LOVE IT ON TUESDAY: GRIZZLY BEAR

I interviewed Danish band Efterklang about a month ago. Between many interesting things, we talked about Grizzly Bear, cause Efterklang’s label, Rumraket, was responsible for the European release of their debut album in 2004. Efterklang must think it’s very weird that the band they signed as unknowns 5 years ago are now a thousand times more famous than they themselves are. It took 5 years - 3 LPs and 1 EP - for Grizzly Bear to fully develop their sound, but now they got it perfectly and, seriously, listening to Two Weeks, the first single of their new LP Veckatimest, is a shivering experience. Efterklang must seriously try to figure out what they did wrong.

The thing is that Efterklang craft excellent songs too, but their sound is not original enough. I don’t mean to say that a song is better if it’s original. I think that when you listen to a certain song, if it’s good, it’s good, and that’s all it needs. But from the strict point of view of popular success, originality comes as a very important thing. Cause if two bands sound the same, the best of the two will sell everything and the other will sell almost nothing. Efterklang are excellent, but Sigur Ros are better, so they’re the ones who sell a lot. Grizzly Bear are also excellent, and why are they fucking big now? Cause, like Sigur Ros, they’re the best at what they do… and with Veckatimest, Grizzly Bear are actually the best in general.

To be honest, there ain’t a single song that’s not at least good on Vecka – I’m getting familiar with it already. I’ll just shoot the utterly perfect ones, cause otherwise it would be too long. There’s the folky and intense opener Southern Point, the immediately catchy Two Weeks, the cool and relax Cheerleader, the Pitchfork-gave-me-a-perfect-note-on-best-new-tracks While You Wait For The Others and the most perfect closer ever Foreground. But even if it's got some higher points, that's the kind of album that you listen from start to end, again and again and again. I used to think Merriweather Post Pavilion was well in advance in the run for best album of the year, but I have now to say that Veckatimest caught it back.

MIX IT ON THURSDAY: PRIVATE MIX

Last thursday was the first MIX IT ON THURSDAY post, today is the second one. This week, I have another 10 minutes mix for you with all recent songs, except Private Eyes by Hall & Oates which is like the song that ties all the others together. You'll see that I've got tired of electro bangers: these are all relatively relax - but still dancy - songs. Personally, I think this mix is better than last week's, but you would probably know better: please let me know your appreciation in the comments section.

Download: MIX IT ON THURSDAY - Private Mix

Hall & Oates - Private Eyes

Das Glow - I Wanna Wake Up With You

Passion Pit - The Reeling (Calvin Harris Remix)

Phoenix - Lisztomania (Alex Metric Remix)

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks (Fred Falke Extended Remix)

LOVE IT ON TUESDAY: PASSION PIT

Download: Passion Pit - Little Secrets Buy it on

For those who don’t follow the musical actuality, I can tell you Passion Pit is considered by many the most exciting new band of the year. With their EP Chunk Of Change, they brought to the world the music all the hipsters were waiting for, a melodic and exciting indie rock that also sounds like soft electro. One of the best examples of this is their amazing single Sleepyhead, that got hundreds of remixes and that is already considered an indie classic. You won’t be surprised that their debut LP Manners, released today, is one of the most anticipated album of the year.

Unfortunately, what was meant to happen happened: their new album is a bit of a disappointment. What is sad about this is that it’s not a question of work or talent, but more like a question of timing. Let me explain myself with the example of Justice. They got known gradually with We Are Your Friends in 2006 and when they were already in the spotlight, they hit the homerun with D.A.N.C.E. almost exactly year later. People were not only amazed, but surprised too, and when they heard the whole album, it was too much, they jizzed in their pants.

Passion Pit had to make something better than Sleepyhead, and though they nearly succeeded with The Reeling and especially Little Secrets, they fell short. And the album? There are as many good tracks on this 11-tracks LP as on their 6-tracks EP (meaning 6). It's kinda ridiculous cause if I would hear this sound for the first time, I’d probably write something like: ‘Wow this band is very promising, I will check them out in the future’. But that didn't happen and now I'm disappointed. So please do me a favour if you're unfamiliar with the band: listen to Manners first and then to Chunk Of Change. The order will be restored.

