Sintonía de la serie “That 70s Show” (http://www.that70sshow.com/) Aquí se puede ver en Paramount Comedy. Es un tema de Big Star (“In The Street”) versioneada-remodelada por Cheap Trick. De tanto oírla se me ha pegado...
Spector was conducting the musicians for a Ronettes show in San Francisco when he decided to sign the Righteous Brothers, who were on the bill. He then asked Mann and Weil to come up with a hit for them. Bill Medley's impossibly deep intro was the first thing that grabbed listeners. "When Phil played it for me over the phone," Mann recalled, "I said, 'Phil, you have it on the wrong speed!' " Bobby Hatfield was also puzzled by his partner's opening solo: "What do I do while he's singing the entire first verse?" he asked Spector, who answered, "You can go directly to the bank.”
Written by: Phil Spector, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil
Produced by: Spector
Released: Dec. '64 on Philles
Charts: 16 weeks
Top spot: No. 1
In the tradition of Simon & Garfunkel's The Graduate and Cat Stevens' music for Harold and Maude, Sondre Lerche's Dan in Real Life finds the Norwegian sensation lending his coy, almost precious, touch to this movie's soundtrack. Several tracks are plucked from Lerche's back catalogue, including "Modern Nature" (2002's Faces Down), the Elvis Costello-penned "Human Hands" (2006's Duper Sessions), and "Airport Taxi Reception" (2007's Phantom Punch). These and the seven instrumental cue tracks form the matrix surrounding the four originals, among them a smarmy, beautiful duet with Regina Spektor, whose dulcet voice plays ideal foil to Lerche's own. "I'll Be OK" mimics the aw-shucks charisma of every character lead actor Steve Carell plays, offering inspired proof of director Peter Hedges' wisdom in handing the project to Lerche. Elsewhere, a string-heavy cover of Pete Townshend's seminal "Let My Love Open the Door" provides a memorable highlight. Hedges postulates in the liner notes that perhaps the film was made "so more of the world can hear [Lerche's] music," and certainly, this album provides an enticing vehicle for newcomers to his wavering vibrato, saccharine falsetto, and all too genteel songwriting, though existing Lerche fans may lament the relative shortage of new material here. --Jason Kirk (Amazon)
A primera escucha el pophit es “When You Forget”
THe NEw album is done, in the can, ready to go : its called "circular Sounds" which barely defeated "The Glass Moustache" and "Prism Breakout" for new album title. Its gonna be released on February 6th of 2008. AND for the folks in the united kingdom, my group will be winging our way to your shores this fall...we are pleased to announce that we'll be performing a number of shows over 2 weeks in november 2007, to coincide with the release of a new single "YOUR REVERIE" b/w "OWL SERVICE" which will be released by SubPop on 7" vinyl and via I-Tunes on November 5th.
Circular Sounds is set to arrive February 5 via Sub Pop, packing 14 more examples of that signature Stoltz sunshine onto one thin plastic disc. As Stoltz describes it, he's no longer "lo-fi", having embraced what he calls a "mid-hi" aesthetic on the new offering.
"I work in a second-hand record store and that's made me more of a hi-fi advocate," Stoltz explained via press release. "It's hard for me to listen to stuff that was recorded on a cassette player nowadays. By the last record I was mid-fi. I think I'm mid-hi now!"
El clip pertenece a "Ever Thought of Coming Back" by Kelley Stoltz from his album Below the Branches
A partir de ahora se actualizará quizá mucho más el fotolog que este blog (aunque el fotolog sólo te deja una entrada diaria) Por tanto lo mejor es consultar ambos. Respecto a los dos últimos posts del Popchef, he intentado poner comentarios e ignoro porqué, pero Blogia no me deja. Así que los pongo aquí. De Three Hour Tour, la que más me gusta es la canción que da título al lp y respecto a los blogs que cuelgan discos, el de http://kokoro-datamp3.blogspot.com/ es impresionante respecto a las novedades (además con muy buen tino, te remite al myspace/amazon para que lo preescuches. Al final moriremos aplastados por toneladas de mp3s... Quizá tengamos que tener presente que importa más la calidad que la cantidad... Es imposible absorber tal cantidad de novedades.
