The Aliens: "Astronomy for Dogs"

The Beta Band. You’ve either heard of them or you haven’t. One of the most talented bands of the last decade, The Beta Band got tons of critical acclaim but never received the kind of success that they truly deserved. The Aliens, a band made up of three former Beta Banders, continue that tradition of releasing great records. “Astronomy for Dogs” may not be The Beta Band, but it is a fantastic album from this new group.

The album begins with what is also probably the strongest song on the album, “Setting Sun.” The song describes a failed relationship and the desire to just get away from it all “just like the setting sun.” The song utilizes a really cool guitar progression and layer upon layer of vocals to form a really lush 60s-style pop/rock song. In fact, many, if not all of the songs on “Astronomy for Dogs” feels like it was ripped right out of the 60s or 70s.

Take, for example, the awesome “Robot Man,” with it’s slurring synths, funky bass line, and steady groove. It feels like it’s straight out of the disco era, right down to the ridiculous lyrics “I am the robot man!” Eventually, it collapses into a more traditional, radio-friendly song that sounds more like Ted Leo and the Pharmacists than anything else. “I Am the Unknown” is another fantastic song that features some fantastic harmonizing and really deep production. It too feels like a song that could’ve been from the 60s.

“Rox” is a great song. It sounds like a straight up tribute to the Bee Gee’s classic “Staying Alive” before breaking down into a more modern techno song. “She Don’t Love Me” is your token ballad complete with a string reprise, because, let’s face it, you can’t very well have a 60s tribute album without a ballad. At over seven minutes long, it feels like they’re milking it a little too hard, but it’s never as distracting as it could be.

The album’s major flaw is the lyrics. There’s nothing truly memorable about any of these lyrics, and more often than not they just feel like shallow sing-alongs than anything else. “The Happy Song,” for example, is downright childish. However, what The Aliens lack in substance, they more than make up for with style. “Astronomy for Dogs” is a fantastic album, and The Aliens do a great job of playing this style of music. Though I would’ve preferred a deeper album, lyrically, I’ll gladly take this one for the time being.

Recommended for fans of The Beta Band and anyone who really liked the 60s.

Key Tracks:
1. “Setting Sun”
2. “Robot Man”
3. “I am the Unknown”
4. “Rox”
5. “Honest Again”

7 out of 10 Stars

Go News Go! – The Weekly News Recap

The week of April 23rd says, “Do not eat horses.”

• Newsom and Co. make the Shortlist. Go Jo!
• The Pipettes are ready to invade. Are you ready?
• Still recovering from a Colbert-style stomping, Funk is ready to rawk!
• The Gorrilaz are leaving? For real? No, like for really real? Really?
• Umm…I guess this is news. Radiohead.
• Dizze Rascal is back! OYYY!

No, really that’s it.

Random Site Updates (Updated)

Hey everyone, thanks for stopping by today. Please allow me to fill you in on the lates happenings around these parts.

First, Audio Overflow now has a Myspace page. If you have a Myspace page and would like to receive bulletins telling you when the site has been updated, then add us as a friend. We need friends.

UPDATE: Due to an irregular and unacceptable amount of spamming, the Audio Overflow Myspace page has been removed. Thank Tom.

Second, you’ll notice above that Audio Overflow has added a few buttons to help you and help us. If you’re a user of Google or Yahoo’s Feed Reader services, you can now quickly add Audio Overflow to your feed and receive updates regularly. Also, if you’re a Digg or Technorati user and you like what you see here, feel free to link to us or favorite us. We won’t mind.

Lastly, Cale is the Balls! (the original name of this blog) is officially dead. If you were using the old caleistheballs.blogspot.com to get here, you’ll need to change your ways. Audio Overflow can now be accessed from either audiooverflow.blogspot.com or www.audiooverflow.com. Of course, if you were still using the caleistheballs address, you’re probably not reading this because you can’t find us. Let us then take this opportunity to inform you that we hate you…and we always have.

