Imagine, if you will, what would happen if you mixed the Gorillaz with MGMT. The combination of similarities form into this great multi genred track without going overboard. The song seriously impressed me upon first listen. Learning that the band contains eight members intrigued me even more.
Making things even more interesting I happened to receive a Constellations 7″ (not kidding) in the mail today that not only had “Setback” but also the killer track “Love Is A Murder” featuring Cee-Lo! This is no Gnarls Barkey attempt but rather something much more likable (at least to me). After hearing just two tracks off the album I have very high expectations of the full length.
I have to say I am rather pumped for The Constellations to release their debut album titled Southern Gothic on June 22nd. It took the band two years to record the album with help from producer Ben H. Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley).
You fancy yourself a Broken Bells fan? Well you should check this band out pretty quickly before they blow up all over the music scene.
It’s not typical that I start out a video on my posts but this one was too unique to not showcase immediately. Above was the flash music video for Uniform Motion‘s “Back Up Your Soul”. If you watched it with a careful eye you might have seen something a little different – I customized it.
The duo (1 part music and 1 part visual effect) has developed a combination of social media, flash animation, and music to create a customizable greeting card music video featuring the band performing along with a personalized message that appears on their backdrop. Not only is the idea of the video cool but so is the band’s music and style.
The flash video actually emulates the duo with one half on the instruments and the other behind an electronic sketch pad. Dreary and dreamy folk music is what this band does best and I can not get enough. It is like chill-out folk music that puts me in a trance on more than one sensory level.
Uniform Motion just dropped their second album on February 9th entitled Life. Defined as an Anglo-French Illustrated Indie Folk band the act combines music with visual arts. Their latest CD carries 8 tracks and a collection of 9 canvas arts for you to get lost in as you absorb their material.
Culture was shocked in Akron last night thanks to Tokyo, Japan’s Polysics making a special appearance at Musica. The orange jumpsuit wearing foursome traveled half way around the world to perform their Devo inspired music to a packed club on what normally would have been just another regular Friday evening. Scenesters as well as a couple punk rockers and plenty of proud geeks piled into the quaint club in downtown Akron with perfect knowledge of what would soon progress.
Polysics is best defined as a pop power punk electronica experimental new wave outfit or “technicolor pogo punk” as they dub themselves. Think heavy synthesizers and guitar matched over insane voice altering vocals as well as a very energetic male lead vocalist Hiroyuki Hayashi (Hiro – and yes, he sounds like Hiro from the TV show Heros) who blasts out English, Japanese, and gibberish lyrics. Formed in 1997 out of the pure love for Devo as well as The Tubes the band is an underground sensation thanks to their extremely energetic live shows and of course their orange jumpsuits and straight bar-style sunglasses.
Opening the evening was a band called Stiletto hailing from Kent, OH. The band reminded me of Bedlight For Blue Eyes and Roses Are Red with their slight heavy rock sound. The lead singer had a good voice and when the band had it together they sounded fine. They sadly kept having issues starting their songs and it became apparent that they needed some more practice as it became downright annoying to some of the crowd. Still, they did well and get props from me when the lead signer quoted Tupac but really did not match up to the headliner at all.
Armed with my trusty camera I really thought upon entering Musica that I was going to grab some photos during Polysics’ set but while inside the venue I saw this:
That really was something I did not want to see. I respected the artist though and did not shoot anything until the very end of the show because who am I kidding…I need at least one shot.
Good thing I did not take photos as there was a dual braided memory card deleting bandit who was part of the Polysics crew. I understand the premise of his doings but you should have seen this guy. He stood upon a stool and the moment a flash went off he was bolting over to that non-sign reading schmo and erasing any Polysics related photo from their camera. Seeing what this guy was all about I really did not want him touching my gear so I parked the camera to my side and just enjoyed the show.
Hands were about the entire evening. It was a party.
You know a crowd is excited to see a band when they cheer insanely as the band is setting up their gear on stage. Things just got better when the band actually took the stage and just started hammering out songs. The songs they played ranged from almost industrial heavy pieces to absolute insanity jump-all-over-the-place songs.
Still a novice to this band I just started with amazement throughout their set not having any idea what was going on other than a damn good time. The couple songs I did recognized were “Young OH! OH!”, “Fire Bison”, and just amazing “Shout Aloud!”
As entertaining as Hiro was throughout the night (especially when he screamed “you gruys awre awresoooooome!!!”) I absolutely adored the straight faced Kayo on the synthesizer and vocoder. I could not help but envision the scene in Revenge Of The Nerds II when the nerds played the concert at Hotel Coral Essex.
According the band’s MySpace page Kayo will be parting ways with the band after the tour so I am pretty psyched I was able to the original line-up. The whole night was a party with Polysics controlling it. Fans danced and tossed their hands about to the music. It was indeed a interesting and fun evening. If I had to describe the evening I would have to say just imagine Daft Punk, Devo, and the Teen Titans humanized and in orange jumpsuits and you might have some idea what happened. It was amazing.
