#EDAS Reissue Review: King Tuff, Was Dead

by Justin (@justasstrazdin)

King Tuff – Was Dead

Label: Burger Records – May 28, 2013

Artist-Fair Shopping: Burger Store/Site

Style: Formative Years, Cleaning Out the Garage, Some Rad Pop

Audience: The Unemployed, People Who Draw Cats with Laser Eyes, Soda Straw Sippers

Better Tracks:  Lazerbeam,
Freak When I'm Dead, Ruthie Ruthie, Animal

The one thing you have to respect King Tuff for is that his recordings have fidelity to them. There are not many exercises in lo-fi production on the early recordings featured on Was Dead. If anything, there's some warm, cheap tape like some 70's power pop band would have used to squeeze their budget in the studio. Rather, the experimentation comes in the in form of occasional synths and noise-making gadgets that never get in the way of the guitar and drums propelling the rock with which King Tuff artfully reconstructs and moves forward with nostalgic power pop, a framework for a sound that probably just makes you wanna shimmy, or just drink a beer next to the grill.

Listening to King Tuff's work, there are a few instances where I draw comparisons to TheApples in Stereo, of all bands. Where the Apples worked eighteen years ago to bring the pop-saturated studio trickery of the late 60's to an indie base, King Tuff created a similar sound five years ago with the late 70's. King Tuff is a bit rougher around the edges than the Apples, but listen to his 2012's King Tuff and you'll hear bits of the sonic imprint that bands like the Apples left on this sort of pop revival. It's even more evident with the straight-forward set of songs on Was Dead. This album proves he was really good at it back then, too.

Verdict: Neat-o Look into His Early Work.

#EDAS Album Review: TAUK, Homunculus

by Stevez First Listenz

Released on Tauk Records
April 30, 2013

Artist-Fair Shopping: Digital / CD

Style: Progressive Fusion,
Strong Silent Type,
Where'd All the Time Go,
Allman Brothers Brothers

Audience: Bonnaroo Jammers,
9-5 Clockwatchers,
Musical Scientists

Better Tracks: Afro-Tonic,
Hello Narwhal,
Dirty Mouth, When in Doubt,
In The Basement of the Alamo

Let’s get real for a minute: I usually hate jam bands. Maybe hate is a strong word, but generally, I don’t find much I like about them. Aside from their outstanding musicianship, they usually just don’t offer much for a harder rock guy like me. With that said, I was converted by Homunculus, the latest release from jamrock-fusion cadettes Tauk.

These dudes are no strangers to the jam band circuit, having shared the stage with genre giants Moe, Robert Randolph and Tea Leaf Green. If I didn't know any better, I would have certainly lumped them together with the aforementioned bands and wrote them off as a throwback to my younger, more psychedelically influenced days. However, after listening to the record I was taken back at A) how Jazz influenced the record sounds B) Tauk's amazing band chemistry (the record definitely has a live feel to it) and C) how well they were able to craft actual songs out of the jams instead of 30 minute rambling guitar solos (I’m looking at you Trey).

I lieu of my normal listening activities (often a bong and a set of headphones) I decided to listen to this record while I paint. I generally find instrumental music sparks creativity the brain and it’s easier to focus when there are no vocals. I couldn't have picked a better way to enjoy this record. It’s palpable energy moves freely and openly and gave my brain the right boost of motivation to hone in on my art. It may be a little too subtle for a roaring house party, but spinning this during a solo meditative excursion was perfect. I was able to appreciate the outstanding musicianship and stellar production while simultaneously getting lost in the record and excelling at the task at hand.

TAUK

As a DIY-recording engineer myself, the production on Homunculus really stands out from the pack. So much so that I even had to look it up. I was shocked to find out it was Robert Carranza whom I adore for his work with The Mars Volta. He really did a great job giving each instrument it’s own voice as well as an opportunity to stand out in the mix. Nothing is lost here and I think that is important to note. The guitar never gets lost, the keys never over do it and the drums set up the proper foundation on which to create the complex structure built from jazz and rock influences.

