by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I typically don’t run my Reader column in this here blog because it typically doesn’t focus on music (and this is a music blog after all). Sure, I add a line of hype about the column on Thursdays, but then I simply link to it. Well, this week I can’t find the column online at thereader.com. So because of that, and because the focus this week is on music, I’ve included it below. As always, you can also read it in print in The Reader.

Over the Edge: Of Sound Mind (and Opinion)
CD Reviews, YTD 2012

This week’s column is a return to my old indie music criticism schtick. Because I still listen to music — lots of it — and have more than 20 years’ experience writing about it, which I think gives my critical analysis a modicum of relevance.

Or maybe not.

The role of the music critic has become somewhat (mostly) marginalized. Anyone interested in modern music with the available income to purchase it also has access to Spotify or one of the other music streaming services that makes (most) new music available with the flick of a finger from their iPhone/Android/computer-powered listening device.

In other words, if you want to know if the latest buzz band is worth listening to you no longer have to risk your hard-earned ducats and make a blind purchase like in the old days. Now all you have to do is listen to it online. That means the critic’s role has been relegated to: 1) saving you time by pointing you toward an interesting path, or 2) validating your already made-up mind.

Reviews don’t even mean that much from a marketing perspective since artists don’t (and can’t) rely on income from album sales anymore. The ones who want to make a living making music depend on income generated at live performances. Still, if they’re going to get butts in seats, they have to get their music heard in the first place, and maybe that’s where the critics come in. My how the world has changed in just 10 years.

With all that in mind here are my impressions of some recent music, for what it’s worth…

Purity Ring, Shrines (4AD/Last Gang) — Chime-bot sounds from outer-space tone rockers is at its best when melody outdoes beat, but man it can get tiresome.

Thee Oh Sees, Putrifiers II (In the Red) — A crowing cock-a-doodle-doo of a garage punk band, no one does it better or with more style. Stands for Orange County if you’re wondering. So why can’t we get them to come to Omaha?

Digital Leather, Yes, Please, Thank You (Southpaw) — Another in a series of recordings (something like four LP/EP releases in the last couple years?) that sounds like Gary Numan post-wave synth rock bolted to a doped-up garage-punk band. One of Omaha’s finest. BTW, this is a cassette-only release. Yes, you read that right.

Peace of Shit, Business as Usual (Rainy Road) — Local perusers of thee garage aesthetic write songs as clever (or crass) as their name. Also on cassette (I see a luddite trend here).

Two Gallants, The Bloom and the Blight (ATO) — This original snarling guitar-and-drum purveyors of the punk sea shanty waited until they left Saddle Creek to make the best record of their careers. They’ve never been more focused, or ferocious.

Cat Power, Sun (Matador) — Chan Marshall puts aside afternoon-light fragment pop for something more upbeat, trippy, tuneful and almost happy, until you listen to the words.

Azure Ray, As Above So Below (Saddle Creek) — By combining the best of their respective solo projects, the Fink/Taylor duo have (finally) struck the perfect balance between strutting and soulful, sounding (finally) comfortable in their own skins.

TEEN, In Limbo (Carpark) — Maybe the best all-girl indie rock band going. Less self-assured than Best Coast, but better.

Ember Schrag, The Sewing Room (Single Girl Married Girl / Edible Onion) — Local singer/songwriter’s clear-as-a-bell coffee-shop folk ruminations, worth it if only for the perfect jewel of “Your Words.”

Dinosaur Jr., I Bet on Sky (Jagjaguwar) — Everything ‘80s is new again, at least to the young ears that weren’t around the first time. As good as anything they did back then, at times even better.

Bob Mould, Silver Age (Merge) — Everything ‘80s is new again, again. Bob put away his dancing shoes and rediscovered his electric guitar and hasn’t sounded this good since his Sugar days.

The xx, Coexist (Young Turks) — Among the hottest (or most heralded) of the droll vibe bands, no matter how much I try it bores the shit out of me.

