girl about town

Local Album Feature: Br'er - Filled With Guilt and Diamonds (Edible Onion)

Filled With Guilt and Diamonds by semi-Philadelphia-based group Br'er is a revival release of the same-named EP by the group. The first, was released in cassette format with only 100 made in 2008, and the most recent version of the album EP comes pressed on vinyl hand-numbered and in limited edition also. As an Edible Onion release, each album is hand-sewn, and the art-house collage style of the printing is worth the buy alone. It's a beautiful and interesting album to look at and listen to.

Br'er's music is the product of lead songwriter Benjamin Schurr and includes musicians Christian Mirande, Darian Scatton, Luis Angel Cancel, Roger Martinez, Nat Baldwin (Dirty Projectors), Ross Lipton, Jan Blacksburg, Jim Krull, Sean Ali, and Charles Cohen (of Espers). The sound is something out of a storybook and paints a drastic dreamscape taking elements from psychedelic all the way to dream-pop and dark, neo-folk.

Girl About Town: What can you tell us about the newest release of the Br'er release and where its inspiration comes from?

Benjamin Schurr: The new Br'er album is a document of things that I went through in the winter of 2007, having just come out of a five year relationship, and just gotten off of a tremendous amount of medication a few months prior. It was partly a coping mechanism for feeling really lost and powerless. Most of the subject matter is trying to make sense of dealing with losing a lot of of people in a short amount of time, and trying to make sense of it.

Yourself and Benjamin created the artwork, how much work went into it, and how many copies were made--and is there any special meaning behind the design (both 'ball-buster' and 'nutcracker' come to mind here) or were you just looking for a stand-out image? I might even say it was a bit like a Hipgnosis design....

I came up with the idea for the cover artwork, which is inspired by gender issues that are most prevalent in the song "Painted Lady." They are also some of the main subjects of Br'er's music. The body shape is sort of an "X," while the bolt cutters are a "Y," so it shows the male chromosome and the act of what the body is doing shows the destruction of such things. It's an adaptation of a photo I saw a few years back which always stuck with me, and was something I thought fit the feelings/vulnerability that I was feeling at the time and that the record still exudes. The inner artwork and back cover was designed by Darian which is a hand drawn vine design which captures the more beautiful aspects of the record. There is a lot of symbolism within that and the back. The artwork is supposed to show the dichotomy of the dark and the light, which is another constant on the album.

What can people expect from a live Br'er show with so many people in one band, are there particular songs that people usually request to be played?

Br'er's live performances ALWAYS vary. It's been a goal since day one to make sure that every Br'er tour is completely different. Since there is so much going on in the record, it would be pointless to mimic it. So much of the Br'er recordings are just me making weird noises and adding track after track. It would be too idiosyncratic to try to replicate that with other people. What we like to do is find the core of the song and interpret it for however many people are in Br'er at the time. We've done shows with as little as two people and as many as seven. Our last tour was almost completely acoustic and currently we're touring with all new songs. I would say the best thing to expect is nothing since it always changes.

What is your favorite thing about playing to a hometown crowd for a live show?

As for the hometown crowd... I have conflicting feelings. I recently moved to Asheville, North Carolina from Philly because I felt so incredibly alienated in Philly. Since I've left though, I've played two incredible shows with Br'er at The Danger Danger Gallery that have changed my view a bit. What's really nice for us is that people tend to be super receptive and quiet, which is definitely not a common thing in Philly. There's always new people who I've never met that come out because they've heard really positive things and that really means a lot to me. I have always felt like Philly is one of the hardest places to permeate and when we make an impact of any degree that always feels great.

Is this album the tip of the iceberg for Br'er--how often do you write new material, and do you think you've evolved from the original style and ideas of the music that you began with [when Br'er began]?

Yes, I would say this is the tip of the iceberg. We released an album called "Of Shemales & Kissaboos" before this, on a label in Austria that was a means of figuring out what Br'er was musically. "Filled with Guilt & Diamonds" was a more solid idea within the confines that the first album set. In the same respect, it was also a very specific document of a certain time of my life. Many of the musicians involved are no longer working with Br'er, and since completing it, we've released two singles, a tape, and a new EP. I am currently working on our next album, two more singles, and a Magnetic Fields cover. Br'er is pretty much my life and I'm always working on it, trying to explore new sounds and timbres, and trying to make sure it stays exciting to me and the people who I'm working on it with.

Br'er - band site / edible onion / myspace

A Week of Twee & Pop + Happy 20th Anniversary Slumberland!

For twenty years, US label Slumberland Records has dedicated themselves to putting out the best in new dream-pop, shoegaze, independently twee and wonderful new acts. Since the late 1980's Slumberland has been the sole home and host to well-known acts such as Velocity Girl, Stereolab, Lilys, Swirlies, Boyracer, The Softies, The Aislers Set, (so, so many more) and most recently; up and comers The Crystal Stilts, Pains of Being Pure at Heart and of course, Philly's own: Brown Recluse to name only a few...and we really are under-listing here!

In the coming days, we've rounded up some great interviews and articles to celebrate the wealth of material from this great label and the current and past bands that are playing the music that celebrates the spirit behind it. We'll have interviews with aritists such as Gregory Webster of Razorcuts fame, Cheap Red (former members of Boyracer), as well as reviews of a few of Slumberland's latest releases including Summer Cats LP, the latest single from POBPAH, an interview with Philadelphia's DJs England Belongs to Twee (now featuring Herbie of Brown Recluse) and so much more in the spirit of pop: including a recent interview done with the master platter-pusher himself; Mike Schulman, who gives us his responses to our most dear questions.

