You won't give up your blues without a fight

This is a post about AA Bondy. But it is also a post about music blogs, Verbena, and how music blogs love AA Bondy but don't seem to care about Verbena. Blogs are great for finding out about new music, but this narrowness of scope, often confined to what's hot on Pitchfork, is one of the reasons I started Thin Mercury Sound. Verbena has been one of my favorite bands for a while now, so I was thrilled when I found out in 2007 that AA Bondy, of Verbena "fame," was releasing a solo record, American Hearts. This album is a superb piece of somewhat Dylanesque, acoustic guitar, harmonica-driven Americana folk music and Bondy received some well-deserved praise. His new release, When the Devil's Loose, manages to add a full band while also slowing the music down to a sleepy, beautiful pace. It took me a little while to get into this one, but some of the songs are nearly perfect and I've grown to love it.

However, whenever I would read the mostly favorable reviews of Bondy's solo career, his tremendous back catalogue in Verbena is either ignored, commented on in passing, or dismissed as 1990's alternative rock. Heaven forbid these writers pick up La Musica Negra for a penny in the used bin, or download the torrent for free, to gain additional avenues of enjoyment for an artist they supposedly love. Judge for yourself below, but Verbena was one of the most intelligent, consistent-yet-versatile, blues-rock bands of all time. Enjoy a pair of songs from both of AA Bondy's solo albums and each of Verbena's full-length albums.

AA Bondy - Mightiest of Guns
AA Bondy - I Can See the Pines Are Dancing
from When the Devil's Loose
buy

AA Bondy - American Hearts
AA Bondy - Sweet Rapture (Sweet Rapture)
from American Hearts
buy
Verbena - So What
Verbena - Postcard Blues
from Souls For Sale
buy

Verbena - Baby Got Shot
Verbena - Big Skies, Black Rainbows
from Into the Pink
find this used somewhere...

Verbena - I, Pistol
Verbena - Me and Your Sister
from La Musica Negra
find this used somewhere...

My stepfather looks just like David Bowie

Behind Local H and Nirvana, Built To Spill might be my 3rd favorite band/artist. There are other contenders (Bob Dylan, Rocket from the Crypt, Pavement...), but Built To Spill's place is secure (for a little while at least) after last night's show at First Avenue. Having seen them twice previously in less than adequate venues, I was blown away by the combination of their finely tuned craft, near perfect set list, and First Ave's sound. Not only is Doug Martsch one of the best guitarists of all time, but BtS has the rare gift of a perfect balance between melody and rock and roll energy. And they have been putting out consistently superb records since 1993 (or even longer if you count Martsch's previous band Treepeople). Oh, and there is also Martsch's solo album and collaboration with Calvin Johnson in The Halo Benders to consider. Built To Spill's band members were evidently enjoying themselves and it spilled over into the crowd. They have a new album coming out on Oct. 6 titled There Is No Enemy, but we only got 2 previews of it last night. Their last album, 2006's You In Reverse, was their most Neil Young influenced and my second favorite of theirs behind the 1997 masterpiece Perfect From Now On. Needless to say, my anticipation is immense (still no leak, but pre-ordered), despite the nightmare-inducing album art (see below). Here is a nice mix of new and old tracks played last night, but expect a comment on the new album in the coming weeks and a post on Perfect From Now On in the future...

Built To Spill - Big Dipper
Built To Spill - Distopian Dream Girl
from There's Nothing Wrong With Love
buy

Built To Spill - Carry the Zero
from Keep It Like a Secret
buy

Built To Spill - Wherever You Go
Built To Spill - Conventional Wisdom
from You In Reverse
buy

Yeah, we're straight, we get high on our music

I'm off to DC/Baltimore tomorrow for some research fun, but I had to mention that I saw The Breeders last week at the Fine Line Music Cafe. You probably know The Breeders from A) 1990's radio hit "Cannonball" or B) Kim Deal (of Pixies fame) or C) As one of Kurt Cobain's favorite bands. Their recorded material is simply fantastic and I've included a sampling below. Perhaps there will be more on that in the future. But I am happy to say that their live show did not disappoint either. Kim and twin sister Kelly were clearly having a blast on stage and, although it's been a long time since the release of Pod in 1990, the band is still going strong.