Of course, with each track are subjected to individual solo’s from each band member periodically. While these overdone solo-sessions are usually the downfall of these  types of records, it really goes over well on Homunculus. Although the structure becomes somewhat predictable, it was never a case of “Look how well I can solo” or “I’m the bass player and I can play better than the guitarist.” Each instrumental serves the song purpose and does it justice by making it better.

In a genre that is typically diluted with guitar solos, patchouli and Hammond Organ, Tauk really released a solid effort with Homuculus. They cut out the bullshit and leave you with what they are; a truly solid band who won’t forget their roots but aren’t afraid to hold back a bit for the sake of making a good and solid record. Fans of the genre and the band definitely won’t be disappointed. If you’re not a fan of the genre I encourage you to at least listen. What’s the worst that could happen?

Tauk takes the stage tomorrow, Thursday 7/11 in swanky Williamsburg for the second installment of their three-part Spike Hill Residency. Get your tickets here and check out Tauk's additional summer tour dates below. Pay special attention to that final date, Peach Fest looks like it could be the runaway winner for NY-Area Festivals.

Verdict: Homunculus transports you to a friction-less dimension where time doesn't exist and all tasks are completed without an ounce of procrastination. Just press play and watch that To-Do list disappear.

#EDAS Album Review: Way Yes, Tog Pebbles

by Matt (@bones_jones)

Self Released: May 7, 2013

Artist-Fair Shopping: Digital / CD

Style: Synth & Surdo,
Ituri Dreamscapes, Muppet Voices,
Every Genre Ever Mushed Together

Audience: World Music Lovers,
Sensitive Bros, Vampire Weekenders,

Future Dead People of America 

Better Tracks: Colerain, Holy Drop,
Get Healed, Don't Give Up,
Macondo

If you are a frequent reader of this website, you know how much this band means to me. Way Yes is a group of legitimately nice dudes from my college stomping grounds, delving deep into uncharted types of world fusion. Their first full-length offering, Tog Pebbles, is a psychedelic stew slowly cooked in the heartland of Columbus Ohio, and it is ready to nourish the masses.

Make Your Own Way Yes Meme 

These guys had me hooked from the second I heard their breakout EP, Walkability and the attraction has only intensified with Tog. This album seems to explore the distinct space between actively participating in and wistfully remembering one's childhood. It even goes as far to tell you what happens afterwards. SPOILER ALERT: It's either an adulthood filled with complex emotions or death. I suppose the goal is to chase the former with the latter but you might as well use your time to live and love while you can.

The brainchild of Best Buddies Glenn Davis and Travis Hall, Way Yes picks up where Paul Simon left off at his most adventurous. A sophisticated work of art that dabs tropical hues over dark existential undertones, then melts the whole thing down and pours it all over your body.

Hall and Oates Davis have worked together for what seems like lifetimes, and they have fused all prior incarnations of themselves into Way Yes. This epic bromance provides most of the singing and songwriting as well as the dueling guitars and multi-layered synthscapes that structure their unique sound. The rest of the band’s identity comes from their double-edged drumming attack of Max Lewis and Tim Horak. A veritable planet of percussion that consists of bongos, darbukas, junior congas, timbales, crash, splash, high-hat and ride cymbals, both a tamborim and a tambourine, a jam block, a mounted drum stick, shakers, agogo bells, darbukas, two cow bells and a surdo. It can’t be easy to lug all that crap across the country in your mom’s minivan, so if they come to your town, grab all your loved ones and see this amazing band live.

Way Yes @ Glasslands 7/20/2012

Almost a year after their mind blowing NYC debut, Way Yes returns for their somewhat annual double dip. Catch them this Friday July 12th at 8:30 PM for an amazing show at Glasslands, headlined by The Echo Friendly, then follow them to a free Manhattan Show at 7:00 at Pianos the following day. Get your tickets for Friday's Brooklyn shindig here and get to Pianos early enough and its free. I'm clearing my schedule so I can go to both. It may be a full weekend, but I'll be the one in the back, standing there like a proud (and likely drunken) father watching his kids make all his vicarious musical dreams come true.

