INDIE-CENT SPEECH HAS MOVED

I've decided to move indie-cent speech from a Blogger format to a Tumblr format. There are several reasons for doing so, but I feel like the principle reason is because I wanted a service that was more attune to micro-blogging.

You can get all the same great content and commentary in an all new format here:

http://indiecentspeech.tumblr.com/

Follow me into the micro-blogosphere, won't you?

Bridging the Rock Generation Gap

Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem lives my dream and performs "No Surrender" alongside Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Hearing Fallon singing the second verse, you quickly realize how this could have just as easily been a Gaslight Anthem song, had Bruce not written it all those years ago. Such an inspiring song, and this moment just gives Bruce that much more street credit with my generation, as if he needed it.

TWO NEW ARCADE FIRE SONGS!

While the 12' single featuring the two new Arcade Fire tracks "Month of May" and "The Suburbs" is supposedly not to be released until tomorrow, indie-cent speech has done the digging for you and found radio rips of each of the songs that were reportedly aired over BBC Radio. Without further adieu, I present these two tracks to you, my loyal readers.

"The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire

"Month of May" by Arcade Fire

D.C Record Fair: Sunday May 23rd at The Black Cat

The D.C Record Fair is back at The Black Cat this Sunday May 23rd from Noon until 6PM! It's only $2 to get into the event, and the great tunes that will be spun by the slew of guest DJ's will be more than worth the price of admission alone. Aside from the jams, you'll get to spend hours rummaging through the bins of dozens of vendors alongside D.C's growing vinyl collector community. The turnout was about 1,500 in February, so make sure to come out early if you want to get an early look at the bins before they're picked apart!

indie-cent Album Reviews: Super Tuesday Roundup

Last Tuesday, May 4th, marked one of the most anticipated days in indie music releases in 2010. In the beginning of the year, when Pitchfork and other indie music publications were charting out the year in music, we knew that May was going to be chock-full of albums from celebrated acts, but we had no idea that May 4th would mark the perfect storm. Here's a list of the albums that hit the shelves:

Broken Social Scene: Forgiveness Rock Record
Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma
The Hold Steady: Heaven Is Whenever
Minus the Bear: Omni
The New Pornographers: Together

While I would love to write reviews for all of these records, and perhaps in time I will, I'm going to focus my attention on the three that I think will play the biggest role in shaping the musical legacy of the year 2010: Heaven Is Whenever, Forgiveness Rock Record, and Together.

The Hold Steady: "Heaven Is Whenever"

"We're good guys, but we can't be good every night. We're good guys, but we can't be good our whole lives."

The fifth record from the Minneapolis-bred self-proclaimed bar band The Hold Steady offers a lot of the familiar tricks that Craig Finn and gang have relished in since 2004 while offering a slathering of new layered guitar elements and lyrical themes. Yes, you'll still hear songs filled with religious imagery mixed with adolescent debauchery, and some of these "psalms" are still "sing along songs;" but this time around, the band tackles the role of personal struggle in a joyous life and the rewards that can be reaped from those struggles. Where their last album, "Stay Positive" was admittedly about "being able to age gracefully," this record examines the joys that can be found even in times when life doesn't seem all that graceful.

When the band announced the release date for the record a few months back, following the departure of beloved keyboardist Franz Nicolay, they promised a more guitar-heavy, less-anthemic record. While one can certainly notice the added layers of guitar over the album's ten tracks, but after hearing some of the tracks that dropped before the record was released, including "hurricane J" and "The Weekenders," it was hard to see how this album would be any less anthemic. After heavy listening and some major reflection, I can see exactly what Craig Finn meant. While "Hurricane J," "Soft in the Center," and Rock Problems" define some of the more up-tempo moments of the record, they certainly don't come close to the clap-along, chanting of "Constructive Summer," "Stay Positive," or "Stuck Between Stations." The departure of Nicolay certainly has something to do with that, as his keyboard rhythms often laid the foundation for those almost arena-rock anthems, but the more reflective subject matter also stunts the fist-pumping expression.

