Elsiane...Next Bjork?
An email randomly popped into my inbox posing the question: Elsiane...Next Bjork? After checking out the Canadian outfit's debut album, Hybrid, and seeing the band live at the El Rey last night, I consider that statement to be somewhat of an insult. Though their talent quite possibly equals that of the quirky Icelandic princess, Elsiane's music is far less annoying (admit it, no matter how much you love Bjork, her stuff can be bjollocks at times).
Elsiane consist of chanteuse Elsieanne Caplette and drummer Stephane Sotto. Live, the duo are augmented by Jeff Feldman (electric double bass/keyboards) and Philippe Look (guitar/keyboards). Caplette's ethereal voice is both breathy and breathtaking. Soaring over the band's shadowy soundscapes with ease and control, she uses her body to create unique natural vocal effects.
Musically Elsiane carry the torch of downtempo bands like Portishead, Morcheeba and Massive Attack, but they're no mere imitators, having a warmth, depth and fidelity all their own. Caplette, a self-taught classical musician, composed and arranged the album's signature lush strings, which were laid down with a little help from legendary producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd's The Wall).
Check out "Vaporous," the lead song from Hybrid below.
Virgin Music Festival , Toronto – Day 1… TRIPPY!
Virgin Music Festival: Day 1
Sept. 8, 2007
Toronto, Canada
This was my first trip to the 2nd annual Virgin Music Festival in Toronto and I didn’t really know what to expect. I was informed the concert would take place on an island and I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t realize that Toronto even had an island. Saturday morning I went down to the press check in and after getting sorted out I was told to wait for the next ferry. Ferry? This is where the differences between V Fest and other festivals began. I took a short ferry ride across the water to the Toronto Island Park. I exited the boat, roamed around the grounds for awhile and saw a beautifully laid out theme park filled with rides, food vendors and four concert stages. This was trippy! It seemed to me that this was Perry Farrell’s original vision for Lollapalooza, “Come out to the island to see some great music, learn about some worthy causes, eat and drink and take a break and ride a roller coaster or a bumper boat.”
My day of music began with the 20-year-old Scot that I just can’t get enough of. Paolo Nutini took to the main stage at 2:15 in the afternoon and the crowd couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the show. Nutini and his boys played a terrific 45-minute set which included his hits, “New Shoes,” “Rewind” and “Jenny Don’t Be Hasty” along with an amazing new track “Rainbows.” The band also threw in an excellent rock cover of Moby’s “Natural Blues.” The kid is really coming into his own as a live performer. He’s always had the material but in the early days it seemed hard for Nutini to interact with the crowd, choosing to look down at his feet instead of making eye contact with his fans. These days he’s moving around, having fun, talking to the audience and the crowds are eating it up!
Next up on the main stage was K-OS. To be perfectly honest, IÂ’d never seen the man and his band live. On stage, K-OS combined all the great elements of The Fugees, Rage Against The Machine and Bob Marley. One minute he was crooning like Lauryn Hill with Pras and Wyclef backing him and the next heÂ’d fire up the political stance like Zach De La Rocha with a less aggressive Tom Morello on the axe. It would be hard to classify K-OS into any musical category because he doesnÂ’t define himself. From rock to reggae to r&b and hip hop, the man put on a show that I consider to be one of the festival's best.
Anticipation boiled over as M.I.A. was taking the stage. SheÂ’s played at so many festivals that IÂ’ve attended but, for whatever reason, IÂ’ve never had the chance to watch her perform. While I really enjoy her recorded work it just didnÂ’t seem to translate well live. The songs were there but the energy was lacking. That special something just didnÂ’t seem apparent. That being said, the ladyÂ’s outfits were banginÂ’! Pink sunglasses and black leather daisy dukes will go a long way when it comes to remembering what to write in a review. It is hard to forget such a memorable ensemble.