This week will also include recent interviews with bands in the same spirit of the music of Slumberland with interviews and articles on Northern Portrait (Matinee), and The Mary Onettes (Labrador) on feature, and local group Br'er chiming in!

Happy Anniversary Slumberland:
Cheers to 20 Years and counting!

November 13, 2009 @ The Black Cat // Washington DC
Tickets: http://www.ticketalternative.com/Events/8171.aspx

Crystal Stilts
Brown Recluse
Pants Yell!
Frankie Rose and The Outs
The Ropers
Nord Express
Lorelei

November 14, 2009 @ The Bell House // Brooklyn NY
Tickets: http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=2936044

Crystal Stilts
Brown Recluse
Pants Yell!
Frankie Rose and The Outs
The Ropers
Nord Express
Lorelei
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Slumberland Records - web site

Cold Cave - Love Comes Close (Matador Records)

Philly band, Cold Cave, released their debut album on Matador records this week. Love Comes Close is an album that has emerged from the collaborations of Wesley Eisold (formerly of hardcore bands Give Up the Ghost and Some Girls), Dominick Fernow (of Prurient), Caralee McElroy (formerly of Xiu Xiu), and Max G. Morton (co-head of Heartworm Press). The band was originally the solo project of Wesley Eisold that began with a few thrift store Casio synthesizers. Cold Cave has grown to four members and the band is having a remarkably productive year in 2009.

Love Comes Close gathers its strength from the dichotomy of sunny Pop and gloomy Goth tones utilized throughout each track. Post-Punk influence is very evident, especially through the heavy use of synthesizers and Eisold’s deep, haunting vocals recall Joy Division’s Ian Curtis. The album’s first track “Cebe and Me” is full of eerie, murmuring voices, only to be dramatically contrasted by the New Order-esque dance beat of the album’s title track, “Love Comes Close”. The album is full of these emotional transitions, ranging from a brooding, ethereal mood to a catchy, New Wave sensibility. These atmospheric changes create an album which sounds detached yet remains emotionally striking through its glimmers of pop hooks. Love Comes Close is a fascinating exercise in electronic pop that fits in well with recent albums like The XX’s XX and Cut Copy’s In Ghost Colours without sounding generic.

Track Listing:
1. Cebe and Me
2. Love Comes Close
3. Life Magazine
4. The Laurels of Erotomania
5. Heaven Was Full
6. The Trees Grew Emotions and Died
7. Hello Rats
8. Youth and Lust
9. I.C.D.K.

Cold Cave - band site / matador records / myspace

Mincemeat or Tenspeed / Ecstatic Sunshine / Lucky Dragons / Kria Brekken / Eric Copeland - live at Vox Populoi, 10/25/09

 
Mincemeat or Tenspeed photos by Sam Gurry

If you weren’t at Vox Populi last Sunday then we already feel sorry for you. It was a surprisingly (not)crowded show at the 11th street gallery especially considering the slick lineup; slicker than usual for a Philadelphia show. Kria Brekken, Eric Copeland (Black Dice), and Lucky Dragons were among those on the bill fresh from playing a show at Swarthmore College the night before. Joining them were, the new, Ecstatic Sunshine and Philly’s own Mincemeat or Ten Speed. Mincemeat, David Harms, opened the show by first asking the crowd “to please stand up” as the people sitting made him uncomfortable. Once the crowd ambled up, Mincemeat began his pulsating mixture of dirty low-fi beats using one beasting collection of pedals. Harms method of playing is distinct in that he doesn’t use instruments…really. “No synthesizers, samplers, sequencers, drum machines, computers, musical instruments," As the liner, notes for his new album, Strange Gods, states. It provides for a unique experience Philly can be proud of.

 
Lucky Dragons photos by Sam Gurry

Sandwiched in the middle for the night was Lucky Dragons, Luke Fischbeck and Sarah Rara, bringing it back and back again. A trademark of a Lucky Dragons performance is the interactive music they present to the audience. The music isn’t just theirs to create; it’s the whole crowd's. The instruments provided to the audience ranged from something that looked liked a maraca’s cousin (complete with reverb) to part of the “Make a Baby” performance. “Make a Baby” begins with people in the audience holding onto a part of it and then touching one another on the skin. The pattern, pitch, and sound of the instrument are direct results of people touching each other. A perfect blend of performance, music, and art.  The whole set seemed to be facilitated by Rara’s wistfully pure voice providing moans and murmurs throughout. Everyone is the room was transfixed by the daze in front of them, even the too-cool-for-school door hepcats. Sunglasses removed, Ear Plugs in, and attention grabbed.

Unfortunately, the night was cut short when the PoPo decided to make a surprise visit during Eric Copeland’s set. The man doesn’t like young kids listening to their gosh darn Rock ‘N’ Roll. Come back to Philly Eric Copeland! We won’t let the man bring you down next time!

Mincemeat or Tenspeed will be playing Nov. 2nd with Talk Normal and The Black & The Blues at either the Copy Gallery or Marvelous Music depending on whose myspace you trust.

Mincemeat or Tenspeed - myspace / Zum Records
Lucky Dragons - myspace / band site / Marriage Records