Sunday Morning Music: The Antlers' "Two"

I saw the Antlers in a tent at SXSW, waiting for Les Savy Fav. It was one of those moments that I felt I'd been put in the right place to discover a band that had previously flown under my radar. I was also delriously tired, the kind of tired where you cross over into the surreal. The Antlers and I fell in love lit by stage lights reflecting off of stark white tarp.

"Two" is a pretty epic song. I'm a sucker for things that build from a simple beginning, adding instruments and urgency. The Antlers build you up, drop the floor out, then cradle you until the end. Once I'd heard the lyrics clearly, it remained in my head, making me seek it out. I love it when that happens with an opening band, and it's a bit of a rarity.

This happens to be the very song that changed my mind from "oh, they're servicable while I wait for LSF" to liking them on their own merits, aside from being forced to stand in front of them and listen. The video for "Two" is cute, but it was really the live version that won my allegiance. Played live, it sounds more raw and urgent. I was torn between including the real video or a performance (which I prefer), so you get both. It's been a few weeks since the last SMM, so consider it a bonus.

They're on tour with the Editors right now, including dates at Lollapalooza. I'd see them again, for sure.

SXSW preview: s'all blurred out: Kristin & Marley focus on SALEM

In which soldout begins to join the fucking cacophony about SXSW.

Kristin talked to Marley for about an hour about Salem Friday Feb 26.  It was crazy. The original schedule of the chat/listening party was only supposed to be three songs. It didn’t work out like that, which the girls suppose is often the case with SALEM. Once you start learning about their mythology and hearing the music, you get oddly sucked into their web. Below, you can listen along with Marley and Kristin. Draw your own conclusions, but you’ll definitely be as mystified as they were.

Marley: ok. so we're going to listen to SALEM!

Kristin: Here we are. About to listen to Salem. What shall we start with?

Marley: Russ tells me we're going to start with When You Sleep

  and then move on to Skullcrush

  and for dessert, Trap Door

  i'm being instructed to get a drink.

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Sunday Morning Music: Andrew Jackson Jihad

Andrew Jackson Jihad have a name that makes people look at you funny when you recommend them, but that's not going to stop me.

AJJ consists of two beardy dudes (Sean Bonnette and Ben Gallaty), a guitar, and a standup bass. They have a comforting sincerity and simple songs packed with witty lyrics in a folk-punk style, but whereas some folk punk makes me roll my eyes, these guys just make me smile. They make me write in run-ons. I plan to invite them to play at some basement in my city eventually.

This song is from the Pink Couch Sessions, by If You Make It (dotcom). The YouTube channel attached to the Pink Couch Sessions is well worth looking through.

If you like "Sense, Sensibility" (no, it has nothing to do with Jane Austen), then start off your journey with how I stumbled upon them: the album People Who Can Eat People Are the Luckiest People in the World. Go directly to the song "Brave as a Noun." Once I heard this, I was hooked.

Beardy dudes + sincerity + clever lyrics = win.

Sunday Morning Music: Hold Your Horses!

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

“It hardly looked like a novel at all; I hardly look like a hero at all.”

I woke up late today, so today’s Sunday Morning is really more like Sunday Afternoon, and suitably a little more stirring. Franco-americain group Hold Your Horses!, comprised of seven official band members, stole my heart upon waking with this curious little clip for their song “70 million.” These poor kids don’t even have a Wikipedia page yet. If you type in their name, you are treated to an explanation of the idiom “hold your horses.” I know the phrase well; my family employed it all the time. I have never been very good at holding my metaphorical horses.

Good lord, I love gang vocals. This song is now stuck in my head, likely for the rest of the day. Sweet accent tinged vocals totally invading my mind. This video is also a game (what pieces of art can you identify?) tempered by some extremely pale boy near-nudity.

They have delightful MySpace band member bios (ex: ”Florence plays the drums, the guitar and sings. She uses alcohol as a crutch and dreams in Frenglish.”) Some other song names from the page: “Now I shall go to overtake that killer,” “Patience while tantrums of waterfalls.” It’s nice to see some effort to bring some personality to a MySpace page, but I still can’t wait until bands feel like they don’t have to have an entry on that terrible, glittery mess of a social network.

I hear a “mon dieu” at the end of this video and this charms the hell out of me.

Sunday Morning Music: Tegan and Sara's "Alligator"

I'm starting to like Tegan and Sara's new album, Sainthood, better than The Con. It's a little jumpier, a little jinglier, a little more optimistic. The songs and the tone apply to my life now much more than anything on The Con (one of my favorite albums of all time, but it's kind of an empty glass bummer all the way through).

"Alligator" is the newest video release from Sainthood, just premiering on MySpace on February 16th. I'm not even going to try to explain the "story" of the video, watch for yourself and go along for the surreal ride. I was really pleased they did a video for this track; it's the second cut to get the treatment out of my three favorite songs on the record. (If they do "The Cure" next, we've got the trifecta.)

For those of us trapped in snow for the past couple of weeks, this has special significance. And dancing! They dance! Confetti angels! Knitted eskimos! Plastic igloos!

Good morning: It's Sunday and Tegan and Sara are adorable.