GFP Live - Matt Jones footage

So I have some behind the scenes footage, but I thought I'd post this little video that I found floating around on YouTube of footage from our first ever GFP showcase here in Brooklyn, featuring Matt Jones. This is a song called "Hand Out the Drugs." The sound quality isn't the best, but I think the video does a nice job of showing how intimate and warm the show was.

Best Albums of 2009

As you might be able to tell by our lack of posting, we were hard at work over the holidays putting together our end of the year lists. Today is the first of three lists - our Best Albums of 2009 list. So in no particular order, we present them to you:
 

The Antlers - Hospice
This intensely beautiful, heart-wrenching album is full of more tragedy than we would hope any one person would experience in a lifetime, much less a person of front man and writer Pete Silberman's young age. Hospice launched The Antlers to indie fame this year, and deservedly so. The haunting melodies strike us deeply in our cores and stay with us long after we've listened to them. Not that it's ever that long between listens, since the album has pretty much been on repeat on our playlists since it first came out in March.
Sylvia [mp3] - (iTunes)

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

This anticipated album encompassed ingenious songcraft, never-ending unwinding textural and melodic flourishes, languid beatuy and sweeping rhythmic cavorts that cut to the center of any listener's ear. With painstaking attention to detail, Veckatimest soared above any fears of overproduction and swooped right into the land of absolute prowess.

Passion Pit - Manners
In a year stockpiled with celebrity deaths, who anticipated that Stanley Kubrick would be resurrected to orchestrate the best indie-pop album of 2009? Every moment of Manners contains a purposely placed hook - Kids singing! Catchy synth lines! A horn section! - but the album would amount to nothing more than a dizzying Go Team! disciple if not for the pitch-perfect layering of Michael Angelakos' heartfelt falsetto. Without it, Manners - and Passion Pit by proxy - would be an indistinguishable novelty act instead of a polished pop catharsis.
The Reeling [mp3] - (iTunes)

Matt Jones - The Black Path

We wrote about this album back in 2008, but it didn't technically come out until 2009, so we're going to write about it again because it's that good. Simply put, Matt Jones is a one-of-a-kind genius and this orchestral folk album is full of gorgeous, rich instrumentation and complex, deeply expressive lyrics. Matt Jones' music and unique voice are truly mesmerizing.

Waltzing With Lady Dawn [mp3] - (iTunes)

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
While they've been on the music scene for a while, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was the album that really put French band Phoenix on the map. With catchy hits like "Lisztomania" and "1901," they rocketed through the indie masses alongside the album's vivid revivalist melodies and danceable indie-pop beats. A small smear of brit-pop shoegaze added for fun and the love for the film Breakfast Club that was reignited made this album a clear standout in 2009.

Metric - Fantasies

Emily Haines always manages to create songs that are simultaneously melancholy or nostalgic and yet are awesome dance songs. You can rock out, yet feel an incredible emotional pull, and the songs are so catchy that they'll stay in your head for hours. Fantasies is no exception to this rule, and "Help I'm Alive" has not-so-slowly risen to be one of our most-played songs this year.

St. Vincent - Actor
St. Vincent's sophomore album, inspired, she says, by Prince, can take a little warming up to at first. Her songs are complex and many of them can't truly be appreciated on the first listen. But the more you listen to it, the more masterful layers you discover and the more you appreciate this virtuoso. Rocking guitar harmonics burst forth from fluttering wind instruments and St. Vincent integrates these two contrasting sounds flawlessly, even within the same song.

White Rabbits - It's Frightening

This percussion-driven band became a sensation this year with their aptly named, explosive "Percussion Gun." But these are no one hit wonders - their album was full of other good, very catchy, rumbling, crashing, banging, tapping songs. And while it might be easy for a band with such a focus on percussion to get in a rut where all their music sounds the same, they've managed to utilize a nice variety of sounds and genres, while still maintaining a cohesiveness over the entire album.

Florence and the Machine - Lungs
Florence's powerful, rich voice and epically dramatic music make her debut album Lungs a force to reckon with, alternating between dark and stormy, with drums booming and her imposing vocals, and then flowery and romantic with plucky harps. But no matter what the style, the album never loses the dramatic flare that hooks you within the first few bars.

Discovery - LP

The brainchild of Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles, this debut album, which was recorded over the course of three and a half years, makes for an unique and pleasantly intriguing experience. Inventive beats, playful rhythms and slick rushes of harmonious vocals dapple throughout this album, producing indie electro-pop at its finest.