BY redtunictroll (Cliente de amazon.com)
The Berkeley, California bred Rubinoos produced sweet, hook-filled and harmony-laden pop in an era (the mid-70s) that rock was loud, heavy and taking itself quite seriously. At the time their records didn't achieve the level of acclaim they deserved, but retrospect has brought the missing accolades. The DIY movement at the end of the '70s opened the door, and subsequent power-pop revivals reframed the Rubinoos as a seminal inspiration, alongside their own influences, such as The Beatles and Raspberries. Irregular regroupings to play live and record new CDs have shown their inspiration deepening and their talent expanding.
Their first run found a flash of fame in their second single, a cover of Tommy James "I Think We're Alone Now." Television appearances and teen magazine spreads sustained the enthusiasm for their terrific debut album, but their indie label struggled to keep pace with the momentum. A spellbindingly hook-filled follow-up single ("I Want to Be Your Boyfriend") and a fine second LP put them on the cusp of larger success, but a lack of financing and an untimely distributor problem sabotaged their chances. The band eventually split, with vocalist Jon Rubin and guitarist/songwriter Tommy Dunbar decamping for Los Angeles. A one-off EP produced by Todd Rundgren ("Party of Two") and a movie title theme ("Revenge of the Nerds") led the group to virtual status. Subsequent regroupings have produced occasional reunion shows, a tour of Japan, and a pair of latter-day CDs.
For those late to the party, getting your ears on the band's classic sides has been a frustrating experience. Their eponymous debut was reissued on CD in the late '90s (apparently remastered a quarter-step flat!), and quickly fell from print and into collectordom. Their second LP, "Back to the Drawing Board," was even tougher to find, and their third release, the EP "Party of Two," nearly impossible to catch after its original release. Additional Rubinoos sides that had been scattered on various Berserkley compilations also went MIA. The situation improved when the UK-based Castle Music acquired the Beserkley catalog and issued a 16-track Rubinoos anthology in 2000. And this year the floodgates have broken open with individual reissues of all three original releases (each with bonus tracks), and this extensive 3-CD set.
Unless you plan to pick up everything the Rubinoos have out on CD, this box is what you need. Disc one includes the group's debut single ("Gorilla," a DeFranco Family cover), the first two albums in their entirety (remastered at the correct speed!), and a trio of rarities that include covers of The Strangeloves "Rhythm of Love" and The Paley Brothers "Rendezvous." The original albums retain all the sweetness and light that was so out of place at the time of their recording. Rubin's high-tenor soars on songs of love (often the puppy variety), the harmonies are crisp and bright, and the guitar solos and punchy rhythm are a pop radio dream. "Rendezvous" was remixed from the original multitrack tape and its Wall of Sound is liberated from the cassette mix previously issued on the rarities CD, "Garage Sale."
Disc two adds additional rarities from "Garage Sale" (including a great cover of The Raspberries "Cruisin' Music") and tracks that were demoed for a never-completed third group album. These latter tracks, including "Hurts Too Much" and "Hit the Nerve," are a truer continuation of the earlier albums than the Rundgren-produced "Party of Two" (which was credited as a Rubinoos release, but only included Rubin and Dunbar). Also on the second disc are selections from the group's more recent releases, "Paleophonic," "Crimes Against Music," and "Twist Pop Sin." The all-covers "Crimes" offers up moving versions of The Eurythmics "Thorn in My Side" and Todd Rundgren's "There Goes My Inspiration," and a superb Four Seasons styled take on the obscure Lou Christie tune, "If My Car Could Only Talk."
Disc three features an entire vintage concert, recorded in 1978 at London's Hammersmith Odeon. In addition to Rubinoos originals (including the otherwise unavailable "Hey Royse"), the band reaches back to their roots as a cover band, singing a cappella on "Rockin' in the Jungle," and jamming on bubblegum's national anthem, "Sugar Sugar." The latter even manages to quote "Smoke on the Water" and "Downtown" before invoking an audience sing-along! The show closes with a 6-minute cover of The Seeds "Pushin' Too Hard," and the disc ends with a a cover of "96 Tears." As tightly controlled as the Rubinoos were on disc, they were equally exhilarating on stage, able to reproduce their harmonies in concert and summon up great rock 'n' roll energy.
