Jam of the day: "Rag to a Bull"

Artist: Mariage Blanc
Song: "Rag to a Bull"
Album: Mariage Blanc
Released: November 16, 2010 (nationally), October 8, 2010 (Pittsburgh)

Come on out to the Brillobox tomorrow (Friday) night to catch Mariage Blanc playing some tunes from their new, self-titled LP. There's a cover story in this week's City Paper that details the technical struggles the band overcame to even release this album, in addition to the differences between this and their previous release, the Broken Record EP, in terms of instrumentation, collaboration, recording style, etc. It's a good read; check it out and kudos to Andy Mulkerin for his writing. Local musician extraordinaire David Bernabo also posted a slick-as-all-hell review of the album on his blog; check that out here.

So what's my take? This album is well thought out, perfectly planned, and rewarding upon multiple listens. There's something about the way that the guitar layers play off each other without devolving into chaos nor predictability, and the way that the subtle drum beats drive the novel lyrical constructions that just makes the whole thing incredibly listenable. I was lucky enough to snag an advanced copy of the files for this one (thanks Josh!) and have listened to it every other day for the last couple of weeks striving to find something meaningful to say about this record; it's not broken, for sure, yet it's not earth-shattering. I don't know what else to say except that it's really, really good. It has literally left my speechless in the sense that I can't describe it to you in any meaningful way; I'd much prefer to share a set of headphones with you, spin this record, and stare at each other the whole way through as we nod our heads and say, "Yeah, I dig this." Apologies for being entirely inarticulate about it, but you should really blame Mariage Blanc for that. And you should do that in person, tomorrow night. See you there.

This particular track exhibits the kind of lyrical talent I was referring to above, as well as the switcheroo from softish, keyboard-led chamber pop to some solid guitar- and bass-driven melodies. It's delectable either way.

Concert review: Meeting of Important People

Meeting of Important People
Saturday July 24, 2010 at Thunderbird Cafe
with Leigh, Paul

This was truly "an evening with MOIP". The local trio played an expansive set of songs-- both originals and covers--including an acoustic session in the middle and completely reaffirmed everything I enjoy about their music and live show. Their songs cover a fairly wide range of subgenres within the pop/rock realm, and individual songs can showcase several of those at the same time. It was particularly nice to see them strip down their sound for the acoustic songs and not lose any of the essential elements of their songcrafting skills. They even played a few covers of other local bands (Lohio and Boca Chica, from what I remember, maybe others).

This was my first time at the Thunderbird, actually. The front bar area had a bunch of stools, a few small tables, and a billiards table and jukebox off in a separate section. There was a decent tap and bottle selection, too, and not too expensive. I'll be looking out for more shows there in the future. The music stage was up a small set of stairs and set off against a painted brick background. Facing that, up another half stairwell, was a section of chairs and tables but that was already completely full of people by the time we got there. Also, it was absolutely pouring out and Leigh and I had walked there from the bus stop at Penn & Main, so we were completely soaked. I think my shoes and socks were still soggy when we left!

We ended up watching most of the show standing towards the middle/back of the area on the stage level, which was a good vantage point for me, at least. They played all of the songs on the new EP, most from the previous self-titled album, a few standard covers they've played at live shows before, and some new (to me) covers. All in all, it was an incredible display of musicianship and stage presence. I will always see these guys play when I can. I was sad to miss their show at the Andy Warhol museum the following week since I was out of town, but they are playing a show at the Brillobox on September 4th!

And shhhh you can download the new EP on their Bandcamp page. In the meantime, their "record label" Authentik Artists (which actually only controls the digital realm, interestingly, leaving CDs and vinyl to the band) has managed to get the new album featured on Spinner Magazine's New Releases page and on the iTunes main page! Fucking awesome! Hope this gives them some much deserved national exposure.

One last anecdote: they gave out free CD copies of the Quit Music EP at the show and I took one and put it in my shorts pocket on the way home and promptly ran that pair thru the laundry without noticing the CD was in it!? The nice CD sleeve was totally ruined, but the CD itself is still good.


Manny Theiner article in the Post-Gazette about the band
Album review by Speed of Pgh Sound
Interview with lead singer Josh in the City Paper
Review of the Warhol museum show the next week by Draw Us Lines