Ah, the Atlantic Line of the Pacific coast – a band whose name finds irony in geography, and whose new album entitled Exit to Intro is likewise conceptually backwards (at least in nomenclature).   But that’s all very superficial, and were the music itself similarly of little consequence, you can bet a blue ox (why not?) I wouldn’t spill even a bit of cyber ink over it.

As it is, LA’s Atlantic Line is worth writing about, and even more worth listening to.  Exit to Intro is an album of wide open space, mixing a lot of ambient chorus, reverb and laser effects to produce a strong sense of orbital movement.  Really, if you don’t feel as if your breezing past Venus upon a pan-Milky Way trip on Haley’s Comet, then you’re just not getting it.  But I do think you’ll get it, and if the layered effects of the tunes aren’t enough to draw out a sigh of awe, then focus on the melodies, since clearly the Atlantic Line don’t think a song a song without a fine melody to go along.

The Atlantic Line’s tour calendar is slightly light right now, but we have hope that maybe they’ll travel part way across the country in the near future.  Want to hear the best thing yet?  The band has a gift just for you – a copy of Exit to Intro for free download via their website!  Snag it now, and don’t forget to hook up with the band via the hordes of social media options listed on their website and myspace.

Here’s the tune I’ve been digging on for about a week now.  Let me know if you do too!

[audio=http://borangutan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/02-Big-Brother.mp3]

“Big Brother” by: The Atlantic Line

Links

The Atlantic Line – Website / Myspace / Facebook

posted July 1st, 2010 at 5:45 pm Reviews Exit to Intro, The Atlantic Line

Minneapolis’ Fort Wilson Riot are poised to release their second full length album entitled Predatory/Prey this July, and as a lead up to its release (and a string of hot local shows) they’re tossing their new single out there for one and all!  The new tune is “All My Friends,” and as FWR’s Amy Hager explains, the concept for the song arose while on a vacation to Central America.

“…I was joking around with a friend that I didn’t even know what I looked like anymore, because there were no mirrors, and then I just look at you and yeah, I look OK, and we were cracking up about it the whole trip. Everyone else represents who you are after you’ve been friends.”



Be sure to catch Fort Wilson Riot at the Stone Arch Festival this Sunday, June 20, at 2:15PM.

[audio=http://borangutan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/02-All-My-Friends.mp3]

“All My Friends” by: Fort Wilson Riot

Snag the tune yourself by following this link.

Links

Fort Wilson Riot – Website / Myspace

posted June 15th, 2010 at 11:51 am MN Rock Fort Wilson Riot

There is a little band out of Tyler, Texas called Moving Castles with less than 5K profile views on their Myspace page and a song that refuses to exit my head!  That song is “Theater, Girl,” and it got dropped in my mailbox several days ago.  Most of the time I’m willing to give a new song a listen if a direct  link is provided, and most of the time I make my decision as to whether I dig it or not in the first thirty listening seconds (I know, gracious by industry standards).

So, if through this process a song ends up hitting this page, I suspect the best music readership in town (that’s you!) will find something valuable and time well spent.  Press play below, but be forewarned: this will be stuck in your head!  Moving Castles just released a new EP, and you can download the whole shebang for free by following this link.

Happy Memorial Day all!

[audio=http://borangutan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Moving-Castles-Theater-Girl.mp3,,download]

“Theater, Girl” by: Moving Castles

Links

Moving Castles – Website / Myspace

posted May 29th, 2010 at 11:29 am Download Moving Castles

“I love rock-n-roll. I think it’s an exciting art form. It’s revolutionary. Still revolutionary and it changed people. It changed their hearts. But yeah, even rock-n-roll has a lot of rubbish, really bad music.”

