Editor’s note: This is a long overdue report from the show’s first engagement. Thankfully, it is more relevant now than ever since a second weekend of Gründlehämmer performances is fast approaching 2640 Space on the weekend of Feb 19th-21st (Fri – Sat @ 7pm, Sun @ 5pm). And this time, you’ll be able to take a part of it home with the 2-disc studio album packed with songs of heroic deeds and villainous mischief.

If you are feeling particularly generous, drop by and show your support Jan 28th @ the Brewer’s Art-hosted fundraiser.

All photos: Andy Cook

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1. MP3: Baltimore Rock Opera Society – Vengeance & Guide My Hand
2. MP3: Baltimore Rock Opera Society – Hear Ye (rough mix) * preview track, the final version will be available along with the album, at the show dates.

When the four founders of the Baltimore Rock Opera Society talked up an epic production, they spoke every bit of truth.  Epic is undoubtedly the best word to describe Gründlehämmer, the 3-hour long, debut rock opera from the creative quartet of director Aran Keating, music coordinator & actor Dylan Koehler, band director John DeCampos, and propmaster & floor manager Eli Breitburg-Smith. Read the rest…

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01. MP3: Syl Johnson – Different Strokes
02. MP3: Syl Johnson – Come On Sock It To Me (streaming only)

It’s not unusual for friends and acquaintances to ask us how a person should start “getting into” soul music. The general situation looks to be something like this: Soul, though it hasn’t suffered any loss in sheer memorability, has become a somewhat obscure taste among young people of our day. Most everyone still appreciates a hard-hitting 4×4 soul anthem–their dad’s old Otis Redding tapes, James Brown’s cathartic screech–the problem is that few have actually bothered to delve into music made by equally meritable, yet less popular artists of modern and classic eras alike. So how exactly do you go about entering the world of soul?

Obviously, getting caught up in the genre is just as simple as it is for any other type of music–recommendations, criticism, radio, the internet, and ideally: shows. That’s why we cheerfully advise you to attend Numero Group’s Eccentric Soul Revue when it winds its way down to the 9:30 Club tomorrow, Tues Nov 10th (one of only five tour dates). The Vinyl District is also giving away free tickets and swag.

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I found myself more than a bit chagrined while driving down 95 to catch Bat for Lashes (Natasha Khan et al) on Saturday night. Not two weeks earlier had I been informed that Bat for Lashes contacted the promoter for her Baltimore stop at the Ottobar and cancelled. The reason? They were unable to provide speaker power with wattage equivalent to that found in stadium venues.

I have to say, Bat for Lashes used every watt of that power at the 9:30 Club. I felt every joule of energy blasting through every speaker cone in the entire venue. That’s when I realized, detractors who say Khan is aiming for some sort of earthy-crunchy, hippie/hipster fusion demographic have it all wrong. This isn’t easy listening, New Age music. This is all about power and scale. These songs aren’t meant for listening on the bus ride home on medium through ear buds. Every time you put this music on, you should be in an isolation room with no less than 1kW of speaker power, drowning you in a sea of sound. Only then, do you see the forest for the trees.

Khan’s pipes are impressive and glorious live, with clarion power and a mystical, ageless weight. It seems she has the ability to summon her remarkable vocal range from the record to live performance, effortlessly nailing everything from the highs of “Glass” to the lows of “Trophy.”  All this aural bluster was accompanied by a light show that spared no mystique, waxing and waning in front of the surreal backdrop of a wolf howling at the moon.The immediacy of the live show was exponentially raised by Khan’s backing band. In particular, her drummer provided no small amount of rich texture and other-worldly bombast to every song.  The set was well-balanced, featuring an almost even split between material from Fur and Gold (2007) and Two Suns (2009).  Highlights are honestly too difficult to call, as the consistency of her performance was through the roof.  If pressed, I’d have to say “The Wizard,” “Trophy,” and “Horses and I” were all beyond reproach.

I’m not the only one who shares this high an opinion, as she has received that oft sought after vindication by a foundational influence. Bjork herself has leveraged the adjective “amazing” at Bat for Lashes’ live performance.  The only thing I can fault this show after going in with such a bad taste in my mouth, is that it was far too short.  Even including the extra-long encore, this was done in a flash.

Bat for Lashes

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MP3: Teeth Mountain – Ghost Science from Teeth Mountain (2007)

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MP3: Dan Deacon – Padding Ghost from Bromst (2009)

All Photos: the inimitable institution, Josh Sisk (full set here)

Dan Deacon is hitting up Sonar on June 13th, I suggest that you seek out tickets.

Editor’s note: Or you could enter to win tickets from Aural States.  Check back in just a few days.

Out in rural Carroll County where I reside, there’s a powerful stigma behind the idea of Baltimore. It brings up connotations of dimly lit streets, frightening murder-prone men behind every corner, and the Inner Harbor existing as an oasis of “real citydom” in the midst of it all. Needless to say, most of my country-bumpkin peers aren’t very familiar with the town. However, if they just so happened to have been at the 9:30 Club this past Sunday night, I’m sure their minds would have completely eliminated that sinister reputation, replacing it with one of ecstatic joy.

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The Presets

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MP3: The Presets – If I Know You

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MP3: The Presets – If I Know You (Heartbreak Remix) (thanks Modular!)

