citystatesmusic

[citystatesmusic]

Joel's Favorite Records of 2014

Happy new year, everyone! With less than two hours left in 2014, here are my favorite records of 2014: Jo Johnson — Weaving :: Lately it's been rather unusual for me to find a favorite album by an artist I've never heard of solely on the basis of a review. However I have to credit my discovery of Weaving to a writeup by Pitchfork's Philip Sherburne—whose comparisons to the likes of Klaus Schulze, William Basinski, and Selected Ambient Works II had me rushing to the iTunes store. The parallels made by Sherburne are well-suited: Johnson's subtle compositions made from synth arpeggios and looped drones are very much in line with early '70s synthesizer music, however her use of studio manipulation and digital effects help prevent Weaving's five songs from being a simple nod to the past.

 Damon Albarn — Everyday Robots :: Fans of Blur tend to point toward Parklife, an album made more than 20 years ago, as a kind of early pinnacle and slow fade of Albarn's career. I think that's an unfortunate read on his back-catalog—partly because I think he's made more interesting if not better records than that one—but also because the progression of his career looks more to me like a sine wave than a mountain, marked by several peaks and troughs from one decade to the next. Everyday Robots, the latest high point in Albarn's discography and his first solo LP in 25 years, manages expand upon the best things about Blur's last record, Think Tank, an album loved by seemingly no one but myself. What I appreciate here is that he's taken all of the melancholy from his first band's final recordings and stripped out the unnecessary dance club embellishments. What's left are twelve simple, artful tracks of longing and loss, all emotion laid bare with nowhere to hide.

Eno & Hyde — Someday World :: In spite of the attention piled upon the other excellent Eno & Hyde collaboration of 2014, I actually prefer Someday World as the better of the two releases. The excellent hooks and off-kilter arrangements remind me a little bit of Eno's early-'90s collaboration with John Cale, which might point to the only thing working against Someday World: it does sound a little bit dated. And yet, it also contains some of the best melodies put to record this year, including one from a favorite song of 2014,"Daddy's Car."

 Godflesh — A World Lit Only By Fire :: When I was sixteen I spent almost an entire winter listening to nothing but Godflesh, Einstürzende Neubauten, and Swans, so my excitement over the existence of A World Lit Only By Fire is tinted with more than a little bit of nostalgia. Godflesh's decade plus of inactivity seems to have diminished little of their viciousness; in fact, this might be their toughest-sounding record since 1991's Slavestate EP, if not their debut (which is probably the most similar-sounding record in their catalog).

 Plaid — Reachy Prints :: (Originally posted via IndieBeat music blog) Of all the great albums that Warp Records released this year (including Aphex Twin's excellent Syro and Clark's self-titled LP), this one might be my favorite. This record sounds weirder and more melodic than past efforts, and also feels like the most human record they're ever made.

 Aphex Twin — Syro :: I can't imagine there being a fan of '90s electronic music who wasn't absolutely floored by the out-of-nowhere release of Syro. Personally, his 1994 landmark Selected Ambient Works II is about as important of an album as I can imagine, and given the fact that Richard D. James seemed to have retired the Aphex Twin moniker for good made Syro's quick announcement and subsequent release all the more shocking.

What we're left with after picking our jaws up off the floor is one of the most focused albums of RDJ's career. James seems to bargaining on the notion that playing to expectations without pushing the envelope too hard is the safest way to make a comeback, and to that end Syro's straightforward beats can play a bit like Aphex-by-numbers. But this solid collection of techno tracks, which emphasizes melody in a way that's jazzier and proggier than almost anything he's done before, still feels like a new variation on his core body of work.

 Run The Jewels — Run the Jewels 2 :: For the second year in a row, Killer Mike and El-P craft an absolute stunner. RTJ2 manages to tread the line between peculiarity and accessibility to a wonderful effect, tinting the boom-bap of early '80s hip hop with hints of oddball sci-fi, electroclash, and '90s techno; the result is one of the most thoughtful, funny, and strange hip hop albums I've heard in ages.

