Album Review: "Be the Void" by Dr. Dog

Be The Void was released on February 7, 2012 by Anti- Records

With so many new releases so far in early 2012, it would be understandably difficult for any one of them to stand out from the pack. Thankfully, bands exist that have never really cared about "the pack" and continued to charge bravely on doing what they do best. We have one such band in the resilient Philly-based freak-folk outfit known as Dr. Dog. Be the Void is their 6th studio effort and the second released by indie giant Anti- Records, who helped push their last release Shame, Shame to widespread recognition. Thought they're not really a household name (yet), Dr. Dog's burgeoning popularity seems to grow stronger by the second, and it's not at all undeserved.

Leonard Cohen's Forthcoming Release, "Old Ideas"

Leonard Cohen's "Old Ideas" will be
released January 31st, 2012 on Columbia Records.

After seven years of studio silence, the master songwriter Leonard Cohen will return with a new batch of songs at the end of the month. My excitement hangs in the air like a veil (the type you'd have to draw aside to see the serpent eat its tail), as Leonard Cohen holds an eternal place in my personal pantheon of critically important musicians. To build buzz for the release (because "Leonard Cohen is releasing a new album," is, for some reason, not enough for people), there have been three tracks from the forthcoming album released. The first to hit the net was "Show Me The Place," a vocal/piano number with a slow string build and Cohen's trademark lyrical depth and raspy vocals.  That was followed by "Darkness," whose swirling organ perfectly counterpoints the depth and darkness of Cohen's sound, and, most recently, a thinly-veiled battle with mortality, streaming from the New Yorker's culture desk, "Going Home." Click the link at left to listen to "Going Home," the other songs and the complete track list are after the jump.

Myxflyx: This Week's Best Of Netflix - 09/23

Click above to watch on Netflix.

 Grant's Pick

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
When the vile villain Ivan Ooze is released from the prison where he has languished for millennia, he seeks vengeance against his captor -- the Power Rangers' own mentor, Zordon. The slimy scoundrel also steals the Rangers' power, forcing them to journey to a distant planet to regenerate their powers. But can they return to earth before Ooze turns it into his own personal cesspool?

Do I really need to explain to you why you need to watch this?  It's full of campy Power Rangers goodness that will make for an awesome nostalgia trip if you're an early-twenty something like myself or for a cheesy laugh if you're beyond those days.  Plus you've got to admit seeing the Power Rangers dressed up like ninjas in the middle of the woods doing absurd stunts is pretty hilarious.

Review: "Rise Ye Sunken Ships" by We Are Augustines

We Are Augstines' "Rise Ye Sunken Ships" receives
a physical release August 23rd on Oxcart Records.
Click above to listen (requires Spotify).

Deriving its name from the birth months of members Billy McCarthy and Eric Sanderson, We Are Augustines have crafted a sonically rich and emotionally dense record for their sophomore effort. We Are Augustines were formed from the ashes of the band Pela, whose album Anytown Graffiti wound up on more than 30 "Best Of" lists back in '07, including Yahoo! and indie mainstays KEXP out of Portland. KEXP even placed it at #112 of the best 903 albums of all time. Two of the primary members of Pela (the Augustines) moved on to form this band after some fairly intense professional and personal struggles, audible now in the straight-forward intensity of We Are Augustines' "Rise Ye Sunken Ships."


This album will grab you, immediately, and not request, but demand your attention. The quick build of "Chapel Song" with its persistent beat and urgent, dysphoric vocals draws you in to the record and to the stories contained within. This song sets the tone of the album in a large way: disquieting, intense, personal, well-orchestrated and executed to perfection. On the flip side of the coin, this song (as the album) languishes lyrically at points, but not to the level that would leave you unable to fall in love with it. In fact, sometimes when the language and rhyming schemes are at their simplest, you are able to hear the core of the song, and find that its simplicity has a positive correlation with its ardor.

The Myxem Staff Reviews "Bon Iver, Bon Iver" by Bon Iver

Bon Iver, Bon Iver, released June 21st, 2011
on 4AD and Jagjaguwar

Grant:
Bon Iver, Bon Iver is an ambitious piece of work that marks not only the evolution of Justin Vernon and his band musically, but also emotionally.  While For Emma, Forever Ago was a raw and bare-boned type of album this sophomore release is far from the Bon Iver everyone came to know and love on his first release, but this rebirth of sound is an incredibly pleasing one.  Vernon's distinguished falsetto rings through amongst dense textures of sound in each track in a way that all sort of intertwines as an experimental, R&B, easy listening, soul, folk record.  The lyrics are just as strong and pertinent as they were on For Emma but my small qualm is that they're rather unintelligible while being sung by Vernon.  By no means am I saying that it's a large detractor from the album because like I said the lyrics are still incredibly powerful regardless of whether you need to be looking at a lyric sheet or not.  "Say nothing, that's enough for me", Vernon croons on "Holocene", the album has a familiar theme with it's lyrics that get you emotionally attached to every song, you get the feeling like Vernon really had something to say and knew exactly how he wanted it to be said.  In the same song he sings "And I at once knew I was not magnificent", quite frankly the world couldn't disagree more.  It's incredibly fulfilling to hear an artist grow as much as Bon Iver has over the past few years, especially when you can still hear bits of his old style sprawled about the album but with a new take on it, much like towards the end of "Minnesota, WI" when Vernon is spilling his heart out over a banjo riff that's meshing itself with a saxophone part as well.  From For Emma to working with Kanye, to Gayngs, Vernon has truly become a type of artist that I'm sure nobody would have pegged him as with the release of his debut effort.  I only see great things coming in the future for Bon Iver.

Rating: 9/10
Standout Tracks: "Holocene", "Perth", "Calgary"

The Myxem Staff Reviews "Circuital" by My Morning Jacket

Circuital was released May 31st on
ATO Records/EMI/Rough Trade

Terry:
 Circuital is everything I've been wanting in a My Morning Jacket album. In my opinion, it's what their entire 13 year career has been building up to. Frontman Jim James' bizarre blend of psychedelia, folk, and jam-band showmanship is at its most streamlined, producing an album full of powerful grooves, catchy hooks, and razor-sharp lyricism. Borrowing elements from genres as diverse as 50's doo wop ("Slow Slow Tune", one of the album's many highlights) to their flagship quirky alt-country (which lays the groundwork for the album's title track) show a rapidly evolving musical style that still won't disappoint diehard fans. If you're hesitant to check out Circuital based on the off-putting cover art or the lukewarm first single "Holdin' on to Black Metal", rest assured: there's a lot to love here.
Rating: 9.3
Standout Tracks: "Slow Slow Tune", "Circuital"

"Dirty Radio" by Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside

Dirty Radio was released May 23rd, 2011 on Partisan Records.

With raw soul energy and infectious, classic Americana vibes, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside have crafted a perfect album. This is the type of album that sets the bar for itself quite high, and never fails to leap above it. From track one, I Swear, and its condemnation of the modern music landscape ("When I turn on the radio, it all sounds the same. What have these people done to music? They just don't care anymore."), you realize that is not your average throwback Americana album. This album has an honest and raw energy that is at once personal and pervasive. With a more than capable backing band, Sallie Ford's soulful howl propels the album into areas familiar and foreign, but always impressive.