While sitting on the shore I took a much needed break and enjoyed my slice of pizza and a hot dog. The venue offers up the most amazing view of the downtown skyline. The break was short lived, however, because the Arctic Monkeys were about to take the stage. I really wanted to see what the hype was all about. I loved the Arctic Monkeys debut album but was less than impressed with their recent follow-up, Favourite Worst Nightmre. The kids from Sheffield were quite impressive as they ripped through an hour long set that included the wonderful “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” and the current hit “Brianstorm.” It was a much needed energy injection near the end of a long day. It got the crowd riled up and everyone wanted to see more! One of the highlights from the festival occurred hours later when I listened to the boys playing acoustically outside of their trailer. They played with assorted friends, drinking Strongbow cider and singing James Blunt’s “Beautiful.”
As with all festivals, multiple acts play at the same time and youÂ’re forced to make decisions as to what band(s) youÂ’d rather see. Interpol vs. Mute Math was case in point. I decided to see the second stage headliner, Mute Math, and keep up my streak of skipping Interpol festival performances. This was the best decision I made all weekend long! IÂ’m new to the phenomenon that is Mute Math but IÂ’m a definite convert. Without hesitation I will tell you that this was the best performance all weekend long. For whatever reason, these guys remind me a lot of The Police during their heyday but with added pop sensibility. Terrifically catchy songs combined with a great light show made for the most memorable performance of the day.
To end the night I needed to catch a glimpse of BjorkÂ’s performance so I could leave with a smile on my face. The queen of Iceland always makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and this was no exception. She took the stage wearing a golden dress and it seemed as if she had painted her forehead green. The cast of characters behind her reminded me of the Polyphonic Spree on acid. Like the Spree, multiple members donned multi-colored robes but these backup performers had painted their foreheads, as well. It was awesome! I stayed long enough to hear the first couple of songs and then hightailed it to the ferry for fear that IÂ’d be stuck on the island all night long.
Stay tuned for a report of Day 2 of V Fest...
YouTube Gold: Recommended Viewing # 10
We're back from Coachella and in our prospecting caps once again, panning for gold in the great video vastness that is YouTube...
1. Bjork “Declare Independence” Live at Coachella 2007
Unable to make it to Coachella this weekend? No biggie, video is already burning up YouTube like wildfire.
We’re Björk-crazy at the moment, as you could tell from our “Recommended Viewing” posts the last couple of weeks. Her Coachella performance Friday night solidified this for us. She thanked us for joining her in the desert and the feeling couldn’t be more mutual. Here’s her encore from Friday night’s performance, “Declare Independence”, a gloriously glitchy and distorted track from the forthcoming Volta. She turned the whole ding dang place into a huge rave. Look for Regine Chassagne of Arcade Fire joyfully dancing in the wings. Raise yer flag higher, HIGHER!
2. Arcade Fire “Antichrist Television Blues”” Live At Coachella 2007
Our runner up (after Björk) for Best Coachella 2007 Performance. The band has never been better, and Win Butler’s voice has recovered nicely. They were one of the few acts at the festival that garnered full attention from festival goers, excitement in the finally-cooling air as they hit the stage while the sun set. Win introduced this Joe Simpson-inspired track with the quip “Daddies don’t grow up and manage your daughters.”
3. Katie Jane Garside “Lost Upon The Flame” video
Katie Jane Garside of Queen Adreena and Daisy Chainsaw fame quietly snuck out a lo-fi solo album at the end of 2005 entitled Lalleshwari - Lullabies in a Glass Wilderness. The album is now being re-released in France in the coming months and Ms. Garside is ready to promote it properly. Here’s the promo video for the album’s slow-burn track, “Lost Upon The Flame.” A hypnotic, psychedelic and sultry study of Ms. Garside's lovely face.
4. Beirut “Elephant Gun” video
Zach Condon and Co. give us a wonderfully odd video for “Elephant Gun”, pulled from this year’s Lon Gisland EP, Mustaches, Dirty Dancing, and elephant trunks abound. Beirut are currently putting the final touches on the follow-up to last year’s Gulag Orkestar, due this fall.
5. Tori Amos interview 4/19/07
Say what you will about Ms. Amos, but she always remains true to her vision and graciously handles the indignities that come along with being a misunderstood artist. Just check her out in the following clip on Loose Women, the Brits' version of The View. Amos does her best to explain the concept of her new album, American Doll Posse, to the showÂ’s panel of stained doilies. Doll Posse hits store shelves and iTunes this week.
