After a couple years, I have moved on to a new redesigned Méandre now entitled Mezzic. The change is for the better with a new name, new domain, new Twitter and new content in the works from new contributors. The focus remains the same, so you'll continue to get what you expect from me. It's just shiny and new!
I am looking for contributors from outside the Midwest, if interested please email me or use the contact form with the following:
Your Scene, Country or City
Two top albums of 2010 thus far
An album that changed how you view music
A music writing sample
All prior content has been transferred. This blog will remain rather docile unless it reverts back to its original focus on traveling.
Alors the City of Love is world renown for pure, unbridled ecstasy and creativity oft of the sexual variety. The streets are full entranced lovers along the river, and les bacs (record stores) are full of the likes of Charlotte Gainsbourgs and Sebastien Telliers. The latter unleashed his Sexuality in 2008, an overt yet restrained opus on lust that left critics entangled in his musical bedsheets…and has now been rendered impotent by Relayted.
On the banks of the mighty Mississippi, lapping on the shores comes a similar sunglass-toting self-described wrangler. Far taller than the Frenchman, Ryan Olson and his collection of immaculate white suits have, in mere months, mirrored the mastery of Minnesota funk and R&B. As the story goes, Prince appeared at the Relayted record releases shows at First Avenue with guitar in tow. He tuned, stood, and listened before commenting, "Looks like they've got it under control," and did not step into the glowing gels. What mystical artistic creation could leave the legendary Minneapolis muse hushed?
In brief, Gayngs is a collective of some of the finest Midwestern musicians including P.O.S., Dessa, Justin Vernon and Mike Noyce of Bon Iver, Michael Lewis of Andrew Bird, and others to make up the over 23-member supergroup. The album overall evoked the following responses once played in a friend's store in Paris during an summer afternoon. Males called him a pervert. Females called it "the most sexual music" they had ever heard.
"The Gaudy Side of Town" leads the magnum opus, as well as their thus-performed The Last Prom on Earth concert dates, with Solid Gold's Zach Coulter's vocals bend back to the 1970s and 80s night movie scenes; the kind with wafting smooth smoke rising from the heat of the streets. Michael Lewis' soprano sax sets the mood as Justin Vernon's backing voice floats the otherwise slow funk above the neon red glow of the streets below. This deliberately slow, persistent soul endures through and through at 69 beats per minute.
Ryan Olson, photo by Graham Tolbert
The follow-up, "The Walker," is radically different, almost serving as a buffer before "Cry." "You don't know how to ease my pain," is airy even without the high chorused notes. Imagine it as the musical equivalent of wearing pink or purple clothes. You're mature and confident enough just to turn that volume dial up, lean back and sip scotch in a dimly lit room until Jake Luck's organ completes the transition into "No Sweat." Upon the last measure fading in your ears does the album begin to resonate. Stefon Alexander, aka P.O.S., is bound far from his angry screams and rhymes, restrained and crooning on those aforementioned damp city streets. The mastermind pulled from this and Dessa their most memorable performances of the year. "Faded High" fails to betray the fact that Dessa had never heard the music prior to recording her vocals, given only lyrics. The electronic beat underneath reminds more of isolation and Metroid. Meanwhile the transient vocal duties generate one of the more beautiful harmonies.
The highlights of Relayted include "Crystal Rope" and "Ride." As a bassist, the lines of "Crystal Rope" provide the best example of how bass guitar can add emphasis and heady funk. Meanwhile "Ride"'s keys from Phillip Fucking Cook and Maggie Morrison's wurlitzer urgently pulsate to independently indifferent, floating vocals. It is the song that cradles your head, whispers in your ears, and puts you down into the one thousand thread count sheets of "The Last Prom on Earth." The finale couples Ivan Howard and Justin Vernon on a dance so slow it would unite any Andie Walsh with any Blane McDonough.
Relayted redefines recording as well as refines the record. The ardor of confidence exuded by Ryan Olson persuaded dozens of musicians to span state lines better than any mixture Jean-Baptiste Grenouille could conceive. Laid out before you are psychedelic mesmerizing moments akin to the bridge in Pink Floyd's "Dogs," tenor and baritones entwined vocals, and a lonesome urban Edward Hopper guitar. Gayngs' Relayted may very well be the first full-length ever to make your significant other jealous and raptured simultaneously.
"Is it safe where you're driving?" 'Yes, mom. I've been there a bunch of times...it's in a good neighborhood.'
