Review: The Hush Now | Constellations [MP3]

Spoiler Alert: As one inevitably approaches his fortieth or fiftieth listen to the opening cut on The Hush Now's sophomore set -- because it is that good -- the revelation strikes that the pulsing flow of the lyrics to "Contrails" suggests Chuck D's in the greatest hip-hop song of all time, "Don't Believe The Hype" ("they can't come on and play me in prime time..."). That tangent aside, vocals and keyboard tower over the other elements of "Contrails," and we wish someone had depressed the "Superchunk Guitars" button during the mixing session for that track. We can't help but wonder if The Hush Now's songwriter and guitarist Noel Kelly pondered hard over the decision and chose the lighter (and probably more radio-friendly) touch as part of an effort to spread the band's musical wings more broadly on Constellations, The Hush Now's wonderfully realized new collection. Its 10 songs are rife with arrangement and production surprises that increase the dimensions of the band's already formidable amalgamation of British(-style) guitar pop inflected with '70s AM Gold harmonies.

Not the least of these surprises is the stirring bridge in "Contrails," featuring -- E.L.O.-style, and we believe from the mouth of Mr. Kelly's brother -- an operatic vocal solo almost mystically summoning a final giant chorus. Said chorus is further punctuated by a bright trumpet line that charts the front end of a nice contrast to the darker, more bouncing title track that follows. "Constellations" noticeably percolates with similar energy to "Traditions," a highlight of the band's first long-player [live clip of the former track here]. There's a surprisingly soulful horn solo in "Thorns," as well, floating above a spray of delayed guitar that recalls The Cure's Disintegration or The Kitchens Of Distinction's finer moments. The album's first rough edges don't appear until the crackling opening of "All You've Said And Done," although here again the vocals tamp down the big guitars once the lyrics kick in. Later, that song dissolves into 90 beautiful seconds of strings and feedback and accordion that is among the most impressive things to spring from the mind of Mr. Kelly so far. Then "Fireflies" opens with banjo. Such production flairs could easily present as kitschy, pile up and cloud the underlying music, but Kelly and his cohort ably massage them into Constellations so that nothing sounds tacked on at whim. Such remarkable facility with arrangement and production may be the band's biggest surprise of all.

Beyond the broader palette, the new collection isn't that different a beast from The Hush Now's solid self-titled debut (both created with the production assistance of The Mighty Lemon Drops' David Newton). And so Kelly's five-year plan, first detailed here, pushes on. The first single from Constellations, "Hoping And Waiting," is already scratching certain radio charts. The Hush Now's biggest challenge at the moment may be securing a lead guitarist to promote the record this fall, as its most recent six-string-slinger left the fold earlier this month as live commitments are starting to fall into place. However, for a band whose history encompasses a car crash and a flood, fans know it is unwise to count out The Hush Now. Constellations will be self-released by the band Oct. 13.

The Hush Now -- "Hoping And Waiting" -- Constellations
[right click and save as]
[buy Hush Now music right here]

The Hush Now: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Previous Hush Now Coverage:

YouTube Rodeo: The Hush Now's "Constellations"
Today's Hotness: The Hush Now
Back To Now: The Hush Now Interview With Noel Kelly
In The Studio With... The Hush Now
Review: The Hush Now -- The Hush Now

Muxtape No. 11: You Better Memorize This Face

[ART: C. Jones] And here we are up to Muxtape No. 11, which -- if we say so ourselves -- benefits greatly from a recent spree of ripping CDs to the new laptop. It's been far too long since we had listened to the entirety of the Owls and American Football records, both just exemplary from end to end. You can sit back and listen to the Muxtape at this link, and our musings regarding same are below.

1. Superchunk -- "Seed Toss" -- Tossing Seeds: Singles 89-91
(This is arguably the best Superchunk song, although we do entertain arguments in favor of "Makeout Bench" and "On The Mouth," which of course was not found on the album of that name but on the single for "Mower." Fuzz bass. Stand-offish Mac. Now that we think about it, "On The Mouth" is such a barn burner here's an MP3 of it. Right click and save as: Superchunk -- "On The Mouth" -- Incidental Music; buy Incidental Music from Newbury Comics here.)

2. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead -- "Relative Ways" -- Source Tags & Codes
(This record was an atom bomb when it came out. Is there a line that looms larger in the Trail Of Dead pantheon than "It's OK, I'm a saint, I forgave your mistake?" Maybe. This record still holds up, although listening back to it we are struck with how loud the majority of it is. With all the discussion of listeners getting fatigued from listening to records mastered so loudly, it makes us wonder if that is why Source Tags & Codes fell out of favor with us for a couple years.)

3. Flin Flon -- "Rimouski" -- Chicoutimi
(Bass bass bass bass, bass bass bass bass, bass bass bass bass, bass bass bass bass. While we'd like to leave it at that, it is hard not to acknowledge the dizzying panning of the guitar at the very end. Sorry to detract from your spotlight, bass.)

4. Robert Fripp & David Byrne -- "Under Heavy Manners" -- God Save The King
(More bass and guitar, but different. A blog posted this a few years back, and it never fails to blow us away when we hear it. Byrne's performance in particular, commencing with the demented clarion call "Trumpets! I can hear trumpets!," is a delight to aurally behold.)

5. Bridges And Powerlines -- "The Maine" -- Ghost Types
(The tempo and stabby guitar at the beginning of this track somehow make this transition work. We've said it before, but we'll note again that the singer for this outfit has a voice that really reminds us of Robert Pollard. This one's got a big chorus and that sneaks up on you. With headphones on an acoustic guitar emerges in the left channel, and the drum production makes us think -- weirdly, of course -- of "Out Of Touch" by Hall & Oates. But then again, as a child of the golden age of MTV (truly, this actually had a golden age, we know it is hard to believe), Hall & Oates are frequently on our mind.)

6. Owls -- "Everyone Is My Friend" -- Owls
(Victor Villareal schools all guitarists on Owls' only long-player released five years or so ago. So much nuance, so much texture, so much melody. One album where the awesome song titles are actually matched by the quality of the songs. The set also features some of the best Kinsella lyrics. To whit: "I've been inventing you, and I continue inventing you.")

7. Night Of The Brain -- "The Theme" -- Wear This World Out
(The indie rock act of Super Collider's Cristian Vogel. This track is from an album that came out a little over a year ago, when we wrote "'The Theme' is very strong, a dreamy tune driven by a thumping bass line and draped with various computer-crafted textures.)

8. Lilys -- "Colorful Acts" -- The Lilys
(The Lilys was released in the UK and largely correlates with the U.S. release Precollections. That said, mixes are different and there are a couple different tracks, including this one. Nice drum production here. The hi-hat and an acoustic guitar are perfectly layered. Some surprisingly funky bass licks in part here. There's no overt hook in "Colorful Acts," but the whole thing works because, well, it's Heasley.)

9. All About Chad -- "I Can't Sleep" -- Something Pretty Beautiful compilation
(Here's a hook. We took to this track instantly when All About Chad's Down In Front was issued on Big Pop in the mid-'90s, but only when You Shall Know Our Discography posted this compilation did we realize that it had seen earlier release. Nothing too fancy, just good indie pop. We like when he sings "and I count the voices in my head, the sirens in the street...".)

10. American Football -- "Never Meant" -- American Football
(An excellent record we had forgotten about a bit. Tons of guitar. We're not sure if the words "honest" or "honestly" is in this song, but the words are repeated throughout the record and continually reinforce the earnest-and-sad-indie-boy tone throughout. We love the drums on this too, particularly the warm decay of the toms after the little opening pile-up. And when that very high clean guitar lick comes in at what must be the chorus, it is transformative. Goosebumps. Genius.)

