Swervedriver - Rave Down

Swervedriver. They brought a more aggressive form of shoegaze: faster tempos, more forceful vocals, but of course the trademark swirling guitars and walls of distortion were still there.

I can't give much personal opinion, as I've never heard an entire album by these guys. I've looked at the covers of a few however and they look hideous. But you know how that saying goes.

I do know this one song by them though. It's a good one, though unlike some other acts in the genre Swervedriver sound very much from their time. And by their time I mean they sound very 90's. Take that however you want it. It sounds like Swervedriver were influenced by a lot so it's hard to pinpoint them directly. I'm not going to say grunge-gaze, though one of their first tours was with Soundgarden....

Swervedriver - Rave Down

"Rave down, hit the ground

Before the pistol crack spins me out sideways
Like the sharp hard hit of a car crash in a dream
There's kids on the corner wanna
Beat-box my brains to bits
You can't cut creed clean
Things ain't black or white like they seem

Rave down, hit the ground

4 AM all night hell gas station
Before we cruise off to the beach
Where the breeze blows easy and slow
We hung tight all night and no gig to go to
There could be something happenin' here
But there's just no place to go
Your town ain't lively up no more
Rave Down

Deep hot sun burns through the city
Yeah, they're havin' to peel
The pedestrians off the walls
Ex-cop 'round the block
Rockin' chair, suckin' beer
He blasts flies with his gun
Because swatting's no fun
Your town ain't hypin' up no more
Rave down
Rave down, hit the ground"

Promo video



Swervedriver - Raise @Amazon.com

My Bloody Valentine - Soon

Duh.






My Bloody Valentine - Soon

"Wake up
Don't fear
I want to
Love you
Yeah don't go there
I let you get to me
Yeah yeah

Come back
Don't be
Afraid of me
Soon
That (I'll harm you)
Your eyes are blue
Blue jewels
Yeah yeah
Come back
Have faith
Someone like you
Can find the reason
Of what I did to you
Yeah yeah"



My Bloody Valentine - Loveless @Amazon.com

Ride - Vapour Trial

This song is so brilliant. I'm not big on the band as a whole (maybe they still need to click) but this one song... it's frighteningly good. Is there some divine force behind this song? Could this actually be played be mortal human beings? There's part of me that doesn't even want to look further into the band: my relationship with this song is so perfect as it is.

Let's see what others have to say...

"no words could ever properly describe this song"
-drsaunde


"The whole riff with the 12 string guitar is fantastic. Jingly Jangly + Celestial = Best. Song. Ever".
-zephranthes


"i have this imagery of a beautiful 'deep blue sky' day with the song's persona sitting down (or riding in a car, down the freeway) as he/she ruminates about his/her relationship with the object of the song.

but in essence, i really think this song is a beautiful piece on the transient aspect of love. the seemingly (bitter)sweet melancholy illuminates the pure bliss that one feels when listening to this song. i honestly love this song". -jermy


"i feel infinite." -Rashikal


"I used to have a friend who lived by me, and our apartment complexes were separated by a golf course.

There were many nights when I listened to this song on my walkman, in the cold breeze of the night. Just me, the stars, and this AMAZING song.

I just can't tell you what this song does to me. I feel bliss...the bliss that comes from falling in love. I also feel a little longing, because I wish I had someone to share this song with.

Oh, and the end when everything drops out and it's just the viola (I've been told it's a viola...I'm not too literate on string instruments)...oh my god. The song just enters a new dimension of beauty and feeling.

God, this song is amazing. I get choked up every time I listen to it." -velmaxcorgan


" This MUST be the best song in the world." -Reality-morph


"yes, yes- it's true. this is the greatest song ever." -Mad_Martigan

Ride - Vapour Trail

"First you look so strong
Then you fade away
The sun will blind my eyes
I love you anyway
Thirsty for your smile
I watch you for a while
You are a vapour trail
In a deep blue sky
Tremble with a sigh
Glitter in your eye
You seem to come and go
I never seem to know
And all my time
Is yours as much as mine
We never have enough
Time to show our love"

Promo Video:



Ride - Nowhere @Amazon.com

Pale Saints - Sight of You, Sea of Sound

I love the name Pale Saints. It sounds so peaceful. Urban dictionary tells me a pale saint is a "white skinned catholic." Okay then.

