Don't Sleep On Lucky Soul

A month or two ago an album came out that if released a year earlier would have likely been widely covered and treated like the gem it is. You see that time last year the bloggers were begining to faun over the Pipettes, El Perro Del Mar's debut was being hailed as an indie pop gem, but these albums and performers ran their course and by the time Lucky Soul released their excellent new album The Great Unwanted, the post modern girl group style indie pop "craze" had run it's course.

This is a sad developement for a band who's songs pack a substantially greater emotional impact than the (in my not so humble opinion) abysmal Pipettes and packs more music might then the occasionally too hushed dreamyness of EPDM. The album is awash in reverb and horns and teenage melodrama with an adult sense of self. The melodies are not overly indebted to their retro touchstones. In stead of pure homage Lucky Soul approach their music with a sense of personal inventiveness and a clear sense of themselves.

Upon it's release this album was declared Recomended by Pitchfork, sadly that "distinction" is terribly fleeting as the album (like many of the others) was quickly brushed aside by a steady march of quality indie releases. I felt like now was a good time to reremind anyone who missed this one the first time around to run out and download or (egads!) purchase the album. Check out their MySpace too.

MMM...The Simpsons Movie

The people have spoken giving the Simpsons Movie nearly $72 million this weekend. The critics have spoken, averaging the movie out at 81 on Metacritic. And I must say that the movie is as satisfying as I (a person who has missed 5 episodes in their original airtime, a person who owns 3 drinking cups all of which are Simpsons related, as a person who in the run up to the movie was watching on average 3 episodes a day) could have hoped. I have but one complaint. The town's folk were under used. This complaint however is unconsequential as my favourite thing about the movie was that it got back to the essence of the major 4 players, an essence that in recent years has taken a back seat to wackier plots.

The movie utilized scale for to beautiful effect making a great fluorescent dream of an animated movie. (One that for a change these days, actually features characters that are drawn and styalized in a not purposefully realistic way.) The movie uses length to delve deeply into each of the family members inner life. These are the things that movie adaptations of TV shows need to be succesful and this one has them in spades.

I for one am quite excited for the sequal which I can only assume will come sooner than the nearly 20 years we waited for this one. I've seen the movie twice and I expect to see it at least once more before it exits theaters.

My Weekend In Rock

Oh obligations how I hate thee. Each weekend I eagerly await the extra sleep and extra booze and of course extra rock that the good lord is kind enough to guarantee to me. Some weekends however have somehting else in mind. This Saturday was guaranteed to be an amazing day in Rock wether I went with the masses to see Sonic Youth burn through their classic Daydream Nation or stayed on Staten Island for Murray's EP release extravaganza. I've gotten direct reports from both and nothing but thumbs up all around. Sigh.

Thankfully my Friday and Saturday did have some live music involved and it was uniformly good. Here's the rundown:

7/27/07 - The Deathset (Seaport) - 84% These guys are great. They were great at the Silent Barn a few months ago and it seems that they are getting better since they played so well in such a spacious environment.

7/27/07 - Suicide (Seaport) - 81% Maniacs age well. When your band starts on the fringiest of fringes you're never going to become Sting and thank god for that.

7/27/07 - Dead Rabbit (Martini Red) - 80% An off the cuff show from Staten Island's poppiest indie band. Once again good, once again begs the question: Where's the label scouts?!

7/29/07 - Celebration (McCarren Pool) - 78% A great rythmic bedrock with soaring vocals and subtle instrumentation. This band deserved more of my attention than I was willing to give, sorry guys.

7/29/07 - TV on the Radio (McCarren Pool) - 83% I've seen TVOTR about 7 times now. Tiny venues, outdoor venues, ampitheaters, shot gun shacks. They have a steady evolution thus far but this time it became apparent that their consistent quality is making it hard for me to stay interested. However they're rock stars(who knew?) and to stand in a crowd enwrapped by a band as adventurous as this is always exciting and satisfying.

Thanks to my brother for the pictures of Deathset and Dead Rabbit.