ancient animals

Its been a long road for Celebration. First it was the Birthday Party-esque Jaks, which has been lovingly repackaged over at 31G. Then came Love Life, which had releases on Jagjaguwar and Troubleman. A brief spell as Birdland. And now, Baltimore has birthed Celebration and they are signed onto legendary 4AD.

Their debut LP has cut many of the gothic roots of their past, but still maintains a dark shroud of sound. Like Siouxsie Sioux fronting Laika. A stripped down, nearly dubby feel has sunken around the disc and leaves lots of space for sounds to echo and exist on their own. Other places a post-punk no-wave feel bleeds in, with flavors of the best of the female fronted past of the genre: ESG, Bush Tetras, Au Pairs, Rip Rig & Panic, Slits. Elsewhere, a dark lounge Quintron blues fills a smoky batcave. An impressive debut. On tour right now with Calla.

October
20 - The Echo, Los Angeles, CA
21 - Mezzanine, San Francisco, CA
22 - Dour Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
23 - Media Club, Vancouver, BC
24 - Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA
27 - 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis, MN
28 - Gardner Main Hall @ Grinnell College, Grinnel, IA
29 - The Cactus Club, Milwaukee, WI
30 - Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL
31 - Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH

November
01 - Magic Stick, Detroit, MI
02 - Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ONT
03 - Main Hall, Montreal, QUE
04 - The Middle East (upstairs), Cambridge, MA
05 - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY

Celebration - War
Celebration - New Skin

Jaks - Carnation

black sheep band

The past week has wrought forth lots of sadness in my life and I found myself driving around in my car quite a bit. Driving home, going to a funeral, getting lost, finding myself. One of the soundtracks for my journey was Austin's Okkervil River and their brand new EP, the Black Sheep Boy Appendix.

Picking up on the imagery and sound of the critically acclaimed predecessor, this mini album weaves sad strings in and out of toybox odes and country-fried dirges. Frontman Will Sheff spits an honest tale that gets bigger and broader with every release.

No Key, No Plan is a drunken Pogues USA stomp of a houseparty with the Decemberists, Neutral Milk Hotel and the younger, cooler brother of Bono in attendence.

Another Radio Song builds and builds an intensity, from a conversation to an argument to a screaming match til all the possessions are cast about the room and the whole house is on fire, the protaganist left walking away once and for all down the highway.

Okkervil River - No Key, No Plan

secret handshake

Chicago's Number None have a suggestion for a new national anthem, and it doesn't seem like they are pleased with the direction the nation is headed from the sounds of it.

Rebis recently issued the 4th 'annual retort' from these two gentlemen. A self-described exploration of american majesty and dread, taking the listener on a post-millenial roadtrip from sorrowful anthemics to unforgiving noise.

At a live performance in a friend's living room a few months ago, I was completely levitated and alien-probed by their dark cosmic drones. Stars of the Lid is an excellent point of reference, but quickly get wound under in an undertow from the mothership lifting out of years of the ocean floor's sludge. 'Teaching Children About Feelings' definitely teaches some new concepts for victims of No Child Left Behind. Harsh pit of despair medical experiments gone wrong. Indulge.

Number None - Suggestion for a New National Anthem
Number None - Teaching Children About Feelings