elephant parade

Someone buy Elephant Parade a cake, they seem to need some cheering up. 10 seconds into "Friday Night" and you will see what I mean. It's the single saddest feat of guitar playing I have ever heard. Estelle and Ido's back and forth vocals rarely rise above a whisper, which allows the subtle clicks of the tongue and in-takes of breath to become more pronounced and add a ridiculous amount of intimacy to the Album. To say that "the timbre of their voices compliment each other quite well" would be an understatement. Their sense of vocal counterpoint and harmony hold the album firmly together and allow the minimalist instrumentation to come across as honest rather than kitschy.
Songs like the Piano based "Riding in Your Car" (I am convinced) was achieved by channeling the ghost of Erik Satie via some sort of black magic voodoo. The song is sung so sadly that the subtext seems almost to be "we just swallowed enough pills to kill 40 people" despite the only actual lyrics being "I like riding in your car".
The Entire album clocks in at just over 20 minutes and before you know it the whole shebang is over. In that respect the album is quite punk rock ... except ... not sonically.
If the Soundtrack to Amélie and Sufjan Stevens had a love child it might very well be Elephant Parade.

head on over to their myspace to hear 4 songs and do the whole myspace stalking thing

greg laswell

I remember one night, about two years ago, being at this coffee house in San Diego called Lestat's to see a friend perform some music. I was in one of those moods though, where I just wanted to see my friend play and then leave. As I tried to make my way to the door, I ran into another friend who was working on their fifth cup of coffee of the evening. Needless to say, she had lots to tell me. Minutes later, I had managed to step foot outside. Before I even had a chance to think about where my keys were or which direction I had parked, I heard something that made me turn right back around. Greg Laswell had taken stage and the very first notes out of his mouth grabbed me. The sound of his voice alone crawled right in me and captivated me. Almost an hour later I had stayed for his entire set, and was still wanting more.

Now, years and many many shows past, I am still a huge fan of Mr. Laswell. His new album "Through Toledo" is about to drop into stores 0n July 11th with a little help from Vanguard Records. Having heard a sneak preview of this album, I can say that it is a great blend of upbeat rock songs, heartbreaking melodies of lost love, and everything in between. There is a great humanistic quality to all of Greg's songs too. He keeps things honest and real, which is something I think we all can admire.

This is a man of many talents as well. Not only is he a sweet crooner, an ivory tickler, and a master of the guitar loop.. he is also a producer and has lent a hand to many other talented musicians such as Anya Marina and Molly Jenson. Perhaps his greatest skill, though, is his gift of gab onstage. If you are not impressed by the sheer greatness of his music alone, then he will, with no doubt, charm you with his banter in between songs. With stories of his mother googling his name to his playful joking with accompanying musicians, Greg never falls short of pure entertainment.

One last note, be sure to watch for the upcoming release of the movie "Danika" (starring Marisa Tomei) which will feature the song "What a Day" off of Greg's "Through Toledo" album.

You can listen to songs by Greg by visiting him on his Myspace or at his website. Be sure to check his Myspace for upcoming shows!

Cold War Kids

Yes its been awhile since I wrote and yes this band is in every music blog out there. But goshdarn it this song is all kinds of good. There thats it for now. Got to justify my huge paycheck.

Cold War Kids - Hang me up tp Dry