No. 39: Gomez

Gomez consists of 5 members from Southport, England whose sound is almost as interesting as their background. Fun fact: They played their first show as an untitled band, only receiving their name after writing a sign for a friend which read "Gomez the gig's in here." People assumed they were Gomez, and so they kept the name. They then started recording demos in the drummer Olly's bathroom before signing with a record label, and here we are.

1999's Liquid Skin is my favorite of the band's albums, consisting of harder tracks like "Fill My Cup" to the softer, emotionally charged "We Haven't Turned the World Around." Coming from someone who has been accused of not taking risks with her musical palette, I must say Gomez has made me want to further explore other genres of music and not be afraid of different sounds. The job of lead vocalist switches from the three guitarists, Ian, Ben and Tom (who also provides us the keyboard). The fifth and final member is the bassist Paul. What I enjoy most about Gomez is their range and ability to take risks with their sound. Each song is different from the one before, yet is consistently intriguing to the ear. Gomez plays night two at Lollapalooza, and I think they are worth checking out.

No 40: Dan Auerbach and the Fast 5

Dan Auerbach is probably best know as the lead guitarist from The Black Keys, a 2-piece blues band from Akron, Ohio. After much success with the band, he released his first solo album, Keep it Hid, in February of 2009, which was recorded at his own Akron Analog studios using mainly vintage equipment. The album highlights include "My Last Mistake" and "I Want Some More," but the album is good noise from start to finish. During solo shows, Dan is backed by the band Hacienda, from San Antonio, Texas, and Patrick Hallahan, the drummer from My Morning Jacket, who have recently taken the name The Fast 5.

Being an avid fan of the band The Black Keys and having listened to the new Auerbach album several times before Dan's most recent Chicago show at the Metro on March 6, I expected a good show from Dan with the rest of the pieces just filling in. The performance was much more than that; it was loud and fast just like any show from the Black Keys, but instead of Dan drowning out the rest of the band, the band played together like they'd been on the road together for years. The tracks were longer and the sound was much deeper than anything I expected. They will be a definite stop of mine at this year's Lolla.


Dan Auerbach on MySpace

No. 41: Federico Aubele

Jamaican dub and reggae, American ambient and hip-hop, Mexican bolero, and Argentine tango. These genres describe Federico Aubele. I know what two of those mean. Federico is an Argentine singer-songwriter who speaks Spanish, English, and German. All of his vocals are in Spanish. Luckily for me, Federico explains all of his songs on his new album Amatoria are about love and inspired by Roman poet Ovid. Ovid is considered to have written the first book about love for the western culture. Federico was discovered by sending his demo to band Thievery Corporation and was soon signed to create his first album Gran Hotel Buenos Aires. All of the songs are slow paced but he adds some electronic beats into the mix, and I can see why Thievery Corporation helped him sign on their label Eighteenth Street Lounge Music -- I hear many similarities. Federico is actually playing the Ravinia tonight in Highland Park if anyone wants to check him out before Lollapalooza. He plays on Saturday at 1:30 on the Playstation stage at Lolla.

He also sports a sweet fro...

Official Page
MySpace Page

No. 42: Glasvegas

Glasvegas is a 4-piece band from Glasgow, Scotland that formed in 2003. The band has released one self-titled full-length album that received numerous awards and a mini album with a Christmas theme A Snow Flake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss) both in 2008. Glasvegas' debut album is a solid effort. "Geraldine" and "Go Square Go" are highlights. I find them similar to Oasis and The Killers, and since they have a favorable time slot at Lolla I'll probably check them out while I'm waiting for TV on the Radio to take the stage.


However, the band falls into an unfortunate category with me. When a band arrives and suddenly appears on every radio station, headlines every festival, and becomes everyone's favorite band like the Killers in 2004-05, I tend to group in everyband that sounds remotely like them and not give them a second listen. An unfair way to judge the bands, but it happens and when I finally get around to giving them a second listen I often find that they're much more then the square hole I fit them into. This happen to anyone else?


Glasvegas on MySpace

The Official Site of Glasvegas

No. 43: The Gaslight Anthem

The Gaslight Anthem was Born in the USA. The band formed in 2005 and has toured from the Badlands, to Atlantic City, to the Streets of Philadelphia. They've had Glory Days and Better Days and seem to have a bright future.

Okay, that was a brutal attempt at overstating how much The Gaslight Anthem sounds like Bruce Springsteen. They originally come from the Jersey Shore and are about as American as a band can get. The band has released two albums: Sink or Swim in 2007 and their latest The 59' Sound released in 2008. Both albums are solid throughout and the sound is very similar to a faster-paced, furious Springsteen album. The Gaslight Anthem has played on a Johnny Cash tribute album, routinely covers Tom Petty at live performances, and lists Neil Young as a major influence (yes I know he's Canadian). I'd like to check out the band at Lolla this year, however their time slot is in competition with both Amazing Baby and the Builders and the Butchers.


The Gaslight Anthem on MySpace

The Official Site of The Gaslight Anthem

No. 44 Peter Bjorn & John

Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie rock band that is probably most known for their 2006 single “Young Folks” off the album Writers Block. By the end of the summer of 2007 you were either whistling the chorus at least once a day or gouging your ears out with an ice pick everytime you heard it overplayed on WXRT. Nonetheless it was one catchy tune.

