What We're Listening To - 9/16

Well, folks, it's another gray Tuesday afternoon, and I don't know about you, but today's kicking my ass. I'm tired as all get-out, severely under-caffeinated and totally running on fumes. Thank goodness there's a fresh installment of What We're Listening To to perk us all up! As you may or may not know, this is TNG's weekly roundup of the music we each think is actually worth getting out of bed for. On the menu this week, we've got: Ssion, Loleatta Holloway, Of Montreal, Ice Cube, Benjy Ferree, Autumn's Grey Solace, Adam Green, Brandi Carlile, Republica, and Matt Pond PA. Check it all out below the fold...



Ssion—Fool's Gold

If you're gay and hipster/not-hipster, go ahead and try out this album; hell, try it out even if you're straight, not hipster, but just like a fun dance. Take it into the dressing room, make your best mirror face, and if you don't like the way the electronic dance grooves make your ass look, put it back on the rack. Basically, I expect that if there is ever an electro war between 21st century indie gays, the songs "Bullshit" and "Street Jizz" will be playing in the background as emaciated music lovers smack the skinny jeans off of each other. This electro-punk album is good for dancing and/or just generally making you more excited about life. Tune in to another Ssion song, "Credit in the Straight World," off of a different album to further indulge your gay musical ear. - Stephanie

Loleatta Holloway—The Anthology: (Disc 1: Dance Loleatta)

A Compendium of Things I Learned From Listening to the “Dance Loleatta” CD in the 2-CD The Anthology Set: 1) There’s “Two Sides to Every Story”; 2) The spoken-word R&B vamp is a lost art; 3) Mama won’t; 4) Papa don’t; 5) Loleatta may not be there when you want her, but she’s right on time; 6) It’s “All About the Paper”; 7) If you’d only been there, you could have heard the greatest performance of Loleatta’s life; 8) Papa can’t stand no foolishness; and 9) Any benighted folks who think disco music is robotic and disco singers lack personality have sadly never heard Loleatta Holloway’s music. - Philip

Of Montreal—Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

I know next to nothing about Of Montreal, save that they've been around for a while and they had never come across my radar screen. However, recently they have been popping up all over the place, so I decided to check out their January 2007 album, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? Wow, what a record! The best way to describe it is as side two of the Beatles' Abbey Road covered by the Scissor Sisters in the style of Queen, with hints of Prince, Beck and Bowie. Hands down, the stand-out track is "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" where the narrator pleads to "chemicals" to help him out of an emotional slump. Other stand-out tracks include "Suffer for Fashion", "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger", and "We Were Born the Mutants Again with Leafling". I've also received an advanced copy of their upcoming (October 2008) album, and if you like Hissing Fauna you're up for a treat with Skeletal Lamping. Of Montreal plays the 9:30 Club on October 8. - Michael

Ice Cube—Raw Footage

The gangsta is back. His latest, Raw Footage, is refreshing not only in that it marks the return of a rapper who can actually rap and do so about issues that matter, but shows us the evolution of the man. Cube has come a long way since he helped originate gansta rap through his group N.W.A. (Niggas with Attitudes), and his maturity is evident. Commentary on his usual list of topics (politics, social relations, and ethnic discrimination) have never been better, and its refreshing to hear the master in top form without hearing the usual misogyny, homophobia, and elevation of wealth and violence that is common in rap. Listening to the black empowerment message that is the focus of this album, it dissapoints me that no gay rappers have stepped forward and done anything with rap music as a platform for social protest. Also, this album is great for the gym. - Ben

Benjy Ferree—Leaving The Nest

So I tried to listen to Hypernova, this band a friend described as the "Iranian Strokes". And despite some pretty funny press clips on their MySpace page ("When Americans speak about an Iranian invasion, few are referring to a rock band." Zing!), this band is dreadfully boring. Instead of going to go see them this Sunday at the Red and the Black, go see D.C.'s Benjy Ferree at Iota. He's got a new album coming out around November, so you've got plenty of time to make friends with his 2006 release Leaving the Nest. Fans of Neutral Milk Hotel, Elf Power, or Gorky's Zygotic Mynci will have lots to love. - Coach

