Top Baroque Pop Artists on Rhapsody Online

The Dodos

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:55:21 -0700

The Dodos' songwriter and guitarist Meric Long grew up in the San Francisco suburbs and was making a name for himself as a solo artist in the Bay Area before hooking up with drummer Logan Kroeber for his self-released Dodo Bird EP in 2005. Long's intricate finger-picking and knack for sentimental melodies fit well with Kroeber's propulsive approach to the kit (he'd studied both African drumming and played in metal bands) and they self-released an LP, Beware of the Maniacs, in 2006. Their growing audiences in San Francisco led to some label interest and the following year they signed to Frenchkiss Records for their critically acclaimed sophomore LP, Visiter. In 2009, the duo added another Dodo to their nest, vibraphonist Keaton Snyder, and recruited producer Phil Ek (The Shins, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes) for their third album, Time To Die.

Feist

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 11:24:58 -0800

If Call and Response's Carrie Clough is the Nick Drake of indie rock, then Leslie Feist is the Colin Blunstone. Her voice has that warm, buttery ooze that melts down the microphone with the same gentle timbre heard on Blunstone's "Caroline Goodbye." Feist's musical history maps out almost as nomadically as her own travels. She cut her pearly whites in a Calgary punk band called Placebo (not to be confused with the eyeliner-and-nail-polish-wearing British guys) and got to play her very first show opening for the Ramones after winning a battle of the bands contest while still attending high school. Needless to say, that show changed her life. She spent the next half-decade touring in a van and screaming her voice out -- literally. Medical doctors told her that she would never be able to sing again, but doctors say a lot of things. She relocated to Toronto and hibernated for half a year with a guitar and a four-track, honing her layering skills to a razor-like sharpness. The guitar replaced her voice for a while, and she dove deep into barbed pop architecture, later playing guitar for (and touring with) By Divine Right. Working with a voice specialist over the years paid off and in 1999 Feist recorded her first solo album, Monarch (Lay Down Your Jeweled Head). A year later she moved in with Vice Magazine poster girl Peaches and opened up for the electroclash artiste on her first American tour. After that, she joined Broken Social Scene for their second album and toured the U.S. and Europe with them before cranking out her sophomore album, Let It Die, in Paris with Chilly Gonzales and Renaud Letang in 2004. Her solo material can be categorized as indie pop, but Feist balances sophisticated baroque styling with a trip-hop derivative of her own invention that weaves in and out of classic folky frameworks while her ethereal vocals layer over one another in gossamer harmonies. When she plays solo, Feist is the master of the looping effect pedal. She'll strum her electric guitar and catch a riff on it and then pick out a catchy arpeggio to stack on top before looping up to five layers of her heavenly vocals to sound like a one-woman pop symphony. If you see her listed in the pages of your local alt weekly, do yourself a favor and throw down whatever cover they're charging to see her. You will be moved. - Eric Shea

The Decemberists

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 09:54:17 -0700

The Decemberists are a Portland-based indie-rock band with a baroque bent. What sets the five-piece apart from the million other jangly rock groups (in the northwest alone) is their combination of breezy melodies, literate lyrics and nontraditional instrumentation (horns, piano, steel guitar and violins). The band formed in 2000 and is comprised of singer Colin Meloy, drummer Ezra Holbrook, keyboardist/accordionist Jenny Conlee and guitarist Chris Funk. In 2003, hometown label Kill Rock Stars re-released their debut album, Castaways and Cutouts, a collection of wistful indie-pop songs that showcase Meloy's creative-writing talents. Successive albums Her Majesty and Picaresque saw the band become more lush and baroque-sounding. In 2006, the band released its major-label debut, The Crane Wife, on Capitol Records. - Dan Shumate

Fleet Foxes

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:28:14 -0800

Drawing from the music of their baby boomer parents, Fleet Foxes dissect the tunes and tones of pioneers like the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills & Nash to create a cushy center of feel-good harmonic pop shimmering with gospel, folk and baroque embellishments. Receiving comparisons to My Morning Jacket and Sub Pop labelmates like Band of Horses and Iron and Wine, the Foxes started getting plenty of buzz in their hometown of Seattle even before the release of their debut album in June 2008. Gathering myriad instruments including acoustic and electric guitars, tom drums, mandolins, bass pedals, organs, dulcimers and their own delicate voices, the quintet revere the traditions of their influences while flaunting their own astute flair for wide-open melodies and lullaby harmonies. - Stephanie Benson

The Shins

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:56 -0800

It would be nice to think that the Shins just exploded into the indie rock world back in 2001, arriving out of nowhere and inspiring immediate devotion from those who like their pop charged with smarts. Truth is, the roots of the band stretch back nearly five years earlier, when singer/lyricist James Mercer had the band Flake in New Mexico. Flake begat Flake Music. Flake Music did an album, toured and basically embodied the sound of an indie rock band struggling, but to their credit doing much more than that, by creating slighty spiky, melodic pop. The key factor in the story came when James Mercer decided he wanted to do his own project, his own songs, either for his own solo album or under the unlikely name of the Shins. He goes for the Shins. His compatriots in Flake Music heard the new songs, jumped ship and suddenly everyone is a Shin. The songs were recorded and ended up over at Sub Pop, and the next thing you know, the Shins are touring and eeking their way into the indie rock subconscious, helping Sub Pop sell more records than they have in years. As for the music: you can't hear "New Slang" and not think it's a good song. It's just impossible. The group's other songs walk that much-coveted line between familiarity and originality. There's a little bit of Kinks, a little bit of Beach Boys, some Echo & The Bunnymen, but it's truly nothing like any of those. It's book-smart pop that doesn't try to be too witty; it just wants to be part of the musical landscape for maybe a few minutes, maybe more. Through this, they've become romanticized and even imitated. A success story, to say the least, further cemented with a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album for 2007's Wincing The Night Away. - Jon Pruett

