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Photos / Review: Lo Moda, Miracles, Thrust Lab @ the Windup Space (2008.11.21)

IMG_0112 Photo credit: Greg Szeto

Baltimore delivers another strong evening of music and live performance to my senses.  This time, the occasion is a trifecta of new releases on Peter Quinn’s (Lo Moda) record label Creative Capitalism: Lo Moda’s sophomore LP Replica Watches, Miracles’ Colony Collapse and a new release from Thrust Lab.

I swear the boys in Thrust Lab must machines…because I think they play at least 2 shows a week.  Read the rest…

Photos / Review: Mates of State @ the Ottobar (2008.11.23)

Photo Credit: faithdesired
Standing in line for the Mates of State show at the Ottobar, freezing, I overheard the door guy ask these girls if they were going to remove the waffles before they opened doors.  I thought: remove the waffles??? One of the girls replied: “No… the waffles are part of our show.”  Immediately, I was intrigued.  I was here to see Mates of State, who I was really looking forward.  They produce such a great sound and I have heard that they are just as good live as they are recorded.  However, I had never heard of the opening acts (Avocado Happy Hour and Brother Reade). As I made my way up to the stage, I was surprised to find a table fully loaded with waffle makers, whip cream, and cups of chocolate chips.  As the music began, the girls got to work cooking waffles and before too long, the entire Ottobar smelled more like a diner then a bar!  After a few songs, waffles were offered to the crowd.

Avocado Happy Hour opening for Mates of State at the Ottobar - Baltimore

Avocado Happy Hour opening for Mates of State at Ottobar - Baltimore

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Takács, Muzsikás and Márta Sebestyén Quake Library of Congress Stage

Let me begin by admitting I’m in love with violinist Mihály Sipos. Add to that this testament: I’ll never marry unless all my friends and family pool together to pay Muzsikás the handsome fee to play at my fires of Hymen!

For, despite my mad adoration for the boys in Monument Trio, this Bela-Bartók-ian ho-down goes down as the Best Concert of 2008.

Béla Bartók, with his genius for creating pieces entirely novel in musical language, is sometimes labeled “challenging” or “difficult.” As in WARNING: NOT for the novitiate to the broader spectrum of “The Rest Is Noise” classical.

This concert stamped that notion underfoot in about .5 seconds. Read the rest…

Live Audio: Small Sur @ the Metro Gallery (2008.11.20)

Download the full set as a ZIP file formatted in: FLAC or MP3

Small Sur
The Metro Gallery

Baltimore, MD
November 19, 2008

Band:
Bob Keal-guitar, vocals
Austin Stahl-drums, vocals
Jamie Saltsman-bass

Source: Peluso CEMC6/ck4(card)>PS-2>AD-20>NJB3
Transfer: NJB3>PC>SF-7>Wav>FLAC
Taper: Jeff Mewbourn (jm292@yahoo.com)

baltimore-taper.blogspot.com

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Interview: Lo Moda (w/ Scott Braid, Raili Haimila, Gillian Quinn, Peter Quinn, Christian Sturgis, Antony West)

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MP3: Lo Moda – Anonymous Cats

Lo Moda are a rarity around these parts.  An unrelenting entity of intensity, something more unique, more thoughtful and ruminative, than the vast majority of other artists currently operating in our regional sphere.

Their music is truly emblematic of the futility of standard genre classification in modern music, as your brain contorts itself reaching for synonymous elements here and noting parallels there, struggling to find the precise verbiage to describe something that at its core, can only speak for itself.  It’s about the alchemy of artists coming together and organically creating, the push-and-pull of each individual settling into an equilibrium not unlike sediment gently falling onto the ocean floor.

The members of Lo Moda cover a wide range of ages, but their artistic maturity is matched perfectly.  Their minimal sound is one of the most enrapturing I’ve ever come across.  It would be a mistake to miss their show tonight at the WindUp Space.  They are celebrating the pending release of their latest album, Replica Watches along with Thrust Lab, and Miracles.  Thank Peter Quinn and the rest of the band for generously sharing the track “Anonymous Cats” (above) exclusively with us at Aural States.

