Land of Talk – Some Are Lakes

Saddle Creek Records have always embraced the strong, empowered females singers (Orenda Fink, Jenny Lewis, Maria Taylor) and the tradition continues with Elizabeth Powell in the recent release of Land of Talk‘s Some Are Lakes.

Powell’s voice carries the power of Fiona Apple and when combined with the support of the band, many of the songs have the quality of Fleetwood Mac. Like many female singers, Powell sings of love, death and feminism. Although, some lyrics walk a fine line between brilliance and cheesiness like when she sings, “Maybe when I die, I’ll get to be a car” in “It’s Okay.”

Despite a few patchy lyrical spots, it is a solid debut from the young Canadian group with many tracks that demand listeners’ attention through the big cymbal crashes and drum rolls. Although many of the progressions are rather simple, the musical breakdowns are varied enough to keep listeners rapt with attention. However, Land of Talk does have several down times in the album when Powell’s voice sometimes develops an emotional flatness and the instrumentals get repetitive.

Title track “Some Are Lakes” is easily the strongest song on the album. The crunchy instrumentals are juxtaposed with a new found crispness in Powell’s voice, which she complements with a controlled vibrato. With lyrics like that of Rilo Kiley found on this song, this album is worth checking just to hear “Some Are Lakes.”

Land of Talk’s Some Are Lakes is available now on Saddle Creek Records.

Tracklisting:
01. Yuppie Talk
02. Death By Fire
03. The Man Who Breaks Things (Dark Shuffle)
04. Some Are Lakes
05. Give Me Back My Heart Attack
06. It’s Okay
07. Young Bridge
08. Corner Phone
09. Got A Call
10. Troubled

Land of Talk: website | myspace

Written by: Bethany

Interview with: Pierre de Reeder

Pierre de Reeder is best known for his role as a multi-instrumentalist in the band Rilo Kiley, but like the other members of the band, de Reeder occupies his down time with his own songwriting and recording.

Technical Editor Nick caught up with Pierre on the phone to discuss his new album, The Way That it Was. They talked about the album, songwriting, influences, and Pierre’s support for Barack Obama.

Nick, PopWreckoning: How are you doing?
Pierre de Reeder: Doing good, I’m good. How are you?
PW: Great, it’s starting to be fall here in Kansas City so it’s a good time here.
PdR: Oh yeah, what’s the weather like?
PW: It’s cloudy today and maybe about 70, but the leaves are starting to fall and change colors and there’s a lot of energy this time of year.
PdR: Great, great.
PW: So, do you live in Southern California?
PdR: Yeah, I live in LA.
PW: In LA, so you get to travel a lot so do you enjoy the seasons or do you enjoy keeping it the same all year?
PdR: Well yeah, I like the seasons. We do get some semblance of the seasons here. It’s not like anywhere else but, it gets cold and it gets fuggin’ hot. But, yeah we don’t get any good snow but it’s awesome when we get rain which is so infrequent.
PW: But, you get the best of both worlds because you’re only a couple hours from good snow.
PdR: True, true. I’ve been guilty of skiing during the day and going to the beach in the evening.
PW: Yeah that’s not fair. We can do neither.

PW: I’m really interested in knowing what your song writing process is. Do you start with lyrics or melody or chords or does it just vary with the song?
PdR: It’s very song dependent. It does vary, but I don’t know if its any one strategy I have. The songs come to me in different ways. Sometimes they come as just a melody popping into my head and I’ll start there and I’ll write some music around it. But I think more often it will start either with me practicing on the guitar or piano and something musical first happens, and then a melody comes along. But sometimes it all comes at once, you know? I’ll just pick up a guitar and something pops out twenty minutes later. It just depends on the song, but that’s more rare. But yeah, it’s everything. It’s all of the above. There is no one formula for me.

PW: How many times do you come up with something great and then someone else tells you it’s something else you’ve already heard?
PdR: I think I’m more guilty of saying that to other people. It’s always described to me as my job in Rilo Kiley to point out how similar some riff or something was from some other song. I try to avoid that. I’m pretty keenly aware of that. Though I’m guilty of it, I’m sure. There’s nothing new under the sun, as they say. So, yeah. I don’t know. It doesn’t really happen to me that often though maybe I’m littered with it. I don’t know.

PW: This album, your first solo release, is very polished and mature and has some great song writing in there without being overly layered and overly complex. Who has been your greatest song writing mentor?
PdR: Certainly some of the greats for me are the some of the greats for so many people. Like the Beatles, Neil Young and definitely my peers are mentors to me, just the people I’m surrounded with. Great musicians and song writers I’m associated with. So yeah, it’s a lot of outward kind of associated things and the things that I love through out my life and people I’m surrounded with, I guess.
That wasn’t a really specific answer, very broad I know but I think it’s true because everything I think we all are influenced by all of those things. I mean there is no way to pick. I guess you could say you’re totally into one band and you love the sound and you really try to emulate them, but we’re so influenced by so many things over such a long time span, you know, that it all kind of filters into the music you make.

PW: If those are your kind of long term influences, who do you like right now? Who are you listening to now that you think is great?
PdR: Right now, I’m actually back on a lot of the classics. I’ve been spinning a lot of vinyl around the house. I found this old Wings record. There’s certainly some contemporary things that are awesome like Benji Hughes who just went out with us- he’s awesome.
I get flustered being on point with these questions, about what record I’m buying or what I’m listening to. But again, peers. I’m a sucker for my friends’ bands. I’m a sucker for the stuff my friend Michael Runion does, or Whisper Town, or Jonathan Rice. Nik Freitas, another rad dude who we were touring with and he has a lot of records out.

PW: It’s nice to hear PopWreckoning favorite Morgan Nagler (of Whispertown2000) on your album as well.
PdR: Yeah, I got her and some friends together and sang up a chorus or two.
PW: How does that work, you just put out a phone call and tell a bunch of people to show up and they lay down some tracks?
PdR: I guess so, that just had happened to be one day where I had this vision for a whole bunch of people singing and different parts of a few different songs and so I asked my good friends and people that happened to be around.
Jake Bellows [of Neva Dinova] was in town so it was like, “That’s awesome!” So just some friends and I was like “Hey! What about Saturday?” and he was like “Yeah, alright!” So everyone came by. Not that I know it was a Saturday.

