Daytrotter a Day #36: Pup

Daytrotter a Day #36: Pup (Released 04.03.14)

Apparently Daytrotter has opened up its network of recording studios to include a place in Brooklyn dubbed the Rat Cave.  I'm not sure if it's just the noise created by the punks of Toronto's Pup, but the quality of this first session blows.  Pup aren't too bad, but they're fairly generic.  They sound a bit like Bomb the Music Industry! but without the charm lent by that band's amusing choices in instrumentation.

Daytrotter a Day #35: Sam Goodwill

Daytrotter a Day #35: Sam Goodwill (Released 11.29.13)

When I pressed play on "Hand to the Good Book," Sam's lilting falsetto reminded me of Bon Iver.  Once the piano entered the mix, I started getting a Coldplay vibe.  Then some background vocals reminiscent of Ben Bridwell showed up.  By the time I got to the scuzzy bass towards the song's end, I realized I should stop trying to compare and just listen.  This served me well on "Facing the Music," which detonates at its midpoint and gets grooving like a motherfucker.  "Hanging Heads" wasn't my cup of tea, but "Bullets," a somber acoustic tune that references Kurt Cobain, was alright.

Daytrotter a Day #34: Quieting Syrup

Daytrotter a Day #34: Quieting Syrup (Released 02.06.10)

Stephen Howard has spent most of his life battling illnesses, and he eventually chronicled these experiences and emotions in a solo album, Songs About a Sick Boy.  His vocals are what you'd expect: untrained, weak, and sad.  But the mix on this session is awesome.  The guitars sound fucking perfect.  Kudos to engineer Mike Gentry for expertly capturing the smidgen of hope that otherwise would make this too depressing to listen to.

The Next Round - Episode 12: The World/Inferno Friendship Society

Before I even owned a turntable, one of the first LPs I bought was Red-Eyed Soul by the World/Inferno Friendship Society.  The band's sound is impossible to describe concisely, but it features scads of horns, barroom piano, violin, anarchist chants, and Jack Terricloth crooning about historical figures like Paul Robeson and Leni Riefenstahl.  It's totally unique and it totally rocks.  I went to Terricloth's local haunt to have a few drinks and discuss things like college shows, Hallowmas, and the band's upcoming album, This Packed Funeral.

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World/Inferno are embarking on a mini-tour starting Friday, so check out the dates here.

Jon Langford & Skull Orchard Rock the Bell House

As a founding member of the legendary UK punk outfit, the Mekons, Jon Langford has been making music since the late '70s.  And he doesn't show signs of stopping either.  Earlier this week, he dropped his sixth solo record, Here Be Monsters, which has been earning great reviews from anyone who listens.  Last night, he brought his band, Skull Orchard, to the Bell House to show Brooklyn how it's done.

Opening act, Meghann Wright, was raised in Hawaii and resides in Bushwick, though she sounded very little like either locale, favoring a sort of soulful alt-country vibe.  After a tune titled "Cocaine," Wright remarked, "That song's about feelings, so this song's about drugs," and eased into a newer number called "Can't Carry Water."  You could barely hear her acoustic guitar in the mix, but her lead guitarist was so good, it didn't matter.  Her best performance was a toss-up between the rollicking "Brooklyn's Most Wanted" and the expressive "I Don't Know Why."  "Hopefully that song made you wanna go home and bang somebody.  If it didn't, then I fucked up," she offered after the latter.

Jon Langford & Skull Orchard kicked things off with the new album's first track, "Summer Stars," sans introductory poem.  Although the Mekons began as a band where no one could play any instruments, it was immediately evident that Langford assembled a crack team of musicians for this group.  Joe Camarillo's drumming especially lent a great deal of power to songs like "Drone Operator" and "1234ever."  Of course, no Jon Langford show would be complete without some choice banter, and it came in droves.  Revealing that earlier in the day he'd been given the gift of Johnny Cash's trousers, he clarified, "I'm not wearing them.  Johnny Cash didn't wear brown corduroys from Target.  He wasn't the Man in Brown Cords."  While Jon was extolling the virtues of a lunch he'd eaten at Rein's in Vernon, CT, one tall crowdmember disagreed, shaking his head and shouting, "Fuck it!"  Without missing a beat, Langford shot back, "Fuck it?  It was an enormous building.  I wouldn't know where to start."  He followed a head-bobbing "Lil' Ray o' Light" with "What Did You Do in the War?" a slow-burning political duet with violinist Jean Cook.  Langford then took things to Australia, first sharing the lyrics of "Mr. Alcohol & Mrs. Marijuana" by a band he met at SXSW called Dog Trumpet, and then a full-band cover of the Go-Betweens' "Streets of Your Town."