–Audio Overflow

Top 5 Indie Songs That Should Be On Guitar Hero

It’s okay to admit that you play Guitar Hero. We all do. I, myself, am wasting away hours of my life to the game when I’m not busy preoccupying myself with this site. If you play Guitar Hero, which you do, you know that you can’t really listen to regular music without determining whether or not it would be awesome on Guitar Hero (“Oh, this solo is pretty sweet. That would be awesome on Guitar Hero). Well, at least I do that. So this Friday, I present to you my list of the Top 5 Indie Songs That Should Be On Guitar Hero.

#5: “Time Is Running Out” by Muse – If the bass line isn’t enough to get your palms all sweaty for a Guitar Hero appearance, than the sheer rock goddotry that ensues should probably due the trick. Muse is a band like no other, able to play amazingly complex parts without flinching. I doubt I could do the same, but I’d like to try.

#4: “Setting Sun” by The Aliens – It’s upbeat, it’s got a pretty sweet rhythm, and the guitar part would be an absolute blast to play! I just recently heard this song, but it’s truly awesome. It’s actually the song that inspired this list, because of it’s great energy. Check it out if you haven’t heard it already and you’ll know what I mean. This would be a great addition to the Guitar Hero lineup.

#3: “Succexy” by Metric – When you think Metric, you don’t think of guitars. You think of Emily Haines. That’s understandable, but seriously, the guitar part in this song is pretty intense and it interacts fluidly with the bass line to make what would be a pretty cool co-op song in Guitar Hero. Plus, Guitar Hero II had way too many crappy metal songs. A little Metric would be a welcomed breath of fresh air.

#2: “Carry the Zero” by Built to Spill – You can’t very well have a list about guitars and indie rock without including Built to Spill. “Carry the Zero” would be the perfect song for Guitar Hero, mostly because of the amazing guitar solo, but also because the entire song is just flat out ridiculous! I would have so much fun with this one…you have no idea!

#1: “Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt” by The Mars Volta – Okay, seriously, someone over at Neversoft (the game’s developer) needs to consider putting this track on Guitar Hero III. This would be GHIII’s “Freebird.” It’s 10 minutes long, it’s got an amazingly complex guitar part, and it’s the single greatest Mars Volta song ever! I’m off to write a concerned letter to Neversoft and Activision. Keep your fingers crossed!

Video of the Week – Week 16

The Aliens – “Setting Sun” from the album “Astronomy for Dogs”

Charlotte Gainsbourg: "5:55"

They say if you’re not any good at singing, you should surround yourself with the best musicians you can find. Time after time, this little method of canceling out one’s vocal flaws has worked with almost no one noticing. So when I first heard that Charlotte Gainsbourg, a rather accomplished (or at least, talented) actress, was making an album with the help of the guys from Air, Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, and the one and only Jarvis Cocker, my first thought was that I was in for another lesson in “How Not to Sing.” But I was terribly mistaken. As it turns out, Charlotte Gainsbourg is extremely talented. And wouldn’t you know it? “5:55” is beautiful!

While not possessing the most powerful voice ever captured on an album, Gainsbourg does a brilliant job of blending her vocals in with Dunckel and Godin’s Air-ish compositions. She accomplishes this by half-whispering most of her lyrics, but it sounds absolutely perfect. On the title track, “5:55,” she sings, “Soon the morning will arrive. Can I begin another day whilst this old day is still alive, refusing to be put away,” so beautifully that it feels like she’s singing only for you. This brilliant lyric is penned by Cocker, as he and Hannon share most the songwriting duties on the album.

“The Operation” is perhaps the standout track on the album. It utilizes a steady electronic drum beat to accompany a great piano composition and bass line. The highlight of the song comes about half way through when the music drops out to leave Charlotte whispering, “Our love goes under the knife. Nothing is taboo here on the cutting edge of science…” It is yet another fantastic song.