PW: It looks like you were able to bring your daughter into that process. Was that the first time she’s taken part in your music officially?
PdR: Yeah, yeah.
PW: Did she enjoy that process?
PdR: (laughing) Yeah, she really does.
PW: Are you trying to get her down the road? I have two girls so I have one about the same age as your daughter and I find it fun to get her involved. We did a little Garage Band project a few months ago. Do you try to encourage that with your daughter?
PdR: I definitely encourage it. She’s self-encouraged, though. She just loves “it,” whatever “it” is. She’s just like a little performer, you know?
PW: Yeah, I have one of those too.
PdR: She just loves doing that kind of stuff. I definitely don’t want to be a stage mom or dad pushing her to do anything but she does finds it on her own and things come up like this for her, like people ask her to be in a video or some song. She did a record for a kid’s band and all of this stuff just keeps coming to her and she just loves it.
PW: Well that’s great, my daughter, we did a Garage Band project and ended up shooting a video and she realized quickly that it’s not as fun as it all looks. There’s a lot of work involved.
PdR: A lot of it is just waiting, just waiting around.

PW: So I’ve read an essay you wrote about Obama and I see you’re a big Obama supporter. What are you doing over the next month to help out?
PdR: Well, coincidentally enough I get to participate in this really awesome commercial tomorrow that Shepard Fairy, the guy who did the Obama posters and also did obey Jock the Giant, is doing. It’s an official Obama campaign commercial that’s shooting tomorrow and I get to go in and do a sixty second speech on what I think and why, and blah blah blah. Tons of people are going to show up and do this tomorrow and just getting to be a part of that and who knows if a snippet of me will be in there or not, but just being able to get on the pulpit a little bit tomorrow for that experience is exciting.
PW: It seems like these days that artists are completely past the worry that they are going to offend any of the fans and they are wearing everything pretty blatantly on their sleeves.
PdR: Yeah, thankfully.
PW: I think maybe the Dixie Chicks led the way and took a little heat on it with their crowd but it seems like now it’s pretty acceptable. We were at ACL last week and it seemed pretty much every show made a mention of change and Obama.
PdR: The more the better, you know? It’s a crazy time everyone’s got to wear it on their sleeve. It’s the most patriotic thing they can do. It’s cliché to say but it is.

PW: Any back up plans if it doesn’t go our way?
PdR: I truly was one of those people when Bush got elected the very first time – before he got elected I didn’t know what I’d do. I thought there was something crazy about this dude and I didn’t know what was going to happen to us if he got elected. I heard some people like Alec Baldwin were going to leave the country, and I was the same way and this was all before Bush’s first term, so I had those similar pangs. But I’m not going to leave the country, I’m not going to do anything. What am I going to do? Just hang in there like everyone else and hope for the best.

PW: Yeah, I know. I read that you designed the Rilo Kiley t-shirt for the Yellow Bird Project. Is that true?
PdR: Yeah.
PW: So you paint or do other visual arts as well?
PdR: Yeah, I paint to some extent. A kind of amateur, for-love-of-painting kind of way. I have always dabbled in the arts. But, yeah I do a lot of design.
I have done most of the Rilo Kiley album covers, and I painted my record cover and all of the artwork, and Jenny Lewis’ record cover and yeah I do that. I do everyone’s record covers and photo retouching and all of that kind of junk. And artwork and advertising so yeah, I definitely do that.
It’s kind of been a sideline of mine forever. I used to teach graphic design. I just dabble in painting. I don’t really do it, but I did get to do it on my record cover which was fun.
PW: My wife has that Yellow Bird shirt, by the way, and just loves it. It’s a beautiful shirt.
PdR: It was great doing the Yellow Bird Project.
PW: And the Elliot Smith Memorial Fund is another cool thing to see on the back of that shirt.
PdR: Yeah, for sure.

PW: Let’s go to the new album. What is your favorite track now that you have had some time to let it sit and roll around, what do you go back to as your favorite?
PdR: I don’t know, that’s such a hard thing to answer. I’m so close and personal to each one of them. Its really hard to pick a favorite. There are different ones that are with me for different reasons.
There’s a slower one on the record called “A Long Conversation”. I don’t know why, it just has a mood about it that I really enjoy playing live and how it came across on the record. “The Way That It Was”, the title track, is another favorite. They are all obviously incredibly personal and I have a different relationship with each one, it’s like different children. I don’t which one I love best.

PW: How many songs do you write that don’t make an album? Are you prolific and just take the best ones, or do you take one and work on it for a long time?
PdR: I mean it’s kind of a mixed bag there, too. There are certainly a number of songs that didn’t make it on this record so there are a lot of finished or unfinished or whatever songs floating around out there. So I don’t know how prolific I am. More than some, much less than others.
I definitely can whittle away at a song for a long time or I could finish it quickly. I guess I’m more of a whittler with songs, especially with recording so much of this record myself. It lent itself to whittling where I’d have to do the drums and the bass and the guitar, and then experiment, and do whatever. It’s a long whittling process, and through that sometimes a song comes out much different than I started or sort of intended.

PW: I really like “Not How I Believe” at the end of the album and I really like the message of it: have a little bit of modesty and honesty. Does that hurt in trying to do a lot of self promotion around your album? Is it difficult for you to go out and sell this thing?
PdR: It is. I’m terrible about wanting to do that stuff but I am pragmatic about having to do it. I started a record company to release this record and so at least I can hide behind that and kind of use any promotion through the record company doing it (even though it’s me). I have to do tons of other stuff: be kind of business savvy, and getting all the ducks in a row and that kind of stuff, but yeah I try to remain modest with it all, too. It’s a hard thing to do, but, yeah those are tenets of me in general, like being honest and modest, and humble and sincere and confident, all at the same time.
PW: I think it definitely comes through in your work and I see a lot of, even with these troubled times, some optimism in here, quite a bit of it actually.
PdR: Yeah, I am optimistic. I always have been optimistic. Realistic, but optimistic.
PW: Yeah I think that’s great, it does come through. I really enjoyed the album.
PdR: Thanks.

