Cougar Microbes

It was an eye opening moment when Radiohead released ‘In Rainbows‘ and gave their fans the choice of at what price to purchase it at. The moral implications of this were far greater than one might think in this disposable era.

Jonathan Dagan aka J. Viewz decided his latest project would be as modern and intelligent as the music of that he produces. In the early stages of this mini masterpiece, fans would pay for an album in advance and release a song a month, sent digitally, before culminating the album and producing a twenty six page booklet with beautifully thoughtful artwork. This would leave fans with a full package, yet by giving them small chunks of a whole, leaves fans desperate for the next song and in turn, a sense of longing for the finished piece.

Musically it is a very exprerimental yet expressive album, lying somewhere between Neon Indian, Passion Pit and Zero 7, up beat electro pop backdrop sometimes submerging beneath a watery haze of chillout lounge, and minimalist soul.

‘Meantime‘ is a great example of these two themes melting together, with Japanese house synths and soft vocals rolling like two colours of smoke above a solid lanscape of straight beats.

As time goes on, genres will get harder and harder to define and redefine, and J. Viewz is no exception. The trip-hop meets go-go dance funk of ‘This City Means No Love‘ and the Peter Bjorn and John meets late eighties LA hip-hop of ‘Salty Air‘ both don’t feel out of place, and even compliment each other. They are as unpredictable as the times of music ahead.

‘Building A Home‘ is a beautiful slab of creative layers, energetic and bold, yet thoughtful and stark. What follows it is in my opinion the strongest song on the album and keeps these themes alive. ‘Far Too Close‘ is as pop as it is creative.

While straying far from each other, each track on ‘Rivers And Homes‘ is undeniably J.Viewz.

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Post by T.R Wicks

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TRACKS:

building a home. by J.Viewz

Nada Surf‘s new album’The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy‘  shows the NYC band haven’t lost any of their melodic charm. Featuring guest appearances by musician Doug Gillard (Guided by Voices) and produced by Chris Shaw (Wilco) the band show an exceptional ability for remaining evergreen.

Take the excellent ‘When I Was Young‘ for example; it builds classically, starting with a simple jangly acoustic intro until it delivers you into a beautiful rock crescendo of crashing drums and striking guitars.

The nostalgic lyrics stay much in sync with the concept presented in the title, sweet listless thoughts concerning previous states of mind are front and center as Matthew Caws sings. As the chorus repeats “what was that world I was dreaming of“, and the music swells it is hard to ignore ones own youthful misgivings. The tones of the rock ensemble are spot on. The track is masterfully mixed, showcasing each instrument appropriately and without bombast.

The band will be beginning there latest national tour March 20th in Los Angeles, CA. The album . ‘The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy‘ is out now.

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Post written by Cole

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TRACKS:

Nada Surf – When I Was Young

Chairlift seem to do what most electro pop bands cannot, and that’s edit themselves. The critically acclaimed ‘Does You Inspire You‘ along with its heavily promoted single ‘Bruises‘ was subtle in it’s use of synthesizers and reverberated sound.

The Latest album ‘Something‘ is comprised of much lusher and moving arrangements with a backdrop of retro midi synths and themes of uncertainty and human greed. The eighties reverberation only reinforces the darker shades from this era from the unshakable motivational moods of the times, to the corporate greed and oppression.

This album is in no way claustrophobic though, it is exceptionally wide and poignant, evidence of a band at the top of their game and brimming with confidence. The warmth of this this record is what shines through and I’m sure Ghandi would’ve have something irritatingly wise to say here.

Singles ‘Sidewalk Safari’ and ‘Met Before’ are fantastic examples of this production along with the modern chic indie pop, lying somewhere between Cocteau Twins ethereal ripples and Blonde Redhead‘s stylish cooing. ‘I Belong In Your Arms’ is bold and concise and, much like the whole album, is unbelievably catchy.

The addictive bass lines from ‘Amanaemonesia’ and ‘Wrong Opinion’ should back the single pillars from this album perfectly, offering not only a record that would suit a cult 1980’s B-Movie, but also a dose of dream pop to shake your arse to wildly.

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Post by TR Wicks

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I Belong In Your Arms by Chairlift

Met Before by Chairlift

1) Gotye – Making Mirrors

Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here

2. Adele – 21

Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here

3. The Decemberists – The King is Dead

Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here

4. Rufus Wainwright – House of Rufus

A massive 19-disc box set of all the magic of Rufus—live performances, albums, singles and b-sides. Even though I could never afford this, it makes the list for best releases. And my Christmas wish list.

5. Bon Iver – Bon Iver

Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here.

6. Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What

I have always surrendered to anything written by Paul Simon, but this album has charm and wit in spades. He even managed to hold back on that penchant for African drumming.

7. Florence and the Machine – Ceremonials

Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here.

8. City & Colour – Little Hell

Although I’m the first to admit this album doesn’t top City & Colour’s previous efforts, it says a lot that it still crushes most other releases of the year.

9. Cake – Showroom of Compassion

Made the Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2011 list here.