This WeekÂ’s YouTube Gold:
Top pick of the week.
6. Leonard Cohen “Avalanche” Live 1988
Last week, Columbia Records released remastered deluxe editions of the first three albums by Canadian poet and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. The reissues are supplemented with bonus tracks, new liner notes
and rare photos. “Avalanche” from Cohen’s third album, 1971’s Songs of Love and Hate, is one of his most revered and adored compositions. Here’s a stunner of a performance of said track recorded live in San Sebastian, Spain circa 1988.
Chris Gore's Footage Fetishes: Movie Musicals That Rock
ItÂ’s a little known fact that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has a rule which allows for an Oscar to be awarded to the Best Musical. In order for that to happen, enough musicals have to be eligible in a given year to justify the category and the eventual awarding of the coveted gold statue. To date, this has never happened. It seems that the new rule coincided with the death of the genre. Unfortunately, there are hardly enough musical movies made nowadays to fill a double bill, much less the chance that an Oscar would be awarded to one.
When you think about it, musicals are totally unrealistic. I mean, when in real life does anyone actually break out into song? Have you ever thought to sing a tune to reveal your own inner monologue in real-life? (Try that at work one day just to see what might happen.) Sure, the concept is crazy, yet musicals can lift the spirit in a way that normal movies cannot. The best are the ones that defy the traditional genre conventions, whereas the worst ones seem nothing more than “filmed plays.” There are plenty of movie musicals worth singing to and here’s my personal list of the best in no particular order.
Bjork found herself surrounded by cameras in Lars Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark.
Dancer in the Dark
Lars Von Trier, one of the original Dogme 95 filmmakers, took a unique approach when shooting Bjork in this depressing musical. For certain dance numbers, he shot the actors in a room with more than 100 cameras surrounding the cast so that every possible angle could be captured. ItÂ’s soulful, tragic and the perfect approach in Von TrierÂ’s attempt to reinvent the genre.
Grease
The most interesting part about seeing Grease now is noticing the lesbian subtext and all the homo-erotic humor. Unless I read too much into it. Which is possible. Anyway, these layers went over the heads of the young audience that originally made it popular. ItÂ’s good clean fun in a junior-high-fully-clothed-make-out session way.
Hair
This anti-war hippie-hoedown made its way from Broadway to the screen in this Milos Forman-directed version from 1979. Perhaps more relevant now than when it was originally in theaters, the powerful dance numbers set during the tumultuous '60s should be revisited with the sound cranked at full volume. Treat Williams and John Savage provide a grounded story that adds weight to the tragic ending.
Cory McAbee is a singing space trucker in The American Astronaut.
American Astronaut
Cory McAbee, lead singer of post-punk-rockabilly band the Billy Nayer Show, stars as a space trucker on a mission. Songs are belted out in the menÂ’s room in a space diner, and across the galaxy in a nonsensical adventure that makes plenty of sense when you listen to the lyrics. This bizarre and starkly shot black & white film which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001, must be seen to be believed. ItÂ’s as if David Lynch himself made a musical. You simply must track it down and then dance to it.
The Blues Brothers
Known as much for its action and comedy as it is for the music, The Blues Brothers has stood the test of time as the best blues musical ever made... and probably the only blues musical I can think of. WhatÂ’s odd is that it defies the rules and provides reasons within the story for the characters to actually break into song. So, in a way, itÂ’s the most realistic musical ever made.
Open House
Slamdance Film Festival co-founder Dan Mirvish made this musical on such a low budget, he used the actual sound of his actors singing during shooting. This is totally unusual for a musical where the songs are recorded in a studio setting. This "real estate comedy" starring the likes of James Duval, Ann Magnuson and Sally Kellerman shows what can be done without a big budget and a creative concept. In fact, the DVD includes a commentary track sung entirely by the director and members of the cast.
Riki Lake leads the cast in John Waters' film Hairspray.