PW: It’s definitely grown on me. I have listened to it quite a bit in the last few weeks. Is there anyone you really want to collaborate with or maybe even, since you have a label now, get a project going with someone else in the future?
PdR: I guess there would be so many people I would love to, I don’t know. Again I mean I love working with all of my friends and I love doing that and I would love to continue to do that with just about every one but I’ve encountered musically and I would love to have them all play with me in some sense on some recording or whatever.
From [Michael] Runion to Benji [Hughes], to Conor [Oberst], and everyone who is associated with everyone, I would love to play with them all. With everyone I have played music with and I’d love to have them involved with my stuff. And then it expands out to the greater big world of I don’t know. Yeah, I would love to play with anybody and everybody.
PW: Those tracks that have the chorus on them, it just seems like your having a lot of fun in there, and that does come through. I think that’s all I have for you.
PdR: Cool, that’s awesome.
PW: Thank you very much! It was great talking to you I wish you the best of luck.

Tour Dates:
Oct 24 – Rio Theatre / Santa Cruz, CA (w/ Jenny Lewis)
Oct 28 – Herbst Theatre / San Francisco, CA (w/ Jenny Lewis)
Oct 29 – Herbst Theatre / San Francisco, CA (w/ Jenny Lewis)
Oct 30 – Orpheum Theatre / Los Angeles, CA (w/ Jenny Lewis)
Nov 01 – UCSD Price Center Ballroom / San Diego, CA (w/ Jenny Lewis)

Pierre de Reeder: website | myspace

Rachael Yamagata – Elephant… Teeth Sinking Into Heart (A Record In Two Parts)

In my opinion, a four year wait has never seemed as painful as that spent longing for Warner Brothers Records to finally release Elephant… Teeth Sinking Into Heart (A Record In Two Parts), the new Rachael Yamagata album. However, from the album’s opening lines, in which Yamagata states, “If the elephants have past lives / but are destined to always remember / It’s no wonder they always scream / like you and I they must have some temper,” all despair and longing are replaced by a sense of fulfillment and passion from the simple realization that those four years of have been spent wisely, carefully constructing a worthy follow up to a fairly perfect album in Happenstance.

For example, the piano on “Elephants,” the album’s opening track, remains both pure and simple, placed over beautiful flowing strings, which seem to allow Rachael’s gift for storytelling to shine. The lyrics seem both bold and pointed, yet remain completely approachable, thanks to the soothing nature of Yamagata’s breath-taking voice. But her message remains rather clear: “Stop trying to convince me to hold on, when it is far healthier for me to let go.” This song is moving and heartbreaking at its best, making in one of the best opening tracks of 2008, easily.

Following “Elephants” rests “What If I Leave,” a guitar over piano-based ballet placed over slow jazz style percussion. Lyrically, Yamagata seems to question the validity of a potential relationship, pondering the consequences of her departure. She wonders if the individual who tugs her heart-strings would even notice that she was missing, based on their previous mishaps of missed phone calls and night left crying. The string parts, tucked safely in the background, seem to serve as an exclamation of her sadness, adding a soothing sense of sorrow to the words she states flawlessly.

Switching paths, Rachael opts for a more dark county, Tom Waits type sound on the album’s third track, “Little Life.” Opening with a calm, smooth sound, “Little Life” inches towards you for the first two minutes, before popping you in the mouth, crescendoing into a frenzy at the chorus break. Yamagata’s vocals pour from her as she growls her message to you, before allowing the song to ease back down from its peak, until eventually it fades into the album’s fourth cut, “Sunday Afternoon,” a 9 minutes epic mini-series of a song laced with cellos and string progressions. Yamagata states aggressively, “I wont live for you / or die for you / or do anything anymore for you / because you leave me here on the other side / leave me here on the other side,” in a statement that captures both her vulnerability and strength in one massive blow, before swaying back to an instrumental version of the album’s opening track, “Elephants.”If one didn’t know better, it could be assumed that this track served as an intermission for set change between album segments, assuming of course that the album served as a play or theater project.

Upon return to this intermission, Yamagata offers a piece aptly called “Duet.” The number, in which the vocals are shared with Ray Lamontagne, discusses two lovers, coming back to a centralized location after being apart for an extended length of time. The story is told in two parts: the male perspective and the female perspective, and how those two sides differ. Both the storytelling and musicianship of this song come together in a way that lends itself to perfection, and as a whole this song is easily one of her best.

In “Over and Over,” the album’s sixth cut, Yamagata opens heavy, stating, “I really thought I was okay / I really thought I was just fine /but when I woke this time / there was nothing to take me back to sleep / to take you off my mind, this time.” She goes on to point out how if she could simply “let it rain,” the things ailing her would be “washed away,” but, like most people, she hides from the paths that will make her better, as they tend to be the hardest roads to walk, a reoccurring theme for Miss Yamagata.

The sound of singing birds, assuredly the same ones mentioned in the introduction to the duet, start “Brown Eyes,” a relatively simple song. Though rather pretty in the string breakdown at the two minute and thirty second spot, as a whole, both it and the next song, “Horizon” remain fairly uneventful, drab and somewhat out of place on the album. However, I must admit that if these songs are your weakest link, you’re still in pretty good shape, as it remains better than the best song on some people’s greatest album.

The album’s next cuts, “Sidedish Friend,” “Accident” and “Faster,” represents the rock star side of Rachael. Upbeat drum riffs and poppy bass patterns, stolen from the 1990′s, remind me of something you might hear on an older Liz Phair or Alanis Morrissette record. While somewhat uncharacteristic in terms of her general sound, Yamagata’s growls and scowls seem to work for her. I mean, from time to time, sadness does seem to morph into anger. So it only seems logical to channel that emotion into a song, right? Well, in theory, sure. I personally prefer the melancholy side of the the album to the pissed off guitar riffs and distortion. The lack of strings leaves a lot to be desired, and the fuzz just seems to overshadow the perspective in which the album was written from in the first place. I found this rather disappointing, really.

As if trying to save face, while leaving her own personal mark, Yamagata fingerprints her departure from the album with a song that could give Jenny Lewis Rabbit Fur Coat a run for its money. “Don’t” captures the aged country sound that is so popular right now within the hipster community. Taking the She & Him path, her voice channels the likes of June Carter, in a matter that leaves me with a great desire to see this song preformed at the Ryman. However, it also leaves me longing for the next Rachael Yamagata album. Hopefully, she won’t leave me waiting for another 4 years.