McCarthy Trenching, Plays the Piano (Slumberparty) — Half ragtime instrumentals and half ragtime-influenced piano ballads, they say he’s Omaha’s Randy Newman but he’s really just a nice guy lost in better days. And I like his “Solace” better than Marvin’s.

The Intelligence, Everybodys Got It Easy But Me (In the Red) — The best under-the-radar indie rock collection that you’ll probably never find. By the numbers, but it still gets me every time.

PUJOL, United States of Being (Saddle Creek) — Proof that Saddle Creek still has a nose for finding new talent (even though Jack White found it first). All his earlier recordings have been leading up to this. Not anthemic, but epic nonetheless.

David Byrne and St. Vincent, Love This Giant (4AD) — Waters down the best parts of both, it’s not weird enough to be interesting and not straight-forward enough to be interesting.

Violens, True — Everything ‘80s is new again, the dream-pop edition. Lush.

Wild Nothing, Nocturne (Captured Tracks) — Everything ‘90s is new again, the (upbeat) shoe-gaze edition.

Twin Shadow, Confess (4AD) — A dizzying trip back to ’80s electro-pop with a sound that recalls everything from General Public to Fine Young Cannibals to New Order to Peter Gabriel. If you’re gonna steal a style, this is how to do it.

Divine Fits, A Thing Called Divine Fits (Merge) — Better than the last couple Spoon albums (or anything by Wolf Parade).

Various Artists, Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac (Hear Music) — Unnecessary tribute album’s only highlights are Billy Gibbons’ “Oh Well,” and Antony’s fey “Landslide,” though it’ll make you want to seek out the source material.

Over The Edge is a weekly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. Published in The Omaha Reader, Sept. 27, 2012.

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Tonight at The Slowdown it’s Liverpool indie-rock trio The Wombats (Bright Antenna). Their sound has been described as “post-punk” but falls much closer to alt-pop or power-pop. Some say they’re destined for Arctic Monkey-level stardom. Who knows… maybe. This one was originally scheduled for the “junior room,” but was moved to the big stage thanks to pre-sales. Opening is Morning Parade and The Royal Concept. $12, 9 p.m.

Also tonight, our old pals Kite Pilot is playing tonight at The Sydney with Betsy Wells and Black Jonny Quest. $5, 9 p.m.

Last but not least, Pony Wars (Craig Korth, Craig Meier, Mike Brannan, Eric Ebers) is headlining a show tonight at O’Leaver’s with I Was Totally Destroying It and Millions of Boys. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

This being a semi-quiet Tuesday, I’m taking this opportunity to clean out the ol’ in-box. Bear with me…

Despite a release date of Sept. 4, the Saddle Creek Shop down at the Slowdown complex today announced that it’s selling right now copies of Azure Ray’s new CD/LP As Above So Below, very likely to the consternation of the folks at Homer’s Records. The shop also will have the limited edition (of 250) pink vinyl version of the record, only available at the shop or from the Saddle Creek online store. Pricing breakdown: CD – $7; LP – $13, and Limited Edition LP – $19.

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Doom Town Records, in cooperation with Rainy Road Records, says it will be releasing Baby Tears’ first full-length LP, Rusty Years, this Thursday, Aug 24, when all pre-orders will be shipped. The band plans to host a release show Oct. 7 at Barley Street Tavern. Until then, order your copy of Rusty Years right here.

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The Iggy Pop Bobblehead

Drastic Plastic is expanding on its  merch offerings with new a label, Silver Saucer CDs. “Silver Saucer’s mission is to do for CDs what Drastic Plastic Records does for vinyl: ensuring the continued availability and best possible sound for seminal recordings,” quote-eth their press release. “Our first release is Agent Orange’s classic Living in Darkness. The CD features the original LP track list with a limited initial run of 1,000 copies.” Street date is Sept. 18.

In addition, Drastic Plastic records announced the Oct. 2 vinyl-only release of The Gun Clubs’ classic from 1984, The Las Vegas Story, as a remastered, 180-gram, opaque-green vinyl offering limited to just 500 pressings.

