A record made solely of samples seems an exhausting effort; one hard not to approach with skepticism. Essentially records created using this technique promise no hook, no point of entry. That has certainly been the case with much of Junk Culture’s label mates. Illegal Art is one of those niche labels that many like-minded musicians call home. And while these artists do need and deserve a home, it’s hard to glean too much significance when running through their records. Often times what’s most memorable is a familiar sample, rather than how it is used in a new context.
Junk Culture – West Coast
That being said, I’ve listened to this West Coast EP so many times now, the samples that were once familiar to me, as samples, now sound like they were made organically for this record. In this context the record flows so effortlessly through the brain. The perfect blend of familiarity and potency makes what could be a tiring 19 minutes of very varied soundscapes enjoyable throughout. It’s experimental, and for that reason inaccessible, to be sure. But the blurbs and dirges break up songs like ‘My Two Hands’ and ‘For Elise’, which might have been too somber for a sample based record if placed next to one another; and the vocal samples and repetition create a sort of non-traditional hook, easing the listener through tracks that might otherwise have been too noisy.
Download the entire West Coast EP on a ‘Pay What You Want’ basis from Illegal Art.
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Posted By David Hutchinson
We’ve got the amazing opportunityto offer up a pair of tickets to the Soulsavers‘ show on the 6th at the Wonder Ballroom. All you’ve got to do is be the first to write in and tell us the name of Soulsavers’ last record before Broken. Don’t forget to include your first and last name. The winner could also swipe a copy of a 7″ record featuring Will Oldham singing Mark Lanegan’s lyrics, and vice versa!
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Defining Soulsavers’ sound is a varied task. Although the group is comprised of members of Queens of the Stone Age and Jane’s Addiction the heaviest influence their past lives contribute seems to come from Rich Warren and Jason Pierce (of Spiritualized). The album sways from brash to ballad in the same way nearly every Spiritualized record to this date does. This isn’t to say they reach the same effectivity of songs like ‘Run’, and ‘The Straight and the Narrow’, but Broken does accomplish the same washed out relatable euphoria. In fact, if there is anything that reminds of QOTSA or Jane’s Addiction, its the pop-rock songs buried beneath each of Mark Lanegan’s haunting indie gospel vocal takes.
Broken isn’t the album of the year for me (so far), but for fans of the somber spookiness of Sparklehorse & Dangermouse’s Dark Night of the Soul project, or the weathered deadpan of Bill Callahan, Soulsavers’ latest record Broken is definitely worth a listen, both on record and in concert.
Check out ‘Unbalanced Pieces’ at their Playlist.com page, and many more tracks streaming on their Myspace.
Considering how worth it it would be to pay for this show (and the 7″), free is a damn good price!
Don’t sleep on this one!
Posted By David Hutchinson
This show is not free! But you can attend the show for that measly price if you win this contest! That’s right, the kind people at Pitch Perfect PR are hooking us up with a pair of tickets to give away to the Black Moth Super Rainbow show with School Of Seven Bells taking place on May 26th. If you haven’t already heard Eating Us or Alpanisms, fear not… there is still 13 days until the show with which you can study up!
After the jump we got Contest terms and MP3s.
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Posted By David Hutchinson
Please diregard our prior post about this concert (Rafter at Rontoms!!) while it is still going on, as it turns out, you are all welcome in free… whether you tipped well or not!!!
“For his live show, Rafter is prepping a set of “all-upbeat-dance-confusion-weirdness.” He’ll play guitar and sing and Andy Robillard (Enon, Gogogo Airheart) will play drums, samples and do some vocals. They will play all the songs on the Sweaty Magic EP, plus some revved up versions of tracks from older albums. His live shows are always different and always risky and for these specific performances, his goal is to get the entire audience to dance with him.”
-Read on for concert details and MP3s!-
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Posted By David Hutchinson
