Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti are set to release their new album, Mature Themes, August 21st on 4AD. The first single, "Baby", is a soul cover of Donnie and Joe Emerson's "Baby," and also features guest vocals from Dâm-Funk, who is opening some tour dates. Ariel has said that Mature Themes will be similar to Before Today sonically, but more diverse.
You can't find much press on Suckers. After a very strong EP and LP (self-titled and Wild Smile, respectively), people took notice of the band. But after the obligatory "Brooklyn-based," details get scarce real quick. Some might mention that they have a pretty solid live show. Some might pull out the name of their vocalist, Quinn Walker. But how many have listened to his fever dream double album, Laughter's an Asshole/Lion Land? What about the albums he put out for ten years before that?
Until Suckers, Quinn Walker was a bedroom project in the vein of Ariel Pink or R. Stevie Moore, making album after album of similarly warped music (with more of a freak folk lean), burning it on CD-Rs, and mailing it out to fans who wrote him. You can't find these albums on RateYourMusic or What.cd, and you can't find his stuff on Youtube (beware of that other Quinn Walker who had a song on Scrubs). I've got a stack of these discs, and while most of them aren't worth searching out, they do give you an idea of where Suckers is coming from. Any fan of Suckers should at least check out Laughter's an Asshole/Lion Land. I'm sure the band will continue to move away from their roots towards a poppier, more accessible sound, as they've done on Candy Salad. And they'll no doubt find more success in that. But Suckers will always be that weirdo on Music That Fears for It's Life and This Umbrella Doesn't Work and People Are Full of Blood to me.
I don't normally post NSFW tags because you should be working and not looking at videos on the internet, but this one is kind of gross. I didn't want to listen to a band called Black Bananas, but this album is actually kinda rad. (It's called Rad Times Xpress IV, so I guess I should have suspected that...) I'm not sure how to describe this album yet, though I guess you could call it psych rock, and I'd draw comparisons to Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Tame Impala, Dungen, Ariel Pink, and a healthy dose of Ween.
I recently learned of R. Stevie Moore (or finally took notice of his name being tossed around) from a review of John Maus's new album, We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. R. Stevie Moore is a weird cat. He's the best kind of weird -- the kind who records freaky drug-damaged pop music in his basement for decades and self-releases it on hundreds of cassette tapes and CD-Rs. If you've ever heard Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, you'll realize as soon as you watch these videos that Ariel basically owes his career to this guy. (BTW, John Maus apparently played keyboard for both Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti AND Animal Collective in the past. If you dig Ariel Pink, check out John Maus as well -- you won't be disappointed.)
R. Stevie Moore has been self-releasing music since 1968, and he's just now going on his first tour in 2011. Sadly, it looks like I got into his music about 20 days too late, as he came through my area last month. Let's hope this first tour isn't his last.
Check out some songs from these upcoming shows in Portland. Then maybe buy a ticket. They all cost less than $15, so why not?
Warpaint // A killer female quartet that makes gorgeous psychedelic rock. They're even better live than they are on record. I was transfixed at their show at the Holocene a few months ago, and I can't wait to see them again. Don't miss it. Warpaint - Billie Holiday
Destroyer // One of many bands of the prolific Dan Bejar (see also: The New Pornographers, Swan Lake). Their 9th album, Kaputt, is one of 2011's best releases so far. This show should be a good one -- Kurt Vile's band, The War on Drugs, is opening. I listen to Kurt Vile's solo project a lot more than The War on Drugs (Kurt Vile's 'Smoke Rings for My Halo' is another early AOTY contender), but I can't see them disappointing. Destroyer - Chinatown
Toro y Moi // On Toro y Moi's second record, they shed the chillwave production and do disco instead. See the MJ-esque "New Beat" for proof. Another excellent 2011 release. Toro y Moi - New Beat
SALEM // Alright, to be honest, this show might be straight up awful. No, not might be, it's going to be. But I want to be their to see the shitshow. Check out this infamous video from SXSW, where SALEM let everyone know that their 'Yes I Smoke Crack' EP wasn't just a clever title. Damn that's embarrassing. SALEM - King Night
(To be fair, their sound was messed up and it doesn't work without the effects. At all. 'King Night' was actually a pretty good album.)
Unknown Mortal Orchestra // Next to nothing is known about them, except that they're from Portland, they made their live debut just a few days ago, and this song is pretty damn good. The rest of their EP sounds like early Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, and you can't go wrong with that as far as I'm concerned. They're opening for Starfucker, and the show's only $5. I wouldn't miss it. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Ffunny Ffriends
Check the right bar for more info on these shows. Go the venue's homepage to look up prices and buy tickets. If you're short on cash, it's cheaper to buy from the venue's box office or Jackpot Records.