And if that wasn’t enough, Drastic is in the bobblehead business with a 7-inch tall Iggy Pop bobblehead. Limited to 1,000, it’s the second in their bobblehead series, with George Clinton and Fulci Zombie slated for the bobblehead treatment in the near future. Street date on the doll is Oct. 9. I’m assuming you’ll be able to pick up all these items down at Drastic Plastic or go to impactmerch.com

* * *

Now onto tonight’s shows, and there’s a ton…

Digital Leather returns from their West Coast swing tonight for a gig at The Sydney in Benson. They open for Agent Orange (now on Silver Saucer CDs), along with Video Ranger. $10, 9:30.

Killer Blow is a new duo debuting tonight at The Barley Street Tavern. Featuring Todd VonStup on guitar (Baby Tears, ex-The Shanks) and Genie Molkentine on drums and vocals, their sound has been described as mix of garage pop and British New Wave. Check out there cover of “Love Rules,” by Pens, below. Also on the bill are Moses Prey and Daikaiju from Hunksville. $5, 9 p.m.

Killer Blow, “Love Rules”

Also tonight, ’80s post-wave alternative icons The Fixx plays at The Waiting Room with Lonely Estates. 8 p.m., $25.

La Armada, who just opened for Strung Out last week, plays again tonight at The Sandbox with Living Victim, Bad Vibes and Red Lion. $7, 8 p.m.

Finally, Japanese punk band Mugen Hoso turns up tonight for a free show at The Hideout. Opening is The Big Al Band. Starts at 9:30.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Azure Ray, As Above So Below (2012, Saddle Creek)

Azure Ray announced yesterday that the street date for As Above So Below, their latest 6-song set on Saddle Creek, drops Sept. 4. Expect dope beats: “We enlisted my husband and Andy LeMaster (Bright Eyes, Now It’s Overhead) as our dream team,” said Orenda Fink, wife to Todd Fink of The Faint. Get a download of track “Scattered Like Lives” right here at Stereogum by submitting your email address.

In other Creek news, Cursive announced an extensive summer and fall tour that begins at the end of July and brings them to Slowdown Oct. 28 opening for their old pals Minus the Bear. I can never get enough Cursive…

What else?

Oh yeah, the Red Sky Music Festival begins tonight at the Ameritrade Ballpark. Rascal Flatts.

Remember a couple years ago, when Red Sky was first announced, how people thought it was going to be a significant event?

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Column 347: Baby on Board: Maria Taylor’s Family Plan

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Singer/songwriter Maria Taylor is having a baby.

She dropped that bomb during an interview last week with the Arizona State University student newspaper, The State Press. And although the Saddle Creek Records chanteuse, who is also half of the duo of Azure Ray, is on a tour with a new solo album, I couldn’t think of a more important topic of discussion.

“Well, I can tell you that I met my boyfriend at a show in Washington, D.C.,” Taylor said while lying down in the tour van before her show Monday night in Portland. “He’s the first non-musician I’ve ever dated. He’s a Chief of Staff for a politician — I’m not going to tell you who.”

The reason for keeping his anonymity: “I haven’t asked him if he wants me to talk about it,” Taylor said. “He’s a really wonderful person. If I’m going to move to Washington, D.C., he must be a wonderful person. I remember driving into (Washington) before I met him, I was sitting in back-to-back traffic as always and I said, ‘Watch me meet someone from here and have to move to this f***ing town.’”

She went on to say Washington isn’t that bad. In fact, the more she experiences its history, museums and parks, the more she likes it. So the plan is to move to Washington, have the baby and then start touring again with baby in tow. “And my mom will be tour nanny,” Taylor said. “She just retired and wants to see the country. I plan on working on an Azure Ray record before having the baby to get as much done as we can. So the Azure Ray tour will be the first baby tour.”

They say having a baby changes everything, but does that include the way you write music? “I feel like it will,” Taylor said. “I draw from what’s happening in my life when I write. I imagine my disposition will be different, and it will even affect the sound as well as the lyrics.”