Arcade Fire

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:56 -0800

At once elegant and driven, the Arcade Fire's music shatters categories like "emo" and even "indie rock." The Montreal-based band earned lofty praise quickly, forming in mid-2003 and winning a large number of fans within a year and a half. Many of these adorers arrived along with the group's debut full-length release, Funeral, near the end of 2004. Voted Album of the Year by influential radio station KEXP, the record soon sold well over 100,000 copies (on the small North Carolina label Merge) and received the endorsements of David Bowie and David Byrne, the latter of whom was seen performing "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" with them onstage in 2005. If that didn't confer great power on this eccentric Canadian band's brutal and beautiful distorted noise collages, nabbing the cover of the Canadian edition of Time certainly signaled they'd arrived. The Arcade Fire formed around Win Butler and wife Regine Chassagne, soon growing to five official members and swelling on tour to nine. The combination of moodiness and joy in their semi-orchestral pop-rock coincided with a year in which several loved ones passed away (including Alvino Rey, veteran swing musician and grandfather of singer Butler and his brother, guitarist William) -- thus the title of Funeral and the music's reflection of ongoing life in the face of sadness. The group continued to tour and record throughout 2005, dazzling Europe and appearing at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago. After a scheduled trek through the States in the fall of that year, they returned to Quebec and a newly built studio in a former church, where they plotted their next musical instillation while fans bided time with a reissue of the rare early self-titled EP the Arcade Fire had released not all that long ago. - Jaan Uhelszki

Sufjan Stevens

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:28:08 -0800

Through a handful of masterful LPs, a few self-perpetuated myths (he claims to have been left on his parent's Detroit doorstep in 1975) and a memorable name, Sufjan (pronounced "soof-yawn") Stevens has charmed the Dickies off America's underground. As if all that wasn't enough, the guy claims to have taught knitting to the blind.

Stevens first took the stage while a student at Michigan's Hope College with little-known Michigan indie act Marzuki, though he left the band in 1999 to embark on a solo career in New York City. His first record, A Sun Came, debuted in 2000 to modest critical acclaim; Enjoy Your Rabbit followed it up in 2001. But it was Stevens' stunning dedication to his home state, 2003's Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State, that earned him a wide international following. Michigan's cleverly orchestrated songs and the songwriter's ambitions to release a record for each state of the union received loads of critical lip service and made Michigan a popular hit. Though its follow-up, Seven Swans, had no geographical themes, Stevens came back to the states for project 2005's Illinois. Two records came in 2006: a collection of outtakes, The Avalanche, and a sprawling three-disc collection of holiday music, Songs for Christmas. - Nate Cavalieri

Fiona Apple

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:28:11 -0800

Tidal, Fiona Apple's major label debut, came out when the singer-songwriter was only 18, yet she managed to sound old beyond her years, hooking in listeners all over the age spectrum and bypassing the teen pop ghetto that comes with a fiercely enforced "sell-by" date. Her debut single, the darkly baroque "Shadowboxer," was a moderate hit on both alternative rock and adult contemporary radio and along with Apple's often harsh back story and moody, highly photogenic beauty, Tidal became a worldwide hit. Apple's follow-up LP was hindered by having an entire poem as its song title and a cover shot that downplayed her austere beauty. If that seemed like a deliberate attempt to make listeners concentrate on the music, it worked -- especially when When the Pawn... went on to win rave reviews and shoot up to No. 1 on the then-new Internet sales chart. Once again, Apple's pained songcraft slightly obscured how good she really is. If an indie rock band crafted arrangements that recalled the experimental orchestral side of the Beatles and the strum-und-drang clang of Tom Waits, they'd be getting major music magazine space instead of features in Jane magazine. After this, the emotionally fragile Apple did take a considerable amount of time off to make up for all the work she did in her teen years. Then, news started spreading on the internet that her record company was holding back her third album. AppleÃÂs esteemed producer, Jon Brion, who had earned a reputation for layering psychedelic orchestral flourishes and off-key musique concrete elements into songs, had pushed the already experimental artist farther than they'd gone before. AppleÃÂs rabidly dedicated fanbase started posting these tracks on the internet, while demanding that such beautiful compositions be allowed to enter the market place. Whether by corporate pressure or personal choice, Apple went back into the studio and reworked many, though not all, of the songs with a new producer. When Extraordinary Machine was finally released in 2005, most of its tracks were stripped of ornate arrangements and AppleÃÂs already intricate songcraft was easier to appreciate. Controversy aside, Extraordinary Machine was another superb Fiona Apple album and it sailed to the Top 10 without the aid of any hit singles. Since Fiona Apple is content to work at her own pace, perhaps her record company will please her impatient fans by releasing a two-disc edition of Extraordinary Machine until her next album comes out. That way everyone can decide which version of each song they prefer. Regardless of this episode, Fiona Apple remains one of the most artically challenging and inventive recording artists to sell millions of albums in the 1990s and 2000s. - Nick Dedina