Verdict: Feel free to sell all of your belongings and follow these psychedelic sages as they unlock the secrets of the universe. You'll be hearing from these fine fellows again come Best Of 2013 time. 

Get The Album Here

Back from Nantucket

After a few horrible bus rides, I am back in in NYC. It feels good to be home, however I have received some unfortunate news regarding this Saturday's BackYard Fest headlined by Aerosmith. 

Due to the heavy rains during "Spring" and exacerbated by the horrible conditions of Governor's Ball, the NYC Parks Department has decided to close Randall's Island for necessary landscape work and the festival has been cancelled. I knew the second I got confirmed that it was too good to be true, so here is a taste of what was supposed to be. 

Aerosmith - Back in the Saddle Again

Another Song - Unknown Mortal Orchestra, (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay

by Justin (@justasstrazdin)

Be glad these lads churned out a smooth and understated cover, lightly awash in their style, with a smooth ass bed of soul and punchy drums to drive the beauty of this song.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay

Happy July 4th From EDAS

From Every Day, Another Song

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son

Another Song: Mountain, Nantucket Sleighride

In just a few short minutes, I am headed to Nantucket Island, which was considered the whaling capital of the world in the 19th century .The term "Nantucket Sleighride" was coined by some old salts to explain the most immensely dangerous part of the whaling process process. The first strike of the harpoon was not intended to kill the whale but only to attach it to the whale boat. The whale would take off pulling the whale boat along at speeds of up to 23 mph (37 kmh). Once the whale had finally tired itself out, the leading officer would deliver the fatal blow with a penetrating lance and begin the arduous process of finding their way back to dry land.

The song "Nantucket Sleighride" is dedicated to Owen Coffin, a cabin boy aboard the whaling ship Essex, which was destroyed by a sperm whale in 1819. Owen ended up in the lifeboat with Captain Pollard, his uncle. Two other lifeboats also put out. During the next 3 - 4 months, the lifeboats separated. One was never seen again, but a certain few were destined to be part of the most memorable sea stories of all time.

During those long months at sea (and on desert islands), many of the men died. The survivors eventually had to resort to cannibalism to live. After those who died naturally were consumed, the men determined to draw lots to see who would sacrifice his life for the others. Owen Coffin "won" the lottery. The Captain tried to take Owen's place, but the youth insisted on his "right". The executioner was also drawn by lot. That "winner", another young man named Charles Ramsdell, also tried vainly to swap places with Owen. Again he refused. Owen's body kept the others alive for ten days, although Captain Pollard refused to eat his nephew. Another man died, and his body kept Pollard and Ramsdell alive a few more days until they were rescued.

The story of Owen Coffin still resonates on Nantucket Island and  certainly caught the attention of a young New York Jew named Leslie West. He and his band of Long Island Vagrants would eventually play Woodstock under the moniker Mountain and record an amazing album named after this an album that would bear the name, Nantucket Sleighride. 

Mountain - Nantucket Sleighride

Another Song: Supertramp, Hide in Your Shell

by Justin (@justasstrazdin)

Little known fact: There are three types of people on this entire planet. Those who love electric pianos, those who are in denial of their love for electric pianos, and those who have never heard an electric piano but would totally love them. The title of Supertramp's 1974 album, Crime of the Century, is arguably a reference to their confession of not having enough electric piano on the album.

Supertramp is an exemplary binge band. One day, you're all like, fuck, I could really use some music to clean my apartment and drink white wine to! And that's where Crime of the Century comes in, with a dense overload of orchestral pop production over a bed of coke rock and a spot o' prog that leaves you feeling super British for forty minutes.

