Skip to main content

Here Is What Is :: Done Before It Starts

By

RIYL: The Dodos, The Dirty Projectors, Atlas Sound, Blitzen Trapper


Sounds Like: Art rock you can dance to.


A Few Words: Despite their somewhat awkward name, Here Is What Is sounds and performs like musicians bound for larger venues. Their short EP (Done Before it Starts) is the musical equivalent of stuffing a watermelon into your back pocket, yet they accomplish the feat with ease. While just over 30 minutes long, the EP is filled with ethereal harmonies floating over lyrics as tight and punctuated as the underlying, danceable grooves.


I had the good fortune of catching their CD release party at Vancouver's Media Club, which only reinforces my earlier melon-in-back-pocket analogy. For those who've been, you know how small the stage is; fitting four musicians up there is a challenge, on a good day--let alone five. But up they went--the entire quintet--and launched into their set as though there was enough room to contain their massive sound.


The pace and structure of the EP changes as much within each track as it does between songs. Employing slides, keyboard harmonies, and extraordinary guitar solos (just wait for the second half of "Final Fantasy"), HIWI takes half and hour and makes you wonder where the day has gone.



Band :: Here Is What Is

Album :: Done Before it Starts (EP)

Song :: Final Fantasy


Labels:

Comments

Destiny B said…
I love all those bands! So I'll probably love this one.
=D
12 August, 2009
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Contest! Design the Official Decemberists Show Poster

By
On March 18th, The Decemberists will give the debut live performance of their epic new song cycle The Hazards of Love when they headline NPR Music's SXSW showcase at Stubb's in Austin. To mark the occassion, Capitol Records (who will release the album on March 24) and Imeem are inviting fans to design the official poster for the showcase with a contest -- the winning design will be hand-picked by the band and contestants can enter on the Decemberists' Imeem page . The Decemberists will play The Hazards of Love, in sequence, in its entirety. Joining all five members of the band on stage will be Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden, who lend leading vocals to the album. Opening bands are North Carolina trio The Avett Brothers, set to debut songs from its forthcoming album produced by Rick Rubin, and bluesy rockers Heartless Bastards, riding the success of its third record, The Mountain. The concert will begin at 10pm CST and will be str...
1 comment
Read more

May Day Is Lei Day

By
For the past 31 years in Honolulu, the Brothers Cazimero have hosted an annual May Day variety show at the Waikiki Shell Ampitheatre (because May Day is Lei Day!). When living there, I had the privilege of attending twice, the last time being the 30th anniversary, and just after the sad passing of the legendary Don Ho. Both times were, at the risk of allowing my cynical mask slip, magical. The May Day show is great fun, and follows the format of an old time variety show -- there is an aura of glamour interspersed with a decidedly camp sensibility, with hula stars of past and present gracing the stage. Spirits are high, and the banter among the performers is priceless; at times it feels as though you've wandered into a family reunion, and are a long lost cousin -- instantly at home and enveloped in the warmth. It's a time to celebrate the spirit and culture that truly do make the islands such a special place. There's a song that plays before the Sunset On The Beach movies...
Post a Comment
Read more

Odd Stories in the World of Music

By
As it's Friday, we like to round up a few of the stranger music-related stories and share them with our beloved readers. First, there was the TechDirt article about bands (or the labels who represent the bands) who pull their songs from iTunes after said songs have become popular. Apparently, they think it will force people to buy more CDs, which is kind of like selling tires, then shutting all the stores and telling people they have to buy cars to get the tires they want. TechDirt reacts with the appropriate "WTF". Moving on, we find a lovely post about the "peculiar pocket trumpet" from Trumpet Instruments. Finally, there's this: a homemade hurdy gurdy built from circut hacked Furbies, appropriately named the "furby gurdy."
2 comments
Read more