Beirut’s Zach Condon is determined to go global. For the band’s newest EP, March of the Zapotec, Condon traveled to Mexico to partner up with mariachi ensemble Banda Jimenez from Teotitlan del Valle. The result is a rather stunning mix of trumpet, percussion, and Condon’s haunting vocals.

For the video “La Llorona,” a black dog wanders around a small Mexican pueblito, encountering members of Banda Jimenez as well as witnessing a church fire. The imagery and feel of smudged paintings give the video a surreal effect, which is appropriate considering the tale of La Llorona is of a woman who killed her children and then herself to be with the man she wanted, only to be rejected by him. Cold.

And, Oakland’s been a roll this week: “La Llorena” was animated and directed by artist Owen Cook. We can’t wait to see what the video for “The Akara” may look like if Cook decides to illustrate it.

Beirut – “La Llorona”

Tripwire photographer Sarahana has a great music blog, and one of the regular features is a series of mini musical documentaries she calls the Secret Garden. For this very special installment, Sarahana gave us the exclusive to her video of the angelic-voiced, rising folk artist Sharon Van Etten singing “Keep” from her upcoming album, Because I Was in Love


Words and video by Sarahana

When twenty-eight-year-old Sharon Van Etten sings, her voice feels like a timeless story you’d read from a musty book, colored yellow with age. In some way, this voice is emblematic of the ultimate form of feminine heroism because it attains its unbreakable might by confronting its deepest wounds and vulnerabilities; its strength is that it is unafraid of its weakness.

With this kind of prowess up her sleeve, Sharon has been steadily winning the attention of everyone’s who’s crossed her path. It still feels like she remains one of the most overlooked jewels of new music, but that should be expected to change soon with the proper release of her stunning debut, Because I Was in Love, out on May 26 through Language of Stone Records.

The recent release of a music video for “For You”, directed by the seasoned Michael Palmieri (Foo Fighters, The New Pornographers), and opening sets for prominent bands such as Beirut and Great Lake Swimmers have already earned Sharon new praises from tastemakers outside the comfort zone of Brooklyn, the musical savvy borough that has been a kind home to her since leaving New Jersey, where she’s originally from, and Tennessee, where she spent several years growing up.

Before she embarked on her European tour, we visited Sharon at her apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where she performed “Keep”, taken from her upcoming album, Because I Was in Love.

It begins with the dry, uneven rumble of a bass drum. It’s a simple sound, uncompressed and clear. Years ago, the drum was probably covered in bright colors, but the paint is all faded now. You could sit there all day listening to that bass drum.

La Strada hail from New York, but adapt what they call old-world instrumentation (meaning accordion and strings) to their laid-back folk songs. The result lies somewhere between a sea chanty and a Beirut song, but it is some of the best folk-pop music this side of The Decemberists.

The songs are carnival-esque at times, majestic at others, and mostly addictive. Mostly. Opener “Orphan” with its lullaby tempo and saccharine lyrics “Wake up, you silly / Shake your sleepy head,” is a little too pretty, a little too cute. But this artificial sweetness is cut short by the salty wheeze of the accordion on the anthemic “Sun Song”, which escalates into a march while lead vocalist James Craft’s fragile tones climb higher, summitting on the glorious sentence every teenager in America longs to hear: “You’re 21!” This is where the real meat of the record lies: in La Strada’s talent for melody, their odd sense of humor, and their ability to surprise.

Ernest Jenning Record Co.

Dent May and his Magnificent Ukulele is quite a delicious listen, he plays tuneful ukulele-drenched retro pop that will definitely be appealing to any fans of Jens Lekman, Beirut or Sufjan Stevens. His music is a melting pot of influences mainly from the 50s drawing from vintage doo-wop, Tropicália, and a classic American crooner sensibility that is reminiscent of Glenn Campbell.

The Feel Good Music of Dent May is a perfect name for the album. Every song has a sunny ukulele composition and simple yet endearing lyrics that, when augmented by a band, produces a wonderfully laid back vibe. What better way to kick off such an accessible album than a song called “Welcome”? An acapella number where Dent May introduces you to his album and it’s themes, it’s a warm welcome that flows perfectly in to “Meet Me At The Garden” — which is one of the strongest and most charming songs on the record with it’s maracas, ukulele and marimba vibe. “Oh Paris” has Dent adding some horns to the mix, creating a quirky marching band quality that when incorporated with the ukulele and background shooby doobies, generates an appealing backdrop for his thoughtful croon of “I finally know/ That I belong here in this world.” In the bluesy, doo-wop number “Girls On The Square”, dual electric guitars solo together in Queen-like fashion that oddly meshes quite well with the melodramatic vocals of the song. “God Loves You Michael Chang” and “I’m An Alcoholic” are humorous songs that shows Dent’s funny-side and his ability to weave them into his delivery in a thoughtful manner.

