Crib Notes

Hot on the heels of a September/October North American tour stint opening up for Stereolab, Atlas Sound (a.k.a. Bradford Cox of Deerhunter) has perpetrated a cool and crystalline remix of “Neonbeanbag” from Stereolab’s latest full-length Chemical Chords.

The so-called “Southern Baptist Remix” isn’t a huge departure from the song’s original version. The tweaks and vibrant textures that Cox adds to the song are used more to flesh out the parts of the song that already exists, rather than turn it into something new.

To listen to Atlas Sound’s remix of Stereolab’s “Neon Beanbag” click here.

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Yesterday afternoon Pitchfork posted some photos from the Stereolab / Atlas Sound show that took place at The 40 Watt Club over the weekend. Check them out here.

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This is perhaps the best Friday this city has seen in a long time, and if you’re looking to go out and see some shows tonight, you’re in luck, but you’re going to have to make some executive decisions.

First and foremost there is the screening of Michael Tully and Matthew Robison’s documentary film, Silver Jew showing over at Eyedrum.

Robison, who is also involved with the Atlanta rock doc., We Fun (currently in production) will be in attendance. $5. 9 p.m. (doors) Film starts at 10 p.m. Money from door sales goes to B Jay Womack who was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. 404-522-0655. www.eyedrum.org.

Over at Lenny’s Intelligence, Gentleman Jesse, Vera Fang and HOWLIES are playing a FREE show over at Lenny’s. Intelligence is at the forefront of the new no-wave junk-rock art clatter that so dominates the cutting edge of abrasive post-punk in 2008. The group’s sound is brash, damaged, alien and filled with angst and hooks. Local power-pop ambassador Gentleman Jesse brings things back to a more earthbound pop sound with a triumphant return to the stage. Vera Fang and Howlies open. 9 p.m. 404-577-7721. www.lennysbar.com.

Stereolab photo by Sabrina Tabuchi

The Variety Playhouse plays host to Stereolab’s stop in support of Chemical Chords, the group’s best album in years. Stereolab’s penchant for crafting droning rhythms, Moog jams and space-age bachelor-pad music set a precedent for experimental sounds in the ’90s. With Chemical Chords (their 4AD debut), the pop explorers churn out their catchiest songs this side of the millennium. Recent material such as “Pop Molecule,” “Cellulose Sunshine” and “Daisy Click Clack” channel the “groop’s” cosmic music into digestible bursts of short pop songs. Tonight, expect nothing less than a headlong trip into melancholia and ’60s psych pop, sans kitsch. Atlas Sound (aka Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox) also performs. Herb and Jason Harris of the Selmanaires open. $20-$22.50. 8:30 p.m. , 1099 Euclid Ave. 404-524-7354. www.variety-playhouse.com.

There’s a Hank Williams Sr. tribute show at The Star Bar, featuring Slim Chance, Dave Weil (Blacktop Rockets), Caroline Engel, Phil Anderson, Bill Fleming, Danny Pope, Craig Rafuse, Ted Weldon and several others (and just so you know, this is a non-smoking event). $10. 9 p.m. 404-681-5740. www.starbar.net.

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In keeping with last year’s music issue I’ve compiled a list of my 10 favorite local releases that came down the line between May ’07 and May ’08.

If I had to single out the best Atlanta label for this year, thus far there’s no doubt that it would be Douche Master Records. But the label’s reach has extended far beyond Atlanta over the last year. Excellent singles in the DM catalogue by groups, such as Hex Error and Cheap Time, as well as the Black & White’s self-titled full-length are all worthy of note, but they don’t fit into the category of a “local release.” The one significant local release from Douche Master this year is the reissue of Carbonas’ “Black Out” single … Is it a faux paw to list reissues in the year’s best of list? I think so … But it’s worthy of an honorable mention. The “Black Out” single is a good companion to Carbonas’ third full-length, which shows a tremendous amount of growth on the group’s part. Vocalist Greg King’s voice sounds so much more controlled than it has on previous releases and the group’s grasp on tight, manic melodies in songs, like “Phone Booth” and “Ass Vogel” are so much more refined than any of the group’s previous records that it easily eclipses anything else to come out of Atlanta this year.