True enough Mr. Nick Cave, yet once in awhile isn’t it refreshing to find a bit of gold tinfoil among the rubbish?  It’s these precious and new-found artifacts that remind me why I fell in love with The Beatles, Billy Joel, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, KISS, Neil Young, and so many more.  Just the other day I was having a conversation with a friend  who was complaining about the annoying number of part-time musicians in the Twin Cities who create a lot of clutter (or rubbish?) for all the full-time musicians to wade through.  It’s hard for any object to stand out in a pile of rubbish, but if the music is shiny enough, just maybe it’ll be plucked and taken home.

Take, for example, The 757′s new album Last Laugh.  I’ve been listening to The 757′s for some time now.  I like their straight up and no nonsense approach to rock and roll – guitar heavy, drum heavy, and not too lyrically cumbersome!  While I consider myself a fan of the lyrically esoteric Thom Yorke, most of the time I want what The 757′s hit me with.  “There’s no truth like the whole truth, there’s no news (and) the last laugh is on me and you.”  Simple, but something you can easily take to the memory bank!

I’m such a sucker for the hooks, and hooks will be had on this record.  That’s the beauty of Last Laugh.  The 757′s have here established a new pop foundation, dealing us the bare-knuckle rock and roll at each opening note, but following it up with sweet melodies less apparent on 2009′s Freeway Surrender.  A sort of “put ‘er there, pal” as the band hoists you from the ground.  They clearly want us to know and feel this from the opening tune “Sarah Saw It Coming” and onward.

Speaking of, here is “Sarah Saw It Coming” just for you, and hey 89.3 The Current, how about some love for this song?  We want it!

[audio=http://borangutan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Sarah_Saw_it_Coming.mp3,,download]

“Sarah Saw It Coming” by: The 757′s

Last Laugh went on sale yesterday.  Pick up your gold tinfoil HERE, or even better, swing into the CD Release show this Friday night at Sauce!  Music starts at 8PM, and The 757′s will be supported by Porcupine and Con Queso.  I expect copies of Last Laugh will be on hand.

Links

The 757′s – Website / Myspace / Facebook

posted May 5th, 2010 at 12:23 pm Uncategorized Con-Queso, Porcupine, The 757's

We recently caught a word from Domino of Minneapolis’ Dearling Physique, tipping us off to the release of the band’s Currency EP on April 13.  As a tantalizing little lead up to the release party, the band has decided to grace us all with a copy of the single “Oh This Currency,” a smooth little tune to turn the heads of all of us Depeche Mode fanatics!  Download your copy below, prepare for the release on April 13, and don’t forget to visit the band’s bandcamp page for future morsels.

Dearling Physique will be supported at the release show (April 16) by No Bird Sing, The Alpha Centauri, Xavier Marquis, and DJ Soviet Panda.

[audio=http://borangutan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/01-Oh-This-Currency.mp3, Right click and "Save Link As",download]

“Oh This Currency” by: Dearling Physique

posted April 5th, 2010 at 5:16 pm Download Dearling Physique, DJ Soviet Panda, The Alpha Centauri, Xavier Marquis

It seems no matter how often I search or how vigilant I stand, great music always seems to slip through the cracks.  It’s just too easy to get overwhelmed by the volume of music in the digital age, and at some point we all thank our lucky stars for people out there who shove something worth listening to directly in our ears.  Case in point: an active little bird at xo Publicity who has a handle on things that are hot – like The Burning Hotels from Austin, Texas!

The Burning Hotels have a new album titled Novels dropping April 27, and as precursor to sweet pandemonium, the band is calling all fans of modern rock to prepare their iPods and mp3 players with the first single off the record, “Austin’s Birthday.”  We’ve posted the video for the tune, but you also might notice a little blue link below it.  That’s right – right click that baby and dump it into your current playlist immediately.  Then hit the band’s Myspace page and let them know how many great clubs in the Twin Cities are awaiting their arrival!

Austin’s Birthday mp3 – Download Now

Links

The Burning Hotels – Myspace

posted March 9th, 2010 at 3:23 pm Video The Burning Hotels