Taylor, both as a solo artist and in Azure Ray, has defined her music with deeply personal love songs, a style that seems almost passé as she’s about to enter a different stage in life, but she’s still not sure if she’ll leave love songs behind. “I haven’t written a song since I found out I was pregnant,” she said. “I might feel like focusing on different aspects of life, but what if I’m not good at that? I need to start writing again, but right now I’m real sick and on tour, and I don’t write when I’m on tour. I’ve been throwing up a lot. I haven’t felt creative.”

She said she didn’t think she would be sick just three months into the pregnancy — her due date is April 30 (“A Taurus,” she adds), and she won’t find out if it’s a boy or girl until after the tour.

“I was told I would feel amazing, but my body just shuts down at 9 p.m. and I get shaky and go to bed and get sick again” she said. “I can’t drink and I have social anxiety. It’s not the same experience to tour pregnant, but I feel like I’m conquering my fears. I’m talking to people every night and battling sickness.

“The cool thing is that I feel like the baby has all of its organs and just grows and gets bigger,” she added. “I can’t help thinking that I’m teaching it rhythms. It feels the vibrations. We really rock out, so I think it’s going to be a drummer or bass player.”

Maria Taylor, Overlook (Saddle Creek Records, 2011)

With songs like guitar-driven grinder “Matador” and strobing, soaring album opener “Masterplan,” Overlook, Taylor’s new album released this past August, may be her most diverse collection to date. The album balances the rock with Taylor’s usual delicate, reflective material, like the dreamy “Happenstance,” and somber “This Could Take a Lifetime.” Critical response also has been rather diverse — reviewers either love it or say the record sounds too rushed.

“I feel like I shot myself in the foot in the press release,” Taylor said, laughing. “I said I locked myself in a room and wrote it in two weeks. I feel like (critics) think I didn’t spend enough time and that it was thrown together. I could have written all my records that way. If I said I’d spent two years on it, they would say it was my best record yet. People who loved it probably didn’t read the press release.”

Overlook marks a return to Saddle Creek after Taylor strayed to Nettwerk to release 2009′s Ladyluck. She said the label switch was merely testing different waters. “There are pros and cons about each label,” she said. “Nettwerk put a lot of money into it, but we didn’t make it back, so I didn’t make money. With Saddle Creek, you can recoup and make money, and that’s hard to do these days. I don’t want to have to wait tables or go back to school.”

For now the biggest question is how Taylor will balance her career and motherhood. While her life is about to change forever, she said her new arrival won’t keep her from making music.

“When I’m on stage that one hour, I’m 100 percent happy,” she said. “I have social anxiety, but I feel like I’m connecting with people, and singing is my favorite thing to do in the world, especially on stage with my friends and family. I can’t imagine going through the rest of my life not doing that. I need that.”

Maria Taylor plays with Big Harp and Dead Fingers Sunday, Oct. 30, at Slowdown, 729 No. 14th St.. Showtime is 9 p.m. Admission is $10. For more information, call 402.345.7569 or visit theshowdown.com.

* * *’

I admit to not being terribly familiar with Drive By Truckers, though last weekend I was walking around Homer’s and heard part of their latest album, Go-Go Boots, over the store’s sound system and liked what I heard. The band is playing tonight at Slowdown with Those Darlins. $25, 9 p.m.

Also tonight Kyle Harvey opens a show at The Waiting Room for Boulder-based folk rocker Gregory Alan Isakov. South of Lincoln also is on the bill. $10, 9 p.m.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Re: Yesterday’s Special Comment: I humbly and proudly stand corrected.

* * *

Tim Kasher has the honor of being the subject for the debut of Pop Matters new video interview series. “Backstage at Chicago’s historic Vic Theatre, Kasher was candid and open with us, discussing why he chose not to write two more Ugly Organ‘s, how he deals with the frustration of those who feel somewhat betrayed by his songs not being autobiographical, and—after coming clean with some of his regrets—how getting to open for The Cure was one of the highlights of his life.” It’s a nice five minutes. Check it out.

