Mi Ami | Watersports Advanced Search
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Search REVIEWS | ALBUM REVIEWS | MI AMI | WATERSPORTS ADVANCED SEARCH news album review album player SXSW Fri: Glasvegas, These Powered by Lala Are Powers Mi Ami News in Brief: Wichita Watersports Recordings, Hot Leg, Murder Most Read [Quarterstick; 2009] Most Recent 7.9 1. Dan Deacon: Bromst 2. Fever Ray: Fever Ray 3. The Decemberists: The Hazards of Love 4. MSTRKRFT: Fist of God 5. Cymbals Eat Guitars: Why There Are Mountains 6. Swan Lake: Enemy Mine 7. Peter Doherty: Grace/Wastelands Find it at: Insound | eMusic | Lala EMAIL LINK 8. Lotus Plaza: The Floodlight Collective 9. I.U.D.: The Proper Sex 10. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart For a few minutes early in 2003, D.C. clatterers Black Eyes were basically the best band in 11. Wavves: Wavvves the world. They fed the sharp-shock Rapture dance-punk of the day through about 50 layers 12. Mr. Oizo: Lamb's Anger of organically grimy Dischord history, ending up with a whirling sort of catharsis that was as 13. Gui Boratto: Take My Breath Away fun as it was heavy. The band's personnel went like this: two drummers, two bassists, and 14. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone: Advance Base one dude who made dying-pterodactyl squawks while thrashing out tinny, spidery almost- Battery Life funk guitar riffs and doing everything he could to disrupt the thundering groove exploding all 15. Various Artists: Dark Was the Night around him. Black Eyes' live shows were dank basement dance parties for the ages: furious, 16. Nick Lowe: Quiet Please...The New Best of Nick Lowe immediate, jarring, sweaty as all hell. And then the band recorded Cough, their half-assed 17. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys: The Tiffany dub experiment of a second album, and suddenly ended. They were, after all, a D.C. band, Transcriptions and that's what D.C. bands do. 18. Kylesa: Static Tensions 19. Pan American: White Bird Release Black Eyes bassist Jacob Long and squawker/guitarist Daniel Martin-McCormick make up two thirds of the San Francisco trio Mi Ami, whose existence makes me not miss Black Eyes so 20. These Are Powers: All Aboard Future badly anymore. Their debut album, Watersports, takes the skritchety tumble of Black Eyes and stretches it out into something psychedelic, near-infinite. Watersports is seven songs 1. The Hold Steady: A Positive Rage long, and it lasts 47 minutes. Their beats don't rattle; they push and flicker and fade. Watersports is like the self-titled Black Eyes album calmed down and zoned out, the 2. Beth Orton: Trailer Park: Legacy Edition attempted dub of Cough fully developed and realized. The songs don't have verses or 3. Mi Ami: Watersports choruses; they're endless, mesmeric builds that flare up and then cool out again. Even at their 4. Belbury Poly: Ritual and Education / From an Ancient Star noisiest, they maintain their mantra-like repetition. 5. The Qemists: Join the Q Part of the secret is in the recording itself. Watersports sounds terrific. A couple of pre-album 6. DOOM: Born Like This 12" singles captured a similar sound, but the bass was too thin, the drums too muffled. Here, 7. Crystal Antlers: Tentacles the bass is thick and supple, echoing and ringing and never losing its footing. Long's bass 8. Various Artists: Local Customs: Downriver Revival makes the real rhythmic bed here; Damon Palermo's drums color spaces around that 9. The Coathangers: Scramble metronomic bubble as often as they keep time. Martin-McCormick's voice, which could be 10. It Hugs Back: Inside Your Guitar downright annoying even when Black Eyes were at their best, still works as an agent of 11. Pearl Jam: Ten: Deluxe Edition rupture. But even he has cooled out a bit, muttering deep in the mix rather than yowling 12. Various Artists: Nigeria 70 overtop of it. His lyrics, on the rare occasions when I can understand them, seem to turn 13. Ben Klock : One Watersports into a disco album about being trapped inside your own skull; other people are 14. tUnE -yArDs: BiRd-BrAiNs "only the echo of my mind." On his guitar, he plays Morse-code pings, letting them fall over the tracks like rain as often as it slashes through them. 15. Charles Hamilton: DJ Skee Presents: The Best of the Hamiltonization The album comes sequenced almost like a DJ set; grooves maintain across tracks, and 16. The Dukes of Stratosphear: 25 O'Clock / Psonic sometimes you don't notice immediately when one song dissolves into another. That reverb-y Psunspot stretched-out quality is Mi Ami's greatest strength, one I hope they keep pushing on whatever 17. Swervedriver: Raise / Mezcal Head records they do next. But you've probably already noticed that I can't help comparing this 18. Matteah Baim: Laughing Boy band to Black Eyes. This isn't really Mi Ami's fault, but Black Eyes were just too good, and 19. Various Artists: Pop Ambient 2009 wishing Mi Ami sounded just like them is as inevitable as wishing "30 Rock" was even more 20. Obi Best: Capades