As a career retrospective, this box set delivers everything you always wanted to know about the Rubinoos. The first two albums are gold, the proposed tracks for the third album in the same league, and the odds 'n' sods better than most bands' finished tracks. The missing Rundgren produced tracks of "Party of Two" never really fit the band's profile, and the additional rarities of "Garage Sale" and "Basement Tapes" are for fans that've fully digested the core catalog. This set is an essential for anyone who loves pure pop music. [©2007 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com]
El lp en el que The Beatles se hicieron llamar Utopia con Todd Ruddgren al frente. Dos Superhits: “I Just Want To Touch You” y “Always Late”
By 1980 Todd & Utopia were sick of thier relationship with Bearsville Records and wanted out of thier contract. So to quickly take care of another "Contractual Obligation" they whipped up this album of Beatles sound-a-likes. I'd like to see the faces of the Bearsville/Warner Brothers executives when they heard the album for the first time!
I remember the LP getting a lot of bad and negative reviews at the time (one said they were aping The Knack this time around), but I loved it. It was ment not only as a record company screwjob but like the Rutles it was also to poke fun of and downplay the Beatles critical imporance in history as "Rock Gods". ("We were just a BAND" - John Lennon)
But this album is far better than the Rutles simple re-writes of Beatles classics. Deface's songs are better written and super-loaded with killer hooks (its also fun to guess "what song is it really?"). Todd's engineering work, which apes George Martin's classic Abbey Road 4-track productions is always stellar.
Instead of sidelong synth art rock as the early Utopia, or AOR rock on "Oops Wrong Planet" and "Adventures in Utopia" did, this album was the beginning of the re-invention of Utopia as a smart Power Pop group - which came to fruition on the S/T "Network Album" and "Obvilion". This is one fun album to fool people with (tell them it's a bootleg) and one of the best offhanded tributes to the Fab 4 ever..
Soul Jazz Records ha ido editando diversas recopilaciones sobre el sonido de Nueva York a finales de los 70 y principios de los 80 bajo el título de New York Noise. Ahora culmina la serie con este libro de fotografías (y algunos textos de famosos de la época)
Aquí podemos ver once fotos que incluye el libro: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/gallery/2007/nov/23/1?picture=331356179
New York Noise brings together the work of Paula Court, the iconic photographer who captured the debauchery, sleaze and art of 1980s New York. Lou Reed, ESG, Richard Hell and George Clinton are just a handful of the musicians who appear in this stunning book of images representing New York’s underground scene, or as David Byrne called it, the 'bohemian living museum'.
“New York was a scary and legendary place and downtown was like a bohemian living museum, which was pretty thrilling for an aspiring artist and musician. It was all very new and exciting, at least for me and it was incredibly funky, the sleaze and poverty were everywhere.”
DAVID BYRNE
This is a unique, luscious large format book from Soul Jazz Records and our first publication. New York Noise features amazing photographs of the New York music and art scene during the 1980s alongside text from some of the most important musicians and artists of the period.
With hundreds of stunning photographs of everyone from Andy Warhol, Africa Bambaataa, Martin Rev, Richard Hell, Lou Reed, Keith Haring, Patti Smith, John Cage, Michael Stipe, Liquid Liquid, Julian Schnabel, Futura 2000, Madonna, Jean Michel Basquiat, ESG and many more the book is a who’s who of New York’s downtown scene during this period..
The book shows how Hip-Hop,Punk, No Wave, Free Jazz, Underground Dance and Experimental music scenes collided with the art world over a ten-year period and captures the vibrancy of this era when everyone in a band was also an artist, every artist was also a film-maker and every film-maker in a band.
Accompanying text by the likes of David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Cindy Sherman, Suicide, Liquid Liquid and many others brilliantly evoke the vibrant New York scene in its heydey and make this a unique product of great beauty and unlike anything else you have seen!
With over 400 images, most of them previously unpublished, this is an essential document of a fascinating era in New York’s music and art scene – a must have for everyone! Hurry, limited quantities.
WARNING: Esta canción (bueno, tema) es una improvisación. Abstenerse buscadores de melodías
Green Peter was originally recorded for a Static Caravan compilation that accompanied an exhibition called Binary Oppositions hosted by the Critic Gallery in Brescia, Italy.
DOWNLOAD BROADCAST - GREEN PETER MP3
The track is not taken from any forthcoming Broadcast release, but was recorded specifically for the Binary Oppositions project which features ten artists living in Birmingham.
