Artist Name: Ravens and Chimes
Hails from: NYC
Plays Songs That: make your heart ache with meticulously crafted lyrics and orchestration.
Latest Release:  Reichenbach Falls
You’ll Adore Ravens & Chimes if the Headliner You’re Most Excited For is: Death Cab for Cutie

Of all the up and coming bands I was most excited to see on the Bumbershoot line-up this year, New York’s Ravens and Chimes was at the top of the list. The bands debut album Reichenbach Falls has been a constant companion since first listen. Ravens & Chimes is led adeptly with quiet confidence by singer-songwriter Asher Lack. The band and their songs have echoes of Arcade Fire and Lifted era Bright Eyes – however, what is truly laudable and lovable about Ravens & Chimes, is that they inhabit their own sound and style. If you need a few new hopeful and haunting songs to fall in love with or to help you make it through the Fall, Ravens & Chimes is that band and Bumbershoot is your opportunity.

Ravens and Chimes play Sunday August 31st at the EMP Sky Church from 5:00-6:00pm

Ravens & Chimes with Lenin ::: photo by Abbey

My favorite not-Seattle album of the summer? Hands down,Reichenbach Falls from NYC’s Ravens & Chimes. The album is an intricately crafted masterpiece. Listening to Reichenbach Falls, it is obvious the album was a labor of love. Every note appears to have been fretted over, that there is nothing happenstance about the album. The song placement is perfect, taking you on a journey that is at once sparsely poetic, yet still so full and rich. Few albums in recent memory have conveyed a place or a feeling so well. The albums that have–Arcade Fire’s Funeral and Bright Eyes Lifted or The Story is in the Soil– led to deserving critical and commercial success for both bands. I expect Reichenbach Falls to do so for Ravens & Chimes.

The band will be back in Seattle for Bumbershoot. And by then they just might be recognized as ’08’s breakout band. If so, they will have earned it with sonic grace and an intense commitment to their craft. You can expect this album to make a strong showing in my best albums of 2008 list.

 Like an insane person, I attempted to drive in Seattle, while it was snowing. Bad idea. And like a true Seattle-ite, it was because my coffee maker’s broken and I needed my fix. I love Seattle in the snow, my city rarely looks more beautiful. I do not however, love Seattle drivers in the snow. If you live here, you know we can barely drive as it is, add in snow and it’s basically a large scale version of slow motion passive-agressive bumper cars.

What would usually be a ten minute errand turned into an hour long adventure, but KEXP was good company. DJ Jack Walters was playing snow songs, which are distinctly different than rainy day songs it would seem. Lovely and bare folk tunes seemed to be the common string, though he also played some songs specifically mentioning winter and snow. It inspired me to come home and share a few of my favorite snowy day songs, hope you enjoy.

Sufjan Stevens - Sister Winter  Sufjan Stevens - Sister Winter

I was going to post this later this month, as an example as one of the very few Holiday/Christmas songs that I actually like. Unfortunately, my Christmas song loving co-workers informed me, despite the wishing everyone a happy Christmas at the end of the song, this does not qualify as an actual Christmas Song. It does however, in my mind, make a perfect snowy day song.

Bright Eyes - Something Vague Bright Eyes - Something Vague

This song doesn’t sound nearly as good when you listen to it in the summer-time. There’s an achy moodiness to “Something Vague,” as well as some great early imagery in the song which clearly declares this to be a lonely and lovely winter song. It happens to be one of my favorite Bright Eye’s song, which curiously all come off his earlier records.

Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1

I know part of my winter association with this album, was the time of year I fell in love with it. But I always imagined the tunnels Win sings of, were being dug in snow.

Leonard Cohen - Famous Blue Raincoat Leonard Cohen - Famous Blue Rain Coat

“It’s 4 in the morning, the end of December.” Even if it’s 80 degrees outside, the combination of this first line and Leonard Cohen’s voice, which sounds like a cold and dark grey day, makes my teeth want to chatter instinctively. A classic winter song.

Haven’t been talking about new stuff we’ve been listening to much lately but this post is an effort in beginning to remedy that.

The band that has been tickling my fancy the most lately is Portland’s Austin’s Zookeeper. Thanks to Chad over at Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands for tipping me off to this wonderful band and providing a few mp3’s. Couldn’t find too much written about them, which is a shame, so I’m intrigued to hear some more stuff. They’ll be at El Corazon on September 22.

Also getting an unusual amount of iPod time is British singer songwriter Fionn Regan. His mature songwriting belies his young age and I sure am a sucker for the singer-songwriter crowd. His album, released July 9 stateside, is up for Britain’s Nationwide Mercury Prize for album of the year, shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys and Klaxons. He’s visiting Seattle this Monday, July 30 for a Sonic Boom In-Store at 6pm and a gig at the Sunset later that evening. He doesn’t have too many dates in the US, so it’s cool he’s stopping by Seattle for two performances.