But for now, you can check out Elephant… Teeth Sinking Into Heart (A Record In Two Parts) by Rachael Yamagata in stores now on Warner Brother Records, and headlining the Fall version of the Hotel Cafe Tour.

Rachael Yamagata: website | myspace
Hotel Cafe Tour: website | myspace

Austin City Limits, Day 3

AA Bondy

11:45-12:30 // AA Bondy // Dell Stage
Despite a burning desire to sleep till noon, I rolled out of bed at 9:30 (that’s early for a Sunday!) to make sure Josh and I were at Zilker in time to catch Alabama folk singer AA Bondy. He reminded me a great deal of Bob Dylan with a tinge of Rocky Votolato, although almost any modern folk singer with an acoustic guitar and harmonica reminds me of Votolato. Regardless of any comparisons, Bondy’s set was quite lovely, despite not being tight in the least.

Angela of Sybris

11:45-12:30 // Sybris // AT&T Blue Room Stage
Only knowing that I needed to see Bondy at 11:45, I hadn’t paid attention to anything else on the schedule, knowing I’d figure it out more or less when I arrived at the park…and had a chance to actually wake up. Initally I’d thought that Bondy was on the Austin Ventures stage, but as we neared, I could have sworn I heard the fantastic musical stylings of Ohio duo mr. Gnome. Discovering my mistake, I was delighted to find that the tunes actually belonged to the reverb-loving foursome from Chicago known as Sybris.

Though not playing to a sizable crowd (opening slot is tough), Sybris rocked out hard and most certainly drew a great performance. Those in attendance loved every second of the high energy shoegaze (oxymoron?) set. Once their set ended, Josh and I headed over to the AMD stage for Nicole Atkins and the Sea, happening upon a large spot of lawn covered in a mass of glitter. It had us thinking that Tilly and the Wall performed a secret set at ACL, and if that’s true, we’re not too happy about missing the memo on that one.

Nicole Atkins

12:30-1:30 // Nicole Atkins & the Sea // AMD Stage
As a member of local public radio station WXPN (which, if you’re a regular here, you know I pimp as often as poss.), I’d long heard of Nicole Atkins and the Sea, but this past weekend was my first chance at seeing the outfit perform live. Just the first few seconds of the set alone had me understanding why XPN loves this woman so much and I was blown away myself. Atkins has a rich and transfixing voice, intermittently punctuated with a squeal belonging to a rocker from the 50s a la Barrett Strong or even a James Brown.

Nicole Atkins and her sea swelled with great intensity as they produce poppy dance rock jams that had the crowd (most certainly me included) dancing along in the afternoon Austin heat. To do “as the Austinites do,” Atkins played a rather catchy country song she’d written as part of her set. Not a fan of country due to the twang in the vocals, I actually rather enjoyed Nicole’s rendition of a country song seeing as it lacked the twang and was just as hooky as every other song in the set. For sure an act I’ll catch in a more intimate setting, and not only because Atkins is beautiful, sassy, and I have a girl crush on her.

Day 3 was by far the hottest of the fest, so Josh and I made our way to the other side of the park to enjoy some Rock Band, football and air conditioning in the AT&T Oasis, and an oasis it was. On the way to the Oasis, we were treated to a bit of Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet‘s set, featuring legendary banjo player Bela Fleck. Man, that Bela wails on the banjo. Switching gears (and how!), as a long time fan of The Octopus Project, I mandated we leave the oasis and head to the Dell Stage as to not the Austin locals’ set.

1:30-2:30 // Octopus Project // Dell Stage
Arriving only a bit tardy, I was pleasantly surprised to find a middle school band on stage playing and dancing along with The Octopus Project. No other electronica pop band has ever had a more lush sound than The Octopus Project did on Sunday. I was delighted with the upbeat set, the band’s energy as they moved around and took turns playing the others’ instruments, and Yvonne Lambert‘s adorable sky blue dress. Lyrically, the band was slim, but they more than made up for it with huge electro-poppy melodies.

Later in the day, I briefly chatted up the band in the media area as they made the press rounds. They’re absolute dolls!

Pricilla Ahn

1:50-2:30 // Pricilla Ahn // Austin Ventures Stage
Sunday was the day of forming girl crushes, but honestly, you listen to Pricilla Ahn for five minutes and tell me you’re not in love. She has the sweetest voice and was simply enchanting in between songs as she bantered on the stage. Another cute dress noted, Ahn wore a flowy, yellow halter dress that made her shine even brighter.

1:30-2:30 // The Kills // AT&T Blue Room Stage
The Kills’ feminine half, Alison “VV” Mosshart looked just like Jack White as she took the stage, decked out in tight pants, a floppy hat and long dark hair in her face. Despite my initial judgement of her outfit (side note: I used to work for a fashion magazine, thus all the clothes talk), I was happy to find The Kills nailing an energetic performance chock full of fun rock songs.

2:30-3:30 // Gillian Welch // AMD Stage
Josh had been looking forward to checking out Gillian Welch all weekend so we swung by the AMD Stage on our way to land a spot for Stars while in search of friends of mine. As we happened by the stage Gillian played on, we heard her announce a special guest joining her on stage, so needless to say, we stopped dead in our tracks. Lucky for us we passed by at that time, because Alison Krauss joined Welch for a beautiful cover along with one of Gillian’s guitarists.

2:50-3:30 // Tristan Prettyman // Austin Ventures
Still on the way to catch Stars, we briefly walked past Tristan Prettyman’s performance and, man, what a beautiful voice. Girlfriend can sing it.

3:30-4:30 // Stars // AT&T Blue Room Stage
Never having seen Stars, I was ridiculously excited to catch them at ACL. They were absolutely amazing — which is really all I have to say about them — though I had the nagging feeling that they’d be much more enjoyable at an indoor venue. This thought was later confirmed when Josh told me that they’re better indoors. Solid.

Stars

What turned out to not be as regrettably as I’d initially assumed, Josh and I left Stars’ set early to chat with Sybris and Five Times August in the media area. Brad of Five Times August was lovely and Sybris was a wild ride. Following an interview in which Josh and I did shots with the band and they beat on each other, we hung out backstage with them, scored some free shoes, sat in on a video interview they had to give at their behest (I became the tambourine player and Josh, the bassist) and just had a hell of a time.