11. Bonnie "Prince" Billy -- "Untitled" -- The Letting Go
(The final track to this set, which we finally purchased in a fit of post-"Old Joy" pro-Oldham sentiment. We probably react to this song most strongly because it reminds us most of the great Oldham records from the mid-'90s we love so much. Also, this sounds like The Dirty Three at first. And then there is the untidy but affecting staggered pairing of the vocal and guide vocal. There is a lot going on in this track, but it is still probably at least 50% silence.)

12. E.L.O. -- "Can't Get It Out Of My Head" -- Greatest Hits Vol. 2
(And somehow this sums it all up. A great Jeff Lynne ballad. This record was one of the three primary cassettes that were ever-present in the family car as we grew up, and all the frequent drives to get allergy shots from our pediatrician run together into one long memory of ELO, Don McLean and Frank Sinatra. We also recall one of our brothers changing the word "head" to "butt" at one point. Oh, the comedy of young boys.)

Today's Hotness: New Pornographers, A-Sides, Dirty On Purpose

>> We're back. The Zappa bio we said we'd be reading? Superlative. Chock full of interesting information, and doesn't go out of its way to make Frank Zappa appear any greater or lesser of a man than he was. The Lydon bio? Pretty good. We think our primary qualm with it is the presentation -- the prose seems to be solely comprised of transcribed recordings, which results in very choppy sentences. It helps to imagine Lydon, who fronted both Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd., speaking the words, and you do get used to it after a while. Still, would it have killed Lydon to have succumbed to great editorial oversight? Actually, given what we read, perhaps it would. Anyhow. Both books are well worth reading.

>> That relative silence you'll hear this week belies the preparation going into what will be a torrent of amazing releases this fall: Interpol, New Pornographers, Spoon, A-Sides, Meneguar, and on and on and on. Right now it seems like we don't have a lot on our plate (the vacation helped), but we expect things are going to be crazy and full of excellent music between now and the end of October. We can't wait.

>> Let's just come out and say it: if you like the peppy new New Pornographers promo track "My Rights Versus Yours," then you will like '70s pop sensations E.L.O.'s "Turn To Stone." The New Pornographers' new set Challengers will be released Aug. 21; Electric Light Orchestra released "Turn To Stone" on Out Of The Blue in 1977. And -- because one of our favorite Philadelphia-based bands just did a WOXY Lounge Act session and will release their sophomore album soon -- let's talk about The A-Sides for a minute. First of all, hit the link supra and grab the band's WOXY session, which includes new tracks from the band's long awaited sophomore set Silver Storms [Vagrant] including "Diamonds." Speaking of "Diamonds," Spinner recently published here a link to an MP3 of the album version of the track (we detest the term "leak" when the track hasn't actually "leaked" in the traditional sense of the term, sorry AOL Music Indi... errrr... Spinner). The song is awesome -- stop at nothing to acquire it. Anyway, if you like British shoegaze dynamo Ride's "Nowhere" (the albumer ender, not the album itself), then you will like The A-Sides' "Here Or There," the album ender from the latter band's debut Hello, Hello. Here's an MP3 and a few streams to illustrate our assertions above.

New Pornographers -- "My Rights Versus Yours" -- Challengers
[right click and save as]
[pre-order one of the various versions of Challengers right here]

[Imeem player removed.]

>> Shoegazy Brooklyn foursome Dirty On Purpose report it is recording an EP with a duo whose production credits include drone rockers Dead Meadow, noise merchants Liars and The National, a band everyone likes but us. An email from Dirty On Purpose states the new recordings sound "like when you're in a room and a loud rock band is playing and it's awesome." Sounds pretty great to us. No word on a release date. Dirty On Purpose's Sleep Late For A Better Tomorrow EP and full-length Hallelujah Sirens were released on North Street in 2004 and 2006, respectively; the label will also release the planned EP.