I also want to make a note about including the Selmanaires 7-inch in this list and not the album, The Air Salesmen. Whenever I play the CD I catch myself skipping to the tracks from the single. As soon as they’re finished I play them again, rather than letting the rest of the songs play out. For me, the single, “Just to Get Your Love” b/w “Verdigris Intrigue” are such powerful songs that they outshine the rest of the album.

So here’s my list…

1.) Carbonas — Carbonas (Goner Records)
2.) Atlas Sound — Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel (Kranky)
3.) Zoroaster — Dog Magic (Terminal Doom Records/Battle Kommand Records)
4.) The Black Lips — Good Bad Not Evil (Vice)
5.) Baby Shakes — “Tell Me Now,” “Baby, It’s You,” “Come On, Babe” 10-inch (Rob’s House Records)
6.) Anna Kramer & the Lost Cause – The Rustic Contemporary Sounds Of… (International Hits)
7.) The Coathangers – The Coathangers (Rob’s House Records)
8.) The Selmanaires — “Just To Get Your Love” 7-inch (International Hits)
9.) Noot d’ Noot – “Jiggle City” 7-inch (Solutionist)
10.) Daniel Clay – The Protestant (Self-released)

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SOLO DEERHUNTER: Bradford Cox does his thing at his Atlas Sound CD release performance, Tues., Feb. 19.

Click here to read Mosi Reeves’ story on Cox and his new release.

(All photos by Alan Friedman)

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Today, MTV.com columnist James Montgomery posted a long essay arguing that Deerhunter is the best band of the year. Noting how Bradford Cox recently announced on Deerhunter’s blog that the band is going on hiatus, Montgomery writes:

Yes, I am aware that their first album, the demurely titled Turn It Up F—-t, came out in 2005. But from January to November of 2007, no band mattered more to people like me than Deerhunter. They were divisive (primarily because they learned very early on just how to work the hype machine), they were difficult and they were much-discussed. And they knew all this, which is why it was so brilliant (and incredibly fitting) when they announced their hiatus the way they did. It was a supremely meta moment — blog band announces hiatus via blog — one that encapsulated 2007 (and to a larger extent, the entire decade) in a way that In Rainbows didn’t.

Montgomery overstates his case somewhat. When I ran into Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt at MJQ several weeks ago, he informally told me that the band would go on vacation at the end of the year, get back together several months later, and have a new album ready for release in the fall of 2008. Who knows what the future will hold?

At any rate, Deerhunter is scheduled to join the Black Lips, Snowden and the Selmanaires for Stomp and Stammer’s 11th anniversary party at the Variety Playhouse on Fri., Nov. 30. More on that later.

Meanwhile, Cox is moving forward with his Atlas Sound project. He was recently featured on the cover of the Fader (see above photo), and is preparing to release his solo debut next year. Atlas Sound’s Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel drops Feb. 19 on Kranky Records.

In a press release, Cox dedicated the album to his friend Lockett Pundt: “It has a lot to do with childhood. I wanted to make an album that was uplifting but honest, which is why it seems sad a lot of the time. I want to make music that could be ‘healing’ or therapeutic to people who relate to it.”

The track listing for Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel is below.

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It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since Lenny’s Bar moved into its more spacious new location. On Aug. 25, Atlanta’s best dive bar will be celebrating the one-year anniversary of its move with a night of local bands and DJs. Snowden, Psychic Hearts and Atlas Sound (Bradford Cox of Deerhunter) will bring the rock. KISS Atlanta party-starter Preston Craig will fill the floor with a DJ set. This anniversary party looks to be the best end-of-summer blowout in Atlanta, so be there.

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