5:30-6:30 // Okkervil River // AT&T Blue Room Stage
Sybris had to take some things back to their bus, so the antics ended and Josh and I caught the last quarter of Okkervil River’s set. They put on a wildly energetic set that you should make your business to see.

Okkervil River

The Raconteurs, Photo: Nick Davis

6:30-7:45 // The Racounteurs // AMD Stage
Josh, and the rest of the world pretty much, could not shut up about how amazing The Raconteurs are live. Honestly, I was bored. Granted, by 6:30pm on the 3rd day of a music festival, maybe my tolerance for great music had hit an all time high or I was beginning to suffer from A.D.D. as a result of sleep deprivation. For whatever reason, I was totally bored out of my mind and just wanted to leave The Raconteurs set.

6:30-7:30 // Gnarls Barkley // AT&T Stage
Despite having lost the hype for Gnarls a while ago, I was excited to catch their set on the other side of the park since Jack [White] and Brendan [Benson] had only managed to bore me. Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse, I thought, were a more entertaining duo that day. They exceeded my expectations from the last time I saw them, but then again, I hadn’t just been blown away by The Roots. Following “Crazy,” Josh and I snuck back into the AT&T Oasis for a little R&R.

7:30-8:30 // Band of Horses // Dell Stage
Thousands of people flocked to the Dell Stage for Band of Horses late set. Josh and I scoped out a spot after leaving Gnarls a bit early, only to be told that I was going to get my throat stepped on by a Mets (boo fucking hoo, you should hate your life) fan because the Phillies clinched the division and I’m a Phillies fan (go Phils!). Fearing for my trachea, Josh and I stayed for only a few songs, including the hugely commericially popular “Is There A Ghost,” before heading back to the media area to listen to the set in piece and with way better accomodations than the dusty parkgrounds had to offer.

Band of Horses

8:30-10:00 // Foo Fighters // AT&T Stage
I’d seen the Foo Fighters for the very first time with photographer Ajay at this year’s Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore and was thrilled at the chance to catch them live again — had never seen them in my 23 years and then see them twice in the same summer, crazy. Dave Grohl is as dynamic a personality as they come and he is nothing but entertaining in every aspect of his stage show from hilarious and out there stage banter to just rocking the fuck out.
If you’ve never seen the Foo Fighters live, regardless of how much you like or dislike their music, I feel sorry for you that they’re going on hiatus. Foo Fighters definitely rival for a top spot in best shows I’ve seen this summer.

Dave Grohl on the JumboTron, Photo: Quiet Color

Taylor Hawkins on the JumboTron, Photo: Quiet Color

a prettier one, Photo: Ben Watts

10:00-2:00 // Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band w/ Jenny Lewis & M. Ward // La Zona Rosa
So much went on here that you’ll have to check back for another post! It was amazing.

Austin is an amazing city and Austin City Limits is one of the best festivals I’ve been to, hands down. Shout out to all the fantastic people I met and thank you to Sandee and Marcy for such a wonderful time! Here’s looking at ACL 2009.

Austin City Limits: website | day 1 | day 2

Pierre de Reeder – The Way That It Was

Let’s face it. If you’re a bassist and your name isn’t Geddy Lee or Les Claypool, sometimes you just don’t get your share of the praise pie. Oft-overlooked and perhaps the more enigmatic figures, bassists tend to be the unsung heroes of music. One such example is Pierre de Reeder: a multi-instrumentalist and founding member since 1998, de Reeder has served as bassist to the successful LA-based indie rock band Rilo Kiley. With lead singer Jenny Lewis’ foray into solo work and guitarist Blake Sennett and drummer Jason Boesel dabbling with The Elected, it seems de Reeder found the need to also allow his abilities to make a personalized impression with his years-in-the-making solo effort The Way That It Was. If he is setting out to make the point that he is a singer, multi-faceted musician and confident songwriter… point proven.

For those who appreciate album art, de Reeder made a very effective statement as to what the theme of his album is: peaceful reflection. In one of the more beautiful covers of recent years, it almost resembles a lush painting in its use of calm, pristine colors on a perfect day with a nostalgic looking man (presumably de Reeder) on the bottom right amidst all the beauty, thinking. Apparently, one can judge music by its cover since the art is highly representative of the music itself: lush, calm, pristine, gorgeous, nostalgic and beautiful.

Judging from the contemplative lyrical content alone, it seems like de Reeder had so much on his mind that recording this album sans Rilo Kiley was almost necessary. Playing almost all the instrumentation (acoustic/electric guitars and percussion) and offering lead vocals, de Reeder is establishing himself as a proper solo musician who can stand confidently on his own. Crafting songs leaning on folky pop rock, it’s evident that much of Rilo Kiley’s similar leanings may be attributed to the musical direction de Reeder showcases.

Vocally, he sounds like Elliott Smith on a good day… on uppers, even. He sings in a relaxing, airy, almost effortless fashion that reaches out and drags you onto a more peaceful plane with his music. Sure, he recruited his Rilo Kiley bandmates to play alongside him on a few tracks but The Way That It Was, for all intents and purpose, remains a one-man vehicle.

With all this talent, some of the songs still fall slightly generic and are far from incendiary. Perhaps de Reeder needs to get his heart thrown in a blender for more edge, but don’t count this one out. The record unfolds all the perennial themes of the adult male: reflection on past love, aging, introspection and coming to grips with manhood. Lace all the aforementioned together and de Reeder creates a thinking person’s album.

On album stand-out “That’s The Way That It Was,” it feels perfect for an old fashioned sing-along on the porch with your favorite alt-country lovin’ friends. Another feel-good tune is “Where I’m Coming From.” De Reeder goes back to basics with earnest vocals and piano-tinged rock until the sharp contrast of a full-on chorus begins work as a successful contradiction. For Simon & Garfunkel fans, “Never Thought” is reminiscent of equally happy-go-lucky “Feeling Groovy (59th Street Bridge Song).” Aside from adding a little pep to your step, it showcases my favorite lyric of the album: “I used to be afraid to tell you I owe you almost everything, / But now that’s the least that I can say.” It doesn’t take Carl Jung to discover de Reeder has found solace in his coming of age and welcomes adulthood wholeheartedly.

