Reviewsday

It seems, in the last few years, that London's cornered the newly-created market of soulful white singers—Amy Winehouse, Adele, Joss Stone, likely a hundred others I don't know of. Don't get me wrong. Most of those artists and the music they produce I adore. I mean, who doesn't love Adele? Total d-bags, that's who. Anyway, my point is that, even though I think most of the music in this vein is good to great, it obviously harkens back to an older form of music, namely 60's and 70's soul. Much of the music from the new soul invasion tries to freshen things up a bit, adding a spin to the sound—Winehouse has to go to rehab, Adele shows that she ain't gonna stand shit, shows that she's united, etc.—but it's all drawing from this same pool of creativity that's roughly 30 to 40 years old at this point. Which, again, is fine. Sometimes that's exactly what we want to hear. But, let's face it, it's not wholly original. It's a throwback to a time long-gone. Which brings me to what I like about Florence and the Machine

The recording name for Florence Welch and whomever happens to be backing her, Florence and the Machine—oft referred to as FloMac, for better or for worse—takes a different approach to making great music. Welch's voice is spectacular in the same way that Winehouse's and Adele's voices are spectacular. You've got the range, the growling, soulful vocalization, all the good stuff that usually lands a singer smack dab in the middle of a soul revival group of some sort. But with FloMac (sorry, it's shorter, easier to type), they've stitched together this new, contemporary outfit for what some would call an old, sometimes more formal voice. They've avoided the easy math: Soulful Female Vox + R&B Band + PR Package = Awesome Sales. Welch has the voice for that equation, and I can only assume London—where she studied and took to stage—is lousy with soul bands right now. But Florence and those who helped her carve out a place in the music world chose a different route, either because it made sense on a fundamental, song-writing level or maybe just because they didn't want to be lumped in with what has to be a dying genre at this point. Regardless, the result is great.

On her debut EP, A Lot of Love. A Lot of Blood., Welch and company have sculpted some pleasing, largely original soundscapes to showcase her beautiful voice. The best efforts on the four-song + one remix album—Dogs Days are Over and You've Got the Love—are pieces held together at first by light, sparkly strings (mandolin and harp, respectively). They both then progress at their own pace, bringing in strong, danceable drums, and throwing in a healthy dose of musical breaks lest we forget how awesome Ms. Flo's voice be. The EP also gives us a great cover of the Cold War Kids' Hospital Beds, which does get a bit of a more traditional treatment with Welch goin' all gospel on us, again employing a slow build, then adding minimalist acoustic guitar, single tom hits, and then, finally, full on choral attack, complete with tambourine. Her other more popular single, Kiss with a Fist, is the only place I can hear the oft-written about similarity to the White Stripes. Whereas I was never a huge fan of the Stripes, I am actually endeared to Fist, I think because it again avoids an overly-retro musical treatment and sidesteps a straight-up blues progression, making a bit more stripped down punk than blues, which is always a plus in my book.

Overall, Love/Blood is a superb EP and a great debut. In addition to the likable, nicely-arranged songs, with both her lyrics and PR imagery, Welch paints a compellingly weird, macabre, art school view of herself and the world, again amping up the contemporary and avoiding the throwback. And I'll take arty darkness over rehab, as far as subject matter goes. So I can safely be counted among the throngs of others excitedly awaiting the full-length, Lungs, that should hit shelves/interwebs next month. In the meantime, enjoy these two tracks from the EP—posted with the kind permission of I AM SOUND RECORDS— and go get a copy of the whole thing yourself.

Dog Days are Over

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You've Got the Love

Music Monday

Esser

The electronic music world is constantly battling itself—struggling with the yin and yang of the genre and striving for a tasteful balance between the sound of sterile math and more natural organic structure. Which is why it's all the more refreshing to have newcomer Ben Esser making waves of late. Recording simply under Esser, the 23-year-old Brit brings an accent-soaked not quite so harsh as punk feel to modern electronic pop that sounds very nice and has the music world abuzz. His new album, Braveface, has highly anticipated state-side and he just finished a well-received show here in New York. We're a tad more partial to his release from last year, I Love You, but this week's Song of the Week and his current release, Headlock, is really great too. Check it out in the sidebar there.

And, on a side note, apologies, as always, for the lax posting. We promise copious content this week, friends.

Music Monday

Alexi Murdoch + Away We Go
This week's Song of the Week comes from smooth-voiced, musical maestro Alexi Murdoch. Murdoch hails from Scotland and, despite evidently being quite the recluse, just finished a US tour in anticipation of his soundtrack to the new Sam Mendes movie, Away We Go, and his forthcoming new full-length. With his husky whisper and beautiful acoustic finger plucking, the first comparison he draws is that of Nick Drake. But the saddest thing for me about Nick Drake's amazing music was finding out that had long since been dead the first time I heard it. So here's wishing Murdoch a long, happy, productive life.

