We had the pleasure to feature St. Louis band Art Majors at our station on the evening of August 16. They played three songs, including 2 brand new ones. We will have the complete session posted shortly, but until then, please enjoy two videos that we shot. They have a new EP out, so check it out if you like what you hear.
Stack Sessions: Art Majors
August 26th, 2010Album Review: Beth Bombara and the Robotic Foundation
August 25th, 2010
St. Louisian Beth Bombara has a new band and a new sound on her recent self titled EP Beth Bombara and the Robotic Foundation. With the addition of bass and drums, her sound has matured considerably from her last EP. Expect tight bass lines, smooth drumming, and soaring vocals on every song. On “Not the World” the group proves they can do rocking pop songs as well as they can do mellow organ-driven numbers like “Beautiful You.” The instrumentation plays beautifully, but it is still the arching vocal that captures your attention on each song. I understand Beth and Co are working on a new full length, so keep an eye out for that in the coming year.
Your next chance to see Beth Bombara and the Robotic Foundation live is on September 17 at the Map Room in St. Louis.
STACK SESSIONS: Ava, Wait
August 24th, 2010Tune in tonight at 9:30ish pm to hear an in-studio with Ava, Wait, a St. Louis-based quartet!
Classical new releases at KWUR, 8/2010 edition
August 14th, 2010More good (actually, much better than good) new classical CD releases have arrived at KWUR, from which I am happy to broadcast for your listening pleasure:
* The Songs of Johannes Brahms – 1, with mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager and pianist Graham Johnson (Hyperion CDJ33121), the newest “compleat” song series masterminded by Graham Johnson, Hyperion’s resident lieder scholar/pianist extraordinaire
* Britten: Songs and Proverbs of William Blake and other selections, with baritone Gerald Finley and pianist Julius Drake (Hyperion CDA 67778)
* The Romantic Piano Concerto – 51: piano concertos by Wilhelm Taubert and Jacob Rosenhain, with Howard Shelley as soloist and conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (Hyperion CDA67765)
* Henri Dutilleux: “D’ombre et de silence”: music for solo piano and one selection for two pianos, with Robert Levin (all tracks) and Ya-Fei Chuang (second pianist in Figures de résonances (ECM New Series 2105)
* Thomas Larcher: Madhares: featuring Till Fellner (solo piano in Böse Zellen), Kim Kashkashian (solo viola in Still), Larcher (piano in Still), and the Munich Chamber Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies (Böse Zellen and Still), and the Quatour Diotima in Madhares (String Quartet No. 3) (ECM New Series 2111)
* Krysztof Penderecki: Violin Concerto No. 1 and Horn Concerto (Winterreise), with violinist Robert Kabara and horn soloist Radovan Vlatkovic, and the composer conducting the Sinfonietta Cracovia (Channel Classics CCS SA 30310)
* Ferdinand Ries: Piano Sonatas and Sonatinas – 3, with pianist Susan Kagan (Naxos 8.572204)
* Mi Alma Mexicana (My Mexican Soul): music of José Pablo Moncayo, Gustavo Campa, Ricardo Castro, Candelario Huízar, Manuel Ponce, Juventino Rosas, Arturo Márquez, Silvestre Revueltas, Carlos Chávez, Federico Ibarra, Eugenio Toussaint, Mario Lavista and Enrico Chapela, with Alondra de la Parra conducting the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas (Sony Classical 88697755552)
* El Nuevo Mundo: Folias Criollas: music from the era of Spain’s colonization of the Caribbean lands, with Monserrat Figueras, the Tembembe Ensamble Continuo, La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hesperion XXI, led by Jordi Savall (Alia Vox AVSA 9876)
As always, comments and feedback are welcome. Please feel free to drop me a line at classical@kwur.com, or you can IM me during my regular Saturday show (11 AM-2 PM). Thanks for reading.
Stack Sessions: The Blind Nils
August 10th, 2010St. Louis band the Blind Nils joined us in the lounge at the station the other day for a short live performance on the air. They played 5 of their original tunes with eclectic instrumentation including banjo, slide guitar, and xylophone. Take a look the videos below for a peek into their set. Their entire set will be rebroadcast this Thursday at 3:30pm, so don’t forget to tune in at www.kwur.com.
