I Came Here to Hear the Music

Akron/Family - Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free

2009-02-15T08:45:00.000-08:00

part 1

part 2

Opening with a groove unlike anything Akron/Family have ever laid to tape, the first track on Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free kicks off a new chapter for the band. The percussive thunder and anthemic electric guitars of “Everyone Is Guilty” make a bold statement, touching on everything from Fela Kuti to Sly and the Family Stone in under six psychedelic minutes. This is not the Akron/Family you think you know.

As “Everyone Is Guilty” fades into “River” the band returns to something they have always been known for: writing a timeless hook. “River” delivers Ali Farka Toure-like guitar work, but this song is all about the infectious vocal melody.

As the album unfolds, Akron/Family’s musical explorations are virtually without limits. Whether it’s the celebratory sing-along gospel of “Gravelly Mountains of the Moon,” the lush folk sounds of “Sun Will Shine (Warmth of the Sunship Version),” or “MBF,” which lies at the intersection of primal punk rock and heavy free jazz, Akron/Family are a band boiling over with ideas. Their musical vocabulary runs deep–it’s not just Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, and the Grateful Dead that inform Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free. Akron/Family feesl at home on this album, confident and self-assured.

Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free marks their first album recorded as a trio; Seth Olinsky, Miles Seaton, and Dana Janssen became a three- piece in 2007 after original member Ryan Vanderhoof left the band that fall. This is also the first time Akron/Family have self-produced an album, as well as their first recording since parting ways with their original label, Young God Records. These changes could not be more significant, and all are at the core of the Akron/Family’s transformation on Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free.

Following 2007’s Love Is Simple, the band reconfigured their approach to touring. They brought along like-minded musicians such as Megafaun, the Dodos, and Greg Davis, both as openers and as members of an ever-changing Akron/Family ensemble, bringing about cacophonous onstage jams interwoven between the band’s songs. Whether it’s the three members of Akron/Family–communicating and interacting with one another onstage with something like the visceral language of the classic John Coltrane or Albert Ayler ensembles–or upwards of a dozen guest musicians joining them, their live shows are becoming a thing of legend. Akron/Family’s 2008 Emo’s gig in Austin was one of these legendary performances. The band led the audience and nearly 20 musicians from the stage in an Arkestra-like free-for-all to a riotous, shirtless, and sing-a-long parade in the streets. These unhinged performances have been witnessed by audiences at the Monolith, Isle of Wight, High Sierra, Coachella, and End of the Road festivals, and since then word has traveled fast about the magic of Akron/Family. The trio of Olinsky, Seaton, and Janssen is a sight to behold.

Following a year of making things bigger and wilder live, the band returns to something simpler on Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free. With limited outside assistance, this trio has made a focused, powerful, and unified work. Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free maintains the communal spirit of the big band that won audiences over throughout the world, but it showcases Akron/Family at its core–three musicians, equals, creating music from deep within. Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free is something undeniably special and immensely powerful. Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free is the new psychedelic rock.

Valentine's MIX

2009-02-13T08:39:00.000-08:00

Hear the Music

Made By Me

I Came Here to Hear the Music EP MIX

2009-02-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

Hear the Music

just collection of beautiful songs
made by me
(:

Bonnie Prince Billy - I Came Here to Hear the Music

Maria Taylor - Clean Getaway
Laura Veirs - Nightingale
Ron Sexsmith - Music To My Ears
The Mountain Goats & Kaki King - Black Pear Tree

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Advance Base Battery Life

2009-02-04T17:09:00.000-08:00

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1. Old Panda Days (w/ Nick Krgovich)
2. Lesley Gore on the T.A.M.I. Show (version)
3. White Corolla
4. White on White
5. Holly Hobby
6. Lonesome New Mexican Nights
7. The Only Way To Cry
8. It's A Crime
9. Missoula
10. Hot Boyz (w/ Dear Nora)
11. Born in the U.S.A. (w/ Concern)
12. Streets of Philadelphia (w/ Concern)
13. Graceland
14. Sunday St
15. Voice of the Hospital

Sigur Rós - We Play Endlessly

2009-02-04T17:01:00.000-08:00

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"Here in Iceland we've always considered ourselves Independent
People, so it's a pleasure to put together this 'late period'
collection to help us through a time when everything is
walking on hind legs." Sigur Ros

1. Hoppipolla 4:29
2. Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur 4:04
3. Saeglopur 7:31
4. Gobbledigook 3:05
5. I Gaer 6:22
6. Fljotavik 3:46
7. Hafsol 9:47
8. Heysatan 4:11
9. Ti Ki 8:51

Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You

2009-02-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

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It's Not Me, It's You

M. Ward - Hold Time

2009-02-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

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[pass: deekmedia.co.cc]

Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

2009-02-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

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While Tonight: Franz Ferdinand might not take all the chances those early reports suggested, it shows the band examing their world from all angles, from the unflattering profile in the mirror behind the batr to the long hard look into the soul. Life in three dimensions suits them very well indeed

Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart

2009-02-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

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Emmy The Great - First Love

2009-02-02T14:44:00.001-08:00

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Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

2009-02-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

Hear the Music

Merriweather Post Pavilion is heartbreaking and heartwarming, and you can either disregard what is one of the most pleasing, enjoyably rich and rewarding releases of the past decade or you can rally with the rest of us, and clap, and sing, and blare it through the earphones on your iPod because we are still all the things outside of us

Marissa Nadler - Little Hells

2009-02-02T13:58:00.001-08:00

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This is music that ticks all my boxes: eccentric, folky, weird, gloomy, sarcastic, ancient, funny, desperate, deadpan. Much of it sounds like nothing so much as Maybelle Carter transferred in time to today; certainly much of the songwriting has the same brimstone feel of the Carter Family. Nadler is a real discover