Autumn's Grey Solace—Ablaze

The 5th AGS album follows in its predecessors' footsteps, exploring dreamy, atmospheric music in tones of dark and light. The opening 'Endlessly' sets the tone, with its army of chiming, shimmering guitars, solid bass lines and Erin Welton's angelic soprano. Echoes of the Cocteau Twins appear in the following songs –'Fluttermoth,' 'Into The Stream,' and 'The Moon Nocturnal.' Scott Ferrell bends his guitars into interesting shapes, particularly the guitar-as-violin solo that emerges in "Into The Stream." A lighter, acoustic approach appears in 'Imaginary Grey' and the almost jazzy 'Sea of Honesty'; there isn't even a hint of 'goth' in these sprightly tunes. The foray into Evanescence-styled gothic metal, 'A Rhythm That Writhes' adds darkness, but sticks out from the rest of the sun-splashed sonic architecture. The lyrics are filled with nature imagery, which come to a head with 'Tusk,' a hypnotic tune about elephant poachers. The album closes with the aptly titled 'Angelspeak,' with Welton wordlessly vocalizing above Ferrell's ocean of acoustic and electric guitars. - Craig

Adam Green—Sixes & Sevens

I went to see Adam Green play the Black Cat backstage hoping he'd play his 2002 single "Dance With Me," and was instead greeted with a "performance" by a chubby, hairy letch who seemed more interested in hitting on audience members and appearing to be on mushrooms than actually playing his songs. Luckily, that didn't discourage me from buying Sixes & Sevens, his album from earlier this year. Like Leonard Cohen on the aforementioned mushrooms, his forays into rap and big band do little to disguise the droll beauty of some the ballads on the albums middle half. - Zack

Brandi Carlile—The Story

Brandi Carlile was a mainstay on the mixed CDs that my lesbian friends would make me in college, and she was essentially the soundtrack on my big gay trip to Maine this summer (though we mixed some Ani and Chris Pureka in there as well). Her most recent disc, The Story, which came out last year, is heavily featured on my iPod's 25 most recently played songs. I've been listening to the title track quite a bit, but the whole album is perfect to listen to straight through when you're feeling lots of lesbian angst — Carlile is a lesbian, so it's very easy to imagine that the dysfunctional relationship she's singing about is yours. - Ms. Cavanaugh

Republica—Republica

When I was in 7th grade, I called one of my classmates "sexist" when she refused to listen to my Republica CD. Today, these tech-punk sounds makes me want to jump around my office, throw my keyboard to the floor and start doing random vogue-like poses. They were the first femme band I'd ever listened to and probably the reason I like to kiss girls. I also recommend dancing to "Bloke" on a rainy day. - Allison

Matt Pond PA—If You Want Blood [EP]

Back in the day, Matt Pond PA's claim to fame was that they were a wistful, introspective, Brooklyn-based indie band... but with a cello! However, Last Light, released earlier this year, saw the band eschew their trademark melancholy and strings for a more traditional pop/indie/rock sound. It's a little sad, because The Nature of Maps and Emblems are two truly gorgeous albums you should totally check out. Then again, it's not sad at all, because I love Matt Pond pretty unconditionally and Last Light has some really wonderful songs on it. ("Sunlight" is a particular favorite of mine.) The thing is as much as I like the new album and the new sound, I like this EP they released a few months earlier even more. It's like hearing the process of evolution; they rock harder than they ever have before, but there's still enough of the strings and the "chamber pop" vibe that it's still pretty chill and it doesn't feel like you're listening to a completely different band. Yet. It's something an old fan like me would love, but totally accessible enough for newbies. Of course, most of you probably aren't trying to get that deep and chart their whole trajectory, so if you do nothing else, just check out "Magic Boyfriend." Best. Song. Ever. (Today.) - Rocky