Beck — Morning Phase :: It's unfortunate that so much that's been written about Morning Phase has to do with its parallels with 2002's Sea Change, not because the similarity isn't accurate, but because it set up unreasonable expectations for Hansen's latest album to deliver upon. The bad news here is that it doesn't and probably couldn't live up to Sea Change's near-perfect balance of melancholy orchestral folk and retro-future studio trickery. However, I've still managed to listen to Morning Phase more than just about anything else I bought in 2014, and have found its simple melodies strangely captivating and surprisingly comforting.

 Golden Retriever — Seer :: (Originally posted via IndieBeat music blog) I spent about two weeks listening to nothing but this album back in April, a duo whose strange combination of saxophone and analog synthesizer bring to mind Terry Riley, John Zorn and early Kraftwerk. Though the melodies on this record are excellent, however it's the long, drawn out moments of abstraction that I find most breathtaking.

 St Vincent – St Vincent :: With her fourth, self-titled release, Annie Clark makes her most accessible record yet, dialing up the hooks and pairing back the more progressive moments of her first three recordings. There's something to be missed of St. Vincent's move away from the sideways orchestral pop of Actor (perhaps my favorite album of the last decade). But Clark's wonderfully bizarre guitar work on her fourth album—which simultaneously conjures the avant-jazz abstractions of Marc Ribot and the trebly, razor-sharp post-punk of Big Black—is a welcome twist for a batch of such tuneful songs.

 Wild Beasts – Present Tense :: (Originally posted via IndieBeat music blog) I think it's safe for me to say that Wild Beasts are probably my favorite band of the last 5 years, and their latest doesn't disappoint. Here they've streamlined the melodies even further from 2011's Smother, making for an album that's more ominous than somber. And as much as I love Hayden Thorpe's theatrical croon, drummer Chris Talbot is their secret weapon; it takes a lot of guts to play drums as minimally as he does, and I think his restraint is a big part of why this album is so spectacular.

 Here are some other records I enjoyed: Xiu Xiu - Angel Guts, Red Classroom Clark - Clark The Notwist - Close To The Glass Sisyphus - Sisyphus Warpaint - Warpaint The Antlers - Familiars Fujiya & Miyagi - Artificial Sweeteners Fennesz - Becs Spoon - They Want My Soul TV On The Radio - Seeds Thee Oh Sees - Drop  

#Jo Johnson #Klaus Schulze #William Basinski #Aphex Twin #Damon Albarn #Brian Eno #Plaid #Run The Jewels #Beck #Golden Retriever #Terry Riley #John Zorn #Kraftwerk #St. Vincent #Wild Beasts #Xiu Xiu #Clark #Notwist #Sisyphus #Warpaint #Antlers #Fujiya & Miyagi #Fennesz #Spoon #TV On The Radio #Thee Oh Sees

[citystatesmusic]

Map Ref 03: To Remember

A couple of days ago I was reading a 2002 interview with one of my favorite directors, Gone Girl's David Fincher, who somewhat surprisingly revealed that if he "could be anyone, it would be Brad Pitt." It was surprising to me to read that one of Hollywood's finest filmmakers might not be perfectly comfortable in his own skin—that he might sometimes lament the qualities that he thinks he lacks but wishes he embodied—and it got me wondering who I would want to be if I were any songwriter in music. And I think that my answer is Ben Gibbard. To be clear, I don't want to live Gibbard's life, or sing like he does (which, I admit, I already kind of do) and I don't fantasize about fronting Death Cab For Cutie. Rather, I aspire to have the kind of storytelling ability that he demonstrates in his songs; the ease with which he shapes simple events into nuanced, evocative, relatable narratives is, well, brilliant. And it should come as no surprise to anyone who has listened to Geography that his influence can be heard all over the record I made.

"To Remember" demonstrates this influence perhaps more than any other in City States' catalog. Thematic devices aside, it probably sounds more like a DCFC track than any other I've written**, and I will fully admit to having listened to lots of Transatlanticism while working on the arrangement. As for the song's subject: I've devoted a lot of time in previous blog entries and interviews discussing the story behind "To Remember", so I don't want to spend this post belaboring the theme of my father's death. However, I don't know that I've ever been as forthright in my emotions via City States as I am here, and the songs on Death Cab's first four albums, for better or worse, really helped give me the confidence to push forward with that.