Hairspray
Riki Lake leads the cast in John Waters' film Hairspray which became a successful Broadway play which will now be remade into a movie starring John Travolta in the role originally made famous by Divine. Make sense? The story makes light of racist attitudes during the 1950s which proves, well, at least in this week's Imus-fueled media frenzy, that weÂ’ve still learned nothing.
Jesus Christ Superstar
This film might be considered sacrilegious in these hyper-sensitive times, but I believe Jesus would approve of this bold rock musical. Unfortunately, itÂ’s an Easter classic rarely seen around Easter.
Tommy
The WhoÂ’s rock opera opened the door for other bands to explore long-form concept albums. The wall-to-wall music put to the tale of the reawakening and deification of a deaf, dumb and blind kid who can play pinball, is worthy of multiple viewings and/or listenings if you prefer.
Pink FloydÂ’s The Wall
ItÂ’s depressing, weird, clearly influenced by the popularity of music videos from the 1980s but still packs a punch simply because of the Pink Floyd soundtrack.
Moulin Rouge
Baz Luhrmann puts a new spin on a classic tale. What is most compelling about Moulin Rouge is not the schmaltzy storyline, but the over-the-top production design combining fantastic sets with a fluid style that leaves one breathless during some musical numbers. The song and dance sequences up the ante by combining well-known pop songs – everything from T-Rex, the Police, Nirvana, Madonna, U2 to the Beatles – and weaving the tunes and lyrics into a newly formed mish-mash of songs. It's incredibly bizarre and it works.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is by far the most original rock musical ever made.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
This is the only musical I can think of that was borne of a botched sex change operation. Directed, written by and starring John Cameron Mitchell, who looks great in a dress I might add, the tunes offer a tale of pain through the adventures of a struggling punk band. Hedwig is touching, frightening and has the most listenable musical soundtracks ever. And, if you were wondering, the “angry inch” in question – it’s his penis. Or what’s left of it.
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Any list of notable musicals must include the cult classic that made dressing in drag and going to the midnight movies a full-contact sport.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Many people do not consider the 1971 classic starring Gene Wilder to be a musical, most consider it a simple childrenÂ’s film. But if I began to hum it for you, that oompa-loompa song would be stuck in your head all day. ItÂ’s a miracle that the film turned out so well considering this adaptation of the Roald Dahl book was originally funded only as a way to promote a candy bar.
Oh, and as always with any “list-based” piece like this, feel free to pile on your own suggestions for the ones I completely missed, forgot or was too stupid to recognize as being great. Yes, I love you too. I’d write a song about it and sing it out loud, but I can’t find anything to rhyme with Suicide Girls or Footage Fetishes or… you get the picture.
Gore gone.
Chris_Gore is an author, a filmmaker, the creator of Film Threat, and cannot sing.
YouTube Gold: Recommended Viewing For Your Lazy Sunday # 6
We're back in our prospecting caps and panning for gold in the great video vastness that is YouTube...
1. Von Iva "Not Hot To Trot" video
This video is a couple of years old now, but still muy caliente! Von Iva started in 2003 in San Francisco and originally featured Elizabeth Davis of 7 Year Bitch fame on bass (her unmistakable style can be heard and seen in this video). Davis left late last year to pursue other goals and around the same time the band's keyboard player, Bex, was diagnosed with cancer. After taking out time for treatment, Bex is back with the band and their full-length follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut EP is due out this summer. Look for an interview with the band on SG soon!
2. Ted Leo + The Pharmacists "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb." video
We're hoping this will be a big year for Mr. Leo and his Pharmacists, and this video is a good start. We've been hearing a lot of bitching about this clip, but making a video to coincide with a song about 1950's covert U.S. military operations in Guatemala can't be the easiest task. We say "Fine Job! Keep it up, Ted!"
3. Sister Vanilla "Can't Stop The Rock" video
Many are rejoicing over The Brothers Reid's decision to reform The Jesus and Mary Chain for some live shows. Those of you holding your breath for a new record don't have to. Jim & William have teamed up with their sister, Linda (who some may remember from her appeance on the band's final album Munki), and have made a nice little pop gem of an album under the name Sister Vanilla. The album, appropriately titled Little Pop Rock, will be released this month. Check out the first single's video, "Can't Stop The Rock." The baby's hands in the beginning are creepy.
