Whoops I made a note to add this song to the ol’ blog LAST MAY, and just getting around to it now. We were fortunate to see Snow Patrol (with openers We Are Scientists!) a few days ago when the Wildness Tour came through Austin and this was one of just three “new” songs in their set. Thanks for the reminder, lads! For the record, if you’re on the fence about seeing them for some reason, you should know that, even with a cold, Gary Lightbody sounds amazing - like there is truly no production on his voice when they make their records. It was a fantastic show.
Talk Talk - It's My Life
Mark Hollis, lead singer/songwriter for Talk Talk, died yesterday. This is one of my all-time favorite songs. I’ve missed music blogging, also missed memorializing others during this interim. No promises, but with SXSW around the corner, perhaps Keith & I will get back in TMIS’ saddle.
Minus The Bear - Vaiduct
Minus The Bear is good. Really, really good. They might be my all time favorite band. No joke. They’re like the perfect blend of dad rock and prog rock and they light up every part of my brain when I listen to them. They’re like the ultimate elevator music meets rock soundtrack to Tron if they never went into the computer. They’re like some of my favorite old school bands—Visage, Heaven 17, Spandau Ballet—if they were still around today. But better. They’re like a terrific Roger Zelazny or Ursula K. Le Guin book cover, or like old school D&D modules. They ultra modern and old school at the same time and their music reminds me of all the places I’ve ever lived or travelled. Mostly because they’ve been in my ears so much.
As with most good things that don’t last, MTB have recently announced they’re wrapping things up. Luckily for fans like me, they’ve released some terrific new music—like today’s Most Important and the rest of the Fair Enough EP—and are performing a farewell tour. I can’t wait to see them here in Austin next month and give them a proper send off.
(And, yeah, I’ve got fingers solidly crossed for a reunion tour. You know it.)
Upcoming shows
Pinegrove - Rings
Pinegrove’s new album, Skylight, quietly surfaced in my Spotify playlists last week and it’s fantastic, if a bit more alt-country than their previous work. I was curious as to why it was released to such little fanfare, and came across quite a few articles about how their front man, Evan Stephen’s Hall, had come out to admit that he’d been accused of “sexual coercion”. Now, it’s all fairly vague, and while it seems to have been handled in an appropriate manner, I did think twice (more than twice) about posting sharing their new music. To be honest, I’m still not quite sure what I think about it, but, in the end, it came down to the music, and I decided that the music was worth mentioning. If you’re at all interested in what’s been going on with the band, I highly suggest reading Reckoning With Pinegrove by Jenn Pelly.
Upcoming Shows
Mitski - Nobody
Nobody was more surprised than I that this dancy-Blondie sound was what Mitski picked for her next big release after the personal-angsty-volatile hit album Puberty 2 (including one of my top fave songs that year, “Your Best American Girl”) but add to that surprise, delight. I love it like nobody’s business.