Fanfarlo - Reservoir
Reservoir is a package full of odds and ends that takes a while to unpack. The British sextet has created a well-crafted propulsive album that will make you laugh, cry, dance, sway or stand still in total revelry all within the same album. Their music has a warmth to it that is downright lovely. The exquisite instrumentation and lead singer Simon's distinct, cozy voice is enough to warrant more than a couple rounds of continuous listens.

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

It's perplexing that an album translating to "Please Killer Whale" would lead Brooklyn's experimental class into the pop realm this year (along with Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear). Differentiating this effort from its Yale-crested musical-composition predecessors are the hooks. That's right: hooks. "Stillness is the Move" is an outright jam - not just by Dirty Projectors' standards, but by Left Eye Lopez (R.I.P.) standards. It might have been the track of 2009 that best defined the shift (for those aforementioned bands) from strictly creating songs principled in deconstructionist methodology towards a welcomed practice of lavishing in mind-bending indie hymnals, i.e., running the musical gamut - in styles, genres, tempos, key/time signatures - during every featured track on the album.

The XX - XX
This debut album blew everyone away, with many describing it as downright perfect or fantastically innovative. Pitchfork called it "so fully formed and thoughtful that it feels like three or four lesser, noisier records should have preceded it." Indeed, it was a perfectly executed product from the London band of 20-somethings, with quiet instrumentation full of purpose and lyrics riddled with poignancy.

Elizabeth and the Catapult - Taller Children

Elizabeth & the Catapult's sassy debut album that juxtaposes the freedoms of youth and the responsibilities of growing up is a delightful listen from beginning to end - with bubbly, bouncy child-like songs such as "Race You" to the serious Leonard Cohen cover of "Everybody Knows," it's a well-rounded album and a very solid debut indeed.

Momma's Boy [mp3] - (iTunes)

Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
Comprised of star players like M. Ward (She & Him), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes), Monsters of Folk ventures into lands of varied and weathered styles, delivering quality and seamless song-work amongst the loose sea of rock-folk acoustic guitars and lush harmonies. Conor Oberst pens GFP writer Diana's favorite lyric of the year in "Temazcal," summing up a relationship that was never meant to be in less than 10 words: "love we made at gunpoint wasn't love at all."

Reminder! First GFP showcase Dec. 5th!

Here's a reminder that our first ever Guilt Free Pleasures showcase is THIS SATURDAY, Dec. 5th, here in Brooklyn:

Dec. 5th - 7:30pm doors, 8pm show - $5

An intimate night of folk/alt-country performances at a private art space in Brooklyn, NY, hosted by Guilt Free Pleasures (www.gfpmusic.com) and featuring:

MATT JONES (MI)
Matt Jones immediately sets himself apart from the other throngs of singer-songwriters with his rich, dark but whimsical orchestral folk; his nimble-fingered guitar plucking; his unique, delicate voice; and lyrics that are some of the most deeply expressive, complex metaphors of his generation. Mesmerizing from his very first notes, the initial attraction quickly turns into full blown addiction and people have been known to use the word "genius" to describe him.

Waltzing with Lady Dawn [mp3]

THE REVEREND JOHN DELORE
The Reverend John Delore is Americana at its best. His blues-tinged alt-country rumbles with wistful tales of yearning. His gritty vocals have been likened to those of Hayes Carll, Mason Jennings and Steve Earle. Don't be surprised if his music instantly transports you to a Southern dive bar in the 1970s.

Take A Ride [mp3]

DRUNKEN BARN DANCE
Drunken Barn Dance's raw ruckus folk rolls with unbridled honesty and without subterfuge, yet is catchy as hell. Sharing many attributes with the folk legends of old, it's impossible not to enjoy this incredibly relatable and often nostalgic music.

The secret location is revealed to those who RSVP via email.

**Specialty bar**

$3 Yuenglings

Homemade beer

Drinks that require fire extinguishers...

& food will be available for sale.

Stay for the after party and s'mores (it also happens to be my birthday and I would love to celebrate it with fellow music lovers!)

A secret show for GFP readers

It is my pleasure to announce our very first "night of Guilt Free Pleasures" on December 5th. This secret show will be a night of intimate performances by Matt Jones, Drunken Barn Dance and The Reverend John Delore, in a private new art space/speakeasy here in Brooklyn. Come for the show, stay and party with us after. To get the address of the secret location, RSVP with your name and how many guests you will be bringing and then we will email you the location of the show.

Matt Jones @ Union Hall

Last night I went to see one of my favorite singer-songwriters who you regular readers are probably familiar with by now because I'm totally obsessed with his music: Matt Jones. This time he had violinist and cellist with him, and that was quite a treat. The cello is a very prevalent instrument on his album, so it made the music sound so much richer live. He played a relatively short set sadly, but it was still totally mesmerizing. I just didn't want it to end.

