Concert Gallery: Zola Jesus w/ Talk Normal @ The Luminary

Last night brought the first concert of the year for me and with it came Zola Jesus and her brand of operatic goth at the Luminary Center for the Arts. And what a start it was.

Having seen Zola Jesus last April at the smaller Billiken Club (where there couldn’t have been more than 30 people in the venue), I thought I already knew what to expect. But last night’s show definitely upped the ante. Starting with placing three LED cube-pods into the darkened stage and bringing in violinist Christiana Key to be part of the band, Zola Jesus‘s set blended in a mix of the theatrical with Ms. Danilova’s always amazing and incredible powerful pipes. Whether it be shimmering on stage, climbing on a stool to sing or dissolving into the packed crowd, Zola had the audience’s breathless attention. I feel for those unlucky few who were stranded in the back missing out on the performance.

Talk Normal opened the show and while I wasn’t familiar with them before tonight, I sure will be keeping my eye on them now after seeing their performance. Talk Normal are Andrya Ambro and Sarah Register, two girls playing noise rock. The frenetic tribal drumming of Ambro and sonic howls of Register had me and the rest of the early crowd mesmerized. At one point, Register brought out a screwdriver and used it to barre and slide the strings of her guitar to create sonic dissonance.

Photo gallery from the show, as well as an up-close (and very dimly-lit) video of Zola Jesus performing Lick the Palm of the Burning Handshake embedded below:

Band Discovery: Tashaki Miyaki

Tashaki Miyaki, despite what the moniker suggests is not a musician from Japan. Rather (and in a brilliant stroke of band name marketing), they are a boy-girl duo from Los Angeles. The sound of Tashaki Miyaki evokes nostalgia and a fuzzy lo-fi bent – not dissimilar to Jesus and Mary Chain or Mazzy Star (the singer even looks like Hope Sandoval), as well as their more modern contemporaries, The Vivian Girls. It’s very hazy and moody with a bit of the vocal prettiness swimming through. I enjoyed it a lot.

Not much is known about the duo, not even their real names. Hiding behind internet anonymity, all we know about the band is that they have released an EP late last year under British label, The Sounds of Sweet Nothing.

As one of SXSW’s showcasing artists, we are guaranteed to find out more about Tashaki Miyaki in the coming weeks (as well as answer the most pressing question – who’s Tashaki? And who’s Miyaki?) Looking forward to hearing more from these two.

Check out the beautiful black and white videos shot for their two songs, Somethin for Nothin and Get It Right. You can also stream their whole EP, which is embedded below.

Album To Check Out: Trust – Trst

Trust is the dark electronica project of Toronto-based duo Robert Alfons and Maya Postepski (you may recognize her as the drummer for Austra).  The band specializes in creating gothic electronic dance music, for which Trst is their debut record.

If you were a fan of Austra and of Maya, you will most likely enjoy Trust as well (Robert sings lead here). There’s less of the operatic theatrics of Austra in Trust‘s music and more of a chilling synthy groove. You can almost feel a foreboding sense of doom as you wallow in its maws.

Check out the disturbing video for Candy Walls, as well as the stream for album closer Sulk past the creepy album cover art below.

Trust – Trst comes out 2/28 via Arts & Crafts (order here)

Sulk

Album To Check Out: Memoryhouse – The Slideshow Effect

The music that Toronto-based ambient-pop duo Memoryhouse creates exists in the far-edge recess of your mind. There’s a hint of warmth longing and romantic nostalgia within the songs. They remind you of the first time you held hands walking through the pier; the first time you huddled together under the blanket in warmth while rain is gently pouring through outside; the first time you kissed.

Denise Nouvion, who does photography on the side, channels the lovely gentleness of her photos into the songs she sing. She serves as the chanteuse to Evan Abelee’s compositions. Her voice clearly and brightly shining through the hazy dreamscape that Abelee has built.

The Slidshow Effect is an excellent debut of a record. It is perfect for those who long to unearth memories of their past and those who still chase after dreams of lost and forgotten loves. Check out the lovely cinematic videos for songs Heirloom and Bonfire below. The album is streaming in full right now at Spin’s website.

Memoryhouse – The Slideshow Effect comes out 2/28 via Subpop (order here)

Cool Stuff: Fiona Apple is Back!!! (Updated)

Fiona Apple IS back!!

Fiona just announced a small, intimate 6 venue tour today over at her website. It’s been 5 long years since her last tour, and even longer when she headlined (last time was as support for Nickel Creek). Hopefully, this is a sign of bigger things to come. We already know a new album is imminent this year.

I’m staring very hard right now at that 3/19 Chicago date.

—————————————–Original Post————————————————–

At around 5:30PM ET, a cryptic message went up on Fiona Apple‘s facebook page. All it said was:

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 – 7 AM ET

New album?? Tour announcements?? We know she is playing Pitchfork’s SXSW showcase in Austin on Mar 15. Hopefully, this is the start of something more.

Considering how huge an influence Fiona and her music has on my life. This is a BIG, BIG deal. Tuesday can’t come SOON enough.

My favorite Fiona song and music video below.

Album To Check Out: Fanfarlo – Rooms Filled With Light

Reservoir, the debut album of London six-piece folk-pop band Fanfarlo kind of snuck up on me back when it was released in 2009. It’s mix of epic-building, orchestral, boy-girl harmonies with elements of trumpets and violins check marks a number of boxes in the type of music that I enjoy. And while the music borrows elements from similar bands of this type (i.e. Beirut) and doesn’t challenge you as much; sometimes you just have to appreciate music that’s easy, pleasurable, and can quickly be consumed.

Their sophomore album, Rooms Filled With Light, is built pretty much in the same way. Though not as immediate as its predecessor, the songs are just as harmonious. They have a slow-creeping pleasure quality to them that by the third time you listen to the record, you will feel like you have been listening to these songs all your life. And I meant that as a compliment.

The single Deconstruction, embedded below, pretty much fits what I described about Fanfarlo‘s music. Check it out along with Shiny Things and it’s creepy video. The whole album can also be streamed at NPR’s First Listen website.

Fanfarlo are visiting St Louis on 3/19 at the Duck Room in Blueberry Hill. Head on over to listen to some good orchestral pop and have your spirits lifted on a Monday night (tickets here)

Fanfarlo – Rooms Filled With Light comes out 2/28 via Canvasback (order here)

Album To Check Out: Sleigh Bells – Reign of Terror

Sleigh Bells are noise-pop duo Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss, who burst onto the scene two years ago with an ear-shattering, head-thumping debut of an album, Treats. As the story goes, the demos for Treats created such a buzz that they reached singer M.I.A., who immediately signed them to her label, N.E.E.T., even before hearing a finished song.

Reign of Terror is Sleigh Bell‘s follow-up album. While sophomore albums often have a hard time recreating the buzz of their predecessor, I actually enjoyed Reign of Terror a whole lot more.

Similar to Treats, Reign of Terror is that album you want blasting from the speakers of your car while cruising on the highway with the top down. The difference lies in the fact that this time, the whole album employs a little more melody into their songs, as opposed to just focusing on overwhelming you with the beats. In other words, there are a lot more Rill Rill in this album than A/B Machines. While this may disappoint some people, this is a very good development for me - Rill Rill is the song I enjoyed best from Treats.

The whole album is streaming right now at the New York Times website, so head over there to prepare your head-banging. Be sure to catch them also this Saturday as they perform live at the stage of Saturday Night Live. In the meantime, check out chugging singles Born To Lose and the utterly addictive Comeback Kid below.

Sleigh Bells – Reign of Terror comes out 2/12 via Mom+Pop (order here)

Born To Lose