Starting right this very second, we want you–YOU–to do the following:
1. Carve a KZUU punkin.
2. Post a picture of said punkin to our wall on facebook.
Simple, right? If yours is the best (as decided by KZUU management), you’ll get to enjoy the eternal glory of a blog post, as well as some sort of prize.
Submissions are due Friday, October 29th, at the witchin’ hour (midnight, for the uninitiated).
Get carving, kiddos! If you have questions, leave a note on our FB page or–better yet–ask one of the managers in person.
Since 2009’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective has been all over the place. They’ve composed a soundtrack for a movie, designed shoes for adults and children, and two of the members have split off to make solo material. Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox) is still working on his album Tomboy, and Avey Tare (aka Dave Portner) is releasing his first true solo album entitled Down There next week.
While previous solo work by Portner involved his wife Kría Brekkan, Down There is all straight from the mind of Avey Tare himself. Supposedly inspired by crocodiles, swamps, and other things of that murky nature, Down There is saturated with wobbly instruments, watery percussion, and vocals saturated in reverb. The tracks never feel rushed, they develop methodically with layers and loops swooping in and out like algae-covered waves in the Everglades. Album standout “Oliver Twist” opens with a haunting monologue and a trunk rattling kick drum beat. Once the locust-infested intermission ends, the beat picks up with a kick-clap groove and Avey pitches his vocals up and down while singing “…and if I had some kind of need maybe the thing I need is the thing I’ve got/and if I look inside of me I’ll find the thing that gets me to the bottom.”
Most of the album is seamless, with each track melting into the other, segued by underwater speeches given by random people. Listening closely, you hear lines at the beginning of songs like “You see blood and bone, pump and flow, and a million mess–” cutting off mid-sentence. In “Cemeteries,” you can hear a low-pitched conversation being whispered through the warbling piano: “Jud, what’s that?” “Shhh… just a loon, that’s all.”
What results off all of this creepiness is a fantastic album for autumn. If you can sit through this absolutely terrifying interview, Avey Tare gives a little more insight into the inspiration for this album, including his recent split with his wife. If you can’t watch that without getting nauseous, it’s okay. Down There is a perfectly acceptable album to dive head first into, headphones are highly recommended.
Down There is being released next week, and you can check it out in the preview rack now.
It is a pleasure to say that Michigan’s own Breathe Owl Breathe will be in Moscow, Idaho tomorrow night at 8 pm! This folky, mystical trio is about to release (October 26th) their new album Magic Central from Portland’s Hometapes. I first heard of this band through yvynyl on tumblr, and fell in love with their eerie, cute tunes. A very well-put description of Breathe Owl Breathe would be: “The key to the magic of Michigan’s Breathe Owl Breathe is the believable narrative, with a welcoming distance from the voice to your ears. Like classic slight of hand, they take familiar images and situations, wave over them and turn them into a dove” (The Music Slut Blog). Not to mention they are releasing Magic Central on a pink vinyl! If you have never heard of Breathe Owl Breathe, or simply need a show to go to (since Pullman/Moscow has had some deprivation of good shows lately) please come check them out! You won’t be sorry. Will also be featuring Curt Krause of Buffalo Death Beam!
Where would you have found the young teenager Pigeon John on Thursday nights in the 1990’s? Every week from 8-10pm aspiring hip-hop MCs and poets gathered in South Central Los Angeles, California at The Good Life Cafe. Pigeon John, as well as other notable artists and names such as Fatlip (Pharcyde), Cut Chemist (Jurassic 5), Chali 2na (Jurassic 5), Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, Chuck D (Public Enemy), Myka 9 and many others filed in on those nights with the hope of having the opportunity to perform a song to the audience. Whether they played a written song or freestyled, the audience was the judge if their music belonged on stage. This cafe was as true and real as hip-hop gets, and was the early foundation of many artists music careers.
