Siberian ::: Photo by Josh

Via Lineout, we learn Siberian is joining the ever swelling ranks of sweet Seattle rock bands to call it quits in 2008. In our humble estimation these gentlemen owned the honor of having the 5th best song of all of 2007 for “Paper Birds” and the 7th best Northwest album of 2007 for With Me, which of course makes this announcement that much more difficult to swallow.

This now makes four of our top ten favorite local bands of the moment breaking up this year (the rest being Das Llamas, Ice Age Cobra, and Hopscotch Boys). WTF?!!!!

This blog is soooooooo depressed right now. We’re becoming afraid to proclaim a new favorite, since we seem to only see them break up the following year. SRSLY. This needs trend to stop. Like now.

While every other blogger covering Sasquatch will tell you Monday was all about the Flaming Lips, Wayne Coyne, and naked folks on stage, our Monday at Sasquatch was all about local artists.

With the only pre-noon set of the festival, Dyme Def started Monday right as if the momentum of the day was already in full swing. This was SOTS’s first time to have the pleasure of seeing Dyme Def, and we were kicking ourselves for not having done so sooner. Talk about seizing the moment!

We pretty much planted ourselves for the rest of the day up the hill a bit on the northwest artist themed Yeti stage. The Moondoggies have graduated from Seattle’s dusty tavern venue scene to being on Hardly Art, getting a festival slot, and then a headlining slot at Neumos this Tuesday. There’s no question in my mind they deserve it all too. Whalebones came to the Gorge ready to play, but unfortunately their drummer broke his finger and passed out in the first aid tent minutes before their set. The keyboardist tried to tough it out for three songs, but it wasn’t really working out so they called it. Siberian were next and were tight, as always.

In between Yeti stage sets I trucked it to the top of the hill to the Wookie stage to catch what I could of a few other great acts the new to me Delta Spirit, the I’m excited about Thao Nguyen with The Get Down Stay Down, and one of my favorite local bands ever, the Cave Singers. I thought that each of these bands were really great and brought their A game to the festival. The new Cave Singers songs were dare I say only getting better, and Thao Nguyen is charming.

In order to get back at a reasonable hour we made the very chidable decision to miss the Flaming Lips, and finish our Festival with Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground. With barely enough room to accommodate all of the members, the Yeti stage was transformed into a party on a spring porch, with hanging wind chimes and flowers strewn about, and the band members gleefully interacting. More than just a band, Kay Kay had their own “Kay Kay Fairies” to help entertain the audience and brighten up the mood.

And finally, to answer your inevitable question, yes, I was disappointed to have missed what I understand was a truly epic set by the Flaming Lips. Oops.

Flickr: Sasquatch Snapshots - Monday

Sasquatch will likely be Seattle resident J Tillman’s final solo show for a while. Recently enlisted to be the newest member of the Fleet Foxes, to help out on drums among other things, Tillman will be joining a band set to travel heavily through the rest of this summer, in Europe and beyond, in support of their soon to be released self-titled full length. Late in 2007 he joined David Bazan on tour, closing the dates by playing the Crocodile Cafe just two nights prior to the venue’s untimely closing. (Eerily, the Fleet Foxes whom he’s joining played the Croc the next night, the night before it closed).

Tillman’s solo work is a passionate folk effort, his slightly weathered voice and weepy harmonica giving this the mood of real life music played by a campfire. Tillman’s material is Americana in the best sense of the word, a solitary, dusty cowboy mystique and a distinctly American aesthetic to the sound. When playing locally Tillman is often joined by a backing band consisting of many members of Seattle’s Siberian who is playing the following day, so we might get a taste of that too.

I’m not sure whether Tillman will be joining the Fleet Foxes for their festival opening set on the Main Stage on Saturday at Noon.

J Tillman plays the Yeti! Stage, Sunday May 26 at 2:10pm.

Myspace - J Tillman

2007 was an unbelievable year for local music in Seattle and has made this an incredibly difficult task, thus a best of 2007 list coming out a few weeks in to 2008. I hope it was worth the wait for you guys and I hope you’ll find a new favorite album or act. Also, this list consists of only local full-length releases as I did a seperate post on my favorite EP’s of 2007. It’s especially exciting that a number of my favorite local releases of 2007 were debut albums, almost half of them in fact, and that means a lot of follow-ups to look forward to in 2008. As you can see, my indecisiveness and the plethora of phenomenal albums, has led this to being my top 12 Local Releases, I couldn’t shave it down to just ten.

12. Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers
Laura Veirs‘ Saltbreakers is a quintessential Seattle album. The language and the mood puts you deep in some damp cedar forest, so evocative you can almost smell the rain through the trees. Long a favorite of local smarty-pants wordsmiths, Colin Meloy and Ben Gibbard, Veirs has claimed her spot as one of the Pacific Northwest premiere song-writers. My favorite tracks off the album include the liltingly lovely “Drink Deep” and the plucky “Cast a Hook.”

11. Das Llamas - World War
Das Llamas debut album, World War is one of the hardest hitting albums of 2007 - filled with riffs that don’t stop and a frantic edge to the whole recording. There’s a jangly roughness to Das Llamas, that reminds me of the drive and passion of early Modest Mouse records. Lead singer’s Kerry Zettel vocals are self-assured in its uniqueness and I think he’s a great rock vocalist, also in the vein of the unconventional Isaac Brock. Clocking in at just over half an hour, I always wish there were just a few more songs for me to enjoy. Especially since the album ends on such a high note, with the building rock crescendo that is “The Wedding Song.”

10. J. Tillman - Cancer and Delirium
The one good thing about this list being delayed, is that I actually discovered one of my favorite albums of 2007, in 2008. Even after just a few listens, I can say without any doubt that local folk guru, J. Tillman’s Cancer and Delirium is one of the great albums of 07. If I’d had the album all year, I am certain it would be much higher on the list, because Tillman’s voice (both physical and metaphorically) has a clarity rarely heard today.

9. A Gun That Shoots Knives - Miracle
Nineteen catchy, clever songs? Now that is an album! With topics as varied as Robot Spiders, the United States Postal Service, and Literacy, Miracle is certainly one of the most eccentric albums of 2007 and definitely the most fun. A Gun That Shoots Knives is also the most heavily represented band on my Best of Lists… the band has released a Best Local Full Length of 2007, a Best EP of 2007, and played a number of my Favorite Concerts of 2007. What can I say, there’s nothing I don’t love about AGTSK.

8. Solvents - Manresa Castle
It may seem strange, but I love music that breaks my heart, music that makes me weep. And the gut-wrenching release, Manresa Castle by Port Townsend’s Solvents does just that, on nearly every listen. There is an achieness to the album that I love, which I see as very similar to two of my favorite albums of all time - Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over The Sea and Dirty Three’s Ocean Songs. The bare bones delivery, of an acoustic guitar, some sparse drums and ghostly strings lays the pain-stakingly honest lyrics in the open for you to share in their woe. It may make me a sad bastard, but its albums like these that last for me… I’ll be listening to Manresa Castle years down the road.

7. Ms. Led - Shake Yourself Awake
Ms. Led offers one of the most interesting and pleasing mixes of influences and sounds the Seattle scene has to offer. Shake Yourself Awake is an album filled with pure punk, exemplary power pop, and 60’s girl group sensibilities and harmonies. Lesli Wood, lead singer and song-writer of Ms. Led is force to be reckoned with - a powerfully dynamic performer on stage and a thoughtful and clever lyricist. The album’s firs track, “A New Agenda” is the most compelling protest song written about life in the Bush era. Impressively, the album keeps the momentum started with such a great track, featuring one stand-out song after another. This summer was all about driving with my windows rolled down, blasting Shake Yourself Awake, and shamelessly singing along.

6. Shane Tutmarc & The Traveling Mercies - I’m Gonna Live The Life I Sing About in my Songs
A lot of the bands that I adore would likely have fared better in another era, most often the 70’s or late 60’s. But Shane Tutmarc & The Traveling Mercies are of another era entirely, 50’s heart-throbs singing jilted love songs and old standards on Seattle stages in 2007. Shane Tutmarc, has spent the greater part of the last decade proving himself to be one of Seattle’s most talented song-writers crafting album after album of near perfect pop songs for Dolour. With The Mercies as his latest vessel, Shane’s continuing to write one stellar song after another; the band already has another full album recorded in ‘07 to be released in early 2008. Until the new release, relish in the debut and songs like “Pressure, Pressure” and the Lennon-esque title track, “I’m Gonna Live The Life I Sing About in My Songs.”

5. Siberian - With Me
Who’d a thunk…. a great Brit Pop record, recorded and written in Seattle?!? That’s just what Siberian did with their 2007 debut, With Me. I’m a sucker and a sap for a good love song, and With Me is filled to the brim with them. I’m just waiting for one of the tracks (put it on shuffle and pick one, seriously) to be picked up and put in some climactic spot in a hit TV drama… I’m vying for Seattle-based Grey’s Anatomy. Whatever the romantic dilemma or pleasure, Siberian has a song for it. My favorite song of the album and one of my favorite songs of 2007, is “Paper Birds” which starts with a line that slays me in it’s simple perfection. It’s a why had nobody every written that line before? (ahem, Lennon/McCartney?? c’mon guys!) The line? “If I’m just an old flame, don’t turn me on, don’t turn me on.” Maybe it’s just me, but I think that’s pure pop/love song genius.