And for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, seriously go see Away We Go, with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. Such a beautiful, great movie. We decided a while back that we don't generally see enough movies to start rating them, but, if we did, this would get our highest marks.

This is Not My Beautiful Post

We've got a new edition of Whistle While You Work up over at The Discerning Brute, where we strangely compare vegan recipes to awesome bands. Mmmmm. Rock. This time, Heaven + Hell Tacos vs. Death, the long lost 70's protopunk band from Detroit.

Music Monday

This week's Song of the Week is brought to you by Parisian, Dan Black, whose album is out next month. We're a fan of the 'Hey, Americans Can't Quite Get Away with Sounding This Pretentiously Awesome' sound and, current faves, Passion Pit, have given this single of his some quirky edging that works. We're an even bigger fan of the original, which we highly recommend getting. It's got the nice vocal hooks minus some of the dancehall sound. Holla.

From the Nest

Homemade BBQ Sauce

Reader, we let you down last week. We missed, not one, but two posts. Granted, we had a fair enough excuse (visiting our lovely friends WAY upstate at Farm Sanctuary), but that's no excuse. So, in an effort to patch things up between us and you, internet, we have for you our lovely homemade barbeque sauce recipe. Why make barbeque sauce at home, you ask? Well, first off, and most importantly, it tastes 110% better than even than best store-bought stuff, if we do say so ourselves (and we do). Secondly, it's completely HFCS-free. What's HFCS, you ask? Really? Did you ask that? Well, HFCS is high fructose corn syrup and, to put it lightly, it's the downfall of our civilization. Maybe that's not putting it lightly, but, despite what those bizarro commercials claim, the stuff's gross, bad for you, and supports the overproduction of corn, which seems to be all our country wants farms to grow anymore. That and soy, we suppose. But, main point being, this barbeque sauce is good, yo. And quite the addition to any summer grilling event. Plus, the recipe yields something like one liquid ton of the stuff and it freezes well. So, unless you hook yourself up to an IV of this, it's a once or twice a season kind of job.

So here's what you need:

• 1 large Vidalia Onion (or other sweet, non-geographical-indicator-type onion), chopped
• 1 large fresh mild pepper (depending on propensity for heat, Pablano—which we usually use, Ortego Chile, Paprika, or, if you're anti-heat, a Bell Pepper)

• 8-10 canned Chipotle Peppers (Goya makes these, as do a number of other companies, and they can be found in most grocery stores wherever tacos shells and salsas and such are kept)

• 8 medium Garlic Cloves, smashed and coarsely chopped

• 2.5 - 3 6 oz. cans of Tomato Paste (get a nice traditional Italian brand or an organic one)

• 1/3 cup Black Strap Molasses (other kinds are fine too)

• 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

• 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar

• 1/2 cup Bourbon

• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (we like Spectrum Organic)

• 1 tbsp Hickory Smoke Flavor/Liquid Smoke

• 1.5 cups of Water

• 1 tbsp Coriander (ideally freshly roasted and ground, but store-bought, pre-ground is totally fine)

• 1 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (we like Droste)

• 1 tbsp Brown Sugar

• 1/2 tsp Clove (again, ideally freshly ground, not roasted though)

• 1 tsp Nutmeg (freshly-grated, if possible—freshly-ground nutmeg RULES)

• 1 tsp Cinnamon (freshly grated, is possible)

• Salt, to taste

So, really, this is pretty easy. Lots of ingredients, but well worth it. First off, heat the oil in a pan on medium heat (as usual, we recommend a large, deep cast iron skillet—they = the best). Once its warmed, add the onions and garlic and saute until soft, allowing the onions to become a little translucent and making sure the garlic doesn't brown too much. Bring the heat to low and add the smoke flavor, sugar, bourbon, molasses, vinegars, spices, and cocoa. Stir gently and cook uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring a little as you go. Now cut the peppers into large chunks and add them along with the tomato paste, salt, and 1.5 cups of water. Now go read a nice book or surf the interweb for a while and allow the ingredients to simmer for about 1.5 hours covered, stirring every now and then and adding more water if it starts to look too thick or anything looks like it's burning or drying out. Remove from heat and allow to cool for half an hour or so, long enough that you're not endangering your life if there's any splashback with the blender. Then, puree everything in batches in your blender, adding the batches to a pot and then stirring well once it's all in the same place. Now, friend, you have a wonderful homemade barbeque sauce, sure to wow your friends and family on everything from a veggie burger to seitan on the grill to a spoon when you need a quick, savory fix.

Enjoy. And, again, our most sincere apologies.

