Photograph by Nick Helderman Drawing from affecting tones of 602s baroque pop and psychedelic trance, Dutch multi-instrumentalist and producer, Jacco Gardner has created an enigmatic world from the loss of innocence. From listening to Gardner’s singles such as “ The Ballad of Little Jane ” and “ Where Will You Go ,” and “ Summer’s Game ,” his influences are quite clear. This multi-instrumentalist blends contemporary sounds along with classical ones such as the harpsichord, clarinet, and flute. Influenced by past artists such as The Left Banke and [...]
No, seriously . . . 53 . For today's New Music Monday, we've got a dose of temporal juxtaposition: music released in July 2012 by an '80s star, heavily influenced by music of the '60s. It's Susanna Hoffs, adored lead singer of the Bangles, from her newest album, Someday . As it turns out, I saw Susanna play at the Triple Door in Seattle last night, and she sounded fantastic (and, I feel the need to point out, looked fantastic - she's 53 now, if you can [...]
Soulful rock experimentalists Ava Luna are returning to Philly for a show tonight at Johnny Brenda's. They call themselves "nervous soul"; shaking feelings mixed with powerful chords and earfuls of synthesizers. The seven piece group released their debut LP, Ice Level earlier this year on Infinite Best Recordings. They were also featured in Weathervane Music's Shaking Through ... Continue reading
From out of the West comes a throwback band that makes the old songs new again. Everybody must get Sconed!
The original members of the '60s baroque-pop band The Left Banke are performing at World Cafe Live on Wednesday, August 8th. The band had several hits in 1966, including "Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina." Tickets go on sale Friday, June 1st, at 10 a.m. here. Continue reading
Looking back on the pop music scene of the 1960s, we now realize that it was one of the most diverse eras in history. Most of those variations still influence today's music, but a group known as the Left Banke was something a little different. The band's two big hits - "Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina" - were good examples of their specialty, a mix of pop and faux classical that they called 'baroque & roll'. Headed up by keyboard wizard Michael Brown and lead singer Steve Martin (Caro), the Left Banke came together in the [...]
It finally happened. Winter arrived. Snow fell and we woke up this past Sunday with about three inches of the stuff. I'm glad it didn't arrive earlier, as Friday saw me at KSVR for a four hour stint of music. The first two hours flirted with folk music and the latter half was full-on garage rock, garage pop and psychedelic pop. Much of the 10 to midnight show came courtesy Finest Kiss , who posted some great 2011 lists. Taking [...]
The most wonderful time of the year, right guys? 'Twas the end of December, and all through the blogosphere, not a creature was stirring, except for the sounds of music writers springin' chub, strokin' egos, and Bon Iverin' via the storied tradition of the "best of" list. Well, The Decibel Tolls participates in that jive as well, save for the latter. Be it as it may. So yeah, man... 2011... shit. 2011 was a turbulent and gnarly year, and as such, we've been treated to some truly stellar music. Funny how that works - civic and economic tension [...]
Why is it that the older you get the more old music you buy? Probably because as you get older you start to realize how little you know about music. Here's to all the labels that do the crate digging for you, because there is no way in hell you could have found all of this stuff on your own. Here are the top 15 reissues that I crossed paths with this year. 1. El Rego - El Rego ( Daptone ) I was vaguely familiar [...]
None More Eleven: A Spinal Tap Appreciation Event On the historic evening of 11/11/11, musicians from the rock, pop, soul, metal, jazz, classical, & experimental worlds will present a tribute to the sights, sounds, and smells of a hard-working rock band on the road. The night will feature literal adapations of Tap classics, non-literal deconstructions of Tap failures, world premieres of never performed Tap "lost gems", and lots and lots of exploding drummers. Featuring performances by Julee Cruise ("Twin Peaks"), Chris Butler (The Waitresses), Mike Fornatale (The Left Banke/The Monks), Joe McGinty [...]