4. Yelle "Je Veux Te Voir" live video
We've been bouncing around to Yelle's french-electro-hop for a good year now and are very happy to see her making waves finally in the US. The story behind this song involves in-scene politics that are tre boring, but if you're of a curious nature, you can get the drift of it in the comments section of this blog. The short version is this: Yelle didn't like the misogynistic leanings in a fellow french artist's lyrics and this song is flipping the script with a "short-dick man"-type taunt. You don't have to know that to love it, just as you don't have to speak french for it to overwhelm you with a feeling to shake dat ass. We also think she could kick Uffie's ass in a sexy rap-off anyday. And we would pay to see that.
Please enjoy this hyper audience participation moment from our current bedroom dancing soundtrack queen.
This Week's YouTube Gold:
Top pick of the week.
5. Björk drunkenly (and cutely, of course!) covers awful Dutch House track
Björk apparently was on a bender in Paris a couple of weeks ago and one of her stops was at a night club called Baron. Patrons of the club were surprised with an impromptu performance from the Icelandic songstress. However, she did not treat the audience to a rousing rendition of "Big Time Sensuality" or any other of her own material for that matter, just a drunken run-through of Dutch House duo 2 Unlimited's 1993 eurodance hit, "No Limits." Even though the original track only has about 5 lines of lyrics, it seems that in her inebriated state, Ms. Guðmundsdóttir could only remember the word "no". This isn't as great as the video of her attacking that reporter, but it's moments like these when we love YouTube the most.
Now everyone sing along, "No No NO NO NO LIMITS!"
Tori Amos's 'Dolls' Get Their Own Blogs
Trent Reznor, it seems, has paved the way for artists to get creative with marketing their albums. As previously reported, Reznor created an Alternate Reality Game to promote Nine Inch Nails' forthcoming album Year Zero. The ARG currently has obsessive fans scouring several websites for hidden clues and trolling in concert venue bathrooms for USB pen-drives. Björk, apparently, is also exploring this avenue of promotion.
Now, Tori Amos, is getting in on this new style of promotion via a "blog hunt." Amos's forthcoming ninth studio album, American Doll Posse (due May 1st), is yet another concept LP from the eccentric chanteuse. The singer has said that Doll Posse is a "state of the world" album and is political in nature. She told Starpulse.com,
“This [world] has been created by the patriarchal authority. And [on this album] I’m coming after them.”
Amos created five distinct female characters for the album to take on the "patriarchal authority": Santa, Isabel, Clyde, Tori, and Pip. The album's tracks are sung from the different perspectives of the characters. The women are portrayed in the album art as well with Amos donning different wigs and get-ups for each character. The singer has now taken the concept a bit further with the creation of blogs for each of the 5 'Doll Posse' members. Amos announced this in her usual 'Tori-speak' via a fan newsletter last week.
Hey there, this is Tori. So by now you may have heard about American Doll Posse. I wanted to officially introduce you to the girls. They will all be going on tour. WeÂ’re out shopping right now, and I canÂ’t keep a-hold of a-one of them. TheyÂ’d love to get to know you; theyÂ’ve all heard so much about you. You can look for them online. They will all be accessible if you can find their blogs, which they update frequently. Instead of an Easter egg hunt this season, IÂ’m hosting a Posse hunt. Happy hunting.
As crazy and obsessive as Amos's fans are, three of the blogs have already been found: Check out Santa's, Isabel's, and Clyde's.
After reading the American Doll Posse blogs, I'd say I'm preferring Reznor's post-apocalyptic nightmare to Amos's rantings on beauty standards. Year Zero = Lost, American Doll Posse = Desperate Housewives.
With that being said, the four leaked tracks from Doll Posse ("Big Wheel", "Bouncing Off Clouds", "Secret Spell", and "Teenage Hustling"
sonically display Amos getting back on track after a slight derailment with 2005's tepid disaster, The Beekeeper. The Doll Posse leaks bear a rockier sound with guitars placed high in the mix above Amos's usually more prominent piano playing.
