Band of Horses: "The Funeral"

Confession: I watch "American Idol"... when it's on... when I'm on the elliptical at the gym and my other options are Fox News and a blowout Twins-Red Sox game.

But from what I've seen, this has been a great season. Incredible vocals, honest commentary from a talented performer (Urban) and more manufactured girl-on-girl drama than I can handle. But I like it for the same reason I plan to love the sixth installment of the "Fast and Furious" franchise: These guys have been around long enough fine-tuning their product that by now they're the absolute best at it.

F&F WILL have the greatest car-action sequences of the summer. Guarantee it. Their stunts have been getting bigger, badder, and Vin Dieselier each go-around. Yes, there's a fair bit of CGI, but the things they do with hydraulics, sheet metal and explosives are mind-boggling. We've come a long way since slammed Honda Civics sneaking between the axles of a big rig.

And AI? They've toyed with endless combinations of judges and had years of mediocre talent. How many winners have really done anything with their careers besides early winners Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood? And don't say Clay Aiken doing a cameo on that one episode of "Scrubs".

This year they have talent. Too much of it. They know it; the judges have commented since the top ten that most of the group could've won previous years. And now they have judges that recognize and genuinely encourage the talent. Sorry, Mariah, I'm not talking about you and your aimless, self-promoting diatribes. I'm talking about the pithy and often truth bomb-riddled comments from Nicki and Keith.

After top-three finalist Kree Harrison performed Rascal Flatts' "Here Comes Goodbye" on Wednesday night's show, Keith gave her a beautiful response. He thanked her for the performance.



It was such a charged series of moments. Just before the song, everyone had watched a video of Kree returning to her home in Texas and opening up about losing both her parents by the age of 12. Obviously that particular performance for her was bittersweet. And she laid it bare in the song. That's what truly talented musicians do, and Keith connected with the action in a visceral way. That was some good TV.

Music can connect us. Down to the basest part of our being. Sometimes we connect with music we never expected to. So (finally!) enter Band of Horses, a set of Charleston, SC-based alt-folk-rockers lead by appropriately for the Pacific Northwest-bearded and tattooed Ben Bridwell (hails from Seattle). Some might find Ben's voice shaky or thin at times, though his multi-layered compositions (including organ-synth!) are good for plenty of sonic swells to headbang/aggressively shoegaze to.

BOH has been around, in one form or another, since 2004, and by now has four full-length studio albums to its name, including the Grammy-nominated Infinite Arms (2010). But 2005's Everything All The Time included the breakout single "The Funeral", a slow-burning anthem that alternates between delicate electric picking and crooning, and Coldplay-esque blasts of blended sound.

After getting plenty of mixed-media attention in commercials and TV shows, "The Funeral" became a pretty well-known piece of BOH repertoire. Which generally makes me not want to like it. But dammit that is one lovely track. It's catchy and melodic, and bittersweetly profound to boot. (Sample lyric: "At every occasion, I'll be ready for the funeral.")

It just bridges that gap between brains through the airspace. It connects. It embeds. It runs through. It rocks. It ends. Enjoy the full set and wait for it, or skip ahead to 34:30 to catch it immediately. These guys play Lolla on Friday. Enjoy, and take comfort in the fact Ms Carey isn't coming back to AI*.



*Love you, MC, truly, but maybe focus a little more time on being a mom at this point.



  

Imagine Dragons: "Radioactive"

We love bands with a little mystery, right? We love to get to know bands, but still be left wanting for the whole truth -- just to keep things interesting. Fortunately for the fairly straight forward Las Vegas-based indie rockers Imagine Dragons, they retain a little mystery.

Apparently, their name is an anagram. THAT ONLY THEY KNOW FOR WHAT. How mysterious is that? We love.

I puzzled for whole minutes and could only come up with A RANDOM SIEGING. Maybe I’ll try a few more before emailing the band my attempts at cracking the code.

But other than that, I’m going to once again trot out the “not entirely remarkable” moniker. Don’t get me wrong, these guys are solid. Their Killers- and Strokes-esque brand of supercharged pop-alt-rock with heavily layered guitar riffs and smashing drums is catchy, captivating, and highly replayable.

And in this video’s live setting, they haul out a massive drum -- look out, Boiler band! -- so they have that going for them.

Their rise to fame seems unsettlingly quick: The first two members, Dan Reynolds and Wayne Sermon, only met in 2008. A few years, additional band members, and EPs later, they inked a deal with veritable record label Interscope in fall 2011.