* * *

Bright Eyes’ new free mp3 from the upcoming The People’s Key, “Halle Selassie,” is a real grinder. It chugs along on top of a 6/8 electric guitar riff that provides a strangely formal structure for Conor’s heavily delayed vocals. If someone asks me what is one of the threads that runs through classic Saddle Creek artists’ music, I tell them it’s a penchant for waltz-time arrangements, and in that context, this is sort of a throwback. You can get a download key for the song delivered to your email box through the widget below.

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Meanwhile, Azure Ray is giving away an 3mp of its new single, “Silverlake,” recorded with their friends in Sparklehorse. It’s a non-album track from the Drawing Down the Moon sessions, and as such, isn’t much of a departure from the usual AR fair, which means pretty harmonies and melodies and everything else you expect from Maria and Orenda. The two-song single includes ”Silverlake” and ”Silverlake (demo),” and is available via iTunes and the Saddle Creek Online Store. Download widget below:

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Finally, there’s this story from USA Today, which could have a major impact on the Omaha’s Red Sky Music Festival.

Buffett’s in stable condition, btw…

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Tomorrow, the story behind what makes hearnebraska.org tick.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Azure Ray at The Slowdown, Nov. 3, 2010.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

I fully intended to see Azure Ray last night at Slowdown. In fact, I even went down to Slowdown for the show, but unfortunately something came up and I had to leave shortly after taking the above photo during their first song. What very little I heard was, as you’d expect, lovely.

I was disappointed with the crowd size. Maybe 200? Maybe more. The balcony was closed and only about half the floor was filled. Slowdown never seemed so enormous. I guess Maria was right — maybe people don’t know that they’ve got a new album out, even though there were stories in all the usual print media.

I did get to see opener Tim Fite, which was an experience. Fite is a one-man performer who sang along with pre-recorded tracks and a video presentation, all the while doing everything he could to engage the audience (and doing a good job of it). His music is acoustic folk in sort of the Randy Newman vein (pretty stuff) blended with low-bass-beat hip-hop (which was just OK). There’s something about his style that recalls Devo/Talking Heads AV and the childish humor of Daniel Johnston. I haven’t met Fite, but I have to believe that he’s playing a character up there. No one could be that whimsical and fun in real life, but you never know.

* * *

Column 295 was a slight recasting of my review of Bad Luck Charm at The 49′r. You can read the original here. There’s no reason to repost it. However, if you want to see the changes (new lead, new ending) check it out on The Reader‘s website, here (or better yet, pick up a copy of the paper). How long until the wrecking ball makes its first appearance?

* * *

Big show tonight at O’Leaver’s. The headliner is Dapose, who is, of course, Dapose from the Faint rolling out songs from his new record, just released on blank.wav. Marijuana Death Squads is experimental electronics and percussion featuring dudes from Gayngs and Song of Zarathustra. Slapping Purses is, according to the show’s Facebook listing, “one-man beatstorm with suitcases full of electronics and a crazy microphone covered in switches. He opened for the Faint last time at First Ave.” $5, 9:30 p.m.

Also tonight, Wu Tang’s Ghostface Killah is at The Waiting Room with Sheek Louch, Frank Dukes, & Maxilla Blue. $25, 9 p.m.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

If you haven’t already, I suggest that you read the Lazy-i interview with Azure Ray before you head out to their show tonight at Slowdown. The interview is right here. Already read it? Well, read it again. Whatever. Just go to the show, which definitely should feel like a time warp back to those jaunty days of 2003.

I’m told by someone who’s on the Azure Ray tour that opener Tim Fite is worth an early arrival — he’s a one-man multi-media experience. In fact, you might as well get there really early for James Husband, who is really James Huggins, a staple of the Elephant 6 collective and former member of Of Montreal. The fun starts at 9, $14. See you there…

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Azure Ray's Maria Taylor, left, and Orenda Fink.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Column 294: Starting Over

The return of Azure Ray.

What better way to open an interview with Azure Ray’s Maria Taylor than with a scoop?

Regarding band mate Orenda Fink, and her husband, The Faint’s Todd Fink, Taylor made the following statement: “I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next few years they pop out a little Fink.”