Known for his feel-good lyrics, and wide ranging voice and energetic style, Pigeon John is back at it again with his most recent release of his 5th official studio album Dragon Slayer. Coming off his feel-good 2006 album Pigeon John and The Summertime Pool Party, Dragon Slayer is another solid release from the Hawthorne, California native. PJ steers away from his typical MPC/sample based production as he has shown on previous records, and collaborates with Herve Salters (of General Elektrik) for a whole new instrumented feel to this record. As expected, Pigeon Johns creativity and enthusiastic style is evident once again in this already classic-album. Compared to his other recordings, Dragon Slayer‘s production is a bit slower, however it still presents his signature sound he has crafted he has been producing for over 10 years.
One of the most slept-on hip-hop artists to date, Pigeon John has been producing quality music since the end of 1990’s and how he is still flying under the radar for most music fans is beyond me. Do yourself and favor and pick up any of PJ’s albums and you’ll have it on replay for rest of the month. Whether he is singing on the chorus, making a joke at the end of a song, or finishing one of his creative word-play verses, PJ’s wisdom and humor is his very distinct. Pigeon John continues to make his statement within underground hip-hop and gain much earned respect; like his fitting song quote from “The Bomb” in Dragon Slayer, “I’m the bomb and am about to blow up”.
Hey hey hey yall, this is yer boy Evan coming back for a guest blog!! It’s been a while lolll. Guess What! We have a new #1 this week and it’s The DeerHunters. They just put out a really cool CD called Hallion Digest or something like that I dunno I suck at spelling haha. No but seriously, its a good album and you should listen to it more. This has been a really good year at KZUU and with bands like Dearhunter it can only get better! Well I gotta go but it’s been good blogging for you again, Rachel will be back next week. Cya!
-Evan
DEERHUNTER — Halcyon Digest
MAXIMUM BALLOON — Maximum Balloon
THE APPLES IN STEREO — Travellers in Space and Time
The use of classical tones in indie music is hardly a new phenomenon. We’ve all heard string and wood ensembles make appearances in folk bands, creating an end result that is sometimes delightful, but many times tacky and overproduced.
But when it comes to Chapel Hill N.C.’s Lost in the Trees, the use of the classical sound delves way deeper than a couple half-realized cello solos, and attempts to fuse the heart of classical music with a folk-pop sound.
The band began as a solo effort by frontman Ari Picker, who is also involved in a band called The Never. Picker worked with a group of nine musicians for the release of the bands first EP, Time Taunts Me, in 2007 with the help of Trekky Records and the University of North Carolina. The lengthy EP showcased what critics called “orchestral pop.” The second album, All Alone in an Empty House, was originally released as a limited LP in 2008, this time with an expansive set including a full string section, horn section and additional vocal talent. Thanks to the persistence of Picker and the help of a new label, Anti-Records, it was re-released last month with a couple extra tracks and as a full-length album. Hurray!
The full-length’s title accurately captures the general atmosphere of the album, making you feel as if you were navigating some empty North Carolinian estate. It manages to simultaneously be quaint and haunting. The first track opens on a quiet note, soothing listeners with simple guitar picking and the gentle tenor of Picker’s voice. But it quickly builds on itself and by the end Picker’s tiny yet appreciable singing is joined by the tense striking of a string quartet and the cryptic echoes of a saw and a female backup singer.
This is the general pace of the album, taking listeners on a rollercoaster of simple folk tunes and quivering ensembles, all led by the symphonic genius of the crew. Picker’s lyrics are heavily romanticized, declaring “I’m so selfless here,” in All Alone in an Empty House, “To all those with broken hearts/ I know what you’re going through,” in The Song for the Painter, and “I’ve got love songs, I’ve got songs that can make you cry,” in Love on My Side. These lines may read as dull and cliché, but somehow manage to fit in seamlessly in the context of the album.
If the band captured you the way it did me, it might be worth mentioning that their original label plans to re-release Time Taunts Me as a re-mastered LP early next year. As for the rest of you, I recommend ripping this beauty from the studio, settling down under the Palouse sun (while it is still there) and letting it carry you to sleep.
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