripes’ album ‘Icky Thump’ in December 2007. The ‘Conquest’ EP contains four new, previously unreleased B-sides from a mini session Jack and Meg held with Beck, who co-produced all three tracks in his living room and also contributed vocals and piano to “It’s My Fault For Being Famous” and slide guitar on “Honey, We Can’t Afford To Look This Cheap.” As with anything White Stripes, ‘Conquest’ is a worthy, recommended listen for fans of rock.
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Pants Yell! - Alison Statton 2007-12-18 13:27:12 One could argue that this Cambridge, MA band have a ridiculous name, but one could also say it's got a neat sense of whimsy to it. Indeed, it fits well with their sound, which is a dash of twee and melodrama combined with a sharp sense of pop melody. From the first song to the last, these earnest young men are charming, as it's probably the best emulation of Swedish pop this side of the pond. The titular ‘Statton’ is a member of the seminal band Young Marble Giants but, really, it could anyone in the title, as long as the name is female. Opening with the fantastic "More Purple," which accentuates its brisk pop with bright saxophones and trumpets, one can't help but, well, bop along. "Reject, Reject" is a little more contemplative, but it's the repeating guitar chords and Andrew Churchman's heartfelt delivery that make the impression. Pants
Yell! are occasionally a bit too cloying and run a little close to self-parody but if they can harness their awesome p Read more:Alison
Al Margolis/If, Bwana - An Innocent, Abroad 2007-12-18 13:22:19 If Bwana is the project of Al Margolis, who began producing tapes of dadaistic noise in 1984. ‘An Innocent
Abroad’ contains two pieces by Margolis recorded in 2007. The 43-minute four-movement piece for electronics, vocals and flutes was created by having the vocalist improvise a vocal track, then by multiplying the track, then by feeding the tracks to flute improvisers, then by manipulating the results. Whatever the process, the result is oneiric, languid and spaced-out, almost psychedelic in nature. The 19-minute “Issue” for electronics and multi-tracked voice falls in the tradition of musique concrete and concocts a more dynamic processing of the original vocals. And while it may not be the most accessible of pieces, ‘An Innocent Abroad’ is new sound art of the highest quality.
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Daily Digs: Architecture in Helsinki, Rhett Miller, Violent Femmes & More… 2007-12-18 13:10:11 Today’s offering of ‘Daily
Digs’ is highlighted by the latest effort from Wyclef Jean (’Carnival Vol II: Memoirs Of An Immigrant’), a quality bootleg of the Led Zeppelin reunion concert, and the secondary disc from Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’. Also worthy of note is a brilliant Do Make Say Think EP, Karen O’s (of Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame) home demos, and the classic Run D.M.C. album ‘Tougher Than Leather’. Other notable artists include The Clash, L7, and Eliott Smith.
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