REVIEW: Owen - Ghost Town

Owen - Ghost Town
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From his work with Cap’n Jazz to American Football, Mike Kinsella has always displayed a knack for being able to translate emotional weight through dizzying guitar riffs just as well as any singer ever could. As Owen, Kinsella has proven to be a master at arranging and layering, creating something soothing and accessible that still manages to be relatively complex and deep without losing a sense of purpose. Owen’s sixth full-length album, Ghost Town, is no different.

FINALLY...The "What's Your Muse?" 2010 Mixtape

Last year, we introduced a new feature called "What's Your Muse?" where we ask a band or artist to select a song that means a lot, or the most, to them. Then, we ask them to record a short video of themselves explaining why they chose the song. You can view all the submissions here.

It goes without saying, but this post is quite overdue. As we continue our search for our first submission of 2011, please enjoy this mixtape. I wish we could provide a download of this mix, but that would be illegal and not something we can afford to do here. If you do happen to have these songs, then enjoy them in this order! Otherwise, I hope the two formats provided below will be acceptable. Hit play and let it run while you do your homework, take a run with your laptop, prepare the big presentation for that really important four o'clock meeting, play with K'Nex, or enjoy it in any other possible scenario in which you'd like to listen to music. The tracklist is structured chronologically according to when we received/posted the submissions. Enjoy!

LIVE REVIEW: Joan of Arc @ Golden West Café, 1/22/11

I am not familiar with Joan of Arc’s back catalog. Is that sacrilege in the indie music community? I don’t know, but it’s the truth. Coming to a JOA show with no real preconceived ideas of what to expect certainly leaves one with a certain sense of excitement, especially when one is only familiar with a few older songs and the band’s 2009 LP, Flowers. I went in understanding that Joan of Arc is known for being rather adventurous in terms of themes, lyrics, and music, intentionally misleading and confusing listeners.

The set on Saturday night’s sold out show at Baltimore’s Golden West Café – a restaurant by day, a concert venue by night – was primarily filled with new songs. And while such a move might be off-putting for some, Joan of Arc’s set was rather entertaining. It was easy to move to the rhythms, which seemed to constantly shift, but it was also stimulating as I found myself focusing deeply on the interplay between all four musicians (guitarist/vocalist Tim Kinsella, guitarist Victor Villareal, bassist Bobby Burg, and drummer Theo Katsaounis). Both Kinsella and Villareal tended to play contrasting riffs that, although different in style and emotion, converged together in an effective cacophonous force. It was a rambunctious performance that had its harmonious moments. There was a jazz-like freedom to each song, with shifting rhythms, syncopation, and furious fretboard action. Looking around the room, even devoted fans seemed to be nodding along in approval to the newer material – though, of course, older material drew the biggest reactions.

Loose Lips Sink Ships & Joan of Arc's Victor Villarreal Releasing Split 7"

Illinois math rockers Loose Lips Sink Ships are releasing a split 7" entitled Eating Happens with Victor Villarreal (Joan of Arc, Cap'n Jazz, Ghosts & Vodka, Owls) on August 27th through Whaleplane Records. The split features Loose Lips Sink Ships' whimsically-titled A-side "Sarah Palin's Parasailing" b/w Victor Villarreal's beautiful acoustic gem "Prophesying Hypothesis". You can now pre-order it, and you better because it's going to be a limited pressing of 500 hand numbered copies -- that and it's awesome. The cover photo was taken by Randi Stella and Adam Minorczyk created the back cover collage seen here. Hear the whole thing below.

Loose Lips Sink Ships' "Sarah Palin's Parasailing" packs a week's worth of emotion into just over four minutes of some of the most adventurous and dynamic math rock around. It's a story in a song that has no need for words or any hint of vocals because instrumentally it's already so expressive.

Victor Villarreal's "Prophesying Hypothesis" is a gorgeous fingerpicked folk tune that features heartfelt vocals over a lovely acoustic backdrop. A severe thunderstorm just passed through this area, and as I was typing this, the sky went from being nearly pitch black to bright and sunny. I'd like to think that "Prophesying Hypothesis" made that happen.

BUY: Preorder the Eating Happens 7" here before it's gone.

WHAT'S YOUR MUSE? Bobby Burg (Love of Everything, Joan of Arc)

It's the first of the month, and that means it's time for another edition of "What's Your Muse?"