Music Monday

This week's Song of the Week comes from Brooklyn's Blank Dogs—essentially the work of one super-prolific writer and performer, Mr. Mike Sniper. Starting in 2007, Sniper began putting out release after release under the moniker, Blank Dogs, with little to no explanation of who the band was and absolutely no shows to support the recordings. That all changed last fall with two highly anticipated shows in NYC. Now Sniper's got a new album out that, from the sound of this track, Tin Birds (download to the right and down), continues to push the new new wave sound. Stereogum put it best when they said - "It's like Joy Division vocal lines with the Cure's synth and guitar melodies filtered through ancient submerged keyboards and eroded recording equipment." Check them/him out in Philly July 9 and at South Street Seaport in NYC July 24.

Thursday Preen

So, yes, yes. I know we've been a bit behind on the posts this week. And, yes, yes, I know it's not Thursday anymore, but I just couldn't hold this one two weeks.

We were recently able to chat with one of our favorite women's designers, d a c e, from the far-away land of Vancouver, BC—home of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, the third-largest film production center in North America, the New Pornographers, and, it turns out, one of the most productive and innovative sources for women looking for fresh new takes on classic looks.

With their exciting fall line hitting the streets next month and seven years of designing now under her belt, we talked with designer and founder Dace Moore about the inspiration for her clothing, terrible nicknames, and, yes, Twilight. Check it out. Fall '09 preview photos by André Pinces.

So, forgive the somewhat trite, superficial initial question, but, first thing’s first: Dace is a really cool name. It’s monosyllabic, it’s a four-letter-word, it’s totally unique, it’s got tons of nice rhyming words; all the hallmarks of winning name. Is that a family name or just something your parents liked the sound of?
Ha, ha. My dad named me after a character in a fictional novel that he was reading.

Okay, so, obviously being blessed with a cool name makes naming your company easier, but—and I promise, after this, we’ll get off the name—what’s with the spacing and lower-casing of the company name: d a c e? Given our line of work, we’re always intrigued by company brands and such, so please forgive the non-fashiony question.
I really liked it spaced out. Dace is a simple name and my collections are classic, so I wanted to go with something timeless – that we would never grow out of.

Nice. So, you first started making garments when, as a single mother, you taught yourself to sew and started piecing together fabrics from thrift stores. Superb origins of the d a c e story, by the way. For anyone out there looking to get their feet wet in the fashion world, can you talk briefly about how you went from self-taught fashion mom to running one of the coolest women’s lines out there?
Your questions make me giggle! When I began sewing, I started doing a lot of collaborative fashion shows with friends and selling my designs at a local consignment store. I noticed that people were purchasing them and asking me where they could buy them. It kind of just took off from there. I went to school for design and started working for a skate/snowboarding company (as a designer) here in Vancouver. I wouldn’t have been able to start my own company if I hadn’t gotten that experience working in design.

Do you still make clothing for your daughter?
No! She does steal my clothes now, though! Luckily, she's getting a lot taller than me now, so she’s starting to not fit everything!

Coming from such down-to-earth, humble beginnings, have you found it off-putting to be thrust into the world of high fashion?
I guess sometimes. Mostly I feel it when I go away—to tradeshows or fashion shows—and I come across some designers that have a lot of attitude, and there’s no reason for it.

Any ‘listen to how crazy THESE people in the fashion industry are’ stories?
No way! I don’t want to get in trouble!

We’ve followed your line since 2005 or so now, and it seems like your lines are getting a little slimmer, closer to the body. We’re fans of this, but just wanted to ask what sort of choices you’ve been making for the evolution of d a c e through the years.
This is such a good question. Over the past seasons we’ve been trying to produce styles that are flattering on all body types. We try not to make styles that only fit one specific type of person. As well, I have a rule: It’s not going in the collection unless I love it. So we’ve really been trying to pay even more attention to the little details and make sure that everything looks magnificent.

Well, superb job up to this point. You’ve always been great with your focus on cut, fit, and form and highlighting that focus with generally solid or simple fabrics, venturing out of that field only for the occasional exciting pattern (like with the Bonnie Tunic and Virginia Dress last season—very nice). What would you say, in your opinion, are the most important aspects to any piece?
I would have to say fabric. The fabric is what initially inspires me to design a specific piece.

This past spring, and, from what we’ve seen so far of the fall line, you seem to be drawing even more inspiration from the natural world. The wonderfully-shot lookbooks seem to be magnifying this even more, but there seems to be this great, easy, rolling feel given off by many of the pieces and ensembles. Like watching overblown home movies of kids walking through the woods in the 70s. It’s a cliché question, but what sort of things inspire the look of your lines? Are we way off? Is it totally robots and cyborg unicorns?
You are correct. It’s totally cyborgs and unicorns. Just joking. You’re right, I do gain a lot of my inspiration from the natural world. Especially since I have been horse back riding on a weekly basis for the past year. Also, I’ve been really inspired by the look of Francoise Hardy (in the 60’s). She’s so beautiful and when I see photos of her, she never looks over-done, just simple and understated. It’s inspired me to make clothes that are easy to wear.

