Saturday, August 24, 2013

@PumpUpThaVolume: Episode073 - Hold Yourself Up


Episode073 - Hold Yourself Up
♫Makin' a soundtrack for another planet to hear♫" on Episode073 - Hold Yourself Up which features brand new sounds from Superchunk, Mayer Hawthorne, Islands, Julia Holter, Daughter, Astro, My Goodness, Laura Veirs, Polyphonic Spree, Aye Nako, Starfolk, Memoir and Vox Mod...

Episode073: MP3/Feed\Archive

Previous: Episode072 - Stare At The Sun

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♬Liner Notes♬: Damn, I'm missing DJ Shadow at the Kaleidescope Festival here in Oregon, but I did see Best Coast and Polyphonic Spree last week! So now let's get down with new music from Superchunk, Mayer Hawthorne, Laura Viers, Polyphonic Spree, and much more... Let's Pump Up Tha Volume!

Superchunk
"Me & You & Jackie Mitoo"
'I Hate Music'
Merge, 2013
Note: We begin the latest PUTV with another legend that we're stoked to add to the roster! Stereogum calls this the album of the week and say, "Twenty-three years ago, Superchunk climaxed “Slack Motherfucker,” their first single and their defining song, with this line: “I’m working / But I’m not working for you / Slack motherfucker!” ... I’m not taking anything away from the many, many songs that McCaughan has since sung when I say that it might be his best line. But the opening line from “Me & You & Jackie Mittoo,” the ridiculously great lead single from I Hate Music, comes close: “I hate music! What is it worth?! / Can’t bring anyone back to this earth! / Or fill up the space between all of the notes! / But I got nothing else, so I guess here we go.” At first, I thought the line was about Mittoo, the great reggae keyboardist who died in 1990, the same year Superchunk dropped “Slack Motherfucker.”"
(More Info)

Mayer Hawthorne
"Her Favorite Song"
'Where Does This Door Go'
Republic, 2013
Note: Wild Honey Pie says, "For his fourth solo album, postmodern pop crooner Mayer Hawthorne doesn’t entirely ditch the finger snapping, shoe-shuffling rhythms and clean-cut licks that made up the core of his previous throwback sound... but musically speaking, this album feels larger and more alive than its predecessors."
(More Info)

Islands
"Becoming The Gunship"
'Ski Mask'
Manqué, 2013
Note: "I’ve always been particularly intrigued by songs that allegedly came to their writers in dreams. Two that immediately come to mind for me are Deerhunter’s “Strange Lights” and Surfer Blood’s “Anchorage,” and here’s a third, Islands‘ gorgeously weird ballad “Becoming the Gunship,” from the band’s upcoming record Ski Mask. It’s a fantastic song that sounds like a particularly haunting dream – title-appropriate militaristic drums anchor Nick Thorburn’s sublime vocal and plenty of soaring guitar noise; the whole thing’s got a charming Americana tinge that sounds like driving into the sunset. Check it out - Ski Mask is out September 17."
(More Info)

Julia Holter
"In the Green Wild"
'Loud City Song'
Domino, 2013
Note: The Needle Drop says this song is "the second glimpse Julia has given us of the LP – the first was the somber and spacious “World” back in May. This second single is a considerably more upbeat affair. Here, Julia’s vocals are more whimsical than wearied, and the instrumentation is not nearly as sparse as it was in “World.” The sly upright bass and exotic percussion that the track opens with give way to an epic, string-kissed second half that manages to be simultaneously explosive and ethereal."
(More Info)

Daughter
"Youth"
'If You Leave'
Glassnote, 2013
Note: Last heard back on Episode045, Rolling Stone said back in April when the full-length came out that, "Daughter's debut album If You Leave begins with "Winter,"... It's a chilling opening moment that sets the tone for the rest of the London trio's record, which will see release April 30th on Glassnote, though you can now stream the LP in its entirety. Combining immensely personal lyrics with rumbling drums and dreamy, roaming guitar work, songs like "Youth"...start as distant laments that expand to explosive catharses..."
(More Info)

Astro
"Ciervos"
'Astro'
Nacional, 2013
Note: Well then, when ABC News covers a PUTV band ... "In recent years, there's been an intriguing pop music scene sparkling out of Chile. One of the brightest gems to rise out of this standout music milieu is the electropop quartet Astro... After their US tour, the Astro boys will head back to Chile where they will continue working on their anticipated junior album. With new music machines and new discoveries, Andrés abstractly promises the upcoming record to be "very fresh and humid at the same time.""
(More Info)

My Goodness
"Back Again"
'SHIVER + SHAKE'
self-released, 2013
Note: KEXP says, "have successfully embraced a straightforward approach to blues rock without imitating well known artists of the genre like The Black Keys or Gary Clark Jr.. With their Pacific Northwest roots, My Goodness brings a touch of Seattle bands like Nirvana and The Blood Brothers into the mix. My Goodness has already won the heart of Washington, and their upcoming album, SHIVER + SHAKE, will surely catapult them onto the national stage."
(More Info)