The Breeders - Hoverin'
from Divine Hammer Single
buy

The Breeders - Happiness is a Warm Gun (Beatles cover)
The Breeders - Lime House
from Pod
buy

The Breeders - Cannonball
from Last Splash
buy

The Breeders - We're Gonna Rise
from Mountain Battles
buy

The Breeders' latest release is the Fate To Fatal EP. One of the tracks includes Mark Lanegan! So buy it!

Imagination blind, but changing

Short post today on Dinosaur Jr.'s latest album, Farm, which was released back in June. If we think about music in terms of lists, Dinosaur Jr. can be found near the top of many - best band, best album, best guitarist, best cover art, best live band, loudest live band, and best album of 2009. I've always wished that J. Mascis had a bit more going on lyrically, but the band's music continues to be the perfect blend of melody and energy, beauty and noise. Here are two tastes - the lengthy "Said the People" and "Imagination Blind," one of the two Lou Barlow-led songs on the album. Looking forward to having my eardrums blown out again when they come to Minneapolis in November.

Dinosaur Jr. - Said the People
Dinosaur Jr. - Imagination Blind
from Farm
buy

Holy ghosts and talk show hosts are planted in the sand

I really need to keep up with this blog - with tons to write about and as much free time this summer as I'm likely to have until next year, one post a month isn't going to cut it. I'll just have to make this one exceptionally long. Anyway, a couple weeks ago I saw another pair of fantastic shows at the 7th St. Entry. The first, and most anticipated, was Sunset Rubdown. Their new album, Dragonslayer, is getting a great deal of well-deserved praise (along with a bit of unsettling obsession with frontman Spencer Krug). It is a tighter and more rockin' (and indeed, fabulous) follow-up to their 2007 all-time-greatest album Random Spirit Lover. Their live show did not disappoint either, with Spencer demonstrating that he is not only a brilliant songwriter but also one of the most gracious. The most pleasantly surprising aspect of the show, however, was the display of talent from the rest of the band members - Camilla Wynne Ingr, Jordan Robson-Cramer, Michael Doerksen, and Mark Nicol, the last three rotating effortlessly between bass, guitar, and drums throughout the set. Can't wait to see them again.

Sunset Rubdown - Idiot Heart
Sunset Rubdown - You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)
from Dragonslayer

Sunset Rubdown - The Taming of the Hands That Came Back To Life
from Random Spirit Lover


Later in the week I attended the Meat Puppets show - a 25 year anniversary of their first performance at the Entry. The band is touring in support of their new album Sewn Together (which is good, but not great), but played a number of classic songs including "Plateau," "Oh Me," "Up On The Sun," and "Comin' Down." Unfortunately, the band did not go on until 11:30 and I had my French exam in the morning, so I had to leave after about 45 minutes of their set. Nevertheless, the aging Kirkwood brothers and new drummer Ted Marcus displayed an incredible amount of energy and enthusiasm.

Meat Puppets - Go To Your Head
from Sewn Together

Meat Puppets - Up On The Sun
from Up On The Sun

Meat Puppets - Plateau
from II


While the Meat Puppets were great, I was truly blown away by Duluth-based openers Retribution Gospel Choir, which consists of two members of the band Low. While Low is known for their slow, quiet, stripped down music and beautiful husband-wife harmonies, the Alan Sparhawk-led Retribution Gospel Choir was loud, explosive, and full of life. I was definitely skeptical as the band took the stage dressed in matching shirts and ties, but was converted into a dedicated fan within three seconds of their opening song "Breaker," originally appearing on Low's fantastic album Drums and Guns. Their self-titled, full length debut is highly recommended, but can only capture a fraction of energy present in their live show. So make sure to go see them if you get the chance.

Retribution Gospel Choir - Breaker
Retribution Gospel Choir - What She Turned Into
from Retribution Gospel Choir

Paralysed and gleaming, with visions of new states

It's been a long time since I've been this impressed with a band I had never heard of before. Perhaps better known for his work in Black Mountain (also great), Vancouver's Stephen McBean is the principal songwriter in the Pink Mountaintops. Outside Love is the band's third album and easily their best. The album displays a mix of pop, folk, and rock influences - think Mark Lanegan, Low, M. Ward, the Vaselines - while still retaining a sound that is both chilling and exhilarating and undoubtedly original.

As the band's label Jagjaguwar writes, "The ten songs on "Outside Love" are about or influenced by weddings in Montreal, winter, Pink Floyd's The Final Cut, Christmas albums, that one Exile song and that one Echo and the Bunnymen song, the Bermuda Triangle, being depressed in the sunshine, people who haven't made out yet but will in the future, The Everly Brothers, clowns in the ceilings, and bedrooms where skinheads used to live."

Is "Vampire" the best song of a 2009 packed with great albums that are filled with great songs? Perhaps - or maybe I just have a soft spot for demon love songs.

Pink Mountaintops - Vampire
Pink Mountaintops - While You Were Dreaming
buy

St. Vincent videos

MFR has 3 videos of the St. Vincent show at First Ave. Check them out here!

Let the children act like furniture

I am really falling behind with this blog. There have been so many good releases in the past couple months and soon-to-be-released leaks I've been loving. I also saw a pair of excellent shows by two artists with 2009 albums - St. Vincent at First Avenue and Grizzy Bear (with Here We Go Magic) at the Cedar Cultural Center.


St. Vincent is songwriter Annie Clark, who has become one of my favorite artists and live performers, even though only her 2nd full-length was released in May. I first saw her open up for The National after the release of Marry Me, when she blew me away with her solo set consisting of her beautiful voice, foot stomping, double microphone, and Zappa-esque guitar freak-outs. Last week's performance at First Ave, in support of last month's fantastic Actor, included a full band for most songs and made me appreciate her talent even more. The new album is a bit mellower overall, but continues the sweet yet eerie lyrics and unexpected turns from Marry Me without a single misstep.

St. Vincent - Now Now
St. Vincent - Paris Is Burning
from Marry Me
buy

St. Vincent - Black Rainbow
St. Vincent - Laughing With a Mouth of Blood
from Actor
buy

The Grizzly Bear show was not as enjoyable, but only because of the contrast between the band's mellow, beautiful music and the hot, overcrowded venue. Their vocals and harmonies are borderline unbelievable and their new album Veckatimest has been receiving great reviews and selling extremely well for an indie release. I wasn't a huge fan of their brand of experimental folk on 2006's Yellow House, and their lyrics remain somewhat straightforward and inoffensive, but the 52-minutes of beauty that is Veckatiment converted me into a fan - just check out this performance of "Two Weeks" on Letterman and the songs "Southern Point" and "While You Wait For the Others."



Grizzly Bear - Southern Point
Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For the Others
from Veckatimest
buy

Here We Go Magic opened the Grizzy Bear show and were also quite enjoyable, although I think I prefer Luke Temple's solo work more than this full band project.

Here We Go Magic - Fangela
from Here We Go Magic
buy

Luke Temple - Saturday People
from Snowbeast
buy

What can I say that you can't say better?

It's been a year since Local H, one my favorite bands and easily the best live band I've seen, performed a 7-night residency at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago. For those who don't know, Local H is a 2 member rock band, with Brian St. Clair destroying the drums and Scott Lucas taking care of vocals and guitar/bass - he rigged his guitar with bass pickups and a system of pedals and amps to play both parts at the same time. You may remember them from hearing "Bound for the Floor" on the radio back in the mid-90's, but the band really reached its peak with 1998's Pack Up the Cats (horribly underpromoted during a change in management at Island Records) and has released three more full-lengths since then. In the run up to the release of their new album 12 Angry Months, the band decided to play all of their previous albums, plus a night of b-sides and rarities, culminating in the new songs being played for the first time on the 7th night. Each performance was followed by an encore of covers and other miscellaneous songs. The schedule was:

Wed. 5/7 - Ham Fisted
Thurs. 5/8 - As Good As Dead
Fri. 5/9 - Pack Up the Cats
Sat. 5/10 - Here Comes the Zoo
Sun. 5/11 - Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?
Mon. 5/12 - B-Sides and Rarities
Tues. 5/13 - 12 Angry Months

I was fortunate enough to attend the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday shows as a birthday present/getaway with Colleen. The quality of the shows lived up to the high concept of the residency, with the band in top form - Scott, Brian, and guests clearly worked hard to do the records justice and put on a great show. The crowd was also great, with a minimum of the "High-Fivin Motherfucker" type moshing and plenty of participation and sing-along. Fan recordings of all 7 shows are available to download for free here, but in commemoration, here are a few of my favorite songs from the nights I was present (and a few others):

What Can I Tell You?
All the Kids Are Right
from Pack Up the Cats

Hands on the Bible (with Simi from Suffrajett on electric violin)
Tame Me (Baby Wants To)
from Here Comes the Zoo

Buffalo Trace (this was just utterly mind-blowing and that vocal effect sounded great)
Hey, Rita (with a nice LCD Soundsystem "All My Friends" outro)
from Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?

I wasn't here for this, but it must have been fantastic live...
Manifest Destiny Pt. 2
from As Good As Dead

And finally, here is "President Forever" - put into retirement following the election, but still relevant at the time.
President Forever
from The No Fun EP


Lots of excellent records were released during Thin Mercury Sound's hiatus, so look for reviews in the near future...

Drought

It has been pretty busy around here with end of semester craziness and a move scheduled for May 23rd. But expect posts in the near future on St. Vincent, Grizzly Bear, Pink Mountaintops, and Local H...

I'll drink whiskey instead of water

I saw Murder By Death on Tuesday night for the 2nd time. Although they put on a great show, it wasn't quite as great as I remember. This may be because their last tour was in support of their sophomore album Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?, which is simply fantastic from start to finish. Since then they have put out 2 more albums, In Bocca Al Lupo and Red of Tooth and Claw - both have some similarly depressing, cello-guided rock songs, but just don't seem to hold together as well. On the other hand, Who Will Survive... remains a cohesive collection of songs about the devil, whiskey, desert towns, the old times, and "murder by death," sung by a modern-day Johnny Cash. "The Devil in Mexico" kicks off the album and sets the overall lyrical narrative of the devil's revenge after his attempted murder in a bar - "well the devil's bleedin crude oil from a hole in his chest/and its panging on the bedpan drippin through the bedsheets/and all the businessmen are putting pails beneath his wounds/and pawnin the oil at the market." Check out anything Murder By Death does, but this is a great place to start.

Murder By Death - The Devil in Mexico
Murder By Death - Until Morale Improves, The Beatings Will Continue
Murder By Death - A Masters In Reverse Psychology

from Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?
buy vinyl or CD

Record Store Day 2009

Today is Record Store Day, with artists releasing a bunch of limited and exclusive material in independent record stores across the country. Check out here and here for more information. I just picked up the Obits' single "I Can't Lose" / "Military Madness" 7". Go buy some vinyl!

Teenage angst has paid off well, now I'm bored and old

I've been pretty busy, so this is almost a week old now, but 15 years have passed since I watched the news of Kurt Cobain's death on MTV. It seems incredible to me that so much time has passed. I am often turned off by hype and exaggeration of greatness, but Kurt Cobain is my one exception - if anything, his talent isn't talked about enough (with the exception of each April), or the praise confined to the narrow sphere of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Kurt's premature death has resulted in his untainted image and memory, reaching almost mythical heights, but that does not discount his incredible ability to produce music that was both lyrically brilliant and emotionally charged.

Here are some of my favorites:

Nirvana - Serve the Servants
from In Utero
buy

Nirvana - Drain You
from Nevermind
buy

And as a 5th grade fan of Nirvana, cover songs and Kurt's name-dropping were my gateway to some of my now favorite bands: Meat Puppets, Vaselines, Wipers, Young Marble Giants, etc. So, here are some of my favorite cover songs:

Nirvana - Molly's Lips (Vaselines cover)
from Incesticide
buy

Nirvana - Plateau (Meat Puppets cover)
Nirvana - Where Did You Sleep Last Night? (Lead Belly) - kind of cliche to say this, but the ending of this song makes this possibly my favorite performance of any song ever
from MTV Unplugged in New York
buy

We got two dollar soldiers and ten dollar words

Joe Pug is a singer-songwriter who released The Nation of Heat EP in 2008 and plans to start recording his debut full-length sometime this year. He recently performed some songs on My Old Kentucky Blog's LaundroMatinee Video Session - the performances are fantastic, as is the Nation of Heat EP. If you are a fan of Bob Dylan, AA Bondy, or any other singer-songwriters who actually have something to say, I highly recommend checking out his music.


