Five new and one old

April 20, 2010

By Eliza K.

illustration by Robin Joseph
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Big Tree – The Concurrence of All Things

We are expanding and expanding and expanding…

We received this in the mail last week and obviously I could not resist that title so I had a listen. Everyone knows any songs that mention the Universe, planets, astronauts, rockets, and words like “concurrence” are cool. Turns out it was less science and Space-related than I was expecting but – you know what? – that’s not actually a bad thing. That means the song got here because it deserves to be here and got no extra points for featuring robots. It’s here because it’s sweet and catchy and wiggly and scrumdiddlyumptious, and exactly what the doctor ordered for sunny days when flights are cancelled and volcanos are still spewing fire into the sky and we are dreaming of the summer.

We Have Band – Honey Trap

The kind of song that would not be out of place at this year’s Benicassim fest. Is that a good thing? A bad thing? I guess it depends on how drunk you are.

Efterklang – I Was Playing Drums

New single, really good. The instruments complement each other wonderfully, and the atmosphere is as evocative as always with these guys. I don’t know how they do it but their songs manage to invariably sound both “good ol’ Efterklang” and refreshingly, glitteringly new at the same time.

Jóvenes y Sexys – Divine Hammer (The Breeders Cover)

I love it when bands take the battalion of emotions they might be having at the moment of song-writing, mash them all together, and transmute the resulting concoction into a single-minded obsession with one usually random and irrelevant Object; an object that must carry all the emotional weight of the song and function as a symbol for the listener. One old piece of cloth you remember wearing on a certain October day, one single sour-sweet grapefruit, one picture, one magic wand, one stupid trinket you picked up in Portugal last year, one tambourine that sounds like summer, one letter that will make it all better. All the anger you’re feeling directed towards the stupid cigarette lighter she left behind; all feelings of regret disguised as fondness for a certain Elliott Smith album. From Elephant Parade (“So I will buy some Velcro shoes with gold and blue on top because that will make me happy; everything else is disappointing.“), The Decemberists ( “This is the story of your red right ankle and how it came to meet your leg.”) or Bishop Allen (“Armed with this small butterfly net only; I will face the world alone and never be lonely.“) to Rihanna’s “Umbrella“, many bands have used this technique. In this case, the object is a hammer. What does it stand for? I have no idea. Perhaps I’m reading too much into this. Perhaps the singer really does dream of being a carpenter and she just wants to bang hammers all day. Who knows? Somehow I think it’s more than that. However, even if I’m wrong, the song is no less lovely for it.

Patrick Wolf – Army Dreamers (Kate Bush Cover)

Another cover. Maybe a month too late but – holy excrement*! – this is good.

*the safe-for-kids version

Arrah and the Ferns – Southern Comfort

If the previous song is only a month old, this one is a wobbly old codger, carrying four full years of age on its shaky shoulders (a 4-year-old song is a regular Methuselah in the blogosphere). I’m so embarrassed for having missed “Evan Is a Vegan” when it came out. But well, as they say, better late than never, so here I am. Such a lovely, lovely album, and this song will tell you why.

I'll write you one last letter
 I'll tie it to a string
 I'll hang it from a lantern
 For you to find in New Orleans

Wonderful post from The Trephine discussing our tendency to narrativize our lives and act like we’re fictional characters in some Hollywood production (instead of, you know, our insignificant selves). Do yourself a favour and read it, please!

Tags: 2006, 2010, arrah and the ferns, big tree, breeders, cover, efterklang, jovenes y sexys, kate bush, patrick wolf, we have band

This entry was posted on April 20, 2010 at 20:20 and is filed under Covers, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

2 Responses to “ Five new and one old ”

Tinyfolk on April 21, 2010 at 19:06

Yay! Arrah and the Ferns are wonderful. They have a second album somewhere. Good luck trying to get ahold of it, though.
Alyssa on April 21, 2010 at 22:48

Thanks so much for supporting Big Tree! If you’d like to be kept in the loop about their happenings, and receive more music from artists like them, shoot me an email! Thanks!