Given the time-crunch at this moment, but I want to put this up, I may edit this..add to this, etc. But this definitely is my most played album of the last month, and 1 of my favorites this year. Such a GROWER and original. Sadly, it also may be the most overlooked album of 2008 thus far..reminds me of the classic debut from last year "Live and Learn" by House of Fools. O well..give it a little more time and some more will come in hopefully. myspace And Now... - unusual intro with a british accented radio dj signing off..then a tm fat-synth with a voice-over like a comedic soundtrack "these are all words that won't help you, but will definitely make you sound weird"..like a radio transmission picked up in space Bad Kind of Wetness - flowing from the fat-synth segues well Blood Moon I - 1st part of a story or theme being illustrated, kind of a suite or to-be-continued. Sounds like in space-scifi like on a ship Golden Prize - Harp lead..with fat-synth with a dialog from a voicemail from an ex-gf or something that may not have got along with her ex from the East Coast (and she's from the Midwest "I don't think you understand what girls from the Midwest are all about")..later transitions to a fun, catchy, layered melody..glammy..vocal layers almost like Queen. Hot Kathy - melody reminds me of some classic rock..Bowie perhaps....more great CHOIR vocals in the chorus. A melody you can't get out of your head..the energy and vibe as it builds sets a great mood Make Forever Last Forever - "Riders on the Storm" it leads to..but the lead melody is fun, infectious..electronic and bassline-led..they know how to use vocal doubling/tripling really effectively in the studio..the vocal arrangements as well..totally work Nights of the Week - very 80's sounding..almost like Talking Heads..NICE CHORUS "these are the nights of the week where you force yourself out of bed"..futuristic story?..like the computerized vocals over the keys..almost like Buggles or something album's concept could be like some 80's scifi story, movie, in then future on some other planet..space traveled possibly Radio - lead-bass again...layered vox again with the 1st verse..SINGER SOUNDS LIKE mIKE bAKER FROM sg ON THIS 1 MAYBE MOST.."LAY ME DOWN WITH THE RADIO AGAIN..AND i TELL YOU WHAT YOU YOU WANTED TO KNOW"..GREAT BUILD TOWARD THE END.. We Don't Understand You..catchy chorus..more falsetto and fat synths..contemplative lyrics..do they want to get high or or go to bed?..repetitive chorus Blood Moon II..chirping birds interlude..later sounds like a spaceship arriving or taking off..then an organ Doyle Is Dead..Doyle a character in the story? Maybe Doyle knew Kathy?..they left Doyle in the hospital to die and took off?.."Can anybody save...anbody save..anybody?"..'I'm ready to untie this knot in my neck..i'm ready I'm ready"..synths remind me of those used in late 70's/early 80's Scifi soundtrack music. Imaginary Friends..Ballad..vocal harmonies. Hallucinating? Brian May guitar parts..'oh my friends, we've reached the end" Johnny and Sarah..energetic..guitars sounds kinda post-punk...vocoder..narrative..vocal layers and synth..the build rules on this song..so does the guitar solo. Locked In a Car..slow acoustic ballad.."my best friend...locked in-a-car"..middle goes into Brian May kind of harmonies..echoes Riverside awesome song!..builds..dynamics..layers..proggy..the rhythm from the horns work really well..add a jazzy or ethnic element.."rides from the countryside..rising uo from above..I am the sun!"..more falsetto and multipart vocal harmonies...uplifting song. Sweetest Secret..more of the Thomas Dolby synth-driven 80's pop sound on this one...'ALL OF THAT TIIIIIIIIIME..GONE TO WASTE".."LEAVE ME ALONE..WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE" Trank - mellow synth interlude Will I Live - like someone whose lost and wondering if this is the end for them, or just a transition..nice strings at the end. I love the melodic themes in this album.."Hot Kathy" for one has a melody that sticks in your head. "Make Forever Last Forever" and the lyric "Riders on the Storm" is another..As much as there are similarities to other artists, I really don't think there is anything quite like this band. Concept/Story: 2 factions perhaps on the Moon? or a Moon maybe. The Apes or Organic life, and the Androids or Mechanical/Technological/Artifical Life..some of it metaphor..a class struggle. The vocals sound computer/synthesized intentionally at times to perhaps illustrate how the Androids would talk or sound. The whole Man-and-Machine story. 9/10
Okay, I spun this album twice and I just have to say that in my opinion it has no flow whatsoever and I don't really dig any of the songs except for Make Forever Last Forever because the rhythm section reminds me of Stevie Wonder. My advice would be to avoid this album because it has way too many stupid segues and none of the music is all that great.
meh..for 1 as I wrote in the 3rd sentence of the review, it's very much of a "grower"..i.e. it may not click with people right away anyway...including how well it flows. People should check it out just for the outstanding track "Riverside" alone. That's one of the best, most uplifting songs of 2008. I had people I exchanged mixes with, tell me that anyway.
