Julian Koster fits into that rather unusual bus load of weird and wonderful musicians. Jeff Mangum is there, Gruff Rhys is there, Wayne Coyne's driving and Jonathan Richman's dancing for entertainment. It isn't a surprise that Elephant 6 related artists are still putting out music. Of Montreal are still releasing albums consistently, the other known release this year is Julian Koster's group, The Music Tapes. We have two tracks from their upcoming album Mary's Voice, and it's bound to be an exquisite album as the excitement builds. We'll be looking at the lo-fi indie gem 'Playing 'Evening''. I've already heard their alternative 'The Dark Is Singing Songs (Sleepy Time Down South)'. This has beautiful classical tones, with easy listening instrumentation and weird soundscapes, as per usual.
This four minute beauty features Julian's high volumed, shouting voice. The vocal progressions are absolutely stunning along with his characteristic banjo and sharp psych-pop guitars. The drumming is heavily corrupt. It's so dirty and raw, it's intoxicating. It focuses on the right side, with Koster's loud and sometimes off-putting vocal layered on the chorus. I've heard all the albums by The Music Tapes, and this is the closest to pop I've heard. The song structure, electric guitar, progressions and lovely background keyboards give this track a compact sound. A sharp contrast to the sporadic and minimalistic tracks by The Music Tapes.
~Eddie
Mary's Voice is released September 4th on Merge Records.