Oh, yeah, totally. We love her. Such an amazing look and general aesthetic. Alright, another somewhat trite question: Do you know of any celebrity types who are big d a c e fans? Any champions of the brand?
Well, Fiest has been ordering clothing from us. As well as Nelly Furtado. We know that Mindy Kaling (from the Office) has the same jumper as Katie. Zooey Deschanel, Anne Heche and Lindsay Lohan are known to own a few dace pieces as well.

That’s good to know about Mindy. You know, just in case we show up at the same party… Okay, this question’s from Troy specifically: Why no men’s clothes? Please make him a lovely frock or something…
Ha ha ha. I’d love to see Troy in a frock. But the truth is – I love seeing guys just wearing t-shirts and jeans.

Fair enough, I guess. Alright, here it comes: Quickfire Round.
Favo(u)rite thing about Canada?
British Columbia.

Favorite stores, in Canada or the US or wherevs, that carry d a c e?
If I have to pick, I would say our hometown stores because they've been supporting us since our first season. But we really love working with all of our stores.

Bizarre pet peeve?
Combo: Ugg boots and mini skirts (together).

Oh, that's not bizarre. Favorite designer who’s not you?
Lover.

Nickname in gradeschool?
Monkey Face Dace.

Ouch. If given a choice, preferred nickname in gradeschool?
Tiffany – I hated my name when I was younger. I grew up in a really small town, so I got bugged about my name a lot.

You showed them! Favorite city in the US? New York, right? Right…?
OF COURSE!!!! I know the subway system like the back of my hand!

That's one up on us. Band you can’t stop listening to right now?
Old 70’s rock. No particular band, though.

Favorite book you’ve read in the last year?
Please don’t tell anyone… Twilight.

Alright…we won’t tell. Wait...
Seriously, how about a men’s shirt? Maybe an ascot, that’d be easy?
Just for you – we’ll make one for Troy.

Movie you’re ashamed to love dearly?
Ok…. Twilight! Please don’t think I’m crazy. But he just looks so good in the movie… and most of the time he’s just wearing a t-shirt!!!

Interview you wish would end right now?
I love this one! I can keep going!

Crap, that hasn't happened before...

Keep an eye out for the new fall season this July and check out their sale on spring items over at dace.ca. And become their fan on ye olde Facebook.

The Find

We at raven + crow studio recently teamed up with vegan super-store, MooShoes, in an effort to put an end to horse-drawn carriages in New York City. In support of the on-the-ground and lobbying work of the NYC-based Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, we designed and printed two original posters with which we hope to soon cover the city. We're asking interested business owners to put up the posters in their shops and get the word out.

When we first visited Central Park—a long, long time ago— we were both immediately struck by how SAD the horses seemed. Obviously that's not the most articulate of arguments to move the more than 200 horses in the industry to more fitting environments, but it is one that I think is intuitively...'felt,' for lack of a better word...by many people who first encounter them. But after attending a filled-to-capacity public hearing at city hall earlier this year and starting to do some reading on our own, we soon found out how hard it is to deny that these usually majestic animals are living out truly depressing, shortened lives in an environment that's so very far from natural or safe.

The main and most compelling argument against banning the carriages from the city is that we would be eradicating over 200 jobs in a time that's undeniably hard for everyone, especially blue-collar workers dealing with the expenses of living in and around New York City. But the truth is that it never should have been a job in the first place. These horses are living and working day-to-day in one of the most crowded, active cities in the world, pulling carriages in the middle of congested NYC streets, all to entertain the tourists of the city. It's no different than the exploitation of elephants or other wild animals in the circus, some could even argue it's worse.

Others (BanHDC, PETA) can argue these points much better than us—which is why we're trying to contribute in an area in which we're more skilled—but it's something we feel passionately about and something we want to change about our city.

If you own a business or have a space you can put up one of these posters, or know someone who does, email us and we'll get you some. And for the rest of you, come out to this Saturday's rally at noon in Columbus Circle. It's an international event and will have cities around the world participating, so get it on, ya'll.

Music Monday

The Song of the Week this week comes from YACHT. As they put it on their Web site, "YACHT is a Band, Belief System, and Business conducted by Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans of Marfa, Texas and Portland, Oregon, USA. All people are welcome to become members of YACHT." Indeed, YACHT is weirdly cool and cooly weird. Their new album drops next month, but enjoy the pre-release single, Psychic City now. Read their detailed explanation of the song here. And we highly recommend checking out their free downloads of original songs and remixes (the one by Mirah is great) here.