‘The Songs that We Sing” is the first time the album crosses into near-pop territory (later revisited in “Everything I Cannot See”). The music itself feels like it could’ve been ripped right off of one of Neil Hannon’s albums. The song begins with an upbeat piano line and a xylophone syncopating along with it. Here, Gainsbourg asks the question, “And the songs that we sing, do they mean anything to the people we’re singing them to?” over well-composed chord progression. “Beauty Mark” is a lesson in minimalism. The percussion on the song is largely forgotten in favor of creating the kind of lush soundscapes that have defined Air’s sound for so many years. In what is extremely reminiscent of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic short story, “The Birthmark,” Gainsbourg sings, “This little death, this mark of sin, forever painted on my skin” over swells of strings.

The album is filled with examples of how my initial hypothesis was wrong. In fact, every song on this album is so gorgeous that it’s hard to believe that Gainsbourg hasn’t set aside her acting career in favor of this pursuit. Indeed, she is an unbelievably talented individual, and “5:55” is evidence of that. Of course, one could make the argument that without the talents of her constituents the album would not be near as good. My response is, who cares? “5:55” is amazing from the time you press play to when the final second ticks off. That’s quite an achievement, and one that should not go unnoticed.

Recommended for fans of Air, Zero 7, and anyone who wants to define “beauty” more accurately.

Key Tracks:
1. “5:55”
2. “AF607105”
3. “The Operation”
4. “The Songs that We Sing”
5. “Little Monsters”

9 out of 10 Stars

The Twilight Sad: "Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters"

If the boys from Dashboard Confessional or Interpol were raised in Glasgow, Scotland, had their mothers forgone the typical milk for pints of beer, if they were eating 72oz. steaks at the age of 3, if their body hair was rugged and manly, they might sound a lot like The Twilight Sad. At their most basic, The Twilight Sad doesn’t sound too different from their run-of-the-mill whiny American counterparts. But they are so much more. They are louder, more powerful, more poetic, and worlds more talented.

Their most notable difference is the thick Scottish accent of frontman James Graham. When you first hear him “purr” out his Rs on “Cold Days From the Birdhouse,” you know you’re in for quite a different experience. The first time I heard him sing, “You make it your own, but this is where your arm can’t go,” I got goosebumps. I’ve been listening to the album for about a week, and the effect is still the same. It is definitely a standout on the album.

It is followed by the brilliant “That Summer, at Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy” in which Graham croons, “Kids are on fire in the bedroom” before erupting with one of the most authentic shouts I’ve ever heard on an album (“They’re sitting around the table, and they’re talking behind your back!”). It is beautifully composed and even features an accordion for good measure. The song is tense and feels like at any second it could explode into an all-out rock fest, but it never does. It’s disappointing in a way, but at the same time you can’t help but be impressed by it.

The biggest problem that I can point out on the album is the lack of variety in the songs. Each song is great, don’t get me wrong, but they almost always start off calm before building into several layers of guitars, vocals, and drums in what is usually a distorted bridge or interlude. It is a small complaint, to be sure, but one that is definitely worth noting. Each song is great in its own right, but if you’re not really paying attention, they might start to sound tired.

Overall, “Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters” is a pretty awesome album! Of all the albums to release in 2007 so far, this one has rocked harder than any other I’ve come across. The Twilight Sad is a band with a lot of character and even more talent. In today’s crowded field of indie rockers, they should have no problem differentiating themselves from the rest of the pack. If they’re lucky, and if the world is just, they might just rise above the rest.

Recommended to fans of Interpol, The Walkmen, and anyone who really likes a good Scottish accent!

