RegnYouth ArchivesRegnYouth ArchivesThe RegnYouth Archives provides the reading audience with music related selections, reviews, and interviews, introducing new and upcoming artists and bring older, extraordinary artists back into the spotlight. Articles
The Clientele - That Night, a Forest Grew EP
2008-09-15 22:29:00 The slow, strikingly consistent career trajectory of the Clientele away from the gauzy haze of their late ’90s material and into the bright, clear (yet still plenty reverb-y) skies of present day has been one of the more rewarding musical journeys any listener could hope to make in this day and age. Their tiptoeing in ... More About: Night , Forest , The Clientele , Grew
The Velvet Underground: Intricate, Brilliant Art-Rock
2008-09-15 21:59:00 The Velvet Underground marked a turning point in rock history. After the release of The Velvet Underground & Nico, knowing the power of which it was capable, the music could never be as innocent, as unselfconscious as before. The band’s first album may have come on a bit cute with its Andy Warhol-designed banana cover ... More About: Rock , Art Rock
The Sound of Animals Fighting - The Ocean and the Sun
2008-09-15 18:22:00 An ambient post-hardcore album introduced by a female Farsi speaker who tells the tale of a naked monster eating his own heart and featuring extensive forays into musical technicality. How could this go wrong? Zwan comes to mind, but not to worry — Anthony Green has proven that he is no Billy Corgan. For starters, ... More About: Animals , Sound , Ocean , Fighting
Corvus Corax - Cantus Buranus II
2008-09-15 18:15:00 A follow-up to the successful interpretation of the best known songbook from the Middle Ages, The Carmina Burana, couldn?t take long of course. The first part of the project ingeniously brought together medieval music, classical music, opera and modern influences and was performed at various occasions during 2005 and 2006, with a grand symphony orchestra, ...
Roots Manuva - Slime and Reason
2008-09-15 04:14:00 The last time we saw Roots ?Rodney Smith? Manuva he was on a lyrical cliff edge, questioning his sanity and lingering on topics of depression, excess and artistic burnout. That was on 2006?s Awfully Deep, and now Mr. Manuva is back with his fourth full-length on London?s Big Dada label, to make things right. Slime ... More About: Reason
Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armini
2008-09-14 21:57:00 The Moz said it best: ?Stop me if you think that you?ve heard this one before…?. Here we have another quirky singer-songwriter from Reykjavik - comparisons to Bjork are inevitable, but other than her pronunciation, accent, genre and geography, Emiliana Torrini stands on her own two feet. Yes, they both share a sweet, wide-eyed, ...
Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane
2008-09-14 17:28:00 Chad VanGaalen hasn?t left his bedroom on his latest album, Soft Airplane , but it sounds like he might have moved out of the basement. Make no mistake, Soft Airplane is still thoroughly a Chad VanGaalen album ? his usual lo-fi esthetic is in full force, his signature falsetto still hauntingly wavers and he?s still obsessed ... More About: Chad
Robots In Disguise - We?re in the Music Biz
2008-09-14 16:46:00 Calling an album We?re in the Music Biz and offering tracks with titles like Can?t Stop Getting Wasted, I Don?t Have a God and Don?t Copy Me suggests a self-referential band who can barely see beyond their daily experiences and have replaced the spiritual strivings that have energized art from Neolithic times with a self-regarding ... More About: Robots , The Music
Made Out Of Babies - The Ruiner
2008-09-14 03:52:00 The Ruiner, third album by New York noise rock band Made Out of Babies is a weird little affair. Starting with the jagged and noisy opener, Cooker, vocalist Julie Christmas goes completely berserk - he doesn’t let up until the record ends. The Ruiner is full of these jagged angular riffs that are somewhere between ... More About: Isis
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92
2008-09-14 02:21:00 A pioneer of what would become known as “intelligent” dance music, Richard James, aka Aphex Twin , is arguably the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music. Selected Ambient Works 85-92 is a masterpiece, considered to be the preeminent signpost of early-’90s Ambient Techno. In terms of influence, this compilation is unparalleled, being cited ...
Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
2008-09-13 22:20:00 On The Stand Ins, the worth is in the girth. At only eight songs, discounting three eponymous interludes, the latest release from Austin-based Okkervil River could easily come off as thin, but each song in this 8-pack is jam packed with meticulous arrangements and brilliantly crafted lyrics. The Stand Ins is the ?sequel? to 2007?s ...