Insert busted out car windows and our protagonist passes the threshold into a dingy, darkly lit building. Ceiling tiles are not crumbling, but punched out. Stains of all shapes, varieties and colors litter places where stains should never have formed. The bathroom puts the third world to shame, but is the mecca for stickers and scribblings. No one sat, everyone was forced to stand. And to the crowd's right is a decrepit wasteland of a rarely used bowling alley, post-apocalypse. Welcome to my heaven. Welcome back to the Fireside Bowl.
The Fireside saw the cradle to the grave of hundreds of bands in its lifespan, many of which are still kicking today: Rise Against, The Tossers, Alkaline Trio... You went there out of blind faith that every night of the week-and never was disappointed. In 2004, the owners changed heart and reverted the revered venue back into a bowling alley for family fun. It decimated the punk scene in the city, particularly with the impending closure of Belmont & Clark's The Bottom Lounge (reopened later in another part of the city).
It's with much high school happiness that I help spread the gospel that the Fireside is back doing shows again. It may not be as dirt-covered as before, but Chicago just got its home back.
I have been gone, yes. 16 hour work days for ten days straight don't lend much time to writing. Fear not, ye fearless non-fair weather fans. I'm all freed up in two weeks.
3OH!3 - My First Kiss (feat. Ke$ha)
From copying Uffie to concocting pop music recalling the cringe-worthy influx of "pop punk" circa 2001 combines 3OH!3 and Ke$ha. Just like back then, ignore the lyrics; it makes swallowing this pill so good those commercialized side effects that hit you down the road make it well worth it. This single has more hooks than your father's tackle box. 7.4
Justin Nozuka - Heartless (feat. Zaho) (iTunes France)
Released in France, this version of the Canadian-American singer features another round of guest vocals from Algerian-Canadian singer Zaho. While the sleepy hit pop holds its own with a lazy, light-as-a-cloud vocals from Justin Nozuka, the French verses and gorgeous backup add an extra soft layer to this single. The young kid holds promise and deeply rooted talent (his family is linked to Kyra Sedgwick and several singer/songwriters), particularly with such a mature near R&B singing over acoustic guitar. 6.7
Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug
Kesha Rose Sebert is everything Hollywood epitomizes. Blonde, a powerhouse of pop culture, and as unstoppable as a wildfire once it gets sparked. The dance-pop artist banks on the beat, and this one's got it in spades slinging a slick build-up. Coupled with the aforementioned 3OH!3 single and Ke$ha's putting up quite the fight for radio attention in the era of Gaga. 7.0
Lady Gaga - Alejandro
I utterly dismissed Lady Gaga until Europe brought me the LoveGame remix that held French radio in a Europop bondage. It never came Stateside, but the europop injections lacing "Alejandro" is the closest she's getting to capturing that strobe and throbbing bass European DJs so expertly infused. Gaga continues to rampage pop music, using the serious yet obnoxious accented introduction, before her tales of ill-fated love of gay men doom her to merely performing undeniably genius pop. Alas, the latest fails to live up to "Bad Romance," but at this point there are not many who care. 7.6
La Roux - Bulletproof
"Bulletproof," a month ago, was far from radio in the States. She performed at the Empty Bottle's little corner stage with Yes Giantess as the red-haired electropop singer was dominating European airwaves. The discotheque rhythms with 1970s individualist represents a beachhead in bringing in video game sampling to pop music; inescapably at that... 7.6
Shinedown - Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)
"The Crow and the Butterfly" and "Sound of Madness" brought back 2003's Shinedown to the forefront, with Brent Smith's arcing voice at the helm. The latest cues up the leading track to the film The Expendables begins with a ticking explosion following unique spoken poetry. Refreshing, despite overwhelming production (strings were not necessary-yet are prerequisites to be hardcore nowadays), it gives the Jacksonville-based rockers a proud launching pad to follow up 2008's The Sound of Madness. 7.1
Travie McCoy - Billionaire (feat. Bruno Mars)
Travie's got a massive hit on his hands, more so than the Gym Class Heroes singer had when breaking the airwaves with "Cupid's Chokehold." Notched behind "Taxi Driver", drawing in reggae to perfectly complement the daydreaming summer haze. Personal request, should anyone remix this, let it be a ska band. 7.6
Paris-based singer/songstress Madjo will be releasing her debut album later in the year, following up her stunningly elegant EP released late last year. Here she is helping out the fellows of Puggy for an uplifting, rambunctious romp of a cover of The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Puggy is an international trio (British, Swedish and French) headquartered out of Belgium. The Teaser EP is currently available via iTunes France. Their single "I Do" follows after a brief break.