>> Stars are aligning. It would seem, according to a MySpace missive, that Birmingham, UK noise pop trio Johnny Foreigner have gotten on one of Meneguar's fall tour dates in the UK (posted here, lest you forget). That will be one hot show in Cambridge, England Oct. 4. Now if only we could figure out a reason for our day job to send us to England that week... Meneguar releases its long-anticipated sophomore set Strangers In Our House on Troubleman Unlimited in August. Remember before vacation when we said we didn't know how "limited" the pressing of the European release of the set on Release The Bats would be? Well, our old friend Google reveals only 500 copies were pressed. You can see the track listing and cover art right here.

Today's Hotness: Mendoza Line, A-Sides, Spoon, Fields

>> The biggest surprise of the day was news that indie rock journeypersons The Mendoza Line are playing several shows this week; we've posted all four of the dates below. Needless to say we'll be seeing the show. But given the recent tumult within the band [which we noted here], we're not sure who we'll be seeing besides guitarist and singer Tim Bracy. We are excited to see a set of all Bracy compositions -- his songs have always been our favorites of those penned by three songwriters (although Peter Hoffman's "Baby, I Know What You're Thinking" is also a favorite). What's left of the Mendoza Line in the wake of Bracy's split with singer-songwriter Shannon McArdle will release Aug. 21 the mini-album 30 Year Low along with a companion disc The Final Remarks Of The Legendary Malcontent. In all there's 26 tracks of new tunes, covers and alternative takes. We're excited to hear it. Here are those tour dates:

05.22 -- Philadelphia PA -- World Cafe Live
05.23 -- Hoboken NJ -- Maxwell's
05.24 -- Boston MA -- Lizard Lounge
05.25 -- Providence RI -- AS220

>> Well, they hinted about it early in the day here, and then Philebrity broke the news here at the end of the day. All of which means that the A-Sides have finally disclosed that they have signed to Vagrant, which we first posted here in January after seeing the news at HerJazz. Anyway, the band has several shows booked in the near future, and its long-awaited sophomore set Silver Storms will be released Aug. 28.

06.20 –- Dark Horse Tavern -- State College, PA
06.22 –- Schuba’s Tavern -- Chicago, IL
06.23 –- Continental Block Party -- Chicago, IL
07.20 –- Xponential Music Festival -- Camden, NJ

>> That piano riff in the recently available-ized and awesome Spoon tune "The Ghost Of You Lingers" really reminds us of that Billy Joel hit "Pressure." Just sayin'. So obviously the Spoon record leaked -- so why can't we pre-order it? We'd buy this record five times -- it is our favorite Spoon record of them all. There's something about the skeletal tunes made bombastic with rich Motown-ish production that makes every song a victory. In all the glorious melodicism we even hear shades of E.L.O., who we've been talking about much too much lately. And the tune "The Underdog" sounds a bit like Thin Lizzy, no?

>> Notable Western Mass-based indie trio The Mitchells are on tour. We caught their show at the end of March and reviewed it here, and we reviewed their latest record Slow Gears here. Definitely worth checking out.

05.22 -- The Cake Shop -- New York, NY
05.23 -- The Brighton Bar -- Long Branch, NJ
05.24 -- The Reservoir -- Carrboro, North Carolina
05.26 -- Valentines -- Albany, NY
05.27 -- Great Scott -- Allston, MA
06.01 -- The Elevens -- Northampton, MA
06.29 -- Paper City Brewery -- Holyoke, MA

>> There's something about the animated figures in Fields new animated video for the revamped version of "Song For The Fields" that makes us think of the animated dood in the videos for Judas Priest's "Locked In" and "Turbo Lover." Check 'em out.

>> Our new favorite podcast? Keep Hope Inside. We like how the host explains where towns are situated in the UK when referring to them, because our knowledge of the geography over there is virtually non-existent. Here's the Keep Hope Inside blog where there's information to get all set up with the podcast.

