Good morning everyone! There are tons of reviews I need to write up, and I'm sorry for those of you waiting for one. Times have been busy! For this lovely Saturday morning I'm just going to share a quick mix with you. Enjoy! Aberfeldy - " Heliopolis By Night " (mp3) The Battles - " Saturday Night " (mp3) Loney, Dear - " Saturday Waits " (mp3) Port O'Brien - " I Woke Up Today " (mp3) Subscribe to Bring [...]
Like Mohawk Lodge, whose songs have a strong connection to the remote Canadian locations where they were written and recorded, Port O'Brien's music has a similar tie to geography. Growing up, Port O'Brien's Van Pierszalowski would spend his summers working on his father's commercial salmon fishing boat in the waters off Alaska. When he wasn't busy working 20 hour days, he would write songs inspired by both the scenery of the Alaskan wilderness, as well as the sense of isolation that comes with spending weeks on end at sea. Although, I wouldn't call these songs sea [...]
Image: Walk Carmarthenshire A Puffin - Port O'Brien When the rabbits come out at dusk -- small tough stringy city beast s -- I want to name them. Watching from the slanting sidewalk of my slowly sinking street (only a few blocks from the Chicago river, the terra firma isn't, unfortunately), I want to anthropomorphize those brown dots on postage stamp lawns. Name that efficient little guy Hazel and the speedy [...]
I had no idea there was a new Josh Rouse album out this week. That's very exciting news and I will probably go out and pick that up at some point today. If there's one thing you can expect with a new release from the Nebraska native, is that it will be consistent. From his debut Dressed Up Like Nebraska onwards - i've yet to ever hear a bad record. Also out this week is the US release of the Mercury Prize nominated Bat for Lashes album Fur and Gold , [...]
Oakland-band (9 months out of the year) Port O'brien ( myspace ), who I've previously posted about (and been obsessed with ) have an album out tomorrow on the American Dust record label. Actually the band calls it more of a collection of songs from their two EPs. I'll probably be ordering it soon as I've been meaning to pick up some of their stuff and one of their EPs is sold out. One thing that's always mentioned about them is that during the summers [...]
I'm moving...again. I promised myself I would stay in one spot for longer than a year, but it just didn't work out that way. All is good, I'm moving to a much nicer apartment that will give me a new area to explore. And with that moving comes the inevitable packing sessions, which I loathe, but can't really do anything about. Luckily it has forced me to start going through those piles and piles of cds I have hanging around, and one of those that I recently discovered is an album named The Wind And The Swell by [...]
Port O'Brien - "I Woke Up Today" On the Port O'Brien one-sheet it explains that these songs were written while at sea. There was trend back in 2004-ish of a lot of bands giving their work a nautical aesthetic (Picaresque, Blueberry Boat, BOAT) but where they presented "what life must be like out at sea", Port O'Brien is explaining that "it's still life, it's just out at sea." There's a song about accidentally catching a puffin in the nets, there's one called "A Bird Flies By", and I'm convinced. These are the thoughts you have in this kind of isolation, [...]
When Van Pierszalowski isn't on a commercial fishing vessel off of Kodiak Island in Alaska, he's playing in his folk band called Port O'Brien in the San Francisco bay area. I downloaded these tracks from their site and I can't get "I Woke Up Today" out of my friggin' head. "My Eyes Won't Shut" is pretty catchy also. Since moving out here a year ago, I've discovered some great local bands and a thriving indie scene. If only I could get out more. From When the Rain Comes : [...]
If you are an unknown band looking for exposure, I'm pretty sure all you need to do is cover a rap song. If you can work out an acoustic or bluegrass version, you're bound to get people playing it at parties and dumb ass bloggers like me posting mp3's on their sites. You might even score yourself a hit. Remember Dynamite Hack ? If you are too much of a purist to get suckered in to these shameless cover songs, I offer a challenge. At your next party, get your friends all liquored up and put [...]