OK, so maybe that is a bit remarkable. And certainly the great speed with which their discography and music videos gained widespread popularity is commendable; either they have a kickass manager or the media and public believe they’re just that good.

I’m going with a combination of both. Decide for yourselves when you see them bang that drum on Friday of Lolla. Maybe they’ll even give out a clue to their anagram.

(P.S. Here's a bonus video of violinist Lindsey Stirling and haht vocal rock group Pentatonix doing a cover of "Radioactive.")

HAIM: "Falling"

Welcome back the magnificent Rachel Aguiar, music lover and writer extraordinaire, as she profiles LA sister trio HAIM.

Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear "family band"? The Brady Bunch? Donny and Marie? Hanson? The Jonas Brothers? An innate cheesiness? HAIM, a trio of sisters from Los Angeles, has no trouble moving past this stigma. And as it turns out, harmonizing is that much easier when you’re related (just listen to the a cappella start to the song “Better Off”).

Slightly reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac, HAIM (rhymes with time) does an excellent job capturing a kind of west coast breeziness in each of their songs. I first discovered the band in the middle of the winter in Chicago, yet every time I listened to their music, in my mind I was driving down the coast of California in a convertible with the top down.

Despite forming the group more than five years ago, HAIM has only recently found mainstream success, especially after their EP debut at SXSW in 2012. Every single they release garners more attention than the last. Their latest single, “Falling,” definitely continues along this path, complete with funky bass lines, hand clapping, and soaring vocal hooks.

Recently, HAIM also collaborated on Kid Cudi’s new album, Indicud, creating one of the most critically acclaimed songs on the album, “Red Eye.” It was great to see how well HAIM’s bubbly and upbeat sound complemented Kid Cudi’s rawness. Here’s hoping to see more HAIM collaborations in the future.

So what should you expect from HAIM at Lollapalooza? You can expect a perfect show for lounging in a grassy field on a sunny day. That thought alone is what’s getting me through this rainy April. See you there!

-- Rachel Aguiar

Thievery Corporation

The DJ introducing this set sums it up well: Thievery Corporation is a gypsy carnival, an amalgamation of whatever instruments, vocals, and ambient sounds the acid jazz-loving band members bring to the table.

If you're familiar with the 2004 "Garden State" soundtrack, then you've probably been entranced by Thievery Corporation's best-known song, "Lebanese Blonde," which was featured in the movie. In today's featured performance, that song (which was originally released as a single in 1998) is second on the setlist, beginning around 6:20 with the recognizable sitar riff. Most all their songs give the same flavor as the hashish-praising "Lebanese Blonde" -- a bass groove,  meaty and echo-y female vocals, and relaxed drum beats with elements of dub, bossa, and Middle Eastern. This is music to sit on the side of the hill and groove to, as they've proved with a few past Lolla performances, including the Brazil festival in 2012. Clearly, Perry Ferrall is a fan:

Catch them at Lollapalooza 2013 on Friday, August 2.

Frightened Rabbit

Sometimes, it’s the shyest among us that have the most to say.

This was true in the case of Scott Hutchison, a guitarist and singer from Selkirk, Scotland. (Fun fact: William Wallace was named Scotland’s defender here!) Growing up, Hutchison was so fearful of human interaction his own mum dubbed him a “frightened rabbit.” His own mum.

Think they give many “participation trophies” in Scotch country? Not so much. Fortunately, the wee kit grew up to become a (albeit visually) well-adjusted adult who sings, plays, and interacts with the audience quite naturally.

The nickname, however, stuck around, as Hutchison used it as a stage moniker for his solo performances starting in 2003. He was later joined by his brother Grant (drums) and another guitarist by the name of Billy Kennedy. Today Frightened Rabbit tops out with five members.

Hutchisons and co. put out their first record, Sing the Greys, in 2006, and followed it up with The Midnight Organ Fight in 2008, The Winter of Mixed Drinks in 2010, A Frightened Rabbit EP in 2011, State Hospital (an EP) in 2012 and, most recently, Pedestrian Verse in February this year. Not quite as prolific as their furry namesake, but still pretty impressive.

Aside from having some really fantastic album titles, Rabbit’s music is heartfelt and catchy folk-pop, though not entirely remarkable. Some of the potential vigor might be absent from this particular performance, as Scott announces early on it was meant to be an “off day”, with a dream performance scheduled the following day at San Francisco’s historic Fillmore venue.

