Showing posts with label Dan Deacon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dan Deacon. Show all posts
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Listener's Digest: Dan Deacon - "Konono Ripoff No. 1"


Record Store Day is quickly approaching and a handful of the day's special offerings have begun to leak on the web. One of my favorites so far is a single from Dan Deacon's split 7' titled "Konono Ripoff No. 1."  Full of the frantic blips and bloops Deacon so frequently features, in addition to some pretty wild percussion, the tune sounds like it could be a theme song to a bizarre amusement park only Deacon could dream up.  "Konono Ripoff No. 1" will be available, in limited quantity, on April 20th.



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buffaBLOG Road Trip: Dan Deacon and Animal Collective



How will experimental music be organically composed from relics of pop music and translated to live performance? Well that's exactly the question we seek to have answered tonight on our road trip to Toronto to see Dan Deacon and Animal Collective. Both artists have earned their acclaim by reshaping conventions. 
Dan Deacon is a modern day composer, and his high-energy performances are calculated. His whole approach is to take contemporary composition and deconstruct it into a shapable substance that he can sculpt into new music. It often sounds as though layers are constantly building off of each other into one epic climax of harmonious sound. The live translation is intended to break down the barriers of tentative human behavior, and to force on an attitude that is accepting of all fun emotions and experiences.

This song from Dan Deacon's most recent album America is a passing glance of cross-country journeys and traveling stomach butterflies.



Animal Collective, who will headline tonight's performance are the kings of trancendental pop music. Who would have thought that their sound now was born out of experimental ambience? Musicians who realize that the creative process is fueled by experimentation.


Tonight the two acts will play the third show of this new tour at The Danforth Music hall in Toronto, ON then head coast to coast across the U.S. They will then go overseas to Europe before returning this summer for the festival circuit, including performances at Camp Bisco in Mariaville, NY. Tonight's show is sold out.










james wild






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Top 10 August Album Releases


Yes, we've reached August. And while the summer is fleeting past, there's still plenty of time for new music to find it's way to your ear canals and then to any subsequent barbecues, frisbee golf tournaments, or Sunday afternoon naps. Let's face it though, this has already been such a substantial year for new music; I still find myself catching up on past releases. Just wait 'til December when we come out with our "Best of 2012" lists. It's going to be insanely difficult.
10. Niki and The Dove - Instinct
Niki and The Dove are Malin Dahlström and Gustav Karlöf of Stockholm, Sweden. The electro-pop duo, who formed in February 2010, were signed by Sub Pop late last year and have released their debut record, Instinct, today. The folks at Sub Pop have explained their sound as being “...full of magic and light but with an unsettling darkness hidden beneath the surface. It’s pop music but a world away from the production line aesthetics of much modern chart music.” There’s really no better way to describe these guys sonically, especially after listening to their track “Tomorrow” as it begins with Dahlström's brittle, cutting vocals and slowly builds to a spellbinding chorus via organ blips and a rustling electro-drum roll. You can watch the video for "Tomorrow" here, which consists of Dahlström flying through space, and landing on a distant planet that resembles earth.
9. Poor Moon - Poor Moon
Way back in March Poor Moon actually topped this list with their debut EP, Illusion. The 5 song EP was good, but didn’t exactly live up to the wild expectations I had for it, which were probably a little premature in the first place. So sorry Shins, you deserved that #1 spot... But in good fun I’m giving these guys another sporting chance, but certainly not a #1 spot. I think the reason Poor Moon gets and deserves my attention so much is because two of the members, Christian Wargo and Casey Wescott, did such an incredible job as members of Fleet Foxes, who released one of the best albums of 2011 with Helplessness Blues. And while Poor Moon doesn’t maintain every sly attribute of the afforementioned Foxes, they do grasp the wistful folk-factors in songs like “Anyplace” which stick to desperate harmonies and twangy telecasters. The self-titled LP is due out 8/27 via Sub Pop.
8. Teengirl Fantasy - Tracer
Ohio dream-pop duo Teengirl Fantasy who released their 2010 debut 7AM, are back with their sophomore effort Tracer, which will be out on August 21 via True Panther. A couple singles from the new record have been released including "End" which starts with harrowing keys and gives off similar effervescence as a Strawberry Jam era Animal Collective track. Listen to "End" here. 


7. Jessie Ware - Devotion 
Before releasing a strand of singles this past year including, “Running”, “110%” and “Wildest Moments”, Jessie Ware was known little more as a contributing backing voice on the futuristic London producer SBTRKT’s works. Ware herself might have been previously unaware of her songwriting and singing talents which bind sensuous melodies and seizing pop vocals into dazzling focus. Her songs are catchy and easy to dance to; they possess diva-esque attributes that tow the line of commercial, but intelligently so. Her debut album Devotion is out on 8/20 via PMR. 


