Music

Stateless

Stateless: Soulful, Worldly Electro-Rock

On its second full-length, Britain’s Stateless bridges disparate genres with surprising ease. Its sound, at once indefinable and all-encompassing, gathers elements of R&B, dubstep, electronic rock, and more, and mixes them organically with the help of collaborators like DJ Shadow.

The Dears

Pop Addict: The Dears’ Degeneration Street

Every Thursday, Pop Addict presents infectious tunes from contemporary musicians across indie rock, pop, folk, electronica, and more.

The Dears: Degeneration StreetThe Dears: Degeneration Street (Dangerbird, 2/15/11)

The Dears: “Blood”

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Following its 2006 tour in support of Gang of Losers, the existence of Montreal indie-rock band The Dears was questionable at best.  A relentless touring and recording schedule fueled tensions within the band, and, despite its success in Canada and abroad, it fractured.

However, lead vocalist and songwriter Murray Lightburn and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak pushed forward, recording the stripped-down Missiles in 2008.  Now it looks to stabilize a relatively rocky period in its 15-year history with its new album, Degeneration Street.

The Dears’ fifth album, Degeneration Street is a reunion of sorts. Guitarists Patrick Krief and Robert Benvie, who departed following the Gang of Losers tour, have returned, as has early-era bassist, Roberto Arquilla. With newcomer Jeff Luciani on drums, this is arguably its most stable lineup in years.

Rachel Goodrich

Q&A: Rachel Goodrich

Rachel Goodrich: Rachel GoodrichRachel Goodrich: Rachel Goodrich (self-released, 2/21/11)

Rachel Goodrich: “Na Na Na”

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About two-thirds through her self-titled sophomore album, Rachel Goodrich devotes an entire track — 38 seconds to be exact — to boasting from the perspective of a thugged-out prehistoric reptile. “I was hanging out with my sister, and I had just got this T-shirt, and it had a dinosaur on it wearing a gangster chain,” the singer/songwriter says.

“So it became the ‘Gangsta Dinosaur.’ My sister was the first member of my band when I was seven years old. I don’t know, we like to mess around, so we kind of came up with that line: ‘I’m a little gangsta dinosaur,’ and she would go, ‘Bam ba ba bam ba ba.’ I just thought to myself, ‘That is brilliant.’ So I was home, bored, one day and turned on my computer and shuffled up a beat. It was awesome. Originally, it was just for fun, and then I showed [producer] Greg Wells and a couple other people, and they were saying, ‘This has to go on the record.’ And I’m like, ‘Nuh-uh. This does not belong on the record.’ And they said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to put it on there.’ I just went with it.”

Though a song like “G-Dino” isn’t the best of example of Goodrich’s typical vaudeville-pop aesthetic — which uses ukuleles, kazoos, whistles, xylophones, and rhythms that range from swing to mariachi and jazz pop — it adequately represents her playfulness. Having recently moved to Los Angeles, the former Miami native took a few minutes out of her day to talk about her Tinker Toys follow-up, ladybug costumes, and inspirational adventures.

How has living in LA been treating you thus far?

I’ve been here for about a month and a half. It’s groovy, you know. It’s not too bad. It’s a little cooler out here — less humidity. I love Miami, though; don’t get me wrong. I’ll always miss Miami. It’s a great place to go back to.

What prompted the move?

A really strong cup of coffee and good conversation. I don’t know. It was right before a rehearsal, and I was hanging out with my band, and we were just talking. We love traveling, and we love going on tour, and we were talking about just leaving Miami, and so we did it. We just decided to go.

The Church

Concert Photos: The Church @ Park West (Chicago, IL)

Australian rock band The Church formed in 1980, making its current US tour a 30th-anniversary celebration. The “Future Past Perfect” tour finds the quartet performing three full albums each night: Untitled #23, Priest=Aura, and Starfish. If you’re unfamiliar with the band, you’ll probably recognize its biggest hit, “Under the Milky Way,” which cracked the US charts in the late ’80s. Photographer Drew Reynolds attended the show at Park West in Chicago and captured these great images of the band.

The Church

Animals As Leaders

Concert Photos: Animals As Leaders

Begun as a solo project that highlighted guitarist Tosin Abasi‘s unmistakable shredding, Animals as Leaders released its debut album via Prosthetic Records in April of 2009, emitting progressive instrumentals with tasteful ambient and electronic undertones.  The group, now a trio, currently is touring the country with Thursday and Underoath, and ALARM contributing photographer David Summers recently joined them on some Midwest dates to grab some shots — in Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Detroit from February 9-12.


Animals As Leaders

Animals As Leaders

Mystery Train Records

Behind the Counter: Mystery Train (Gloucester, MA)

Each week, Behind the Counter speaks to an independent record store to ask about its recent favorites, best sellers, and noteworthy trends.

For Gloucester, MA-based Mystery Train Records, vinyl is the name of the game — it always has been and probably always will be. In fact, the store doesn’t order any new records. If you’re in the area and want to thumb through some carefully selected records — and maybe unearth a true vintage gem or two — look no further. We spoke with one of Mystery Train’s employees, Tim, and he gave us the lowdown on how the Train just keeps on runnin’.

Tim holds The Rock Ensemble 77's Faces
Tim holds The Rock Ensemble 77's Faces

What are the origins of Mystery Train?

Mystery Train began 30 years ago in Harvard Square, Cambridge selling only used vinyl (CDs did not exist), expanded over the years to five stores, then settled back to one large (most vinyl in New England) store in Gloucester, MA. Jack Evans, who originated the business, is now partners with Tim who will continue to focus on providing interesting vinyl for current and future generations of record fiends.