Elliott Smith

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:27:54 -0800

Patron saint of indie music, Elliott Smith was once making folk based baroque pop on his own while simultaneously fuzzing-out amps in his former band Heatmiser. Upon "going solo," Smith's own moderately downtempo songwriting had tastefully expanded and grown with clever arrangements and matured instrumentation. Grand pianos and classically arranged strings took the place of grungy distortion boxes and toy guitars. The overall production was stepped up, but not stylistically compromised. And still, what remained consistent in these recordings was his ability to play the heartstrings better than any instrument in his back-line. An artist who single-handedly redefined the term "singer/songwriter," Smith influenced countless other bedroom four-trackers as well as a myriad of professional musicians, including Beck Hansen, Bill Callahan (Smog), Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy) and Chan Marshall (! Cat Power). Before he could finish what was to be his last album, From A Basement On A Hill, Smith took his own life on October 21, 2003. His nearly completed posthumous album was self-tracked on Smith's home recording devices, as well as with the infamous Hollywood producer Jon Brion. Collaborator David McConnell, explained that the CD was originally intended by Smith to sound lo-fi and dusty in its final production. However, since Smith's family had legal say as to how the album was to be sequenced and mixed, they handed the project over to engineer/producer Rob Schnapf and Joanna Bolme (an ex girlfriend of Smith's and member of Stephen Malkmus' band the Jicks) to make what they believed were necessary changes. It has since been re-mixed and released to a much-deserved overwhelming critical acclaim as well as a bit of controversy regarding the author's intent. - Eric Shea

Nick Drake

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:54 -0800

A sound more gentle than the soft, almost timid singing of Nick Drake never passed human lips. Of all the melancholy balladeers of the past fifty years, none have so effectively captured the sound of the human heart in conflict with itself. Of course the saddest thing about Drake's music is that "Pink Moon" is being used to sell Volkswagens. If the first time you heard Drake was during a car commercial, then buying Fruit Tree straightaway is the least you can do to make amends. The collection gathers Drake's three studio albums and the posthumous disc Time Has Told Me. Though it's impossible to pick favorites with Drake, his debut Five Leaves Left may turn out to be the album you play most. It takes listeners on a gorgeous sojourn through rustic themes, wafting strings and Drake's lapidary acoustic guitar playing. The follow-up, Bryter Later, is a more urbane record; a purple-prose serenade from a dream corner of London. The partly cloudy skies of Bryter Later suddenly turned gray and glowering on the last album Drake recorded. The stark, eerie Pink Moon contains what is arguably some of the saddest music ever recorded, which is precisely what makes it so ineffably beautiful. - Chad Driscoll

Emitt Rhodes

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:29:38 -0700

The Beach Boys weren't the only musical talent to come from Hawthorne, California in the 1960s. A Paul McCartney-inspired singer/songwriter by the name of Emitt Rhodes also hailed from Hawthorne, although to this day he remains rather an unsung hero appreciated by ardent vinyl collectors, most of whom discovered his amazing solo works by following the family tree of late '60s baroque pop band the Merry-Go-Round of which Rhodes was lead singer. When the Merry-Go-Round disbanded, Rhodes set up shop in his parents' garage where he recorded the demos that would reward him with a deal on ABC/Dunhill records. If you listen to his self-titled 1970 debut, it's almost impossible to ask, "Wait a minute, you mean this isn't Paul McCartney?" Especially upon hearing his first hit, "Someone Made For Me." What's even more impressive than the notion that he was giving McCartney fans something that Macca's own Wings project couldn't deliver is the fact that Rhodes played every instrument on this exquisite album that was recorded in the aforementioned home studio. He released two other solo albums of lesser success (Mirror in 1971 and Farewell to Paradise in 1973) before hanging up his talents to pursue a job as a studio engineer for Elektra Records. Although he never released another solo album, he continued to record a stash of demos which circulate as bootlegs today amongst the diehard fans of the Emitt Rhodes cult. - Eric Shea

Rufus Wainwright

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:25:37 -0800

Rufus Wainright's mother, singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle, brought him up listening to opera and jazz, as well as the folk-pop she was writing at home. His father, quirky folk songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, was infamous for his candid, autobiographical songs. Rufus's amalgamated influences made way for the almost vaudevillian and often autobiographical baroque pop presented here. - Eric Shea

Goldfrapp

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:41:58 -0700

The sultry vocals of Alison Goldfrapp are the centerpiece of this gorgeous trip-hop from Goldfrapp and composer Will Gregory. Ms. Goldfrapp, who contributes vocals on tracks by Tricky and Orbital, lets her breathy vocals work their magic alongside lush strings and intricate production. - Tim Pratt

A Fine Frenzy

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:24:37 -0800

A Fine Frenzy is the musical vehicle of 22 year-old Los Angeles songwriter Alison Sudol. Sudol taught herself to play piano and started writing songs influenced by Coldplay, Keane, and Sigur Ros. She signed with Virgin Records for the 2007 release of her debut record, One Cell In The Sea. - Nate Cavalieri

Of Montreal

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:13:18 -0800

Like that proverbial fat guy who gets nicknamed "Tiny," the band Of Montreal is, naturally, neither from Montreal nor (at various times in its decade of existence) even exactly a band per se. After a failed romance with a woman from Montreal, in the late 1990s singer/guitarist Kevin Barnes found himself with a broken heart -- and a great name for a band -- so he "formed" Of Montreal, which at that point consisted only of Barnes. Embarking on a quest for other members, he moved to Florida, Cleveland and Minneapolis (but not Montreal) before returning to his native Athens, Ga., to collaborate with bassist Bryan Helium and drummer Derek Almstead on the band's Beatles-biting, neo-psychedelic debut Cherry Peel. Over the next ten years and as many incense-and-peppermint-fueled albums, Of Montreal vacillated between a band and a Barnes solo project as it weathered the dissolution of its label, Kindercore, and a near-revolving door lineup as band members left, came back and got married. In 2007, Of Montreal released Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? and in 2008, Skeletal Lamping. - Rachel Devitt