I'm not without reservation in doing so. Sometimes I listen to "To Remember" and cringe a little, its sentimentality grating on the more measured aspects of my songwriting tastes; I certainly struggled with this issue while writing the lyrics, but I specifically recall having a "to hell with it" moment where I decided that the risk of looking foolish wasn't greater than the song's thematic importance to the album as a whole, or its personal meaning for me.

Which leads me to another quote I recently read from Fincher about embracing the imperfections of one's work: “I never fall in love with anything. I really don’t, I am not joking. ‘Do the best you can, try to live it down’, that’s my motto." Do the best you can, try to live it down. After finishing this record, I can certainly relate.

**Much to my chagrin, lots of people hear traces of the Postal Service on "To Remember"; while I do indeed recognize this song's parallel with many cuts from Give Up, I have generally made a pointed effort to avoid danceable, disco-oriented beats that many people think of when imagining what electronic music sounds like. Much moreso than the Postal Service, the electro-pop influence people are hearing was far more influenced by The Notwist, 13 & God, and R.E.M.'s album Up than from Gibbard and Tamborello's collaboration.

[citystatesmusic]

Map Ref 01: Endless Sunlight

Every musician has a concert experience in his or her past that seemed to jumpstart their desire to write and perform, a show that, when looking back, perfectly encapsulates the range of emotions that go into songwriting. Mine was seeing the Dismemberment Plan for the first time at Chicago's Fireside Bowl back in April of 1999. People tend to highlight the playful aspects of the Plan—the dancing, the cheeky onstage banter, the back and forth, yeah—as a leading driver of the band's greatness. Though I witnessed and felt much joy at the show that evening, and still feel it every time I put on one of their records, it's not the emotion that pulled me so firmly into their orbit. I have a vivid recollection of Travis Morrison onstage that night, during their performance of "The City": eyes wide with mania, glaring at the paneled ceiling, arms outstretched and belting out a wail of a "GOOD! BYYYYYYYYYYYYE!" in the song's final refrain. I saw in him an elation that was bleeding into panic, rage, desperation. Reflecting back on the show fills me with nostalgia, but it also makes me a little uneasy—there are still days where I know too well the turmoil I saw on Morrison's face. That raw expression of distress later turned inward on their final album, Change which showed a softer, wearier, lonelier version of the Plan (which, coincidentally, is being reissued by Partisan records in November). Their final statement—an album that navigates an internalized universe of Emergency & I's distant panic—still weighs heavily on me as a songwriter, its subtle charms pumping through the very heart of the record I wrote. t's no coincidence that Geography contains exactly one rager just as Change shows its teeth only with "Time Bomb": back when I started writing, I decided that I wanted to follow this structural template, allowing the record to burn brightly for just one song, and letting the remaning tracks the room to move at a more introspective pace (the other album that does this, perhaps better than any other, is The Walkmen's Bows & Arrows). In what is almost certainly the angriest song I've ever recorded, "Endless Sunlight" confronts something bigger and more exasperating than the theme of personal loss that runs through the LP—the notion that everything we know of this world will be gone some day; that we'll all die, that someday after we're all gone, the earth will die as the sun still shines, and there's nothing that any of us can do about it. The hope we find in the face of that reality is, of course, is something we have to discover for ourselves: most of us find it in memories, in relationships, in music. And therein lies the strange brilliance, and the paradox of the Dismemberment Plan—they shined a light on a world painted with dread and loss, harnessed it, and found a way to transform that anxiety into something dazzling and hopeful, an affirmation of life in the face of the absoluteness of death. I run every day. Aside from music and love and friendship, running is as close as I can get to that feeling of affirmation. Every day my running path takes me right down Fullerton Avenue across the street from the Fireside Bowl, and every day I think about the panic, the joy, the transformation of the show I saw when I was 19 years old. So, to Travis, Eric, Joe, and Jason: if you're reading this, THANK YOU. Read the First Map Ref Blog post: on the influence of Stereolab, Spoon, and LCD Soundsystem via "False Start." Purchase Geography on Vinyl Purchase Geography on MP3