Walk away Renee - The Left Banke Because i had never heard it before i moved here, and because of how often i've heard it here, this song will forever remind me of the mountains. There must be some conspiracy, someone or some committee deciding this song as this town's inescapable anthem. I first heard it on the local community radio station, back announced by the seemingly most erudite of DJ's who was it turned out only reading a wikipaedia page. Since [...]
Legendary NYC baroque pop band The Left Banke reformed earlier this year, but only with original members Tom Finn and George Cameron. Unfortunately Michael Brown and Steve Martin (not that one) -- who did the songwriting and singing, aren't actually involved. Regardless, two shows happened at Joe's Pub in March . . The show reunited original band members Tom Finn and George Cameron for the first time since 1970 and presented a powerhouse of "Baroque pop" to an audience palpably loving every nostalgic note and nuance of the songs that first came out [...]
I hope you’re ready for some Snazzy New Orleans arrangements with some nice solos. This is a really upbeat, fun record. But I think you’ll agree that the cover is what really swings it. Comin’ Round the Mountain – Camptown Races (Medley) The power of collective improvisation. Very trad. The two tunes make nice bedfellows. Glow Worm What happens when you open the [...]
I hope you’re ready for some Snazzy New Orleans arrangements with some nice solos. This is a really upbeat, fun record. But I think you’ll agree that the cover is what really swings it. Comin’ Round the Mountain – Camptown Races (Medley) The power of collective improvisation. Very trad. The two tunes make nice bedfellows. Glow Worm What happens when you open the [...]
The fleeting guitar-pop of The Demos presents itself like a smörgåsbord of indie-rock influences. Pop pioneers like The Beatles and Brian Wilson can be heard in much of today’s music, but the prevalence of contrived imitation over infused creativity now prevents listeners from fully grasping their impact on a variety of pop/rock styles. The Demos’ [...]
[ Left Blank ] ( buy vinyl ) ( buy mp3s ) Rarely do you see the cyclical nature of musical trends as clearly as when observing the relationship between UK garage and dubstep. Originally a product of garage's darker, latter days, dubstep has become so overblown and wobble obsessed that many of its adherents have returned to the sunnier, house-influenced sounds that preceded it. The inaugural release from Left_blank, produced by Sebastian Gainsbrough under the alias Vessel, is exemplary of the most modern takes on garage and bass music and [...]
Well, damn, Blogger seems to have re-asserted its usual invisible dominion over the SB space. Which is to say, "site maintenance" has not only delayed today's post, but seems to have deleted yesterday's altogether. Thanks much, Google. No one should have an excellent Yellow Magic Orchestra tune taken away from them, so I'll fix that when I get time. Meanwhile, happy Friday the 13th. No ghoulishness from me though. Instead, how about a delectable slice of '60s pop. With jealousy-ridden lyrics to offset the succulent melodiousness. Also, FYI, given transit and [...]
This podcast is, as you will already know, very, very late. Personally I blame a combination of the RNLI, gin, and the fact that Mrs. Toad is away all week, which meant that yesterday wasn't really available for blog things. It's also not very new music-orientated either, so hopefully those of you who come here pretty much just for that won't be too disappointed. I think what happened was that I got so into a handful of new releases recently that I neglected all the others, so when I came to sit down and write about [...]
HAL were featured on Obscure Sound over five years ago. They were under-exposed then, and remain so now. That HAL have not released anything in seven years certainly didn’t help. Nonetheless, I listened to their eponymous debut very often for several years without tiring of it. Its swirling mixture of Beach Boys-inspired west-coast pop and [...]
Unfortunately, my various social networking news feeds were too overloaded with wanky Charlie Sheen quotes for me to get hip to the fact that baroque sunny psych pop pioneers The Left Banke played their first show in... I don't even know how long, last night at Joe's Pub in Manhattan. I mean, I get so aggravated at all the shit I'm aware of that I don't care about, and then the knowledge that The Left Banke is playing again slips through the cracks. C'mon guys! Jesus H! Anyway, as not all of us live in New York City, we can only hope [...]
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