Lykke Li

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 12:39:52 -0800

Sure, she's cute, sweet and quirky, but Sweden's Lykke Li (pronounced Lick-ee Lee) also has a confident charisma primed for pop-sweetheart status. As a kid, Li and her family traveled much, roaming from Stockholm to places like Portugal, Morocco, Nepal and India. Her nomadic upbringing would later filter into the retro-chic blend of indie pop showcased on her 2008 debut album, Youth Novels. Produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John fame, the album bounces with heavy bass and subtle electro beats, sporadically replaced by calypso rhythms, flamenco guitar, trumpet blasts and saxophone trills. With sing-talk mantras, poignant confessionals and upbeat sing-alongs, Li's delicate pixie coos are the main attraction. - Stephanie Benson

Josh Rouse

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:05:58 -0800

Josh Rouse follows in the footsteps of such pivotal Midwestern singer-songwriters as Paul Westerberg and Freedy Johnston, crafting penetrating, melancholy vignettes akin to the former's sober solo material and the latter's This Perfect World. His work has drawn rave reviews from a variety of critical circles for its honest take on contemporary singer-songwritership, as well as for its relaxed, yet quietly edgy musical roundup of steady tempos, melodically supportive trumpet lines, gentle acoustic guitar strumming, and Rouse's wonderfully everyday vocals. Furthermore, his collaboration with Lambchop's Kurt Wagner proves his malleability -- their 1999 EP Chester saw the Nashville pair co-write five songs to excellent results. Fifteen years from now, Rouse could very well wield the same stylistic importance on the next generation of folky singer-songwriters that his influences have had upon his own work. - Charles Hodgkins

Magnetic Fields

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:13:29 -0700

Sharing an ethos with Bill Callahan of Smog, Stephin Merritt mines a personal talent for turning out wry, darkly beautiful tales in the Lo-Fi home-recordist tradition. Yet even without his signature irony and studio prowess, Magnetic Fields -- a name he's worked under since 1990's debut Distant Plastic Trees -- are an intuitive pop experiment rife with disarmingly well-crafted melody. Creating not only syrupy synth pop that draws textural comparisons to Brian Eno and Gary Numan, but also organic, acoustic-bred Indie pop complete with cello, flute, tuba, and his haunting baritone, Merritt is a stylistic and sonic archivist bent on bending others' aural signatures to compliment his own production talents and shadowy lyrical pretense. The results are often stunning, lending credence to Merritt's status as one of indie rock's most influential and appreciated talents. - Kelly Bauman

Stereolab

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:25:37 -0800

Clean, soapy bliss like a new bottle of bubbles. The looped wand waves through the wind and casts out dreamy, melancholic analog waves. A picnic on a sunny day with estranged French relatives; both familiar and foreign, you recognize the references, but you cannot help but notice they are out of context. The chanteuse's optimism creates absurd words of revolution and the empty promise of future days. - Marc Kate

Alexi Murdoch

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:06:28 -0800

Alexi Murdoch sounds so much like Nick Drake that he could easily be the reincarnation of the late, brooding minstrel. Seriously, there are moments on his 2002 Four Songs EP that seem to channel specific snippets of Drake's "Northern Sky." When you dig into Murdoch's biography this makes the similarities even more uncanny, especially when you consider the fact that the Drake hailed from the sprawling green countryside of Tanworth-in-Arden, England while Murdoch arrived in America by way of the equally rural Scotland. But since none of the Glaswegian members of Teenage Fanclub inflect anything like Drake, so you can't help but wonder if Murdoch is purposefully affecting something and playing it up, or if it all those winsome laments comes as naturally to him as it did to his musical forebear. But no matter what it is, it works. Despite all those similarities, it wasn't until he landed in Los Angeles that things started going well for Murdoch's whispery folk songs. After being invited to perform on DJ Nic Harcourt's widely popular KCRW show Morning Becomes Eclectic, Murdoch was courted by some major labels but instead of making any long time commitments, he wound up licensing his hushed hit "Orange Sky" to the soundtrack for the fireman film Ladder 49 as well as the television show The O.C.. The folkie went on to release his debut LP, Time Without Consequence, in mid-2006. - Eric Shea

Talk Talk

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:05:40 -0800

What began as an exotic New Wave band in the early 1980s evolved into one of the most emotionally-wrought, highly orchestrated groups pop has ever produced. Guided by Mark Hollis' voice and evocative songwriting skills, and the lush production of Tim Friese-Green, Talk Talk moved away from pop songs that hid something complex under a simple exterior to album-length compositions that touch the sublime. Hollis, whose voice wavers between deep suffering and absolute rapture, sings and whispers lyrics that float through the air with the fragility of burning parchment. Citing John Coltrane and Can as primary inspirations, Hollis' songwriting became more abstract, eschewing hooks for atmospheres and traditional structures for emotion. Their 1991 swan song Laughing Stock is an apotheosis of movement between sorrow and exaltation, quiescence and overwhelming instrumentation. With that, they said all they needed to say and fell forever silent.

Badly Drawn Boy

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:52:06 -0700

Expertly folding samples, beats and random noise into mind-bending pop songs, Badly Drawn Boy follow the example set by Beck, further blurring the line between indie rock and electronica. - Mark Murrmann

Stars

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:50:49 -0800

Stars is a Canadian indie pop band from Montreal. Taking after bands like Grandaddy and His Name Is Alive, their music is a delicate and melodic fusion of of nimble production, tender narratives and expressive vocals.

