Three Imaginary Girls - Seattle's sparkly indie-pop press

More Than Shapes: John Roderick + Neutral Milk Hotel = bliss

imaginary victoria — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:00:04 +0000

It's Tuesday, and that means another new release from More Than Shapes: The House Show songs. This time, it's one of my personal favorite moments from the night: John's incredibly compelling cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's "The King of Carrot Flowers, pt. 1". As Adam states, "...in the wrong hands a cover song can be a crutch, or an awkward homage, or a flashy attempt at credibility by co-opting someone else's. In the right situation though, a thoughtfully chosen cover song signals the turning point in a set like few other things can. It's a chance for a performer to say "this is what inspires me" without actually saying it." One could argue that in the realm of discussions on the topic that truer words had never before been spoken.

Many try their hand at the perfect cover, and few succeed. However, with those tries come a chance at brilliance: results like Eef Barzelay's ever-slaying choices come to mind, most notably his rendition of "Don't Stop Believin'" heard on his most recent trip through Seattle this past holiday season; or Nada Surf's delivery of "Enjoy the Silence" from the stage of the Tractor a few weeks ago, or the Postal Service's mindbendingly beautiful version of "Against All Odds". However, on this particular evening, with this particular group of folks, and this particular artist choosing this particular cover -- a magic moment took place that superceded any other cover we could recall to memory with the sufficient force needed to drown it out. This moment, this song, the combination of everything we love about John fused with the brilliance of Jeff Mangum in a crowded Ballard living room -- it was almost more than our collective hand-stamped hearts could take. It may be the shortest song in the series, but it's a contender for leaving the biggest mark.

Give it a listen and see for yourself. And if you haven't seen them already, there's two other releases earlier this month that you can take the time to soak in here and here.

{Special thanks to Laura Musselman for putting this request in the jar at the show!}

Weekend update: Damien Jurado, Andrew Bird, and Father John Misty

imaginary victoria — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:26:52 +0000

It was a great long weekend for sight and sound as we took in some goings-on around Seattle, the most notable of which was the release party for Damien Jurado's Maraqopa this past Friday at the Neptune. Sharing the bill with Gold Leaves and Bryan John Appleby, Jurado and the most recent incarnation of his band sold out our newest favorite venue to an attentive, appreciative crowd. Maraqopa {which is officially out today}, his latest brand of soundscape, is the perfect blend of everything we've come to love about Damien Jurado's work, packaged in a collective series of sounds we've never quite heard from him before. There's a little bit on Maraqopa for everyone: it's part singer-songwriter, part freak-folk, part guitar-shredding psychedelia heaven, and fourteen other different kinds of good. {Read a little more about what we've heard and adore about Maraqopa thus far here.}

Here's a few shots from Friday's show:

Another knock-it-out-of-the-park win this weekend was the screening of Fever Year, the documentary that followed Andrew Bird along for a seemingly insane 180-date tour a few years back. As avid fans, we've seen everything from those early 2000s shows where six fellow attendees stood in rapt appreciation to bursting-at-the-seams capacity nights from this most recent grueling tour {including a sold-out show at the Paramount and a set for a few thousand people at Austin City Limits in 2009} -- and it was an absolute delight to see every facet of Andrew Bird's career represented so brilliantly in this film. Historical flashbacks to his Bowl of Fire days fused together perfectly with recent tour clips and an incredible glimpse of his on-, off- and backstage life, all of which blended together into a gorgeously intimate eighty-minute portrait of the Andrew Bird of today. The mini-doc was warmed up perfectly by the screening of the Fleet Foxes' The Shrine / An Argument, an absolute delight to take in -- both visually on the big screen and as it poured out of the theater's state-of-the-art soundsystem.

Recommended Show + Free Tickets: Eighteen Individual Eyes at the Crocodile {3/1}

Imaginary Gemma — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:14:54 +0000

If you’ve never heard of Eighteen Individual Eyes before, you may not be alone -- but if you don’t take a listen now, you soon will be. Irene Barber’s soaring siren call is so thoroughly appealing that it’s easy to ignore the hint of danger lying in the jangly, dirty guitars underneath. Although tender, their songs are eerily disturbing. It's a transfixing combination.