The concept is simple: We ask a band/artist to choose a song that means a lot/the most to them. Then, they record and send us a video of themselves describing why they chose the song. Think of it like a collaborative video mixtape project.

This week, Bobby Burg of Love of Everything and Joan of Arc (also a member of Make Believe and Vacations...sounds like he needs a vacation!) goes a step beyond and tells us about a favorite album. Burg went the distance (literally) for his choice. Hear all about it after the hop.

REVIEW: Love of Everything - Best In Tensions

Love of Everything - Best In Tensions
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Love of Everything has been around for over a decade now, but has always really been the brainchild of one Bobby Burg (Joan of Arc, Vacations, Make Believe). Here, along with his wife Elisse La Roche, Love of Everything has made a simplistic yet interesting album with Best In Tensions. It's an endearing mix of indie rock, lo-fi, and folk. It's vulnerable, raw, and genuinely forthright. It is a presentation of emotion in its simplest form, produced with generally nothing more than guitar and drums.

But like the simplest things in life, there's always a chance for complexity to interject itself. "I Love All You Guys" is built up through layers of guitar in various states (e.g. acoustic, droning). In a way, the layers of guitar end up individually embodying various personalities or feelings -- a sort of instrumental chorus singing along with Burg's lyrics. "Total Eclipse of the Heart (revisited)" works in much the same way, with swells of feedback serving as the emotional pull against the comforting and delicate sound of the clean guitar backbone of the song. It's songs like these that showcase Burg's knack for incorporating a diverse range of tones as a way to better express the emotions behind the music.

The album never gets too stagnant because the songs go from loud to quiet and quiet to loud, a journey marked by the ups and downs in life. "Fear of Missing Out" has a two-chord progression that works well and never gets dull, with a slightly tremolo'd tone a la surf rock guitar and group vocals that are smile-inducing and cathartic to sing along with. "Marry My Wife" has verses of melancholy that give way to a instrumental interlude of divergent, distorted guitar riffs that roar into an emotionally-charged vocal duet.

Most songs don't pass the two minute mark and that works in the album's favor. The brevity of the songs is where their allure lies; it is their strength as it allows the music to be much more direct and to the point. As Spanish baroque prose writer Baltasar Gracian once wrote, "Good things, when short, are twice as good."

Best In Tensions can at times sound a bit more like a collection of demos than completely formed songs, but it's more or less irrelevant when considering how it prevents the songs from ever coming across as if they're dragging along. It adds to their raw nature and gives the album an undeniable sense of intimacy. In fact, what's most enjoyable -- and best -- about this LP is its intimate nature. These songs sound like Burg's private ruminations and reflections about his life or life in general, especially with songs like the beautiful acoustic gem "Strip to the Sky."

At its core, Best In Tensions sounds like an album produced in a bedroom, meant for a few close friends. Instead, it was offered up to the world -- and it's a good thing we all get the chance to hear it. On account of its intimate nature, it's an honorable effort by way of its honesty. Love of Everything is a fitting band name as Burg ends the album singing, "When the ocean starts to cover our feet, we'll know we're happy." Burg and Best In Tensions help to remind us that it's the little things in life that matter most.

MP3: Love of Everything - "Fear of Missing Out"

MP3: Love of Everything - "I Love All You Guys"

BUY: Pick up Best In Tensions right here.

VIDEO: Love of Everything - "Fear of Missing Out"

What do you get when you cross tennis balls, a half-pipe, and an endearingly catchy lo-fi garage rock-meets-folk song? You would end up with the creative video for Love of Everything's "Fear of Missing Out." It's a short but sweet tune that takes on a whole new character in this live setting. More than anything else though...this is fun. Check out the video and then hear the original version right below.

Watch this video and other featured videos on the Mixtape Muse Vimeo Channel.

MP3: Love of Everything - "Fear of Missing Out"
(via Record Label's site)

Love of Everything is Bobby Burg (Joan of Arc, Make Believe) and Elisse La Roche.

"Fear of Missing Out" is off of Love of Everything's new LP, Best In Tensions, which is out now on Record Label/Polyvinyl.

BUY: Pick up Best In Tensions right here.

Love of Everything @ MySpace
Love of Everything @ Facebook
Record Label Official Site
Polyvinyl Official Site