Admittedly, the use of the ukulele does get a little repetitive by the end of the album, but the charming quality of Dent May’s composition holds my interest through the full CD. He definitely has a unique style that is as quirky as a Wes Anderson film. For those of you looking for a little feel good music to cheer you up, Dent May has revitalized the classic American crooner for the 21st century and given it a geeky hipster edge that makes this an extremely delightful listen.

Paw Tracks

All Tomorrow’s Parties’ two UK weekend festivals are starting to take shape as more bands were added to both line-ups today, including Health to ATP’s Fans Strike Back weekend and CSS to the ATP UK weekend curated by The Breeders.

The Fans Strike Back takes place May 8-10 at Butlins Holiday Resort in Minehead, England, and already features Devo, Antipop Consortium and Beirut, among others. (You can check out the full line-up here.) The latest addition to the roster includes Health, Shearwater, The Acorn and The Pink Mountaintops.

The second ATP UK weekend, curated by is one week later, May 15-17, also at Butlins Resort in Minehead. CSS and Supersuckers have been added to a line-up that already included Foals, Throwing Muses and Bon Iver.

For more information on ticket ordering, head over to ATP, and expect to be out around $300. And if you can’t justify international travel to see a good gig, there’s always ATP New York 2009, happening in September and curated by The Flaming Lips.

Maybe I’ve been listening to too much bedroom electro these days, or maybe it’s all that’s released anymore. You know the kind: dude or gal wears cool sneakers, has a MIDI controller or maybe a synth modulator, sits on his/her Macbook sampling programmed drums and software synths and creates various sounds until something resembling a song emerges. Now this isn’t always a bad thing. Independent recording is often unfettered and honestly inspired. But it’s hard not to think that this particular sound is becoming a dime a dozen. Honestly, I don’t even know how to describe it anymore. Half of the problem is that the instrumentation is not produced by instruments, but by midi controllers synthetically conveying quasi-instrumental sounds. And I can only think of so many synonyms for “synth line” and “driving bass.”

So: Alaska In Winter, which began as the project of Brandon Bethancourt, who fled the warmth of New Mexico to a remote Alaskan cabin to escape the trappings of everyday life. Sounds familiar, very familiar. The product of this time resulted in Dance Party In The Balkans. But this is the sophomore release and mountainous terrain and frigid weather are no longer our soundscape; instead, Holiday soundtracks the Berlin haus-muzik scene. Yet, this album feels like an odd fusion of the two: the drive of German-electro and the sunless depression of Alaska. Opening with the slight strumming of “We Are Blind & Riding the Merry-Go-Round”, the murky vocals wail over drab melodies, accurately setting the precedent for the album’s tone. Soon, the down-tempo opener fades and in comes the album’s insistent lead-single and best track “Berlin”.

In the majority of cases, Bethancourt’s vocals spout out anguish-ridden lyrics that are half-inane/half-maudlin: “my speed boat goes faster than yours”, “she’s dying in my arms”. The music is too often depressing without being beautiful and too often slow without a direction. Sure, “Highlander Pt.1” is a lovely contemplation of failed love and Kyra LaMariana’s voice (who, along with Naila Dixon have replaced Heather Trost as the female voice of Alaska In Winter for this record) adds a captivating intimacy, but the tempo soon picks up and all evocation is lost. It’s as if you’re hearing an acoustic Sigur Ros show and suddenly Tom Waits decides to take the second verse. Holiday truly reaches its nadir during the three-part “Streetgang” which drags along despondently boasting an excruciatingly slow drum line complimented by an onerous bass. Even the cameos from Zach Condon of Beirut can’t save this one.

Now, bedroom electro is a genre that is well and good. It bridges the gap between the precocious artist who can’t afford real studio time and the subpar one who can. But it necessarily means a singular focus which too often means a singular sound and musicianship that is sterile and automated. When timing is so perfected that it feels predictable, it’s time to add some viscera or spontaneity in the mix. Also, it doesn’t help that Holiday is as uplifting as a coronary heart disease.

Milan Records