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Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Los Angeles. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Los Angeles. Mostrar todas las entradas

jueves, 28 de julio de 2016

WEEZER - "The White Album" (Atlantic/Warner, 16)

WEEZER, con sus 11 discos en la mochila durante 24 años de trayectoria, se han convertido en una de las bandas con una de las carreras más disfrutables del panorama mundial. 

Y eso que debutar con un disco tan estratosférico como The Blue Album (1994) puede pasar factura a cualquiera de cara al nivel de exigencia para unos siguientes trabajos. Pues los de Los Angeles luego se sacaron de la chistera un sorprendentemente oscuro Pinkerton (1996), valorado en su justa medida años después; y un excelente resurgir de su espíritu hedonista con The Green Album (2001).

Repasando brevemente su carrera después vendrían el potente Maladroit (2002) con esas guitarras metaleras uniéndose a la fiesta; su vuelta a la primera línea de popularidad con Make Believe (2005); el de transición The Red Album (2008) hacia el espléndido Raditude (2009), con escarceos raperos y psicodélicos incluidos; lo que parecía el empiece de la decadencia de la banda con el insípido Hurley (2010) y el recopilatorio de descartes Death to False Metal (2010); hasta su ilusionante resurrección con Everything Will Be Alright In The End (2014) y el actual The White Album (Atlantic/Warner, 2016), en los que su inspiración se muestra intacta.

El álbum empieza y acaba con el sonido del oleaje, gaviotas y lo que parecen niños jugando. Las playas de Venice y Santa Mónica dan para mucho y el líder de la banda Rivers Cuomo lo ha querido plasmar en un álbum concebido casi como un homenaje a la costa Californiana, lo variopinto de sus gentes, parajes y situaciones.


Topamos con muchas alusiones a los Beach Boys, como no podía ser de otra forma con ese paisaje de fondo, en momentos como los coros de la inicial "California Kids" (clip al final del post); toda la mayúscula "(Girl We Got A) Good Thing", seguro uno de los villancicos estrellas estas futuras Navidades; y la que cierra el álbum, la deliciosa acústica "Endless Bummer". Ésta última parece hecha a medida para disfrutarla por la noche en compañía del dúo Cuomo y Brian Bell, en la playa, mientras asamos unas nubes en una fogata improvisada, sin olvidarnos de unas birritas a modo de guinda.

martes, 2 de diciembre de 2014

FOO FIGHTERS - Sonic Highways (2014)

Parece ser que Dave Grohl se pasó gran parte del año pasado recorriendo Estados Unidos para recoger la esencia de la historia de la música popular made in USA. De esta experiencia ha salido una serie documental que se retransmite actualmente por la cadena de televisión HBO  (en España puedes verlo por Canal Plus) y este álbum. Sonic Highways (Sony Music 2014) está compuesto de 8 canciones grabadas e inspiradas en otras tantas ciudades norteamericanas.

Foo Fighters se encuentran actualmente en el Olimpo de las bandas de rock en activo y por supuesto pueden permitirse experimentos de este tipo, además pensamos que con buena dosis de acierto a nivel globarl. El resultado, teniendo en cuenta la dificultad añadida de construir las canciones en parte a medida de que iban haciéndose a la ciudad motivo de la misma, es más que aceptable.

jueves, 23 de octubre de 2014

Made In America - MEATBODIES, "Meatbodies" (2014)

Chad Ubovich is yet another super-talented musician from that prolific ocean of playmates that Ty Segall surrounds himself with. Ubovich played in backup bands for both Segall (Fuzz) and Mikal Cronin early in his career before forming Chad and the Meatbodies. After releasing some home recordings the band garnered the attention of Los Angeles based In The Red Records, shortened their name to just Meatbodies and have recently released their self-titled debut.

Taking a page from but adding a distinct chapter to Southern California's flourishing scuzz-rock soundscape, Meatbodies comes at you with a full on sonic bombardment that rarely lets up through the album. Ubovich has gotten much deserved attention for his guitar wielding ability, which is exhibited most nicely here, and uses it to effectively rip through a brazen and dirty rhythm section at the most opportune times.

