Couch Session: Tan Vampires

 

Couch Session #40: Tan Vampires

We just rarely find a band that sparks,
that certain song that lights an empty room left dark.
But with Tan Vampires, it was akin to a needle in hay,
that led us to their brilliant record all the way.
We're not religious, we don't believe in some things,
save for evolution, and perhaps birds and the bees,
but we wait and we wait while trying to find the right bands,
looking for that fit that's no less than iron clad,
and with these guys, we knew. It's that visceral tick,
the moment when everything seems to just click,
and even though we knew we were in love from the start,
it's their live performance that makes this stuff true art.
Jake's voice is undeniably special, just give it an ear —
he's the type whose shower singing will be the best thing you've heard all year.
Toy keyboards, accordions, a sack full of small cups —
even their instruments were a sign that we were in luck.
With dittys that share a border between heartfelt and sweet,
some sad, some reflective, but altogether a treat,
there were simply too many songs to capture, we got overwhelmed,
trying to pick a favorite was a decision we'd prefer not to helm.
So we recorded a bunch, and took the best out for you.
Here they are, Tan Vampires, a band it's time you knew:

MP3s

Tan Vampires - "Digital Rot (live on Big Ugly Yellow Couch)"

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Tan Vampires - "Fool (live on Big Ugly Yellow Couch)"

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Tan Vampires - "Threads (live on Big Ugly Yellow Couch)"

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Download the entire session

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website

Donald, Carlye, Favorites, 2011

We're a little late to the Top Albums of 2011 party, but that doesn't make our list any less special. (what? there were cookies to eat and candles to light, you can't blame us for being preoccupied with anything tree-shaped) .

Just like last year, our favorite album list is just that -  our favorites. The albums we couldn't stop listening to, the ones we couldn't live without, the ones we told all our friends about, and the ones we'll play all throughout 2012.  We held no Pumped Up Kicks grudges, Someone Like You feelings or True Loves preferences back, and hope you can recognize that in our list.

As the year winds down on its final days, we give you, dearest beautiful young readers, our favorite albums of 2011 in no particular order.

ARMS - Summer Skills

The Antlers - Burst Apart

Yellow Ostrich - The Mistress

Wye Oak - Civilian

Hooray for Earth - True Loves

St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

Wilco - The Whole Love

Milagres - Glowing Mouth

Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See

Phantogram - Nightlife EP

Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean

Boy & Bear - Moonfire

Foster The People - Torches

Kanye West and Jay-Z - Watch The Throne

Adele - 21

tUnE-YarDs - whokill

Drake - Take Care

We leave you with one last thing, our Spotify playlist of some of our favorite tracks from the year.

Big Ugly Yellow Couch 2011 Favorites

See you in 2012,

Donald and Carlye

Chomp, Bite, Spit, Enjoy.

When we recorded Santah's "Teeth" on our smushy furniture a jillion moons ago, the after effect was similar to being bathed in goosebumps. It was the first time they had captured it, and something about that moment and the song and especially that moment was inherently special. It was so special! Like, if the couch were to die, we're pretty sure that recording would flash before it's cushioned eyes before it met its maker in old furniture heaven. 

It's for that exact reason that we couldn't be more excited to debut the proper recording of that track from our dear friends right here on Big Ugly's web headquarters. Their EP will be out this Spring — their full length, White Noise Bed, is sold out on vinyl but is still available on CD —  and we'd be more than happy if every single song was just this on repeat. Just "Teeth," six times in a row. Maybe seven, if we want to get crazy with it.

The band have been touring like crazy and have a big-time show in Chicago this Thursday night, so if you're not lucky enough to be spending wintertime in the Midwest and wearing a sleeping bag as outerwear, be sure to keep a lookyloo out for their constant travels next year and beyond.

Also, fun fact: Did you know mammals are the only type of animals to have differentiated teeth? Neither did I. Just another perk of being on e-mail chains with these dudes. Even if it wiped away my dreams of one day having a tiger for a dentist.

Teeth by Santah

Couch Session: Fort Lean

 

 Couch Session #39: Fort Lean

There are times when you meet someone who just gets it,
like you're on the same page; any difference, forget it.
Say, a lady in line, just as confused with a long wait,
or a friend at a deli, who also thinks matzo balls are great.
Fort Lean are just that, a gang of new pals that are swell,
who are fun and silly and fit in perfectly well.
We feel like there's some possibility, in a Rick Moranis-led world,
we could shrink them down, make 'em tiny, give it a whirl.
They could fit on our couch as a miniature mascot clan,
like The Roots on Fallon, but our literal house band.
But, whether they're small or big, mustachioed or not,
this is one band whose tunes we have not forgot.
"Beach Holiday" is fitting for both their song and their style,
as each tune feels like tropical breeze paired with a smile.
They even made a glitter home for a funky drum pad,
like a birdhouse for their craft, only totally rad.
We could talk all day about giggling or their music or more,
or even the glitter we happily left dotted across the floor,
but we'd rather have you hear their tunes stripped down this moment,
so kick back, turn it up, and let those boys of Fort Lean show it:

MP3

Fort Lean - "Beach Holiday (live on Big Ugly Yellow Couch)"

Fort Lean - "Perfect (live on Big Ugly Yellow Couch)"

Fort Lean - "Dreams (live on Big Ugly Yellow Couch)" 

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bandcamp

A Bitta Bela.

Never mind that I showed up 40 minutes late and wound up being seated so close to Bela Fleck that he probably could have scolded me, I realized one thing while spacing the fuck out to drum machines and harmonicas and gut-string instruments: seeing a band like that makes me, in a way, almost never want to go back to Mercury Lounge again.

Now, before an indie mob starts drawing literal pitchforks and I'm thought to undermine this entire furniture endeavor, you gotta realize that we silently made it an intergral part of the site to not pay attention to boundary lines and not make booking decisions based on who gets placed in what genre. That's how we've been lucky enough to capture everything from an electronic duo to an Australian folk-rock band to a multi-talented violinist, all of which, in a way, now fit a different category in and of themselves. 

I'll save that discussion for another day, as this story's not about that. It's about costly, ticketed, sit-down theatre shows being an entirely different beast I completely forgot about, and didn't realize until last night that I miss altogether. 

At a show like this, there are no cell phones shrink-raying and dip-dying the entire experience into a clickable image with a two-sentence update. No one's at the back bar talking too loudly, nobody's e-mailing their co-worker about tomorrow's meeting, not a soul is updating Facebook during a song. At the least, there's a some rowdy grandfather cheering every Future Man solo; at most, there's a curious amount of audience-led eyefucking. (Ladies, if you get dumped, put on some makeup go to a banjo concert. Trust me.)

To be at a show where one band member is legit dressed like a pirate, another holds a record amount of GRAMMYs but you'd never recognize him on the street and people give more of a shit about their African instrument documentary than how their Twitter handle is spelled is refreshing. It's real. And, it makes me want to see more shows like this. 

After all, you know no one in that audience was holding up an iPad to snap a couple pics.