Gust of Wind # 14

Signer, Next We Bring the Fire

CarPark

This Gust of Wind rests in spaces out of this world.

The atmospherics of Signer are pleasant from the start. The record plays with an ease of beauty. The soft hushed vocals are co-mingling with a vast amount of layering. Beats come out of left field, and the feeling gets me high. Ryan McFun from one of my favorite bands, The Ruby Suns, contributes on this record. His vocals are distinct, and go as high as a rocket ship. All the songs are written and performed by Bevan Smith.

Next We Bring the Fire certainly has moments more accessible than others. The song “+ kicks and kicks” is quite funky and blazing with static, while McFun’s vocal adds a laid back feel to its more groovy nature. Signer has an older sounding electronic quality to it, sort of 1990s-esque, with an acidic tone. This impression is left more notably on the tune “glass ceiling.” Its glitch foundations are coupled with a voice trying to get out from behind a dark corner. Most of the album is nothing if not riddled with tons of reverb, and the consistent emotion of searching to be lost.

There is something that reminds me of the ride home during the dawn of an after party, with all the “colorful balloons” floating in the air. As you drive out of the cold darkness, lost in some random inner city with no where to piss, remember, you can play Signer on your way home and all will be forgotten.

- Ryan Boos

Like a warm sweater on a cold winters day, Kashmere Hakim serves our needs. The gracious voice, and pluck of string, feathers the wind through the parallels of paradise.

So, pick up your favorite read, and your most delicious cup of tea. Sit back to this gracious range of falling flakes, on tracks in the smallest corners of the end. Be still with the windows, the creaks of an old house, a distant water drip, and the textures of a loved one. These tunes suffice, these tunes rejoice, these songs sing out to me, and should to you.

Gust of Wind # 13

Atlas Sound, Logos

Kranky

This Gust of Wind wakes you when the dogs howl rides over the empty streets. You lift up suddenly from dreaming of something you vividly recall, but can’t decisively remember.

Bradford Cox has become a name in the last few years that packs several meanings. Not only is he a part of the exceptionally regarded group called Deer Hunter; he also managed to find time to invent a fresh side-project in Atlas Sound. Both have become regulars on many different lists of praise. This album is just another addition to an already impressive body of work that deserves a thorough listen – Sign me up!

Logos has many personalities throughout. From track to track, there is a plethora of emotions, which seem recorded over a time frame consisting of excessive highs and lows. It’s a connection album with Cox waiving a mirror to see his own reflections in different forms of light. In this case the light is the special guests that contribute to the record. There is a small touch of melancholy in all of this, but certainly enough joy to compound the darkness into something more than a lonely impression.

“Walkabout,” featuring Panda Bear of the group Animal Collective, is one of the brightest spots on the Album. It’s a catchy sample with harmonies leaving a memorable touch. The track “Quick Canal,” featuring Laetitia Sadier of Stereo Lab, is the part of the record where you take off in your own head. Her voice soars well over Atlas Sound’s atmospheric steadiness, and this collaboration is worth exploring in the future. Another track that really sounds amazing is called “Shelia.” Cox sings, “When we die we’ll burry ourselves, because no one wants to die alone,” and as the track fades he belts “Die alone together.” Something we all have pondered momentarily throughout our daily lives.

The original flare, and chameleon sensibility on Logos, gives it enough playing power to stick around as a nice addition to any collection.

- Ryan Boos

Hear Hums are nothing, if not a visually complex DIY band. Their tunes have enough grace to represent the light twinkling through the trees on an afternoon drive. But also enough raw noise to be the stiff bark of an old tree, within a dark city. Visual descriptions aside, Hear Hums is a band worth checking out. They give us the right amount of twists and turns, and will indeed please an experimental ear. For fans of Animal Collective, Mystic Chords of Memory, Do Make Say Think, and Broken Social Scene’s Feel Good Lost.

Stream the entire album by clicking the cover art.

Hear Hums are out of Savannah Georgia and  West Palm Beach Florida. There album is titled  Notions Shift at Tryptamine Bay.

A brief Bio provided by the bands Myspace Music Page reads, ”Hear Hums is an experimental/visual indie band started by Mitchell Myers in West Palm Beach, Florida. Notions Shift At Tryptamine Bay—the debut album—was recorded by Mitch in a spare bedroom of his parents’ house and released April 17th, 2009. Marcos Gasc and Kenzie Cooke joined in February 2009 after performing a completely improv ambient set at an art show with Mitch.”

- Ryan Boos

Gust of Wind # 12

Devendra Banhart, What Will We Be

Warner

This Gust of Wind comes to us through a haze, beaming the sunshine down on a cold atmosphere.

Devendra Banhart is one of the most inspiring Artists of the last ten years. Over time he has continued to evolve, but not entirely away from the mysterious beauty of his early low fidelity recordings. This record has moments that signal to the past, as if to say he hasn’t  forgotten his original self. He clearly hasn’t, even when enticed by the dollar bills of a major, Banhart is still Banhart. If pressed to place a bet on him, I wouldn’t pick any number but the same one since Rejoicing in the Hands. It all seems part of a bigger picture, and he’s just waiting on us to commit to ourselves, so we can commit to each other.

