The Sleepover Update, by Cory

Dear Friends + Family: the Sleepover record is finally finished (the title is yet to be determined), and we’re in the process of figuring out what will be done with the record. In the meantime, I would like to share with you four songs from the record, available for stream:

http://www.reverbnation.com/thesleepover

or

http://www.myspace.com/thesleepoverlincoln (scroll to the “Bio” section for the reverbnation widget. Myspace sucks and would NOT let me upload).

These songs were recorded/edited by Chris Steffen at Steffonic Recording, mixed/edited by Eric Medley at Medley Productions, and mastered by C. Howie Howard at Mr. Furious Records. We started recording in August, and have slowly been trying to make the best record that we could make. It is an understatement to say that this record was a team effort including the band + Eric, Chris and Howie.

If nothing else, please give these songs a shot. In my opinion, they sound great, and I happen to like the songs a lot, too, although I am biased, lulz. If you hate them, you’ll have only sacrificed 20 minutes, and now you’ll have something new to dislike, which can be fun.

If you like/love them, I strongly encourage you to pass them along to others who might be interested in hearing them. Post them to your blog/Facebook/myspace/website/whatever else. Send them to friends and family. Grab the music-player widget from either site and spread it around like a nasty rash.

As I said, we hope to release the record in the next few months, and it all hangs on if anyone is interested or if it’s self-released. Hopefully we’re able to find a small label who is interested in helping us with the pressing costs, but if not, we’re dedicated to making sure it comes out in a timely manner. Either way, it’ll be out soon. And then it will be full-quality .wav files instead of the 6 megabyte mp3s that these sites require, so that Eric/Chris/Howie’s expertise can fully shine.

Thanks in advance for listening! We’re really proud of this record, and we think we (everyone who was a part of this record) made something really special.

Love, Cory + The Sleepover.

MR|Review – Spoon’s "Transference," Vampire Weekend’s "Contra," The xx’s "xx"

“Transference” poignantly illustrates the difference between “catchy” and “poppy”; it’s the former, only.

spoon-transference.jpg Must-hear!
Recommended
Good
Fans only
Skip this
Owww! My ears!

Songs on Spoon’s latest album seem to fall into two categories: arranged and de-arranged*.  The arranged tunes are new Spoon classics, the kind of hooky, simmering jams the band has been cranking out since “Girls Can Tell” (“Written in Reverse,” “Trouble Comes Running,” “Out Go The Lights”).  They’re so consistent, it would be easy to take them for granted if their consistency didn’t make your next favorite band sound like fakers.  The arranged stuff gels as songs, with verses and choruses, and reminds me more of older Spoon than “Ga…” or “Gimme Fiction.”

The de-arrangements are stuffed full of memorable hooks that are assembled into less-recognizable sections that aren’t easily classified into traditional pop structure (“Before Destruction,” “Is Love Forever?” “Nobody Gets Me But You”).  It’s tempting to call this the experimental stuff, but it isn’t for Spoon; this type of production has been part of their DNA for a long time, and they pull it off.  I’m as likely to sing a catchy part from “Before Destruction” as “Who Makes Your Money?”

Of course the songs exist on a spectrum between the artificial poles of “arranged/de-arranged.”  The record as a whole plays as a weirdo collection of super-catchy rocking-out bits.

Describing Spoon as minimalist never quite rang true to me.  They’re economic; they don’t waste a note.

“Nobody Gets Me But You” is a great tune, but leaves the album feeling unfinished.  It’s not a closer; I always think there’s one more song to come.  Thinking about the psychotherapeutic record title, maybe that’s intentional.
Another way I describe the five-star “must-hear” rating is “revelatory.”  While “Transference” is outstanding, it hasn’t yet shown me anything new about music, myself, or the world.

*Note; not “deranged.”

Vampire-Weekend-Contra.jpg Must-hear!
Recommended
Good
Fans only
Skip this
Owww! My ears!

Vampire Weekend’s debut seemed impossible to follow up; I could not imagine what this record would sound like.  Somehow, almost magically, it is perfect.  I didn’t let myself work up hopes that the band would both experiment and succeed wildly, but if I had they would have been fulfilled.

Beautiful earworm hooks, stellar lines like “Here comes a feeling you thought you’d forgotten” and “My ears are blown to bits / from all the rifle hits / but still I crave that sound…,” Afro-pop tones, meticulous performances – they’re all here.  The arrangements are lightweight and underplayed, ending up being all the more meaningful for it.

Comparing this record to “Transference,” I’d give it the edge, which surprises me.  I enjoyed “Vampire Weekend,” but never figured I’d become as passionate about the band as I have in the past two weeks.

The XX XX Cover.jpg Must-hear!
Recommended
Good
Fans only
Skip this
Owww! My ears!

“Contra” and “Transference” have been almost universally lauded by critics.  So has “xx” by The xx.  The difference is there’s nothing special about “xx.”  It’s completely serviceable, nondescript indie music.
Some of my usual haunts – AV Club, P4k, AllMusic – raved about “xx,” and it made a ton of year-end lists.  If you’re hearing something I’m not, I invite you to comment and set me straight.

MR|Review directs readers’ limited attention among works via ratings, and within works via prose, focusing on works where our opinion diverges from critical or popular consensus, or we have significant insight that compliments or challenges readers’ aesthetic experience.

Studio update

Been busy in the studio:

  • Finishing up mastering for The Sleepover’s LP
  • Re-amping the last round of tracks for [Fifty Bears in a Fight?] and starting to mix.  I just got six songs out to the guys last night
  • Slowly getting to Songwriter Power Ranger mastering, a little Sleepover EP collaboration thing, and talks about future releases

“Contra,” the new Vampire Weekend record, is suuuuuuuper good.  4/5 stars.  Get it!