Interviews from The Lilypad 6/21/13

The show at the Lilypad on June 21 was a great night, and Found Sound succeeded in getting an interview with each band. The videos are in the order that the groups performed: Jules Vincent, Closer Than We Appear, Kevin King, Burglary Years, and Saintseneca. Special thanks to Justin Healy who volunteered to be my camera man, and Owen Bolas for letting me borrow his equipment and editing the interviews into videos.

- Ryan Noss

Track Review: "Mallwalker"

Artist: Saintseneca

Release Date: December 21, 2012

Label: Mama Bird Recording Co.

Note: This review is part of a series of single reviews by Ryan coming out this week leading up to a show on Friday June 21 at the Lilypad in Cambridge, MA, which will feature performances by all the bands reviewed.

Saintseneca are a fairly established Columbus, Ohio based band who are playing in Boston as part of an East Coast tour. “Mallwalker” was released last December as a Christmas song, but it wouldn’t be identifiable as such if it wasn’t explicitly said on their bandcamp. The lyrics are interesting and thought-provoking, but seem more like fragmented thoughts than coherent ideas. Their sound is that of rich contemporary folk lacking, thankfully, in the pop sound that has come to dominate the genre in recent years (Mumford, The Lumineers, etc.). Instead, they employ diverse ideas into their music creating a unique, captivating sound. The closest comparison that could be made would be if Animal Collective made an album that you could put on during family dinner. But this is reliant on the sound of the guitars, the drummers use of rims, and the singer’s style more than anything else. Thick harmonies are used in the chorus, giving the music a large, communal feel that is always a great feature of folk music. This is juxtaposed masterfully with a barren interlude about two thirds of the way through the song. Aside from the disjointed lyrics mentioned before, the only criticism I could give of this song is a desire for more percussion, which takes the form of simple rim clicking during the climaxes. A more intricate  style of drumming could bring the energy of this song to a different level, and would allow the low points to be exaggerated as well. The sound of Saintseneca is one of contemporary folk music, and is a wonderful balance of thoughtful and fun.

- Ryan Noss

Deertree

Artist: Deertree
Release Date: April 1, 2013
Label: Independent


Deertree is the folk solo project of Thom Koehly, and his eponymous debut is charming; a quaint folk album that doesn't push too hard in any one direction, but rather sets a gentle and nurturing mood. Deertree tells a bleak but beautiful tale of a lost traveler and ensuing loneliness conveyed through a variety of colorful vocal harmonies and warm guitar tones. With tracks flowing from one to the next perfectly, this album feels less like a collection of individual works but rather chapters of the same novel. Along with similar lyricism, most of these songs share very similar chord progressions. Not to call the songs uninspired, but they all sound quite similar to one another (especially “Walkin I,” “Everything or Nothing,” “Jeneher: Trying to Reach the Sea,” “Barefoot Pilgrim,” and “Walkin II.”) It unifies the songs in a way that can get tiresome with repeated listens, but keeps the album feeling like one larger story..

Droning guitar playing is another factor in the similarity of these songs. Often times progressions move slow and timidly, but nonetheless precisely move from chord to chord. There a good few songs that break the mold; tracks like "The Little Boy Lost" or "Jeneher: Trying To Reach The Sea" have much more interesting features. "The Little Boy Lost," the opener, sounds straight off of Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago. This isn't to say that it’s not interesting or creative, just that it sounds extremely similar on account of the guitar playing and strong falsetto vocals. Koehly uses a large range of vocal styles on Deertree, ranging from low raspy tones on "The Morning Lights" to the enchanting harmonies in falsetto on "The Little Boy Lost” which, unfortunately, is the only track where Koehly shows off his impressively tender upper range.

Koehly's elusive lyricism brings forward themes of loneliness, loss of purpose, and hopelessness. Fantastic moments appear abruptly throughout this album. For instance, as "Everything or Nothing" bursts into a 3/4 explosion at 4:09, Koehly sings "everything was still nothing." Coming from the previous sections of the song, this is quite impactful. Another example is "The Morning Lights" where 3 or 4 part harmonies come in belting "I'm not dying! I'm not dying! The lazy day is over. I can." For all the moments where there are meaningful lyrics, there are many moments where his singing can't be understood or is just inaudible. It's either his singing or the mixing that gets in the way of hearing his lyrics, which are vital for this album's enjoyment.

The instrumentation and aesthetic, unfortunately, don't hold up amazingly after repeated listens. Koehly depends too much on mood and feeling at times, causing some tracks to get rather bland after a few listens. Instead of finding new things interesting, it becomes easier to find mistakes or unfavorable moments. The chord progression used on many tracks can become tired and the toy piano (which, granted, is used infrequently) loses it's charm after a few listens. That being said, the album is still a good listen but it doesn't hold up well under a magnifying glass.

Deertree is the story of a lost traveler unsure of where he's going or what he's doing. Everybody questions themselves during their life as to what they're doing or where they want to be. At some point in their lives, everybody misses their family, can get homesick, or gets lost altogether. Deertree relates to the scary pictures of uncertainty drawn on life's canvas. This album is going to go over well with a lot of people, I'm sure; Koehly's voice is beautiful, and his guitar playing is moody as anything. If you've ever liked anything in the new era folk-pop genre (Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens) I recommend this album. If you don't, I wouldn't stay away but don't expect anything that'll crack your top 10 for the year.