Purchase "Meatbodies" from In The Red Records here.



jueves, 19 de junio de 2014

Made In America - BLEACHED, "For The Feel" 7" EP (2014)

L.A.'s Bleached (Jennifer and Jessica Clavin) were one of the first two bands covered on Made In America way back in 2013. Since then the band has been endlessly touring and no doubt contributing to summer playlists around the world.

Their new EP For The Feel, out digitally on July 24th and as a 7-inch single on September 16th via Dead Oceans, is a continuation of the summer sound and L.A. feel of their debut album Ride Your Heart. It's actually from the Ride Your Heart sessions but failed to make the album cut and was re-recorded for the new EP. The B-side will contain the song "Poison Ivy" and a cover of The Damned's "Born To Kill".

jueves, 31 de octubre de 2013

Made In America - Upset, "She's Gone" (2013)

The girls of Upset have musical pedigrees that anyone would be jealous of. Ali Koehler (guitar and vocals) played drums with Vivain Girls and Best Coast, Jenn Prince (bass) co-founded La Sera and also played with Koehler in Vivan Girls and indie veteran Patty Schemel (drums) banged around with Courtney Love in Hole.

The Los Angeles based trio's debut album She's Gone is out now on Don Giovanni Records. On it Koehler steps from behind the drums, steps away from a rocky departure with Best Coast, and takes up guitar and vocals. With Upset Koehler unleashes a hand full of minute, fizzy-pop gems that are not dragged down by over-complication but contain the right amount of depth that demands more than just a fancy passing.

jueves, 30 de mayo de 2013

Made In America - The Babies

One of the best things about the do-it-yourself ethic of the independent music scene is the camaraderie that exists between musicans and their willingness to work with each other for the sake of making good music. Often this leads to great side-projects and sometimes these side-projects turn into full time bands. If not for this we would've never had bands like The Breeders or Sebadoh.

The Babies are one of these types of bands, a one time side-project turned full time band. The Babies originated at Brooklyn house party meeting between Vivian Girls guitarist Cassie Ramone and Kevin Morby, bassist for the indie-folk act Woods. Originally meant to be another creative outlet between Ramone and Morby, they would later add drummer Justin Sullivan from Bossy, release a handfull of 7" singles on various lables and then a demos E.P. for New Images Records in 2010. 2011 would find the band releasing their self-titled debut on Shrimper Records


Their lo-fi jangly guitar sound with call-and-respond vocals would become more refined the following year while working with Los Angeles based producer Rob Barbato (Darker My Love, The Fall, Cass McCombs) and would lead to thier most recent album Our House On The Hill, released last year on Woodsist Records.


Ramone and Morby share songwriting and vocal duties throughout the album and deftly dish out songs with swirling meloncholic peaks that leave you wonderfully dizzy at times. Our House On The Hill is indie-pop to the core but gets you there through folk and punk rock territory with scatterlings of organ, piano and saxaphone used nicely to fill in that sound.



jueves, 2 de mayo de 2013

Made In America - Allah-Las

So far it's been a wet, sloppy, and unseasonably cool spring, even by southern standards, but I'm already sweating just thinking of that one-two punch coming here inthe southeast where Mother Nature leads off with face numbing heat only to catch you off balance with her muggy blanket of humidity. It sounds more like evil super powers than it does climate but either way you're getting a beat down.

Even with that I've been on a big 60's surfy garage-rock kick lately and what better way to get that itch scratched that to stick with the West Coast.

Los Angeles' the Allah-Las have a throwback sound directly descending from early Kinks and The Animals and if it were possible to get any lower-fi than 60's garage rock then these guys have managed to do so. The quartet formed in 2008, three of the four members met while working at renowened music shop Amoeba Records in Los Angeles. They relesed three singles over the next four years leading up to their full lenght debut Alla-Las which came out last year on the Innovative Leisure label with initial pressing selling out quickly.


Never straying far from mid-tempo, Allah-Las manages to soothe you over with a dozen seductively laid back tunes that beg to be listened to through a pair of vintage headphones while staring through your bedroom window deep into that afternoon sepia glow. The album plays evenly beginning to end and is one of those that really should be listend to that way. It doesn't belong on your iPod on shuffle-play; this one was made for vinyl.

The Allah-Las are currently touring through Europe and will be playing the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona in May.

Allah-Las: Tell Me (What's On Your Mind)