Broadcast are currently working on their new album for Warp. http://www.warprecords.com/artists/index.php?artist=bc
Keren Ann has just re-released her self-titled fifth album as a very limited edition featuring 2CDs. The new set features four rare tracks - Silent Night, Manha De Carnaval (Luiz Bonfa), Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen) and Tennessee Waltz (popularized by Patti Page)
Y Aquí tenemos a Keren divirtiéndose con KT Tunstall. Se lo pasan bien, si.
Best Band: 1. Cats on Fire 142. The Lucksmiths 123. Maths and Physics Club 94. California Snow Story 7 The Clientele 75. Tullycraft 66. Pants Yell! 57. Jens Lekman 4 Club 8 4 Love Dance 4 Camera Obscura 4 Moscow Olympics 4 Butcher Boy 4 Soda fountain rag 4 Watoo Watoo 48. My Teenage Stride 3 Days 3 Helen Love 3La Casa Azul 3
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart 3
Best new band in 2007: 1. Moscow Olympics 122. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart 103. Days 84. The School 65. Penny Century 5 Scary Monster 56. Liechtenstein 4 Northern Portrait 4 Strawberry Whiplash 4 The Hermit Crabs 47. Los Campesinos 3 Black Kids 3Butcher Boy 3
Felt Tips 3 Little Name 3 Summer Cats 3 The 500s 3 The Deirdres 3 The Royal We 3 best pop songs: 1. California Snow Story - Suddenly Everything Happens 72. Moscow Olympics - Still 63. Math and Physics Club - Baby I'm Yours 44. Pelle Carlberg - Clever Girls Like Clever Boys More then Clever Boys LikeClever Girls 45. Math and Physics Club - Do You Keep a Diary 3 Jens Lekman - Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo 3 The Hermit Crabs - Feel Good Factor 3 The Honeydrips - (Lack of) Love Will Tear Us Apart 3 The Lucksmiths - Good Light 3 Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - This Love Is Fucking Right 3 Watoo Watoo - Perdu 3 best albums: 1. Cats on Fire - The Province Complains 112. Tullycraft - Every Scene Needs A Center 83. Pants Yell! - Alison Statton 74. California Snow Story - Close to the ocean 6 Butcher Boy - Profit In Your Poetry 6 The Hermit Crabs - Saw You Dancing 6 Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala 6 Love Dance - Result 6 Lucky Soul - The Great Unwanted 65. Club 8 - The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Dreaming 5 Pelle Carlberg - In a Nutshell 5 The Clientele - God Save The Clientele 56. Watoo Watoo - La Fuite 4 Various - Matinee Hit Parade 47. Panda Bear - Person Pitch 3 Penny century - Between a hundred lines 3 Saturday Looks Good To Me - Fill Up The Room 3 Trembling Blue Stars - The Last Holy Writer 3 most amazing live experiences: 1. Jens Lekman 72. Camera Obscura 63. NYC Popfest 54. Cats On Fire 4 The Lucksmiths 4 Matinee 10-year anniversary in Santa Barbara 45. Athens popfest 3 Darren Hanlon 3 Indie Tracks Festival 3 Pelle Carlberg 3 Penny Century 3 Popfest New England 3 best record labels: 1. Matinee 162. Cloudberry 103. Labrador 7 Letterbox 74. Elefant 65. Slumberland 46. Atomic Beat Records 3 Lavender 3 best indie-pop web sites: 1. www.indiepages.com 172. www.twee.net 93. www.indie-mp3.co.uk 7 best paper fanzine or magazine: 1. Bottle Rocket 12 best mail-order: 1. Fraction Discs 112. Poppolar 93. Tonevendor 84. Darla 3 best blog about indiepop: 1. www.indie-mp3.co.uk 162. skatterbrain.org 83. fireescapetalking.blogspot.com 3 heavenisabove.blogspot.com 3 www.indie-mp3.com 3 therainfelldown.blogspot.com 3
Después de leer la crítica de Kiko Amat en el Rock de Lux, me he agenciado el nuevo box set de Stiff Records. No le había prestado atención ya que tenía el primero y no pensaba que hubiera grandes diferencias, pero las hay y vaya si las hay. Sobre todo en su extensión. Este nuevo box set además de incorporar los grandes éxitos del primero, saca a la luz singles más oscuros y entre ellos he descubierto esta gema pop de un grupo australiano costelliano llamado The Sports (menudo cutre nombre; muy nuevaolero si, pero...) Este fue su hit: “Who Listens To The Radio”, una letra no muy profunda si, pero muy nuevaolera...