#Map Ref #Dismemberment Plan #Change #Wakmen #Bows & Arrows

[citystatesmusic]

Map Ref 01: False Start

Hey Friends: Starting this week, I'm going to be spending some time in the next few weeks working through a song-by-song breakdown of Geography, referencing favorite songs that influenced the making of the record. Personally, I love when artists talk process—discussing the origins of a lyric, or what he or she may have been listening to at the time of a track's conception—so I thought it might be fun to write about about how my record came to be. And since Geography's aesthetic theme is rooted in maps, I'm naming this post series accordingly with a not-so-subtle nod to my favorite Wire song. Here we go! "False Start," the opening track to Geography, is one of the oldest songs from the record, demoed back in 2011 when I was working on our Resolution EP; in fact, I believe that the first two songs I wrote were the opening and closing tracks ("State of the Union" dates back to 2008), and I knew early on that "False Start" and "State" would start and end the record's sequence.

That heartbeat bass pulse, which underpins the entire track, is a straight-up pull from Spoon's "Small Stakes." I've long thought that this is one of the best album openers of all time—gripping and emotive despite the spareness of its design. Spoon's bluesy moments don't really resonate with me as a songwriter, however their commitment to making strange production choices have provided a lot of inspiration to me over the last ten years. Earlier demos maintained that "Small Stakes" minimalism throughout, featuring only vocals, bass pulse, and some synthesizer run through a timed delay, however once I knew what the theme of the record was going to be about, I realized that some additional melody might be needed. That's where the piano came in. As a side note: all but two songs from Geography contain piano—an instrument which was featured only sparingly in earlier City States songs—and my use of it throughout the LP really did help bring out the emotion I wanted to convey. But back to "False Start:" that persistent 8th note piano phrasing, running in parallel with the bass pulse, is borrowed from LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends," which, in my opinion, may be the finest song written in the last 15 years. This isn't the first time I've tried to mimic James Murphy's crowning achievement: on Resolution I attempted, unsuccessfully, to make a similar move with the EP's closer, "Reverse Slow Motion." Could one suggest that the former song naturally flows into the latter? Perhaps. I do think that "False Start" is more successful. About two weeks before going in for mixing at Soma, I knew that the song still needed something more—movement? progression?—and that's when I added the extra drum machines, synth arpeggios, and live drums that slowly fade in throughout the song's second half. During the last 6 months of writing and recording I listened to Stereolab and Tortoise (two bands I've written about before) maybe more than any other groups, and when "Olv 26" popped up in an iTunes playlist one day, I heard a stylistic parallel that made a lot of sense to me. Strangely, those electro-snare inclusions remind me a bit of Hot Chip, but once the live drums and arpeggios fade in, I hear an awful lot of Emperor Tomato Ketchup. Those final edits, for me, make the song, and I'm glad I decided to make some last-minute additions. Next time, I'll talk Dismemberment Plan, Walkmen, and the death of the universe with "Endless Sunlight." Thanks for reading! Joel

#Map Ref #Geography #Stereolab #LCD Soundsystem #Spoon #Resolution #False Start #Wire

[citystatesmusic]

Press, Reviews, Release Show

Hey everyone: It's been a few weeks since the release of Geography, and things are going great. First things first, our release show is this week—we're playing The Burlington in Logan Square this Friday 06.13. Joining us that evening are the excellent band Many Places, who will be releasing their new EP Plurals. Show starts at 9pm. $5 at the door. Second: CHIRP Radio Chicago has been super supportive of the new album—for the 5th week in a row, we are listed on CHIRP's weekly charts (we were the #4 most played album this past week!) Thanks to anyone who listened in or requested us, and an extra special thanks to all the DJs who chose to play our music. Really. Thank you. Also, reviews and press are coming in via Backseat Mafia, Highway 81 Revisited, Ravedeaf, and Musical Shuttle. Last and certainly not least: a couple weeks ago I spoke with Jesse Menendez at Vocalo (sister station to Chicago's WBEZ) about the new record and it's themes of loss and hope. That interview was just posted to Vocalo's Soundcloud. Listen here:

Thanks for reading/listening, and hope to see you Friday, Joel / City States

#New Album #Backseat Mafia #Ravedeaf #Highway 81 Revisited #CHIRP Radio #Vocalo

[citystatesmusic]

Geography Now Available

Hey Friends:

This is the week! City States' debut album, Geography, is now available on vinyl and high-quality MP3 via Chicago's Safety Records. Thanks to everyone who has listened, purchased, or otherwise supported the effort in the last two years. I really appreciate it.