At this point, he could've coasted.  He could've even ended the concert, having already played for an hour.  But what did Langford do?  He pulled out a hat trick of three of the night's best performances.  Starting with a rocking "I Am the Law," Langford next moved to "Are You an Entertainer?" a song he'd recorded with the Sadies.  As the crowd picked up on the chorus, Jon acted out the lyrics, getting progressively goofier and naughtier until Bill Anderson was laughing so hard he could no longer play guitar.  Then he out-Strummered Joe Strummer on "X-Ray Style," Langford's voice nearly a dead ringer for the late Clash frontman.

The set lasted almost an hour and a half, but why stop there?  Skull Orchard returned for a four-song salvo beginning with Procol Harum's "Homburg," followed by a pair of Old Devils tunes, "Luxury" and "Getting Used to Uselessness."  For the final number of the night, Camarillo surrendered his seat to Mekons' drummer, Steve Goulding, and Langford and company barreled through "Memphis, Egypt" to cheers from the room.

I had two beers with Jon before the show, and you can listen to our conversation here.

MEGHANN WRIGHT - 04.04.14 - THE BELL HOUSE

SET -

Vacancy / Cocaine / Can't Carry Water / Left My Heart in Brooklyn (in the Rain) / I Don't Know Why* / Brooklyn's Most Wanted* / Sunshine Through the Rain

JON LANGFORD & SKULL ORCHARD - 04.04.14 - THE BELL HOUSE (1 hour, 47 minutes)

SET -
Summer Stars / Drone Operator / Mars / 1234ever / Haunted / Tubby Brothers / Pill Sailor / Sugar on Your Tongue / Lil' Ray o' Light / What Did You Do in the War? / Mr. Alcohol & Mrs. Marijuana / Streets of Your Town / I Am the Law / Are You an Entertainer? / X-Ray Style / Deep Sea Diver / Sentimental Marching Song

ENCORE -

Homburg / Luxury / Getting Used to Uselessness / Memphis, Egypt

Daytrotter a Day #33: White Violet

Daytrotter a Day #33: White Violet (Released 02.17.14)

File this under "OK."  This Georgian indie rock group is pleasant enough, especially on the head-nodding first track "Autumn Grove."  And I'd probably enjoy them as an opening act, but they never really make an attempt to stand apart from the hundreds of other indie rock bands out there with bored vocals backed by alternating jangly and atmospheric guitars.  That's a problem when there are thousands of Daytrotter sessions to listen to… and when you're based out of Athens.

Daytrotter a Day #32: Jared & the Mill

Daytrotter a Day #32: Jared & the Mill (Released 04.02.14)

Do you like Mumford & Sons?  I enjoyed "Little Lion Man" the first few times I listened to it.  Then I heard their album.  Every song followed the exact same structure, building to that final shouting crescendo.  I can only assume that's why everyone jizzes over their live show.  Jared & the Mill sound like a M&S knockoff, even cribbing a bit of the accent, despite hailing from Tempe, AZ.  They're not horrible lyricists, so it's a little disappointing to hear their words set to the aped arrangements.  The band is obviously at their best on "Confessions of an Outlaw" when they trade the Mumford sound for a twangy alt-country growl.


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Daytrotter a Day #31: Barnaby

Last April, I embarked on a journey called Daytrotter a Day, where I listened to a Daytrotter session each day of a band I had never heard of.  Some were horrible.  Some were okay.  And some made me go out and buy albums.  So why not do it again?

Daytrotter a Day #31: Barnaby (Released 04.01.14)

"Bored" is a good name for Barnaby's new single.  But I don't think he knows that maybe she got bored because of his generic lyrics.  Or his Justin Vernon impression over gentle electric strums.  Barnaby moves to the piano for "Things We Could Do," where he compares his present relationship to a past one.  Unfortunately, he never explains what ended the first one or the things he could do to make this one last.







Okay, we're off to a shitty start, but things are bound to improve.  Get your Daytrotter membership (with free vinyl!) here.