I took some time earlier this week to visit the Quinn residence and chat with Lo Moda in a free-for-all interview.

Aural States: How did Lo Moda come about?

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Album Review: Little Joy – Little Joy (Rough Trade)

It was always clear to me that Fabrizio Moretti was the coolest Stroke. Julian Casablancas tries too hard to be hip, and Nick Valensi looks far too much like Euro-trash to be from New York, which is totally uncool. Let’s face it, Albert Hammond and Nikolai Fraiture never even had a chance. Fab Moretti has gone ahead and perfected the apathetic musician look. That 5-day-old scruff, an almost unnoticeable slouch…I bet he probably raises his eyebrows often. I’d like to hang out with him, sit in a Brazilian cafe and watch him smoke cigarettes. He’d tell me about his adventures from touring, we’d listen to old Velvet Underground records.

I don’t even like them that much (but I’d never tell Fab that).

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Interview: Small Sur (w/ Bob Keal)

We’ve lavished praise upon Small Sur’s first full-length, released earlier this year.  And over the course of the year, their live performances have become more and more vital and assured.  Given their album is one of my favorite releases all year, and the fact that Bob and crew have a show coming up at Metro Gallery this Wednesday with Horse Feathers (Kill Rock Stars), I dropped by Bob’s house to chat about all things Keal and Small Sur.

Read on, intrepid musical explorer. And enjoy this previously unreleased track, “Weeds.” This cut will likely be reworked for the next album.

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MP3: Small Sur – Weeds

Aural States: I wanted to explore what, early on, got you into music. Read the rest…

This Weekend – A.S. Staff Picks

**I’ve assuredly missed some shows. Please add your show/suggestions via comments.

FRIDAY

  • Brightblack Morning Light, Zomes, Fursaxa — The Talking Head Club. (CM/GS)
    Get your freak-folk/droney/stoner jams out at this FULLY stacked, not-to-be missed show. Brightblack Morning Light = blissful reverb-soaked throwback mellowness.

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    MP3: Brightblack Morning Light – Oppressions Each


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Grooves & Glitches: Sam Cooke

Credit: Rob Guillory

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MP3: Sam Cooke – Only Sixteen

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MP3: Sam Cooke – Chain Gang

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MP3: Sam Cooke – Cupid

Despite my penchant for the overly complex, over-wrought and over-thought, I’ve always found it immensely fascinating to ponder what makes someone a true musical icon.  For all the inventive, ground-breaking things we hear that push our boundaries, which are the ones that will stand the infamous “test of time” and become something that benchmarks a momentous time in history.  Who will ultimately become a monumental figure in music and art, a measure of things to come and a force to re-contextualize what has come before.

Sam Cooke is undoubtedly one of those icons.

A masterful songwriter, precise and profound expression couched in simplicity and relatively minimal pop music.  Simple melodic progression serves as the drive and focus of every composition, providing a backdrop which accents a timeless and singular vocal talent.

Odds are Cooke is one of those names that if you know him, you love him; if you don’t know the name, you likely know one of his hits intimately. Thus, it’s always a treat for me to dig through the bins and find something, anything, with Cooke’s work on it. Above, you can grab few of his famed tracks from a 1965 hits collection.

Photos / Review: We Are Scientists, Liam & Me @ Sonar (2008.11.11)

IMG_0087

Photo credit: Greg Szeto

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MP3: We Are Scientists – The Great Escape

This is going to be brief as I have a lot on my plate and in my mind.

I don’t think it’s possible for We Are Scientists to not have, and as a corollary not be, fun in performance.  It’s etched into their personalities, and thankfully this fun-loving trait is shared with a sizable contingent of their fervent fan-base.

For a Tuesday night, the club stage of Sonar was decently filled.  But I firmly maintain that everything is about quality and not quantity.  Judged on that basis, the Scientists should be really proud of the fanatics they have gathered around them.  Lead singer Keith Murray was even working their own merch table, with a line of eager fans waiting to chat, consume and take pictures with him.  Such is the level of their down-to-earthy-ness. Read the rest…

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