10. J Mascis – Several Shades of Why

I’m not usually brave enough to name a favourite album, but this year it was easy. Mascis brings the power of Dinosaur Jr, the simplicity of bare and honest lyrics, and then his godlike guitar virtuosity, to bear in this true 2011 masterpiece.

TRACKS:

Eyes Wide Open by Gotye

Adele – Rolling In The Deep

The Decemberists – This Is Why We Fight

Calgary by boniver

The Afterlife by Paul Simon

Florence & The Machine – What the Water Gave Me (DhARMA Edit)

City and Colour – We Found Each Other In The Dark

J Mascis – Not Enough

Tv On The Radio didn’t take too long to follow up 2009′s brilliant ‘Dear Science,‘ and as usual didn’t disappoint. This time the Brooklyn outfit set up camp on the West Coast and the sunnier climate appears to have seeped through to these tracks.

With another mild change of direction the tracks on ’Nine Types Of Light‘ have borrowed some of the horns from its predecessor but definitely comes across as a more laid back affair.

Lyrically frontman Tunde Adebimpe and singer-guitarist Kyp Malone seem less preoccupied with tales of apocalypse and the end of the world and more focussed on making sure you tell the ones you love exactly how you feel for them. That this would be the last album Gerard Smith would appear on before his untimely death makes this all the more poignant.

Meanwhile, special praise should go to guitarist and producer extraordinaire Dave Sitek for realizing that the band’s sound needed a tweak and for incorporating some of the ideas he has been involved with in his “other” projects recently. TVOTR haven’t lost the electricity that initially made us fall in love with them, they have just refined the way they administer it to us.

TRACKS:

TV On The Radio – “Will Do”

 Last year I sat through a blogger and A&R roundtable organized by one of the majors in London. In between talk of “organic artist growth” and “breakout singles” The name of the Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, and more specifically Tyler, The Creator‘s ‘Yonkers‘ video,  came up several times as the label people seemed genuinely baffled by the success the collective were enjoying and the way they had gone about it.

Then in May he followed this up with his first non-independently released album ‘Goblin‘ acting as a metaphorical punch to the stomach. In between persistent arguments with his inner voices, tongue-in-cheek suggestions that  we  ”kill people, burn shit, fuck school” and general disclaimers to his position as hip hops posterchild Tyler spits some of the best venom since Eminem’s debut album.

Cole found himself asking ”Is ‘Goblin’ a comedy album? I still don’t know. Tracks like “Yonkers” are dark, featuring samples that seem to be pulled from horror films. The rhymes constantly reference murder and explicit sex, and flow slowly as if they were first written to be high school poems. The album confuses me to no end, and I can’t stop listening to it“.

TRACKS:

Tyler The Creator – She (feat. Frank Ocean)

 The musical superduo Ashtar Command, composed of Chris Holmes (Sir Paul McCartney‘s go to DJ) and Brian Liesegang (Founding member of Filter) first showed up on our radar with a track on the PS3 game ‘Red Dead Redemption‘. Their debut album ‘American Sunshine‘ was an unexpected and delightful revelation.

Chief Cougar Microbes collaborator Kyle hailed it as an “incredible masterpiece that should be known collectively throughout the web as the most underrated album of 2011 .

 The album is slightly conceptual, non-surprisingly themed around an “American Sunshine” indie-super-collabo-album idea.  Which basically means they have everyone from Har Mar Superstar, Rachel Yamagata and Alex Ebert, to Joshua Radin and Z. Berg doing their thing.

However it never feels that these artists were just added in ‘just because’.  There is no gimmick here, its pure music.  The tracks combine a range of haunting algorithmic synth-outs to indie progressive rockfests that leave your ears and soul wanting more.

 Hopefully Holmes and Liesegang feel that yearning and continue to release incredibly original and unique musical experiences long into the future. If 2012 isn’t the end of the world that is“.

TRACKS:

“Blister of The Spotlight (ft. Rachael Yamagata)” – Ashtar Command

“Mark IV (ft. Joshua Radin)” – Ashtar Command

 It feels like it was only yesterday that we started hearing about The Decemberists. It amazes me to think that the band has released six official studio albums earning a spot amongst indie rocks biggest success stories. Cougar writer Emily added them to her list describing ‘The King Is Dead‘ as “A folky album with well-crafted song after well-crafted song; it is the quiet and beautiful dark horse in my collection this year“.

Jazmin mused that ” Something that makes The Decemberists one of my favourite bands is their ability to make each of their albums so very different but yet distinctively Decemberists-esque. The folk undertones of ‘The King is Dead’ are absolutely no exception.

Perhaps their best album since ‘Your Majesty’, ‘The King is Dead’ is the perfect mix of beautifully crafted acoustic melodies such as ‘June Hymn’ and singalong anthems such as ‘This Is Why We Fight’. If the best bands are those that keep evolving, The Decemberists’ 2011 outing is a case study in why they’re already a step ahead of the rest“.

TRACKS:

The Decemberists – This Is Why We Fight