If you hear the words “instrumental rock” and “Austin, TX” in the same sentence, it’s pretty hard not to reference Explosions In The Sky. After all, the band has become well known in the past few years for their anthemic brand of post-rock. But forget what you know about Austin and Instrumental Rock, because The Calm Blue Sea are fully prepared to change that.
While they may get grouped together with EIS often because of reasons already stated, The Calm Blue Sea do more than stand up on their own feet on their debut self titled album. The more appropriate term you should be hearing or reading when the band is described is “beautiful”, because that is the word I could not get out of my mind when listening to the soaring tunes on this record.
Providing the perfect backdrop for a film soundtrack or whatever you might be doing at the time, this album is not only atmospheric and at times ambient, but flat out rocks in places as well. Be prepared for deep reaching epic songs from this 6 song album, all of which clock out in the 7-9 minutes range (with one exception). The highs and lows are equally intriguing on the album, building from an area of gentle tones to a full out post-rock epic.
Keep an eye on The Calm Blue Sea, 2009 could be a great year for these guys.
I’ll get you started with this video of the band performing their song, “Literal” live…
We were supposed to have Passion Pit in the lounge yesterday afternoon. But weather conditions here in the midwest made it tough difficult as the band was traveling from Cleveland through some rough conditions. They were kind enough to commit to stopping by today instead though, before they head north again to Columbus, OH.
So tune in today at about 1:30pm ET for a session with Passion Pit in the WOXY.com Lounge! In the meantime, check em out below in their video for “Sleepyhead”….
Artrocker airs exclusively in the USA on WOXY.com. Each week’s show premieres Wednesday night at 6, or you can catch it again Friday mornings at 7, Saturday night at 6, or whenever you like on-demand via the Artrocker page from the WOXY website.
Iran is the type of band that has always been a bit of a mystery. The band put out two albums Iran & The Moon Boys which both were very cool at times, but mostly experimental and hard to fully grasp for me. The band consists of Kyp Malone (TV On The Radio), Peter Hoffman (The Mendoza Line), Aaron Romanello (Grand Mal) and Aaron Aites, but is primarily the handiwork of Aites, who handles all of the songwriting duties, and has been the man responsible for what is now an all-star lineup.
Fast forward to 2009, some seven years since The Moon Boys, when the new Iran album shows up in my mailbox, and I casually put it on a day or two later to hear what new sounds and experiments the boys have cooked up in the lab for this go-round. What I found though, is nothing short of an excellent overall record. Dissolver still has the sounds and eccentricities that the previous records had, (see “Digital Clock & Phone” for proof) but seems to really be more focused on lyrics, and just feel more fleshed out overall than anything I have heard from Iran.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have another TVOTR member helping with production in Dave Sitek, who seems to bring some of the focus to the recordings, while not sacrificing everything that made Iran edgy, which, as artists, is right where they want to be.
Songs like “I Can See The Future”, “Airport ‘79′”, & “Buddy” feel a bit disconnected at first, but after a couple more listens, it just clicks, and in a big way. The shifts in musical sound and direction nothing short of sharp but feel like a ride in a luxury car. This is not something that is achieved easily and is a testament to the talent of the parts that make up Iran and this album.
Dissolver is out February 3rd from the Narnack label and should not be ignored.
WOXY.com is happy to welcome The 1, 2, 3, 4, More More More Show to our lineup. It’s a weekly specialty program hosted by John Davis (Georgie James, Q and Not U) that focuses on classic power-pop, post-punk, new wave, punk rock, indie rock and plenty of the bands of today that are continuing the tradition. John takes requests, so you’ll be able to let him know what you wanna (or don’t wanna) hear.
Watch this space for more details, including when you can hear The 1, 2, 3, 4, More More More Show, coming soon to The Future of Rock & Roll!
Here is the post John made on his myspace page…
After leaving XM Radio following their merger with Sirius, the 1234 More More More show has found a new home at WOXY.com, my favorite internet radio station. We don’t have an exact launch date yet, but it should sometime within the coming weeks. Of course, I’ll post news of when that date will be as soon as I have it. So, check back soon. Thanks. – JD
Boston-based Passion Pit have been riding a wave of great buzz for months after Frenchkiss Records released their Chunk Of Change EP in the fall. Their track “Sleepyhead” has been heavily requested here at WOXY and was posted on damn near every blog and music website known to man. The guys are headed out on the road next week for a brief Winter tour and are appearing at the Amplify New Music Series for January, which happens every month at Schubas Tavern in Chicago as is sponsored in part by WOXY.com! That Amplify show, which also features Paper Route and our good friend Cale Parks, is happening on Tuesday, January 27th and we’re told it’s already close to a sell out.
Two days later, we’ll welcome the guys in for their first Lounge Act session here in Cincinnati before they head over to the Northside Tavern to perform. Now, shows over at the Tavern are always free and we want to give a similar hookup to a few listeners up in Chicago. We have 2 pairs of tickets to this month’s Amplify New Music Series up for grabs. Each winner will be guestlisted for the show with a pair of tickets and we’ll also send you a copy of Passion Pit’s “Chunk Of Change” ep! To enter, just send your name & mailing address to: woxycontests at gmail dot com.
We will accept entries for this contest until 12 Noon on Monday, January 26th. Winners will be notified via e-mail and then we’ll mail your cd to the address you provided.
Tune in for Passion Pit, live in the WOXY.com Lounge on Thursday, January 29th at 3pm eastern.
Join Shiv for another all-new Xtrabeats this weekend. Tune in for new tracks and remixes from: GROOVE ARMADA, THE PRODIGY, ANJULIE, KUDU, PLATINUM PIED PIPERS and a DJ mix from METRO AREA.
Local Lixx returned to the airwaves last week on WOXY.com and WVXU HD2 91.7 here in Cincinnati with our first new episode of 2009. And now, we are ready with another new show that airs tonight. We have new music from Wonky Tonk, Eric Falstrom and Eat Sugar for tonights episode, so be sure to listen in at 8:30pm for some new Local Lixx.
Damien DeRose is known as Peasant on stage, and came to us from Pennsylvania at the end of a long stay on the road by himself. Damien’s music is simple, delicate and beautiful and is very unarming as well. There is no facade being built up around “the next great troubadour”, in fact, he hates the idea of being called that.
What is happening with Peasant, in general and in this session, is an honest singer songwriter traveling the country baring his heart and soul for his audience. In this session, Damien gives us a look inside with 4 songs, one of which is brand new and chats about his latest album, On The Ground.
Join me this weekend for the return of XTRABEATS. All-new episodes are back for the new year and I’ve got lots of great stuff to get in the mix. You’ll hear new cuts and remixes from Franz Ferdinand, Anjulie, Cazwell, West Indian Girl, Lykke Li, and another great DJ mix from Ruckus Roboticus.
both were very cool at times, but mostly experimental and hard to fully grasp for me. The band consists of Kyp Malone (TV On The Radio), Peter Hoffman (The Mendoza Line), Aaron Romanello (Grand Mal) and Aaron Aites, but is primarily the handiwork of Aites, who handles all of the songwriting duties, and has been the man responsible for what is now an all-star lineup.
(Georgie James, Q and Not U) that focuses on classic power-pop, post-punk, new wave, punk rock, indie rock and plenty of the bands of today that are continuing the tradition. John takes requests, so you’ll be able to let him know what you wanna (or don’t wanna) hear.
