"Do You" Want to Hear the First New Spoon Song in Four Years?

After a four-year hiatus, Austin-based indie rock mainstays Spoon are back and as spry as ever with the first official single off their forthcoming eighth record, They Want My Soul.

“Do You” is classic Spoon, with Britt Daniel’s pleading vocals calling out over intertwining guitar and piano along with the type of softened, echoing “do-do-dos” only the best instant sing-alongs are made of. Despite the ferocious intensity of the three-eyed lion in the artwork, the track is actually quite warm and inviting, and you can almost feel the audiences clapping in time already.

Written immediately after Daniel’s side-project Divine Fits concluded touring last year, They Want My Soul is scheduled to become the Texas outfit’s first LP on new label Loma Vista upon its release on August 5th, though there’s still plenty of summer left to bounce along to this song in the meantime.

“Do You” is available for purchase on iTunes, or better, through the band’s new Vinyl Gratification program.

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Originally published on The Music Ninja

Yeasayer's Anand Wilder Announces 'Break Line' Musical with Star-Studded Soundtrack, Releases First Single

Talk about an all-star cast: Yeasayer co-founder and multi-instrumentalist Anand Wilder and longtime friend and composer Maxwell Kardon have announced the completion of a new musical featuring fellow bandmates Ira Wolf Tuton and Chris Keating, James Richardson (MGMT), Christopher Powell and Ryan Kattner (Man Man), Rostam Batmanglij (Vampire Weekend, Discovery), K Ishibashi (Kishi Bashi, of Montreal, Jupiter One), Haley Dekle (Dirty Projectors), and more.

According to the press release, Break Line The Musical “harkens back to rock concept albums of the early 70′s,” exploring “the classic arc of lost love, betrayal, and pride,” and is based on “a labor conflict in a Western Pennsylvania coal town” that the duo’s fathers had discovered in “an old folk song taught in Quaker schools in the 1950s.”

Conceived six years ago, Wilder’s project began to take shape in between Yeasayer albums and is reminiscent of his band’s debut LP, with a lighter, springier version of All Hour Cymbals’ freakier folksy vibe. Taking inspiration from The Kinks and The Byrds, the musical puts a contemporary twist on a classic art form.

Ahead of Break Line’s release this July 15th on Secretly Canadian (July 14th, rest of the world via Mute), Wilder and Kardon have given us a small taste of what’s to come with ‘Wedding Day,’ a sleepy track that begins with children’s laughter and reversed guitar strums before Wilder’s croons raise the tempo into full-blown folk-pop festivity.

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Originally published on The Music Ninja

Members of Cold War Kids and We Barbarians Form New Side-Project, French Style Furs

The newest addition to the long list of supergroup side-projects forming in recent years is here: LA-based French Style Furs, made up of Nathan Willett and Matt Maust of Cold War Kids and We Barbarians’ Nathan Warkentin, has announced Is Exotic Bait, a debut LP due out July 8th via Frenchkiss Records.

Named after a storefront in Brooklyn and cultivated in spontaneity, French Style Furs pulses with the kind of creative urgency that comes with writing and recording in between shows, with Willett’s signature howls, barks, and wails giving restless life to lyrics inspired by Trappist monk and mystic Thomas Merton’s poetry.

Lyric video for "Solitary Life" by French Style Furs. Download Is Exotic Bait: http://bit.ly/1kcNTGJ French Style Furs. Cold War Kids + We Barbarians team up for the full length debut album, Is Exotic Bait, available now on Frenchkiss Records. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/1jtvzsh http://www.frenchstylefurs.com/ https://www.facebook.com/frenchstylefurs http://www.frenchkissrecords.com

As he does with Cold War Kids, Maust doubles as graphic designer and videographer, and has created a moving collage lyric video for ‘Solitary Life.’ The track itself opens with a bass groove of his (you can almost see him jerkily swaying on stage as you hear it) before swinging horns, Haley Dekle (Dirty Projectors) vocalizations, and even some cowbell are layered on. Check out the three singles available already and the current tour dates below.

Tour Dates:

6/2 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite
6/9 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite
6/16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite
6/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite
7/7 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
7/9 – New York, NY @ Rough Trade

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Originally published on The Music Ninja.

Lousy With Sylvianbriar is Anything But: A Conversation with of Montreal

Having performed in a ten-foot dress adorned with hallucinatory projections, completely nude, and with everything in between, enigmatic and eccentric frontman Kevin Barnes has guided of Montreal through a kaleidoscopic 18 years, 12 albums, and countless reformations in cast, spanning genres from vaudevillian twee pop, acid-soaked electronica, glam rock, and funk.