You say it's a grower but I honestly can't see anyone listening to this album more than twice unless there's something mentally wrong with them. Worst album I've heard all year. Different strokes, I guess.
I came in hear just to post my love for riverside. Fucking great reccomendation man, i am fucking loving this album!! Sometimes it sort of reminds me of newer Of Montreal, which is fucking sweet.
Crypt..that's great to hear. I honestly have not heard too much Of Montreal, although I know them of course as being 1 of the bands on the Elephant 6 label. But I haven't invested much time with them as opposed to some of the others like The Apples In Stereo and Olivia Tremor Control. But would also not agree that this is an album that is rewarding to hear through multiple times? I just love records like that, as opposed to ones that I love at 1st and then kind of tire of over time. It's moved to my #1 disc of the year this week. For some reason, it actually *feels* like an Album of the Year, whereas the others on my list don't quite. Maybe because it's a concept or rock opera has something to do with that.
I have only given it 3 or 4 spins so far, but I am really really enjoying it. I dunno, I guess it was exactly what I was looking for. For me the album did click straight away though, and with every listen it seems to keep getting better! I think you should check out the Of Montreal album "Hissing Fauna, are you the Destroyer" Soundscape. The albums aren'tall that similar really, but you can sorta hear similarities. If that makes sense.
hey man..I finally checked out that Of Montreal album..and I can follow why you'd compare it in an odd way. They do have similarities in some of the vocal experiments and just the twists and unusual compositions. A couple of tracks on that album were quite good..some of it I might guess could require a few times playing to digest as their singer is quite odd (not unlike A&A's I suppose)..some of it has a big ELO-vibe to it. I can see why they are on the Elephant 6 label..they maybe are in between Apples in Stereo and Olivia Tremor..not quite as catchy or accessible and Apples, but not quite as avant as Olivia Tremor..I'm gonna have to go back to it more now.
I was going to check this out from one of my usual sources, and I found something a little odd. The person has it labeled quite clearly as a 2006 album, and this is the tracklisting he has posted. 1. Blood Moon I 2. Make Forever Last Forever 3. Golden Prize 4. Bad Kind of Wetness 5. Hot Kathy 6. We Don't Understand You 7. Radio 8. And Now... 9. Nights of the Week 10. Sweetest Secret 11. Johnny & Sarah 12. Will I Live 13. Trank 14. Doyle is Dead 15. Imaginary Friends 16. Locked in a Car 17. Riverside 18. Blood Moon II I can't be the only one who thinks this tracklisting makes a hell of a lot more sense than what appears to be the tracks arranged alphabetically and split in two. In fact, everything makes more sense this way. EDIT: This is also the tracklisting on iTunes. Why does EVERYWHERE ELSE (RYM, blogs, this topic) have the track listing wrong?
I NEVER want to stop dancing when Golden Prize is playing. Never. edit @ soundscape: yeah i think the biggest similarities are in the vocal melodies too.
because the leaked version, the tracklist was wrong. Trust me, I've been over this many times. The tracklist on my review/the promos WAS WRONG. Not the 1st time it's happened..I just wish the people who get these promos would be a bit more aware of that when they leak these things.
the track list has been corrected btw on rym. I found 2 unreleased songs online by them via last.fm and couple other links. "Creepy Girls" and "Endless Dream" Some Halloween gigs lined up..I am likely going to fly to see them if they don't announce a tour in the next 6 months.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNIGdQzmYlM"]YouTube - Part 1 - It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia cast members Interview Apes and Androids[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iangh9zS8hI"]YouTube - Part 2 - It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Interview Apes and Androids[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP3STvvjHXo"]YouTube - Part 3 - It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia cast members Interview Apes and Androids[/ame] just noticed this interview..the guys from the tv show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" are big fans. And 1 thought is they may cover "Day Man" ..even moreso now with knowing those 2 guys.
