Some of you may have noticed that we added a new feature to the site recently in the form of a page that allows readers to submit their own tracks for review. We added this in hopes of uncovering even more new music for our readers that we may not have otherwise found through our more traditional means of acquiring tunes. Over the last few weeks we have been very pleasantly surprised by the amount and (in most cases, at least) quality of tracks that have been shuffling in via our new toy. A few of them have already been featured here in the pages of Citizen Dick, but in an attempt to encourage more submissions and to acknowledge the one that we have already received I am dedicating today’s column exclusively to reader submissions. Most of these artists are so under the radar that they barely even exist, so as tastemakers it is our duty to give them the exposure that they deserve. Of course, I am writing this while sitting in a coffee shop on the Lower East Side that happens to to be spinning Grizzly Bear’s seminal Yellow House, and while most of these tracks are not quite on that level they are certainly worth a few minutes of your time. So enjoy!
First up is a band(?) called Caretaker. From what I can surmise from the artist’s MySpace page, it appears to be the work of one man who goes by the name of Jason Kane. That is him over there to the left, the one who looks a little bit like Charles Manson (that’s a good thing, in case you were wondering). We actually received a couple tracks from Mr. Kane, but the one that I am featuring here is called “Peoples’ Say,” an eclectic, retro-sounding number with a little bit of edge to it. The vibe reminds me a bit of Richard Swift with a little more less weirdness. There’s quite a bit going on here for just one guy, though I’m not sure if there were any other musicians involved or how the track was produced. Big, orchestral percussion, some Santana-esque guitar strumming, a little bit of twang, a hint of what sounds like an organ, and a whole lot of AM Radio style mellow. Hopefully we will get word from the man himself for a bit more insight on the track, but all you really need to know is that it sounds great. Unfortunately the dude doesn’t have much info on his page and he has only three friends at the moment, so I can’t tell you where to purchase any of his music or where you may be able to catch him live. I suggest shooting him a message if you are interested and letting him know that you heard it here on Citizen Dick. And maybe throw a friend request his way while you’re at it.
Next up is a track from an Argentinean artist by the name of Ezequiel Claverie, who records under the name Ezequiel Ezequiel. According to the message accompanying the submission, this track (and, I assume, the others on his current EP) was recorded in his home studio in London, where he now resides. The song below, called “Raise the Dead,” is a delicate and somewhat breathy tune sure to appeal to fans of Sam Beam, Bon Iver, and, if you have been following my previous recommendations, Barzin. The production quality is quite good for a home recording, and the arrangements and melodies show a lot of promise. Like our last artist, Ezequiel could use some more friends on MySpace, so be sure to hit him up there as well (he only has 30 friends at the moment). In addition to his presence on everyone’s favorite dying social media platform, Ezequiel Ezequiel also has his own website, so click the link and navigate on over. There isn’t a whole lot of info to be found, but if you are feeling this track you should definitely check it out because you can stream it there along with four others. And you can even download the entire EP for free, which is nice.
Ezequiel Ezequiel – Raise The Dead
The last submission of the day definitely skews a bit poppier than the first two, but it is Friday after all so we can all use something just a little more twee to brighten up our day. And know that when I say twee, I mean it in the nicest possible way. The band is called Early Ghost, and if the track that I have been listening to is any indication, their sound reminds me of a slightly more mature rendition of The Boy Least Likely To. The track that we received is called “Witch in the Cherry Tree” and as you may imagine from my description, it is not nearly as ominous as the title makes it sound. It is actually a beautiful pop gem that features (what sounds like) a toy piano and contains just enough sugary-sweetness to draw you in without pushing you away. Not to turn this whole day into a PSA for MySpace, but this is another artist in desperate need of friends, as they, like Caretaker, currently have only three of them. And yes, one of them is Tom. In fact, there aren’t even any photos on their page and Google wasn’t much help in that department either. As such, I took it into my own hands to accompany this post with the first result that came up in a Google image search for “Early Ghost.” Because, you know, we like visuals around here. What you see to the left is not in any way official or related to the band, as far as I know anyway, but it is a drawing titled “Early Ghost” from an artist named Hector G Romero. And it’s actually pretty cool. Personally, I think they should use this as the cover art for their next record and give me a shout out in the liner notes. I’ll check with Hector and the guys in the band and let you know how that turns out. For now, just enjoy the track and have a great weekend.
Early Ghost – Witch In The Cherry Tree
First up today is a track from another highly anticipated album that became available for streaming earlier this week, though this is one that I have been very much looking forward to for quite some time. As a pretty huge Mark Linkous fan, when I caught wind of a collaborative project between Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse earlier in the year, I was both skeptical and hopeful. Though I am not a huge fan of Danger Mouse based on my cursory knowledge of his work, I was aware that he is an incredibly creative and diverse musical genius. Though given the elusiveness of Linkous I couldn’t help but think that there was a good chance the project would never actually come to fruition, especially given the mysterious manner in which it was unveiled. I won’t go into the details on all of that because it is pretty well covered in the link to the stream at NPR below, but I will try to provide some Cliffs Notes for those who don’t feel like digging into the whole story. Basically some posters popped up at SXSW this year touting a project between Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse called Dark Night of the Soul with David Lynch’s name attached. Speculation was some sort of musical film, but we later found out that it would be a musical project featuring a host of guests such as Julian Casablancas, Frank Black, James Mercer, Wayne Coyne, and Iggy Pop. The project was to be released along with a book of photos taken by Lynch. As it stands now, the book will be released without music but packaged with a CD-R that you can use “as you will”, supposedly due to issues between the artists and EMI. In any event, the music has been recorded and is available for stream and download around the net and you can order the book from the project’s own website. I selfishly chose the Wayne Coyne track “Revenge” to post below because I have always been a big Flaming Lips fan, and without getting into too much detail I can tell you that it sounds pretty much the way you would expect a Sparklehorse/Flaming Lips collaboration to sound. Check it out and be sure to follow the link to NPR to hear the rest of the tracks from the project.
Today’s vault track actually came to me way back on Monday when I heard it in a movie that I had rented. I was bored and looking for something in the Redbox that sounded mildly interesting, and based on the mini-overview I read the film The Cake Eaters seemed to be just the flick I was pining for. When I popped it in the DVD player I was feeling mighty optimistic when the opening song playing during the intro was “Lay Me Down” by The Frames from their 2001 album For The Birds. Almost immediately I paused the movie, grabbed my laptop, found the song in my iTunes library, and listened to it in its entirety before continuing to watch. In retrospect I should have just spent the next hour and a half listening to the rest of the album a few times because the movie was absolutely awful. It was basically your run of the mill indie ensemble drama where nothing really happens. If you haven’t seen it, the most noteworthy performance is Kristen Stewart’s portrayal of a sexually curious teen that is afflicted with some sort of disease that makes her look like a retard. I was intrigued for a bit because I thought I might see her breasts, but then I realized that she was only 17 when the movie was filmed and then I just felt dirty. But regardless of the cinematic merits of The Cake Eaters (or lack thereof), it was worth the dollar I spent on the rental just to reintroduce myself to a great song from my younger days. “Lay Me Down” is a gorgeous, heartfelt song about being in love with a woman and wishing to one day be buried beside her, though it is often misinterpreted as a dark suicide note. Either way, its one of the most haunting tracks I have ever heard. Try not to cry while you give it a listen.
