Sorry for the lack of updates around here recently. I'm sitting for the Bar Exam in late July and within the past couple of weeks I've officially started to feel the time crunch. Consequently, I have not had the time to update this site. Unfortunately, this trend will undoubtedly continue throughout July. There will probably be no updates for the entirety of the month. However, once the exam is over, I will return to regular updates. Thanks for supporting Moroccan Role and I will see you all in August.
Earlimart will release their fifth LP, Mentor Tormentor , August 21st on Majordomo Records-- an imprint formed as a partnership between Earlimart and Shout! Factory. This effort will follow their 2004 release, Treble & Tremble , which was received warmly by critics and indie-pop fans alike. Mentor Tormentor is a 15-track affair written and produced by Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray at The Ship, the band's studio in Eagle Rock, CA. Earlimart completed this album some time back, but shopped it around and saw a few record deals fall apart prior their decision [...]
I'm not going to pretend I know much about Michael Gira's work with Swans or his Angels of Light material aside from the '05 split LP with Akron/Family. Nevertheless, I've been listening to and greatly enjoying the upcoming Angels of Light album, We Are Him , most of this evening. Akron/Family are back on board for this album and their presence is readily apparent throughout. My early favorite track is "The Man We Left Behind"-- which opens with a meditative two-minute instrumental intro featuring a low-key single-note guitar part that will sound instantly familiar to A/F [...]
A couple of days ago, I stumbled upon Deastro's unassuming MySpace page . His page has only registered 2,000 views as of this writing and this is a shame, because this act has definite potential and with a modicum of exposure he would win-over a horde of converts. Detriot native Randy Chabot handles all vocals, drums, piano, synth, guitar, and programming duties. His best song I've encountered is "The Shaded Forests"-- a tasty slice of ethereal electro pop-rock that proves Chabot has melodic chops in spades. The song succeeds largely due to the endearing combination [...]
Earlier this week, the first three tracks from Animal Collective's forthcoming album, Strawberry Jam , made their way into the internet. I initially resisted sampling the tunes for want of my first exposure to the album being a listen in its entirety, but my curiosity eventually got the better of me. The opening three songs, ("Peace Bone", "Unsolved Mysteries", and "Chores") undoubtedly provide valuable insight into the sound and feel of Strawberry Jam . As anyone familiar with the band knows, their sound is subject to significant change from album to album. Many consider [...]
Liars will release their self-titled fourth album 8/28 on Mute Records. It seems like only yesterday their fantastic third album, Drum's Not Dead , was released and subsequently ended up on nearly every blogger's the top albums of 2006 list. ( #14 on mine ) Well, here they come again. The forthcoming album has surfaced considerably earlier than many (including myself) had anticipated-- a full two-and-a-half months prior to its release date. In fact, Pitchfork posted an "Exclusive Premiere" limited duration stream (48 hours) of the album's opening track, "Plaster Casts of Everything", just [...]
Portugal. the Man is an experimental rock trio from Alaska who will release their sophomore album, Church Mouth , on July 24th. Their debut album, Waiter: “You Vultures!” , was released in early 2006 and enjoyed very enthusiastic reviews in some circles, but went largely unnoticed. Regrettably, I've yet to hear the debut, but thanks to the strength of the second LP, this is likely to change rather quickly. Based on my initial listens to their upcoming album, these guys are proving to an incredibly exciting and promising young band. [...]
It's pretty obvious I've been feeling a bit nostalgic lately. To wind down this brief detour into yesteryear, I offer a couple of tunes from the April 2007-released Bridging the Distance compilation. As the title alludes to, this album is a collection of Portland-based bands covering 70s and 80s (mostly) classic rock tunes. Notable contributing bands include indie heavy weights The Decemberists and Spoon's Britt Daniel, along with numerous up-and-upcoming acts such as Viva Voce, The Joggers, and The Thermals. The complete track list can be viewed here . I'm generally uneasy [...]
I got the idea for this post upon encountering a Top 5 Hair Metal Songs entry on Ryan Adams' MySpace blog. While there's precious little to celebrate about 80s hair metal, the sheer majesty of the power ballad is undeniable. This glorious art form is often maligned due to its cheesy, out-the-top sentimentality, but every one of us has a soft spot for these tunes. The fail-safe formula for 80s hard rock success was brilliant in its simplicity: a rocking first single, followed by the requisite power ballad. There were countless bands that [...]
It's no secret that I love me some White Stripes and shower them with fanboy-type praise nearly every opportunity I get. Well, tonight there's another good reason to do just that. A special 7" vinyl of the Stripes' "Rag and Bone" came packaged with the new issue of NME Magazine, which hit newsstands today. The 7" is the first official hard copy taste of the duo's highly anticipated new album Icky Thump , due June 18th. Although already released on iTunes, the physical copy of upcoming album's first single and awesome title track [...]
