Review: Blake Mills - Break Mirrors

Blake Mills' career is sort of mind-boggling. He's toured with Jenny Lewis, Band of Horses, and Cass McCombs; recorded as a session musician with Julian Casablancas, Weezer, and Kid Rock; and was a founding member of the band Simon Dawes (now Dawes). Yet Mills is just a mere 23 years-old. That age is even more shocking after listening to Mills' debut record, Break Mirrors, set for release on July 6th. To call it a strong, thoughtful and wholly original debut would be an understatement. It's one of the year's best and most complete albums, easily holding its own alongside more veteran folk and roots rock albums like Josh Ritter's So Runs The World Away and Phophorescent's Here's To Taking It Easy.

At just 9 songs, Break Mirrors is certainly a short record, but its also absurdly consistent and detailed. From the airy background of quietly-plucked guitars in slow opener "Cheers" to the experimental echoed-bass drum and wall-of-guitars soundscape in "Under The Underground," Mills never simply settles for telling a straight lyrics-and-guitar story. The talented session player and Youtube-praised shredder has too much talent at his disposal to fit into the traditional singer/songwriter mold, with many of the songs on Break Mirrors instead veering into more exploratory territory, complicating themselves into fully-articulated and dynamic compositions. No song hits that mark more than "Winter Song," from its contemplative first minute-and-a-half to the drum-kicking-in chorus and eventual chill-eliciting burst of overlapping male/female harmony. Mills' lyrics and voice—a compliment of wordy insights and injustices with a gravelly, achey tone—find a perfect world to exist in here amongst layers of fluttering and singing guitars and beautifully-produced drumming. I'll say that again, the drumming on this record— reminiscent of the Beatles and Dr. Dog with its use of delay and echo—is expertly performed and remarkably satisfying. I wouldn't be surprised if Break Mirrors is my favorite record of 2010. It's just that good.

Stream: Blake Mills - "Hey Lover" (from Break Mirrors)

Stream: Blake Mills - "Winter Song" (from Break Mirrors)

Blake Mills - "Hey Lover" (Daytrotter session)

Blake Mills - "The Woman Knows (Demo)" (from Live From Shanghai EP)

WOOM - "Quetzalcoatl's Ship"

Minimalist pop deconstructors WOOM have a sound that is as subtle as it is catchy, filling up a room with as little as a sung melody and looped beat. On the Oakland duo's debut Muu's Way—out July 6th via Ba Da Bing Records—the songs are particularly geometric: precise, angular and fitted with a comfortable coat of negative space. Sample one of the album's strongest tracks—the acoustic-strummed Mesoamerican deity-inspired “Quetzalcoatl’s Ship”—below, as well as the previously posted Elmer Fudd jam "The Hunt."

WOOM - "Quetzalcoatl's Ship" (from Muu's Way)

WOOM - "The Hunt" (from Muu's Way)

Mixtape #5: Six Degrees of Jonathan Wilson

"We met this fellow playing bass for the lovely Jenny Lewis at V Festival, and he gave me one of the best albums I've ever heard, called Gentle Spirit, by him." - Nick Allbrook, Tame Impala guitarist

The internet is such a heavily mapped out place that it's hard for a band to retain any level of mystique or privacy. Yet somehow Jonathan Wilson remains a mystery. His fingerprints can be seen everywhere from Jenny Lewis's Acid Tongue to Elvis Costello's Momofuku and former Jayhawks Gary Louris' Vagabonds. The jam sessions held at his former Laurel Canyon residence have been documented in both the Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone. Somehow though, whether on purpose or not, the public acclaim has evaded Wilson. Search for a review of his masterful 2007 album Frankie Ray—his only solo work that's been officially released—and you'll find hardly a scrape outside of the local Los Angeles press. Rumors abound about the Emerald Triangle supergroup, the release date of Wilson's second solo record Gentle Spirit and other projects, including a tribute album to the legendary Roy Harper, but concrete release dates don't exist. But maybe it's just part of Wilson's behind-the-scenes strategy, as the work he's been able to help create as a producer, studio and touring musician has yielded some of the most beautiful and organic rock and roll since Joni Mitchell and company first immortalized the Canyon in the 1960s. In a musical era where computers and synthesizers rule, there's nothing more refreshing than the near-Luddite quality of Jonathan Wilson's analog recordings.

Directly or indirectly, these songs are all related to Jonathan Wilson and were chosen to reflect the spirit of his music. Download the mix in its entirety as a zip file below.