Neutral Milk Hotel

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:30:19 -0700

For all their experimental detours and garnish, Neutral Milk Hotel's songs display, at their core, great songwriting in the traditional sense, like the late-career Beatles and Beach Boys. Emotionally evocative melodies and lovely vocals move through songs with memorable grace. When listening to these songs, however, you'd be hard-pressed to find a Western instrument not represented in their elaborate, Lo-Fi orchestrations. A muffled trap kit, a singing saw, a desperate voice, an accordion, a squawking flugelhorn, and various electronics help compile an endless list of noise makers that play in the margins between a chaotic, "everybody come to our house and jam" sound and meticulous song construction. These disparate sounds are then brought together as if resounding off a basement's wood-panelled walls and soiled shag carpet, or echoing out of a converted-barn studio. Neutral Milk Hotel's sound is far from gleaming Los Angeleno production, but to polish away their oxidized patina would be to erase their immediacy and simple rustic beauty. - Marc Kate

Sondre Lerche

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:42:38 -0800

This unassuming Boy Wonder from Bergen, Norway, (whose name is pronounced "Sonder Lerkay") wrote the songs for what would become his first album, Faces Down, when he was just 16. Often compared to the orchestral pop stylings of such masters as Burt Bacharach, Lerche's music manages to bend string orchestrations into a whole new indie realm, especially with the addition of his warm and beguiling Scandinavian-accented vocal chords. After touring with Beth Orton (and appearing onstage with boyhood idols A-ha), he released his debut in the U.S. to much acclaim -- Rolling Stone placed it in their 50 Best Records of 2002. He fulfilled the promise of his debut with 2004's Two Way Monologue, a work of lush baroque pop featuring the High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan, who contributed much of the string and horn section charms. At age 25, Lerche surprised everyone with his third album, Duper Sessions, a collection of straight-ahead jazz standards (and a few originals) backed up by the Faces Down Quartet. Like his previous blend of '60s pop, the record is another innovative example of how a Norwegian indie crooner successfully smooches the hand of a cool classic sound. For 2007's Phantom Punch, Sondre Lerche toughened up with a lean, garage rock sound yet his melodic songs still held centerstage. - Michele K-Tel

Hem

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:05:22 -0800

Not too many bands put their future on the line as much as New York's Hem. They formed in 1999 after would-be band members answered an ad in the Village Voice placed by an aspiring female vocalist who had only recorded a tape of herself singing lullabies to a friend's child. All members of the band went bankrupt from recording and putting out their gossamer Rabbit Songs album (flying the entire band overseas to the Slovak Republic to record with the world renowned Slovak Radio Orchestra isn't a frugal endeavor). But one listen to this magnum opus and you will understand what they really did was pay for sonic perfection. What does perfection sound like? For starters singer Sally Ellyson has the kind of angelic voice that you want to lull your own children (and inner child) to sleep. The aforementioned 18-piece orchestra adds layers of classical finesse over a patchwork quilt of traditional Americana textures like fiddles, pedal steels, banjos and acoustic guitars. But it's Hem's songwriting that keeps things sounding as fresh and bright as a prairie peppered with wild purple heather. To put it more bluntly, Hem make the Cowboy Junkies sound like Motorhead. - Eric Shea

DeVotchKa

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:56:00 -0700

Denver's DeVotchKa started out as the house band for burlesque shows and as the touring ensemble with fetish revivalist (and one-time wife of Marilyn Manson) Dita von Teese, so it shouldn't be surprising that their sound is a bawdy, theatrical conflux of styles, which is loosely based in rock 'n' roll and includes a global buffet of folk and pop traditions. The quartet mastermind is singer, pianist and guitarist Nick Urata (who also plays bouzouki and trumpet), and includes Tom Hagerman, Jeanie Schroder and Shawn King, all capable multi-instrumentalists. Their first LP came in 2000 with SuperMelodrama, and they've released records regularly since. A big break for the band came at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2006, and that same year they were included on the compilation soundtrack to Little Miss Sunshine, which was nominated for a Grammy. - Nate Cavalieri

Antony and the Johnsons

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:42:42 -0800

Antony Hegarty is, without question, a gentle giant. One critic described him as "having a rugby player's build but the face of a medieval saint." And indeed, the hulking, 6'4" British singer looks like an overgrown version of the baby-faced actor Bud Cort (of Harold and Maude fame), while his singing has been compared most often -- and not erroneously -- to Nina Simone's. He's also a favorite of some of the most interesting tastemakers of the past thirty years, including Laurie Anderson, Boy George and Lou Reed -- and he beat out Coldplay, MIA and the Kaiser Chiefs to win Britain's prestigious Mercury Music Prize in 2005. (Judge Simon Frith said the group won because, "It's not like any album I've heard before or since.") But accolades aside, Antony owes perhaps his biggest debt to traditional American gospel. Take one listen to Mahalia Jackson's shuffling rhythms, piano accompaniment and grave, vibrato-laden vocals, and you'll get close to the source of Antony's inspiration -- though he takes it in his own unique direction. - Sarah Bardeen

Rasputina

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:08:42 -0700

Although Rasputina have put out a couple of albums on Sony and Instinct, they would fit right in on the 4AD roster next to groups like His Name Is Alive and Dead Can Dance. Not that they're derivative of anything discovered by 4AD honcho Ivo Watts-Russell -- it's just that their pseudo-gothic chamber pop shares the same art-school sensibility as the aforementioned groups. Singer-songwriter Melora Creager, a classically trained cellist/dulcimer player who joined Nirvana's backline on their final tour, birthed Rasputina in the early 1990s. She and cellist/singer ZoÃ« Keating wear frayed Victorian dresses to bring out the sense of antiquity in their shadowy siren soundscapes. Their dark vision caught the ears (and eyes) of Marilyn Manson, who played keyboards and remixed songs on their 1997 EP, Transylvanian Regurgitations. At times, the New York band sounds like a string ensemble for the late Anton LaVey's Satanic Mass; at other moments, they come across as the bastard children of the Incredible String Band who got chainsaws and cellos to play with at a dangerously young age. 2004's Frustration Plantation offers intertwining cellos, a delightful narrative of dark Edwardian humor, and the six-stringed electric madness of guitarist Jonathan TeBeest, Rasputina's first male member. - Eric Shea

The Apples in Stereo

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:30:20 -0700

The Apples in Stereo mix up an analog foundation of early West Coast pop influences with modern day Indie Rock and a collection of Psychedelic and obscure duophonic sounds that would make Bob Moog soil his modular circuits. Aside from that, we honestly believe that the Apples in Stereo are from outer space. Their otherworldly songs and sounds (if human) could only be attributed to a library of records and an arsenal of analog musical gear that even the richest trust-fund nerds of our planet couldn't possibly acquire in one lifetime.

