Mates of State Cover Album

There seems to be a trend of cover/tribute albums this year.  The latest that has come to my attention is the new covers project by Mates of State called Crushes.  The record was released last week and includes the duo’s unique take on many different artists, such as Belle & Sebastian, Fleetwood Mac, & Death Cab For Cutie.

The Connecticut based duo have apparently been “talking about doing a covers record for a long time.”  I am personally glad that all the talking paid off and that this album has finally come to fruition.  The few tracks that I have heard so far are very different from the original, but they stay within Mates of State’s unique indie-pop style.  I am very excited to hear the rest of the record.

Lissie Covers Kid Cudi

Back in April I introduced you all to a new singer/songwriter called Lissie, via her captivating cover of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”   Well she is back again, this time with a stellar version of hip-hop artist Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness.”  I am tempted to once again declare Lissie’s cover the better version of the song.   I’m not convinced yet though. For those of you interested in hearing more from Lissie, you will be happy to know that her full-length debut, Catching A Tiger, is coming out later this summer. More on the new album in the weeks to come. For not enjoy this great reinvention of one of the catchiest rap songs of last year.

Interview with Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt

We at IHYEB recently had the chance to do a little web interview with Neil Fridd, the frontman of Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt.  This is what he had to say:

IHYEB: What artists have been your biggest influences over the years?

Fridd: Jason Anderson, The Knife, Xiu Xiu, and more recently, Mississippi Records Tape Series Volume 15: “I Learned it All the Hard Way”

IHYEB: If you had to sum up your reason or purpose for making music, what would it be?

Fridd: How many people do you know who don’t like some kind of music? I can think of one dude I know who doesn’t like music and he’s tone deaf. It’s the grand unifier! The universal language whatever majig! How rad is it that making that can be your job?! That there’s some dude I’ve never met in japan who’s fucking bobbing his head to “Snowday!” That fucking rules!!! That’s the best job ever! It’s validation, that all these things I think and feel and think are important enough to put into song are felt by other people, and that they agree with them to the degree that they would come ot our shows and sing them with me, it’s reassuring, maybe I’m doing okay here…

IHYEB: What do you think of involving politics in music?

Fridd: For it.  Have you heard the song “Thoughts Thinking About Themselves Under a Projector Witha Cracked Mirror and an Unfocused Lense” by Phlegm?

IHYEB: When writing a song, how much do you base what you write on how it will present in a performance?

Fridd: At first it was not at all. I’m writing our second album now, and I guess there’s a bit more of a conscious “oh yeah, this will be fun to chant with a bunch of sweaty kids!”

IHYEB: Do you dig Stevie Wonder?

Fridd: Dude, Sir Duke is my jam!!!  It’s interesting that you bring him up…I was blasting that in the car last night and woke up this afternoon thinking that I’d really like to have him play my wedding…Steview Wonder and Jens Lekman seem like the best wedding bands…

IHYEB: Which comes first in terms of song writing: drums, lyrics or chord progression?

Fridd: Totally depends. Usually it’s some lyrics and scraps of melody that I keep singing over and over until it’s more fleshed out and then I find the chords under them. But that’s only about 50% of the time I’d say.  Sometimes I come up with a rocking drum beat or killer bass line first. Depends…

IHYEB: I get the feeling that a lot of musicians have forgotten that music is supposed to be fun. Do you feel that is a revolution you are trying to start or just something that is innate?

Fridd: I would accept “a revolution that we’re a part of” but claiming to be the founding fathers of it seems ridiculously arrogant and ignorant. It was definitely a reactionary creation, a response to going to way to many fucking boring concerts at the Bowery Ballroom.  I remember thinking it was such a treat when i went to a show there where people actually went nuts (the only one I can remember is an Akron/Family concert like 4 years ago. It was epic…) I wanted to make a band where that got to happen every time. It was a conscious decision but also something innate: It was what felt right, deep down somewhere in my chest.

IHYEB: The name. It’s terrible. Why?

Fridd: I was in high school. Get over it. U2, The Black Eyed Peas, Radiohead, are these good band names? No. Once a bunch of people like your music it doesn’t matter.  The only good band name I know is Nero’s Day in Disneyland, and it’s taken.

Band of Horses Opens Infinite Possibilities

After nearly two and a half years in the making, Infinite Arms reveals some noticeable advances in Band of Horses’ already expanding creativity.  Appropriately, the five-piece group took this creativity and ran in new directions.  Just before the release of their last album Cease to Begin, the band relocated from Seattle to lead singer Ben Bridwell’s native South Carolina; and this new physical direction inevitably brought about new musical directions.  Band of Horses has abandoned their catchy indie folk roots for a more wholesome Dixie drawl.  Their third album carries a brooding – almost homely – feel to it.  Written by Bridwell in a cabin in the Minnesota wilderness, the dozen songs making up Infinite Arms fluctuate between nagging sadness and giddy hopefulness.

A look at perhaps the worst track of the album, “Evening Kitchen,” ironically displays just how far this band has come.  The song is at best heartfelt and at worst just mediocre, not necessarily skippable though; this speaks volumes of how much effort Band of Horses has thrown into this one release.  The songs with the most country influence include “Factory,” “Older,” and “Neighbor.”  The Southern undertones strangely seem to add to the songs’ quality instead of taking away from it.  Clear splits from the widespread melancholy are “Dilly” and “NW Apt.”  These tracks keenly echo the group’s alt-rock origins, forming distinctly optimistic breaks.  One song sticks out for odd reasons; it is a bit difficult to take “Blue Beard” seriously when the polyphonic breakdown sounds too much like the hilarious Anchorman rendition of “Afternoon Delight”.  The all-important best song though is a tossup between the first single, “Compliments,” and the title track, “Infinite Arms.”  Although the former is catchier and better written, the layering techniques and genuine nature noises throughout the latter show telltale signs of higher production skills and focus.

Formerly insulted as “Fleet Foxes plus reverb,” Band of Horses can now claim a truly unique sound.  Any listener can hear in this new sound a heightened love for nature.  These five men are no tree huggers, but with their move to the South came a deep harmony with all things outdoors.  The fact that the band assigned a separate Chris Wilson nature photograph and hand-drawn illustration for every single song exhibits their fresh attention toward image and detail.  With focus and natural talent comes amazing results.  Although not infinite, Band of Horses’ abilities will take them far.