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ALBUM REVIEW: Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me

by Danielle on March 4, 2010 in Joanna Newsom with Comments

Folk music, which has developed since its birth in the 19th century as traditional folklore, has been used to describe the traditions, customs and culture of the average citizen with raw, unkempt vocals and minimal instruments, usually a simple guitar or piano. Recently, folk music has gained popularity and fusion genres such as electric-folk and pop-folk have emerged, at times causing our definition of the genre to become cloudy and bereft with computerized instruments and auto-tune. Joanna Newsom is a fresh breath of air amongst a class of musicians that no longer write their own material or play their own instruments. The California-bred songstress has been classically trained in harp, guitar and piano since she was a toddler and released her first EP at the tender age of 20.

Joanna Newsom’s third full-length album ‘Have One On Me’, was recently released on February 23rd to enthusiastic reviews. In the beginning of January, her record company, Drag City slowly built anticipation for the three-part album by posting a cryptic blog that held a web link entitled, “The noose… um, draws closer;” that link led to a comic strip entitled Joanna Newsom “Have one on Me” and dated March 23, 2010. Upon further investigation and with the help of a few hints, music-lovers were pleased to find out that those clues were none other than the title and date of Newsom’s newest release. In the following weeks, Drag City released a couple of singles from her promising forthcoming album, which only continued to build expectations and fueled impatience.

Needless to say, the album was well worth the wait and surpassed all of the expectations that we had for the young singer/songwriter. Newsom creates a special brand of folk with her new album, a sound that conjures images of open plains, lush orchards and rolling hills. In fact, the Newsom has stated that while recording this album in Japan of 2009 she did have her home state, California, on her mind. The album, which includes an eight-minute ode entitled, “In California,” promises to be what Ray Charles music served as for Georgia, a both iconic and regional anthem. Though ‘Have One on Me’ was released in February, the singer’s chirping voice and imaginative lyrics combined with her aptitude for guitar and piano have created what is sure to be one of the best albums of the year.

Did you catch Newsom’s performance at the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles? Tell us about it!

SHOW REVIEW: Castledoor Meets Princeton‏

by Danielle on February 24, 2010 in Casteldoor, Princeton with Comments

On Monday nights, Spaceland, a small venue located in Silverlake showcases a couple of bands, usually local for no entrance fee. While Monday nights used to be fairly hit or miss, in the past few months they have started giving bands month-long residencies and it has slowly grown in popularity and consistency. Monday was the final night of Princeton’s residency and I was surprised to see a line wrapping around the building upon my arrival at 9:30pm.

The opening band, Castledoor is based in Silverlake, and first became popular after their SXSW performance in 2008. One of the band’s guitarists recently moved on to pursue other projects and played with Castledoor for the final time last night. Perhaps that is the reason the band made it a show to remember, their energy and fervor unmatched. That said, perhaps a few of the members began celebrating a bit too early. The lead singer appeared to be belligerent and his outrageous antics, wild gesturing and dancing only distracted from the music. There was no doubt that the band was excited to be playing, but I found myself cringing every time he took a gulp from his enormous mug of beer, bracing myself to hear more words being slurred and shouted at me. This aside, the band showed potential and my curiosity led me to buy an album, that I am happy to report was not as confrontational as their performance.

Princeton, whose more toned down and mellow set would normally have been more appropriate as an opening act, was instead a welcome change. The band consists of two identical twin brothers who share vocals, guitar and bass, a drummer and a keyboardist. The brothers, who I’m sure, have heard their share of twin jokes remained good-natured about it, responding to the “Twins!” accusations with, “What? You’re just now noticing? This is our fourth week here!” Overall, the performance was solid, the music a stunning blend of shoegaze-pop and folk. With a recently released debut album and a set at SXSW lined up for March, Princeton is sure to continue catching the ears of listener’s around the globe.