4. Iceage Cobra - Brilliant Ideas from Amazing People
If I was making a 2007 time capsule and I could only include one album, Iceage Cobra’s Brilliant Ideas from Amazing People, would be it. The material on this album were the first songs I heard in 2007 - as Cobra played the New Years Eve Party I attended, taking the stage just after the stroke of midnight. A very good way to start the new year indeed! After that I went to every Iceage Cobra show I could and the album, released in early 2007, went on permanent heavy rotation at my house. I’m sure my neighbors know all the words and riffs, I’ve played it so frequently and loudly. Songs like “Tornado of Knives,” “Dance Floor on Fire,” “Acid Pony,” hell most of the album - are classics in my mind. While unfortunately the original trio that created this brilliant album won’t exist beyond 2007, their songs will stand the test of time.

3. The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs
I love a band that doesn’t easily fit into a mold, who’s sound and style is difficult to describe. The Cave Singers created their own sound and genre with their release Invitation Songs, heralding in the era of spooky folk music in Seattle. Peter Quirk’s voice is an instrument of it’s own to be reckoned with, at once eerie, guttural and pleasingly soulful. I also think the band should be sainted for bringing back the wash-board as a clutch part of a rhythm section. There isn’t a mediocre song on the album and a few of the stand-outs, “New Monuments” and “Dancing on Our Graves” are astounding.

2 The Whore Moans - Watch Out for This Thing
I wish I could say it was love at first listen with The Whore Moans, but it wasn’t. Rather, the band and their album have been the most rewarding acquired taste of 2007. It seems I like the album more with every listen and The Whore Moans have basically started improving on perfection with their live performances. Whatever the most recent Whore Moans show was, that was The Best Whore Moans Show, EVER. Because this band is only getting bigger and better. Another debut, the album is filled with worthy punk anthems such as”X-Ray Eyes,” “Beware, The WolfSpider,” and “Power of Pride.”

1. The Lonely H - Hair
The Lonely H were my best local music discovery of 2007. They boys astounded me upon introduction and have continued to do so with every performance and every listen of Hair. While there have been lots of albums filled with solid songs this year, Hair is filled with instant classics. I believe in my heart of hearts if this album was released circa 1970 (+/- 5 years), songs like “Don’t You Know,” “The Meal,” “For Barbara,” “Hair,” etc… would have provided The Lonely H with a string of top ten and number one hits. We would be mentioning The Lonely H in the same breath as the greats - Queen, Zeppelin… As it were, these Island boys took 2007 by storm - winning over one audience at a time with their infectious performance and throw-back hits.

We all know what you’re doing Saturday, right?

Start the weekend out right with another great free show!
Siberian is playing Nectar (in Fremont) at 5pm tomorrow. 
Enjoy a stiff happy hour drink and some dreamy pop.

For the purposes of this list the Northwest includes Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. I’d like to include Vancouver B.C. but I just don’t know enough to really say too much about it. Notable bands who hail from the northwest and released an album this year include but are not limited to the 25 chosen for this list. Should I have aggregiously missed an album that deserves attention, leave a comment.

25. Dept of Energy - Held By Waits

24. A Gun That Shoots Knives - Miracle

23. Das Llamas - World War

22. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

21. Aqueduct - Or Give Me Death

20. Solvents - Manresa Castle

19. Rocky Votolato - The Brag & Cuss

18. The Shaky Hands - The Shaky Hands

17. Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter - Like, Love, Lust

16. The Lonely H - Hair

15. Laura Viers - Saltbreakers

14. Feral Children - Eternity Emergency EP

13. Ms Led - Shake Yourself Awake

12. The Blakes - The Blakes

11. Ghost Stories - Quixoticism

10. David Bazan - Fewer Moving Parts EP

9. Shane Tutmarc and the Traveling Mercies - I’m gonna Live the Life I Sing About in My Song

8. Whalebones - Morning Man EP

7. Siberian - With Me

6. Ice Age Cobra - Brilliant Ideas from Amazing People

5. Tiny Vipers - Hands Across the Void

4. The Whore Moans - Watch Out for this Thing

3. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

2. Cave Singers - Invitation Songs

1. Menomena - Friend and Foe

Give a listen. Buy an album.

Abbey will have her list of the best local Seattle releases shortly as well.

Here are my favorite songs of 2007. Just by coincidence, the last five of the first ten songs are by local bands.

