Catching up: The Sea Navy - Memory Matches

Every once in a while an old band from our past creeps up with a solid new offering, takes us by surprise, and reminds us why we became fans in the 1st place. The Sea Navy's new album Memory Matches certainly qualifies as such a release. The Sea Navy is fronted by Jay Cox, former Bostonian and member of the gone but not forgotten, Ivory Coast. From 1998 to 2003 The Ivory Coast were responsible for some of Boston's finest homespun tunes. The band released two fine records during their time together, 2000's The Rush of Oncoming Traffic (Big Wheel Recreation) and 2001's Clouds (Polyvinyl). Sadly The Ivory Coast called it a day in 2003.

Since then Cox has been writing and recording with The Sea Navy in Seattle. The current line up is rounded out by bassist Stuart Fletcher and Drummer Jordan Cummings. Memory Matches is the bands great new LP. The album was recorded at The Tank in Black Diamond, WA with a true DIY ethic at work, with band recording, mixing, and self releasing the record. Memory Matches consists of 10 songs in 24 minutes for a concise and staggering pop record. On What Curse? Cox sings, "as Chicago knows and Boston did, Seattle only hopes", with the excellence of Memory Matches it shouldn't be long before all 50 of our states our familiar with pop goodness of The Sea Navy.

The rumor mill:
In a recent interview with Ear Candy Jay mentions that he's has eight new songs written and there's a possibility of an east coast tour next spring. Here's hoping that comes to fruition, if so we'll be front, center, and accounted for.

Buy Memory Matches
The Sea Navy
The Sea Navy/Myspace

Closing Out The Decade:Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (2005)

I wrested with the idea of coming up with a list for the AGP's favorite releases of the last 10 years. After some serious back and forth, I made the decision that the last thing we need is another list. Instead we will feature some of the albums that have made a lasting impact on us. These are the albums that we told our friends to buy, annoyed our spouses with, and ultimately inspired us to launch this blog.

From now until the end of December The AGP will feature our favorite albums of the decade. Each week we will feature posts highlighting our favorite albums of the 00's. We will even have a few contributions from the AGP's extended family. We invite your comments, we want to know why you agree with us or perhaps why you think we're off our collective rockers.

We hope you'll join us as we take a look back at the albums that shaped the past 3,653 days our lives.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first time I heard Okkervil River was shortly after the release of 2003's Down The River of Golden Dreams, the bands excellent second LP. It was one of those rare eureka moments, when a band makes you perk up and pay attention. I had no idea what it was, but I knew I had to have it immediately. I owe my local Newbury Comics a debt of gratitude for the impromptu introduction. Since then I have followed the literary song writing of Will Sheff and his Austin, TX band mates closely. I've also collected everything the band has committed to tape so far and I can hardly wait for the bands next release. Maybe that rumored collaboration with Rocky Erickson or the follow up to The Stand Ins will materialize in the new year.

Although the band officially formed in Austin, TX in 1998, the bands nucleus came together several years earlier in Meriden, NH when Sheff, as well as fellow founding members Zach Thomas and Seth Warren were high school friends. After college the three would leave The Granite State for Austin's burgeoning music scene, hook up with Johnathan Meiberg as well as Okkervil River's currents line up, and eventually ink a recording contract with the Indiana based indie power house Jagjaguwar.

On April 5th, 2005 Okkervil River released Black Sheep Boy, the bands third and most ambitious album to date. The album leads off with the title track, a Tim Hardin cover, not only is it a great opener it sets the tone and theme for this semi-conceptual record. In 2005 I was still getting my head around being a father of two and functioning on very little sleep and Black Sheep Boy came along as the perfect remedy. I can't think of a commute that year, that didn't include Black Sheep Boy in it's entirety. The complex and poetic storytelling, the superb instrumentation, and the fact that you can listen to this record at least 100 times and still discover something new, powerful, and exciting is a testament to this record. Even my excitement for the bands earlier work did not prepare me for the gigantic step forward Okkervil River took on this Americana folk rock masterpiece.

Buy Black Sheep Boy via Jagjaguwar

Received Punctuation

Cambridge's Pants Yell! will release their fifth album, Received Punctuation tomorrow courtesy of Slumberland Records. Based on my first few listens, it's another solid batch of jangle pop with that understated charm, that we've come to expect from Pants Yell!. If you've had the fortune to catch the band live over the past few months you've undoubtedly been treated to the strong material featured on Received Punctuation.

As for what the future holds for Pants Yell!, that is a little unclear. Singer/Guitarist Andrew Churchman was recently quoted in the Swedish magazine, Devotion that this will be the final Pants Yell! album. Let's hope something was lost in translation.

The band will celebrate the release of their new long player on Monday November 16th with a Hometown LP Release Party at ZuZu.
Tickets are only $3.00, so grab them now.