I'm definitely getting a Cars / Police vibe from these guys. Listening through now for my first time, and I think it's interesting
yeah they definitely have an 80's sound/influence. They're big fans of Michael Jackson for example. Thomas Dolby, Talking Heads, etc. So a Police and Cars comparison definitely isn't surprising.
http://www.hilfigerdenim.com/gb_en/#/artists/page/apes-&-androids u can watch a set on with what i think is a new song. i guess they played at some tommy hilfiger thing
thanks for sharing that link. Yeah they did. Creepy Girls Hot Kathy New Song Sweetest Secret We Don't Understand You the new song had a kind of 80's Dance element too it. The key solo almost reminded me of Marillion from that period. I think that performance was taken from 1 of the shows they played in the UK last April. I'd love to find out more of what they are up to, as their web presence over the last 6 months has been pretty quiet. Kind of funny as I know they are kind of big into Halloween. Last night I attended a concert with this dude who I've kind of turned on to A&A's named Jordan. He plays (and writes) in a couple of local bands in MN, called Total Babe and We Valedictorians. Both of those groups were on the bill last night, and especially We Valedictorians, very much reminded me of A&A's in their look: Facepaint, bandanas, etc. And even some of their style being kind of a wall-of-sound. Violin, Oboe, 2 drummers at times, vocal harmonies, etc. I got to chat with Jordan afterwards and he mentioned turning his girlfriend onto A&A's as well. He's just a senior in HS, so where he goes as a musician in the future is up in the air, but it's pretty cool to notice someone whose pursuing music that is being inspired/influenced by them as well.
Fuck, the Golden Prize video was up again for like, a fucking week, and then it was removed, again. GAHHHH EDIT: That Go have it on their webpage, but it requires a password to view via the Vimeo link because the video is "private." Soundscape, do you know what the deal is with this jackoffery? What's the deal with this video that makes it such a secret that it has to be taken down and hidden from everyone (me especially)? http://that-go.net/goldenprize/goldenprize.html password my cock.
it wasn't posted anywhere, but I'm as in the dark as you are Schwang. The only thing I may be able to do is contact the creators, the guys from That Go and ask. My guess would be they got permission to host it *privately* from Brian and David. There's got to be some kind of issue those guys have with it being online. Either they didn't like it, or they don't want the world to see it due to them being broken up. Or maybe somehow they are at odds for some reason with the That Go guys. That's just a guess. But even when they were active as a band, they were not very active online, so some of it could be just to being incommunicado.
I'm thinking it could have something to do with That Go using the Golden Prize video as a submission to SXSW. I think they're changing it around a tad, maybe even a full re-imaging, and Bill Clinton is allegedly in the video (although that could be a joke). Either way, it could just be motivation for more people to see the video via the festival rather than just online.
yeah, I was just thinking there may be something they could get sued for in the video. A copyright of some sort.
Nights of the Week demo I just stumbled upon. Not much different than the BM version, but it wouldn't surprise me if pretty much the entire album was demo-ed before it came out given how long a gap it was between the CFP debut album "These Are the Plans" and Blood Moon's release. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOFrhp19w0E"]YouTube- Call Florence Pow: Nights of the week[/ame]
yeah I know . I was listening to the Call Florence Pow stuff this week, and that ep "Strange Situation" is absolutely perfect. I can only imagine how much more music they wrote or could write together. It almost got me motivated, today, to start writing some new music myself that would be in the tradition of their sound. I just wish there was more of their music to be made and heard.
Call Florence Pow was Apes And Androids founding members Brian Jacobs and David Tobias, previous band (name) going back over 10 years ago. They made 1 LP, "These Are the Plans" (2000) and an EP "The Strange Situation" (2002). [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsVkVcbXbIo"]YouTube- Prangstgrup Public Hygiene[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOGOb38ySCU"]YouTube- Apes & Androids- Creepy Girls[/ame]
(bump) Way back in the day, I busted out this album on a weekend. Everyone was impressed and we had a dance party.
this is only loosely related, but check out this blog. I was actually wondering if it was some kind of music tribute or something, but even for what they did, I find it cool enough.
someone involved with SXSW has the video ovbiously. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU3GzY4kFWM"]YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.[/ame] also Brian Jacobs mentioned a few months ago doing solo work under the name "majestyy" http://majestyy.com/