In their newest incarnation, a unique take on Dylan and Stones-esque 60-70s psychedelic Americana, Lousy with Sylvianbriar is anything but. Eschewing the glitter-covered, other-worldly, and androgynous sex-charge of their past few records, Barnes and co. have returned to their roots, recording without the use of computers on the 24-track in his home studio and emerging with yet another undeniably successful left turn.

Known for their flamboyant and high-energy live shows, of Montreal have incorporated elaborate stage acts, costumes, fruit, and once even a real-life, all-white horse into their musical performances as they convey Barnes’ meandering and shocking narratives articulated in his characteristically voluble diction and delivered in his simultaneously jarring yet soothing croons, shrieks, and falsettos.

Transverso Media spoke with Barnes about his beginnings, the new album and more.

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TRANSVERSO: What was it like starting out in the Elephant 6 Collective in Athens, Georgia?

KEVIN BARNES: It sort of came together very unexpectedly when I moved down to Athens. I just knew one person who happened to connect me with all those other people, so it was really fortunate the way it happened. [It was] basically just a bunch of people who were making cassette four track recordings in their bedrooms and listening to Beach Boys’ Smile and [other], at that time, sort of obscure 60s music. Young people weren’t really listening to that stuff, so I needed to find a bunch of people my own age that were listening to those classic 60s records. It was great because, where I was living before in south Florida, there was nothing like that, basically everyone just listened to what was on the radio and dance music and things like that, so it was cool to meet all these likeminded people and to be inspired by each other and kind of create this new alternate universe together.

But you created the new record more or less isolated in San Francisco. What motivated this move and how did it affect you?

I’m not sure really what motivated it besides just wanting to get out of my comfort zone and go somewhere that sounded sort of exotic. I didn’t really know that many people but I knew enough people that I wouldn’t feel completely alienated in the new environment and [I] just sort of wandered around and spent a lot of time by myself and in my head thinking of ideas. I did a lot of reading, writing, and all that, so that’s cool, just to be focused to have nothing else going on other than focusing on writing. I think it inspired me because I was sort of romanticizing the concept of San Francisco and the different important cultural movements and events that happened there over the decades, [thinking] about the beat generation, the feminist movements, gay rights movements and all the important events that went down there. It’s cool because it’s a very culturally diverse city as well, so there’s so much ethnic diversity and cultural diversity and all these new places to discover, [whereas] in Athens, Georgia it’s a small town and there is not much mystery there. I’ve been [in Athens] so long that I kind of know everything, so it was cool to be in some new place that I could just go explore and discover new things.

of montreal is a bit of a revolving door in terms of members. How does it feel to be the solitary mainstay? Does that give you that sort of freedom you need to go to these places and do these things on your own?

Yeah, it’s cool to not have to answer to anybody because I’m very restless creatively speaking, and so it’s hard for me to really be attached to people in that way. I kind of need to be free to make decisions to help me go in different directions and realize different visions and so it’s just the way it is.

Your lyrics seem to fluctuate over a blurred line between personal and fictional. What can you tell us about that?

I think if you only write about yourself and your personal life it feels maybe a bit narcissistic, but I think it’s inevitable that there will always be some aspect of your personal life or your personal emotions or whatever coming through, even if you write about something that would seem like fiction. I guess I just made a decision early on that I wanted songs to be directly connected to my personal life and to reality, but I’ve gone through phases, like early on where I got kind of I got some bad reviews, and so I freaked out and [thought] well, I don’t want to put any of my personal life in there ‘cause it makes me too vulnerable. Then I’ve come back around to writing from a more personal perspective over the last six or seven records. If you write from a personal standpoint it’s likely to have a more timeless quality, just because you’re writing about universal themes that everyone can kind of identify with and they don’t really disappear.

Most of your early work is absent from your live shows, though. Is it because of those negative reviews? How do you go about picking a set from such an extensive discography?

No, I wouldn’t say that my decision making is affected by negative reviews of the early work, just because I’ve really sort of moved on, you know? I’m happy [those records] exist, but they don’t make any sense to me anymore; they came from a part of my psyche that’s either in hibernation or in a coma or dead or whatever. I don’t identify with them anymore, but the songs from the last six or seven records I still identify with, and it doesn’t seem foreign at all to play them. It’s really just wanting to play songs that I can connect with, ‘cause otherwise it’s just like doing some cover song or something. As far as putting a set together, it’s usually just a matter of thinking about what would be fun to play, what would feel good to play or would be therapeutic to play.

Drugs and other chemicals are often mentioned in your lyrics.  How have these substances affected your artistic process?

