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Hailing from Padova, Italy, Jennifer Gentle is not a girl. Jennifer Gentle is, in fact, a band made up of singer/guitarist Marco Fasolo and drummer Alessio Gastaldello (joined by various accomplices when they play live). Valende is their third full-length, and first for Sub Pop (their first two albums, I Am You Are and Funny Creatures Lane were released individually on Italy's Sillyboy Entertainment, and together as a double CD under the name Ectoplasmic Garden Party by Australia's Lexicon Devil label). The record was, like its predecessors, home-recorded by Marco and Alessio and it's a psych pop charmer, drawing on the band's own brand of musical dementia: an almost impossible-to-describe melting pot of whacked experimentation, deep fried eccentricity and acoustic beauty, drawing judiciously on the band's long-term fascination with Syd Barrett, 13th Floor Elevators, and Joe Meek production techniques. Jennifer Gentle is also the first Italian band Sub Pop has ever signed (such is our deep affection for the band). But, again, Jennifer Gentle is not a girl.
Prefuse 73: "The Class of 73 Bells"
The first single from the upcoming Prefuse 73 album features a collaboration with New York wall-of-psych band School Of Seven Bells and Battles drummer John Stanier. "Class of 73 Bells" swirls with undeniable pop melodies grounded by Prefuse’s stereo-rattling low-end.
Helio Sequence: "Everyone Knows Everyone"
Sometimes, the most important revelations come to us when intent is thrown to the wayside. The practice of deliberately rejecting pure deliberation is The Helio Sequence?s newest modus operandi, but it hasn?t always been. 1999?s Accelerated Slow Motion Cinema EP and 2000?s Com Plex (the former self-released and the latter on Portland?s illustrious Cavity Search label) found Helio Sequence in hot pursuit of a very specific kind of sonic perfection?one steeped in amorphous, often ambient sensibilities and punctuated with ethereal, mechanical bursts of energy. The resulting linear compositions, intricately rendered from sonic threads affected by psychedelic and early ?80s wall-of-sound groups, pointed towards what Helio Sequence would accomplish in 2001?s stellar Young Effectuals (also on Cavity Search). Primal in energy and futuristic in tone, the record was, at that point, the band?s neo-psych-dream swan song. ?It was the pinnacle of what we were trying to achieve at that point,? explains calm-voiced vocalist/guitarist Brandon Summers matter-of-factly. After three years, several tours (keyboardist/drummer Benjamin Weikel also lends his percussive skills to Modest Mouse, doubling the tour time), extensive hours of experimentation and afternoons spent ?listening to a lot of pop, Dylan and Can,? the duo has reached a totally different plane of consciousness. Love and Distance is bright, free, and organic?a collection of refreshingly melodious songs that stand in stark contrast to the ?univibe? that Summers asserts their past compositions often possessed. Summers and Weikel had been used to setting up a makeshift studio at the music store they started working at in tenth grade?one room was for tracking, one for mixing. When both parties quit their jobs to tour extensively in 2002, the recording, mixing and production operation moved to Weikel?s parents? bonus room and basement, various rooms in Summers? apartment, and Issac Brock?s garage. ?So many of the takes weren?t meant to stick,? Brandon chuckles. In the familiar, comfortable setting of family and friends? homes, however, something happened?Helio Sequence gained an elevated level of ease that allowed them to throw caution to the wind, expanding on the complex, deep sounds they?d so masterfully crafted years earlier. Their latest album?s strength lies not only in the soft tension created by its disparate elements?the traditional folksy twang of harmonica on ?Harmonica Song?, the fresh, tropical infusions of electronica on ?Looks Good (But You Looked Away)?, the passionate, precise collision of electric and organic percussion throughout?but in its natural flow. Each progression, each track, is part of a gorgeous, hooky whole. Armed with a surprising new instrumentation palette and buoyed by swift pop undercurrents, Helio Sequence finally felt able to construct their voluminous grooves using laissez-faire techniques that weren?t previously a part of their creative process. The result is a band more confident, inspired and inventive than ever before.
The Helio Sequence: "Don't Look Away"
Sometimes, the most important revelations come to us when intent is thrown to the wayside. The practice of deliberately rejecting pure deliberation is The Helio Sequence's newest modus operandi, but it hasn't always been. 1999's Accelerated Slow Motion Cinema EP and 2000's Com Plex (the former self-released and the latter on Portland's illustrious Cavity Search label) found Helio Sequence in hot pursuit of a very specific kind of sonic perfection, one steeped in amorphous, often ambient sensibilities and punctuated with ethereal, mechanical bursts of energy. The resulting linear compositions, intricately rendered from sonic threads affected by psychedelic and early 80s wall-of-sound groups, pointed towards what Helio Sequence would accomplish in 2001's stellar Young Effectuals (also on Cavity Search). Primal in energy and futuristic in tone, the record was, at that point, the band's neo-psych-dream swan song. "It was the pinnacle of what we were trying to achieve at that point," explains calm-voiced vocalist/guitarist Brandon Summers matter-of-factly. After three years, several tours (keyboardist/drummer Benjamin Weikel also lends his percussive skills to Modest Mouse, doubling the tour time), extensive hours of experimentation and afternoons spent listening to a lot of pop, Dylan and Can, the duo has reached a totally different plane of consciousness. "Love and Distance" is bright, free, and organic, a collection of refreshingly melodious songs that stand in stark contrast to the "univibe" that Summers asserts their past compositions often possessed. Summers and Weikel had been used to setting up a makeshift studio at the music store they started working at in tenth grade - one room was for tracking, one for mixing. When both parties quit their jobs to tour extensively in 2002, the recording, mixing and production operation moved to Weikel's parents' bonus room and basement, various rooms in Summers' apartment, and Issac Brock's garage. "So many of the takes weren't meant to stick," Brandon chuckles. In the familiar, comfortable setting of family and friends' homes, however, something happened - Helio Sequence gained an elevated level of ease that allowed them to throw caution to the wind, expanding on the complex, deep sounds they'd so masterfully crafted years earlier. Their latest album's strength lies not only in the soft tension created by its disparate elements, the traditional folksy twang of harmonica on "Harmonica Song", the fresh, tropical infusions of electronica on "Looks Good (But You Looked Away)", the passionate, precise collision of electric and organic percussion throughout, but in its natural flow. Each progression, each track, is part of a gorgeous, hooky whole. Armed with a surprising new instrumentation palette and buoyed by swift pop undercurrents, Helio Sequence finally felt able to construct their voluminous grooves using laissez-faire techniques that weren't previously a part of their creative process. The result is a band more confident, inspired and inventive than ever before.