If you like what you hear, your next chance to see the Blind Nils llive is on August 23 at Hajari House.
Album Review: Kentucky Knife Fight’s "We’re All Nameless Here"
July 31st, 2010
Kentucky Knife Fight has been running their garage blues rock all over St. Louis for several years now, and I think it’s almost time for the revolution. With the release of their second LP We’re All Nameless Here, KKF shows themselves to be the rock n’ roll force that it deserves to be. Neither on their new album nor in their live show do KKF mess around. They get straight to the music with amped-up rockers and slow burning blues.
The whole band revolves around Jason Holler’s gravelly voice that frequently stretches to its tremulous limits. Holler keys in to the rest of the Knife Fight, providing an incredibly dynamic sound. Besides ripping guitar solos, the music has nice accents from occasional banjo and blues harp, which thankfully takes cues more from Mick Jagger than John Popper.
Besides the blues garage rock that sometimes teeters on the edge of punk, this new album also features some grooving, slower numbers. KKF even touches on gypsy romps on “Always a Bride, Never a Bribe” with the help of the Monads’ Matt Shivelbine on fiddle.
Album Review: Fattback’s "EEE PEE"
July 28th, 2010
Fattback is a band with a great sense of humor. Lyrical content ranges from taco stands to dinosaurs, and they are equally diverse in their musical ability. On their new EP cleverly titled “EEE PEE,” they are adept at rip roaring country-rock, blues, and finger blistering straight rock numbers. Guitarist Dave Hagerty and drummer John Joern share the lead vocal duties, but it is Dave’s songs based around goofy lyrics that steal the show. Case in point: Fattback has an “educational” song implying that dinosaurs went extinct due to a blazing hot guitar solo. We also see Fattback’s softer, mellower side on “John Greene,” which pairs banjo and electric guitar solos. All of this adds up to a band of goofy guys who like to play quirky rock music really loudly. That’s just the kind of thing I expect from a bunch of boys from St. Louis.
Oh, I forgot to mention that when you buy the EP it comes with a few extras that you’ll never be able to download off the internet. The cd comes with an old school cassette tape copy and a temporary dino tattoo! All packaged inside of a pizza box! Pure awesome? Yes.
Your next chance to see Fattback is at Off Broadway with Deer Tick on August 5.
Some Quick 2010 Favorites
July 25th, 2010
A Lost People
So we’re a little past mid-2010 by now. I just hastily put together this list of some of my favorite releases so far. Without a doubt, I’ve forgotten some good ones. Hopefully, I’ll fix this with a more detailed list in about six months. Anyway if you’ve read my lists in the past, there shouldn’t be too many surprises here…
Thee Oh Sees – Quadrospazzed ’09 (Castle Face)
Thee Oh Sees – Warm Slime (In The Red)
Since I last checked in, a 45rpm 12″ single and another full-band psychedelic summer LP.
Ty Segall – Melted (Goner)
Maybe his best yet…
Moonhearts – Moonhearts (Tic Tac Totally)
After collecting a half dozen solid 7 inches, a slight name change (prior: Charlie & The Moonhearts) and a full length debut LP
David Cross – Bigger and Blackerer (Sub Pop)
A little less pissed then his previous two LPs, this one still bites
Mark Sultan – $ (Last Gang)
1/2 King Khan & BBQ (better half?) plus a little noise…
A Lost People – Big Booty Bitches (self-released)
I hate to say it, but I think I like the clean version better (find it on iTunes)
Pocahaunted – Make It Real (Not Not Fun)
Yes, Best Coast is good, but it’s kind of a Pocahaunted side project (well…probably not anymore). This is better.
Golden Triangle – Double Jointer (Hardly Art)
If you like Thee Oh Sees, you’ll like this
Paul Cary – Ghost of a Man (Stankhouse)
Great, great bluesy debut solo album by lead man of The Horrors (the good ones, not the shitty English ones).
International Hello – International Hello (Holy Mountain)
Monoshock is back, albeit a little slowed down…
Abner Jay – Folk Song Stylist (Mississippi)
Keep these coming.