Everything affects the creative process and your reality and your day-to-day outlook on things. I’m so focused on writing and everything it’s sort of centered around that, everything I do is gonna influence that on some level, but I’m not really a recreational drug user or anything like that so I don’t really have that same sort of relationship with recreational drugs that maybe some people have. I don’t really use drugs as an inspiration. If I do drugs, which I don’t that often, it’s normally just to see, okay, how’s this gonna feel, but it doesn’t usually make me more productive. I tend to be more productive when I’m just genuinely excited about the thing that I’m working on. I don’t really need anything artificial to boost that because the whole thing happens organically, and its not something that I can make happen through this combination of different things, it’s just something that kind of mystically happens without much effort, or it doesn’t happen at all.

What can you tell us about the upcoming of Montreal documentary “The Past is a Grotesque Animal”?

Well it’s basically done. I think that now it’s at the point of post production, [going through] color correcting, making sure the sound is solid throughout and little things like that, but yeah, it’s basically done. It just got picked up by Oscilloscope, so it’ll have a decent distribution. I’m not sure exactly when it’s coming out, but I’m assuming sometime this year.

Is it more of a documentary on you or the band as a whole? What exactly does it cover?

Well it’s not so much about the music. I had no real involvement with the way it was edited or put together or directed or anything, so it’s definitely not my project. It’s probably more about me and [my] personal relationships over the last 15 years or whatever more so than the music and the live show and the artwork and things like that. It’s slightly more behind the music than something that would be more objective.

Speaking of the artwork, Lousy with Sylvianbriar has the first album cover in a while that wasn’t done by your brother, David Barnes. How do you go about selecting the visuals to accompany your music and what is the relationship there?

Growing up I always had a strong connection with albums and album art. Whenever I hear a song I instantly have the album cover in my head if its something that’s like a classic album that I loved. It’s a weird thing, just staring at the album cover while you’re listening to the album and having that really strong memory connection with the music. I always wanted the album covers to have some presence of their own but also to feel like a visual embodiment of the spirit of the record. The new record [with] the motorcycle on the hill represents a sort of wildness and freedom ‘cause I was reading a Hunter S. Thompson book about the hells angels when I was writing the record. [The] motorcycle represents, maybe not so much anymore, but what it represented in the 60s and 70s, [was] that sort of outlaw culture. The record, to me, is sort of hearkening back to that time period, [and] it seems to be a sort of icon for that time period.

What are some of the album covers that made such a strong impression on you growing up?

Well a big one is the Prince album Sign o’ the Times where he’s on the cover with his big, kind of, like, Randy glasses, or whatever, and just looking very androgynous. That one, and also the cover of Lovesexy. Prince album covers I’ve probably stared at the most, just ‘cause he was so serious and perplexing, this strange, androgynous, beautiful creature that was so talented and so versatile and different; each record he was a completely different person. Same with David Bowie; [I spent a lot of time] staring at the cover of The Man Who Stole the World and Ziggy Stardust and Low, and things like that.

What ever happened to your rumored collaboration with MGMT’s Andrew VanWyngarden?

We’re still close friends and we still talk about it, so I think it will happen eventually, it’s just a matter of finding a moment where were both open and available.

What’s next for you and of Montreal?

Well I started work on a new record and we’re talking about getting together in a country house out in Tennessee this summer, so basically just sort of collecting ideas and chasing different inspirits and trying to find some spark to create a new wave for me artistically. I think I have actually discovered it, but I don’t really want to talk about it yet because it’s sort of in this vulnerable state right now. I just keep looking and keep touring; we have a lot of shows happening over the next couple months. We’re going to Europe, we’re going to Moscow in June, which is the first time we’ve ever gone out there. Yeah, I’ll basically just keep looking and keep producing things.

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Lousy With Sylvianbriar is out now on Polyvinyl

Miniature Tigers Discuss the Future, fun., and Fighting

After first gaining recognition when named "one of the 25 best bands on Myspace” by Rolling Stone in 2006, Miniature Tigers released their sticky-sweet sing-along debut Tell It To The Volcano two years later. Now with three EPs and three full-length albums under their belts, Phoenix-born and Brooklyn-bred pop foursome are back at it and more polished than ever with “Swimming Pool Blues,” the first single from their upcoming LP, Cruel Runnings, just in time for the weather to (hopefully) begin warming up.

In support of these new releases, frontman and guitarist Charlie Brand, guitarist Algernon Quashie (better known as AJ), keyboardist Rick Alvin Schaier and bassist Brandon Lee recently embarked on a tour with co-headliners Bear Hands and opening act Total Slacker. Ahead of their show at the Empty Bottle in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village we got the chance to speak with the band after being instructed to climb into their large, unmarked black van as it pulled up to the sidewalk outside.