Local Natives Stir It Up

by Danielle on February 22, 2010 in Local Natives with Comments

In my spare time, I try to frequent smaller, cozy venues that promote neighborhood talent such as Spaceland and The Smell. While I have discovered some great talent in these places, such as Abe Viboda and Warpaint, lately, it is fairly rare that I encounter a band that truly impresses me. More often, it seems that a lot of these local newly formed bands fall under the all-encompassing parachute genre of indie rock. While I have nothing against indie music in general and in fact, I have found that iTunes categorizes a fair amount of my music as such, after a while it starts to sound a touch repetitive.

You can imagine my surprise when I came across Local Natives, an amazing indie-folk band based in Silverlake. The band, formerly known as Cavil at Rest, first gained notoriety when they played at SXSW last year, shortly afterward they were signed to French Kiss Records and began working on their debut album, Gorilla Manor. The album, released last Tuesday, is best described as an infusion of afro-pop, influenced guitar, and folk-inspired vocals. Not surprisingly, the band has often found themselves compared to the likes of Vampire Weekend and Fleet Foxes. They are currently touring Europe, but will be back in California in April for the Coachella Music Festival.

SHOW REVIEW: Slum Village Bring It To The EchoPlex‏

by Danielle on February 15, 2010 in Slum Village with Comments

On February 10, 2006, Jay Dee (also known as J Dilla) one of the most talented and prolific hip-hop producers of all time passed away due to the chronic effects of a rare blood disease. He is best known for being a quintessential third of Detroit hip hop group Slum Village as well as producing the albums of popular musical acts such as Common, A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes and The Pharcyde. On Friday, February 12th, the remaining two members of Slum Village performed at the Echoplex to honor the late producer as well as their other recently deceased member, Baatin, who passed away in July of last year.

I attend shows at the Echoplex, located in Echo Park, fairly often and I have never seen the space as crowded as it was for the Slum Village performance on. The show was only $5 before 11 and $10 thereafter so a friend and I decided to arrive early. The Beat Junkies, a world famous hip hop dj crew, spun strictly J Dilla produced songs from 10pm through 12:30am. Slum Village, which includes original member T3 and Elzhi, who joined the group in 2002 when J Dilla went on to pursue solo work, graced the stage about 12:30am to a completely packed venue and a very enthusiastic crowd. They paid tribute to older Slum Village songs, including ‘Raise It Up’, ‘Selfish’, and ‘Climax (Girl Shit)’. The hip hop duo’s performance left those who attended anticipatory of their soon to be released album, The Villa Manifesto, which they promised will include unreleased J Dilla beats and vocals as well as unreleased Baatin vocals.

SHOW REVIEW: Thao With The Get Down Stay Down & The Thermals

by Danielle on February 13, 2010 in Thao With The Get Down Stay Down, The Thermals with Comments

Doug Weston’s Troubadour is one of Los Angeles’ more well-regarded venues and takes a very no frills approach to entertainment. If you are opposed to crowds or prefer décor and atmosphere in your concert experience, then the Troubadour might not be for you. The space is small and somewhat cramped, but the low stage makes it convenient for the audience to see the performer regardless of where they may be standing or sitting. The fact that fairly large acts come through the small, understated venue makes it a favorite for the locals.

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, an alternative folk-rock band hailing from Virginia, opened the show on February 11, 2010. Thao Nguyen, in a striped sundress and cowboy boots strutted onto the stage with a coy smile and immediately launched into their first song, ‘When We Swam’. As she sang, she swung her hair around and danced back and forth across the stage, in fact, the entire band had an energy that was nearly palpable and it wasn’t long before they had the entire room dancing and clapping as well. The band’s obvious passion for their craft makes their performance one of my favorites so far this year.

Before last night, I had only listened to The Thermals album once and it hadn’t particularly impressed me at the time, sounding a bit too similar to what I like to call ‘frat-boy rock’. However, always willing to give a band another chance, I decided that I would stay through their set as well and hope that they would prove me wrong. I spoke with a couple of The Thermals’ fans and while some admitted that the song lyrics were perhaps not as introspective or suggestive as Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, their typical pop-rock sound was what appealed to them. Despite my personal misgivings, the crowd seemed to enjoy their set and the band’s technical skill and energy made up for what the lead singer might have been lacking in vocal strength.