A couple of the B-Sides from the National’s latest album Boxer, provided by what is in my opinion consistently one of the best mp3 blogs out there, I Guess I’m Floating. Also included in the B-Sides post are tracks from TV On The Radio, Spoon and Bright Eyes among others. For a couple you’ll wonder why they were B-Sides at all.

Miracle is here! Go Buy it. Or else. That’s right, A Gun That Shoots Knives has finally received their record back from the printer. You can pick it up from the band themselves at their show at the High Dive on the 18th, or look for it in your local record store. They’ll be on tour throughout May and then having their CD Release party on May 19 at the Blue Moon. I’m sure if you myspace message them, they’ll sell it to you as well.

Archives: renamed, opening for Modest Mouse. Grand Archives, formerly Archives, who have an entire show under their belt, will be opening for Modest Mouse at the Paramount this Sunday. Don’t be worried that these guys are green as Grand Archives includes members from Fruit Bats, Ghost Stories and Band of Horses.

Spinner has full albums streaming. Bright Eyes’s Cassadega, Blonde Readhead’s 23, and Nick Cave’s new band Grinderman’s self-titled release, are all streaming in full, among others. Try it before you buy it!

Sound on the Sound’s Concert Calendar Now available on our Myspace Page (ack! if only i could spell)

In case Dancing with the Stars isn’t your bag (who doesn’t want to see Heather Mills bite it?) here’s a few longer listens that might pique your interest… 

For a limited time you can head over to Saddle Creek and stream the new Bright Eyes album Cassadega.

Culture Bully has a recording of a recent live performance of Amy Winehouse from February in Amsterdam. It’s really good. I can not get enough of her.

Lullabyes was recording overtime at SXSW, recently posting performances from Bishop Allen, Creature and Page France. 

Bright Eyes has released a video for the song ”Four Winds” from the just released Four Winds EP. It appears on their newly reborn and rather interesting official website This is Bright Eyes. It’s done entirely in flash and features some rather interesting visuals.  Navigating through the site is unusual, so here’s a hint to get to the video. Once there, go East and hit the window on the house for the video section.

I must say this video is one of the best I’ve seen in a while, and I rather like the song too. In black and white it features Conor and his band playing a set to a hostile audience that keeps getting more beligerent. Initially it’s just taunts that assault Bright Eyes as they power through the song, but by the end a torrent of trash has been unleashed from the audience. Conor even does a good job acting the part with his face, a front man just trying to power through and not take the negativity to personally.

Intervention - Arcade Fire (of the forthcoming Neon Bible)
Brilliant Ideas from Amazing People - Ice Age Cobra
Lies, Lies, Lies and Cold Ground (lay me down) - The Hands
Lavender Lunchbox and the Psychadelic Light Bulb
This Canary - A Gun That Shoots Knives
Slow Down Gandhi - Sage Francis
Tourist Trap - Bright Eyes
Neon Golden- Notwist
Wincing the Night Away - The Shins (just like everyone else in Seattle….)
Watch Out for This Thing - The Whore Moans (my favorite band name, possibly ever)
On The Breaks - The Heavy Hearts
Stuck Between Stations - The Hold Steady
Kid A - Radiohead
Cinnamon - The Long Winters

… the more I look at it, the more this list is completely non-sensical, i’ve been really scattered this month…

Menomena will be performing their CD release party with a 25-person choir. That link has some rehearsal footage. The KEXP blog points to a podcast interview with Menomena.

The Decemberists had their best year yet. Billboard talks about their new tour and tells us what exactly one of the hottest indie bands in the the country makes on a tour. Some  interesting business numbers indeed:

Following the release of “The Crane Wife,” the Decemberists took to the road in November and December, performing in ballrooms and theaters. Eighteen shows reported to Billboard Boxscore grossed $695,763 and drew nearly 32,000 in attendance. That’s a significant jump from 2005, when the act grossed $361,570 for 22 reported gigs, according to Boxscore.

Along with growing box-office numbers, the Decemberists have seen an increase in album sales — “The Crane Wife” has already moved 9,000 more units than 2005’s “Picaresque,” the band’s last for indie Kill Rock Stars.

A few great shows are also going on sale this weekend at the Showbox (Sorry! they’re all Ticketmaster links now!):
Bright Eyes on March 11
The Long Winters on April 14
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists on April 17

A whole lot of tour news today.

Bright Eyes announces tour. Conor and friends will be at the Showbox on March 11.

TV On the Radio, who were the darlings of music bloggers and critics alike in 2006 will be at the Moore on March 25th.

The Roots have added a second show after their first sold out. It will be at the Showbox on February 3.

Sparklehorse will be at the Showbox with Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter on February 14.

Sebadoh, with the “original line-up for the first time in 14 years,” will be at Neumos on March 4.

Xiu Xiu and Sunset Rubdown will be at Neumos on April 19.

Rocky Votolato will be at Neumos on April 20 with Drag the River and Street to Nowhere.

Not sure if I noted this before but Grizzly Bear will be at Neumos on February 16.

I also just noticed that New York band Robbers on High Street will be a Chop Suey on January 22.