Transverso: Do you kidnap all of your journalists?

Charlie: [Laughs]

So how’s touring going so far?

Charlie: It’s going good. I just had strep throat recently so I’m getting over that and pretty much back to normal now.

Did you miss any shows from that?

Charlie: Just some South By [Southwest] shows.

How was SXSW?

Charlie: It was good, we played three shows the first day and then had a day off, and then were gonna do more and then that’s when the strep throat happened, so we canceled the rest of it.

Were you anywhere near [the hit-and-run incident]?

Charlie: No, not really.

You toured with fun. not too long ago, what was it like playing like in a large arena type venue versus a more intimate setting like this?

Charlie: Well it’s a whole different thing, really, and, I don’t know, the energy is different. I mean, I guess for them their crowd is pretty receptive and cool and, yeah, it’s trippy playing in front of that many people and playing to that large of an audience, but then we also love playing more intimate shows and smaller clubs and things like that too, so that’s kind of more where we’re at as a headlining band.

Are there any other bands you’d like to play with down the road? What’s been your favorite band to play with so far?

Charlie: Man, I mean that fun. tour was awesome. We’re on tour with this band Bear Hands and Total Slacker, and those guys are really rad, [we’re] loving being on tour with them. Who would you like to tour with, AJ?

AJ: Who would I like to tour with? Man, maybe the Paul McKenna All-Stars, but for people we have toured with, yeah, fun. has been awesome, Kevin Devine and that crew, Spinto Band.

Charlie: Spinto Band, love ‘em.

Your upcoming album was recorded in Jamaica and produced by Chris Zane. How has this influenced your sound and what should we expect this spring?

Charlie: I definitely feel Jamaica influenced it. It was just a more laid back recording process, and we were really relaxed making it, so it felt very effortless to record it and make it, but it doesn’t really sound like an island record, really. It’s very clean and poppy and there’s lots of big drums and things like that.

Album art for Cruel Runnings

You’ve done a lot of your album artwork in the past. What inspires this crossover between mediums?

Charlie: That’s a good question. It usually kind of happens after everything’s already done. Rick painted the first two album covers and the third one, we just shot this photo, and this [new record] we’re on the cover for the first time. We’ve never really done anything like that, and just kind of had this idea inspired by the Memphis design group with lots of 80s interior design kind of stuff, like really pastel-y colors and [we] wanted to basically create this room and put ourselves in it.

What is your songwriting process?

Charlie: I’ll just kind of like sit down and start fucking around and record demos, and most times I’ll like send it to these guys and they’ll write little parts and we’ll all kind of tinker with shit, and once we get in the studio, then that’s kinda when the songs really take shape and we all contribute our parts and weigh in on how we’re gonna approach the production and stuff.

Do you have any other side projects that you’re working on?

Charlie: Yeah, pretty much everyone has other projects outside the band and these guys can tell you more about that.

AJ: Yeah, everyone has their own little thing. Rick has the Alvin Band, Rick and I have a little group called Spooky, I make beats, Brandon, he has his own solo project, too, so we all just keep it moving. [Laughs]

You’re currently on tour with Bear Hands and so I have to ask: who would win in a fight between a man with bear hands and a group of miniature tigers?

AJ: Hmm… a group of tigers.

Charlie: Yeah, probably a group of tigers.

AJ: How many are these tigers?

I don’t know, there’s four of you.

Charlie: Yeah, ‘cause what’s a bear’s hand? It’s like, okay that’s something, but I’d be more afraid of the mouth area.

AJ: Mhm, yeah.

Charlie: Does this guy have like a bear mouth too?

AJ: And a group of tigers, what is that called?

Charlie: Is the man the size of an upright bear?

AJ: Are we talking about a normal sized man, or like..?

I’m realizing I haven’t thought this through enough.

Charlie: [Laughs] You have to think of all the angles!

AJ: We’re in a van a lot so this kind of thing comes up.

Charlie: Okay, I personally think the pack of miniature tigers would win, but ultimately, who would win in a fight between Miniature Tigers and Bear Hands?

AJ: You mean the bands?

Charlie: Yeah. I think Bear Hands, dude. I mean, I’ve had some fights, I guess, but I think they’d ultimately beat the shit out of us.

J: Yeah, they’d probably beat us.

Rick: Yeah, I think we’d lose.

AJ: TJ [Orscher, Bear Hands’ drummer] is pretty jacked.

My center of gravity is too high, I wouldn’t be very good.

