Private Idaho
In the recent light of nothing in particular, I've decided go with an Idaho theme for this post. First up, The Very Most.
When you think about the Boise, Idaho music scene, what phrase comes to mind for you? For myself and many others it was "practically nonexistent", until I had the chance to interview Jeremy Jensen of the Very Most, an indie solo project off of Coming In Second Records which is based in Boise.
A Von Trapp family style musical upbringing led to he and all of his siblings (two brothers, two sisters) becoming music oriented. With sisters in the Parenthetical Girls (a Portland band), mild competition (in terms of writing well recieved albums) with his brother, and constant compilation songs with family members, it seems as though the Jensens have taken the rock world by storm. Though most training came from school programs (there's a great little anecdote about learning guitar and mariachi bands, but I won't get into that), Jensen was influenced greatly by Billy Joel, U2, R.E.M., the Beach Boys, Of Montreal, and the Smiths.
He has identified with the music of the Smiths and partly with Morrisey's lyrics, though he "doesn't have the luxury to divorce himself from everyday life as Morrisey did,what with having a family at home." Clearly, a family man, the frontman of The Very Most, rarely finds himself leaning deliberately towards a genre but often finds himself with one foot in the indie pop door.
The music scene in Boise, Idaho is like nothing you've ever heard of (unless you live in Boise) and has been heavily shaped by being at least eight hours away from any major cities on the music map (read Seatle, Portland, NYC, ect.). The small town rallying together has made a sort of environment of interaction cultivating a positive breeding ground for music in general.
The sound of the album on it's way may be slightly different from the first (entitled "Making the Case for Me") as the recording places are different. The first album was made in the "family playroom, with vaulted ceilings emphasizing the sound". The forthcoming album has been made in a private makeshift studio in his backyard (as head of the label, Jensen does all his own recording). The album is about 80% completed and should be done by March as the tour starts in May.
The album has it's high points, as well as low points, but the defining songs more than make up for the lesser songs, as I had the album on repeat for an entire day. "Sweet Job" and "Fashionably Mean" are rolling lyrical anthems made up of a myriad of instruments fitting together like puzzle pieces. You can check out "Making the Case For Me" by visiting www.cominginsecond.com
Moving on, I've lately been listen to Idaho (who are, in fact, from Los Angeles)'s The Lone Gunman, a dreamy electronic slowcore album that seems to have the consistency of syrup and the roots of travel across sleepy ghost towns. Suggested tracks are "You Flew" and "ESCHELON".
Sonic Season's ballad "Idaho" off of their Idaho album is pretty much a piano infused folk-lacking track but songs like "All With You" and "History of Us" are packed with enough folk for a lifetime.
Miss Teen Idaho (a grit trio) delivers punches of hardcore-power pop on their "Sympathy for Brian Jones". Perhaps lacking some self-control (a ton of guitar riff liberation is not particularly neccesary), the Philadelphian three pack grit pop into an aggressive explosive package.
Clare Burson's emotional "Idaho" EP has recieved rave reviews for her songwriting purity and swooping metaphors. If you listen hard enough you can find all sorts of different influences on each seperate track.
So there you are, a band from Idaho, a band named for Idaho, a song named for Idaho, a band named for an Idaho beauty queen, and an EP named for the state. And now, I will never be able to type or speak the word "Idaho" again as I have done so too many times tonight.
More later,
Kit
When you think about the Boise, Idaho music scene, what phrase comes to mind for you? For myself and many others it was "practically nonexistent", until I had the chance to interview Jeremy Jensen of the Very Most, an indie solo project off of Coming In Second Records which is based in Boise.
A Von Trapp family style musical upbringing led to he and all of his siblings (two brothers, two sisters) becoming music oriented. With sisters in the Parenthetical Girls (a Portland band), mild competition (in terms of writing well recieved albums) with his brother, and constant compilation songs with family members, it seems as though the Jensens have taken the rock world by storm. Though most training came from school programs (there's a great little anecdote about learning guitar and mariachi bands, but I won't get into that), Jensen was influenced greatly by Billy Joel, U2, R.E.M., the Beach Boys, Of Montreal, and the Smiths.
He has identified with the music of the Smiths and partly with Morrisey's lyrics, though he "doesn't have the luxury to divorce himself from everyday life as Morrisey did,what with having a family at home." Clearly, a family man, the frontman of The Very Most, rarely finds himself leaning deliberately towards a genre but often finds himself with one foot in the indie pop door.
The music scene in Boise, Idaho is like nothing you've ever heard of (unless you live in Boise) and has been heavily shaped by being at least eight hours away from any major cities on the music map (read Seatle, Portland, NYC, ect.). The small town rallying together has made a sort of environment of interaction cultivating a positive breeding ground for music in general.
The sound of the album on it's way may be slightly different from the first (entitled "Making the Case for Me") as the recording places are different. The first album was made in the "family playroom, with vaulted ceilings emphasizing the sound". The forthcoming album has been made in a private makeshift studio in his backyard (as head of the label, Jensen does all his own recording). The album is about 80% completed and should be done by March as the tour starts in May.
The album has it's high points, as well as low points, but the defining songs more than make up for the lesser songs, as I had the album on repeat for an entire day. "Sweet Job" and "Fashionably Mean" are rolling lyrical anthems made up of a myriad of instruments fitting together like puzzle pieces. You can check out "Making the Case For Me" by visiting www.cominginsecond.com
Moving on, I've lately been listen to Idaho (who are, in fact, from Los Angeles)'s The Lone Gunman, a dreamy electronic slowcore album that seems to have the consistency of syrup and the roots of travel across sleepy ghost towns. Suggested tracks are "You Flew" and "ESCHELON".
Sonic Season's ballad "Idaho" off of their Idaho album is pretty much a piano infused folk-lacking track but songs like "All With You" and "History of Us" are packed with enough folk for a lifetime.
Miss Teen Idaho (a grit trio) delivers punches of hardcore-power pop on their "Sympathy for Brian Jones". Perhaps lacking some self-control (a ton of guitar riff liberation is not particularly neccesary), the Philadelphian three pack grit pop into an aggressive explosive package.
Clare Burson's emotional "Idaho" EP has recieved rave reviews for her songwriting purity and swooping metaphors. If you listen hard enough you can find all sorts of different influences on each seperate track.
So there you are, a band from Idaho, a band named for Idaho, a song named for Idaho, a band named for an Idaho beauty queen, and an EP named for the state. And now, I will never be able to type or speak the word "Idaho" again as I have done so too many times tonight.
More later,
Kit
posted by Kit "Blanche Deveraux" @ 1:15 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home