I literally despise the genre categorization "Adult Alternative" or "Adult Contemporary" used by many radios and music sites to describe artists I love like R.E.M. or Kristin Hersch - isn't that the least exciting thing you can say about music, that it's for adults? Besides, when I say "Adult Contemporary" I can only think about ONE artist: The Dave Matthew's Band. It should be a one band genre, in some kind of borderline insulting way.
This being said, we can all agree that orchestral pop is one of the most sophisticated genres in the pop and rock realms, and adults are supposed to be sophisticated (at least here in NYC). But, as demonstrated by Girls in Trouble (not "Women in Trouble" by the way!), this kind of music can be playful and awaken the child in you. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure a lot of kids in their pre-teens might enjoy this band, which plays some of the most ineresting and inventive orchestral pop in NYC. I'd recommend they tried to organize shows with One Ring Zero, Clare & The Reason and/or Elk City. If you are into this genre, don't miss their CD release party at Joe's Pub on May 19.
We've always been big fans of Luke Temple, and it's good to see that, together with the Here We Go Magic crew, the man is keeping at it with increasingly beautiful records and videos. The band's new album "A Different Ship" (stream it here) will be out on May 8, and betrays at least a partial return to Luke Temple's more intimate and melodic sound from his solo repertoire - in this regard, lend a ear to "Hard to Be Close," "Alone but Moving" and "Over the Ocean". This is welcome news for fans like us who always thought that in most HWGM material Luke's noteworthy songwriting skills seemed a little sacrificed on the altar of textural experimentation. This doesn't mean that the band's signature hypnotic, impressionistic sound is lost - it's just that these two elements work together better than they did in past records, and this is what makes this album one of the NYC highlights of the year so far. Indeed, this collection also features songs more in line with the band's past releases ("Make Up your Mind", "I Believe in Action"), which follow on the steps of brainy-pop icons like Brian Eno and The Feelies, but there's definitely a balance here, also betrayed by the almost perfect alternation of melodic songs and less traditional ones.The just released video of "How Do I Know," telling the story of a rejected dancing robot that ends up revitalizing an older man's appreciation for life, seems to reflect on this brain/heart, mechanic/organic dichotomies and somehow bring them to unity. - PDG