I talked to him briefly after the show (man is he tall when you're standing right next to him!), and even though his most recent album, "The Black Path," was just released, he apparently already has a whole new album's worth of material demoed and ready to be recorded. I'll be keeping an eye out for that one next year for sure.

And for those of you who missed last night's performance, he's playing a FREE show tonight at the legendary Sidewalk Cafe, and he'll be able to play a longer set. He goes on at 10pm. Go see him now before he gets famous like previous sidewalk cafe alums Beck, Regina Spektor and Kimya Dawson. Then you can brag to all your friends about how you saw him when he was just starting out.

Threadlines [mp3]

purchase "The Black Path" on iTunes

P.S. Be sure and check out our Hannah Georgas CD giveaway in the previous post!!!

Artists to watch for 2009

Happy New Year everyone! We actually meant to post this yesterday, but we were just so busy celebrating the New Year that it didn't happen. So, in honor of the first day of the new year, here are some artists we think you should keep your eye out for in the year 2009.

Erin McCarley

It's hard to believe that her album was just released on iTunes two days ago- December 30th- with a physical release in stores planned for January 6th, 2009 (despite claims that it would arrive in the fall of 2008), cause God knows she's been everywhere on hype these days. Plus, she recently went on tour with Josh Radin, so you know this girl has talent. Basically this girl is the new Sara Bareillis with a side of A Fine Frenzy, and if the radio ever catches on to this one, she's gonna be big.
Love, Save the Empty [mp3] (myspace)

VV Brown

Self described as a "fusion of doo-wop sound, swing, bebop, and then obviously that indie edge," this British 24-year-old is set to be the next big thing to come out of the UK. While her music video for the single Crying Blood seems to try to incorporate something from each decade from the last 50 years, whether it be the tetris background or the 1960's simple slightly-lame dancing, its no doubt a single you will be hearing much more of, especially in remixed format. With a major label backing her up, she's destined to reach fame in 2009.

Quick Fix [mp3] (myspace)

Florence and the Machine

Again, the Brits are doing great things. Florence and the Machine sounds as if someone took Lily Allen/Kate Nash and mixed it with some of Amy Winehouse's insanity and an indie rock band. People are taking notice of this one, though. In February Florence will be awarded the Critics' Choice Award at the Brit Awards, an honor bestowed upon Adele just last year. At a Versace party at Donatella's mansion in Milan, Florence sang cover songs to audiences that included Jay-Z and Beyonce. Interviews with Florence herself come across as way-energetic-border-line-insane, which can only a good thing in the music world of expression and entertainment. Two singles, Kiss With A Fist and Dog Days Are Over have been released with a full album anticipated sometime in 2009.

Kiss With A Fist [mp3] (myspace)

Matt Jones

While we wanted to put his album in my best debut albums category, technically it's still not out yet. But good news, it is due out very soon from my understanding. Matt Jones is that rare singer-songwriter with incredible talent that naturally stands out from the other throngs of singer-songwriters. His amazing lyrics and whimsical complex simplicity make him shine.

Waltzing With Lady Dawn [mp3] (myspace)

Ravens & Chimes

I think they have to count as Em's favorite discovery of 2008. She absolutely fell in love with them and their music. There's just something about them... We love the drama in their music and many of the songs off their 2007 album have been on repeat on our playlists since Em first saw them back in August. We don't know if there is a new album due out soon, but we hope so. And in honor of the new year, we're posting the song January.

January [mp3] (myspace)

Aaron Beaumont

Aaron Beaumont has got it all - the talent, the voice, the looks, the wardrobe. He writes beautiful piano ballads and I can picture him rocketing to fame pretty swiftly, so listen to him now so that you can say "I knew him before he was famous."

Love Doesn't Hurry [mp3] (myspace)

Via Audio

This fun, quirky band is relatively popular within the indie scene. Em saw them play with indie darlings Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. From silly but poignant songs such as Digital (about digital media and how talentless people are getting ahead because their voices and images can be digitally altered) to the melancholy but beautiful Oh Blah Wee (about how life goes on), Via Audio is a pretty hip band and they are definitely going places.