Jonathan Wilson - "Can We Really Party Today?" (from Gentle Spirit)

Kevin Barker - "You & Me" (from You & Me)

Gary Louris - "Black Grass" (from Vagabonds)

Jason Boesel - "Hand of God" (from Hustler's Son)

Jenny and Johnny - "Scissor Runner" (from Jenny and Johnny)

Elvis Costello & The Impostors - "Drum and Bone" (from Momofuku)
Vetiver - "Used To Be King" (from Be Yourself: A Tribute To Graham Nash's Songs For Beginners)
Benji Hughes - "Country Love" (from Sargent Singles: Vol. 2)
The Whispertown 2000 - "Done With Love" (from Done With Love EP)

Jonathan Wilson w/ Andy Cabic - "Desert Raven"

Blake Mills - "Hey Lover" (from Break Mirrors)

Dawes - "Love Is All I Am" (from North Hills)

Jonathan Wilson - "Your Ears Are Burning" (from Frankie Ray)

Jenny Lewis - "The Next Messiah" (from Acid Tongue)

Farmer Dave Scher - "Surf Out Sunset" (from Flash Forward To The Good Times)

Johnathan Rice - "The Middle of the Road" (from Further North)

Espers - "Caroline" (from III)
Jonathan Wilson - "WildFIRE" (from Far-Out B-Sides)
Roy Harper - "Hors d'Oeuvres" (from Stormcock)

Six Degrees of Jonathan Wilson.zip

(photo by Courtney Brooke)

Artist To Watch: Jenny O

Jenny O is currently on a mission: get enough cash to mix and release her Home EP for an August release. The LA-based songwriter and published photographer is spilling over with talent. With time spent building her chops at music college and in the studio with top-notch talent like Blake Mills and Jonathan Wilson, the only move left is to get the music to the people—and you can help. Via the art-backing website Kickstarter, Jenny is taking pledges and offering compensation in the form of a Home EP CD, hand-painted canvas bag, or even an original song. Below, preview the beautiful and engrossing piano ballad "Home" taken from the EP.

Stream: Jenny O - "Home" (from Home EP)

Grass Widow: A Bay Area Trio with a Penchant For Harmony

Let's talk architecture: If punctual clear-toned bass play, angular distorted guitar riffs, and precisely scattershot drumming make up the foundation of San Francisco trio Grass Widow's music, then the group's arresting three-part harmonies are like the skylight—a breathtaking wash of sunshine that gives life to an old rock formula. While the ladies put the finishing touches on their forthcoming full-length Past Time—due out August 24th via Portland's Kill Rock Stars—make sure to check out their stellar self-titled EP, available for purchase digitally here.

Grass Widow - "Lulu's Lips" (from Grass Widow)

Grass Widow - "Shadow" (from Past Time)

Robin Pecknold - "Be Yourself"

An all-star roster of folk and rock musicians have brought fresh color to former Hollies and CSNY songwriter Graham Nash's solo music on Be Yourself: A Tribute To Graham Nash's Songs For Beginners. Released on May 25th, the album is available digitally now and on 180 gram vinyl, which comes with a bonus 7" of additional material. Featured artists include Port O'Brien, Sleepy Sun, Vetiver, Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Robin Pecknold of the Fleet Foxes.

Robin Pecknold - "Be Yourself" (from Be Yourself: A Tribute To Graham Nash's Songs For Beginners)

Mean Jeans - "Steve Don't Party No More"

People all too often forget the power of a simple unpretentious rock and roll song. Thankfully, Portland's Mean Jeans haven't. I first heard the band at Jackpot Records a few weekends back as the excellent Ramones-esque sing-along "Let's Pogo B4 U Gogo" blasted over the store's speakers. And I haven't been able to put down the trio's November debut Are You Serious? ever since. Song titles like "2 Much Cocaine" and "Steve Don't Party No More" may seem ridiculous out of context, but over surging drums, power chords and the classic punk-rock voice of singer Billy Jeans, that absurdity becomes overwhelmingly infectious. It's punk in its most simple and pure form—just drop the needle and inject.

Mean Jeans - "Steve Don't Party No More" (from Are You Serious?)

Magic Kids - "Summer"

Memphis band the Magic Kids had the internet ablaze last year with their 1960s-inspired call-and-response "Hey Boy" single. Now the internet is again ablaze, but this time with a much more polished and dynamically produced track—"Summer"—which beautifully complicates those previous vocal arrangements into a generously lush soundscape. The band's debut full-length, aptly-titled Memphis, is due out August 24th via True Panther. Preorder for just $11 here.