That Was The Show That Was: Fields | Blonde Redhead

The story goes that in the early '80s fans turned their backs on superlative Birmingham, England-based pop band Electric Light Orchestra after feeling betrayed because much of the E.L.O.'s live show was produced by pre-recorded tapes. Or at least we think that's how it goes. Fast forward a quarter century or so. We recently read somewhere that indie rock stalwarts Blonde Redhead were using lots of backing tracks on their current tour. When we saw the band headlining a bill over English upstarts Fields (coincidentally also hailing in part from Birmingham) Wednesday night we felt it was only necessary to see three songs of what was too close to Blonde Redhead karaoke before looking for the door. We do enjoy the band's latest set 23, but we didn't feel like seeing the music performed as it appeared the trio intended to was going to inspire us much. And, of course, "LOST" was about to come on...

Fortunately for us, it was Fields that we were primarily interested in. The band formed only last year, were the subject of an allegedly heated bidding war among certain labels, and ultimately signed to Warner. This was the quintet's first North American tour, and to hear the band tell it (and play it), their performances in New York and Boston were plagued by sound problems. We can certainly attest to the problems Wednesday at Boston's Paradise Rock Club. More problematic than Þórunn Antonía's keyboard's rising and falling through the mix in the first few songs was the fact that lead guitarist Jamie Putnam's amplifier flat-out died. Eventually charismatic fronter Nick Peill requested a DI box, and by the middle of Fields' too-short set the band had rebounded, but it was hard not to feel like the band had missed an opportunity to win some new fans.

From our preferred Paradise perch in the balcony we observed an audience standing still as the band struggled to hit a groove. Finally, once Mr. Putnam's sound issues were addressed, there was discernible movement among the potential converts. As Fields began a woman asked us who the opening act was. This was a bit surprising to us, not because we expected there to be a lot of Fields fans in Boston, but because we expected there might be *some*. After all, the show was sold out, and, well, we just find it hard to believe that Blonde Redhead is selling out the Paradise on a Wednesday. Sure, their catalog is impressive. But we don't think many of the fans at the show that night were familiar with highlights of the band's catalog such as "Jetstar" or the incredible 1995 album La Mia Vita Violenta. Anyway, kudos to the trio, because clearly the club was packed because of them.

Time was Blonde Redhead rocked like rock was going out of style. We saw the band two or three times when they were supporting La Mia Vita Violenta and the shows were spine-tingling, with twins Simone and Amedeo Pace and bassist Maki Takahashi (who has long since left the band) laying down hypnotic grooves and jagged guitar lines while singer as guitarist Kazu Makino dropped jaws with electrifying vocal performances. We felt no tingle Wednesday, although the rest of the audience gazed on enrapt.

Anyway, back to Fields. The (surprisingly diminutive, save for Mr. Putnam) band tried to open strong with its two biggest numbers. "If You Fail, We All Fail" from the new records impressively sequed into the older cut "Brittlesticks," but the band's sound issues took much of the sonic wind from its figurative sails initially. However, once the problems were sorted the band caught fire, leading up to a paint-peeling version of "Song For The Fields." Perhaps the band rocked so hard because they felt they had to overcome earlier setbacks, but we'll take it. After streaming Fields' debut full length Everything Last Winter (stream below), and after watching the band's video for "If You Fail, We All Fail," we became concerned that the band had lost a lot of the darkness and grit that was present on their excellent 7 From The Village EP (reviewed here) in favor of sonic gloss and sharp dress. Our fears were put to rest as the band stormed to the conclusion of its program. Fields has a week's worth of dates remaining on its visit to the continent, and we've posted the balance of them at the bottom of this item. In the meantime, check out an MP3 of "If You Fail..." and a full stream of the band's debut below. We took a handful of very bad photos of Fields' performance -- check them out here.

Fields -- "If You Fail, We All Fail" -- Everything Last Winter
[right click and save as; stream selections from the record at Rhapsody here]

Fields: InterWeb | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr
Blonde Redhead: Interweb | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

05.12 -- Club Soda -- Montreal, Quebec
05.14 -- Drake Underground -- Toronto, Ontario
05.15 -- Lager House -- Detroit, Michigan
05.16 -- Empty Bottle -- Chicago, Illinois
05.18 -- Union Hall -- Brooklyn, New York
05.19 -- Mercury Lounge -- New York City, New York