Stream the album via Spotify or Soundcloud.

Special thanks to three people: Steve Lund, for spending many hours editing, collaborating, directing, and influencing (sometimes at his own peril)—though he has implied at points that this project is my baby, so to speak, there is no doubt in my mind that without his input I would have made a much different (and arguably a much less successful) record. Mike Burmeister, whose spectacular drumming skills grace 6 of the 10 tracks on Geography. And last but certainly not least, my girlfriend Michelle Kaffko, who supported me unwaveringly through numerous setbacks, frustrations, and difficulties while I made this record. Thank you.

On a related note for fans of independent radio: the album recently went into rotation at Chicago's CHIRP Radio, and this week Geography charted at #2 on their weekly playlist! Help us keep the momentum going: listen in at http://chirpradio.org/in-browser, and request "False Start" or "Uncharted Waters" —the two highest-charting songs—by emailing [email protected].

Once again, many thanks for listening. In the meantime, share this album with your friends, and stay tuned for more news on shows, reviews, etc. All the best,

Joel / City States

#Album #NewMusic #Geography

[citystatesmusic]

Indiegogo Update: Five Days Left!

With five days left, we've come really far on our Indiegogo fundraising campaign but still have some work to do! With that in mind, if you have not yet contributed, you should! Click here to donate! If you have contributed, and still want to help out: post about this campaign via your Facebook page (or here on Tumblr) just once in the next week—it would be a big help. 57% of all Facebook posts about our campaign have led to new donations, so it actually works! Here's what I would recommend: 1. Copy and paste this link into your Facebook feed. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-city-states-finish-its-debut-album/x/6919049 2. Mention that we're an independent Chicago band trying to fund our first record, available on vinyl or MP3. 3. It's also useful to tell people what you think we sound like (i.e.: "For fans of Radiohead, Brian Eno, and Death Cab For Cutie"). Tagging specific people couldn't hurt either, if you think that you have particular friends who would like us. Once again: many thanks for contributing. I feel really thankful that I have friends who are willing to help me see this project to completion. Joel

#Indiegogo #Crowdfunding #Geography #Album #vinyl

[citystatesmusic]

Hey Friends: The release date for City States' debut LP is set: Geography will be available to the public on Tuesday, May 13th via a new Chicago label called Safety Records. I'm really proud of this album after all of the time and energy I've put into it over the last two years, however there is one final step to go before the release of the LP, and I need your help.

We are looking to raise $3000 to cover the cost of manufacturing and distributing a limited run of 12" vinyl LPs, and to reach that goal, City States has set up a campaign on Indiegogo. Since the release date is so close, this campaign is a lot like a pre-order: if you're excited to hear the record, and would like to purchase Geography on 140-gram, 12" vinyl for $20 (or $10 for high-quality mp3), now's your chance. And you can have the album in your hands by the middle of next month! Pre-order the record and donate here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-city-states-finish-its-debut-album/x/6919049 Thanks so much for reading, and if you're so inclined, tell your friends about us on Facebook and Twitter—word of mouth is still the best way for us to reach new fans. All the best, Joel / City States

#City States #Geography #Indiegogo #Fundraising #Crowdfunding

[citystatesmusic]

New Single: Uncharted Waters

Friends: I'm happy to announce "Uncharted Waters," the second single from City States' forthcoming album, Geography. This song is darker and angrier than "To Remember," and though it was a struggle to write, it's become a favorite from the LP. Full disclosure: I was listening to an awful lot of Brian Eno's Another Green World when I wrote this particular track, and personally I can hear the influence. There will be more news soon, but for now, enjoy (and share with your friends via Facebook / Twitter!)