Charlie: Yeah I feel ya, we’re all kinda tall too, so.

AJ: Except for me.

Charlie: Except for you.

AJ: But I do have patience, and patience wins fights.

Charlie: You have patience, yeah, you Hollywood ‘em.

Well, sounds good. So am I gonna make it out of this van alive?

Charlie: [Laughs] Probably not.

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Cruel Runnings is out May 27 on Modern Art Records.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr Speed Up With Sophomore Effort

Josh Epstein of Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr

Daniel Zott of Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr

Opening act Chad Valley

Photos by Andrea Calvetti

Following the release of their second album, The Speed Of Things, Detroit born and bred indie pop duo Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. have begun making a name for themselves for something beyond, well, their name. Quirky yet accessible, polished but never bland, Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein have found the sweet spot between pop sensibilities and uniqueness, expanding their electronically-tinged hooks and dynamism just enough to keep things interesting without abandoning their comfort zone, deftly outmaneuvering any possibility of failing prey to the dreaded sophomore slump. The Speed Of Things changes gears often, shifting between exuberant choruses, love poem sensitivity, introspective melancholy and conversational assertions, but never stops moving forward through the swirling melodies and smooth vocals.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. recently packed Chicago’s own Metro with a sold out crowd, their largest ever outside of their hometown. Epstein’s colorful world map jacket and Zott’s curly hair tied into a ponytail on the side of his head were framed by flashing J’s and R’s sidestage as they opened up the set with “Hiding,” singing into a disembodied phone receiver and thrusting fists in the air with every “Hey!” The solitary incandescent bulbs attached to each mic stand illuminated intermittently, seemingly signaling new ideas realized mid-lyric, while each half of the duo dutifully took their turn leaping into the crowd to lend credibility to their synth-infused single “If You Didn't See Me (Then You Weren't On The Dancefloor).”

Transverso spoke with Zott after the show.

TRANSVERSO: Congratulations on what was your biggest ever show outside of Detroit to date! How does it feel?

DANIEL ZOTT: It's an amazing feeling to have people in another city show up at all, so to have a record crowd made it even more special. 

How have you been enjoying the tour so far?

It's been the most successful and most fun. That's a good combination. 

You brought your dog Potato on stage during the show. What’s it like bringing him along? 

It's actually Josh's dog, but yes, he's been incredibly well behaved. He brings a lot of joy to the bus and helps us keep things in perspective. 

I understand you recently did a benefit concert to raise money for a sick child. Can you tell us a little bit about this?

Alex is a kid who recently discovered he had brain cancer. His family got nailed with a huge bill and we were just trying to help out. It was a really fun day with him and his family. Being in a band is full of self-centered moments. You spend most of your time trying to make people care about you. So, it was good to spend a day thinking about someone else. 

So I have to ask, what’s the story behind the name?

We wanted a name that wouldn't restrict our sound. It's so outrageous that it gives us freedom to sound like anything we want. 

Will your children carry on the legacy as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Jr.?

Never.

Is Dale himself a fan?

He is. He says so in a video on Tumblr via Fox Sports. 

I understand you started the band rather casually without many expectations. Do you believe art is always best created with spontaneity? Is your process more calculated now that you’ve found success?

There's a good mix of both. In order to finish any good idea you need to have vision and execution which is more calculated, but spontaneity is good for coming up with ideas and changes. 

You both seem to split frontman duties 50/50 more or less. How does this work?

We are finding our roles more and more as we grow together. We never plan for it to be perfectly split, but it does seem to balance out. 

Many people consider indie pop to be a bit of a contradiction yet you guys blend the two worlds perfectly. Do you consider yourselves to be more of one or the other? How do you find balance?

We are just trying to make pop music in the old sense of the word. We'd like to make a popular song that has some substance to it. 

How has the Motown style popular in your native Detroit and the presence of legends such as Jack White influenced your music?

Greatly. There is pride that comes from being from Detroit. You respect the history and feel responsible for the future. Makes us work hard at writing good songs. 

You recently made a hip hop mixtape, can you tell us a little about that?

It has been a dream for a while. We really like making beats and producing other people’s tracks. It was a way for us to let people know what we can do. 

I heard Paul Simon worked on your new album in some capacity, what was that like?

It was wild to get his thoughts. He didn't just have general thoughts either. He gave some recording tips that really worked well for "War Zone." 

What’s next for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.?

I need some lunch. 