Key Tracks:
1. “Cold Days from the Birdhouse”
2. “That Summer, at Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy”
3. “Talking with Fireworks/Here, It Never Snowed”
4. “Mapped by What Surrounded Them”

7 out of 10 Stars

Boddicker: "Big Lionhearted and the Gallant Man"

When I was a kid, my mother and father used to take us on vacation a lot. However, while other kids were vacationing at Disney World or California, my family almost always went about an hour north of where we lived to visit my grandparents at their farm. It was cool, but really, I’d much rather be taking a “real” vacation. My grandfather always had farm dogs that would help him in his daily work, or just hang out with him and keep him company as he was riding in his tractor. However, I soon noticed that every time we visited the farm, my grandfather would always have a new dog, and this perplexed me. It seemed that his dogs were prone to run away, and for the life of me, I could never figure out why. Then one day I came across some evidence that I felt would greatly explain my grandfather’s runaway dog problem. I witnessed my grandfather kicking his dog. Surely this animal abuse was the answer to the question that had long perplexed me. I don’t remember why my grandfather was kicking his dog, but I do remember the sound it made. It sounded a lot like Caleb Boddicker’s singing.

Caleb Boddicker, here known just as Boddicker, is a 20-year-old male from Mississippi. When he was just 16-years-old he produced a 22-track demo in his bedroom and proceeded to sell over a thousand copies of it. This caught the attention of several people in the music industry, including (allegedly) Issac Brock of Modest Mouse. The rest is history. But one question still remains unanswered to me. Who the hell bought this crap?

The album begins with “Giant,” a short intro into the nonsense that will soon follow. “Interstate 55,” one of the strongest tracks on the album, begins with a simplistic acoustic guitar riff and brief organ appearances. Caleb takes his vocals a little easy at the start, but by the time he gets into the song he’s singing so loudly, so badly, that any hint of vocal talent gets thrown out the window. The lyrics here are confusing, to be sure, but at the same time they’re some of the best on the album. Take for example, “Well there ain’t no McDonald’s yet in the woods and the Lutheran Adventist Church can be hard to find.” It makes little sense taken out of context, but makes even less when you consider that the majority of the song is sung about a “Missouri Dinosaur.”

The album’s most flagrant offense is Caleb’s insistence on shelving actual singing for what can only be described as yelping, howling, barking, or any other sound you might expect a dog in immense pain to make. “When I Go Out” is a prime example of how an otherwise decent song is slaughtered by Boddicker’s inability to carry a tune. Here, Brian Deck’s talents as a producer shines, but not much else. The strongest track on the album, “Pretty Baby (Part I),”would be the weakest on any other album by any other artist. It’s essentially 5 minutes of Boddicker repeating “You’re my sweet pretty baby and I love you so much. I want to t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-touch” to no end. It’s catchy in it’s simplicity, but at the same time, it’s a song that a 10-year-old could write. But a 10-year-old could probably perform it better.

The album is filled from beginning to end with disappointment. I’ve listened to the album multiple times for the sake of reviewing it, but honestly if anyone manages to listen to this entire album without skipping a track or taking a break I’d be shocked. You may make it most of the way through, but once you get to “Bon Vivant” you’re pretty much going to give up on it. “Bon Vivant” is the single worst song I have ever heard in my entire life. It makes you wonder, “Who listens to this and thinks ‘Dang, that is awesome’?” At his absolute best, Boddicker sounds like a poor man’s version of Daniel Johnston or Alec Ounsworth, but a direct comparison to either of those artists would be an injustice beyond compare.

When I first put Boddicker’s “Big Lionhearted and the Gallant Man” into my CD player, I was pretty excited. I was familiar with Brian Deck’s previous works with Modest Mouse and Iron and Wine, and had high hopes that Boddicker would be the “next big thing.” Even as I listened through the album the first time, I was holding out for the greatness that I thought would surely be revealed as the album progressed. What I got, however, was an extreme disappointment in Boddicker and a dismal new outlook on the music world. “Big Lionhearted and the Gallant Man” is the single worst album I’ve ever tortured my ears with. It is unbearably disappointing; a thousand times worse than thinking you’re vacationing in Disney World, only to find out that you’re going to your grandparent’s farm.