Image: Jennifer Akkermans And here I attempt to string together some of the songs I listened to and loved this past week with some childhood memories of music. Watch me ramble! Witness as I fail to self-edit! Read if you must/dare. The first song I remember seeing performed was a murder ballad, executed by my dad. He sat on the cinnamon tweed sofa in our family room and played "Tom Dooley" -- a [...]
Continuing along the Bay Area independent music track we've been on of late, we come to Port O'Brien. I couldn't decide which song to post, since they're both equally impressive, so I went with both. This Oakland band crafts some intense tracks around their unique indie folk stomper sound. On top of the catchy sounds, I'm immediately drawn to the vocals as well; the way they fit with the music is spot on. It's safe to say, I'm excited about this here band. ::: Port O'Brien - I Woke Up Today [...]
Continuing the theme from my last post, I would like to write about another band that mines that rich vein of authentic, organic sounds with a folk, country feel. Port O'Brien hails from California, initially the solo project of Van Pierszalowski, it bloomed into a full band in 2005, where upon they released their debut album "When the Rain Comes". Now they have an EP, "Nowhere to Run" released in late 2006. It only contains 6 songs but it has quickly found its way inside my heart. The best way I can describe the band's music is like [...]
I've been putting off doing these year end wrap-ups simply because I knew it was going to be tough. I've probably listened to more new artists this year than any other year in my life. In hopes of keeping the lists concise, I've opted to shorten the length as to just reflect the best of each category. Unfortunately, with such short lists, there will be debate as to why things didn't make certain lists...but that's what discussion is for! I'll roll out a new list each day this week with applicable mp3s, so check back often! [...]
Beirut's debut album "Gulag Orkestar" for me was one of the best releases this year. Vibrant, fresh and full of new sounds, Zach Condon returns in January with an EP, "Lon Gisland". Here is the first track off said EP. Elephant Gun. Another artist to keep an out for is Ola Podrida . Formerly from Austin, but now based in Brooklyn, its the brainchild of film composer David Wingo. His music is very quiet but moving. Sourced this news from An Aquarium Drunkard , look out for a self titled [...]
It's pretty rare that I'm sent an mp3 that I want to post here on the blog, much less a song that totally blows my mind in the can't-stop-listening-to-it way. However, I've been really busy and waited a little bit to get it up here, and lo, the dreaded Pitchfork beat me to it with a glowing write-up of the track. Well, whatever... better late than never, right? Port O'brien's 'I Woke Up Today' is stunning. It comes together perfectly like the climactic Hallelujah chorus of a choir made up Akron/Family, O'Death and The Arcade Fire. They have a new [...]
Port O'Brien is another great band we found via the ole myspace . The band is really the work of Van Pierszalowski , and his story is as unique as his name. Spending his summers working on his dad's fishing boat in Alaska, Van (and his bandmate - Cambria) spends his winters in Oakland playing his psychedelic folk music with some heavy hitters in the indie scene ( Man Man , Vetiver , Akron\Family ). Port O'Brien has released two [...]
75 or Less Records has added two releases to their discography: Cowboy Steve K : "I've Got Some Gum" [mp3] from Cowboy Steve K EP Lame Drivers : "Superbomb" [mp3] from Captain Amazing EP reissue Cowboy Steve K : several tracks [mp3] Gris Gris : "Year Zero" [mp3] from For the Season Gris Gris' MySpace page [...]
Without question, the best new song I've heard this week is a song called "Five and Dime" from Port O'Brien. I don't know much about the band other than that they're a folk-oriented band from the Oakland area, but I really really like what I'm hearing. Check 'em out: "Five and Dime" (Highly recommended!) "My Eyes Won't Shut" "I Woke Up Today" I'm gonna dig around and see what else I can find
If you listened to this month's mix , did you check out track 2? It's a great song called "I Woke Up Today," from Oakland non-hippies Port O'Brien . I've been digging on it so much, I not only went out and tracked down another mp3, I also went and ordered their newest EP, Nowhere To Run , from Tecolote Records . And in a totally unheard-of move, I even found myself compelled to read the band's entire biography . Like "Deadliest Catch," but a little more romantic and charming. [...]
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