Digital [mp3] (myspace)

Sounds of Summer

Lise already posted her top 5 summer songs, but I have been reluctant to admit that summer is over. I'm still not ready for it to end, but I think I can safely list the songs that topped my summer playlist (though picking 5 is too hard, but I've managed to narrow it down to 10). The songs tend to come from all different genres all over the place and were played on repeat for different reasons, which I think is indicative of the type of summer I've had. Well, and my eclectic music taste, in general. In no particular order:

Waltzing with Lady Dawn [mp3] - Matt Jones - "The Black Path" (iTunes unavailable)
That's Not My Name [mp3] - The Ting Tings - "We Started Nothing" (iTunes)
Polite Dance Song [mp3] - The Bird & The Bee - "Please Clap Your Hands EP" (iTunes)
Be Mine Everyone [mp3] - Sam Champion - "Heavenly Bender" (iTunes)
The Blood [mp3] - Frontier Ruckus - "I am the Water You Are Pumping" (iTunes unavailable)
Talk Radio [mp3] - The Dandy Warhols - "Earth To The Dandy Warhols" (iTunes)
Lonesome Organist Rapes Page Turner [mp3] - The Dresden Dolls - "No, Virginia" (iTunes)
This is Where We Are [mp3] - Ravens & Chimes - "Reichenbach Falls" (iTunes)
A Song for Ellie Greenwich [mp3] - Parenthetical Girls - "Entanglements" (iTunes)
Hold It In [mp3] - Jukebox The Ghost - "Let Live and Let Ghosts" (iTunes)

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Matt Jones - "The Black Path"

I actually got my hands on this album a while back and I have been dying to post about it for months, and now I finally get to! Some of you may remember when I wrote about Matt Jones' performance at The Creek and The Cave earlier this year. He pretty much instantly became one of my favorite artists and I've been looking forward to this album ever since. It's his first full-length album I do believe, "The Black Path." Well, my anticipation was not let down. I have been listening to the album on repeat since I received it months ago and I have been listening to little else. I'm pretty sure Matt Jones is a genius. I'm kind of confused as to how he is not famous.

The first time I saw Matt Jones perform, he said that he didn't have sad songs, and when he forgot the lyrics to his one sad song he announced "I've forgotten how to be sad." However, I think this album has an intense melancholy, if not sadness, behind it that his EP didn't have. "The Black Path" is a fitting name for it I suppose. His EP was much more whimsical, though still slightly dark. This album surpasses the EP in complexity and fullness, but I do miss that playfulness from the EP that is not present on some of the slower, gloomier sounding tracks of the album. Of course, my favorite tracks on the album are the ones that still maintain that whimsical quality - Threadlines; Jugulars, Bones & Blisters; and Waltzing With Lady Dawn. Each of these songs is positively beautiful. Well, the whole album is beautiful. But these three songs are some of the best songs I have ever heard. Ever. Every time I listen to them, I am completely blown away and all I can seem to muster is "wow." Not very descriptive, I apologize. But listen to them and hear for yourself.

So check him out. I'm not sure how you can purchase the album at this point, as it hasn't officially been released. But if you contact him on his myspace or something, perhaps you can just purchase it directly from him for the time being. Or he can at least give you more information.

Threadlines [mp3]
Jugulars, Bones & Blisters [mp3]
Waltzing With Lady Dawn [mp3]

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Combining My Loves

Here is the video I edited together for my friend that was a nice chance for me to combine my loves of music and film production. It's a trailer of sorts for a TV series or web series that my friend is going to pitch. This particular episode is about Ann Arbor, so it's got some familiar faces for those of you who read my blog regularly - Matt Jones, Chris Bathgate and Fred Thomas. Please keep in mind that I was not involved in the shooting so I am not responsible for the less-than-stellar sound and lighting (the girl who shot it has no background in film, so it's actually pretty good considering). Obviously if this became a series, my friend would not be doing the shooting herself. Also, the quality on youtube is super crappy. I promise it looks better than this uncompressed.

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Chris Bathgate @ The Knitting Factory

Last night I went to The Knitting Factory Tap Bar to see Chris Bathgate, along with a few other Michigan performers. I missed the first performer - a guy who goes by the name Drunken Barn Dance - because I worked late, but I caught part of his last song. It was peaceful singer-songwriter/ acoustic-guitar type music but I didn't catch enough of it to really write about it.

Next up was The Library is on Fire. It was kind of like The Knitting Factory was playing a game of "one of these things is not like the other." They were noisy rock 'n' rollers from Brooklyn instead of peaceful singer songerwriters from Ann Arbor. Actually, though, I think it was a nice way to shake things up. For the most part I liked them. Their music was upbeat and fun. Every now and then though there'd be something that would take me out of the music - a strange chord or rhythm. I think they could iron that out though with work and become quite a solid band. I guess they have a new bass player and this was his first show with the band. He was one of the more energetic male bass players I've seen (so many bass players are so stoic and motionless).