Love

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:39:53 -0700

San Francisco psychedelic rock band Love enjoyed fleeting success while they were together in the late '60s but have long been considered one of the finest bands of the era on the strength of two of the six albums they put out: Forever Changes and Da Capo. Led by multi-instrumentalist songwriter Arthur Lee, Love stood out partially because Lee was an African American fronting a white band -- but more important was the imaginative, almost backward-through-a-mirror approach he took to writing rock 'n' roll songs. Love's 1966 semi-hit "7 and 7 Is" remains one of the most unique singles to come out of the decade -- as succinct as a punk song, with bullfighter guitars and hippily impenetrable lyrics courtesy of Lee. Lee also wrote folky love songs, messed with the blues (see the 19-minute "Revelation" on Da Capo) and wrote a song called "She Comes in Colors," a phrase the Stones lifted for "She's a Rainbow." The band disintegrated in 1970. Lee resurrected the name for one album in 1975 and, following a six-year prison term served in the 1990s on weapons charges, sporadically performed live with various versions of the band until his death in 2006. - Mike McGuirk

God Help The Girl

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:12:20 -0700

Brian Wilson

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:04:35 -0700

An undisputed musical genius. Brian Wilson was the architect behind the Beach Boys' sound, pioneer of (still) modern recording techniques, and a musical free-thinker in the often straight-jacketed world of pop music. Since then, times have been tough for Wilson, and his personal struggles have been well documented in the press. While his recordings with the Beach Boys remain essential to every citizen on this earth, his eclectic solo career has its own rewards. His 1988 self-titled debut actually sounds even better today than when it first came out. An oddball meeting of synths and grand orchestral pop, it's what so many Indie bands out there are feverishly trying to sound like. Imagination (1998) has another batch of very good tunes that share a touch of Randy Newman's bright/bitter melodic sense. He may be responsible for much of the best pop music of the 1960s, but there are plenty of symphonic chanteys left in this salty old sea dog. - Nick Dedina

The Polyphonic Spree

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:28:41 -0800

If you didn't know better, you'd be tempted to believe that the Polyphonic Spree dropped out of the heavens -- a 23-piece fallen angels choir, clothed in pristine oversized white choir robes, redefining the term "wall of sound" with their glee club psychedelia and unobtrusive religiosity. The seeds of this visually flamboyant band's immaculate conception were already sown when Tim DeLaughter was still a member of the Dallas, Texas, alternative pop outfit Tripping Daisy. In fact, the band's slightly cultish spirituality and artistic bombast can be traced to the Daisy's third album, Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb, recorded before founding guitarist Wes Berggren died of an overdose, consequently taking the heart of the band with him. The remaining members --DeLaughter, Bryan Wakeland, Mark Pirro and Brian Teasely -- decided not to continue on, although they did release their fourth album posthumously. But the love of feel-good music and musical pomposity stayed with DeLaughter, and he went on to form the Polyphonic Spree with a vision of a symphonic pop melodies and the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds in his head. Now all he had left to do was to convince his remaining band members to join him, then recruit a couple of dozen friends to make his vision a reality. By July 2000, the mission was accomplished. DeLaughter dubbed himself musical director and handled all the lead vocals on the band's demo, The Beginning Stages of Polyphonic Spree, which they gave out to fans at one of their early shows. The demo got into the hands of the Dallas-based indie label Good Records, which put out the sprawling yet unadulterated 14-song demo in 2001 as the band's first release. (Hollywood Records reissued it in 2003.) Part Pink Floyd, Edwin Hawkins Singers and Flaming Lips, the band toured relentlessly, but really came to the public's notice with marathon appearances at the 2002 South By Southwest music conference, where they racked up new converts and fans. One of those new fans was David Bowie, who was so impressed by their cover of his "Five Years" that he asked them to perform at the U.K.'s 2002 Meltdown Festival, which he was chairing. He also requested that the band not only tour with him in America, but also join him on stage nightly for his set closer. The Polyphonic Spree has put the "P" back in party by holding impromptu choir practices while riding the London tube, or by threatening our national security -- like the time percussionist Brian Teasely attempted to take a nefarious-looking microphone on a plane (a zany-looking invention created by bassist Mark Pirro), causing five gates of the Dallas/Ft.Worth airport to be shut down. But one thing you can say for sure is that the Polyphonic Spree have helped the U.S. economy in untold ways. They have single-handedly helped to stabilize gas prices by traveling with 12 equipment vans and the largest bus one can find in North America -- a massive monolith normally used by NHL hockey teams -- not to mention the boost to the dry cleaning industry (those white robes are just dirt magnets!). The band's single "Follow The Day" was featured in a Volkswagen commercial, which brought their playful, ethereal sounds into living rooms across America, and was also featured on the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack. They released their first "proper" album, Together We're Heavy in July 2004, and continue to spread their message of euphoria and otherworldly gospel like it was preordained. - Jaan Uhelszki

Nellie McKay

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:00:01 -0700

Nellie McKay (pronounced Mc-EYE) appeared almost out of nowhere in early 2004, after a handful of live performances in New York City. The young singer-songwriter had signed to Columbia and released Get Away From Me -- 19 tracks issued as a double CD at her insistence. It didn't hurt that the album's producer was Geoff Emerick, whose credits include engineering records for the Beatles and producing Elvis Costello's Imperial Bedroom.