After what seems like an eternity of hype, Irrational Games' underwater dystopic first-person-shooter finally emerges on August 21 for the Xbox 360 and the PC. Players will find themselves thrown into the middle of the crumbling, underwater city of Raptu
That girl is needy!
The 404 425: Where the stress fractures in our metatarsals seem to have spread to my ankle
Can 2009 give us any more bad news? I think at this point, the three of us are ready to move straight into 2010, mostly because we're too afraid of what's going to happen in the next three months. To put it lightly, this year has been a tough one for celebrities.
Backstroke Blues Band: "When Girls Do It" (live)
A clip extracted from Backstroke Blues Band's concert at the Geneva Blues Summit on November 19th, 2005. The song played is entitled "When Girls Do it" (Estrin/Woodruff)... Have fun!
Hands-on with the latest Tasers
Awesome or terrifying? CNET's team takes a field trip to the Alameda County, Calif., law enforcement HQ for a demonstration and test drive of Taser International's latest police gadgets.
San Francisco's psych-pop wonders Oranger are pleased to offer you "Shutdown The Sun", their latest release. Once described as "Pete Townshend and Keith Moon wrecking Brian Wilsons sandpit as Wayne Coyne wipes blood from his face," with Shutdown they move beyond retro-psych into pure pop, informed by years of record collecting, enhanced by mood-altering substances, and melded into something quite its own, thank you very much. They've been busy the past few years, touring with Elliott Smith, Guided By Voices, Pavement, R.E.M., The Apples In Stereo, and Wilco, to name a few -- each time invited at the artists request. While the band has been recording "Shutdown the Sun" for the past couple of years, they've also been balancing other projects: Matt joined The Posies, Mike and Jim played in Scott Kannberg's Preston School of Industry, and Patrick played with Tarnation's Paula Frazer. Mike Drake, lead singer and songwriter, is a Florida native who moved to California and joined up with Matt Harris, Oranger's bass player, co-songwriter, engineer monkey, in the Overwhelming Colorfast. Matt drove a U-Haul truck to Iowa, put drummer Jim Lindsay in it, and drove back to California. Patrick Main, keyboardist, joined shortly thereafter. In 1998 Oranger recorded their debut record Doorway To Norway on 8-track cassette. Despite copious amounts of woo pitched by major labels, they decided to release it on Spiral Stairs a.k.a. Scott Kannberg's (Pavement) fledgling indie label Amazing Grease Records. Early shows were frequently played under fake names such as "The Invisible Chocolate Glove" and "The Apricot Yardstick" for no other reason than to confuse fans. By 1999, the band had released 1 CD and 3 singles and were headlining shows in the Bay Area. They recorded The Quiet Vibrationland on their own using a 16-track tape machine once owned by Brian Wilson. QVL also saw the addition of Patrick Main on keyboards. 2000 saw the band hand-picked by Elliott Smith to open his European tour and QVL released in Europe on Creation Records-founder Alan McGee's new Poptones label. By this time, "Eggtooth" - off of Doorway To Norway - was being played at SF Giants games. In 2001 the closing of SF's Downtown Rehearsal evicted Oranger and 499 other bands and subsequently the band spent more time on the road, including another UK Tour as well as some US dates with Guided By Voices. Recorded and mixed by the band in 2002 at their Plymouth Sounds studio in SF, the 11 songs on Shutdown The Sun evoke a stripped-down and raw approach, compared to the baroque chamber psych of 2000s The Quiet Vibrationland. Most of the songs were written on acoustic guitar, and it shows. While the title track does end in an Acid Mothers Temple-style feedback scrawl, tunes like "Tree Bent Gun" and "Othersider" have a Crazy Horse/Muswell-era-Kinks hard-rock/country groove. Preston School of Industry and David Dondero alumnus Chris ?The Texican? Heinrich lends some spaced-out pedal steel on the country-psych "Cut Off Yer Thumbs" and "The Writer (H.F.)," while big-ass guitars and thick harmonies on "Bluest Glass Eye Sea" and "Going Under" keep the bolo tie hidden in the bottom of the sock drawer. Mike and Jims time on the road opening for Wilco (as part of PSOI) rubbed off on the delicate noise-folk textures of "Delivered By Compass" and "Static On The High Desert."