For singer-songwriter types, “The Long Conversation” has a great electro-acoustic feel for stripped down rock, but de Reeder doesn’t stop there. On “Now How I Believe,” the addition of flute shows how a tiny instrument can add a completely different, albeit pretty element to rock music. He tosses in a sing-along chorus at the end of this song, including some of his Rilo Kiley bandmates and musician friends. Not only does this provide a seamless closer to a terrific debut, but reminds that solo de Reeder will get by in the music world with or without a little help from his friends.

The Final Verdict:
If you’re looking for the perfect background music, while cooking that laidback Sunday dinner with your best friends, de Reeder’s The Way That It Was, out now, ensures the good times will flow almost as freely as the wine.

Tracklisting:
01. Shame On Love
02. I’ll Be Around
03. Sophia’s Song
04. That’s The Way That It Was
05. Where I’m Coming From
06. This Foolish Heart
07. Young and Old
08. Never Thought
09. All These Words
10. The Long Conversation
11. Not How I Believe

Pierre de Reeder: website | myspace

Written by: Mona Sheikh

Austin City Limits, Day 1

Arriving in Austin to sun and 90 degrees was only the beginning of an amazing weekend after leaving a gray and blustery Philadelphia behind. I stepped out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, soaking in the sun and admiring the native cacti growing freely, not a sight I’m used to. I soaked in the city’s sights via the 350 and 331 buses (oh yeah) and was beyond stoked for kicking off Austin City Limits with the Paste pre-party at Emo’s.

media wristband

After partying into the early hours with other media people, music lovers, and PopWreckoning staff, I headed back to Driver F’s pad to catch some sleep before heading to the bus station to pick up Editor Joshua at 6am (ugh, so early!). After some nappage upon returning from the bus station, Josh and I prepared ourselves for the promising first day of Austin City Limits. We scored some breakfast at Mr. Natural, a delicious 100% vegetarian ‘fast food’ restaurant on South Lamar Boulevard before walking the couple miles to Zilker Park.

Once we’d arrived at the park, Josh and I stopped by Press Check-In to get our wristbands for the weekend and headed into the park to catch some music we loved and some music we’d never heard of. There was a bit of a snafu with photo passes, so we don’t have great photos, but we’ve hooked up with new friends at Quiet Color to use some of their shots.

1:30-2:30 // Yeasayer // Dell Stage
Yeasayer was awesome. These experimental Brooklyn kids know how to put on a show. They definitely set the mood for the weekend, which is why I’d planned on catching them first. Their energy grew with each song, in turn pumping up the crowd for a rowdy weekend of music amongst the masses.

Having seen Vampire Weekend at Popped! Philadelphia and not having been super impressed with them there, Josh and I made our way to the media tent for some cold beverages and exited the park to a soundtrack of “Oxford Comma,” which sounded great, but not enough to deter us from our quest of Mango Green Tea Sweet Tea and XXX Vitamin Water.

2:30-3:30 // Jakob Dylan & the Gold Mountain Rebels // AT&T Stage
We happened back into the park as Jakob Dylan and the Gold Mountain Rebels were owning the AT&T Stage. Dylan, straying from success maker The Wallflowers‘ path, sounds strikingly like his famous father. Both Josh and I were absolutely impressed with the folksy tunes that flowed from the stage across Zilker Park.

3:30-4:30 // Del Tha Funkee Homosapien // AT&T Blue Room Stage
Nee Teren Delvon Jones, this man kept it old school and breathed new life into the air as one of the few hip hop acts on the festival’s 130 band roster. Admittedly new to loving hip hop, it wasn’t until Gorillaz‘s “Clint Eastwood” back in 2001 that I first heard his rhymes. As recently as a few months ago, I scored Delton 3030 and knew that Del tha Funkee Homosapien was not to be missed.

Later in the day, I happened to be hanging out in the media area while Del was being interviewed. He is a very cool guy. Following Del’s interview, Gogol Bordello was had a photo shoot at the Paste tent, so Josh snapped some pictures while I sipped on a Tito’s and Red Bull.

4:30-5:15 // M. Ward // WaMu Stage
Matt Ward was born to play the guitar. While it was nothing short of having seen him play twice previously this summer at Virgin Mobile and in Philadelphia, it was nice to see Ward shine on his own without the beautiful distraction that is Zooey Deschanel, the She to his Him.

M. Ward, Photo: Jessica McGinley

5:15-6:00 // Mates of State // Austin Ventures Stage
Having seen them the previous night, I was more excited to hang in the media tent for happy hour, but lingered long enough to hear this duo’s delicious pop sounds.

5:45-6:45 // Jenny Lewis // WaMu Stage
Ms. Rilo Kiley herself played a strikingly beautiful set aided by friends such as Jonathan Rice as her backing band. Jenny belted with an enviable set of pipes as she played mostly songs from her recently released sophomore solo album Acid Tongue. Notables from the performance include the album’s title track, “Carpetbaggers” and “Fernando,” but then I also find those to be album highlights.

Photo: Zander, Quiet Color

The crowd, not surprisingly, adored her. While it’s come to my attention that there are two camps of Jenny fans, those who praise her solo efforts and those who believe she’s only great with fellow Rilo Kiley band mate Blake Sennett, I can only say that her live performance is dynamic and should not be missed regardless of your thoughts on her albums.

Photo: Jenny Lewis

6:30-7:30 // N.E.R.D. // AMD Stage
Following the lovely Ms. Lewis, I wandered past the Austin Ventures to catch a quick listen of Eli Young Band as I headed over to the AMD Stage for N.E.R.D.  who were just amazing! Pharrell, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley killed. The crowd was totally into it both on and off stage, as Pharell invited some ladies on stage to dance.

7:30-8:30 // The Swell Season // AT&T Blue Room Stage
I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about The Swell Season, but actually found them to be quite boring at Austin City Limits. The audience was massive and the light show was fantastic, but I just never got into the music. I’d try my hand at an indoor Swell Season show, but I was left unimpressed.

Neither Josh nor I had any interest in The Mars Volta or Manu Chao, and though I was urged by a cab driver earlier that morning to check out Alejandro Escovedo, we split. A hot and dusty day in Zilker Park required showering and dolling up before we could hit downtown Austin for after parties galore.