Boom goes the dynamite. OK, maybe it wasn’t that big of a scoop, but it was the closest I got to one while talking to these two indie rock divas (and I use the term “divas” in only the most loving way).

Taylor did most of the talking, as Fink was behind the wheel of the van that carried Team Azure Ray to San Diego after a show the night before in Phoenix. Talking to Taylor is like talking to your best friend’s goofy little sister; she’s sweet and funny and gets your jokes even when they’re not very good.

It was obvious that, so far, the tour has been hit-and-miss. “It’s going pretty good, getting better and better,” Taylor said. “We have more of a fan base on the West Coast. So the crowds are getting better, but it’s still a challenge to make people aware of us.”

The crowd’s amnesia couldn’t have been a complete surprise. Azure Ray was at its career apex with 2003′s Hold On Love. A year later, Taylor and Fink went their separate ways due to creative differences, or for some other reason I’m sure we’ll never know. In addition to her solo work, Fink went on to form Art in Manila and collaborate with Cedric Lemoyne as O+S. Taylor worked with Bright Eyes, Moby, Crooked Fingers and Joshua Radin when she wasn’t recording and touring in support of her own solo projects.

Azure Ray, Drawing Down the Moon (Saddle Creek). Released 9/14/10.

Then, rather organically a couple years ago, the duo found themselves living in Los Angeles and hanging out together. “We thought, ‘Why not just put out another record together?’” So they teamed up with long-time producer/collaborator Eric Bachmann of Crooked Fingers (and Archers of Loaf before that) and recorded Drawing Down the Moon, released in September by Saddle Creek Records. The album is earmarked by those same soothing, whispering harmonies and heart-breaking lyrics that defined Azure Ray from the beginning, which is appropriate considering that in many ways, Azure Ray is starting over.

“I think people have small attention spans,” Taylor said. “I don’t think they’ve forgotten us, it just needs to be brought to their attention that we have a new record out.” Judging by the crowds there, apparently the word didn’t make it to Florida. Taylor was unwilling to share the attendance numbers. “The scary thing is you have to pay your players and make money. We didn’t have any expectations, and we like to keep it that way.”

Still, one expects to make money playing music, especially if you’re one of the more influential indie music duos of the early part of the last decade. They both point to the Internet for the current state of affairs.

“As far as the music industry goes, I’ve lost a lot of faith that I’ll be able to make a living doing this much longer,” Taylor said. “In 2002, people were still buying records and a career in music seemed like an option. Our friends were doing so well. But that was a different time. We were just talking about this in the van, how amazing the Internet is and how it’s just screwed us.”

Taylor handed the phone to Fink. “Maria is right. The biggest change is the culture of the music industry and the economy,” Fink said. “In a strange way, being on the road now is like when we first started — we really didn’t know what was happening. It was before cell phones and the Internet. Now with technology, it’s creating still more uncertainty. The bubble has burst. The industry was cruising along for a number of years with a formula for how records were sold and how tours were sold and promoted. That formula doesn’t exist anymore, and everyone is trying to figure out how to make it work in this new climate.”

That uncertainty played a small role in both Taylor’s and Fink’s exodus from Los Angeles. Orenda and Todd recently moved to Athens, Georgia, while Taylor bought a house in Birmingham, Alabama. “We’re going to be touring so much and it’s so expensive to live in Los Angeles,” Taylor said, “And being closer to our families kind of seems nice.”

They haven’t forgotten Omaha. “We miss our friends a whole lot, especially when tragedy happens or hard times, it’s hard to be so far away from the people that you’re close to,” Taylor said. “I definitely miss it. I even miss the snow.”

Something tells me that the Nov. 3 Azure Ray show at Slowdown will be like a family reunion, or a time machine that takes everyone back to 2003. The difference is that this time Taylor and Fink are in it for the long haul. They’re already talking about their next record. “With this new record, we were specifically not trying to draw from what we learned in our solo work. We wanted to recreate the same feeling from the first album,” Taylor said. “We’ll experiment a little more with the things we learned on the next album.