This band, although I only discovered them a few months ago, are absolutely fantastic. They're one of those bands that you either love or have never heard. Yes, that's quite a generalization, but look at the Amazon reviews for The Comforts of Madness, their debut and finest achievement. Though there's only ten reviews, they all are 5 star raves.

They're a band that doesn't have much of a story and instead we're left with the music to go by. I heard they're all way into football though. And by football I mean soccer.

Yeah. They're pretty cool. On the contrary, rather than the wintry feel a lot of shoegaze gives me, Pale Saints are a bit warmer, recalling summer nights. I'm not going to post the lyrics to this song, because when written out they look kinda lame. "The things you said/ Make me feel bad/My heart is sad"
See what I mean? Okay... shit, maybe the lyrics do suck. But the song is great! You'll love it!

Pale Saints - Sight of You

"The sight of you
The sight of you
Makes me feel blue
Makes me feel blue
The things you said
The things you said
Make me feel bad
My heart is sad

I think of him
I think of him
Soaked all in red
I wish him dead
You say that he
You say that he's
Nothing like me
But how can that be?

What can I do?
What can I say?
The world was large
And I felt very small
What's gonna happen?
How will I know
When things are back
The way they used to be before?"

I posted the lyrics anyways. Have a laugh if you must. But then when you hear the melody , you'll be the one laughed at! By that I mean the melody is so strong it has the power to laugh at its inferiors, and people. The song though its on the Comforts of Madness was recorded for an earlier EP. Probably their most accessible song.

Accessible isn't always the ultimate though, and most often it isn't. Here's my favorite song of theirs, "Sea of Sound"," a beautifully atmospheric and serene track that actually sounds like its title. The lyrics are a little better too, but still keep in mind they're not the guiding force for this band. Just imagine you're some place you love and listen to this song. It's bliss.

Pale Saints - Sea of Sound

"Your body's cold
You're on the bed
I'm the only one
Who knows you're there
I'm reeling in that silver line
The cord that brings you back in time
Reality obscures my view
The pain of wanting to
When am I going to be a part of you?

Your eyes are closed
They're in your hair
But I'll make it
just say you care
when every one has had their fill
You're holding on although you're ill
I watch the ripples in the storm
Until I have the brew
And then I throw the evening
over you

How can you want to stay like this?
The choice is ignorance or bliss
We'll go together don't be scared
It won't take long we'll soon be there
When we arrive just look around
There's so much to be found
We'll sail away upon a sea of sound"

Pale Saints Live TV footage



Pale Saints - The Comforts of Madness @Amazon.com

Spacemen 3- Honey

-Hey, do you know Spacemen 3?
~No... what's that?
-Oh. They're a band.. from the 80's...kinda like psychedelic post-punk, you know, shoegazey before it became the trend and all.
~Oh yeah... totally.
....
- Oh. Spiritualized... it's the same guy.
~Huh?
- Spiritualized... "Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating on Space?"
~ Ohhh. Okay. That's a good one.
-Indeed.
....
~So, did they have a big song or anything?
- Not really... "Taking drugs to make music to take drugs to" was their motto though, and you hear that said every now and then.
~ Oh, like that last.fm group!
- Last.fm?
~Yeah. I'm in a group called that. There's over 6,000 members- It's people who like enhancing their music by listening while under the influence of various mind-altering drugs.
-That so...
~Yeah, It's cool.
- Mm
~ Yeah
- Okay, well I'll just be..
~Yeahuh..
*separates*

Spacemen 3 - Honey

"Honey, won’t you take me home tonight?
Honey, won’t you take me home tonight?
Honey, won’t you take me home tonight?
The night is warm and the starts are bright

Take my hand, baby, hold me tight
Every move gonna feel so right

See the moon smiling through the night
I feel so good and my mood is right
Oh, honey, won’t you take me home tonight?

