Brought to you by Moutique and presented by www.blitzgigs.de, John Vanderslice brings his unique indie-pop and unrivalled songwriting skill to NBI for what will surely be a memorable evening.
John Vanderslice is a singer-songwriter with a lot to say or at least he did when I first got to know him. Pixel Revolt (2005, Barsuk Records), was an angry and powerful album full of politically motivated lyrics and anti-war sentiment aimed at the douchebags in the White House and followed up 2004′s Cellar Door, a great yet bleak album or should that be the other way around?
Now signed to the great Dead Oceans label, home to Akron/Family, Destroyer and Phosphorescent to name but three, his recent records have seen his always tuneful acoustic/indie-pop flourish, particularly Romanian Names released 2009 and which has had this beautiful remark made about it by Laura Snapes in the NME:
Not since Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago has there been such an accomplished album of torch songs…if you can spend a little time with ‘Romanian Names’ and not feel duly captivated by its sun-kissed longing, West Coast harmonies and occasional krautrock minimalism, your heart’s probably made of stone.
This year’s White Wilderness saw him team up with the Magik Magik Orchestra led by Minna Choi and get all chamber-pop on us, great stuff. Having started the Tiny Telephone recording studio in San Francisco in 1997 Mr.Vanderslice can take his sweet time recording his records so it was a little surprising to learn that this latest masterpiece was recorded in only three days. It’s lush and lovely and is pure evidence that this Magik Magik Orchestra really are a bunch of magic people. Love it.
Here’s Promising Actress from Cellar Door live with Magik Magik Orchestra with Exodus Damage from Pixel Revolt below that:
