January 27, 2008
Video: Justice - "D.A.N.C.E."
Here is a kick ass video from the electronic duo Justice. Their record came out some time last year, but it's super-awesomeness was recently brought to my attention by my brother. Plus, they are about to go on a massive tour, which I'm sure will be gloriously headache inducing. Somebody please start making the shirts in the video!
Justice on myspace
Myspace Music Tour featuring Justice
Portland show is on Wed., March 26th @ the Roseland w/Diplo + Fancy
January 5, 2008
Jose Gonzalez - In Our Nature
To write a great book, a writer needs pen and paper—the pen to transmit his or her thoughts, the paper to record them. Whether it’s War and Peace or Everyone Poops (as equally riveting as The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts), the creative tools are the same. By equal measure, all you really need to record a great song is an instrument and a tape recorder. Use only the essential, press record, and let an airy, bedroom performance become the finished product.
Swedish singer/songwriter Jose Gonzalez embraces this minimalist approach to song creation on his new album In Our Nature. Armed only with an acoustic guitar and his whispery voice, Gonzalez presents each breath and note with purpose. The exciting part is not simply the decision to use less; it’s the atmospheric effect of emphasizing the very sound of the things that are used. Buzzing guitar strings, a stray pick scraping across the guitar, the creakiness of a chair—these are all elements of Gonzalez’ song craft and feel as essential as the hooks of the songs themselves.
Closer “Cycling Trivialities” highlights this lo-fi folk style with a swirling guitar line that slowly builds to the album’s emotional peak, but then fades out steadily to a crawl until all you hear is the sound of Gonzalez sitting in a chair, he puts his guitar down, shuffles a bit, then faintly chuckles and the album ends. This final minute of silence points out how noisy silence really is. Perhaps he is illustrating the futility of the noise/silence duality. Or maybe he just wanted to end the album with a serene hush and the laugh indicates that even he couldn’t take the “noisy silence” that seriously. Either way, it works marvelously.
Other songs do have some instrumental accompaniment. A song about personal salvation or humanity’s unfriendliness, “Down the Line” is driven forward by subtle percussive clicking while Gonzalez muses, “I see problems down the line/I know they’re mine.” The knee slaps/hand claps in memorable “Killing for Love” and “Time to Send Someone Away” adds momentum to the sparse melodies. There is even an earnest, pulsing cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”, though the original remains superior.
Thematically, In Our Nature largely covers familiar issues of humanity’s fall from grace. Why are we greedy and selfish (“How Low”), why does religion get out of hand (“Abram”), why do we kill each other (“In Our Nature”)? Due to Gonzalez’ sincere delivery combined with his skillful guitar playing, the lyrics are effective, but often fall short of revelatory.
As with his debut, Veneer, which was a critical and commercial success in Europe, In Our Nature continues to explore the boundaries and boundlessness of minimalist songwriting. It feels fresh among its polished, track-heavy contemporaries. Apparently, Gonzalez is something of a star in his home country. He may soon find his simple, down-to-earth method landing him in the fish bowl over here. All the better for us.
Swedish singer/songwriter Jose Gonzalez embraces this minimalist approach to song creation on his new album In Our Nature. Armed only with an acoustic guitar and his whispery voice, Gonzalez presents each breath and note with purpose. The exciting part is not simply the decision to use less; it’s the atmospheric effect of emphasizing the very sound of the things that are used. Buzzing guitar strings, a stray pick scraping across the guitar, the creakiness of a chair—these are all elements of Gonzalez’ song craft and feel as essential as the hooks of the songs themselves.
Closer “Cycling Trivialities” highlights this lo-fi folk style with a swirling guitar line that slowly builds to the album’s emotional peak, but then fades out steadily to a crawl until all you hear is the sound of Gonzalez sitting in a chair, he puts his guitar down, shuffles a bit, then faintly chuckles and the album ends. This final minute of silence points out how noisy silence really is. Perhaps he is illustrating the futility of the noise/silence duality. Or maybe he just wanted to end the album with a serene hush and the laugh indicates that even he couldn’t take the “noisy silence” that seriously. Either way, it works marvelously.
Other songs do have some instrumental accompaniment. A song about personal salvation or humanity’s unfriendliness, “Down the Line” is driven forward by subtle percussive clicking while Gonzalez muses, “I see problems down the line/I know they’re mine.” The knee slaps/hand claps in memorable “Killing for Love” and “Time to Send Someone Away” adds momentum to the sparse melodies. There is even an earnest, pulsing cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”, though the original remains superior.
Thematically, In Our Nature largely covers familiar issues of humanity’s fall from grace. Why are we greedy and selfish (“How Low”), why does religion get out of hand (“Abram”), why do we kill each other (“In Our Nature”)? Due to Gonzalez’ sincere delivery combined with his skillful guitar playing, the lyrics are effective, but often fall short of revelatory.
As with his debut, Veneer, which was a critical and commercial success in Europe, In Our Nature continues to explore the boundaries and boundlessness of minimalist songwriting. It feels fresh among its polished, track-heavy contemporaries. Apparently, Gonzalez is something of a star in his home country. He may soon find his simple, down-to-earth method landing him in the fish bowl over here. All the better for us.
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