Honey, won’t you take me home tonight?
Feels so right
Feels so right
Honey, won’t you take me home tonight?
Feels so right
Feels so right"

Listen to the wind whistling through
Surely ain’t nothin’ that we can’t do
Surely ain’t nothin’ that we can’t do"

Spacemen 3 + Strange Animation



Spacemen 3 - Playing with Fire @Amazon.com

Dinosaur Jr. - Little Fury Things

Back to shoegaze. Dinosaur Jr. Along with the JAMC, they were a key influence on the genre, but however musically they're far from shoegaze. I probably should have done this entry before My Bloody Valentine as it's proto-shoegaze still as well as earlier in time, but it's too late for that now.

Loud guitars that sound like a mammoth wall of noise, droning chords and imperfect, sluggishly delivered vocals. That's what the shoegazers saw and loved in Dinosaur Jr. However for everyone else, they rocked...really hard. Please excuse my use of this very metal term (something I am very much not) but this album, You're Living All Over Me, and its respective guitar work absolutely shreds. It's easily one of the best albums of the 80's and one of my favorites of all time.

Here's the big opener:

Dinosaur Jr. - Little Fury Things

"What is it?
Who is it?
Where is it?

A rabbit falls away from me, I guess I'll crawl
A rabbit always smashes me, again I'll crawl
Tried to think what's over me, it makes me crawl
Then she runs away from me, faster than I crawl
I stopped to call, tried to feel it all
Stuck my hand and pulled real hard
Got stretch in miles, not in yards
Then I read, about all those who believe all of your lies
Sunlight brings the rage right in your eyes

A rabbit falls away from me, I guess I'll crawl
A rabbit always smashes me, again I'll crawl
Tried to think what's over me, it makes me crawl
Then she runs away from me, faster than I crawl

A rabbit falls away from me, I guess I'll crawl
A rabbit always smashes me, again I'll crawl
Tried to think what's over me, it makes me crawl
Then she runs away from me, faster than I crawl"

Dinosaur Jr. "Little Fury Things" Promo video



Dinosaur Jr - You're Living All Over Me @Amazon.com

ISYES Exclusive: Wolf Parade Live 8-18-07 @ Download Festival

Okay, so Sunday entries are practically unheard of on this blog, but today is a special exception. Besides, I was too busy seeing Girl Talk on Friday for an entry.

I'll cut to the chase... this is an exclusive Wolf Parade bootleg, made first available by this blog! My good friend Dave is the taper of this show, and personal bias aside, it's the best quality taping you'll hear at the moment of the new Wolf Parade songs. This set featured plenty of them, five to be exact. Them only playing two old songs, "Shine a Light" and "I'll Believe in Anything" was met with disdain by more than just a few, but I'm getting the feeling that when the new album finally comes our way, It's going to be really cool to be one of the select few to have heard the songs so early and in a live setting. I know for sure that when the album is released (coughleaks) I'll be thinking about this set and saying to myself, wow- so that's the direction they took the song, or hey- this isn't different at all. In any case a truncated Wolf Parade set from a windy, bee-filled, heavily Volkswagen sponsored festival with unclear event times, Guster fans, and $5 water is now forever preserved. And that- that is good.

Full Show: Wolf Parade Live @ Download Festival 8-18-07 Mansfield, MA

MP3s are at 256 kbps. A lossless version is available. If interested, contact me.

Chinese Way
Language
Stevie
F.Y.C/ Fine Young Cannibal
Shine a Light
I'll Believe in Anything
Crazy Horse

"I'll Believe in Anything" Live Video from the show (that I didn't take)


Wolf Parade @ Subpop Records