#single #Uncharted Waters #Geogrpahy #Brian Eno #Another Green World

[citystatesmusic]

Debut Album, New Single

Friends: After nearly two-and-a-half years of writing, recording, and mixing, I’m thrilled to announce Geography, the debut album by City States. Mixed by John McEntire of Tortoise / Sea & Cake, its 10 tracks will be available on mp3 and on vinyl LP later this spring.

This recording is personal in every sense imaginable: for starters, it’s a first for me, as I’ve never made a full-length record before. It’s also very much an assertion of my individual creative sensibilities, as I did a vast majority of demoing, arranging, recording, and graphic design (however I should make very clear that I had two fantastic collaborators: drummer Mike Burmeister, and keyboardist / producer Steve Lund, who, over the course of several writing sessions, delicately steered me away from a variety of bad choices I otherwise might have made). The lyrical content may be the strongest indicator of why this album means so much to me: my father died unexpectedly about halfway though the composition of the record, and as a result the album is both an account of and an engine for my coming to terms with the significance of this event. In that regard, the first song I’ve chosen to release from the album—”To Remember”—is especially meaningful. While many of the songs on the record deal with notions of death, grief, and loss, this track is specifically about the relationship I had with him. It was also written somewhat unintentionally on the one-year anniversary of his passing.

To be clear: when I sat down that day I did so with the intent of penning something else. Roughly eleven and-a-half months earlier, I gave a eulogy at my dad’s memorial which I recited by memory but did not write down. A close friend of my father’s was not able to be at the service, so I promised him I’d send him the piece when I finally had a hard copy to share. Days and weeks passed, until finally the anniversary of my dad’s death prompted me to make good on my commitment. (As an aside: the exact time and place was at the Sunday of 2013’s Pitchfork Music Fest; I was helping my girlfriend behind a booth at the craft fair there. Yo La Tengo's set loomed in the background as I wrote.) It became clear about halfway through my reproduction of the eulogy that its contents were a perfect inspiration for a song, which, up until that point, only had a title and a refrain. The first verse, in particular, speaks of the Fender Jaguar my father bought in the early 1960s when he was fourteen, which he subsequently gave to me when I was a teenager: The copper wound The classic sound The maple neck and tortoise shell The simple gift of notes that always are mine Music is one of the greatest gifts of my life, and in many ways I have my father to thank. I wish he were here to listen to this album—I'm fairly certain that he would have loved it. Stay tuned for additional announcements regarding the LP; in the meantime, be sure to download the debut single. And send me a note if you're so inclined—I'd love to know what you think! Thank you for reading. Joel / City States

#Debut #Album #Geography #Fender Jaguar #Tortoise #Sea And Cake #Yo La Tengo #Pitchfork

[citystatesmusic]

Next Week: New Single

Next week: we will be announcing the 1st single from our debut LP! If you're not already following us on Facebook, you should: www.facebook.com/citystates

#Debut #Album #Geography

[citystatesmusic]

Working on art for the forthcoming LP.

[citystatesmusic]