Tori Amos hits the road for a world tour in support of American Doll Posse beginning on May 28th in Rome, Italy.
Tori Amos Tour Dates:
May 28, 2007 Rome Teatro Sistina
May 30, 2007 Florence Teatro Verdi
May 31, 2007 Milan Teatro Smeraldo
Jun 02, 2007 Paris Le Palais des Congrès
Jun 03, 2007 Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall
Jun 04, 2007 Hamburg Musikhalle
Jun 06, 2007 Düsseldorf Philipshalle
Jun 07, 2007 Munich Philharmonie
Jun 08, 2007 Vienna Stadthalle
Jun 10, 2007 Stuttgart Beethovensaal
Jun 11, 2007 Nuremberg Serenadenhof
Jun 13, 2007 Copenhagen Falconer
Jun 14, 2007 Oslo Norwegian Wood Festival
Jun 17, 2007 Berlin Tempodrom
Jun 19, 2007 Warsaw Sala Kongresowa
Jun 21, 2007 Prague Congress Centre
Jun 22, 2007 Bratislava Incheba Hall
Jun 24, 2007 Budapest Arena
Jun 26, 2007 Ljubljana Hala Tivoli
Jun 27, 2007 Graz Kasemattenbühne
Jun 29, 2007 Zürich Kongresshaus
Jun 30, 2007 Frankfurt Alte Oper
Jul 01, 2007 Werchter Rock Werchter Festival
Jul 03, 2007 London Hammersmith Apollo
Jul 04, 2007 London Hammersmith Apollo
Jul 05, 2007 Manchester Apollo
Jul 07, 2007 Nass, Co. Kildare Oxegen Festival
Jul 08, 2007 Balado Airfield T In The Park
Jul 13, 2007 Bucharest Sala Polivalenta
Jul 15, 2007 Istanbul Masstival
Recommended Listening:
A clip of "Teenage Hustling" from American Doll Posse
Forget Coachella! Björk, Arcade Fire Take On Sasquatch!
Saquatch! Music Festival is poised to step out from the shadow of bigger American music festivals such as Coachella and Bonnaroo this year. The Washington State festival is running strong in it's sixth year and Sasqautch! organizers have snagged the likes of Björk, The Arcade Fire, M.I.A., Spoon, and Interpol for this year's 2-day run. Additional acts will be added over the coming weeks
The festival will take place over Mermorial Day weekend (May 26-27) at George, Washington's Gorge Ampitheatre and will host over 50 artists spread out over three stages.
In addition to the amazing line up, the organizers have decided to go green and make this year's festival carbon neutral.
Tickets for Sasquatch! go on sale March 3rd via Ticketmaster or Livenation.com.
Confirmed Line Up:
Saturday 5/26
Björk
Arcade Fire
Manu Chao Radio Bemba Sound System
M.I.A.
Citizen Cope
Neko Case
The Hold Steady
Grizzly Bear
Ghostland Observatory
Electrelane
Two Gallants
The Slip
Loney, Dear
Aqueduct
The Thermals
Viva Voce
The Blow
Gabriel Teodros
Sunday 5/27
Beastie Boys
Interpol
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Spoon
Bad Brains
Ozomatli
Dandy Warhols
The Black Angels
Mirah
Tokyo Police Club
Money Mark
St. Vincent
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter
Smoosh
Common Market
Helio Sequence
Minus The Bear
Possible Björk Release Date
There's nothing much new to tell you about Björk's new album that SG didn't cover last month. If you don't know anything yet, I recommend catching up.
However, word on the street is that there was a release date. It was brief, but Pitchfork reported today that the new album, which features beat work from Timbaland, collaborations with Antony Hegerty (Antony and the Johnsons) and Brian Chippendale (Lightning Bolt), had a "to be confirmed" date of May 5th, 2007.