Recommended to no one. Do not support this garbage.

Key Tracks:
1. “Interstate 55”
2. “Pretty Baby (Part I)”
3. “First We Store Up”

1 out of 10 Stars

Go News Go! – The Weekly News Recap

Week of April 16th, 2007.

• Am I the only one that forgot that The Smashing Pumpkins are the embodiment of mediocrity?
• It is painfully hilarious that Bright Eyes will tour Texas, but skip Houston. Despite it being the 4th largest city in the nation. Despite it being the only way to get from his show in Austin, to his show in New Orleans.
• Sigur Ros gets a book, will it use real words?
• Joanna Newsom plays dates with Bjork, you can’t go.
• That whole Two Gallants mishap in Houston is finally over. See them live next time they come, they are really awesome live!
• In case you forgot, Lily Allen kinda sucks.
• Radiohead wastes your time.
• Bill Callahan haas mad love for Texas. Too bad we don’t know who he is.

Cocorosie: "The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn"

Cocorosie has never been a group for the mainstream. Since their inception, the Casady sisters have captivated their audience, not by catchy hooks or flashy productions but with their unparalleled sound. For better or for worse, Cocorosie has sacrificed much of their success to remain true to the sound that they wished to create. “The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn” is a step towards accessibility and the success that follows it, yet at the same time, it doesn’t even feel like the group is sacrificing what has kept them unique all this time. If anything, the album is proof that the group is evolving and maturing as artists. The result is fantastic!

Beginning with the first single “Rainbowarriors,” the album starts on a high note. While not the highlight of the album by any means, the song features the group’s typically quirky lyrics over a half sung, half rapped melody. The chorus itself is less than catchy, but the real value of the song comes from it’s incredibly deep production. “Promise” is a much better song, all around. Bianca’s rap in this song is amazing, and surprisingly and uncharacteristically catchy. The beat box-esque drums in the song blend perfectly with the fluttering synth arpeggios that flood the song to form something that is really solid.

“Japan” is classic Cocorosie. It sounds more like a children’s song gone awry. Here, Bianca quips “Everybody wants to go to Iraq, but once they go they don’t come back.” Of course, the song isn’t about Iraq. Apparently everybody also wants to go to Japan, Californ-i-a, and Jamaica. It’s humorous in it’s simplicity, but that’s really what makes the song work. It winds up being a stand-out on the album.

The best song on the album, by far, is “Werewolf,” and it’s an early front runner for song of the year in my book! The beat box drums make another appearance here, this time over a well-composed piano loop. The song starts off quite slowly, but by the time the chorus comes in at full force you will have already fallen in love with it. When the sisters sing, “I’ma shake you off though, get up on that horse and ride into the sunset, look back with no remorse” you can’t help sing along. It’s such a beautiful song, but one that is also incredibly entertaining. That song is followed quite splendidly by “Animals,” a song that is pretty simple and straightforward. However, it’s also quite moving and one that you’ll want to listen to over and over again to get every last bit of magic out of it.

“The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn” is no “Noah’s Ark,” that’s for sure! But that’s not a bad thing at all. Personally, I could see the appeal of Cocorosie’s previous efforts but could never get into them like I felt I should have. This album is different. From start to finish, I found myself captivated by the sheer versatility that Bianca and Sierra demonstrate throughout. The songs here are brilliant in their approach, and are simple yet seemingly complex at the same time. Anyone who devotes time to this album will not be disappointed. It is a work of art, and one that should be appreciated. One thing’s for sure…they won me over.

Recommended for fans of Cocorosie, Xiu Xiu, Joanna Newsom, and anyone who thought that there was no originality left in the music world.

Key Tracks:
1. “Promise”
2. “Japan”
3. “Sunshine”
4. “Werewolf”
5. “Animals”

7 out of 10 Stars