Today was like a musical draft for one of the biggest festivals in the US. I speak of the 4 day festival Bonnaroo and today’s announcement has been a day long event as the initial line-up was introduced to all who were curious throughout the day via Twitter and MySpace. This was the first time Bonnaroo has done something like there where they utilize other sites to slowly leak out fetival details.
The way that Bonnaroo chose to dish out the artists was annoying to me. It was a novel idea but if you are like me you want to know everything at once and not have to wait over 12 hours for a line-up. I hope next year they just go back to routine and hand everything out at once.
Having already been to Bonnaroo twice (2006 & 2009) I can tell you that the line-ups are generally full of an array of artists for everyone. This year is without exception and I really am thinking hard about going again. I had a great time last year and really could go for a road trip with friends again. This time though I am going to go and enjoy it and not worry about covering it. I missed out on a few good sets because I made promises of coverage on a site I could barely keep but I still kept to my word and was submitting nightly reviews as the sun was rising the next day.
The artist line-up is listed below and I am sure a few other acts will sneak in over the upcoming weeks. Anyone else interested in attending? I know it will be a good time as always – just look at all the bands and artists!
Artists confirmed for
* Dave Matthews Band
* Kings of Leon
* Stevie Wonder
* Jay-Z
* Tenacious D
* Weezer
* The Dead Weather
* Damian Marley and Nas
* Phoenix
* Norah Jones
* Michael Franti and Spearhead
* John Fogerty
* Regina Spektor
* Jimmy Cliff
* LCD Soundsystem
* The Avett Brothers
* Thievery Corporation
* Rise Against
* Tori Amos
* The National
* Zac Brown Band
* Les Claypool
* John Prine
* The Black Keys
* Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers
* Jeff Beck
* Dropkick Murphys
* She & Him
* Against Me!
* The Disco Biscuits
* Daryl Hall & Chromeo
* Jamey Johnson
* Clutch
* Bassnectar
* Kid Cudi
* Baaba Maal
* Kris Kristofferson
* Medeski Martin & Wood
* The xx
* GWAR
* Dan Deacon Ensemble
* Tinariwen
* Wale
* Deadmau5
* The Melvins
* The Gaslight Anthem
* Miike Snow
* The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
* Dr. Dog
* They Might Be Giants
* Punch Brothers
* Isis
* Blitzen Trapper
* Blues Traveler
* Miranda Lambert
* Calexico
* OK Go
* Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
* Martin Sexton
* Lotus
* Dave Rawlings Machine
* Mayer Hawthorne and the County
* Japandroids
* Jay Electronica
* Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
* Ingrid Michaelson
* The Dodos
* Manchester Orchestra
* The Temper Trap
* Cross Canadian Ragweed
* Big Sam’s Funky Nation
* Carolina Chocolate Drops
* NEEDTOBREATHE
* Tokyo Police Club
* The Entrance Band
* Local Natives
* Brandi Carlile
* Mumford & Sons
* Rebelution
* Diane Birch
* Monte Montgomery
* Julia Nunes
* The Postelles
* Lucero
* Here We Go Magic
* Hot Rize
* Neon Indian
* B.O.B
* More Artists to Be Announced! (Subject To Change As Well)
Rumors earlier in the month pointed to Roger Waters possibly playing the festival but I am sure that is a no go now. Also word on the streets was that Mastodon was going to make an appearance as well. One could only hope.
I’ll be posting stuff here and there through out the next few months. Still have not fully committed but highly considering it…
Tickets are on sale now and at this time are $234.50 but that price will not last forever and they will jump to $249.50. They also are going to have the payment plan again this year – 5 payments of $50. Not too shabby!
I am sitting here trying to think of something clever to say about the experimental pop act Polysics but my mind is blank.
It would be all too easy to say they are the modern day Japanese version of Devo…just look at their outfits. Truth is they are Devo but mixed with some Daft Punk and even some of the more experimental Kraftwerk.
The Japanese new wave, electronic, punk rock act has actually been around since 1997 and started “in the spirit of Devo” according to Hyroyuki Hayashi, the band’s vocalist / guitarist. They even wear Devo-like jump suits with the letter “P” on them. The foursome recently released their tenth album entitled Absolute Polysics on MySpace Records (US Release).
I have only heard a sample of songs but I can tell you that they are a ton of fun and an absolute riot to listen to even if I can not understand all of their lyrics. For you people who like your music weird and of the wall, this is the band for you. To support my statement, both Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips and Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo have raved about Absolute Polysics. That right there proves there is something special about this band.
Next month (Feb 12th) Polysics are making a stop at Musica in Akron, OH and I think it is safe to say that it will be a show not to miss. I myself plan on being there and you should too!
