Pitchfork Preparations 3: Jens Lekman

Jens Lekman doesn't just want to be your dog... He wants to be Stevin Merrit. He wants to be Steven Merrit without all the sarcasm. He wants to be Steven Merrit but actually be in love. It's this sick concept, ya know, sincere love songs. Jens can go toe to toe with New York's foremost expert on the subject of the love song. And at times, because of his sincerety, Lekman passes Merrit on some levels. But you can't help but hear Lekman copying, it's too obvious. Regardless Jens is one of the acts I'm most looking forward to hearing. Bopping my head a little, oh and maybe just maybe, I'll shed a tear.

Whaa Whaaa
bill

Pitchfork Preparations 2.

Spoon.

By now who doesn't know this Austin band. They harken back to the days of just rock and roll. No frills, nothing fancy, just plain rock and roll. Lyrics about clothes that fit right, hot chicks, smoking pot, etc. This is one of those bands that put such a premium on rythem that you just can't help tapping your foot when their on. Doing that little white indie rocker head bob.

I've seen them a few times live, and they are very tight. The singer, Britt Daniel, has rock star written on every head motion and gesture. The only fault I can have with this band is the repetitve nature of the songs. At times it can be hard to separate one song from the next.

Pitchfork Festival preparations 1.

So I will be reviewing a few of the bands playing at Pitchfork

I'm gonna start with Band of Horses, whom I will have to leave my family reunion early to see.

Band of Horses is your basic straight forward indie rock band. You basic straight forward really good indie rock band. Whimsical reverbed vocals. They sound like your Built to Spill type, emotive and tight. The singer has a little of a warble that's pleasant. Interesting riffs that slowly build upon themselves. Songs like The Great Salt Lake and Our Swords demonstrate their uplifing nature. Very interested in seeing how this group translates live... With festivals of smaller bands it's allways a question of can they hold their own in front of 15000 people?

So somebody Stop the roller coaster

I want to get off. So I'm not gonna lose my job. I'm getting my raise. If fact I'm getting a bigger raise.