The Black Keys - Tighten Up
Accelerating into the song akin to Spoon, the dirty blues rock duo returns with a Rubber Factory sounding single. Patrick Carney's drumming tugs you in like Hugo and a black mysterious chord before Dan Auerbach's grunge-tinged blues seizes you from behind with a surprising, well-placed breakdown. Best since before they broke into radio. 7.4
Black Sunshine - Once in My Life
Picking up hard rock members from the likes of Filter, Frank Zappa, and Loser, Matt Reardon is off the slopes and trying at music. He has the formula down, and the voice. The Filter-esque breakdown, coupled with early Tantric acoustic tones, gives a solid debut single. 6.1
B.o.B. - Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams)
First off, you should know who Paramore is without the need to note it on the album art. Then again they deserve as much promotion as possible with their consistency since emerging with 2005's All We Know is Falling. Hayley Williams and Paramore have endured when fellow female-fronted pop punks deteriorated with time (e.g., 1997, The Hush Sound and hopefully not the shooting stars of Rochester, NY's Dasha).
It is because "Airplanes" attains and exceeds expected marks that potentially mirrors Gwen Stefani's rise and departure with No Doubt and her solo career. B.o.B.'s rhymes are given a vibrant layer through Hayley as he pensively speaks of "pandemonium and madness" accompanying his ascent. "We're rapping to stay relevant" is the mission statement of hip-hop, pop and music today. 8.2
B.o.B. - Nothin' on You (feat. Bruno Mars)
The talk of the industry has been a lack of male R&B singer reaching the masses as Usher did in 1997 through 2001 with "You Make Me Wanna…" and "U Remind Me". Bruno Mars' chorused voice strikes in this rich vein unlike the nasally natured (and utterly unique) Akon. B.o.B. rhymes, far from typical distortions, ride the realism jet streams of KiD CuDi despite not rapping nearly as much as KiD. If hip-hop's trying to wedge into the accessibility previously only addressed by indie rap, those two wordslingers show promise. 6.5
Drowning Pool - Feel Like I Do Sinner and Desensitized has given into the barroom shouts and chants bands use to get their fans (typically their friends) riled up-when starting out. Drowning Pool is better than this, yet came out with such a single with "Feel Like I Do." Their ferociousness and vicious metal is gone on this one, as if someone thought it would be a good idea to follow an unrelated popular rock group's lead instead of what got this metal powerhouse where they were. 4.6
Jack Johnson - You and Your Heart
"If I Had Eyes" and "Hope" failed to capture the same attention as "Upside Down" or "Breakdown." Blame it on the overload once Jason Mraz and John Mayer flooded the sun-filled beach pop. This is the much-needed break in the dull clouds; catchy, bright and with just a hint of Ben Folds-esque piano backing up slightly fuzzy acoustic. 7.5
Katy Perry - California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg)
As much as I prefer Zaho's remix of Sean Paul's "Hold My Hand" to be the summer song, here comes Katy Perry and the cooler than an ice cream truck Snoop Dogg with a supposed response to Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind." "Waking Up In Vegas" stumbled on the city blocks, but the funk and electro of "California Gurls" happens to raise this Santa Barbara girl back up-proving she's here to stay like the Hollywood sign. 7.8
Muse - Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)
Briefly, we have heard this song before with different notes. Too operatic with overreaching Queen guitars attempting to ride the horse to…no clue. Bring back Absolution or steal their rocket fuel-there is only so much epic-ness to go around. Less is more. 4.9
We Are The Fallen - Tear the World Down
Amy Lee has disappeared from the radar, and that's given former member Ben Moody more than an opportunity to show off his new group featuring Carly Smithson of American Idol. Carly harnesses similar vocal chops, permeating through Ben's anthemic riffs and staple, yet touch out-of-place, string section. As a debut, it will be targeting straight for Flyleaf. 5.8
Concurrent with Dessa Darling up in the Land of 10,000 Lakes mixing poetry with rhymes, across the ocean you have Clara Plume illuminating the City of Light. The two are quite similar in blending styles around verses, often in a rapid-fire delivery, but while one can get quite visceral, the other basks in the joyful side of wordplay. It helps the name Clara was chosen for clarity and lightness.