Two tracks/one video from the new record:



[MP3/Stream] Pants Yell! - Cold Hands

Buy the album from Slumberland
Pants Yell!/Myspace

Closing Out The Decade: Hood - Cold House (2001)

I wrested with the idea of coming up with a list for the AGP's favorite releases of the last 10 years. After some serious back and forth, I made the decision that the last thing we need is another list. Instead we will feature some of the albums that have made a lasting impact on us. These are the albums that we told our friends to buy, annoyed our spouses with, and ultimately inspired us to launch this blog.

From now until the end of December The AGP will feature our favorite albums of the decade. Each week we will feature posts highlighting our favorite albums of the 00's. We will even have a few contributions from the AGP's extended family. We invite your comments, we want to know why you agree with us or perhaps why you think we're off our collective rockers.

We hope you'll join us as we take a look back at the albums that shaped the past 3,653 days our lives.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Formed in Leeds, England in the winter of 1990. Hood have released 9 records on a variety of different labels, including Domino, Aesthetics, and Mispalced Music. The band has been on a long term hiatus since just after the release of Outside Closer in 2005. While band members have been actively releasing music with their own bands including but not limited to founding members Richard and Chris Adams projects The Declining Winter and Bracken respectively. Hood's absence over the past four and half years has been a hard pill to swallow. A band that defies categorization by blending styles and instrumentation from track to track. From IDM to Post-Rock to Shoegaze to Experimental. The band at one-time described themselves as lo-fidelity avant pop. Regardless of classification, Hood's recorded work from the early limited vinyl singles to their (at this point) final record, is nothing short of impressive.

In November of 2001 Hood hit what I would call their high water mark with the release of Cold House. An album of excellent songs, beautiful arrangements, and flourishes of glitchy electronics for one of the most innovative releases of the past decade. It also features the brilliant collaboration between Hood and MC's Why? and Dose One from San Francisco's Anticon Collective and Clouddead. I flipped out as soon as I heard this record. It was like nothing I had ever heard before or since for that matter. For example take the opening track They Removed All Trace That Anything Had Ever Happened Here, with it's big beats, violins, acoustic guitars and Chris Adams fragile vocals, it's pretty close to perfection and that's just the albums jumping off point. In 2001 Hood seemed destined to be one of the biggest bands in the world. Alas that was not to be but what they did do is cement themselves as one of the most creative and exciting bands I'd ever heard and I anxiously await their return.

Almost nine years later and Cold House still sounds as inspired as it did that fall afternoon I drove home from the record store with my jaw on the floor. A truly stunning album.

Regurgitated Video

White Rabbits killed on last nights Jimmy Kimmel. They even got a little help from Spoon's Britt Daniel. check it out.

Setting the Paces
Boat returns with new album and tour

Seattle's Boat are back with their third full length, Setting The Paces. The new album was released this week via Magic Marker and is available on CD and orange vinyl. Setting The Paces finds Boat delivering their best work to date on an album full of messy indie pop and smart ass lyrics. When I first heard Setting The Paces I was immediately transcended back to the early 90's when bands like Pavement, Archers of Loaf, and Built To Spill were ruling supreme, in my world anyway. Comparisons to such 90's indie touch stones are inevitable, but where Boat sets itself apart from those influences is their gift for churning out songs with irresistible pop hooks and lots of them, buckets full in fact.

Boat are setting out on a short east coast tour in support of the excellent Setting The Paces and will play PA's Lounge on November 11th.

[MP3/Steam] Boat - Lately
[MP3/Stream] Boat - We've Been Friends Since 1989
[MP3/Stream] Boat - Prince of Tacoma

Buy the album from Magic Marker Records/CCNow

Boat (official)
Boat/Myspace

Funeral Singers
Califone returns to Boston tonight

Over the course of eight full lengths, a hand full of ep's, singles, and compilations Califone have remained one of the most original and consistent bands in America. Their new set, All My Friends Are Funeral Singers comes via there new label Dead Oceans, further proves this point. This is starting to sound like a review, which is not my intention but sometimes these things tend to take a life of there own. On their new album Califone continue to explore the cross pollination off folk, blues, and fractured electronics, for a record full of rich melodies and unforgettable songs. All My Friends Our Funeral Singers is a masterful and devastating album. Highly recommended.

So much for not writing a review. The fact is this record is very easy to get excited about and once you hear it I think you'll agree.

The new album is only half the story. Tim Rutili the bands principal songwriter wrote and directed the film All My Friends Are Funeral Singers as well. A story of a house haunted by aggrieved but mostly friendly ghosts. The music was written and recorded while the film was in production and Califone's music is featured throughout the film, as is the band themselves, fittingly as ghosts.

Califone are currently undertaking it's most ambitious tour to date. They are taking the new film and accompanying album to thirteen city's where they will perform live during the films screening. The band will play a short 30 minute set of older material before providing live musical accompaniment during the presentation of All My Friends Our Funeral Singers.

Califone will play tonight at the Brattle Theatre
Doors 8:30/Show 9:00

[MP3/Stream] Califone - Funeral Singers
[MP3/Stream] Califone - Ape-Like

Buy the album at Califonemusic.com