9:00-11:59 // Gnarls Barkley // Stubb’s BBQ
On our way to the Antics after party at 508 House, featuring a DJ set by CSS, we stopped at Stubb’s to catch a brief chunk of Gnarls Barkley’s set. Josh and I knew we’d catch them Sunday, so we didn’t stick around long, preferring to hit up the Antics party instead.

10:00-?? // Antics After Party feat. CSS // 508 House
Kickin’ it to 508 House was so worth every single second spent there. The line was around the corner for a good part of the night and with good reason. We hadn’t realized that “House” in the name was so apt — we were literally at a house party. Tito’s had some handmade vodka free-flowing, Antics/Toyota were set up making shirts on the far and of the yard, chicks were hanging out of windows, CSS was DJing as kids danced madly and Wayne Coyne (yeah, that guy from The Flaming Lips) sat in a patio chair sipping a drink and casually chatting.

Following CSS’ sweet DJ set, we were treated to a new set which include cheesy dance jams “Vogue” and “Bootylicious.” Once we’d danced our faces out, we hit the streets of downtown again, wandering 6th Street in hopes of a new form of entertainment, but were mostly surprised to find a lot of bros and hos. Bored and slightly annoyed at the bro/ho-deo, we high-tailed it back to chez Driver F for some sleep to prepare for day 2!

Austin City Limits: website

Up next: Day 2

New Music Tuesday

Cold War Kids Loyalty to Loyalty

Jenny Lewis Acid Tongue :: review

TV On The Radio Dear Science

Choke soundtrack

Peter Bjorn and John Seaside Rock

Blitzen Trapper Furr :: download “Furr” | stream album

The Action Design Never Say Never

Mason Proper Olly Oxen Free

Kings of Leon Only By The Night :: review

Friendly Fires Friendly Fires :: review | download “Jump In The Pool”

The Human Value Push and Pull

Dirty Heads Any Port In A Storm :: review

French Kicks Covers EP

Starfucker Starfucker :: review

Dungen 4

Joe Thomas New Man

The Tough Alliance A New Chance

Brightblack Morning Light Motion To Rejoin :: download “Hologram Buffalo”

Signal Hill Transmission Starting Gun EP

Astronautilus Pomegranate

Koufax Strugglers

Mogwai The Hawk Is Howling

KatJonBand KatJonBand :: download “Bad Apples”

Plain White T’s Big Bad World

Sing It Loud Come Around

The Morning Light The Morning Light

Laura Warshauer Laura Warshauer :: stream “Sweet 17″

Lenka Lenka

The Gay Blades Ghosts

Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue

With the success of her previous solo album, her group work in Rilo Kiley and the success of the songs she recorded with The Postal Service, Jenny Lewis is often looked to as the queen of indie rock. She is also hailed as a siren of the stage and on her new solo album Acid Tongue, Lewis attempted to capture the rawness of her stage show and make her second studio album sound like a live one.

While counting out a “one, two” on songs like “Godspeed” gives the idea that this is supposed to be live, many of the songs fail to capture the subtleties that are often found in the femme fatale’s live show. Stale string arrangements like those found on “Bad Man’s World” did little to improve this failed effect. The only song where I truly felt you could close your eyes and envision a stage in front of you was “See Fernando.” With its big guitar hooks that were lacking on much of the album and the even bigger drums, “See Fernando” is one of the more memorable songs on the album.

Lewis did say this was going to be a more diverse record than her previous solo album, however, she is at her best when she isn’t overdoing the backing vocals and instruments like she does on title track “Acid Tongue,” which simply pairs her lovely voice with acoustic guitar. When harmonies are used, they are more tasteful than those found on other songs. They compliment instead of burying her voice.

With stale arrangements, a tendency for Lewis to grasp at notes just barely out of her range and a lack of hooks, this album leans toward rather forgettable. There are a few songs that come close to Lewis’ usual grandeur like title track “Acid Tongue,” which does capture her usual sultriness, but the other tracks get to be so repetitious and ho hum, they run the risk of overshadowing the few great ones.

Jenny Lewis’ Acid Tongue will be released by Warner Brother Records on Sept. 23, 2008.

Tracklisting:
01. Black Sand
02. Pretty Bird
03. The Next Messiah
04. Bad Man’s World
05. Acid Tongue
06. See Fernando
07. Godspeed
08. Carpetbaggers
09. Trying My Best to Love You
10. Jack Killed Mom
11. Sing a Song for Them

Jenny Lewis: website | myspace

Written by: Bethany

Sisters3 CD Release Party @ Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia

The minute I walked in the door for Sisters3 CD release party I knew that this was going to be one of the best, most fun shows I’d ever have the pleasure of attending. Immediately upon getting my hand stamped, performer Paco Fish asked me if I’d like a party hat — I chose orange — and saw Johnny Brenda’s decorated with streamers hanging from the ceiling while the stage was adorned with balloons, presents and stuffed animals in party hats.

As soon as the music got underway, my suspicions of a fantastic show were confirmed. Sisters3 kicked off their party with a lovely song a capella before introducing emcee “Santa Claus” to officially start the show. We were later tipped off that Santa was actually the younger brother of Sisters3. His shtick involved telling an unbearably corny joke and introducing bands. He made it work, though. I think it was the mask.

Sisters3: Anna Christie, Beatrice, Cassandra

Emcee, Santa Claus

It’s a rare thing for any Philadelphia resident, no matter how shallowly submerged in the Philadelphia music scene, to not have heard of Hezekiah Jones. For months I’d heard the name all around the city, often playing shows in local hotspots, yet it wasn’t until the Sisters3 CD Release party that I was able to see the group in action.

In my opinion, there is probably no better act to pair Sisters3 with on a bill than Hezekiah Jones. While listening to the beautiful sounds that emanated from the stage, I was mentally kicking myself in the face for not having made it top priority to see this six-piece sooner. Front man Hezekiah’s (nee Raphael Cutrufello) vocals were subtly sexy against the country-tinged (think Jenny Lewis) folk pop that the rest of the band created around him.

Hezekiah Jones

Whenever I think of The Extraordinaires, who followed Hezekiah’s set, I cannot separate them from famed fellow Philadelphians Man Man, which is nothing but positive as my love for the often outrageous Man Man is no secret. I first saw the five perform opening Man Man’s CD Release show back in April of this year and was excited to find another band with the same avant garde sound.

