the dumbing of america

SXSW Preview: Pt. 8- No I's, J's or K's? Must be the L's!

Remember when there were lots of bands previewed?  I wouldn’t touch any of those I (what happened to It Hugs Back?!), J or K bands no matter how many JaggerBombs you gave me.  Fortunately, the L’s have four great bands.  ’bout time!

Lenka- A little bird clued me in on Lenka and I’m charmed!  Imagine Lily Allen with a better voice, writing her own songs, better vocal melodies and less drama.  The words catchy and cute have been used to describe her music.  As someone who grew up listening to Joy Division this might not seem like a logical fit for me.  But, it’s all about the melody and chord progressions for me and Lenka’s are brilliant.  Guaranteed Lenka will draw a crowd at SXSW.  Get there early and prepare to fall in love.

Longview- Technically they’ve had to change their name to Long-view because some tiny bluegrass band has the name.  But just as I review to call Verve, The Verve, I’m sticking to Longview.  Shouldn’t there be some law that says you get to keep your name if you suck less than the other band?  Just asking…

Loney, Dear

As previously discussed, Loney, Dear are the tremendous work of Swedish singer/songwriter Emil Svanängen aka the Bill Callahan of the new millenium.  Loney, Dear just released their fifth album, Dear John on Sub Pop and it continues the upward trajectory of Emil’s work.  As hard as it is to write one good record, Loney, Dear have produced five flawless records.  Quick; name another band that has made five records of equal greatness.  I can’t think of anyone either.  That Loney, Dear aren’t on the cover of every music magazine is a sure sign of TDOA.  We’ re thrilled to report that we just completed an interview with Emil (tonight!) which we’ll publish in the next day or two.  In the meantime, go see the band, get on your knees when they go on stage and start chanting “thank you” until you receive permission to stand.

The Living Things- For some reason, the Pitchfork’s of the world don’t think Living Things are “cool”.  This means the band must have not paid Pitchforks bar tab as often as Foals did (because there’s no other explanation for Foals success).  They’re political (they hated Bush and got shot at during their show in Dallas), they sound like Iggy at his best and they are tight as hell.  Best live performance at SXSW 2009?  Don’t be surprised.