I dig the newer sound, and this time it seems Banhart and company are on point when compared to their previous album, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon. That collection of tunes was out there looking for the thing he found on What Will We Be. I imagine like most things in life, we have to go through certain doors to see what’s on the other side.

Although he always seems to reach for the stars, on What Will We Be the music plays as if he’s made his connection. It’s only the first stop toward much more, but he has made it to the next level as a musical powerhouse, shining its own light on the rest of us, from its own corner, somewhere off in a hazy galaxy. From this point on, it only looks brighter from here. Devendra Banhart is the invaluable piece to a younger generations place in cultural history.

A few special words evoked by the song “Walilamdzi,” off this very delightful addition to a discography growing to be one of my favorites. I dug up an old piece of photography I took on my Brothers farm in Michigan. I think it fits well. Thank you for reading.

A room is filled with gracious hands as we dine together in a community.

The Sounds from cracks of ceiling beams, makes fog in a room with no smoke. The Red wine intertwines our words. One last chime from the door, another late addition. Pull up a seat friend, we’ll be reminiscing.

- Ryan Boos

PART ONE : The Film

“No budget Films have branched off to become the newest and most exciting form of art in modern America.”

These are the words of Jacob Boyd, a no-budget film maker who recently directed what I believe to be an important piece of art. Our society is changing, and there is a growing feeling that people are losing their sense of humanity. People want to see other people fail, its become the nature of things. The film “Jack French Suicide” sheds light on this revelation. I believe there is truth to this story, so much that throughout its almost seven minutes, you wonder if its real. Jacob Boyd plays himself and does a good job controlling the pace of the film. He plays the antagonist out to get famous by exploiting the suicide of another human being, and he does it well. The star of the film Jamison Stalsworth, who plays Jack, leads you to believe everything he is saying. I think its all in the eyes, and he sells it like a pro. His lack of expression got me thinking this whole thing is really happening, this kids really going to do it. This got me thinking about what I would do if faced with something similar. Would I watch? Would I call anyone? I think I would choose the latter, but the fact that I thought about it compelled me to email Director Jacob Boyd so we could chat a bit, and Twilight could use this platform to show the world this amazing film. Heather Bass plays the girl who tries to save Jack. Her ability to be the light within the dark subject matter made me think that people still have a goodness in their heart, and we are not all inherently bad, but some just lose their way. She has just the right look to give Jack a little hope, but is it enough?  The film is shot well too. The different angles, and edginess fit the script almost perfectly. The last scene of the film was absolutely brilliant, and it reminded me why I enjoy movies in the first place, so kudos to Jacob, and Austin Webb for their wonderful work on the look and feel of the film.

So without Further ado, Twilight Frequencies is proud to present “Jack French Suicide.”

Starring Jamison Stalsworth, Jacob Boyd, and Heather Bass

Produced and Shot By Austin Webb

Written and Directed By Jacob Boyd

THE SUN THROUGH THICK TREES

LIGHTS THE BURDEN OF REFLECTION

WITH DEAD LEAF GROUNDS

Gust of Wind # 3

Sin Fang Bous, Clangour

Morr Music

This gust of wind stays busy establishing a coupled sound of gadgetry, strings, and broken tonality, which moves freely through  familiar instrumentations of pop.

The ability of this album to change with a flick of a switch is apparent with the first listen. It feels like a science fiction movie is playing along side a band, bridging the gap between mediums. The busy feeling of this album works, but can also lose the listener, b/c it’s entirely full of sounds, both quirky, and sublime – you have to catch yourself from drifting off into space.

Sin Fang Bous is not waiting around for trends, or for the rest of us to figure out where the world is heading, it’s waiting for us to catch up, and jump on. The track “Sunken Ship” is a great moment on this beautiful record. It has amazing cadence, vocal depth, and really moves the listener throughout the tune – sounds sort of creep up in places where you might not expect, essentially being consistent throughout this ambitious affair.

Clangour gives an epic story impression, something that trilogies are made of. It’s cohesive and fun, but deeper then just an everyday listen. This record could very easily be considered before its time. I picture new technology, and kids hovering on skateboards, while they remember their parent’s stories about the days when grass was still green, and close enough to touch and feel – a bitter sweet memory, if you will.

This album doesn’t leave traditional music at the door; rather it gives it an upgrade, while maintaining the abilities and talents of great musicianship. It would seem the human has been kidnapped to sing and play, while the robots back him perfectly, waiting to be lost in something organic.

Did I mention its one guy on this record? Sin Fang Bous is Sindrie Mar Sigfusson from the band Seabear, out of Iceland. Get this album soon; it’s an amazing work of art, and a complete package of emotion.

- Ryan Boos, August 21st, 2009