The mystical psych-ambient-folk locals in Family Band released a third music video from their acclaimed 2012 LP Grace and Lies today. Directed by Sam Macon (who previously worked on the band’s great “Moonbeams” video), it is a pulsing and frenetic montage of singer Kim Krans performing under moody lights, surrounded by other hazy, indistinct visuals suggesting that even when we’re alone, we’re never truly alone. Watch the video below. UPDATE: Family Band’s Philly stay was short-lived; they moved to L.A., reportedly. Oh well. Still a lovely song and a haunting video.
Family Band
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Does cover art make the album? (plus 10 great album covers from the Philly scene in 2012)
Hideaway Music in Chestnut Hill uses album art as wall art
We can all agree (I hope) that the old “can’t judge a book by its cover” adage applies just as easily to albums. From Magical Mystery Tour to Rumours, The Talking Heads to The Smashing Pumpkins, and even this year’s standout Cat Power LP Sun, there’s a rich history of great music hiding behind heinous artwork. So does album art matter?
I think no and yes. “No” in that it’s about the music, not the packaging. In a world of digital listening, we interact with the songs themselves more immediately than ever before – there’s not that barrier of a bizarro / ugly sleeve to “get over,” in the event you find the sleeve bizarro and / or ugly. But also, “yes” in that cover art is still a way an musician represents themselves and their work. It may no longer be a first impression, but it is an impression, and you can almost look at it as an indicator of how much care they put into their overall project. And even on a more practical end, sure, physical releases no longer drive sales, but they are prized by collectors – the 180 gram vinyl editions and so forth are the sort of thing where people use the download card, then frame the LP cover and hang it on their wall. Would you really want to have Grimes’ frantic scribbled acid freakout hanging in your living room? (Okay, maybe you do.)
This week, UK music and culture blog The 405 listed their worst and best album covers of the year – lively reads, always – and it got me thinking about the role album art plays in 2012. Do you ignore it? Do you (like me) get antsy when your iTunes doesn’t have artwork for all its mp3s? What was the worst decade for album covers? (Hint: the 90s.) Which album covers blew you away this year? Which made you wretch? Discuss in the comments section, and check out some standout Philadelphia album covers from 2012 after the jump. Continue reading
Watch this incredibly spooky / sweet video for Family Band’s “Moonbeams”
Photo by Sam Macon | cargocollective.com/samueljmacon
If recent Philadelphia transplants Family Band didn’t already win your heart with their breathtaking album Grace and Lies, the music video for “Moonbeams” that premiered today ought to do the trick. Directed by Milwaukee filmmaker Sam Macon – and featuring costume design by Family Band’s Kim Krans – the video depicts the courtship of two skeletons. They meet after rising from the grave and spend the day skateboarding and biking, swimming in suburban pools, playing on a trampoline and falling in love. With a healthy dose of humor and brilliant cinematography, it’s seriously just about the spookiest sweetest thing you’ll see this year. Check it out below, and peruse a gallery of video stills at Family Band’s Facebook page.
Download Digest: This week’s best free music, incl. Matthew E. White, Family Band, Sun Airway
Photo by Shawn Brackbill
Here at The Key, we toss a fair heaping of free downloads your way, so it’s completely understandable if you miss a few. Here are our top five bits of digital music from the past week:
Richmond, Virginia musician Matthew E. White is releasing his album Big Inner on Hometapes/Spacebomb Records on August 21st, and plays the TLA on Oct. 11 with The Mountain Goats. This week, his song “Big Love” was a My Morning Download, and you can get it below.
On the heels of making an XPoFest splash a couple weeks ago (and tearing up The Barbary last week), Work Drugs released another track for free download from their album Absolute Bearing. Download “The Art of Progress” below – the band says it was “originally written in 1994 as a response to U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signing the Kremlin accords.” You can also watch the music video here; Work Drugs next plays Philadelphia on Aug. 31 at Johnny Brenda’s.
Family Band celebrated the release of its excellent new record Grace and Lies this week by playing the First Unitarian Church’s side chapel, recording a Live at the World Cafe session and appearing live on the air for XPN2′s Folkadelphia. You can download their Folkadelphia performance of “Ride” below.
Northern Liberties’ 2nd Street Festival is going on today, and one of the great Philly bands playing the main stage at the Pizza at Schmidt’s is The Great Unknown, who were spotlighted in last week’s Key Studio Session. Download their performance of “Borrowed and Temporary” below, and catch them this afternoon at 4:15.
As anticipation for their new record Soft Fall builds, Sun Airway released a mixtape on Wednesday that blends Bartok, Boards of Canada and The Chemical Brothers.
Photo Recap: Family Band at First Unitarian Chapel
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Photo by Rachel Barrish
