In House #1855: Cloud Cult's Meaning of 8; New Britt Daniel

It's one thing to be prolific but another entirely to be prolific and brilliant. Our occasional tendencies to engage in hyperbole aside, Minneapolis' Cloud Cult has been something close to both for the better part of the decade now, while still somehow managing to be kept under wraps like a special secret. With the release of Meaning of 8, the band's fifth full-length in the past seven years, their underground darling days may soon be at an end. The nineteen-track collection is a sprawling, stuffed to the gills festival of pop, at times so lyrically and musically dense that it's impossible to believe that it doesn't fall right over on its face. But no, Craig Minowa and friends succeed where so many have failed, and their pop pastiche brings to mind the best (and long-lost) moments of the Flaming Lips, the tribal righteousness of the Arcade Fire, the nearly unhinged lunacy of Modest Mouse. Songs like "Chemicals Collide," perhaps the best example of a pure pop song in 2007 this side of Peter, Bjorn & John's "Young Folks," literally beam with...we'll call it hope (and that's OK); "Please Remain Calm," meanwhile, suggests a Beta Band heir in the land of Sinclair Lewis. Meaning of 8 is a lot to take in at once, but it's a varied and captivating lot-- what more can you ask than that? The band that passes out environmentally-minded fact sheets at their gigs and looks like your college drama troupe just might be the emerging face of American indie-pop, and it's about time. Cloud Cult play two Montana dates this week, tonight in Bozeman and tomorrow night in Missoula, before heading for the west coast.

Cloud Cult

In House #1855.
Airdate: 4/24/07
Focus: New release from Cloud Cult, Meaning of 8, playing Montana shows tonight and tomorrow night, plus new music from Britt Daniel, The National, Pela, Modest Mouse, and more.

BONUS MP3s-
Cloud Cult, from Meaning of 8:

"Take Your Medicine" (MP3)

Spoon's Britt Daniel, from Bridging the Distance: A Portland Covers Compilation:

"Bring It On Home To Me" (MP3) (Sam Cooke cover)

BONUS Vid- Cloud Cult's "Chemicals Collide":


PLAYLIST

In House #1843: Guitarist Bill Mize Live; Iris Dement in Montana







In House #1843.
Airdate: 4/6/07
Focus: Guitarist Bill Mize live In House and in Pocatello tonight. Plus, Iris DeMent plays Montana this weekend, and new music from Lucinda Williams, Richard Thompson, and more.


PLAYLIST

In House #1837: The Gourds Cover the Region; New Jorma Kaukonen

Self-described "music for the unwashed and well-read," The Gourds give plenty of their alternative country-jam rock-bluegrass (and whatever else they happen to feel like at the time) love to some of the more neglected corners of flyover country this week with six performances in Idaho and Montana. The Austin-based quintet is celebrating fifteen years together in 2007 following the release of their ninth full-length, Heavy Ornamentals (an In House pick for one of the Top Five Roots/Americana albums of 2006), in January of last year. After having already played Boise earlier in the week, The Gourds hit the uncharted waters (or prairies, anyway) of Livingston, Montana tonight before Friday and Sunday appearances in Missoula are split by a Saturday gig in exotic Whitefish (that's right good people of Whitefish, a band that does not perform Warrant covers while wearing matching vests is coming to your town!). The band finally completes the Lolo Loop next Monday at John's Alley in Moscow, ID.

The Gourds

In House #1837.
Airdate: 3/29/07
Focus: Music from The Gourds, playing numerous shows in the region this week, plus new music from Arthur Dodge, Jorma Kaukonen, and more.

BONUS MP3s-
The Gourds, from Heavy Ornamentals:

"Pick & Roll" (MP3)

"Burn the Honey Suckle" (MP3)

The Mother Hips, from Kiss the Crystal Flake (due 4/3):

"Time Sick Son of a Grizzly Bear" (MP3)

PLAYLIST

In House PODCAST #284

In House #1828: Modest Mouse Plays Missoula Tomorrow; More SXSW

One of the few acts not playing in Austin, Texas this week, Modest Mouse instead gives some love to the hinterlands as they hit the University of Montana in Missoula tomorrow night before moving on to the Gallatin County Fairgrounds (no joke) in Bozeman, and finally the barren, unthawed landscapes of the Dakotas. The band is touring in anticipation of their fifth full-length release, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, out next week on Epic. One slight change (hardly) this go around is the presence on guitar of none other than Johnny Marr, the man in large part responsible for the musical brilliance of The Smiths and songs like "This Charming Man," and "How Soon is Now?" It's difficult to judge how much difference the addition really makes, aside from an atmospheric twist here and there, much like the cameo appearance of The Shins' James Mercer (intriguing but little more than a side note). What is clear from the album's beginning number, "March Into the Sea," is that Isaac Brock and company will not be content to turn in a batch of tunes hoping for another "Float On," though the insistent and infectious "Dashboard," complete with a surprising horn section, comes close. Still, new fans hoping to go unchallenged in their love may be disappointed-- in many instances here it seems that the point may be to challenge.

(Marr)dest Mouse

In House #1828.
Airdate: 3/15/07
Focus: Modest Mouse plays the University of Montana in Missoula tomorrow night, plus more dug up gems from the SXSW treasure trove, including music from The Twilight Sad, The Needles, Zykos, and more.

BONUS MP3s-
Modest Mouse, from We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank:

"People As Places As People" (MP3)

(And a few more gems from the SXSW cornucopia)

Zykos: "Wipeout (Try Waking Up!)"

Death Ships: "Story Never Gets Old" (MP3)

Lionheart Brothers: "Hero Anthem" (MP3)

The Sterns: "Supreme Girl" (MP3)

The Needles: "Dianne" (MP3)

Black Tie Dynasty: "Tender" (MP3)

PLAYLIST

In House PODCAST #276

In House #1812: Elvis Perkins' Ash Wednesday; Erin McKeown Plays Missoula

On the actual Ash Wednesday, today we get to the debut album of the same title from singer-songwriter Elvis Perkins and his band, Elvis Perkins in Dearland. After a self-released version last year, Perkins' Ash Wednesday got a label issue yesterday on XL and for good reason. Perkins operates in the mode of greats like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, occasionally coming across like a less melodramatic Jeff Buckley. Much of the material on the album comes directly from lived experience-- Perkins, as has been well documented at this point, is the son of actor Anthony Perkins (who died of AIDS in 1992) and photographer Berry Berenson (who was killed aboard one of the hijacked September 11th airliners). There's a lot of emotion to go around here, in other words, but Perkins plays it subtly on reflective, meditative pieces like the powerful title track. As tough as these experiences no doubt were for Perkins, they've certainly informed his ability as a songwriter, ensuring that he's known as something more than offspring of the famous. Perkins tours with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah this spring before playing Bonnaroo in June.


Also today, music from Erin McKeown, who plays the University of Montana in Missoula tonight. McKeown is currently touring in support of her most recent full-length Sing You Sinners, on which she covers Tin Pan Alley and golden age of pop tunes written by the likes of Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen and others. The album was issued to high acclaim in January on Nettwerk.



In House #1812.
Airdate: 2/21/07
Focus: Debut release from Elvis Perkins, Ash Wednesday, plus Erin McKeown plays the University of Montana in Missoula tonight, and we get to new music from Andrew Bird, Eleni Mandell, and more.

BONUS MP3s-
Elvis Perkins, from Ash Wednesday:

"Ash Wednesday" (MP3)

"All the Night Without Love" (MP3)

Erin McKeown, from Sing You Sinners:

"Melody" (MP3)

PLAYLIST

In House PODCAST #262