But at heart these guys aren’t head-banging material. Nor do they need to be. There’s enough aural variety -- mixed guitar riffs, lively keyboards, cosy harmonies, sentimental and Scottish accent-delivered lyrics -- to keep your ears entertained. After half a dozen albums, they’re comfortable in their own pelt.

The songs have a range of depth, and are at their most powerful when more driving, layered, and repetitive -- similar to the work of their countrymen The Twilight Sad and We Were Promised Jetpacks. Comparatively, they may demonstrate a slightly wider sound palette, floating about among the realms of light, dark, heavy, and airy. Does that make them better?

Not necessarily.

But we all have biases. Grab yourself some mates, a couple pints, throw on all three, and decide for yourselves. Just make sure you get an opinion from the shy one.

NOTE: These guys hit Lolla on Friday, August 2.

Nine Inch Nails: Live at Woodstock 1994

Now I remember why it's so difficult to keep a daily blog. An hour of musical lovin' is difficult to find some days.

But the artists of Lollapalooza are varied, interesting, and weird enough to capture our attention amidst the noise of life's busyness. See: Nine Inch Nails at 1994 Woodstock, so covered in mud that they look like zombies. Zombies playing industrial rock. Rock. On.

My friend Laura said that NIN got her through high school, and I can understand why. The band is loud, unapologetic, loud, expletive-ridden, and loud. You can't possibly have a sad thought while enduring the overwhelming force of NIN's sound.

The band, which officially consists of frontman Trent Reznor and whoever he chooses to play with after a given album, played the very first Lolla in 1991. In fact, the '90s were NIN's heyday, with two Grammys and a nod from Time and Spin magazines to the influence of Reznor (as Reznor has succinctly written on the NIN Wikipedia page). (Oh come on, you can totally tell he wrote it.)

After a philosophical difference with the recording industry, NIN began releasing music through Creative Commons in 2008, and they seemed to dip below the radar. The band went on official hiatus in 2009, but Reznor began rumbling about getting the band back together in 2012. This year's Lolla will kick off NIN's fall festival tour, with dates in San Francisco, Philly, New Orleans, and Paris, among others. And Reznor has said he's working on new material; perhaps we'll see some in Grant Park.

Besides Reznor, the current NIN line-up includes Eric Avery of Jane's Addiction, Adrian Belew of King Crimson, and Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv, along with Alessandro Cortini and Ilan Rubin, who joined NIN for the band's 2008 album releases.

Let's hope it rains the first day of Lolla, because they'll be playing on Friday night and I want to see Zombie Reznor in all his glory.

Zombie Trent Reznor

YAWN: "Kind of Guy"

De-globalization is the new black: Eat local, drink local, ride local. How about listen local? Enter YAWN, the first hometown heroes to appear in this Lolla prep post-a-ganza. These relative newcomers stomp the ground around Wicker Park, so they won’t have to travel quite so far to make their Sunday spot at the festival.

The YAWN yarn has the group’s origins dating back to 2007, though things didn’t really get yawning until 2010, when they released a self-titled, five-track EP and blew the doors off a showcase at Austin’s South by Southwest festival in 2010.

This successful doors-blowing landed them exposure in Pitchfork, NME and other fine musical word-spreading media. They proceeded to issue EPs Open Season in 2011 and Happy Tears (available for free on their website!) in 2012. They were yawn their way.

But yawn just a minute; what about the Yawn sound? Theirs is a pop potpourri, a veritable endless stream of “Man, that reminds me of” propelled by close resemblance to the multi-layered and sample-laden electronic stylings of Yeasayer, Brian Eno, Grizzly Bear, Vampire Weekend, Animal Collective, etc etc. And that's not a bad thing.

Someyawn, they do emerge from the proverbial pile, however. There’s a lightness, a playfulness, an uber-rhythmic yawnness to their tracks that sets them apart. Clearly, the quality is difficult to nail down.

But what also stands out is the wide variety of sounds they produce across their brief discography. They’re experimenting, changing, evolving -- enough to keep things interesting, not so much as to confuse the listener. They’re being, dare I yawn it, artistic.

One explanation for their diversity is -- homer alert! -- the Chicago climate. In an interview with online music journal Pop’stache, the guys joke that the abrupt and drastic seasonal changes in the City that Works inspire them to follow suit in their music-making. Yawn!