Contrary to Dessa, the spotlight found Clara Plume through the fête de la chanson française on the television station France 2, where she won the competition through her single "Les Petits Plaisirs." Signed to Mercury, as opposed to a DIY collective, the two paths seem to separate at this point aside from styles. Her music takes contemporary pop melodies and juxtaposes them to French slam, which is more a derivative of hip-hop there than it is here. "It's like a recipe, a good plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce" is how she described it in an interview with Désinvolt. Her first album, Mes fils d'encre, is "not an album that had been extremely reflected upon, but rather very simple." (Once again, her description from the interview in English.) Quite a departure from the introspective A Badly Broken Code, but how does this turn all out with similar deliveries yet different musical sources?
Immediately L'Homme Texto, with its drifting slide guitar over boisterous horns, breaks Clara not only from the Twin Cities slam poet/rapper but also from contemporary pop singers. Her quickness with words tops very early Lily Allen, as on "LDN," without the snide sneering of her or Kate Nash, as she sends a verbal barrage against men hiding behind chronic texting. It is not the deepest of tales, but a simple song of urban life. Further down, "Change," is one of the tipping point samples that drew Clara Plume out of the music artist fog. Slowly starting with a keys akin to a toy train whistle, wispy vocals coax the listener into an accordion lull before her voice awakens and peaks in a punctuated chorus.
"Ne m'demande pas d'être comme un age…qui ne plane pas. Les sentiments marchent pas comme des finances…" are some of the few phrases that grace one of the two slower ballads, "L'Heure de l'Amour" that appear on Mes fils d'encre. Her quicksilver poeticism appears all to briefly following that statement that feelings don't work like finances. This short outburst-or bubbling-reflects a sort of struggle between the pop and slam that appears once in a while. The two haven't quite made perfect amends seemingly in this album as it hasn't in music, yet these rough edges are always apparent in mixing two genres.
Where it does work phenomenally is "Kes-ki-empêche?," a bobbing, accordion accented song that pulls a reggae vibe into the formula. Clara Plume's choruses, full of layered pop harmonies, are brief and improve upon her impressive verses. It is balanced and tempered on an album surging both with lightheartedness and random, hidden words and outbursts.
Clara Plume's debut is a jovial journey and an early marker of pop blending with rhyming previously isolated to slam and hip-hop poetry. Her delivery is undeniable, and with smoothing over her true singing parts she could become a viable force leading the movement in Europe.
Civil Twilight - Letters from the Sky
The way Andrew McKellar's voice strains recalls classic Bono, just with a touch of Chris Martin. It is ambitious, beginning with a punctuated piano just dolling out heavy note after note weighed down by a driving-yet not overwhelming-drumming towards the end. Restrained, and talented. Keep an ear open for these Cape Town-to-United States folks. 7.4
Coheed & Cambria - Here We Are Juggernaut
Lead single for Year of the Black Rainbow. The fuzzed guitars over wavering, watered vocals has weighed down Coheed & Cambria's overt orchestrated epic nature. It is refreshing, though not as much as early In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth singles. 6.2
Green Day - Last of the American Girls
I think the public can all agree that the second magnum opus from Green Day was…well American Idiot was still needing to sink in. 21st Century Breakdown lacked much of the backstory, and thus many of the singles didn't hold aside from "21 Guns." Thankfully they chose "Last of the American Girls," one of the few standouts with a guitar riff that rivals pop choruses. 7.7
Korn - Oildale (Leave Me Alone)
At this weekend's NARM 2010, metal was overheard to be at the strongest it has ever been. Deftones' Diamond Eyes will have a serious contender if "Oildale" is any indication of what's to come from Jonathan Davis and Co. Fieldy is finally front and center with Ray Luzier. Ross Robinson (e.g., Life is Peachy is all over the production, reverting this listener back to the late 90s and loving every split second of this jungle thrashing. Makes you want to pick up those guitars and destroy your Guitar Hero. 8.6
MGMT - Flash Delirium
With all the hatred flowing towards MGMT surrounding Congratulations, "Flash Delirium" is nearly as disjointing as "Stylo." "Kids" was overhyped and expectations of such a follow-up were never well founded. Nevertheless, the '70s family bus chorus over keys and sax is subliminally catchy. I'm sure we'll understand what was going on…in a few years. 7.8
Paper Tongues - Trinity
Randy Jackson's all over this band, which gives me a disposition not to like it. If it was pure pop, it'd be different-but I am a firm believer that people in pop should stay there and sit on their hands. Vocally and lyrically it's the head of the nail flush against the wall; soulful but a shell. Musically it retains that pop tightness, trying to feign veering out of control (à la Muse)…but it's too calculated to be believable. Soundtrack. 5.8
Traveling takes you out of your shell, isolates you from the habitual and unveils newfound discoveries. Méandre shares that sentiment through music. Shaking your tastes up.
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