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Originally published on The Music Ninja

The 7 Best Songs Over 7 Minutes Long From the Last 7 Years

Ever since John Lennon decided to add a few minutes of “Na Na Na’s” to the end of what would become the timeless hit “Hey Jude” purely to piss off the radio stations with strict three or four minute run-time limitations, artists everywhere have experimented with song length, often to brilliant results. While many “Best of” lists of this nature have been compiled before, they contain almost exclusively classic rock tracks such as “Free Bird” and Pink Floyd; looking amidst our own generation I give you the seven best songs over seven minutes long from the last seven years in chronological order. Compound songs (hidden tracks and such) were not considered.

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Peter Bjorn and John / Up Against The Wall

Writer’s Block (2006)

7:06

Delightful Swedish trio Peter Bjorn and John claim to be Abba’s illegitimate sons. While that may be ridiculous, they do have a legitimate claim to something else: The title of most underrated indie pop rock band. While you may have heard their whistling hit “Young Folks,” overlooking the rest of the masterpiece album,Writer’s Block, is a terrible mistake, especially “Up Against The Wall.” The rolling drums, meandering guitar, and subtle vocalization techniques combine to make such a biting reflection of a relationship deceptively upbeat and toe-tapping:  “Maybe we could make this work / But now you start to leave before it's getting worse / I don't know what you came here for / It's almost that I wish we hadn't met at all.” I could not say the same to Peter, Bjorn, and John; I am incredibly thankful to have found them.

of Montreal / The Past is a Grotesque Animal

Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? (2007)

11:53

This tense 12 minute adventure in angst and confession is the turning point in Hissing Fauna, arguably the best album in of Montreal’s extensive discography. It is within this song that front man Kevin Barnes claims to have transformed into his alter-ego, Georgie Fruit, a "dark mutation” that takes the form of a “black she-male,” as he deals with antidepressants and their effect on his marriage. Themes of existentialism and hopelessness intertwine as he struggles to come to terms with how someone could have “red-rovered the gestapo circling [his] heart” and love him despite his crippling flaws. The chilling ooh’s that begin around 4:20 will continue to haunt you long after the song has ended, and the synth undulations that appear later on sound straight out of Pink Floyd’s “Animals.” The line “It's like we weren't made for this world / Though I wouldn't really want to meet someone who was” epitomizes Barnes’s entire artistic career: bizarre alien creations that somehow feel more comfortable and better exemplify our most basic and secret human emotions than we ever imagined possible. He goes on to wonder if his lover “mythologizes” him as he does her and admits he’s so “touched by [her] goodness” he feels “criminal,” beautifully articulating the insecurity and altered perceptions that accompany the most vulnerably irrevocable love.

MGMT / Siberian Breaks

Congratulations (2010)

12:10

Following the success of their anthemic debut, Oracular Spectacular, psychedelic duo MGMT were given almost absolute artistic freedom by their record label while making their immensely underrated follow-up, Congratulations. That freedom allowed them to stray from the pop single structure of “Kids” and “Time To Pretend” and create this sprawling 12 minute conglomeration of acid-tinged streams of consciousness which vocalist Andrew VanWyngarden claims is his favorite of the album, saying, "It's kind of like eight different songs strung together into one, and the general theme is about surfing in the Arctic Circle by Russia." With crushing retorts such as “There's no reason / There's no secret to decode / If you can't save it / Leave it dying on the road” and the suicide note-worthy “If you’re conscious you must be depressed / Or at least cynical” amidst heavy reverb, this song undoubtedly has a depressing air about it, and yet the glittering synth and fitting realization of “Being here's always changing tunes” leaves you with an almost indifferent taste of acceptance in your mouth as you fade away, gently reminded nothing is truly ever “created or destroyed.”

LCD Soundsystem / Dance Yrself Clean

This Is Happening (2010)

8:56

It was difficult to pick only one song by the unfortunately now-disbanded indie dance pop masters and synth gods of the long song that are LCD Soundsystem, but I decided on “Dance Yrself Clean” based on the fact that it is quite simply perfect. Although a bitch to play on air during my radio show due to its immensely dynamic volume range (either it’s too quiet or peaking, always!) it is infectiously catchy and well worth the struggle. The initial soft patter of percussion and whispered vocals give way to a barrage of delicious, dance-inducing noise and hair-raising howls around the three minute mark, creating a drop that ended dubstep before it even began. Frontman James Murphy later admitted to needing steroids to help carry his voice through the recording process and protect it from injury, and while this may feel like cheating to some, it is a testament to his dedication as a musician and drive to create the best that he can, and the thought of this work of art having never been completed instead is far more discomforting, especially when considering it ended up being the very last song LCD Soundsystem ever made. “Break me into bigger pieces / So some of me is home with you,” he cries; careful when giving in to this song around your expensive music playing equipment, or he may not be the only thing left in pieces.