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MP3: The Golden Filter – Solid Gold

I’ve already paid lip service to “If I Know You,” one of the Presets’ most triumphant, and definitely the most sublime, tracks off 2008′s Apocalypso.  Julian Hamilton’s lingering, sombre vocals gliding atop the distant, steadily pulsating backbeat and back-mixed synth chord progression gives the entire track a naked, vulnerable feel that stands hairs on end, like a brisk pre-dawn breeze drifting over your skin.  Subtle reverb lilts off the vocals, casting  a further haze over the track.  Three-fourths of the way through the track, the bottom drops out to give way to gorgeously appointed, understated vocal harmony that is crushing, reaching the apex of their weight and vulnerability.  The fact that they scored a tastefully edited, equally sublime music video showcasing a mixture of modern, ballet and various other forms of dance is just icing on the cake (video after the jump).  Not surprising, considering we found in our interview that Hamilton’s brother is involved in dance.

But even more great news just hit the wire: the Presets are releasing both a single for “If I Know You” (dropping early April and packed with remixes of the titular track, including a particularly fantastic instrumental by Tom Middleton) and a new collector’s edition of Apocalypso (dropping May 5th) that includes a second disc, also full of remixes.

The Presets are hitting the 9:30 Club in DC tomorrow, Wed Apr 1, with the Golden Filter.  The consensus from their tour opening for Oceania-mates Cut Copy seems to be that their live show regularly trumped the headliner’s, on all levels.  I can testify to it being a gloriously sordid and sweaty affair that really can’t be beat for good times and good tunes.

Vid, tracklist for collector’s edition and complete tour dates after the jump.

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MP3: Tindersticks – Feel the Sun

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MP3: Tindersticks – The Turns We Took

So I thought it was high time for another artist spotlight, and a revival of the Sound Off! series of posts.

Those music lovers who find they are slave to a good baritone backed by effulgent and richly-textured instrumentals (all you lovers of the National, pay attention) would do well to look back into music history. Without much digging, they would probably find the UK’s Tindersticks.

Their first release in years, 2008′s The Hungry Saw, is a slick, nuanced return, recapturing the essence of their oft-cinematic sound. Each track unfolds and builds like the plot of an old classic, impeccably paced with piercing clarity and stunning beauty rooted in the longing vocals of lead singer Stuart Staples.  Their sound and mood easily hops from the smokiest corners of the classic jazz lounges to the majestic balconies of symphony halls.  The vividly plaintive images of “Feel the Sun,” the bittersweet sting of the waltzing “The Organist Entertains,” the sweeping, orchestral grandeur of “The Turns We Took.”  Tindersticks’ sound is diverse, but always distinctively theirs.

Tindersticks return to our shores this year for the first time in over 5 years.  They play the 9:30 Club in DC on Thursday March 5th.

All Photos: Greg Szeto

After seeing School of Seven Bells (SVIIB, Wiki) play live, it became apparent to me why Ben Curtis may have been driven to leave the Secret Machines at a seemingly inopportune time. Curtis’ musical ideas clearly wanted to go in a more atmospheric direction, somewhat opposed to the aural pyrotechnics that the Machines tend to explode with; even moreso, I think it’s fairly clear that he wanted to orchestrate more than his singular guitar voice amidst the bombastic din that forms the bread and butter of any great Secret Machines’ song.

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Courtesy of the fine folks at the 9:30 Club, we have a pair of tickets to next week’s School of Seven Bells / Fujiya & Miyagi show  (Thursday Feb 17th).  

Send us an email to auralstates at gmail dot com or comment this post to enter!  We’ll draw and email a winner Tuesday night.  Sorry folks.  Winner has been emailed; congrats to Paul Kelch! Enjoy the show!

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MP3: Fujiya & Miyagi – Pterodactyls from Lightbulbs (2008)

Fujiya & Miyagi are a smooth and steady cadenced extension of some strong Can influences.  Though they faltered some on their third album (2008′s Lightbulbs) by mostly treading water stylistically, their music still has an undeniable intensity that sucks you in, simultaneously trance-inducing and grounding.  Read more about their motivations and music in my interview with David Best from a ways back.

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MP3: Sempiternal Amaranth from Alpinisms (2008)

School of Seven Bells is a project formed from the split factions of two established groups (the Secret Machines and On!Air!Library!), but their airy, dream-like melodies seem to transcend and rise above what some view as a tumultuous origin.  Instead, their music relays the organic spirit of the relationship between Benjamin Curtis and the Deheza twins that catalyzed the group’s genesis.  Where F&M create a subtle and often minimal sound, School of Seven Bells coalesces an enveloping din of fuzzed-out guitars and a cloud of electronics.  This instrumental haze is purposeful as Curtis has openly stated the music is a lens to amplify the lyrics.  In this fashion, the music serves to set the pace and tone of each song, ultimately enhancing the impact of the strong vocal harmonies.

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MP3: Rich Man from Delete. Delete. I. Eat. Meat. (2007)

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MP3: Heavy Heart from Robotique Majestique (2008)

Live, this band is incredible. The music doesn’t sound like it comes from instruments; the singing doesn’t sound like it comes from humans. The third member of the band is a severely unrecognized lighting designer. The effects and obnoxious smoke, strobes, and lasers raised the caliber of this very fun and interesting set into one of the best live musical acts you’ll experience.

“It started underneath this tent, and ended in outer space.” Read the rest…