Gang Gang Dance, "Eye Contact"
As a proudly underground entity, Manhattan’s Gang Gang Dance seemed bent on creating one long celestial psych jam. But for 2008’s Saint Dymphna, they pared down the dubby dance experimentation and reaped the rewards (namely, a record deal). Less woozy and intoxicating than its predecessors, that album was a gateway drug into what now turns out to be an even wilder and murkier milieu …
Dive deep into the murk via Spin (the review appeared in print too).
Ariel Pink steels himself for the invasion.
Although it’s almost cliché at this point to write about how batshit insane L.A. freak-folk/chillwave/lo-fi icon Ariel Pink seems to be, meet the man in person and you’ll discover that it’s nigh on impossible to ignore the signs. Perhaps he’s just nervous; perhaps he likes fucking with journalists (who could blame him?); perhaps he really is bonkers. After spending an afternoon with Pink and his band, Haunted Graffiti, I wound up with more questions than answers.
See for yourself at LA Weekly.
Quick bloggy bits* from around the L.A. underground (and up).
(all stories via West Coast Sound, via LA Weekly)
*If you like it, then you better put a tweet on it.
Well, somehow the publishing of this exceptionally compiled and written (heh heh) list eluded me until today. I can’t take too much credit for it, though I did vote, and was given the opportunity to write about one of my top records of all time, TV On The Radio’s Return To Cookie Mountain. That album sneaked in at number 38, but it’s there, right between Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest and Justin Timberlake’s Justified (both of which made my personal list as well).
TV On The Radio, 'Return To Cookie Mountain'
Read about some of the records that didn’t make the cut here, and I highly recommend perusing the rest of the Club‘s decade coverage here.
Decider New York has just posted my interview with Daniel Rossen, co-mastermind of both the fantastic Grizzly Bear and the wonderful Department Of Eagles. There’s a lot to love there, and plenty to talk about (like that incredible new record, Veckatimest), so hop on over here to join the conversation. Will be adding a sweet Griz tune to the Lala player asap. In the meantime, scroll through the playlist to find “Herring Bone” by DOE. Should tide ya over. If not, this might:
A live capture from inside Daniel Rossen's mind.
Chris Writes Things 