Archive for March 28th, 2006

New Music Tuesday

Embrace - This New Day
Embrace Embrace are an old favorite of mine- their tried-and-true method of crafting soaring anthems is on par with mates Coldplay, but yet Embrace fail to see real sucess in the US. This is their sixth full album, following two number one albums (2004's Out Of Nothing and their 1998 debut The Good Will Out). The anthems continue to pour out of Embrace on This New Day, including the marvelous lead single Nature's Law. This only gives hope that Embrace's stab at the 2006 England World Cup anthem will not suck (see previous post). The band doesn't stray far from the format however, and it would be nice for a fresh sound now. I didn't like this as much as Out Of Nothing, but still think its better than any Colplay album.
Official Site
Embrace - Nature's Law
Embrace - No Use Crying

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - The Dust Of Retreat
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's At the core of Margot… are Richard Edwards and Andy Fry, joined by 6 other musicians on instruments ranging from guitar to cello to horn who, for the most part, all live together in one house in Indianapolis (Hoosiers!). The sound on the album is a hauntingly beautiful chamber-rock experience, grounded by the sincere vocals of Richard Edwards. The songs, written by Edwards, have been compared to the films of Wes Anderson (Rushmore, Bottle Rocket), of whom Edwards is a big fan (Margot is in fact named for the character in The Royal Tenenbaums). Storytellers both, Edwards' songs are often bittersweet and ironic, much as Anderson's films can be. The quirky nature of both artists' styles cannot be ignored either. Leah of Confessions of a Music Addict saw them at the Loft last night, and her review of the show is just glowing.
Official Site
Margot & The Nuclear So And So's - Skeleton Key
Margot & The Nuclear So And So's - On A Freezing Chicago Street

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Known mostly for their frenzied frontwoman Karen O. (whosw hairstyle or clothing is almost as talked about as their music), Yeah Yeah Yeahs started as art-punk with a frenetic energy that flowed through Fever To Tell. Three years after the release of that album, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs sound more refined and mature- and with the help of producer Squeak E Clean (a.k.a. Sam Spiegal) have developed a well-textured yet congruent album in Show Your Bones. Lead single Gold Lion has been riding the airwaves for a few weeks now, and showcases a more restrained Karen O. in vocals laid over acoustic guitars and drums. Some of the tracks lean back towards Fever, such as Mysteries, given the album a bit of a schizophrenic feel at times. In all, I think this is an excellent sophomore album, showing signs of lots of growth, and promise for future albums that don't grow stale.
Official Site
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Cheated Hearts (live)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion

Karen O. lent her vocals to the Squeak E Clean track used fo the Addidas commercial called No Tomorrow… Some time ago, I mashed that track with some Roots Manuva to make the following:

Squeak E Clean Ft. Karen O. - Too Cold Tomorow

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Embrace to do 2006 England World Cup Anthem

Embrace
In a collision of two of my favorite things on this earth- music and football- the news today is that Embrace will head into the studio later this week to record the official England World Cup song, World at Your Feet. NME reported on March 18th that Kasabian would be recording the song, and BBC reports that Kaiser Chiefs turned down the offer. I'll just cross my fingers that Embrace can pull this off without sounding ridiculous.

  • BBC article on the England World Cup Anthem & it's history
  • Embrace's new album This New Day was released yesterday in the UK.
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