McKay loosely, in fact very loosely, fits under the banner of cabaret, but she takes her voice and piano to places many habituates of the scene wouldn't own a map for. It's often remarked that McKay comparisons range far and wide, and they do, mainly because she's built herself such a wide camp that she's hard to peg. Of course, that stands as a challenge to writers who can't decide if she's the redheaded female Eminem or the punk Bobby Short.

No matter. While Get Away (titled affectionately -- or not -- as a slap at Norah Jones's Come Away With Me) covers more ground than most artists manage in three or four releases, McKay is gifted enough to make it all seem easy and natural. In her world, the personal is political, the political personal. At this writing, her sales hadn't yet touched Jones's numbers, but even a couple of million units isn't hard to imagine. Bubbly and tough and funny, McKay sometimes seems to engender those comparisons because like, oh say, Costello or even Judy Holliday before her, she's making something very new out of the old cloth she's been handed. - Jaan Uhelszki

Saint Etienne

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 12:39:40 -0800

In the early '90s, when most Synth Pop bands were being passed over in favor of more aggressive Grunge acts, Saint Etienne managed to grab the attention of alterna-pop Euro-philes with their debut album, Foxbase Alpha. Breaking away from the gloomy sounds of New Wave, the trio sought to pay homage to the pure pop of '60s London. Embracing the dreamy disco of the '70s and the rhythms of the '90s club scene, the trio continues to combine shoulder-swaying, foot-tapping Euro-pop with a hodge-podge of contemporary dance styles. With the wispy vocals of singer Sarah Cracknell floating above bass-heavy hip-hop beats, R&B-influenced slow jams, and driving Techno, Saint Etienne is Disco for fans of Indie pop -- an Ace of Base with underground cachet. - Shailesh Rao

Midlake

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 12:13:58 -0800

Mercury Rev

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 09:54:14 -0700

Always on the coattails of (and suffering constant comparisons to) associates the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev have, in their own right, creatively produced cerebral, sometimes darkly atmospheric Indie Rock. Relying on orchestrations of guitars, clarinets, drums, and Jonathan Donohue's breathy, Dylan-inspired melodic rambling -- Mercury Rev stretch spatial arrangements into hyper-melodic, neo-psychedelic free-form.

Yann Tiersen

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 09:47:01 -0700

The Left Banke

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:29:27 -0700

According to many aging English men with intimidating record collections, the Left Banke were the very first band ever to be written up under the term "Baroque Rock." Rightly so, as rock 'n' roll's timeline suggests that this 1966-1968 East Coast outfit were possibly the only ones to continuously layer classical instrumentation and song melodies with a post-British Invasion influenced Folk Pop. Although Steve Martin (no relation to King Tut) had the delicate and passionate voice that made dreamers swoon, the Left Banke were actually born of keyboard player and songwriter Michael Brown, son of violinist and producer Hash Brown. The band's first hit, "Walk Away Renee," was easily their biggest (the Four Tops had a hit with it in 1968). The Left Banke broke up in 1969. - Eric Shea

Super Furry Animals

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:55:30 -0700

For years, British bands have been trying to successfully merge Techno beats with Indie Rock. Super Furry Animals may not have been the first to try this, but they were definitely one of the very few that made sense of this hybrid. That the synthesized additions aren't an up-front and obvious addition to their music might be one reason why SFA pull it off with such effortless style. But it might also be the chemistry of players and their diverse musical tastes -- this quirky quintet sing in their native Welsh tongue (and English, as well) and blend an always unpredictable slew of sounds (dependent on their ever changing moods) that contribute toward a personalized psychedelic pop collage. Besides big beats, they have been known to incorporate Steely Dan samples, Prog injections, Punk riffs, Calypso drums, and whatever else seems to contrastingly complement the strong songwriting. - Eric Shea

Matt Pond PA

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:25:37 -0800

Pond and his extremely talented cohorts create beautiful, almost listless but ultimately strong music that unfolds with striking delicacy and intimacy. Sounding like Peter Gabriel at his most defenseless, this singer-songwriter combines elements of folk and Tindersticks-style Baroque Pop, rife with lovely string and acoustic guitar parts. - Will Lerner