EIE’s talent was obvious on their early EP, Slightly Frightened, Mostly Happy. For their soon-to-be-released debut full length, Unnovae Nights, the group recorded with Matt Bayles (Minus the Bear) and took a big leap forward. You can hear how beautifully Bayles picked apart the intricate tangles of their sound on the track “Four Poses,” available to listen now.

Takers & Leavers

Imaginary Gemma — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:28:06 +0000

7.7

http://kithkin.bandcamp.com/

KithkinCoverart.jpg

The benevolent tree spirits of Cascadia delivered press materials to the imaginary office on behalf of Kithkin, the energetic drummer boys who opened for Los Campesinos! at the Neptune on February 4 (an event that filled both Kithkin and imaginary girls with primal joy). I used to hang with the tree spirits when I was a kid, so of course I had to check out their new friends.

Kithkin’s EP, Takers & Leavers, begins with an abrasive “Din;” one of three, actually. But like the Awful Din from the Phantom Tollbooth, “Din” improves upon acquaintance, and by the time “Din II” and “Din III” roll around, the noise feels friendly. Listening to Takers & Leavers, many quotes fromfavorite childhood books floated unbidden to mind. During the track “So Slow,” I was reminded that Aslan (who also parties with trees) is not a tame lion, really. Even the sketched-during-math-class album cover, with its vaguely cardiac tree in the center, is strangely reminiscent of both Where the Wild Things Are and The Giving Tree.

This is not to say that Kithkin’s influences are solely literary. Kithkin shout and play drums loudly. The cheerful energy of Vampire Weekend can be heard, especially on “Ampersand.” Kithkin’s raucously shouted choruses are much like Modest Mouse, and inevitably for such a percussion focused group, Kodo-style synchronies make an appearance (especially in “Din II” and in “No Eyes”). In what must be a completely random coincidence, the vocals on “Goliath” are eerily similar to those of the Goth-tinged rock band Dommin. I feel that Kithkin approve of such random coincidences.

Whether it’s primal joy or just effervescent boy-joy, Takers and Leavers remains mischievous and playful even in its most serious moments. It’s impossible to stop grinning as you sing along to the line, “all of my friends are dying.” Kithkin may not be tame, but as in nature, all is not chaos on Takers and Leavers. There is an organizing principle behind the music of this urban tribe of woodland creatures. The playing is tight, the vocals are strong, and for all their youth (did I mention that Kithkin are KEXP Sound Off! alumns?) the lyrics can be on the profound side.

Kithkin’s barbaric yawps are pointed. They eschew entitlement on “Goliath,” and “Treefell” captures the horror of environmental destruction and all the other “things you hate but don’t do shit about” in one sickening swoop. Kithkin admonish in the final track that too many of us are “living like we are already dead,” and without bothering to do anything as boring as preach about it, they offer up the antidote by exuberant example. Kithkin are vibrantly alive.

And now, let the wild rumpus start!

Imaginary Linkage: Stuff We Spied Online This Week {2/11-2/17}

Imaginary Amie — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:12:06 +0000

For H.P. Lovecraft superfans: The (animated) Adventures of Lil Cthulhu (above)
"Little Cthulu is hungry after his long nap. What does he do? He eats his followers!"

Our favorite Valentine's love story: Proposal by Infographic

Pretty-pretty: Scans of Vintage Vogue pages from the 50s & 60s

Tail to Tail: Requiem for a Dream in 60 seconds -- with puppets

Life moves pretty fast: Even if you hate that new Ferris commercial, you still need one of these.

"Sorry about Jabba…": Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, retold in Iconoscope!

LOL Fontz: Cats as fonts (Helvetica is ridiculous!)

Monkey cuteness! Capturing zoo close-ups with an iPhone + a mirror