Tonight I’m dropping by a CD release party for the new Love Psychedelico, which should be pretty cool. I’ll report on it later in the week. Promise I’ll arrange my nouns and verbs better next time.

Had I heard Narrow Stairs beforehand, I don’t know that I would have been so cavalier about DCFC’s set. While their last album was so jangly and well-intentioned, so full of cotton candy, this new one is a different beast entirely. It’s darker, it’s leaner, it’s more likely to lurk in alleyways than frolic in danedelion patches. Take “Your New Twin Sized Bed” for example, which kicks off with quiet stings and Ben Gibbard’s reclusive, spectral voice sounding not entirely unlike something Nineties-era Manchester might have given us, but then kicks up an insistent, orchestral flavored jam. Maybe it’s because I’ve been all over Saturdays=Youth lately, but it sounds like M83 without all the cinema.

It’s not a complex tune, but if this is the sort of stuff they were belting out on the Coachella stage sixteen days ago, I’m gonna have to take the ol’ DeLorean up to 88, if you know what I mean.

Death Cab For Cutie – “Your New Twin Sized Bed”

on the web: amazon, itunes, official site, allmusic (Andrew Leahey’s review)

The desert is cooler than last year, and the crowds thinner, which actually makes for a more relaxing festival. I’m too tired to get into detail. I just finished a post for metblogs, however, so go check that out. Link here.

As expected, the Coachella schedule was released today. Time for us all to begin our fretting and planning. As I mentioned, it’s useless for me to actually make any plans. But it’s important to go over these and pick out the conflicts. Right off the bat, I’ve got a biggie. On Saturday. And I knew it was gonna happen.

There’s a lot of good stuff on Friday, not the least of which would be The National, Battles, Les Savy Fav, The Breeders, Sandra Collins, Dan le Sac & Scroobius Pip, Vampire Weekend (I suppose), Aphex Twin, The Swell Season and Goldfrapp, to name a few. The only real conflict I see is between Battles and Les Savy Fav, both of whom I really want to check out. I think Battles will win that one. Jens Lekman could be fun as well. But if I’m going to catch both Sandra Collins (who spins a mean set of prog house) and Goldfrapp, I may have to give Mssrs. Pip and le Sac the boot. My cousin Anna will kill me.

Saturday’s conflict is a killer. Portishead vs. the Sasha/Digweed combo. I already know which will win, but even though I’ve seen Sasha & Digweed numerous times, I can’t justify missing the former. There’s just no way. Earlier there are a couple must-sees in St. Vincent and Carbon/Silicon. The later one-two punch of Junkie XL and M.I.A. might keep me rooted in the Sahara tent until the mass migration to Portishead. And then the counter-programming of Calvin Harris, Yelle and Enter Shikari up against Prince pretty much guarantees pandemonium at the main stage. I’ll report back on that.

There’s a lot to like about Sunday, with the Plasticines, I’m From Barcelona, Stars, The Shout Out Louds, Austin TV, Autolux, Metric, Danny Tenaglia, Sons & Daughters, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5 and of course, Roger Waters. No conflicts anywhere. I want to see most of those acts, but none in particular, though for this aging 80′s kid, Mr. Waters is a must-see. I’ll be there. If I have the strength afterwards to drag myself to the Sahara tent to catch Justice, I’ll finish off with them, but it seems like a long shot.

Anyway, first on the list this week is Australia’s Midnight Juggernauts. Their official website references Air and ELO in its breathless bio on the group. And you know what? That’s about accurate. I’ve spun the debut album three or four times now and it’s got that danceable spacey quality that ELO was so good at, with sparkly, space-age synths and a nifty 124 bpm dance groove. Check out “Tombstone” to see what I mean.

Midnight Juggernauts – “Tombstone”

on the web: official site, ‘shadows’ video

It was a fine year for Glen Hansard. In January his band, The Frames, puts out The Cost, which, but for an unexpected development, might have amounted to just another futile attempt to knock on the door of American Awareness. That development was the unexpected success of a teensy independent Irish film called Once. Written (and directed) by John Carney, it’s the tale of a pair of offbeat street musicians, who meet, make “beautiful music” together and, on occasion, wrestle vacuum cleaners. Glen Hansard’s starring role in the picture, along with the use of the Frames music throughout, brought attention to both him and his band. And then to seal the deal, his co-star in the film is Marketa Irglova, with whom he also recorded his “solo” debut, The Swell Season. This all made for a sort of built-in promotion machine. The Movie plus The Frames plus the Soundtrack equaled something close to a critical mass.

I had only heard of the Frames when Coachella rolled around last year. I hadn’t heard them. But I made it a point at the festival after reading this Allmusic review which mentions that they “often get picked ahead of U2 at being the best live band at home.” The live show was excellent, as predicted. The film? Amusing and simple and not manipulative in the way that music films can be. And the music itself? Well, here we are.

I’m into this tune because it’s got everything I love about a Frames song. It’s serpentine in construction, heartfelt in delivery and it’s got those swelling strings for ample sonic hugging. Also, the other obvious choice, “Falling Slowly,” which Hansard and Irglova released on Swell Season, has achieved market saturation. It’s in the movie, on the soundtrack, on their album and then, on The Cost, reworked in a bigger, grander style. We don’t need it here.

To get a sense of what the Coachella show was like, check out this video at YouTube, which catches them in their set opener, “Dance The Devil.” Especially worth note is Glen Hansard’s energetic outburst at about minute 4:10.

The Frames: amazon, itunes, popmatters (review of Once)

Enjoy:

The Frames – “Song For Someone”