This girl in her bedroom doing her homework
She's foolin' with the logarithms, she's going berserkOne hand has a cigarette resting on the windowThe other one's twiddling with the radio What did they talk about, the horses drive her nutsNight time, sounds fine - no if's or but'sIt's just some magic, there's still some funIf you don't pay too much attention Who listens to the radio?Who listens to the radio?That's what I'd like to knowWho listens to the radio? Guy's got his transistor wrapped around his earHe listens to the traffic, it's not really clearIt crackles, it clicks, it pops, it startsIt's blastin' out the top forty charts AM or FM, I listen to both of themListening to the radio since I don't know whenIt was so busy, everyone's got somewhere to goIn the background there's always the radio
Siguen con su trilogía: Primero fue “Happyness” (2002), luego “Morehappyness” (2004) y ahora “Little Happyness”... The set was co-produced by Tortoise's John McEntire and Prada designer Fabio Zambernardi. Guests include Dave Rothblatt from the Changes, Geri Soriano-Lightwood of Supreme Beings of Leisure, and "Biker Mice From Mars" voice actress Lisa Zane. No foolin'!
The disc emerges January 15 from Minty Fresh Records.
Little Happyness:
01 Milligram of Happiness
02 Post It
03 Beautiful Eyes
04 Lovely Day
05 Headphones
06 Paper Crowns (Runaway Bride)
07 Checking Out
08 Atlantis
09 Note to Self
10 Think of the Boy
11 The World Doesn't Spin on Us MP3: The Aluminum Group: Headphones [from the Little Happyness LP]
01 BMX Bandits – Take me to Heaven
02 Richard Hawley - Tonight The Streets Are Ours
03 Nick Lowe – People Change
04 Future Pilot AKA – Changes
05 The Singles – Summer
06 The Pearlfishers – The Umbrellas of Shibuya
07 Amy Winehouse – Love is a Losing Game
08 Dylan Modegreen – That Mortal Kiss
09 Vasthi Bunyan – Coldest Night of The Year
10 The Honeydrips – Ah Karolin
11 Catherine Howe - Nothing More Than Strangers
12 club 8 - whatever you want
13 The Clientele - Dreams of Leaving
14 Cat Power – Stuck Inside of Mobile with The Memphis Blues Again
15 Rilo Kiley – Breakin Up
16 Jens Lekman - If I Could Cry (It Would Feel Like This
17 Cats On Fire - Mesmer and reason
18 Arcade Fire – No Cars Go
19 Montt Mardie – Birthday Boy
20 Burial - Archangel
St. Christopher's "Lost At Sea" is out now! At last! The long awaited retrospective album from St. Christopher is out! It includes all the recordings they made for the legendary Sarah Records. Includes liner notes by Mateo Guiscafré from Siesta Records! Lost at Sea (2007)
01: You Deserve More Than A Maybe
02: The Kind Of Girl
03: The Summer You Love
04: All Of A Tremble
05: My Fortune
06: The Hummingbird
07: Antoinette
08: Salvation
09: Say Yes To Everything
10: It's Snowing On The Moon
11: A Prayer For The Sea
12: The Thrill Of The New
13: And I Wonder
14: Almost December
15: She Can Wait Forever
16: Who's Next On Cupid's Hit-List
17: The Love Of A Sister
18: Gabriel
Who´s in your Dream”; menudo hit. Caramelo pop con distorsión. Ep en Matinee
Merge editará en Marzo un box set (3 cds) de una banda favorita del popchef durante los 80: Big Dipper:Big Dipper are reuniting with the original line-up for a few very special shows in April! The dates land just as we prepare to release Supercluster: The Big Dipper Anthology! The 3-CD set will be available in stores on March 18, 2008!
04.24.2008 * Hoboken NJ @ Maxwell's
04.25.2008 * Brooklyn NY @ Southpaw
04.26.2008 * Cambridge MA @ Middle East Downstairs
For now, download "She's Fetching" HERE!