Magic Kids - "Summer" (from Memphis)

Magic Kids - "Hey Boy" (from Hey Boy 7")

Magic Kids - "Good To Be" (from Hey Boy 7")

Everybody Taste Godfather: Mr. Tom Petty

Anyone who knows me well knows that I adore Tom Petty like no other artist. He popped all my musical cherries: first cassette tape, CD, concert, and even song learned on guitar ("American Girl"). To celebrate the oft-underappreciated legend's latest release—the awesomely heavy and riff-tastic, Mike Campbell-centered Mojo—here's one of my all-time favorite Petty b-sides and a few fun covers.

Tom Petty - "Trailer" (from Playback)

Justons Stens & Seth Kauffman - "Don't Come Around Here No More"

Kings of Convenience - "Free Fallin"

Dawn Landes - "I Won't Back Down"

The Gaslight Anthem - "American Girl"

Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett - "Listen To Her Heart"

Shit quality, but still fun:

Bon Iver - "Crawlin Back To You"

Drive By Truckers - "Rebels"

Bright Eyes & The Felice Brothers - "Walls"

Cadillac - "Make You Feel"

All I really know about Melbourne, Australia's Cadillac is what I hear in their song "Make You Feel"—a disco and funk-infused groove that's carefree and ridiculously danceable. Planning on having fun this summer? Then this should probably be your soundtrack.

Cadillac - "Make You Feel"

Cotton Jones - "Glorylight and Christie"

It's easy to forget Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw played in Page France together before forming Cotton Jones. Mostly because with Paranoid Cocoon and the Rio Ranger EP, they've created a persona and sound so unbelievably raw and pure that it's hard to imagine any other music possible. Tall Hours In The Glowstream, the group's next full-length, is scheduled to be released August 24.

Cotton Jones - "Glorylight and Christie" (from Tall Hours In The Glowstream)

Tennis - "Marathon"

Tennis is husband and wife duo Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore. According to Underwater Peoples, the idea for the project was born a few years ago when Alaina made fun of Patrick for playing tennis in college. A year later the couple had left Denver to spend eight months sailing and exploring the North Atlantic coast. Out at sea, they began to document their adventures by writing music together.

Tennis - "Marathon"

Breakbot - "Baby I'm Yours" feat. Irfane

2,000 watercolor images were hand-painted by Paris-based artist Irina Dakeva for this new Breakbot video. It makes me nostalgic for that classic animation style that made ridiculous films like Heavy Metal and American Pop so thoroughly enjoyable to watch.

Breakbot - "Baby I'm Yours" Feat. Irfane

Best of 2010, So Far...

Songs

Kisses - "Bermuda"
Delta Spirit - "Bushwick Blues"

Blake Mills - "Hey Lover"

The Morning Benders - "Excuses"

Cults - "Go Outside"

Active Child - "When Your Love Is Safe"

Fang Island - "Daisy"

Surfer Blood - "Take It Easy"

LP's, EP's & 7"s
Phosphorescent - Here's To Taking It Easy
Free Energy - Stuck On Nothing
Josh Ritter - So Runs The World Away
Vampire Weekend - Contra

Twin Sister - Colour Your Life
Sonny & The Sunsets - The Hypnotist

Spoon - Transference

Club 8 - The People's Record
The National - High Violet
Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
Woods - At Echo Lake

The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt

Dr. Dog - Shame, Shame

Toro Y Moi - Causers of This

Javelin - No Mas

Deer Tick - The Black Dirt Sessions
Elite Gymnastics - Real Friends

Family Trees - "Dream Talkin"

There's something about a clean and succinctly upstroked guitar chord that just oozes cool. From old 50s and 60s soul and rock to more modern uses like in the Fiery Furnaces' "Benton Harbor Blues (Again)," it's a beautiful and simple use of rhythm and negative space. Brooklyn trio Family Trees prove themselves quite capable of the upstroke in their short but intoxicating "Dream Talkin."

Family Tress - "Dream Talkin"

Blake Mills - "The Woman Knows"

I posted Blake Mills' free Live From Shanghai EP earlier this week, but this time around I wanted to call specific attention to one of its songs—the demo of "The Woman Knows." According to Blake, the song was recorded on a Jenny Lewis tour bus in Hamburg. This slowly mesmerizing, sparse and raw bit of finger-plucking and contemplative singing is a true late-night heart wringer. Also worth checking out is this video of former bandmates Dawes covering Blake's excellent "Hey Lover."