Joe Pug - Nation of Heat from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

Check out the rest of Joe Pug's performance here.

MP3's
Joe Pug - Nation of Heat
from the Nation of Heat EP
buy

Joe Pug - Hymn #101 (live Daytrotter Session)
download the rest

"The African peasant only knows the eternal renewal of time, rhythmed by the endless repetition of the same gestures and the same words"

This article is stolen from Paul Collins' blog (Weekend Stubble) and not music-related, but great nonetheless - The French showing their dissent by reading that jerk Nicholas Sarkozy's least favorite book

One cross apiece for all His enemies

The Obits are the new band of Rick Froberg (Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu, Pitchfork) and have just released their debut full-length, I Blame You, on Sub Pop. Despite my love of Froberg and his extended musical family, I have to admit I was slightly (and perhaps irrationally) disappointed in this album for two reasons:

1) This is not the Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu, or Pitchfork
2) None of the songs on I Blame You match the intensity of the Obits' previously released 7" single "One Cross Apiece" - This fantastic song really sent my hopes skyrocketing.

However, this is still a very good record and I highly recommend it. And with these songs being a bit more garage blues/pop than the pounding, frenetic, energetic rock of Froberg's former bands, there is definitely a ton of potential here. I'm sure the band is great live, so here's hoping they come to Minneapolis very soon.

Obits - Pine On
from I Blame You
Buy

Obits - One Cross Apiece
from "One Cross Apiece" 7" single
Buy

And you will never see the alligator's glade

Swan Lake is supergroup of sorts. Prolific Canadians Dan Bejar (Destroyer), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown), and Casey Mercer (Frog Eyes, Blackout Beach) have somehow found the time to release their second album, Enemy Mine, which is an outstanding follow-up to 2006's Beast Moans. Though you could say I am more of a Destroyer/Wolf Parade/Sunset Rubdown fan, Casey's songs are particularly strong here. But all three possess an uncanny ability to write cryptic, yet beautiful and emotionally identifiable, lyrics, envelop the listener in a swirling mass of guitar, keyboards, and vocals, and inject a repeated word, phrase, or verse with emotion and higher meaning.

The band's label, Jagjaguar, has made three mp3's available for download, one from each songwriter - Casey, Dan, and Spencer respectively.

Swan Lake - Spanish Gold, 2044
Swan Lake - Spider
Swan Lake - A Hand At Dusk
Buy

And a fantastic Spencer track from Beast Moans...
Swan Lake - All Fires
Buy


And finally, in celebration of a new Sunset Rubdown album in June, here is my favorite track from their 2007 album Random Spirit Lover...
Sunset Rubdown - The Mending of the Gown
Buy

Welcome!

The creation of a music blog has been in the works for a few years now, but I could never find the time/initiative to actually start writing. But it's PhD spring break time in Minneapolis and here I am. I don't anticipate this blog reaching the literary heights of Said the Gramophone, or being as content rich as Aquarium Drunkard. But family and friends often ask me, how do you hear about all this music? Well, by devouring music blogs. So, I think I've finally worked up the drive to start advancing my own particular tastes, which both diverge from and converge with the indie music found on Pitchfork, Stereogum, and other music blogs.

Which brings me to the Thin Mercury Sound - a title that conveys the spectrum of my musical enjoyment. For one, this is the title of Caviar's fantastic sophomore album, representing my love for lesser-known elements of the Chicago rock scene - Local H, Triplefastaction, Fig Dish, etc. But said album title is also a semi-obscure Bob Dylan reference, used by Dylan to describe the sound of Blonde on Blonde (one of my favorite albums of all time) - "It's that thin, that wild mercury sound. It's metallic and bright gold, with whatever that conjures up. That's my particular sound."

So be ready for rock, folk/Americana, and many other genres - but my enjoyment, and I hope yours as well, comes from the more general, less tangible qualities of creativity, emotion, and lyrical intelligence - whatever that conjures up.

A few tracks to get this started...

Caviar - Lioness
Caviar - You've Got a Black Black Heart
from The Thin Mercury Sound
buy

This alternate version of "Visions of Johanna" comes from the Dylan bootleg Thin Wild Mercury Music, which includes outtakes from Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde on Blonde.

Bob Dylan - Visions of Johanna