Chris Bathgate was up next. I believe he said it was his 26th birthday. For those of you who've read my blog before, he is good friends with Matt Jones. Matt Jones also drums for him sometimes. I can see why they collaborate - Chris Bathgate's music is very much that gentle singer-songwriter music, but it is less whimsical and more dramatic than Matt Jones'. Also unlike Matt Jones who said he "forgot how to be sad," I feel like Chris Bathgate's music has a little more sadness behind it. He played with an electric guitar and lots of reverb. He also made good use out of one of those looping pedals to create beautiful harmonies. I want one of those. I was very impressed. The one thing I would say could be improved would be that he should perform with more confidence. He seemed kind of uncomfortable up on stage, and I know it's scary performing in front of people, but he's very talented so he should stand a little straighter and own the stage a little more.

I got Chris' album at the show, "A Cork Tale Wake." I really like the album and there is more of a variety of genres on the album than there was when he performed. He rocks a little harder on some songs and on one song I'd say he gets downright funky. Part of me almost misses the beautiful looping harmonies, which aren't present on the whole album, but he has a full band behind him on some of the songs, which makes up for it. On a side note: starting today Chris Bathgate is going to live out in the woods for 2 months without electricity and whatnot so he will be incommunicado. He never really explained why, but I hope he enjoys himself nonetheless and he hope the concert was a good send off for him.

Fred Thomas was last, who I believe is from Michigan but now lives in New York? Could be wrong about that but he was/is part of Saturday Looks Good To Me with Scott from Drunken Barn Dance, so I would assume he lived in Michigan at some point. His music seemed to me to be more of the same - soft singer-songwriter music that made lots of use of the looping pedal. I was less impressed than I was with Chris Bathgate and I was tired (all the gentle music was lulling me to sleep after my 10-hour work day) so I only stayed for the first 15 minutes of the set. Based on the music on his myspace, I think I would like him better with a band behind him.

Pink Rock (In The Frontyard) [mp3] - The Library is on Fire - "Cassette" (iTunes unavailable)

A Flash of Light Followed By [mp3] - Chris Bathgate - "A Cork Tale Wake" (iTunes)
Smells Like A Fist [mp3] - Chris Bathgate - "A Cork Tale Wake" (iTunes)

Apples on the Floor [mp3] - Fred Thomas - "Sink Like a Symphony" (iTunes unavailable)

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Matt Jones at The Creek and The Cave

Last night I headed up to Queens to see Michigan singer-songwriter Matt Jones play at The Creek and The Cave. Everything about Matt Jones was pretty laid back. He was wearing jeans, a plaid button-up shirt and a hat. His music is laid back too - kind of whimsical and folky. It was just him and his electric guitar (apparently he often has a violin player and possibly some other string instruments accompanying him), but he was still a captivating performer. One of the main things I noticed about him was that he played his electric guitar the way most people would play an acoustic guitar - with no pick, and with a relaxed strumming or plucking. He has a really pleasant voice with a slightly haunting quality to it. His way of singing is much like his way of playing guitar - loose, easy going and almost playful at times. The haunting quality of his voice and the wistful guitar come together to create music that is honestly beautiful. I know that sounds cheesy, but there's not really a better word for it than that.

One of my favorite moments of his performance was when he announced that he was trying to do less "smile-makers" and he wanted to play more rockin' music, so he was going to do one of his only depressing songs. Shortly into the song he forgot the words and he smiled and said "I've forgotten how to be sad."

In talking to him after the show, he seems like a very friendly, chill person. Though he currently resides in/around Ann Arbor, Michigan, we bonded over the fact that he lived in Minneapolis for a year or two. He liked Minneapolis, but apparently the cold and snow was too much for him, so he left.

Below is a sample from his EP, "Right to Arms," but he informed me that he has a full-length album coming out in May(ish) that would blow this EP out of the water. So expect to hear more about that closer to the time.

Hand Out The Drugs [mp3]
"Silence!" He Told Her [mp3]

I also want to give some praise to The Creek and The Cave. I liked it the first time I went there (especially because they gave us all free drinks), but if it weren't so hard to get to from my home in Brooklyn I think it would quickly become one of my favorite bars. It has a nice atmosphere and a pretty terrace. They also added a shuffleboard table since the last time I was there, so I played hand shuffleboard for the first time, which was fun even though I kind of sucked. And they had a pretty good DJ, which I'm often quite picky about. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend you venture out there. It's worth the trip.

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