“It definitely feels great to be together and work together again,” Taylor said. “We’ve been friends for 20 years — two people who, since they met, enjoy spending time together. We definitely don’t take each other for granted any more.”

Azure Ray plays with Tim Fite and James Husband Wednesday, Nov. 3, at The Slowdown, 729 No. 14th St. Show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $12 adv./$14 DOS. For more info, go to theslowdown.com.

* * *

There are two shows going on tonight competing for essentially the same audience. Over at O’Leaver’s it’s So-So Sailors with Portland trio System and Station and Conduits. $5, 9:30 p.m. Meanwhile, over at The Barley St. Tavern, it’s The Stay Awake and Techlepathy. $5, 9 p.m.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

In case you missed it, our friends at Pitchfork reviewed the new Azure Ray disc, Drawing Down the Moon, a couple days ago, giving it a slightly-above-mediocre 6.5 rating. Their summary/closing graph: “The upside is that it sounds warmly familiar, a reminder of why we missed them in the first place, but the downside is that the album gives very few indications of what Fink and Taylor have learned during their hiatus– the new tricks they’ve picked up from their various projects and collaborations, the ways their individual outlooks might have changed, and why they got back together at all.”

You can read the full review here, and my take on the album is online here.

Speaking of Saddle Creek releases, the new solo disc by Two Gallants’ frontman Adam Haworth Stephens, We Live on Cliffs, dropped today. You can also read my take of that disc here.

* * *

It’s a loaded night of music tonight featuring bands that will be traveling to Lincoln tomorrow night for Lincoln Calling.

At the Waiting Room it’s Sea Wolf playing an acoustic set. Joining him is Sara Cahoone and Patrick Park. $12, 9 p.m.

Down at Slowdown it’s Those Darlins with Turbo Fruits and Dim Light. $8, 9 p.m.

Tomorrow night, Those Darlins will be playing at Duffy’s with Turbo Fruits, while Sea Wolf/Cahoone/Park will be at The Bourbon Theater. Check out the full Lincoln Calling schedule at lincolncalling.com, and check out my interview/overview on LC in tomorrow’s column.

Meanwhile over at The Barley Street Tavern, it’s noise night with Baby Tears and Nymph. $5, 9 p.m.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Column 287: Five Above Earl

Reviews of Arcade Fire, new Saddle Creek releases…

I write this crammed into a window seat flying straight into the heart of a hurricane named Earl, but I’m not worried. NYC will protect me. It always has. So if there’s a sense of impending dread throughout these five reviews — a look at the hottest indie release of the year, along with four new, strong albums from our friends at Saddle Creek Records — I blame the weather and anticipation of my long-deserved vacation (or demise). See you on the other side of the storm.

Tim Kasher, The Game of Monogamy (Saddle Creek). Out 10/5/10.

Tim Kasher, The Game of Monogamy (Saddle Creek). Like most of Kasher’s confessional catalog, it’s an examination of his ongoing struggles with guilt. Guilt about his inability to commit, guilt for taking the easy way out, guilt over his unwillingness to accept contentment (“I’m Afraid I’m Gonna Die Here”) and guilt over his unwillingness to change in the face of that dreaded contentment (“Cold Love”). Lucky for him, with that guilt comes numbness as a symptom of middle age. There’s a certain sense of inevitable desperation that underlies this entire album, but don’t feel sorry for poor Kasher. He knows (as we all do) that whatever misery he suffers, he brought on himself. Musically, it veers closer to The Good Life than Cursive. Fine. The differentiator is the baroque strings, the upbeat brass that reminds me of Madness, and the cool electronic claps on “Gonna Die Here,” which would be a radio hit in any other universe. His tendency to occasionally throw too many words into a phrase makes for some clumsy moments, but those are few and far between. In the overall Kasher oeuvre, this is a minor, simple, but ultimately satisfying guilt trip.

Azure Ray, Drawing Down the Moon (Saddle Creek). Out 9/14/10.