This thing was doomed from the start. The words "MySpace" and "Smashing Pumpkins tribute" alone are a dead giveaway. The CD's only redeeming quality is that it's free with the July issue of Spin. Well, that and some of the covers are so bad they could provide a few laughs, I guess. I'm an admitted Pumpkins fanatic , but tribute albums are generally shitty. I cannot think of a single tribute album in existence that is worth the price of admission. What's worse this time out is the fact that the [...]
It's this kind of stuff that makes this blog exciting to write. This album basically came out of nowhere and knocked me on my ass. Friday afternoon, my friend Christi pointed me towards a recent post on Gorilla vs. Bear that declared Map of Africa's "Bone" one of the highlights of May. Shortly after snagging the tune, I had to hear the band's debut in its entirety. I spent nearly all weekend with this thing playing almost non-stop and the self-titled album is one of the most interesting things I've heard in awhile. This [...]
My knowledge of hip-hop is very limited, but I like to think I'm pretty adept at distinguishing the good stuff from the crap. I liken this ability to former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's famous definition of obscenity-- I know it when I see hear it. Common's 2005 album, Be , was my second favorite hip-hop album of that year, topped only by Kanye's sprawling, flawed masterpiece, Late Registration . Last year I really dug Lil' Wayne's Dedication II , Clipse's Hell Hath No Fury , T.I.'s King [...]
On May 5th, Merge Records released the Arcade Fire's "Keep the Car Running" 7" vinyl single here in the US-- which came backed by B-side, "Broken Window". The 7" for the band's second single, "Intervention", was released in the UK on May 21st and comes out here on July 10th. This second single also includes Calexico's cover of Neon Bible tune, "Ocean of Noise". I'm sure most readers of this website are well acquainted with the tunes on the Arcade Fire's excellent sophomore album and the first two singles from it, but I [...]
As anyone who reads this blog with any regularity knows, I am a huge fan of almost all things The National. On April 30th (nearly a month prior to the street date of the new album), the band released a limited edition single for Boxer standout, "Mistaken for Strangers". The UK CD single featured two B-sides: "Black Slate" and "Santa Clara". Since the new full-length was already widely available prior to the release of the single, I just recently got around to listening to these B-sides. Featuring the more traditional National [...]
This track first appeared exclusively on a 7" vinyl promo opposite "Fire it Up" from Modest Mouse's newest album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank . The promo was given to individuals who pre-ordered the new album through online retailers. It now also appears on the UK version of the "Dashboard" CD single, released yesterday. In an April interview , MM frontman Isaac Brock explained the tune will eventually be included on an upcoming EP featuring songs that did not make it onto the new album. If that doesn't satiate your desire for [...]
UK dream-popsters The Clientele released their third album, God Save the Clientele , May 8th on Merge Records. The album features more of the mellow, atmospheric indie pop tunes that the Clientele have made their name on. Their 2005 sophomore record, Strange Geometry , was a sleeper hit among the indie set and was among my top 20 of that year. The new album is not as initially catchy as its immediate predecessor, but is another fine set of tunes that blossom nicely after a few listens. Opener "Here Comes the Phantom" is a [...]
Suicaine Gratification was released in 1999 and is the third solo album from former Replacements frontman and songwriter Paul Westerberg. The Replacements were a highly influential 80s post-punk band hailing from the Twin Cities. They had highly devoted following and released a couple of near classic albums, including 1984's Let it Be and 85's Tim . While the band had a string of minor hits, they seemed content to remain relegated to, even relish, their perennial underdog status. The 'Mats always appeared on the cusp of a major commercial breakthrough, but the [...]
Yesterday, Lost Highway Records released a few tracks from the upcoming Ryan Adams album, Easy Tiger . All of these already short tunes are curiously faded out around the 2 minute mark, so I suppose they are intended to be good quality teasers. They provide a feel for the tone of the upcoming album regardless. Although I wrote about a couple tracks from the album last Tuesday , I felt compelled to share these songs. Besides, with Cold Roses -type guitar noodling and a fine vocal melody, "Everybody Knows" is a marked improvement [...]
With "The Marriage" making the rounds on the internet yesterday, I figured this was an excellent opportunity to discuss an album that I really enjoy but never got around to posting about. Patrick Wolf is an extremely talented 23-year-old singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Wolf's third album, The Magic Position , hit stores here in the U.S. on May 1st, but the indie world had been buzzing about this album even prior to its original February 26th UK release date. This album is an inventive and ambitious slice of fully realized, tasteful pop songcraft. A [...]
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