New Memoryhouse: "The Kids Were Wrong"

Memoryhouse are a little-known indie act that have yet to release a full album.  They craft music so full of atmosphere that it's hard not to get lost in it; a sort of lazy man's School of Seven Bells.  My first glimpse of them was the track "Lately (Deuxième)" from their The Years EP.  That song so beautifully samples Jon Brion's "Phone call" from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack.  From then on it was impossible to forget the name Memoryhouse.  Now we get to hear "The Kids Were Wrong" from The Slideshow Effect which will see release on February 28.  If the song is any indication it would seem the band doesn't mind relaxing the atmosphere and bringing the vocals a bit more to the forefront than was seen on their 2010 EP.  Check out the track below as well as the video for the aforementioned "Lately (Deuxième)".

The Kids Were Wrong

Lately (Deuxième)

New Sleigh Bells: 'Born to Lose'

It seems like only yesterday that I was astounded by what I was seeing and hearing when I went to see Yeasayer (for what was indeed probably the fourth time) and Sleigh Bells was one of the openers.  Word of mouth and distortion-laced demos left my expectations rather low and therefore I was blown away by how ridiculous and adrenaline-pumping they really were.  Then Treats was released and I wanted to play it at every party but only a few people in the crowd didn't look down at it.  That being said, after releasing a tracklist and a trailer a couple weeks ago for their sophomore album, the band has finally given us a glimpse of just what is to be expected.  Seems like more of the same but with Treats seeming a bit skimpy as it included many of their demos, more of the same wouldn't be such a bad thing.



download: Sleigh Bells - Born to Lose

Have to begin somewhere

At the behest of others more than myself (you only have yourselves to blame for this), I shall now finally endeavor to create a blog where I might channel my obsession for music in a way that might benefit (or pester) others.  Conveniently  enough, the timing of this all coincides with the end of the year, a time when opinions reach their peak and it supposedly makes more sense to attempt to provide some closure and observations of the year to pass.  So with that my first more substantial post will most likely be my top albums of the year or some other list that might inspire some bickering from those that have actually heard of some of the albums listed (or questioning why Kreayshawn didn't make the list).

You may or may not be asking yourself the following: why someone like myself should even be contributed to the ever-overflowing world of music-blogging.  Well first off, I listen to a lot more music than you.  But beyond that, here are some tid-bits about myself and music:

• I've never actively listened to an album by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan... pretty much anything old and revered.
• The first concert I ever went to was Korn, Powerman 5000, and Papa Roach.
• I've been reading Pitchfork since 2006 (coincidently the same year I finally got an IPod)
• I was once a moderator on an emo-music forum that received a few letters from record companies
• I have seen Yeasayer live four times.
• Albums I've aquired this year: 347
• What I'm currently listening to: Kanye and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne

It certainly paints a bit of a fuzzy picture and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't intentional.  A blog needs opinions, stigmas, eccentricities.  I don't listen to everything.  I sometimes like things because other people tell me I should like it.  A list of albums can go a long way in describing musical patterns and habits and I imagine my list will do just that (Hint: more Paste than Pitchfork).