Photos/Review: Cibo Matto @ Brooklyn Bowl

Cibo Matto @ Brooklyn Bowl - July 12th, 2011
Photos: Chris; Review: Jessica Callender

On a balmy Tuesday in one of the swankiest areas of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Cibo Matto proceeded to blow the minds of 500 or so people at Brooklyn Bowl last night. Eclectic sound man Sxip (pronounced as “Skip”) Shirey served as opening act as he beguiled and tantalized audience members with his vast array of sounds that can only be described as juxtaposed harmonized chaos. Performing tracks from his most recent effort Sonic New York, one song that etched itself into my memory was a cover of Anita Ward’s “Ring My Bell.” Shirey renovates the classic giving it a darker, bluesy aspect as well as attaching a touch of longing utilizing the beautiful vocals of his cute female companion, Rachel Prince. Other songs I recognized were “I Live In New York City” and “Asleep on the Subway.” After a nearly hour long set, it was time for Shirey to pack up his gear in lieu of the main event.

At 10:21pm, with the air tense with excitement, the crowd began to liven exponentially as the members of Cibo Matto quietly assembled on stage. While Miho Hotari addressed the showgoers, it was apparent that these folks were already keyed in and ready to have a good time. The women began their set with “Beef Jerky” and “Le Pain Perdu” as the audience sang along with every word and truly began to groove out. Of course, patrons didn’t fully lose it until the opening notes to “Sugar Water” played. Miho’s voice was instantly hypnotic as the sway and bounce of the track dripped effortlessly throughout the performance. “Spoon” was played shortly after and with it came the appearance of their bassist and drummer. Another song worthy of note was the sweetly alluring performance of “Moonchild,” with Miho’s vocals backed by surprise guest Sean Lennon.

Miho and Yuka performed two new songs last night as well, “Tenth Floor Ghost Girl” and “Check-In.” Considering that both tracks are indicative of the future of Cibo Matto and their new sound, they were surprisingly quite modern without the loss of the duo’s edge, which made me fairly excited about their upcoming album. And apparently everyone else was equally hyped about the women. Shortly after 11pm, following almost an hour of play, Cibo Matto attempted to close out their set only to return for an encore after a most raucous and spirited bout of applause and cheers; finally ending the night with “Know Your Chicken”.

There was a certain grace to this performance that I haven’t seen a very long time. Cibo Matto played effortlessly and skillfully as well maintained the crowd’s energy levels on such a positive note. It’s the joy and hope of every music patron that their favorite artists exude that caliber of professionalism and considering the blast I had at Brooklyn Bowl; I for one, am ecstatic about the glorious return of Cibo Matto.

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Below, check out a full set of photos of both Sxip Shirey and Cibo Matto, as well as Cibo Matto's setlist. Also, thanks to Panya Media, you can stream Cibo Matto's entire set last night. Tickets are still on sale for their Bowery Ballroom show on Monday, 7/18...

Review: Death Cab For Cutie - Codes and Keys

Death Cab For Cutie Codes and Keys [Atlantic; 2011]
By Jessica Callender

Formed in 1997, Death Cab For Cutie has always maintained a detachment from the more popular crowds of the industry with their distinct sounds, sad-sack lyrics, and varied concepts. Supposedly their newest album doesn’t keep in line with such tenets as lead vocalist Ben Gibbard describes this album as their least guitar-centric body of work ever. In spite of that, it’s possible that this “emo” band has finally reached the middle of the road.

Codes and Keys, once again produced by guitarist Chris Walla, starts off with “Home is a Fire,” a track that preserves a frenetic pace that is ironically both relaxing and beautiful as Ben Gibbard’s pure vocals invoke a feeling of longing throughout the fluttering timbre and jazzy polyrhythm. The track “Unobstructed Views” begins with a beautifully tense instrumental of jangling piano chords that melts into a very pretty love song. An additional pleasure “Monday Morning,” is Gibbard’s love struck ode to a modern girl enamored with the classics.

However, title track “Codes and Keys” is a bit underwhelming; the driving sounds of piano, violin and some guitar coupled with the lyrics give the song little soul and feels rather forced. A more easily tolerable track, “Doors Unlocked and Open” has a mid-tempo swing to it with what appears to be inspired lyrics as Gibbard continuously sings “we’ll be free with doors unlocked and open”, it also doesn’t hurt that it’s pretty catchy. Lead single “You’re a Tourist” is equally mediocre, with its thick layers of guitar and bass and the repetition of the hook “when there’s a burning in your heart”.

It’s rather difficult for me to be as discouraged about Codes and Keys as I am. I fell in love with Death Cab when Plans came out in 2005 and I was pleasantly intrigued by Narrow Stairs and its dark starkness in 2008; but whatever formula DCFC has concocted for Codes left me rather bored and uninspired. Perhaps they need different production or maybe they’re looking to expand their fan base, I’m not sure. What I do know is that I will continue to be a fan to artists who have worked tirelessly in the industry for over a decade, and hope that this is merely a hiccup in an otherwise fairly awesome track record.

Review: Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts

Thurston Moore Demolished Thoughts [Matador/Ecstatic Peace; 2011]
By Jessica Callender

On an early Tuesday morning, faint notes of summer are finally drifting in and I’m comfortably settled in my bed listening to Thurston Moore’s Demolished Thoughts which was released yesterday. Moore, who initially got his start as the lead singer and accompanying guitarist of Sonic Youth has maintained an almost omnipresence within the alternative indie scene since the ‘80s. As such, his wealth of experience clearly shows throughout the new album as it contains elements that are nostalgically woodsy, yet refined as acoustic notes of guitar, violin, and harp are layered beautifully throughout.

In addition to a somewhat thematic feel, Demolished never has any true variances in regards to energy levels and chords as Moore’s detached vocals croon around the simple idea of love, and love lost, especially present in tracks such as “Blood Never Lies”, “In Silver Rain with a Paper Key”, “Mina Loy” and the album’s final song “January.” With Beck Hansen as his producer, the duo create an entirely relaxed environment that is led both by instrumentation and evocative lyrics; Beck’s touches are somewhat subtle as soft notes generally point in the direction of his own inspiration, most notably from his 2002 record Sea Change.

Most of the tracks are quite long, the average track just about a little over five minutes. But none are quite the journey into sound as the track “Space,” an almost seven minute song with a three minute intro, poetic verse, and then a three minute outro. It works though, as the composition of the track transports you to an airy space in a trippy-like fashion. Another favorite I must comment on is lead single and album opener “Benediction,” an allegory of sweetly touching, mildly obsessive lyrics which also almost became the title track for the entire album. Moore touches upon his roots on the track “Circulation” which honestly sounds like Sonic Youth unplugged complete with sawed-over strings and twists and turns throughout the melody, a truly nice surprise.

Demolished Thoughts appears to be Moore’s way of letting the public know that he’s still in the game and although he may not be trying to win, he’s definitely keeping us mellow.

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We will have photos and a full review of Thurston's intimate performance at Other Music this past Monday up shortly to conclude our coverage of Demolished Thoughts.