Acid Eater – Black Fuzz on Wheels (Time Bomb)
Given just the band/album name, this sounds exactly like what you would expect. Except Japanese.
AFCGT – AFCGT (Sub Pop)
Is this really on Sub Pop?
The Fall – Your Future, Our Clutter (Domino)
Obviously
Baby Dinosaurs vs. The Soft Spots 7 inch (Die Slaughterhaus)
Been waiting a while for this one on everyone’s favorite ATL label…
Drop Z – “Tha King a Pop”
Catchiest Michael Jackson tribute song of the year (ever?)…
(thanks WFMU Blog)
Water Bears – Misogymnastics (ZAP)
I know this is a little self serving, so I almost didn’t put it on the list. But fuck it, this album is great. I know you guys love ‘em too…
Spacemen 3 vinyl re-issues (Fire & Taang)
Still waiting for the “Dreamweapon: An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music” LP though…
Mazzy Star discography vinyl re-issues (Plain)
Fucking finally!
The Mummies – The Mummies Play Their Own Records vinyl re-issue (Estrus)
The only garage band Billy Childish name-checks. Need I say more? This is essential. On vinyl.
Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music vinyl re-issue (Sister Ray)
“If you ever thought feedback was the best thing that happened to the guitar, well, Lou just got rid of the guitars” – Lester Bangs
Classical new releases at KWUR, 7/2010 edition
July 25th, 2010So it’s now come to this: as of July 7, 2010, thanks to actions by the leaders of the Lutheran Church-MO Synod and Joy-FM best summarized by the ghost of Hamlet’s father in line 27 of Act I, Scene 5 of Shakespeare’s play, one station remains in St. Louis that broadcasts a locally hosted classical music show to any extent. For as long as I can, to recycle the cliche from my earlier KWUR blog post, I’ll try to keep the flame going in St. Louis, with help from fellow KWUR DJ’s as needed.
Some recent classical new CD releases being aired from KWUR include these:
* Blasco de Nebra: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-6 with pianist Javier Perianes (harmonia mundi HMC 902046)
* Baltic Runes: choral music of Erik Bergman, Cyrillus Kreek, Sibelius, and Veljo Tormis, with Paul Hillier directing the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (harmonia mundi HMU 807485)
* Dvo?ák: Requiem/Symphony No. 8; with Mariss Jansons conducting the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, soloists Krassimira Stoyanova, Mihoko Fujimara, Klaus Florian Vogt and Thomas Quasthoff, and the Wiener Singverein (KCO Live, RCO 10001)
* Handel: “Handel in Darmstadt”, with harpsichordist Geneviève Soly (Analekta AN 2 9121)
* “The Romantic Violin Concerto, Vol. 8″, Henry Vieuxtemps, Violin Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 and the Fantasia appassionata: with Viviane Hagner and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, conducted by Martyn Brabbins (Hyperion CDA 67798)
* “Revelation”, solo harp music by Britten, Ginastera, Felix Godefroid, Hindemith, Caroline Lizotte, Ravel, Henriette Renié, and Carlos Salzedo; with harpist Valérie Milot (Analekta AN 2 9974)
As always, any comments are welcome, and please feel free to drop me a line at classical@kwur.com, or you can IM me during my regular Saturday show (11 AM-2 PM). Thanks for reading.
Album Review: Pokey LaFarge’s "Riverboat Soul"
July 15th, 2010
Pokey LaFarge has come a long way since I first saw him 5 years ago playing on street corners and in dirty bars for tips. Now he is playing international tours across the US and Europe. His newest album Riverboat Soul still features his surprisingly authentic old-time blues and dixieland, but now he has a fantastic backing band, the South City Three, to fill out his sound with upright bass, harmonica, and slide guitar. This album is his first on Free Dirt Records and features some nice guest spots from Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show on fiddle and Tommy Oliviero of Bawn in the Mash on mandolin. I am pleased to see a St. Louis boy making such great music and having some success at the same time.
Your next chance to see Pokey in St. Louis is on September 25 in Tower Grove Park or October 8 at Off Broadway.