Giant Panda - Electric Laser
2008-09-13 21:52:00 As declared on their critically acclaimed Fly School Reunion, Giant Panda is the ?black-white-Japanese, rapanese? trio, blending styles and cultures with refreshing fluidity. Composed of Newman, Maanumental, and Chikaramanga, Giant Panda is known for its old-school beats, fast-paced verses, and Chikaramanga?s entirely Japanese sections?perfect for those multilingual hip hop lovers. And now, with their sophomore ... More About: Laser , Electric
The New Year - The New Year
2008-09-13 04:04:00 It?s been four years since The End Is Near, the last New Year album, long enough for musical fashions to have shifted significantly (out with the post-punk, in with the afro-beat!). Still, here are the two Kadane brothers, doing what they have always done, what has never, except maybe during the brief flourishing of slo-core, ... More About: Indie
Fujiya & Miyagi - Lightbulbs
2008-09-12 23:24:00 A gastronomic interest is introduced in the first seconds of Fujiya & Miyagi’s third album, with David Best’s repetitive whisper of “vanilla, strawberry, knickerbockerglory”. Best later makes reference to “Stella Artois mixed with beefburger” in that distinctive hushed tone that recalls Massive Attack’s Daddy G. But delving into the lyrical meaning is pointless: this Brighton ... More About: Electronica
Calexico - Carried to Dust
2008-09-12 23:20:00 Calexico has always been best when it slips the leash. The group?s best albums are studded with brief, weird interludes of dub, jazz and unclassifiable experiment. John Convertino and Joey Burns? most hummable songs contain oblique but jarring imagery. The weakest Calexico records ? still pretty good ? hew too closely to the middle of ... More About: Jazz , Tortoise , Americana , Calexico
Mount Eerie - Black Wooden Ceiling Opening
2008-09-12 23:15:00 On his EP (released back in May) Phil Elverum, also known as Mount Eerie, delivers the sort of urgent spastic thrashing that devotees have been longing for since the dissolution of his previous band, The Microphones. Its six songs, most of which clock in at less than four minutes, are multi-faceted gems that evolve from ... More About: Black , Experimental , Opening , Wooden
The Rise & Fall Of Creation Records: 1983-1999
2008-09-12 23:07:00 For a time in the mid ?90s, like their flagship band Oasis, Creation Records appeared to be unstoppable. As the marquee banner at the 1996 Knebworth shows had it, ?form is temporary, class is permanent?. Many people hold a special place in their hearts for Creation, and like Rough Trade, Postcard or Cherry Red, it ... More About: Jazz , Felt , Britpop , Rise
The Peth - The Golden Mile
2008-09-12 04:44:00 On the face of it, the Peth seems like a terrible idea. At a time when he has been seemingly incapable of staying out of the gossip pages the Welsh actor Rhys Ifans has become the lead singer of a raucous rock band. In the past year Ifans has split up with his high-profile actress ... More About: Rock , Mile , Golden , Super Furry Animals
Brooklyn Academy - Bored of Education
2008-09-12 04:38:00 Park Slope-Brooklyn emcees, Block McCloud, Mr. Metaphor & Pumpkinhead aka Brooklyn Academy , have been in the hip hop game for quite sometime now– a decade, to be exact. That pretty much puts them at veteran status, and with this status the trio stay true to their rough, rugged and super raw origins (We all remember ... More About: Education , Hip-hop , Bored
Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced
2008-09-11 02:36:00 While walls in 1967 may have been littered with Eric Clapton?s name, a God of the electric guitar was making one of the most stunning debuts in rock history — revolutionizing not only how guitar sounded at the time, but future perceptions and performances as well. Forty-one years later, Jimi Hendrix ?s debut album still sounds ... More About: Experienced
Sixty Singles For September
2008-09-11 01:25:00 Every day brings the release of another album — have you heard the new Jaguar Love? Is the new Bloc Party any good? Does Santogold live up to her hype? And who the hell are We Are Wolves? Beyond spending endless hours on choosing what to listen to and then finally hearing the product, we’ve narrowed down a list of sixty singles worthy of a spot on your iPod this month. Sure, some of the tracks on this compilation are from albums released months prior (Beck, Tokyo Police Club), but others are brand spanking new (Friendly Fires, Okkervil River). Even more appealing, several tracks from included are on upcoming records, with selections from Ben Folds, Electric Six, Of Montreal, and The Sea And Cake all worthy of note. Whether or not these tunes are representing of the albums they appear on, one thing is for sure — these singles are all extraordinary and deserve more than just one spin. Here are our picks for September in no particular, but alphabetical, order: Bears... More About: Singles , Sixty
Starfucker - Starfucker
2008-09-11 00:40:00 A band comprised of three multi-instrumentalists, Starfucker has created a set of danceable, positive-minded pop songs, many of which seem to have been deconstructed, stripped of their immediate urgency, yet which still manage to retain their hooks. Not all of the songs come off as winners, U Ba Khin for example, putters around for just over 3 minutes without ever really getting off the ground, striking me as more of a too-long interlude than an actual song. But for the most part, though, these tracks are able to hold their own. They combine Hot Chip’s beats, catchy hooks and dream-tinged vocal style with YACHT’s glitchy experimentation, with actual instruments thrown in the mix; guitars and drums are layered seamlessly with programmed drum machines, synthesized keys, blips and bleeps, and sampled spoken-word clips. Three songs are clear standouts, forming the cohesive pop anchor of this album. Two of them have been floating around since last fall on a CD-R the band put ...
Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
2008-09-10 14:40:00 Friendly Fires , the splendidly-named trio hailing from St Albans, first ventured into showbiz using the medium of instrumental, Fugazi-esque hardcore. Realizing that it wasn’t really them, and thankfully lightening up a bit, Ed, Edd and Jack ventured forth into the world of disco and headed towards a far more interesting and musically rewarding future. It’s ... More About: Friendly
Bears - Simple Machinery
2008-09-10 14:29:00 There is a sense that the business of independent rock music was founded on a sense of pure, unadulterated pop. Large handfuls of today’s twenty and thirty-somethings still recall with fondness the early days of labels like Slumberland, Sarah, and SpinART; for many, the early days of collecting 7″ singles started in a cloud of ... More About: Indie , Bears , Simple , Machinery
Rilo Kiley: Well-Crafted, Well-Recieved Indie-Rock
2008-09-10 02:55:00 Rilo Kiley are a restless lot. They adopt countless musical styles, switch labels with nearly every release and make time for solo careers. Even within a single song, the LA band can jump from theme to theme. The group began as a duo of former child actors Jenny Lewis (vocals, keyboards, bass) and guitarist Blake ... More About: Rock , Indie , Indie Rock , Rilo Kiley
Tricky - Knowle West Boy
2008-09-09 23:16:00 Tricky?s early output was so devastatingly brilliant that still, some 14 years after debut Maxinquaye, the arrival of a new album is enough to raise the pulse in the faint hope that he might once again scale the heights of Ponderosa, Aftermath et al. He doesn?t, sadly, but then who does? The good news, though, ... More About: West , Tricky
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement
2008-09-09 21:49:00 ?Quite good.? It?s the most eloquent summation of the music of Alex Turner and his ubiquitous Arctic Monkeys as heard in the past three years? of slavering press about this latest in a long and increasingly tedious succession of Great New British Songwriters. Not the words of a stony-faced refusenik, either, but of Jarvis Cocker, ... More About: Indie , Shadow , Britpop , Brits
Wovenhand - Ten Stones
2008-09-09 00:18:00 Making a career out of crafting ominously heavy music, 16 Horsepower singer David Eugene Edwards started Wovenhand as a side project in the early 2000s. Weaving together bits and pieces of all sorts of Americana and Denver’s Southern Gothic traditions into a monumentally weighty and utterly singular vision since 16 Horsepower parted in 2005, they ... More About: Folk , Stones
The Fiery Furnaces - Remember
2008-09-08 23:07:00 In their relatively brief lifespan, the Fiery Furnaces have released six full-length albums, each revealing new and intriguing facets of their blend of prog, psychedelia and all-out weirdness. The sibling duo?s latest opus, a monolithic two-CD (three LP) chronicle of their live performances, is no different. Remember is a worthwhile exploration of one of the ...
Giant Sand - proVISIONS
More articles from this author:2008-09-08 22:30:00 This time around, their eerie, atmospheric arrangements reflect not only the hallucinatory environs of the Arizona desert that remains their home base and continuing source of inspiration, but also a liberated attitude borne from recording sessions in Denmark, where Howe Gelb found both sympathetic musical support and new ways of working. The results are manifest ... More About: Sand , Giant 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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