Esto es lo que dice allmusic de ellos:
A great band that never quite fulfilled their enormous potential, Boston's Big Dipper had impeccable indie credentials and an excellent line in crunchy post-post-punk guitar pop, but their later albums were no match for their early work.
Big Dipper was formed in 1985 when guitarist Gary Waleik and bassist Steve Michener left the original lineup of Volcano Suns, which they'd formed with drummer and vocalist Peter Prescott after the breakup of Prescott's earlier band Mission of Burma. Both uncomfortable with the idea of taking lead vocal chores, Waleik and Michener recruited singer/guitarist Bill Goffrier, who had moved to Boston after his former band, the Lawrence, KS-based indie pioneers the Embarrassment, had split up in 1983. Completing their lineup with local drummer Jeff Oliphant (formerly in an early lineup of Dumptruck), Big Dipper gigged around Boston and Cambridge for a while before recording their first EP, 1987's Boo-Boo, at the soon-to-be-famous Fort Apache Studios. Leading off with the killer "Faith Healer" (a song Goffrier had brought with him from the final days of the Embarrassment that would prove to be one of Big Dipper's most popular tunes, even getting covered by Shonen Knife), Boo-Boo was well-received on both the local and national indie scenes. Later the same year, the full-length Heavens was released (with no overlap from the EP, which was included on the CD issue) to even greater acclaim. An excellent synthesis of sunny power pop, neo-psychedelia, and indie rock angst featuring gems like "She's Fetching" and "All Going Out Together," Heavens is one of the finest American indie albums of its era.
Unfortunately, 1988's Craps is a comparatively weaker effort, with less sharp songwriting and a more sedate vibe. (Goffrier at this point was dividing his time between Big Dipper and a temporary Embarrassment reunion, which might account for his less striking contributions.) After that release, Big Dipper surprisingly signed with Epic Records. Like their Boston compatriots O-Positive, who had signed with the same label around the same time, Big Dipper's one and only major-label release is a major disappointment; 1990's Slam features far-too-slick production, with intrusive brass sections and too much emphasis on the rhythm section. Demoralized by the lack of critical and popular success for the album, Big Dipper broke up shortly thereafter. Michener moved to California and briefly worked with Barbara Manning before retiring from music to become a nurse. Other than the short-lived supergroup Crush, Sr., which released one album in 1993, Waleik also retired, becoming a producer for National Public Radio.
Preciosa recopilación y llenas de curiosidades y versiones (desde Bryan Ferry a Satie, pasando por Undertones, Altered Images, Smog, Ultra Vivid Scene o Magnetic Fields). El texto que sigue es de allmusic:
Collecting a variety of singles that appeared on the Morr-affiliated label of the same name, A Number of Small Things makes for a mixed but overall quite enjoyable collection of songs very much in the Morr vein — sweet, wistful, often electronic-friendly, and not a little derived from general indie pop and shoegaze aesthetics. Cover versions turn up throughout the collection — Seavault, a collaboration between isan's Antony Ryan and Slowdive veteran Simon Scott, offer up a few, including Ultra Vivid Scene's "Mercy Seat" (given a sweetly majestic take not far removed from the original) and the Undertones' "Teenage Kicks" — isan themselves offer up interpretations of Erik Satie's famous Gymnopedie sequence — while Masha Qrella has her way with a quietly chugging take on Bryan Ferry's "Don't Stop the Dance." Elsewhere, the duo of Markus Acher and Valerie Trebeljahr — wittily titled John Yoko — do a version of Smog's "Morning Paper" that in its grace and charm outdoes the original. Various songs are straight-up sparkling and winsome guitar pop of the kind that eventually gave "twee" a fairly bad name — nothing against the work of acts like Butcher the Bar per se; it's just that they bring nothing new to the field. More energetic efforts come courtesy of Electric President, whose "I'm Not the Lonely Son (I'm the Ghost)" benefits from a crackling shuffle of a rhythm, and B. Fleischman's exquisite electronic construction "Broken Monitors," which somehow manages to call to mind both OMD at their most experimental and Simple Minds at their most instrumentally precise, a triumph that never shouts out loud. Meanwhile, Populous' "Blood Red Bird" does the remarkable in sounding like later-period piano-driven Cocteau Twins musically while not trying to sound like them at all vocally — points for credit there alone, frankly.