Top 30 Albums of 2013

Can we agree that this was a great year for music? There were a few surprises in 2013—was anyone expecting the return of Nine Inch Nails?—and I was also delighted to discover that two of my favorite LPs came from major artists who I had all but written off (Arcade Fire and Kanye). Personally: 2013 will forever be know to me as the year I made my first record. I worked. A lot. When I wasn't at my actual job (I'm an interactive designer for an agency in downtown Chicago, which I enjoy very much) I spent countless hours writing, then recording, then mixing the album. It should come as no surprise to anyone who's made an LP before that it's not easy, but this was the year that I learned exactly what that means. And I hope that the effort pays off in 2014. I also moved in with my girlfriend—a first for me—and so far it's been great. She's pretty amazing, and her 3-year old Shiba Inu, named David Bowie, may be the greatest dog I've ever met. Later this year you can expect the first City States LP (more on that in the coming weeks); I also hope to release full-length albums from two different electronic projects I've been chipping away at—Modal Voices is a Steve Reich-influenced project that I announced back in June; the second, which doesn't have a name yet, is going to be noisier and more free-form, in the vein of Merzbow and the last Sam Prekop record. Anyway, here's my top 10, an extended version of the tweets I posted yesterday. My full top 30 is below. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. Devendra Banhart - Mala: This is an album that seems to have gone largely unnoticed. That's a shame: the low-fi Tascam 8-track recordings provide the subtlest hint of early Ween, while Banhart's lyrics provide a degree of wit that I never would have expected from him (however: I just read that his backup band was for many years known as "Spiritual Bonerz," a good indicator that my surprise over his sense of humor means that I really just haven't been paying attention.). 09. Kanye West - Yeezus: All boorish misogyny aside, this is as gutsy of a record I've heard all year from an artist of West's visibility. And even though a few mid-record tracks fall flat for me, the squelchy, industrial-influenced distortion of "On Sight" is an absolute stunner. 08. James Blake - Overgrown: To be honest, I had hoped for a bit more adventurousness from of Blake's second LP. In spite of my expectations, however, Overgrown is a start-to-finish great record. 07. Jesu - Every Day I Get Closer To The Light From Which I Came: On a personal level, Justin K Broadrick is about as important of a musical influence as I can think of—I made my way through early high school with Godflesh, and it was through reading interviews with him that I discovered the likes of Swans, Throbbing Gristle, SPK, and Whitehouse; I also realized today that the debut album from his Final side project was likely the first ambient album I ever owned, another landmark. So it's actually kind of awesome that his musical evolution seems to have dovetailed with my taste—which is to say that he's somewhat sidestepped the aggression of his early Godflesh albums in favor of Jesu's sincerity. With specific respect to the Jesu catalog, Every Day ranks right up there with the early Heartache and Silver EPs (which, if I'm not mistaken, the former was the first album I wrote about as a track reviewer for Pitchfork back in 2004). Beautiful. 06. Arcade Fire - Reflektor: I went in to my first listen through Reflektor with some serious reservations—The Suburbs, to my ears, was a slog, and after reading that the LP was going to be 86 minutes long, I went in with low expectations. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that virtually all of my expected criticisms of the album are, in fact, very much woven into the fabric of Reflektor—AND YET—I still think that is pretty fantastic. Is that the sign of a great record—an album that manages to not only survive, but transcend some serious flaws? 05. Sigur Ros - Kveikur: Jonsi and company have generally not lacked critical praise or commercial success in the last decade, and yet I still feel like the transformation Sigur Ros made for Kveikur has gone under-appreciated. These guys brought in some heavy Einsturzende Neubauten and King Crimson influence on this LP, and it works like magic. Moreover: much to my surprise, it may be my favorite album that they've ever made. 04. Roedelius & Schneider - Tiden: I've probably listened to this record more than any other released this year. In some ways it's exactly what you'd expect from half of the electronic duo Cluster, paired with one of the members of To Rococo Rot—simple piano figures, subtle electronic textures, vamped melodies. Its charms may be par for the course, that doesn't mean it's not excellent. 03. Majical Cloudz - Impersonator: The creepy midnight-black inverse of James Blake's boyish breeziness, Impersonator is simultaneously unsettling and breathtaking. "Childhoods End," in particular, with its heart-stopping refrain, is my top song of 2013 (I wrote about the track at length earlier this year). 02. Serengeti - The Kenny Dennis LP: Equal parts hilarious, inventive, bizarre, and touching, Serengeti's latest may feature his most effortless rhymes to date. For those unfamiliar, Kenny Dennis is the rapper's jokey alter-ego, a Southside Chicago-born emcee who talks endlessly of burgers, brats, American Gladiators, and his '90s glory days as a member of a rap group called Tha Grimm Teachaz. Musically, The Kenny Dennis LP has Anticon written all over it (they released the album), with strange, off-kilter rhythms clashing with odd synth tones. And the lyrics are laugh-out-loud funny, especially for Chicagoans. 01. Deerhunter - Monomania: An obsessively-crafted LP about obsession, I never would've expected to enjoy this effort as much as I do. For as much as I've loved the last three Deerhunter albums, the idea of a garage-y, lo-fi left turn initially sounded like a mistake to me. But instead of betraying Bradford Cox's incredible songwriting abilities, the lo-fi-ness of the album succeeds in incorporating the harsher elements of Deerhunter's early work. And let's not forget Lockett Pundt: "The Missing" is a song so good that upon my first listen I wish I had written it—it's my #3 track of the year. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30. Boards of Canada - Tomorrow’s Harvest 29. David Bowie - The Next Day 28. The Flaming Lips - The Terror 27. The National - Trouble Will Find Me 26. Low - The Invisible Way 25. My Bloody Valentine - MBV 24. The Knife - Shaking The Habitual 23. The Necks - Open 22. Deafheaven - Sunbather 21. Tim Hecker - Virgins 20. Mountains - Centralia 19. Innode - Gridshifter 18. Disappears - Era 17. Yvette - Process 16. Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks 15. Matmos - Marriage of True Minds 14. Atoms for Peace - Amok 13. PVT - Homosapien 12. Braids - Flourish / Perish 11. John Vanderslice - Dagger Beach 10. Devendra Banhart - Mala 09. Kanye West - Yeezus 08. James Blake - Overgrown 07. Jesu - Every Day I Get Closer To The Light From Which I Came 06. Arcade Fire - Reflektor 05. Sigur Ros - Kveikur 04. Roedelius & Schneider - Tiden 03. Majical Cloudz - Impersonator 02. Serengeti - The Kenny Dennis LP 01. Deerhunter - Monomania