Friday night, the Extraordinaires not only embraced the show’s party theme, but kicked it up a few hundred notches following the more serene set of Hezekiah Jones.  The Extraordinaires upbeat and funky sounds got the crowd moving, especially Sisters3 who made it their business to be front and center during the set.

The entire set was non-stop party time fun, but it was “A Cactus Named Hi-Five” that really threw everything into high gear. Not a body in all of Johnny Brenda’s was still as front man Jay Purdy split some riffs on his fishtar [fig. 1]. It is without a doubt that the Extraordinaires amped up the crowd and settled them in for the best that was yet to come.

The Extraordinaires

Jay Purdy

Upon receiving Star Spangled back in July, I was absolutely impressed with what Anna Christie, Beatrice and Cassandra had done with their debut full-length. I’d seen the trio perform previously so I expected a tight and lovely set, and what I was met with Friday night was so much more than that.

The single a capella song at the beginning of the evening was only a preview as to how wonderful Sisters3 are live. Anna Christie sang and played guitar with a burning passion as Cassandra effortlessly tickled the keys and Beatrice provided percussive flourishes that make each song complete.

On “Soldier Song,” cabaret performer Paco Fish enchanted the audience with what can only be called a regressive strip tease. He emerged from backstage in a Marine uniform before shedding a layer of clothing to reveal Army fatigues. Over the course of “Soldier’s Song,” Paco slowly reverted to a state of toddler-dom, stomping around playing with a toy gun in a wonderful display of striking social commentary.

Paco Fish

The entire set performed by Sisters3 was stunning. Be sure to see them for yourself when they play a smattering of dates in and around Philadelphia this fall. You can also catch the at CMJ 2008.

Set List:
Heart Disease
Soldier Song (feat. Paco Fish)
Patsy Cline
Little Lainy Lou
Giggling Gremlins
Bermuda Triangle
Carousel Song
Alien Baby
Morning Glory
Subway Song
Sea Song
Star Spangled (download)
All The Working People
Constance
Counting Footsteps

Sisters3: website | myspace | Star Spangled review
Hezekiah Jones: website | myspace
The Extraordinaires: website | myspace | Battle of the Vans EP review

Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…

Last night, I had the opportunity to attend a taping of IFC’s new show, “Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…,” the brainchild of Costello and Sir Elton John. It all took place at the historic—and absolutely gorgeous—Apollo Theater. Upon taking the stage, Elvis opened the show, appropriately, with a cover of Steely Dan’s “Show Biz Kids.” The special guests? Jakob Dylan, Jenny Lewis, and She & Him, all of whom, in case you weren’t sure, hail from show business families. Indeed, even house band (Costello’s band, The Imposters) drummer Pete Thomas’s daughter, Tennessee Thomas of The Like, played the show.

Since this was a taping, I have no idea what the edited version of the show will look like, but Elvis introduced She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) almost immediately after the opening number. They played “Change is Hard,” one of my favorites off the album [Volume One]. Sadly, the sound was badly balanced: Matt’s guitar was too loud and Zooey’s vocals not loud enough. Since you’re all wondering, Zooey was wearing an adorable tea-length powder blue dress and her hair, as always, was amazing.

During the interview segment, Matt talked a lot about how he likes to have room to dream in the sonic landscape of a song and how important he feels “healthy abstractions” are in the experience of music. There was some dialogue between Zooey and Elvis about the freedom afforded to artists via the indie music (and film, in Zooey’s case) scene, and Zooey mentioned that a lot of her songs had been written in her trailer on film sets.

With Zooey and Matt still on-stage, Elvis introduced Jenny Lewis. The link may not be apparent, but there are guest appearances by Zooey, Matt, and Elvis on Jenny’s new album, Acid Tongue (due to drop on 9/23). Matt also helped with production, and Jenny mentioned that it was he who introduced her to analog recording. Jenny said he boosted her confidence, providing a “warm bed for the songs to grow from” in addition to a “timeless atmosphere.”

Using his outsider’s perspective, Costello asked what it was about California that colored the distinct writing style of these natives. Zooey and Matt both agreed that Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys introduced a sort of “California myth” to music. Jenny cited Los Angeles country music and the “Bakersfield sound,” Emmylou Harris, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, and the search for authenticity.

Costello talked about the intimacy and storytelling style of Jenny’s lyrics, leading into a performance of “Pretty Bird,” a new song based on a story she’d heard on public radio about a woman raped on an Indian reservation. There was more talk of authenticity, public attention, and the element of dress-up involved in being a popular singer-songwriter during Jenny’s solo interview segment. Zooey and Matt (Johnathan Rice, too) got called back to the stage for a knockout performance of “Carpetbagger,” the song in which Costello duets with Jenny.

Jakob Dylan was the main guest, but I took little interest in his portion of the show, nearly falling asleep at some point. I know he’s Bob Dylan’s son and I was madly in love with “One Headlight” (which he played an acoustic version of in order to illustrate his playing style) when I was 12, but I just couldn’t muster the energy to care. His big blue eyes are indeed big and blue, for those of you who are interested, and he also perpetuates the time-honored tradition of dudes wearing stupid hats throughout the entirety of his segment. Costello is excused since the silly hat is a trademark.

In the end, all the guests were called back to the stage for a performance of “Peace, Love, and Understanding,” which was amazing, even though the ladies were mostly useless. In fact, my partner in crime and I left the theater wondering whether that particular song had even been practiced with Jenny and Zooey, as they both seemed a little clueless.

All in all, it was an enjoyable experience. Hell, any experience with Jenny Lewis and Zooey Deschanel is bound to be enjoyable, right? Right. An observation, however: where once Jenny’s aesthetic was cute (Rilo Kiley did start out as a twee pop band if there ever was one), it is now sex. Zooey’s aesthetic is cute. Putting them together on one stage, trying to match their movements to one another, Zooey all nerves and Jenny all smooth moves, lead me to one conclusion: Zooey has no sense of rhythm. Sad, but true.

Speaking of sad, I wasn’t allowed to bring my camera to the venue for this one, so you’ll have to enjoy the included iPhone shots (via Michael Slaven) and wait until you can catch it on TV. The show will air its first episode in December. You probably won’t see this particular episode for awhile, though, as it’s the eighth episode in a series of thirteen.

“Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…”: website