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You know indie rock has reached full maturity when longtime genre protagonists are forming "supergroups." Well, that and Arcade Fire winning a Grammy, Pitchfork holding its own music festival, Pavement reuniting, Pomplamoose performing in car commercials, etc.
Merge Records Jonny features Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake, left, and Euros Childs, formerly of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. Childs: "Why don't we record some music together, Norman?" Blake: Why, that's a fine idea, my friend!"
Guess what comes after maturity, kids? The inevitable decline... so best to enjoy your favorite musical style while it lasts!
Here's a couple of distinctive debut discs from indie supergroups to help you do just that.
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If there were ever an artist who has passed the half-century mark in age and is making new works every bit as engaging, if not more so, than what was created in their so-called "prime," it has to be Nick Cave.
Steve Gullick / NickCaveandtheBadSeeds.com Nick Cave, third from left, and The Bad Seeds
Well, we can throw Bob Dylan and his last few releases in there, too... but damned, if this Cave mofo ain't on a roll! And a multi-faceted one at that. Since turning the big 5-0 in 2007, he's churned out his second novel, screenplays, soundtracks and a fantastic sophomore album with side-project Grinderman, not to mention his ongoing efforts with longtime band The Bad Seeds, for which he is most noted. Check out our coverage of all of the above, here, here and here.
Like Dylan, the strength of Cave's back catalog makes this feat that much more impressive. For proof, we now have the third set of reissues of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' 14-disc studio album catalog, taking us from album eight through 11. On these four discs, Cave matures into a songwriter that can not only approach the stature of his inspirations -- Cash, Cohen, Dylan -- but justifiably place himself on a pedestal alongside them.
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| British rockers The Horrors |
New albums reach my desktop pretty much every day -- it's a neat little privilege of being a music writer. Some are from bands I know, some from bands I've never heard of. More so, some are bands with silly names that cry "Oh, please PLEASE don't listen to this record." New York indie rockers Hooray For Earth have just a name. Thankfully for me, their music instantly hooked me, turning me into their biggest fan after a mere three songs.
Hooray For Earth
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| Stream The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's Belong right now |
It's become a cliché for music journalists to write "pity poor Ron Sexsmith" stories about how wonderful the Canadian singer-songwriter is and how it's a crime that he doesn't sell more records.
ShoreFire Media Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith has just released a new album and its creation is the subject of a new documentary film.
It's only a cliché because it's true.
With his eleventh studio album, Long Player Late Bloomer, in stores now, Sexsmith marks two decades since his recording debut. Over that time, he's amassed a catalog of sparkling, melodic and lyrically potent songs that can stand toe-to-toe with anyone's in terms of quality, yet he remains virtually unknown outside a devoted cult following.
Yeah, it's a downright shame, but what are you gonna do?
If you're Sexsmith, you might try something drastic -- like making your new record with producer Bob Rock, a fellow Canadian best known for his mega-selling work with Metallica and Motley Crue (but who has also manned the boards for crooner Michael Buble).
To paraphrase what John Lennon said of Chuck Berry and apply it to Bob Marley's impact on his chosen musical genre, one could easily opine: "If you tried to give reggae another name, you might call it 'Bob Marley.'"
Universal Music
Approaching the 30th anniversary of the Legend's death on May 11, his towering, iconic stature still puts all other reggae artists in its long shadow and now his last recorded concert performance sees release as Live Forever: The Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA, September 23, 1980.
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