ALARM

Girl Talk: All Day

Zach Hill’s hyper-color video for “Second Life”

Morrow vs. Hajduch: Chicago Odense Ensemble

Scott Morrow is ALARM’s music editor. Patrick Hajduch is a very important lawyer. Each week they debate the merits of a different album.

Chicago Odense Ensemble: s/t (Adluna)

Chicago Odense Ensemble: “Soup”
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Hajduch: Chicago Odense Ensemble is the latest foray of Rob Mazurek (Exploding Star Orchestra, Chicago Underground, Isotope 217) into large-group jazz fusion. He’s brought along some of his previous collaborators (Jeff Parker and Dan Bitney of Tortoise and Isotope 217; Matt Lux, also of Isotope 217) as well as some fresh faces (Jonas Munk and Jakob Skøtt of European psych band Causa Sui and percussionist Brian Keigher).

Joanna Wecht: The Drive-by Truckers concert poster

Posters & Packaging: Joanna Wecht’s New Feminism

In an art field dominated primarily by men, Joanna Wecht’s work stands out not just because it is eye-catching and full of wit, but also because it has a gender. Wecht exclusively integrates both women and the concept of femininity into her alluring designs.

Jorge Chamorro: Exercising Freedom with Graphic Design

Spanish artist Jorge Chamorro‘s past jobs have shaped him to value art for enjoyment and personal expression rather than the corporate mindset of making for profit. His artwork embodies simplicity and personal creativity, with surrealist images drawing similarities to Salvador Dali.

Podcast for This Week’s Best Albums: November 16, 2010

The Groove Seeker: Free Moral Agents’ Control This

On a weekly basis, The Groove Seeker goes in search of killer grooves across rock, funk, hip hop, soul, electronic music, jazz, fusion, and more.

Free Moral Agents: Control This (Chocolate Industries, 10/12/2010)

Free Moral Agents: “North Is Red”

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Mars Volta fans know Isaiah “Ikey” Owens as a master keyboardist, also lending his talents to the related experimental dub/reggae side project De Facto. But Owens’ own one-time side project, Free Moral Agents, has transformed into a full-time band with a second studio release, Control This. Though his musical associations are enough to give him reputable standing as a versatile and adaptable session player, Free Moral Agents is far from sounding like a complex math-rock outfit.

The band’s music is, however, complex in its own way. Control This is an omnivorous kind of record — as diverse as it is visionary — and is comfortable in taking on different musical personas at once. Over a combination of ambient pop and trip hop, crunchy guitar riffs and avant-garde fusion motifs construct a critical foreground, and the esoteric vocals of Mendee Ichikawa make for a strong and fitting melodic element.

The Octopus Project preps tour finale, releases video

The Octopus Project: “Fuguefat” (Hexadecagon, Polyvinyl, 10/26/10)

The Octopus Project: “Fuguefat” (Hexadecagon, Polyvinyl, 10/26/10)

Austin-based four-piece The Octopus Project has spent the fall co-headlining a US tour with Polyvinyl’s newest signing, STRFKR.

The band recently performed in Mexico City as part of the Sonorama Festival, and is now set to play two homecoming shows in Texas with the Hexadecagon set-up first debuted at SXSW.

Watch a trailer for the eight-speaker, eight-video-projection, surround-sound monster below.

Behind the Counter: Rhino Records & The Mad Platter (Claremont, CA)

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

ALARM recently spoke with Dennis Callaci, general manager of the Inland Empire-based Rhino Records and The Mad Platter, about the sisterly record stores and the potential correlation between UFOs, Jim Morrison, and Vietnam (hint: he’s not interested). To kick off the Q&A, here’s a photo of Mad Platter employee Jonny holding his favorite record.

Aesop Rock: “Boisco”

Guest Spots: The Dismemberment Plan’s top Gladys Knight songs

The Dismemberment Plan: “Academy Award (Cex Remix)” (A People’s History of the Dismemberment Plan, DeSoto, 10/6/03)

The Dismemberment Plan: “Academy Award (Cex Remix)”

Travis Morrison of The Dismemberment Plan is a huge Gladys Knight fan. Though his band’s dance-punk sound doesn’t overtly reflect Knight’s timeless recordings with The Pips, some influences are a bit more subtle. Below, Morrison shares five of his favorite Gladys Knight songs. And in case you were wondering, yes, The Dismemberment Plan is back together. The band is set to tour the US in support of Barsuk’s upcoming vinyl re-release (1/11/11) of the 1999 album Emergency & I.

1. “Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)”

Such a great description of shared heartbreak, shared failure at love. I always loved songs that never placed blame when things went wrong. Kind of a companion song to “It’s Too Late” by Carole King. But in this song, the narrator is still in the mix, still not quite giving up. It usually makes me tear up — takes me back to a few situations in my life, I admit.

Concert Photos: Caribou @ Abart (Zurich, Switzerland)

Contributing photographer Wallo Villacorta attended the recent Caribou show in Zurich, Switzerland and captured these amazing shots of the band. Dan Snaith and company are currently selling out the majority of their dates on a lengthy world tour set to culminate in Perth, Australia in February of 2011. Catch the live, electronic-based mayhem while you can, and stay tuned for more overseas photography from Villacorta.