A few days pass. You catch yourself listening to it on the way to work. It's playing on your tiny speaker while you shower. Your friends are exposed to it when they come over. It's a problem. You're thinking about back-to-back binging with Steely Dan. But all this shit has got to stop, your apartment is clean. You're not surfing down that mountain of coke anymore in the British countryside, into a spacious recording studio where the battered grand piano guides you through the halls of excess. No, you put the scratchy LP down and crawl back to some retro soul or noisy indie pop. Still, you ponder taking on Nilsson for next month's apartment cleaning, that time when you blast any damn record you want with a Sauvignon Blanc and a vacuum cleaner.

Monumental Victories For Equal Rights!!

A big day for human rights as the Supreme Court strikes down DOMA and returns Marriage Equality to California. In honor of the decisions made today in Washington D.C. I present one of the original Gay Rights Anthems, written by David Bowie and generously given to Brit Glam Rockers, Mott the Hoople. This song has spoken to the LGBT community since its release in 1972 due to lyrics like this:

"Now Lucy’s looking sweet,
Though he dresses like a queen,
He can kick like a mule, it’s a real mean team,
We can love, we can love"

These lyrics harken back to a time where the Stonewall Riots had just occurred. Homosexuals and alternative lifestyles as a whole were still highly marginalized if not violently targeted. Bowie's Lucy was not likely the stereotypical capri pants wearing, tea-cup yorkie holding, gay guy portrayed ad naseum in many media outlets. This Lucy was more likely a huge burly fellow who may have served in a war, ready willing and able to put the dukes up to defend his or herself and the corresponding way of life. If don't like seeing a 6 foot guy in a dress, big enough to be a linebacker... well tough luck Peppo, because this guy can change your mind by kicking a stiletto heel straight through it. 

For the non-violent protesters out there, think of All The Young Dudes as an "It Gets Better" Video 40 years before its time. I just don't think it makes any sense to have a government who control a who a person is attracted to. Today regardless of your political or religious beliefs, I think we can all take solace in the triumph of love over hate. 

Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes

#EDAS Album Review: Statistics, Peninsula

  

by Matt (@EDAS2Go)

Label: Afternoon Records
June 25, 2013
NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD HERE

Style: F-Zero
Miami Vice Swag,
Japanese Crossover Potential

Audience: Deep White V-Necks,
Late Night Internet Cafe Hoppers,
Hot Air Balloonists,
Cool Cars Driving Through Tunnels

Better Tracks: Take The Lead,
Waiting, Look Alive
Nineteen Ninety Nine,
Pictures of Success

One of the true great guys in this business, Denver Dalley has a talent for doing it right the first time. Whether it's smashing guitars in Desaparecidos, droppin funky basslines with Har Mar Superstar, writing two solo projects or saving mexican orphans, this is not a person who gives any less than all of himself. I can sit here and gush about how this guy is legitimately one of our great americans, but his pet project Statistics is releasing it's first album, Peninsula, in over 8 years tomorrow and he personally gave me an advance copy.

Here's the scoop in PR Speak:

"It’s been 8 years since the last Statistics album. Peninsula has been in the works for the past 5. But it doesn’t sound labored or meticulous. The album is instead made up of songs that have stood the test of time, that are at once nostalgic and cutting edge... The grooving “Take the Lead,” featuring Har Mar Superstar, could easily have been a single off of Justin Timberlake’s Justified... A mellow cover of Rilo Kiley’s “Picture of Success” rounds out the record, its sparse arrangement showcasing Dalley’s subtle vocal power."

Denver with Desaparecidos
2.27.2013 @ Webster Hall

Usually this press stuff is just gibberish, but in this case it is spot on. Peninsula is a dynamic and vibrant return from a long hiatus. A versatile offering with twinkly electrojams, dance-rockers, acoustic handwritten ballads, and a just touch of legit, early-2000's Emo. As a band member, Denver is reliable enough to show up and play any instrument at the finest level, but as a mouthpiece, he has the unique ability to disarm and get right to the heart of the matter.