Cold War Kids / Fashionable (Bonus Track)

Mine Is Yours (Deluxe Version) (2011)

7:02

I couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed by the overproduced and polished third album by the soulful and, until this point, brilliantly raw Cold War Kids. And although it was still enjoyable, Mine Is Yours even left out the best song of all: “Fashionable” is only listed as a bonus track on the deluxe version, or a rare 7” that used to be available exclusively at shows before they quickly sold out (I had to hide mine under a couch in Atlanta’s Buckhead Theatre back in 2011, but that’s another story). It begins with vocalist Nathan Willett gently cooing over bouncy acoustic guitar before transitioning to a church organ, in turn introducing the percussion, and eventually building up to a delightful return to his wonderfully powerful and emotional wails of old (sadly, the only song post-Loyalty to Loyalty to really do so), as it builds in excitement towards the end, sending chills down your spine. “I am your style / Oh and you are my style” he belts out before asking, “Who will sweep you off your feet?” You do, Nathan. You do.

Young Man / 21

Vol. 1 (2012)

7:04

Colin Caulfield’s big break happened when his YouTube cover of a Deerhunter song caught the ear of the band’s frontman.  An album and record deal later he has put together a full band under the name Young Man, and the resulting fuller sound is perfectly showcased in “21.” The almost eerie piano opening is reminiscent of Musique pour Supermarché as it blooms into soothing guitar melodies driven by pulsating snares and Caulfield’s gently probing cries of “crying shame.” The also lyricized “indeterminate feelings” swirl throughout the seven-plus minute runtime, presenting indie dream-pop at its best since Beach House’s Bloom.

Grizzly Bear / Sun in Your Eyes

Shields (2012)

7:07

Daniel Rossen’s flawless vocals lift this song along with its listeners above the clouds in fits of beauty. “It overflows / It overflows / It overflows” within you, receding momentarily as the piano seems to contemplate it’s very existence, before it resumes, “Silver inside / Rushing on.” After erupting with pulses of distortion, the last track on the band’s latest album, and the final song they played when I was lucky enough to see them live, signs off with a blunt, “I’m never coming back.” We can only hope this isn’t true, and that Grizzly Bear merely hibernates before returning with the sun to shine on us once more.

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Honorable Mentions

Bright Eyes / Firewall

The People’s Key (2011)

7:17

I’ll admit, I’m still not quite sure what to make of the prophetic mumbling that makes up the first two and a half minutes (Hitler being name-dropped here and throughout the album reeks of stabs at sensationalism), yet I can’t help but be intrigued. The commanding, military ritual drums, rolling guitar befitting of a sedated Jack White, and the typical Conor Oberst misery spouting of lines like “On all fours she's just so insistent / Fills my mind with jump ropes and slit wrists” seem to lack some genuineness, but even at their most calculated, Bright Eyes are still worth a mention.

Death Cab for Cutie / I Will Possess Your Heart

Narrow Stairs (2008)

8:26

Although it may be one of my favorite songs from Ben Gibbard’s extensive repertoire, it doesn’t quite make the list on merit of length, as it is essentially a 4 minute song with an enjoyable yet unnecessarily drawn out intro. I might prefer it half as long but played twice as much.

Real Estate / All The Same

Days (2011)

7:22

The sweet jangly melodies of New Jersey band, Real Estate, are impossible not to hum or whistle or sing along to (although not all at once, that would be impossible). This is the perfect song for lazy warm afternoons, or, I imagine, painting.

Hospitality: It Turns Out Our Music is Kind of Friendly Sounding

New York pop rock trio Hospitality hit the indie scene after their self-titled debut album was released by Merge in January of this year, drawing comparisons to Tennis and Belle and Sebastian. Transverso caught up with lead singer and writer Amber Papini at the Radio Room, a small dive bar in Greenville, South Carolina, where her band would be the last of four playing that night. The noise inside and “wet paint” signs above the benches by the door led us to chat standing in the parking lot, competing with the sounds of nearby traffic in the darkening autumn air.

TRANSVERSO: How have you enjoyed touring so far?

AMBER PAPINI: It’s been great, we went on these tours earlier in the year with Eleanor Friedberger and Tennis and that was awesome. Now we’re headlining and we get to pick out our own opening act, Teen, and they’re really great.

What’s the biggest show you’ll be doing this year?

We’re headlining Bowery in New York on November 2nd.

So how did you decide on the name Hospitality for both the band and your album?