like "Arrested Development". The two ex-Black Eyes dudes in Mi Ami have some powerful magic working here, but they had even more when they just couldn't contain themselves. — Tom Breihan, April 7, 2009 recently related Tuesday, Reviews April 7 The Hold Steady: A Positive Rage Track Reviews Beth Orton: Trailer Park: Legacy Edition "Echononecho" Monday, Mi Ami: Watersports April 6 Belbury Poly: Ritual and Education / From an Ancient Star The Qemists: Join the Q Friday, April 3 Track Reviews Thursday, DOOM: "Gazzillion Ear (Thom Yorke April 2 Remix)" John Vanderslice: "Fetal Horses" Tim Exile: "Family Galaxy" Wednesday, April 1 http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12840-watersports/ News Page 1 / 4 Tuesday, Video: Eminem: "We Made You" March 31 Jack White's New Band Announces First Public Show 5-10-15-20: Hutch Harris of the Thermals Monday, March 30 Reviews DOOM: Born Like This Crystal Antlers: Tentacles Various Artists: Local Customs: Downriver Revival The Coathangers: Scramble It Hugs Back: Inside Your Guitar Track Reviews Bat For Lashes: "Daniel" volcano!: "So Many Lemons" Whatever Brains: "Summer Jammin'" TV SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Kevin Drew and Feist - The Water Features Interviews: Mastodon News Pitchfork on ABC: Fever Ray Busdriver Grabs Islands, Deerhoof Guests for LP HEALTH | Noisettes | Pterodactyl | Hinterland Echo Chamber: Dolly Parton Wanna Be in the U2 Spider-Man Musical? Sen. Schumer Introduces Law Targeting Resellers Yeah Yeah Yeahs to Rock "Saturday Night Live" T.V. Eye: April 6-12, 2009 Gossip Make Music for Men Reviews Pearl Jam: Ten: Deluxe Edition Various Artists: Nigeria 70 Ben Klock : One tUnE-yArDs: BiRd-BrAiNs Charles Hamilton: DJ Skee Presents: The Best of the Hamiltonization Track Reviews The Antlers: "Bear" Osborne: "Wait a Minute (Arto Mwambé Remix)" TEETH!!!: "Totally in My Way" Features Columns: Grime / Dubstep News Pitchfork Guide to Upcoming Releases: Spring 2009 Jayhawks | Brakes | Pele | Roni Size Lil Wayne's Cash Money Records Sues DJ Drama Justice to Remix U2 Echo Chamber: Senator Russ Feingold Watch Arcade Fire's Miroir Noir on Pitchfork.tv Future of Music | Tim Tuten | Jimmy Eat World Merge Announces 20th Anniversary Festival Lineup Arctic Monkeys Live DVD Gets U.S. Release My Morning Jacket Prep Live EP, Charity Projects Reviews The Dukes of Stratosphear: 25 O'Clock / Psonic Psunspot Swervedriver: Raise / Mezcal Head Matteah Baim: Laughing Boy Various Artists: Pop Ambient 2009 Obi Best: Capades Track Reviews Black Dice: "Nite Creme" Rose Elinor Dougall: "Start/Stop/Synchro" Asher Roth: "Lark on My Go-Kart" News Mates of State | Ether | Josh Freese Stereolab Go on Hiatus Trent Reznor Lashes Out at Live Nation Again Pinback l Bumbershoot l Krazy Baldhead l Pontiak O.G. Rock Critic Paul Williams Needs Your Help Echo Chamber: Ed Droste Stuart Murdoch's God Help the Girl Album Details Jay Reatard Reloads Shattered Label With Reissues Man Man Tour With Gogol Bordello, Cursive Echo Chamber: Trent Reznor Reviews Mastodon: Crack the Skye The Whitest Boy Alive: Rules Sissy Wish: Beauties Never Die Filastine: Dirty Bomb Bosque Brown: Baby Track Reviews Nite Jewel: "Artificial Intelligence" The Horrors: "Sea Within a Sea" Freebass 808: "Sky Ocean" Features Guest Lists: Eugene Mirman News April Fools' Day Round-Up Mark Kozelek to Drop Two Live Albums Amanda Palmer Tells Her Label: "Please Drop Me" Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas Hook Up for New LP Osheaga | Cloud Cult | Stórsveit Nix Noltes Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart Is in a New Band Echo Chamber: Lil Wayne Trent Reznor Owns April Fools' Day The Vaselines to Tour North America Diplo's Mad Decent Label Teams Up With Downtown Reviews Peter Bjorn and John: Living Thing The Thermals: Now We Can See Various Artists: Soundboy's Gravestone Gets Desecrated By Vandals Gomez: A New Tide Young Dro & Yung L.A.: Black Boy White Boy Track Reviews Suckers: "It Gets Your Body Movin'" DD/MM/YYYY: "Bronzage" Lucky Soul: "Woah Billy!" News The National's Aaron Dessner on Dark Was the Night Echo Chamber: The Cool Kids Metric Embark Upon World Tour Del | Mission Creek | Vanderslice | Casiotone Echo Chamber: Snow Patrol iTunes Giving Away John Cage's "4'33" Download Crystal Antlers Make Feature Film, Tour Hard Joanna Newsom Debuts New Songs at Secret Show Echo Chamber: Iggy Pop Matt and Kim Postpone Shows Due to Injury Reviews PJ Harvey and John Parish: A Woman a Man Walked By Red Red Meat: Bunny Gets Paid (Deluxe Edition) Richard Buckner: Bloomed / The Hill / Impasse Bibio: Vignetting the Compost Harmonic 313: Dirtbox EP/When Machines Exceed Human Intelligene Track Reviews Okkervil River: "Millionaire" Wave Machines: "Punk Spirit" Manic Street Preachers: "Peeled Apples" TV INTERVIEW: U2 Features Interviews: Fever Ray News Wanna Be the New Smashing Pumpkins Drummer? Pitchfork on ABC: The Decemberists Rivers Cuomo Does Rainn Wilson Collab, Live CD/DVD Google Giving Away Huge Amounts of Music in China Magnolia Electric Co.