Azure Ray, Drawing Down the Moon (Saddle Creek) — The question: Is the sum better than its parts? When Azure Ray split up all those years ago, we thought we’d get twice as much goodness as when they were together. Instead, we were treated to some hit-and-miss releases that allowed the girls to experiment with some things they wouldn’t have tried together. Now they’re back, and they’ve brought the best of their separate experiences along with some interesting electronics. Both dabbled with beats (none moreso than Fink’s O+S), and those clicks and pops have given us one of the more upbeat AR albums in their catalog. Even more noticeable is Eric Bachmann’s production and arrangements, especially on those rollicking guitar-picking numbers (“Shouldn’t Have Loved,” “Make Your Heart.”). But in the end, it still comes down to the same soothing, whispering harmonies that defined them from the beginning. The underlying theme: Just getting by, with or without someone else’s heart alongside theirs (Though they’d surely prefer the former. And who, other than Kasher, wouldn’t?). And if you know their personal back stories, it’s fun to try to connect the dots, whether they’re singing about familiar old (and current) boyfriends or not.

Adam Haworth Stephens, We Live on Cliffs (Saddle Creek). Out 9/28/10.

Adam Haworth Stephens, We Live on Cliffs (Saddle Creek) — AHS is half of Two Gallants, the singing/guitar playing half. We love 2G songs for their reckless drunken sea-shanty style mixed with wry story telling – sort of like an American version of Pogues meets Gordon Lightfoot. Well, the sea balladeering is long gone on this album. Instead, AHS has opted for a more streamlined, straightforward, AOR approach both in the songwriting and arrangements. In fact, the second track, “Second Mind,” creeps dangerously close to Jack Johnson territory. My take: This solo effort was an opportunity for Stephens to turn things down, smooth them out and try for a more peaceful, easy, mainstream feeling. When he does turn it up, like on driver “Elderwoods,” he can’t help but hold the leash a bit too tightly. The result is a pleasant record that will makes 2G fans yearn for a return to that drunken, piss-soaked pub by the sea.

Land of Talk, Cloak and Cipher (Saddle Creek). Released 8/24/10.

Land of Talk, Cloak and Cipher (Saddle Creek) — Saddle Creek has its first dream-pop act with these wily Montreal-eans led by dreamy front woman Elizabeth Powell. Their first Creek release, 2007′s Some Are Lakes, was a sneaky comer that required repeated listens before locking in. Not so this follow-up, which leaps out of the gate with its dense, bouncy title track where Powell croons in her husky, sexy voice the indecipherable code: “I won’t redeem another / Lose that.” What’s it mean? Who knows? Just like on the pulsing “Quarry Hymns,” where she coos “Leaving on the hottest day / To sink this quarry under,” you never know what she’s singing about, and you won’t care because you’ll be lost in the layers of the trio’s beautiful pop. There will be the inevitable comparisons to the usual suspects: The Sundays, The Cranberries, Fleetwood Mac, but Land of Talk brings its own mystery to your headphones, its own intensity that none of the others can match.

Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (Merge). Released 8/3/2010.

Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (Merge) — Mewing frontman Win Butler may be too smart for his own good — a sad, tortured realist, he’s stuck in a rut, dwelling on the past, on the future and on our current state of affairs. And yet, his music on this, his third album, is as inventive as anything on 2004’s Funeral, certainly moreso than the disappointing Neon Bible. The album is so radio-friendly (in an ’80s sort of way) that it almost slips out of an indie classification into the mainstream. But it’s the songs’ consistently bleak lyrics that will keep any of them from becoming household anthems. The themes: Boredom, lost opportunities, futility, modernism, isolationism, instant nostalgia, and some unforeseen looming apocalypse. All that desolation wrapped in such a pretty package. So yeah, it’s an endearing bummer that’s appropriate for these bummer times we live in, a perfect snapshot of an uncertain world, and dead accurate, but that doesn’t make it any more fun to listen to. My advice: Hang on for the ride and pay attention to the lyrics at your own peril — you may never want to get out of bed in the morning.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2010 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.