I did have a slight unquenched thirst for some guitar smashing bangers, but considering how hard Denver rocks as integral parts of Desa and Har Mar, I can understand his use of Stats as a more reserved, serene-sounding outlet. It may be on the softer side but if you choose to pass, know you will be missing out on some introspective songwriting on top of excellent arrangement and production.

Verdict: This is a peek into the mind of one of today's most versatile treasures. Like anything worthwhile, it may take time grow on you and you'll be glad it did. Download it for FREE at the Afternoon Records Site.

Born Cages Plays a Midnight Brooklyn Show with Har Mar Superstar

Born Cages winds down their most recent tour by descending upon Brooklyn. Drink an extra cup of coffee and catch them at the Knitting Factory for the midnight show on Friday June 28th opening for #EDAS favorite, Har Mar Superstar. If their EP is any indication, their hard-nosed ruffian rock will wake you up. Stream that EP now on Filter, and get ready for them to drop their first full-length, later this year. Come on over to Billyburg because I'm sure they'll be previewing some new stuff, and because Har Mar doesn't usually disappoint.

Here is my favorite cut off their 'The Sidelines EP', Caiti. Get your tickets here.

Ivan & Alyosha Embark on a Fundraiser Because Some Asshole Stole Their Gear.

The Victims.

You may remember a May 28th post I made celebrating Ivan & Alyosha's latest tour and their first full-length album after years and years of bandhood. Well, back on June 10th, someone in Atlanta liked them so much that they stole their van, and dumped it, sans gear and trailer. If you live in Atlanta, they posted a well-designed gear list and a plea that you check out area pawn shops and eBay/Craigslist for any of it. You should. Some big ass companies pitched in, and they setup a fundraiser with Kickstarter knockoff Pledge Music, because having all your gear stolen sucks. And to show us they are not fucking around, they added even more tour dates:

8/9 - San Diego, CA @ Humphreys Concerts By The Bay*
8/10 - Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues Anaheim*
8/11 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
8/13 - Santa Cruz, CA @ Moes Alley
8/14 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
8/15 - Saratoga, CA @ Mountain Winery*
8/16 - Turlock, CA @ Turlock Community Theatre*
8/17 - Sacramento, CA @ Bows and Arrows
8/18 - Santa Rosa, CA @ Wells Fargo Center*
8/21 - Jacksonville, OR @ Britt Pavilion*
9/2 - Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot

* with Brandi Carlile

Cover Story: Irma Thomas - "I Needed Somebody"

Look past the star-spangled wrapper and you'll hear one of the best voices in soul.

Every time I hear Irma Thomas sing "I Needed Somebody," all I can do is howl "Irrrrmaaaa." It's because I love her so much. And I'm really dramatic. Maybe it’s because it’s a song about how, deep down, everybody needs somebody--even if it's just for a little bump and wiggle. Maybe it’s because she’s got the ability to rip your heart out through your chest with a wail. Or maybe I'm just being dramatic again.

This performance is a cover-tune, but it's not often that a cover is better than the original.

Still, whenever I’m feeling down and Irma sings, "Oh, it gets so lonely sometimes, in this great big ol' lonely town,” it makes me feel a little better.

I heard this song in 2006, almost accidentally, when a friend of mine (who happens to be a studio engineer in Nashville so toot-toot on that horn) and I watched New Orleans Music in Exile, a documentary about Hurricane Katrina's effect on the musicians of New Orleans. Interspersed with interviews with struggling musicians were filmed performances, and Irma was the best of the lot.

We re-wound and re-watched Irma sing this song (not this version, mind you. This Youtube clip was filmed much earilier) close to 10 times that night as we drank too much and turned the volume way up. Then our other roommate came downstairs and told us that it was 3 a.m. and we really needed to chill. Since then, this song has been a go-to whenever I feel like squirting a tear into my vodka--or if I ever need primal-scream therapy, I just sing along.

It wasn't until today that I realized that the original was sung by Ann Peebles.

Happy 71st Birthday to Sir Paul McCartney!

Happy Birthday Macca.

 

Paul & Linda McCartney - Woman Oh Why