-Owen Bolas

Under The Ancient Oak

Artist: Moonroot
Release Date: March 19, 2013
Label: Metalhit


Under The Ancient Oak is the debut album by American folk metal band, Moonroot. Comprised of Dawn Desireé alongside Mark and Michael Riddick, the band sonically creates a mythological world of Celtic wonder and strife, but fails to provide the proper tour guides. Desireé's operatic vocals, medieval recorders, and cartoony guitars will make you headbang, dance, and enjoy the Celtic countryside until the first track ends. It's almost as if the guides provided just aren't into the rest of the journey. Were the entire album a country and each song a village: the arrangements show you each village enjoyably, but the tours just become less interesting as they bring you deeper into the country.

The album kicks off with an Iron Maiden-type riff in “The Hunt For The Hunter,” an excellent track that introduces the cartoony distortion present throughout the album and sets the bar high for the release. However the follow up track, “Once Upon A Sidhe Mound,” sounds a bit more like a church hymn and is completely out of place at the top of the track list. Desireé's soprano voice flows surprisingly well with the mayhem and thrash that surrounds her on the album's fast tracks including “Haunted Waters Of Duinn,” “The Fiery Spear Of Lugh” and “Dreamchild.”

The album has Celtic folk flesh and blood but a metal skeleton, that which can be heard in the bass and drums in almost every song. Though the songs seem somewhat random in their placing, each song is able to shine on its own. Because of this, it's hard to tell whether or not Moonroot rock harder then they play a mystic melody or vice versa, but what remains clear is that Moonroot can make folk music headbangable. Under The Ancient Oak is a worthy listen that will most definitely take a few times to get used, but once you learn to enjoy each track on its own you can realize the album's best qualities.

-Ralph Ferrigno

Dream Date

Artist: Joshua Van Tassel
Release Date: March 26, 2013
Label: Backward Music


Two days ago, Joshua Van Tassel showed us the inner-workings of his mind through his moving album, Dream Date. He is back for thirds, and this time he may be hungrier than ever. In-between his June 2011 debut Everyone Has It All and this new album, Tassel has received some noteworthy critical acclaim for his self-titled second album released in September 2011 The CBC rated this as one of the top albums of 2011, and it is currently in the running for "Electronic Album Of The Year" at the '13 East Coast Music Awards. Since his second album came out nearly three years ago, that leaves a lot of space between then and March of this year. Plenty of time to grow, evolve on your own musical ideas, and create something great.

Dream Date does just that. As an album, it is a patient ride that, as each track progresses, begins to unfold onto the next. The music within shows a side of Electro-Folk that is delicate. "Come Home Safe To Me" invites you in through seemingly western influenced acoustic works that are gargantuan enough to be the introduction music to a Tarantino film. Once the doors have flung open, a groove leaks out with the second track, "The Sharpest Corner." This track is notable for its liquid bass work and upbeat rhythmic section. Thus far the album remains speechless, but "The Warmest Heart" quickly changes that. With a Thom Yorke-esque sound and a Neil Young sense of writing, the third track on the album is directed towards the narrator's father. Asking him questions such as "Are you listening? Can you hear me? Where are you going?"

A huge thing about this album is the musical and technical diversity it shows. Certain tracks like "Sentimental Health" focus on a small aspect of the group (in this case, the percussion section), while others, like "Bottom Of The Well," excrete more of a powerful and moving aura. It'll take a couple listens, but while doing so you almost feel forced to hone in on the deeper message.

Moving forward, the final segment of the album is arguably the best; beginning with "Sneaky Beard," a guitar-lead journey with a constantly reappearing and ear-pleasing lick. Following the beauty of that adventure, we fall into the hands of our new Bond, "Daniel Craig." Though you may be expecting fast-paced, panic ensuing music to use when facing serious nostalgia while playing Goldeneye, this is far from that. "Daniel Craig" follows directly in the path that "Sneaky Beard" opened up; a well-constructed piece with memorable themes that will reappear before you know it. Along with that, this track flips back to the opening track in the way that it draws from western-esque influences. Approaching the finale, "I Think You're A Salesman" brings dominant female vocalization which, at this point, is refreshing. It is fairly rare to see an album feature multiple vocalists singing on separate tracks, making Dream Date stick out among the masses. "Companion" ices this gourmet cake off with its airy acoustic harmonies and plot twists. A must-hear from the album with an epic conclusion.

Joshua Van Tassel’s Dream Date thrives for attention by using a combination of acoustic instrumentation and electronic goodness that pushes it over the top. The album itself, overall, is so clearly put and delicately layered. Many different styles appear track to track, showing extreme variety and leaving you thoroughly satisfied in many different ways. Already being a big contender for Best of '13, Dream Date is truly an album to keep your attention and have you back for seconds.

-Woocci

Track Review: "This Human Joy"

Artist: Ajimal ft. Emily Holie
Release Date: March 25, 2013
Label: Pop Sex Ltd



"This Human Joy," the second track that has been released in anticipation of Ajimal's upcoming Childhood project, is a fragile folk piece that could be described as something halfway between the orchestral folk popularized in the first decade of the 2000s and Jeff Buckley circa Grace. Such comparisons as the latter are obvious, but the lush instrumentation of "This Human Joy" and the vulnerably beautiful falsetto in which Ajimal sings it make them impossible to avoid. Although the song still would have been powerful if it were simply Ajimal sitting down at the piano, the tender harp flourishes added at the first refrain keep the track from being just another soft-rock throwaway. With ethereal harmonies and sweeping strings to spare, "This Human Joy" slowly grows from the aforementioned bare-bones sound to a triumphantly contained climax that sounds like Sigur Rós-- had they decided to ditch post-rock for a more straightforward chamber pop sound. There is something to enjoy for casual and critical listeners alike in Ajimal's latest, but it is the unique grandiose of the track and the organic quality of the lead vocal that makes the wait for Childhood all that harder to endure.

-Matt Gill