#Deerhunter #Monomania #Serengeti #Roedelius Schneider #Cluster #To Rococo Rot #Sigur Ros #Einsturzende Neubauten #King Crimson #Arcade Fire #Jesu #Godflesh #Throbbing Gristle #Swans #Foetus #James Blake #Kanye West #Devendra Banhart #Ween #John Vanderslice #Braids #PVT #Atoms For Peace #Matmos #Nine Inch Nails #Yvette #Disappears #Innode #Mountains #Tim Hecker

[citystatesmusic]

Writeup of "Simplified" on Sound Control

http://www.sound-control.co.uk/2013/10/city-states-simplified.html Just discovered this writeup of our song "Simplified" on a blog called Sound Control. The post is from this past October, though the track was released way back in June of 2011. "Simplified" was an outtake from our 2011 EP Resolution—it was a bit too breezy to fit with the rest of the songs on the EP, but I thought it was worth releasing, and people seem to like it a lot. You can hear the Summer-of-Chillwave influence in this track, however the intro and outro of the song are overt nods to Merzbow, and I remember listening to lots of Blur when recording the keyboard solo.

#outtake #sound control #Chillwave #Merzbow #Blur #resolution

[citystatesmusic]

Semi-final Mixes

We are two days away from making final edits with John McEntire at Soma, and the songs are sounding great. Stay tuned for the album's first single in early January. This week we are also going to be featured on Indie Beat, where I talk about—among other things—my love of 90s industrial music, and the best album to play while driving through the Appalachian Mountains (hint: it's by Will Oldham).

#Mixing #Soma #Will Oldham

[citystatesmusic]

Mixing Day 3 of 4

We're getting close! Today I am headed back to Soma in Wicker Park to mix with John McEntire, and I'm pretty excited. I've never run a marathon before, but friends have told me that by mile 21 or 22, you're exhausted and just want the race to be finished. I can relate—after two years of living with these songs, I'm really just ready to be done so I can move on to other things. We're getting close, though; by tomorrow night all 10 songs will be mixed. I will say that I'm very happy with how the songs are shaping up. Since the timeline at Soma is so tight, I've done a lot of work creating rough mixes at home, which in turn has pushed me to make sure that each arrangement is at its best. And after spending a day with the album closer, "State of the Union," I've finally come to understand the degree to which I've embraced the piano on this record—I think that all but one song utilizes the instrument, and the closing track is really just a straight up piano ballad. The Tortoise / Stereolab influence is pretty clear, too, at least to me—lots of droning organs, live drums run through strange filters, and not a single strummed guitar chord (though I use plenty of eBow, and a little bit of acoustic finger-picking). More soon, Joel / City States

#Mixing #Album #Soma Studios #John McEntire #Tortoise #Stereolab

[citystatesmusic]

The poster: City States opens for Au Revoir Simone next Monday, October 28th at Lincoln Hall.