The date on the Website has been replaced with Xs in the hours since Pitchfork first reported it – except for a mystery 7th, so you know the day kinda, just not the month. But if you take Pitchfork's word for it, the date has been penciled so you can begin salivating about a possible May release. Or not.
Bat For Lashes' Magical 'Fur and Gold'
Ethereal, dark, ghostly, fantastical, eccentric, eerie, otherworldly, and dreamy—the Brighton-based act Bat For Lashes has been aptly described as all of these. Indeed, sounding very much like the soundtrack to a trek through a fairy-infested forest, Bat For Lashes is the non de plume for multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Natasha Khan. Khan released Bat For Lashes' debut LP, Fur and Gold, this past fall and is slowly building drawers full of glowing reviews, loads of bloggings on her ill-advised wardrobe and fondness for unicorns, and a devoted fanbase. Bat For Lashes' songs are of the storyteller variety with sweeping strings that echo Bjork and piano or harpsichord-centered arrangements that have given way to Kate Bush comparisons. The comparisons are founded, but what is often negelected in reviews is Kahn's more likely filter for her Kate Bushisms in phrasing and piano-hammering: Tori Amos, particularly Amos' Boys For Pele-era incarnation.
Comparisons aside, Fur and Gold ends up as something magically transporting and satisfying, if not completely unique, and it has poised Bat For Lashes as next year's kooky indie-fave, ala Joanna Newsom. Stand-out album track Trophy was recently released as a single and Khan takes Lashes' on a 'magical mystery' tour of the UK come the new year.
Upcoming UK Tour Dates:
February 18th: Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
February 19th: Nottingham Rescue Rooms
February 20th: Birmingham Glee Club
February 22nd: Manchester RNCM Concert Hall
February 23rd: Leicester Y Theatre
February 26th: Bristol, Thekla Social
February 27th: Oxford Zodiac
February 28th: London ULU
March 2nd: Barrow-In-Furness Canteen
March 3rd: Glasgow Oran Mor
March 4th: Sheffield Memorial Hall
March 5th: Norwich Arts Centre
Recommended Listening:
"Prescilla" MP3
"Tahiti" MP3
"The Wizard" MP3
"Trophy" MP3
Recommended Viewing:
A videocast featuring interviews and live performances
Sugarcubes Reunion Footage Surfaces on 'Net
Bjork reunited with her former bandmates in The Sugarcubes this past friday at a one-off reunion gig in ReykjavÃk, Iceland. The show was done as a benefit for the band's former label, the not-for-profit Smekkleysa SM. If you didn't have thousands of dollars for airfare and the insanely-fast-selling tickets, you are in luck. Thanks to this age of video-phones and the internet, you can see clips from the show in the comfort of your own home. Footage has surfaced on YouTube.com and Google Video. Bjork wears a shimmery dress and looks as fresh as she did when she was a mere college radio star. In some of the footage, there appear to be several cameras recording the gig, and knowing Bjork's penchant for releasing everything she can fart out- I'd say there's a DVD of the gig on it's way! Bust out the burgandy hair dye, Doc Martens, dust off that cassette copy of Life's Too Good, and party like it's 1990, kids!
(Those wacky Sugarcubes back in the day)
The reunion performance of "Delicious Demon" can be seen
here.
Reunion footage of the classic "Birthday" can be found below via YouTube:
Bjork Gets Promiscuous With Antony And Timbaland
Those French! They get this rep as a laid back culture, and last time I checked joie de vivre didn't mean keeping abreast of the latest music news, but here they are grabbing all the latest scoops.
Word on the French streets is that Bjork and fellow bird lover Antony Hegarty, of Mercury award winning Antony and the Johnsons, have run off to Jamaica together. But don't fret Matthew Barney (Bjork's artsy hubbie), according to Les Inrockuptibles and Le Monde 2 magazine they are collaborating on a track. There isn't much more information and no one seems to know whether the track is for Antony or Bjork's next endeavour.
Fans of Nelly Furtado's hit "Promiscuous Girl" will raise eyebrows when they hear that Bjork has been working hard with Timbaland writing and recording her new album, which is currently being mixed in London.
Bjork fan of Antony's I am a Bird Now.