Few people realize, but PB&J is actually named after 3 people and not 2. Peter Morén (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Björn Yttling (bass guitar, keyboards and vocals) and John Eriksson (drums, percussion and vocals).They have put out 2 albums since Writers Block. One was called Seaside Rock, an instrumental that can be hard for anyone but hardcore PB&J fans to get in to. The other is this year’s release Living Thing. Living Thing is a definite departure from the spacious and flowing pop music one was accustomed to when listening to PB&J. It sounds like an attempt to test their songwriting, but in the end the music doesn’t hold up and you keep asking yourself, Where is the hook? PB&J seemed like they were destined to break out after Writer’s Block, but have come up short in their last 2 projects. In this reviewer's opinion they were good at writing pop music with lofty lyrics and simple crowd pleasers. They had that feeling of classical music with a rock-sound and all has been lost on this new record with their reliance on a drum-machine.

PB&J played Lollapalooza in 2007 and their set was delayed about 20 minutes due to a power outage. To pass time they started scaling the banners next to the stage and were either drunk or consumed by heat exhaustion. They finished up their set with “Objects of My Affection," and "Up Against the Wall," two pretty powerful numbers that hopefully get played over anything off their new album at this year’s Lollapalooza. I would make a stop by PB&J for a song or two, but until they go back to what they were good at there are plenty of other bands to see.

Official Site

MySpace Page

No. 45: Kaiser Chiefs

Kaiser Chiefs are a rock group from Leeds, England. They have released three albums -- the most recent "Off With Their Heads" in October 2008. I bought this album last year after reading a very positive review in Paste magazine (91 out of 100). I don't think I would recommend it this highly, but it has its moments.

You can read a previous review I wrote on the album here. The album has kind of fallen out my play rotation recently, but I still like some of the tunes. (The jam at the end of "You Want History" is guiltily good.)

I've never seen this band live in person, but I did happen to catch a performance on the Palladia channel recently. I was not very impressed. Their songs fell kind of flat in front of a big crowd, and I fear more of the same from them at Lollapalooza. I probably won't be checking them out. But I could see myself stopping for a quick lesson, hoping to hear a few of their catchy songs that I don't want to admit I enjoy.

Their name comes from a South African soccer club. Does anyone else get a "Almost Famous" vibe from this picture?

Kaiser Chiefs on Myspace

Official site

No. 46 The Airborne Toxic Event

This five-piece indie rock band is from a district of Los Angeles called Los Feliz. The band is named after a chapter in the book “White Noise” by Don Delillo in which a large chemical spill from a rail car releases a toxic cloud over a city. With a name like that, I thought they would have more of an experimental sound, however it's pretty straight indie rock. Many of the tracks have an epic feeling where the song hits a great climax; it reminds me of Arcade Fire in a way.

The lead singer Mikel Jollett is a writer who has freelanced for NPR, L.A.Times, and Filter magazine. In 2006, instead of writing a novel for a year, he just kept writing songs and decided to start a band. The band's only album, which is self-titled, has some catchy tunes like "missy" and "gasoline" along with some more drawn-out songs with heavy violins from classically trained violinist Anna Bulbrook like "Sometime around Midnight." The band wraps up with bassist Noah Harmon (who holds a jazz degree in upright bass performance), former punk drummer Daren Taylor, and one of Jollett's old friends, guitarist Steven Chen.

Most reviews of the album recieved a good 7 or 8 out of 10. Of course Pitchfork gave it a whopping 1.6 out of 10. This may scare some of you from giving them a listen. Please don't, Pitchfork has been screwing bands since the beginning of time. Seriously 1.6? The band does enjoy creating music videos; they offer quite a few on their myspace page. Check out the acoustic version of "gasoline", "missy", and "innocence." Below is their impressive performance on Letterman. They play on Sunday 2:30 to 3:30 at Lollapalooza.

Official Page
MySpace Page

No. 47: Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes is a folk rock group from Seattle. At first listen, they draw obvious comparisons to the likes of My Morning Jacket and Band of Horses (at least vocally). Musically, however, they have an "older" sound -- something much wiser and mature than the 20-somethings that make up the band.

They released their debut full-length album last year. Read my initial review of it here. Almost exactly a year since I wrote that review, I still think the album is great. I look forward to hearing what these guys have in store for the future.

Now, Fleet Foxes put out this outstanding album with great harmonizing vocals, and it made me think the band would have a difficult time re-creating the sound in a live setting. But that couldn't be further from the truth. I saw Fleet Foxes twice last year -- once in a festival setting, once in a club setting. They sounded great both times, absolutely nailing the vocals and soul of the music.

If there was one complaint I had for the live shows, it's that the setlist was very similar both times. But when a band only has one album and an EP, I guess I can't complain. I really hope they've been cooking up some new tunes this past year -- but I'd still probably be content to see more of the same from them this year at Lolla. I'd definitely recommend checking them out.

Fleet Foxes on Myspace

No. 48: Ra Ra Riot

Ra Ra Riot is a six-member pop rock band from Syracuse, NY. In addition to the traditional drums, bass, guitar setup, the band features an electric violin player and an electric cello player. I'd say their sound is a mix of Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend.

The group only has one full-length album -- "The Rhumb Line," which was released August 2008. The album has a hint of sadness to it, thanks to the haunting strings and soft lyrics. "The Rhumb Line" was co-written by former drummer John Ryan Pike. Pike was found dead after one of their shows in 2007. This story also adds to the sad feeling of the album.

The album received favorable reviews, but I think it's a little overrated, partially because of what happened to Pike. I'll be interested to see how this band's future albums turn out and if their success continues. However, even though I'm not enamored with their album, I do think they're a great live band. I saw them play at the Double Door last year and they were incredible. I had never heard of them before, but thought that with a name like Ra Ra Riot, they would most likely be lame. But about 15 seconds into their first song, I knew these guys were for real. On stage, they jump around, smiling, having a blast. I recommend seeing Ra Ra Riot live if you can (especially to see their cello player).

Here's a blog written by Pike's mother as a tribute to his life.

Ra Ra Riot on Myspace

Official site