Laura Veirs
"Sun Song"
'Warp And Weft'
Raven Marching Band, 2013
Note: Pop Matters says, "Portland, Oregon singer-songwriter Laura Veirs named her ninth album after a knitting term, Warp and Weft, because she considers the disc a tapestry of different elements. It is true that Veirs incorporates a diversity of sounds, subjects, and motifs on the record. There is everything from a train roaring down the tracks to a bicycle bell gently ringing; a 30-second instrumental tune about ghosts to a lyrical one about the founding fathers of America rolling in their graves because of what the country has become..."
(More Info)

Polyphonic Spree
"Hold Yourself Up"
'Yes, it's True.'
Kirtland/Good Records, 2013
Note: AV Club says, "the Spree’s fourth proper full-length and first since 2007’s The Fragile Army, finds the band confronting an unavoidable reality: Its sonic sprawl could only expand so much before it was eventually bound to recede a bit. And this record finds the band coming back down to Earth. The multi-layered chamber pop is still there, as are the Tony Robbins-like positive affirmations, but this time out the spectacle fits the mold of something a bit more palatable and digestible." And yes, I saw the Spree twice last Saturday! Once at an awesome in-store and then at their headlining show at the Wonder... Love those guys!
(More Info)

Aye Nako
"Start Talking"
'Unleash Yourself'
self-released, 2013
Note: KEXP says, "Although the tag “pop punk” isn’t too far of a stretch for Brooklyn-based quartet Aye Nako’s spunky, uptempo rock, their modern take on the genre falls closer somewhere between second wave emo and late-80s indie rock... “Start Talking” isn’t so much a command as it is a rallying cry. Blistering guitars and tumbling drums push Mars’ lead vocal performance to a dizzying speed, and as the band shifts from one section of the song to another, the breakneck pace builds tension that only releases at the song’s end. Crafted with an imprecise mixture of anxiety and adrenaline, “Start Talking” is of candidness over conviction."
(More Info)

The Starfolk
"To The Gate"
'Starfolk'
Korda, 2013
Note: Tell All Your Friends says the ethereal folk pop from Minneap "began as a chance for Brian Tighe (The Hang Ups) to develop new material with his wife/collaborator Allison LaBonne (The Owls, Typsy Panthre) and to work again with fellow Hang Ups co-founder Stephen Ittner... It took the group four years—longer than they ever imagined—to cultivate these songs into finished recordings... The sound resulting from this depths probe is palpably heavier."
(More Info)

Memoir
"Los Angeles"
Deadly Love, 2013
Note: Indie Shuffle says, "New discoveries are always great, especially when they catch your attention within the first few seconds. Memoir did just that with their song “Los Angeles.” Based out of LA (no surprises), the duo is made up of singer Dena Deadly and producer Zed Kelley. Together, they released a 4-track self-titled EP in April of this year, and recently followed it up with a July 9th release of this featured single." The duo's dayjob is creating songs, jingles and more!
(More Info)

Vox Mod
"Quenched Consciousness" (Live at KEXP)
'Live at KEXP Volume Nine'
KEXP, 2013
Note: And we close with a Pacific Northwest treat from KEXP! Last heard on Episode046, the Seattle x "In his full Audioasis set (from which this recording is pulled), Scott Porter lists off about a dozen bands he’s been in and out of and a part of in Seattle over the past few years. The guy works his butt off, and you’d be hard pressed to find an electronic artist in the area that hasn’t crossed paths with Porter. But this year, with new record SYN​-​ÆSTHETIC, Porter takes front and center giving us a Vox Mod record with every bit of breaking potential that it could possibly muster. Enlisting the help of Palaceer Lazaro (of Shabazz Palaces), Erik Blood, and other collaborators, SYN​-​ÆSTHETIC is ridiculously good, and it’s fun to hear Porter getting to flex his muscles."
(More Info)

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@PumpUpThaVolume Music News:
This band is so damn good. #polyphonicspree
Thank you Portland!!! #yesitstrue
Peep a pic from @PolySpree at @WonderBallroom in #Portland 8/17 AND thank @TimDeLaughter for the post-show hug!
RT @CBC_Music Who's your fave @Sloanmusic member? We like them all, so we made this list of each of their best songs
No way!: Morrissey - 25:Live
Owner of #JohnLennon's tooth hopes to clone the late Beatle
#MarvinGaye's Family Rejects #RobinThicke's Six-Figure '#BlurredLines' Settlement
Chuck Klosterman Corners Guy At Party Wearing Dio Shirt
Have you heard the new release from #NSA Records? It's called #PRISM by @katyperry
Wow, I love seeing banners for @Carolyn_Malachi on my #Spotify!

(Thanks again to @KEXP, @KCRW, @TheCurrent, Twilight Circus Dub Sound System and you!)

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