Even in it's diluted anthemic nature, this record still shines as one of the best releases of 2010 and has rightly given the band an unprecedented amount of exposure. Everything that you loved about the Hold Steady is still packaged within "Heaven is Whenever" along with some new harmonic and guitar tricks that will make you appreciate the compositions as much as the deep, inspirational lyricism that has come to define the band. It might take a little more listening for this record to grow on seasoned Steady fans, but a growing appreciation is almost inevitable. If this is the first record that you've heard from The Hold Steady, which because of it's exposure I expect it will be for some people, revel in it's beauty for a few weeks, and then take a look back at the band's discography, because the consistency of their records is almost unmatched in this era of modern rock music.

9.0 out of 10

Broken Social Scene: "Forgiveness Rock Record"

The fourth record from the supergroup-before-it-was-a-supergroup Broken Social Scene is their latest record as a group in five years, following a few releases from the "Broken Social Scene Presents..." and the individual success of some of it's early members, including Leslie Feist, members of Stars, members of Metric, and member of Land of Talk among others. "Forgiveness Rock Record" sees the return of Kevin Drew and his band of regulars as they literally and figuratively explore the vastness of forgiveness. I think Pitchfork really hit the nail on the head when they wrote

Their epochal 2002 breakout You Forgot It In People was the joyous sound of friends banding together to boost each other up, while 2005's Broken Social Scene was the dizzying sound of friends fizzing out into solo endeavors and outside pursuits. Now they're back and they're forgiving.

I'm not going to let Pitchfork write my review for me, but I just found that statement to be so true to what their records have been about under the swirling melodic landscapes, which lose no breadth or scope on "Forgiveness Rock Record." From the first track of the album, "World Sick" which also just so happens to be the record's first single, the listener is thrown into a cascade of everything from primitive percussive flourishes to serene electronic progressions. This musical diversity is stretched throughout the entire record, and it never seems to be stretched too thin. "Forgiveness Rock Record" seems to aptly accomplish a near impossible task in modern music: presenting a diverse record while justifying why each track should belong to that record and that record alone. On your first listen, you'll continue to be surprised at how consistently infectious each track is, and you'll find it difficult to get through without playing some of the tracks over again making the album seem almost twice as long as it actually is. This of course, is a compliment to the careful craftsmanship Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning.

If you're familiar with the previous work of Broken Social Scene, you're going to notice that this record, while still diverse in texture, is still a bit more repetitive than their previous works; however, the songwriting shines far and above their previous efforts. In this way, and in it's more accessible compositions Broken Social Scene seems to have finally surrendered to the power of pop, though they maintain their individuality through lucid scope. That being said, while I listened to this astounding record, I never felt a replication of the feelings I had the first time I heard tracks like, "Major Label Debut" or "Anthems of a Seventeen Year-Old Girl." While this may be Broken Social Scene's most ambitious record yet, there's just something about it that make me feel like it lacks the raw emotion of their previous records. Nonetheless, this will most certainly be a record that will hold it's own on the year end Top Albums lists.

8.8 out of 10

The New Pornographers: "Together"

"Together," the indie folk-rock band The New Pornographers almost quite literally pick up where they left off on their previous record, "Challengers." While this came as somewhat of an unwelcome surprise, considering "Challengers" is almost unanimously accepted as their weakest effort (kind of like saying "Gangs of New York is Scorsese's weakest picture, still fantastic), "Together" almost immediately transforms into a record all it's own, if not at least hankering back to the bag of tricks that was utilized to construct "Twin Cinema/"

The New Pornographers seem to know where their strengths lie, and this record plays out as pure exploitation of those strengths, with only a few diversions. Namely, "Your Hands (Together)" stands out because it is uncharacteristically crunchy and hard for A.C Newman and his bards, making the track come off as somewhat unnatural amongst its surroundings. The beauty of this album lies in the angelic vocal harmonies and the sunny orchestration and composition that litters just about every track. "My Shepard" stands out as a prime example of these crafty arrangements because it flourishes not only during the simplest moments of vocal/guitar harmony, but also in its instrumentally-ample, thundering chorus.