Scott Walker

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:56:13 -0700

The ultimate cult artist, it is hard to think of another American who had such an impact on rock music as a whole while being almost completely unknown to his countrymen as Scott Walker. Walker (born Scott Engel, the name his songs are often credited to) grew up in Texas, New York City and Southern California but found fame in mid-1960s England as part of the Walker Brothers at the same time that U.S. audiences were going crazy for British groups. The non-related Walker Brothers were a vocal trio who married soaring vocal harmonies, Phil Spector production techniques, Spaghetti Western soundtrack arrangements and a decidedly dark lyrical worldview into one uniquely melodramatic package. Scott Walker's voice (probably the most beautiful male non-soul voice of the rock era) and increasingly free-thinking beatnik attitude was at the center of the band's appeal. Although the Walker Brothers became huge in Europe and boasted a fan club bigger than even The Beatles, Walker's eccentricity cast a pall over the band's public persona, in part because he recoiled at having his hair pulled out by crazed fans and in part because his French girlfriend introduced him to the world-weary, socially-charged, yet romantic songs of Jacques Brel. Scott had already begun writing ambitious, twisted, highly literate numbers with the Walker Brothers but he upped the bleakness quotient even further when he launched an initially successful solo career (variety TV show included) in 1967. Alternating covers of standards and translations of Brel tunes with his distinctly arty and pained original numbers, Scott Walker albums of this period marry classic pop craftsmanship and string-laden arrangements with lyrics about doomed love affairs, dreams dashed and lives left unfulfilled (imagine a successful collaboration between Jack Jones, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, and Jean-Paul Sartre). As the public moved on to swarthy, dirt-encrusted 1970s guitar rock, the ever-elusive Scott Walker slowly withdrew from public view, quietly battling depression and alcoholism out of the limelight. Reuniting with the Walker Brothers later in the decade, Scott's voice had already lost some of its former majesty but this mirrored his newfound interest in the synth-pop avant-garde, which he helped revolutionize to major critical success and minor public attention. Walker disappeared again but artists as diverse as David Bowie, Julian Cope, Bryan Ferry, Ultravox and Marc Almond championed his unique body of work, citing him as a primary influence on their careers (Cope and Almond even put out retrospectives of their favorite Walker tracks to introduce him to new audiences). This helped keep the shy recluse's reputation alive until he resurfaced in 1995 with Tilt, a challenging, deeply unsettling theme album on mortality that completely strips off the dark romanticism that once filtered light through in his work. Walker went on to compose a film soundtrack, write and arrange scary songs for German cabaret artist Ute Lemper, produce Pulp's excellent album We Love Life (2001) and spent a year as the director of a prestigious British arts festival. Instead of living up to the stereotype of the tortured artist, recent interviews have Scott Walker coming across as plainspoken, unpretentious and honest. He is currently recording for the 4AD label, which includes a large roster of artists who were influenced by his work. - Nick Dedina

The Thrills

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 09:46:28 -0700

Who knew that a group of young men from Ireland could out-Beachwood Sparks the Beachwood Sparks? With walls of cascading vocal harmonies reminiscent of the Beach Boys and Neil Young by way early Bee Gees-inspired songs with titles like "Big Sur," "Santa Cruz" and "Hollywood Kids" one would swear that the Thrills were the illegitimate offspring of Michael Nesmith, John Phillips and Gram Parsons who had grown up in hippie communes in the canyons of Topanga or Malibu. Where the West Coast has given birth to anglophile bands such as the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols -- bands who have even been known to affect a British accent on some songs -- it only makes sense that on the other side of the pond there are kids dreaming of sandy beaches, blonde-haired girls in bikinis, and sets of surf that pump out all day long. In their romanticizing of all things California, the Thrills manage to sublimely exaggerate the California sound. With the help of Beck's right hand man, producer Tony Hoffer, the Thrills' harmonies are flawless and huge. Their songs bounce like beach balls falling from the heavens, and their arrangements recall Brian Wilson's best impersonation of Phil Spector. - Eric Shea

Pernice Brothers

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:25:58 -0700

With a silky, warm voice similar to the Zombies' Colin Blunstone's richly textured vocal ribbons, Joe Pernice has made one of the best records to come out of Sub Pop's roster since his other band, the Scud Mountain Boys, released Massachusetts. Much like their stylistic peers Wilco, Pernice has left behind the Gram Parsons reference point for pure Pop arrangements that tap into the symphonic studies of Brian Wilson and (more closely) Burt Bacharach. Pernice's songs have a backlit mood that pours out from his changes and heartfelt romantic Pop musings. Where the songs of the Scud Mountain Boys embraced "Know" Depression, the Pernice Brothers play songs that juxtapose optimistic instrumental sounds with melancholy lyrics. - Eric Shea

John Sebastian

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:52:06 -0800

Ex-front man from the Lovin' Spoonful plays to a stadium armed with only a guitar, a harmonica, and a southern porch voice. His throaty, Okie-affected vocals sit well with his jug band guitar-strumming and harmonica virtuosity. - Eric Shea

Call And Response

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:55:26 -0700

Call And Response (C.A.R.) are a female fronted outfit from Santa Barbara, Calif., who reside in the Bay Area. Their Velcro-catchy songs are graced with bubbling analog synthesizers, stony drones, modular oscillations, 1960s-style guitar leads and tight, soaring female harmonies. Though rooted in the past, their music style is also forward-looking and innovative, and would perfectly suit the Duophonic label. The song "Colors" blends analog Orchestral Pop with Folk-Rock harmonies reminiscent of what was going on in the canyon rock scene of Los Angeles during the late '60s and early '70s. Imagine Buffalo Springfield getting hijacked by Stereolab -- it's better than the great taste of chocolate and peanut butter mixed together. In short, they rip. - Eric Shea

Lisa Hannigan

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:55:06 -0800

A Girl Called Eddy

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:48 -0800

Erin Moran, a New Jersey bred singer-songwriter, earned critical raves for her debut album recorded under her nom de rock, A Girl Called Eddy. Moran's voice has traces of Chrissie Hynde in it, her insightful way with a line recalls Dusty Springfield and the bummed-out AM radio world of Karen Carpenter (think of "Yesterday Once More" or "Rainy Days and Mondays"). That voice fits her stark narrative songs perfectly, as does her baroque pop arrangements, which echo the sounds of mid-1960s London without copying them. All of these elements come together on her brilliant debut album, which earned universal praise on both sides of the Atlantic and is still gaining an indie rock following. It remains to be seen whether A Girl Called Eddy will develop beyond her debut album but she doesn't really have to even if it is all she contributes to music, her one CD is more than enough. - Nick Dedina

Jon Brion

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:49:56 -0700