1. “Fake Empire” - The National from Boxer

2. “Golden Skans” - Klaxons from Myths of the Near Future

3. “The Opposite of Hallelujah” - Jens Lekman from Night Falls Over Kortedala

4. “Heretics” - Andrew Bird from Armchair Apocrypha

5. “Reckoner” - Radiohead from In Rainbows

6. “Don’t You Know” - Whalebones from the Morning Man EP

7. “Attack of the Cobrasaurus” - Thee Emergency from the Live at Chuck Norris EP

8. “X-Ray Eyes” - Whore Moans from Watch Out For This Thing

9. “Paper Birds” - Siberian from Hey Celestial! EP and With Me

10. “For Rebecca” - Solvents from Manresa Castle

Ten other very worthy mentions include:
“Wet And Rusting” - Menomena from Friend And Foe

“I’m Gonna Live the Life I Sing About In My Song” - Shane Tutmarc and the Traveling Mercies from I’m gonna Live the Life I Sing About In My Song

“Seeds of Night” - The Cave Singers from Invitation Songs

“Talkin’ Nascar” - Bhi Bhiman from The Cookbook

“Is There A Ghost” - Band of Horses from Cease to Begin

“Nantes” - Beirut from The Flying Club Cup

“You’re A Wolf” - Sea Wolf from Leaves in the River

“Bur Oak” - Bowerbirds from Hymns for a Dark Horse

“Intervention” - The Arcade Fire from Neon Bible

“The Air We Breathe” - Figurines from When the Deer Wore Blue

My Favorite Covers of 2007

Numerous cover albums came out this year but far and above the rest was the I’m Not There Soundtrack, which included many current artists covering exclusively Bob Dylan songs from many different albums. My three picks I especially thought did justice to the songs and stand with the original.

“Ballad of a Thin Man” - Stephen Malkmus and the Million Dollar Bashers from the I’m Not There Soundtrack

“You Ain’t Goin Nowhere” - Glen Hansard and Marketa Iglova from the I’m Not There Soundtrack

“Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” - Cat Power from the I’m Not There Soundtrack

Unlike last years tie, this years best song was a clear choice for me. I’ve been charmed and astonished by “Heretics” on each and every listen, despite doing so hundreds of times.

1. Andrew Bird - Heretics 
   * mp3: Andrew Bird - Heretics (courtesy of KEXP)

2. The Figurines - The Air We Breathe 
    * mp3: The Figurines - The Air We Breathe

3. The Shackeltons - The Breaks
    * mp3: The Shackeltons - The Breaks

4. The Whore Moans - X-Ray Eyes   
    * mp3: The Whore Moans - X-Ray Eyes

5. Siberian - Paper Birds
    * mp3: Siberian - Paper Birds (courtesy of KEXP)

6. Palmer, AK - Same Rain/Noelly  
    * mp3:  Palmer, AK - Same Rain/Noelly

7. Thee Emergency - Attack of the Cobrasaurus

8. Menomena - The Pelican  

9. Bhi Bhiman - Talkin’ NASCAR Blues 

10. Iceage Cobra - House of 19 Flames (unreleased)
      * mp3: Iceage Cobra - House of 19 Flames

11.  Whalebones - Don’t You Know

12. Beirut - Nantes

13. The Lonely H - The Meal

14.  A Gun That Shoots Knives - This Canary/This Coalmine
      * mp3: A Gun That Shoots Knives - This Canary/This Coalmine

15. Okkervil River - Our Life is Not a Movie, Or Maybe 
      * mp3: Okkervil River - Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe (courtesy of KEXP)

16. Ghost Stories - Catacombs
      * mp3: Ghost Stories - Catacombs

17. The National - Fake Empire

18. The Arcade Fire - Intervention

19. Vampire Weekend- Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

20. The Go - You Go Bangin’ On   
       * mp3: The Go- You Go Baginin’ On (courtesy of KEXP)

Read the rest of this entry »

Siberian released a new record last week in case you hadn’t heard. They played Easy Street Records on Saturday and will be playing the Crocodile Cafe this Friday with Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground and Ships. Finn and friends sounded as good as I’ve heard yet. I fully expect these gentlemen to get some notice with this album.

Siberian has been one of this blog’s local bands to watch for some time now and this week, they have released their first full length record. Hey Celestial!, their first EP, saw daylight earlier this year, and we were wowed to say the least. On first listen one can easily pick out the parts that seem all too familiar, and then pan them for being to deriviative, but in my opinion that would be a big mistake. The sum of the parts make a pretty kick ass whole. They might sound more at home among the brit-rockers, but they are Seattle’s own, and we’re glad to have them.

In celebration of their new album, With Me, Siberian will be at Easy Street Records on lower Queen Anne this Saturday, October 27 at 4pm. I suggest you be there. They will also be having their CD Release show at the Crocodile Cafe November 2.