Blake Mills - "The Woman Knows" (from Live From Shanghai EP)

Club 8's The People's Record: One of 2010's Best

It's no stretch to call Club 8's The People's Record one of 2010's most unique and interesting releases. The Swedish duo have transfered their sweet and catchy Scandinavian indie pop format to a platform dominated by the rhythms of world music. Dense Afro-beat polyrhythms and swinging Latin percussion are the foundation from which every song is built, yet somehow, no part of the band's previous sound is lost. Like Paul Simon's Graceland, and more recently Iron & Wine's The Shepherd's Dog, the essence of the pop songwriter's style and structure remain wholly intact under the constraints of the more dynamic rhythmic format. In fact, somehow, the songs emerge tighter than ever before. What's really changed is the mood and overall atmosphere of the music. Start any song off The People's Record and a guitar will launch into an instantaneously catchy, repetitive, and furiously rhythmic riff—a hook that bends, pulls and threads its way through three-plus minutes of equally ear-catching vocal melodies. This is dance music, and like it's title suggests, it's to be enjoyed with people—friends and strangers alike. Even the ridiculously somber lyrics of "We're All Going To Die" somehow elicit a celebratory mood. If Club 8 blended in with their fellow Swedish pop contemporaries before, they now standout like a peacock in the middle of a snowstorm. And that's a good thing.

Club 8 - "Western Hospitality" (from The People's Record)

Club 8 - "Shape Up!" (from The People's Record)

Release Catch Up

Deer Tick - "Sun Street" (Katrina & The Waves cover)

"And it's good, when I'm a little high. And it's good, my glass is never dry. And it's good, when everything is spinning baby."

Deer Tick's latest, The Black Dirt Sessions, is out now. The band rips "Bitchfork" here in good fun for its recent review of the album.

Blitzen Trapper - "Dragon's Song"

Destroyer of the Void, the newest and best from Portland's own folk-tinged experimental rock outfit, is out now.

Delta Spirit - "Bushwick Blues"

History From Below is out now. "Bushwick Blues" and "Golden State" are both rollicking rootsy song of the year contenders. Can anyone wail out raspy vocals like Matt Vasquez? Only John McCauley, which makes me even more excited for their MG&V collaboration.

Stars - "Wasted Daylight"

Previously:

Stars - "We Don't Want Your Body"

Stars - "Fixed"

Three free songs from one album? Thank you Stars—you can market an album any time. Their Five Ghosts is due out June 22nd.

Johnathan Rice - "The Middle of the Road"

Jenny Lewis - "Acid Tongue"

Jenny & Johnny—the aptly-titled project of Jenny Lewis and fellow Laurel Canyon musician/boyfriend Johnathan Rice—have named their record I'm Having Fun Now. Despite the cutesy cover art and potential She & Him comparisons, this could be a fantastic collaboration. Has Lewis ever made a single musical misstep in her career? Let's see: Rilo Kiley, Postal Service, Watson Twins, Elvis Costello, Traveling Wilbury's cover with M. Ward. I'm going to go with a definitive no. Here's a cover of "Love Hurts" the pair sung almost every night on Lewis's Acid Tongue tour.

Stars - "We Don't Want Your Body"

Here's a new one from The Stars' forthcoming fifth full-length, The Five Ghosts, due out on June 22nd. "We Don't Want Your Body" tilts the band into a slightly more dancey direction with a nice disco-based chorus from Amy Milan. Also, has there been a better bridge of late? That is one fiery Transylvania-esque organ riff.

The Stars - "We Don't Want Your Body" (from The Five Ghosts)

Blake Mills - Free Live From Shanghai EP

Blake Mills—who recently released his excellent "Hey Lover" single from his forthcoming Break Mirrors debut—released a free EP today titled Live From Shanghai. There are some seriously intimate and beautiful acoustic tracks here that are well worth your time. Just submit an email to the left and dig in—you won't regret it.

Blackbird Blackbird - "Ups & Downs"

You just need to glance at the cover art for Blackbird Blackbird's Happy High EP (on your left) or listen to the first ten seconds of "Let's Move On Together" (it's full of children's laughter) to understand the motives behind this San Franciscan's project. You might as well throw the sarcasm, bitterness and irony overboard now, because Mikey Sanders isn't interested. Blissful melodies and carefree youthful pop sunshine? That sounds more like it. Download both of the band's EPs for free now via bandcamp. You can also follow Blackbird Blackbird's Tumblr for firsthand updates.