With all of the talent in this band, with just about every member maintaining some kind of music career outside of The New Pornographers, it seems to be impossible for them to fail. "Together" shines because it profits from the artistic growth of each of its respective members and effectively illustrates how they can do folk-rock just as well as power pop just as well as ballads. While this album doesn't stray far from the formula that makes every New Pornographers album memorable, it rewards us with yet another collection of beautiful arrangements and blissful choruses that will no doubt haunt our musical consciousness in the coming months.

8.3 out of 10

An Atonement

I apologize to all of my readers for being away from my blog for almost a month. I could easily construct a litany of excuses as to why this is, but basically what it boils down too is my own dissatisfaction with getting caught up in long, drawn out posts. While I feel that lengthy posts are good in moderation, it occurred to me that my blog had become all about these lofty, far-reaching commentaries, and this fact didn't please me. While i did create this blog as a platform for my to express my opinions on music, politics, and pop culture in more that 140 characters, this doesn't necessarily mean that I should go through the same processes I did to write undergraduate papers whenever I want to say something.

So from now on you can expect more concise posts, with a lengthy diatribe only now and then, when I'm feeling extremely passionate about a certain affair. This blog will also become more multimedia oriented. I will be posting new singles and music videos, with or without my own commentary, in order that my readers become exposed to more new music. When I was writing album reviews, which I will still continue to do but in a more concise manner, I felt that I was not covering a lot of good releases simply because I did not have enough free time to compose a complete review. Henceforth, I will not only be able to expose my readers to the plethora of good tunes that continue to be released, but also give them an in-depth look at some of the more significant or anticipated releases.

I am really excited about the new direction of indie-cent speech and sincerely hope that it pleases not only my loyal readers but also those who have yet to discover this blog.

Cheers,

SNC

Best of 2010 (So Far) Indie Playlist

We're only one-fourth of the way through 2010, and already there have been so many quality indie records released to the masses. Though I would argue that the best is yet to come (Arcade Fire, Hold Steady, The National, The Strokes, among countless others) the first quarter of 2010 has already made a significant impact in the sphere of music. While I have reviewed some of the highlights, and some unfortunate disappointments, I unfortunately have not been able to review nearly as many records as I would have liked to this year. After all, I am only one man, and much to my dismay, I do not get paid to blog. However, to remedy this situation, I have constructed a makeshift playlist to get my readers caught up on the greatest tracks to be released this year. If you have been following my album reviews so far this year, then you have heard only SOME of these tracks. If you've been living under a rock for the past three-and-a-half months, then all of these songs will be new to you and you'll be all caught up just in time for the onslaught of new releases in May and beyond.

(Note: These tracks are in no particular order. As much as I love lists, I also enjoy making good playlists without being bound by order.)


Vampire Weekend: "Giving Up the Gun"
Off of their sophomore record, "Contra," released on January 12th, 2010


Surfer Blood: "Harmonix"
Off of their debut LP, "Astro Coast," released in January 2010


A More Perfect Union

Titus Andronicus | MySpace Music Videos
Titus Adnronicus: "A More Perfect Union"
Off of their debut LP "The Monitor" released March 9th, 2010


Broken Bells: "The High Road"
Off of their debut record, "Broken Bells" released on March 9th, 2010


Beach House: "Silver Soul"
Off their latest LP, "Teen Dream," released January 26th, 2010


LCD Soundsystem: "Drunk Girls"
Single released in March 2010, album due out in May 2010


The Morning Benders: "Excuses"
Off of their latest record, "Big Echoes" released on March 9th, 2010


She & Him: "Thieves"
Off of their sophomore record, "Volume II" released on March 17th, 2010


The Hold Steady: "The Weekenders"
Single released in March 2010, album due out May 4th, 2010


Frightened Rabbit: "Nothing Like You"
From their 3rd LP, "The Winter of Mixed Drinks," released on March 1st, 2010


MGMT: "Flash Delirium"
Off their sophomore LP "Congratulations," released on April 13th, 2010


Bright Eyes: "Happy Accident"
Off of the "One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels" re-issue released March 23rd, 2010


Broken Social Scene: "World Sick"
Single released in February 2010. Album due out in May 2010


Hot Chip: "One Life Stand"
Off of their 4th studio album, "One Life Stand," released on February 1st, 2010