MIX IT ON THURSDAY: SPACEWALK MIX

Here’s a short mix I made for you guys, with mostly songs that got out very recently.

Download: MIX IT ON THURSDAY - Spacewalk Mix

Deadmau5 & Kaskade – I Remember

Lykke Li – Little Bit (Gigamesh Remix)
N.A.S.A – Gifted (Steve Aoki Remix)
Peaches – Show Stopper
The Horrors – Scarlett Field

LOVE IT ON TUESDAY: MAXÏMO PARK

When the best album of the week is a Maxïmo Park album, you know it’s not a great week for music. Well, last week’s best album was by a band in a similar situation, that used to be every other English band too, but succeeded to change its fate with a great second album. However, unlike The Horrors, Maxïmo Park wasn't that successful with Quicken The Heart. The album is fun to listen and all, but it’s pretty far from sounding like an honest work of art.

It doesn’t suprise me at all, cause I’ve seen Maxïmo Park live two years ago at Osheaga and it was as boring as a metro ride. The singer was funny cause he was stoned, but musically, the performance sucked. It’s probably more a question of commitment in music than a question of talent though, cause these guys made pretty good songs like Graffiti and Apply Some Pressure in the past. I don't know, maybe they should just stop smoking weed.

There are still some cool tracks on Quicken The Heart, like the opening track Wraithlike, that’s got a nice 7/4 verse and a catchy chorus, and The Kids Are Sick Again that is a pretty catchy song even though it's a bit weak for a first single. But the best song is definitely the closer I Haven’t Seen Her In Ages, that is excellent as a British post-punk pastiche. Unfortunately for Maxïmo Park, there are loads of real British post-punk bands to listen to before them.

Download Maxïmo Park - I Haven't Seen Her In Ages Buy it on

LOVE IT ON TUESDAY: THE HORRORS

I always kinda like The Horrors. A few years ago, a friend of mine showed me their debut single Sheena Is A Parasite, he asked me what I thought about it and I recall saying ‘Do you even call that a song?’ Sheena is pure intensity, it’s in fact nothing else than intensity and I think it's exactly what the band wanted it to be. I finally liked it, but there were at the time so many cool UK bands doing this kind of half-experimental/half-pop music that the Horrors kinda hibernated in my subconscious for a while. I wasn’t even aware until recently of their debut called Strange House released in March 2007.

A month ago, I heard their new single Sea Within a Sea that is such a serene piece of music that I wondered for a minute if it wasn’t wrongly attributed to them. But the song lasted and lasted until the 8:00 mark, and since Sheena was less than two minutes - which is unconventionally short -, it makes sense that their new single would be eight minutes – which is unconventionally long. The difference is that while Sheena was just unconventional, Sea is also genius. I want to apologize to these guys for thinking they were just every other English band. Listening to their new album called Primary Colours, I seriously feel like listening to Joy Division, Stone Roses and Buzzcocks altogether. But I don't feel like listening to a tribute: it's fresh, it's intelligent and it’s got everything I'm looking for in music.

The first track Mirror’s Image starts with more than a minute of quiet synthesizers. After a quick pass by a drummer who sounds like he was tired of waiting, the whole band kicks in and doesn't stop being good until the last track. The second half especially stands out as one of the best second halves I’ve heard in many years. Starting with the Joy Divisionesque Scarlett Field, going on with the long and calm I Only Think Of You, the weird and noisy I Can’t Control Myself and the happy nostalgic title track, it ends with the epic first single, Sea Within A Sea, that itself ends in the most beautiful way. I hope Pitchfork’s gonna rate it good, cause otherwise, I think I’ll e-mail to complain.

Download: The Horrors - Mirror's Image Buy it on 

Edmonton?

I was talking to a friend of mine who’s a sound engineer a few hours ago. During the conversation, I happened to ask him what were the weirdest artists he had worked with and one of his answers was the Edmonton-based dance rock band Shout Out Out Out. He didn’t know they were playing tonight at La Sala Rossa, but I guess he would probably prefer to enjoy their weirdness while seeing them live than to endure it while working for them. These guys released their second album called Reintegration Time last month. It's fucked up!

With Smalltown DJs and The Cansecos at Sala Rossa tonight, 15$

Download Bad Choices Buy it on