Well for the album, I don’t know why we chose Hospitality. We went through a couple ideas; I guess we liked the name for the band ‘cause it’s sort of anti-rock and roll, anti-angst, and we always thought we could be like an edgy rock and roll band and have a name like Hospitality which would juxtapose with the meaning of hospitality, but it turns out our music is kind of friendly sounding so people think that we’re like twee, and I don’t know, kind of cutesy or something.

And now you can be rude to everybody.

[Laughs] Yeah now I can be rude.

How do you feel about being labeled “twee”?

Oh I don’t mind it, I like twee music actually. It’s weird, I didn’t really understand the definition and then I looked it up; I read some articles that people wrote about it and the music. I kind of like [the band] Orange Juice. It’s a really broad, weird description, first of all. I don’t know. I definitely don’t think that people are going to describe us that way with the 7” or the new material that were making.

So I understand that’s coming out on Tuesday, tell us a little about that.

It’s The Drift / Monkey 7” and comes out October 30th. I guess it’s a much more live recording than the record ‘cause its basically just the band playing and there’s not a lot of overdubs, and like I said, I don’t think that people are going to think “twee” when they listen to it.

Your mix of cheery, upbeat music and often more cynical lyrics creates an interesting juxtaposition. What is your thought process behind that?

I guess I always like music that does that. I like writers that do that. I’m a big fan of Elvis Costello, and I think I’m a pretty cynical person so it’s inevitable that it’s going to come out, but I also really like pop music and I like catchy melodies and all that, so I think that they can live together, you know, peacefully or happily.

Your debut EP came out back in 2008, why such a long time until the album?

I guess we had a few delays, one being Brian, our bass player, had an opportunity to tour with this band called White Rabbits.

I just saw them open for The Shins.

Yeah that’s right, they’re really big and they’re really good.  Brian wanted the opportunity and it was great and he really enjoyed himself, and the problem was while he was touring with them we didn’t really know when he was going to be back, so we had one-off shows here and there, and then getting in the studio, logistically, was sort of problematic. Finally, when we did get organized and get into the studio to record this record, then we were able to push things forward with Hospitality, basically.

New York is referenced a lot in your music. How has the urban setting influenced you?

Because I’m not from New York -  I’m from Kansas City -  I always sort of dreamed and idolized NYC, and I think, being a foreigner, it’s easier for me to notice little things and I can sort of pick up on stuff that, maybe, somebody that has lived there all their life and just sort of takes it for granted, can’t. I’m finding that I think distance always helps with writing and I feel like now that I’ve been away from Kansas City for, like, ten years now I’m going back and I’m tapping into that landscape and that story. It’s more comfortable for me to write about that world now.

You used to be a teacher. What was that like?

Oh, that was great. I pursued teaching ‘cause I thought it would be a good balance between being able to make music, and teaching. [It's] creative and you’re working with kids and you have lots of vacations and summers off, so I thought I could have a nice job, an interesting job that’s working with interesting people and doing interesting things, and then it would also allow me the time to do my own creative work, so it was really a happy relationship. And then when the record came out, we had to tour so much that I had to say goodbye and quit and it was very sad, but I think they’re happy for me now.

Did your students enjoy having a rock star teacher?

Yeah, I think they did. They were really impressed, and I think it was a big deal for them. They saw a video that we made, and I remember this little girl watching the video when we were in the classroom and I was standing there, and she kept looking at the screen and looking at me, and looking at the screen and looking at me, and I think it was like ‘Wow!’ They kept saying ‘That doesn’t sound like you!’ And the singing, they couldn’t believe that it was my voice. It was funny just to hear their reaction.

What is your favorite album of the last year?

For 2012 I really like the Dirty Projectors’ new record and Frank Ocean and Tame Impala; we’ve been listening to that record in the van.

I’ve been getting into Tame Impala too, it’s like John Lennon and Cream had an Australian love-child.

Yeah, it’s a really great record, very 70’s and kind of psychedelic. What else… oh, I like the new Grizzly Bear record, too. I guess that’s just off the top of my head. There are a lot of good albums out right now.

Any plans to get back in the recording studio any time soon?

Definitely, after this tour I’m going to just kind of lock myself up and write more songs, and we’re going to work together as a band, and hopefully we’ll be ready by 2013 to record. So that’s the plan.

You’ll have to make sure your roof doesn’t collapse on you like with Arcade Fire.

Yeah, were looking out for that. We’re going to try to get home, actually, there’s a hurricane coming and we’re going to try to get home before that hits.

Ever thought about doing a show in the middle of a hurricane?

Yeah, we have actually. We sort of did in Florida, there was like a rainstorm happening in the middle. That would be cool, that would be awesome, yeah. [Laughs]