6. Anthony and The Johnsons - Cut The World 
Chances are you’ve already read a review for Anthony and the Johnsons’ new record Cut the World, which was released today. This is either due to my lack of punctuality or the amount of music/media blogs you follow on Twitter. Either way, Cut The World looks to be an equisite piece of music-making. It's out now on Secretly Canadian.
5. Matthew Dear - Beams 
When you listen to Matthew Dear’s latest track, “Her Fantasy” you relaize why his album is so faultlessly entitled Beams. Better yet, the music video might actually do the title more justice as you're melodically tripping-out over your morning coffee. This dude is seriously strange. And seriously, so very talented. His 2010 LP Black City was a critical success for all the same dark, fascinating reasons. You can pre-order it now over at Matthew Dear's website and expect it at your local record store on 8/27 via Ghostly International.
4. Dan Deacon - America 
The jack-of-all-trades, composer and experimental electro-pop artist, Dan Deacon, is back with his latest and tenth LP, America, which will be released on Domino records on 8/28. The Baltimore musician has always had a knack for curating peculiar, uber-creative music, but what might be most compelling about Deacon is his ability to sync his music to video, so much that he even wrote the film score to Francis Ford Coppola’s Twixt. His latest track “True Thrush” presents a compelling music video where Deacon and members of Baltimore’s Wham City art collective, among other groups, play a drawing game similar to ‘telephone’, only using video. Read the introduction at the beginning of the video and you’ll see what I mean. Watch it here.
3. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Mature Themes 
On 4AD’s website, the record label has described Ariel Pink’s new album as “Vomit on fine Italian marble. A jet-shot of beautiful glowing puke on something recently mopped and shined.” As disgusting as that sounds, could we expect anything less from an artist who notoriously plays his armpits? All grotesque images aside, Ariel Pink has proved his musicianship over and again, and is coming off his sensational 2010 release, Before Today, which was named to many end-of-year lists. Now Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti are back with more lo-fi lovin' with Mature Themes, which might be the group’s cachtiest yet, especially on the latest cuts, “Only In My Dreams” and “Baby”. The record is out 8/20.
2. Yeasayer - Fragrant World 
Yeasayer has been making quite the stir at buffaBLOG as of late. Coming off a unanimously stunning performance at Town Ballroom, the Brooklyn four-piece is only increasing their kinetic energy, fuled by laser lights and wild, electro-world-music rythms as they ready their third studio collection, Frangrant World, out 8/20 via Secretly Canadian. While those who attended the show probably heard most of the 11 tracks from the latest LP, there is still time to pre-order the record for those of you who weren’t able to come out last week. Listen to the first cut off the record "Henrietta" here.
1. Wild Nothing - Nocturne 
I admit it. I’m in love with the music of Wild Nothing, aka 22-year-old Virginia (no, not Brooklyn) native Jack Tatum’s hazed-out, Instagramized indie-rock jams. His 2010 debut full-length, Gemini, is up there (for me) as one of the best albums of the past 5 years. When tracks like “Summer Holiday” and  “Chinatown” come blaring through car speakers on the ride to work, Tatum's freewheeling, reverb-loaded vocals and guitar buzz could make one forget all stressful obligations and play eternal hooky, driving 'cross endless senery. It’s no surprise that Tatum is back with more of the same stylings with the latest track, “Shadow,” exhibiting a similar lo-fi coo, but set amid a steady kick drum and sirens of droning guitar riffs. Wild Nothing is currently touring with a group that captures a very similar style, DIIV, who recently released their latest LP, Oshin, also via Captured Tracks. Nocturne is out Augiust 27. Find out how to get a free poster from the band and pre-order your copy here.


Tom Dennis
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Listener's Digest: July 6 - July 12



I expected another slow week, but was pleasantly surprised to find a flood of fantastic new music. In turn, because there was so much, I had to cut some great new tracks from artists like MNDR, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, and Teengirl Fantasy. To be honest, I didn't like the new Ariel Pink too much, but what can you do.? It freed up room and gave me the opportunity to feature new artists like Dunes and Cult of Youth.

Dan Deacon - "True Thrush:" A new single off  Deacon's forthcoming album, "True Thrush" represents a  stylistic evolution for Deacon. While still as jubilant and cathartic as older tracks, "True Thrush" has shed some of the earlier abrasiveness, and to great effect. This is a shimmering and dreamy song with a slow build towards a raucous and celebratory end. 



Cult of Youth - "Man and Man's Ruin:" Off an album to be released this fall, "Man and Man's Ruin" features the haunting, reverent vocals of songwriter Sean Ragon. Instrumentation builds as the song progresses and ends in a lush mix of bongo, guitar and horns. Please note the sick album art below.




Dunes - "Dirt:" Off a compilation  that invited artists to make songs out of each line from Sol LeWitt's "Lines on Conceptual Art" (I am not sure what that entails either. In fact, if you can explain this to me, please email me at mtorsell@buffablog.com). With submerged vocals and a spooky melody that fades out slowly at the end, this a strong track. Dunes released a full length earlier this year.



Future Islands - "Cotton Flowers:" A song very much in the vein of previous releases, this is  another strong release from the underrated Baltimore group. Melancholic new wave with Samuel T. Herring's raspy baritone voice, "Cotton Flowers" is an excellent nocturnal song. There is something intrinsically heartbreaking about this song, but it is still worth a listen (or 2 or 50).



Tame Impala - "Apocalypse Dreams:" The promise of a new Tame Impala record is cause for celebration. 2010's Innerspeaker, their debut, was an amazing summer psych-rock album. Preceeding the new album's first "official" single (whatever that means anymore) is "Apocalypse Dreams," a longer and looser track. Hazy and melodic, this track suggests that the band has tightened their sound while still carrying forward what worked in the past. Let's hope the first single (whatever that means anymore) is equally enjoyable.



Michael Torsell
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