Blackbird Blackbird - "Ups & Downs" (from Happy High EP)

Blackbird Blackbird - "Pure" (from Let's Move On Together EP)

Active Child - "When Your Love Is Safe"

Active Child—aka Los Angeles songwriter Pat Grossi—released his Curtis Lane EP this week and it's a dizzyingly good synth-heavy affair. Along the lines of recent releases by Wild Nothing and Elite Gymnastics, Grossi's voice is the sole acoustic comfort amongst a sea of rolling keyboard riffs and endearingly plasticy drums. If synth and vocal melodies are the paint here, then echo, reverb, and sample rate are the brushes, elaborating on and transforming the simplest of sketches into something surprisingly organic, intimate and complex.

Active Child - "When Your Love Is Safe" (from Curtis Lane EP)

Sasquatch: Saturday Recap

The Sasquatch Festival at the Gorge in George, Washington is a lot of things—but mostly, it's just brilliantly beautiful. With four stages and almost a hundred bands, soaking up the sunshine is easy—deciding which bands to catch however is decidely more difficult. On Saturday alone, 32 bands played: here's a few notes on the 9 I caught (categorized by golf terminology).

Bogey: OK GO

Already known by the majority of the world for their treadmill web video, lead singer Damian Kulash further pitched internet savviness over music after taking a picture of the crowd and telling everyone to log on to Facebook and tag themselves after the show.

Par: Broken Social Scene

The Canadian collective tore through their recent record with unusual restraint during their set, keeping songs tight and to their recorded length: an appropriate turn considering the group just released their most pop-accessible album to date. The only problem with the set was singer Lisa Lobsinger who looks the part a lot more than she sounds it. Sure, filling in for Feist, Emily Haines and Amy Milan ain't easy, but it seemed Lobsinger spent more time fixing her hair than preparing during soundcheck as it was nearly impossible to make out her whisper of a voice. Nevertheless, the absurdly relevant "Texico Bitches" and Kevin Drew's hilarious fawning over the National made the set a memorable one.

Par: Portugal. The Man.

This Alaska band was exactly what I expected: big wailing solos and Robert Plant worthy vocals spaced out over rowdy and inspired jamming. The three- and sometimes four-part harmonies were excellent and the band's poppiest song, "The Sun," also proved to be one of its best live.

Birdie: Laura Marling

I knew nothing about English singer/songwriter Laura Marling before Saturday. That was silly. With fiery pipes that can hit the Joni Mitchell highs and the Neko Case lows, Marling's brand of folk may not have blown away the sun-drenched afternoon audience, but she certainly made plenty of converts.

Laura Marling - "Goodbye England" (mp3)

Birdie: My Morning Jacket

The best show I've ever seen was Jim James & Co. at Bonnaroo in 2008 when they played for almost four hours and covered everyone from Kool & The Gang to the Velvet Underground, so my expectations are always skewed high. The crowd dissipated a bit before MMJ took the stage with the cold setting in, but the band nevertheless brought the goods with a Van Halen-worthy opening light and roaring guitar show and a set that spanned the band's entire catalogue, going back all the way to the early demo "Tonight I Wanna Celebrate With You." The only thing that hurt the set was the absence of a few more funky and upbeat numbers. By the time the much-needed "Highly Suspicious" funked onto the stage most people had either headed to their tents or over to Deadmau5.

Eagle: Mumford & Sons

Over the course of the day, there were two moments where the blood rushed to my head and chills engulfed my body. London's Mumford & Sons produced that feeling first with their ridiculously absorbing acoustic-based build-ups, most notably on "The Cave," "Little Lion Man" and an excellent unreleased song where lead singer Marcus Mumford traded his guitar for a turn on the drums (where he's apparently quite capable of tearing through a song).

Mumford & Sons - "The Cave" 

Albatross: The National (photo)

The focus of every National concert should be Matt Berninger's absurdly sincere face, which can transform from pleased to tortured and full of anguish with a few strums from a guitar. Suffocatingly full of built-up energy before every vocal line— exhibited by fervent thigh or mic slapping—Berninger becomes a cathartic force when it's finally time to sing. Whether trembling with rage and hysteria on the Alligator classic "Abel" or a deep Leonard Cohen cool on the rumbling "Bloodbuzz Ohio," Berninger and his band certainly know how to play to a stadium-sized crowd.

Condor: Vampire Weekend (photo)

The only time the main stage reached capacity Saturday was during Vampire Weekend's set—and it was rightly so. After a long day of drugs and drinking, what could be better than upbeat and peppy songs that you can dance and sing along to? Just as the sun was setting with pink and orange colors exploding in the sky, Ezra Koenig orchestrated an otherworldly tight set of his band's signature clean afro-ska-punk fusion that had crowd members dancing in conga lines up and down the grassy hills overlooking the stage. Sometimes bands are popular for a good reason.