Koufax

MP3: Koufax - Loveless Meredith

I ventured into Bloomington, Indiana last night to see my friend Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band play at Rhino's. While I was excited to see Mr. Devine again, I was very much giddy about seeing the Koufax band rock out. I've been a fan since "It Had to Do With Love" and they've come by me a couple of times but something always came up.

They certainly delivered. To my surprise they played material mostly from 2002's brilliant "Social Life". But myself and my roommate threw in a request for "Going to Happen" and "Colour Us Canadian" and both were fulfilled. Got a chance to chat and host the gentlemen and they were all stand up lads. See this band if they're in your town. Good times are promised.

I picked up an import vinyl edition of "Hard Times Are In Fashion" and the import cd/ep "Why Bother At All", which is where today's mp3 comes from. It's a lovely little b-side I remember hearing about when the band first started recording their last lp. It features the brothers Pope (who were in the band for a quick second) as the rhythm section.

{buy koufax recordings from insound}

The songwriting of Justin Roelofs

MP3: The Anniversary - The Ghost Of the River
MP3: Justin Roelofs - Why do I have to take my pants off when you're the one who lied?! (featuring Pink Nasty)
MP3: White Flight - Solarsphere

The White Flight record has been getting a lot of well deserved attention lately from mp3 bloggers and various reviewers. That's probably what brought everyone over to the songwriting of Justin Roelofs, except a select few like myself who were huge fans of the Anniversary.

So today's (late) entry is dedicated to the songwriting of a Mr. Justin Roelofs. I made a post about the Only Children, the new project of Josh Berwanger, the other songwriter of the Anniversary. Feel free to check that out.

Choosing an Anniversary penned Roelofs cut (or any cut) was hard. In the end it was between this and another, but "The Ghost Of the River" won because it really showcasing a band working around him. He still very much owns the song with his unique voice and lyrics but the rest of the group really gives it depth. "Your Majesty" is an all time favourite for me, and though Vagrant has it out of print, it's still pretty easy to find. Take advantage of that asap.

After the band split, 3 tracks surfaced from a now solo Roelofs. The humourously titled "Why do I have to take my pants off when you're the one who lied?!" is very folksy. It has some really great backing vocals from Pink Nasty (who is worth seeking out).

White Flight, the current project from Roelofs? It's really and truly unclassifiable. I dare you to try. I can only say it's great, bright yet dark and will mostly get you off your seat and on your feet... or something.

White Flight's self titled record comes into physical form on March 6th on Range Life, but the kind folks who distribute the album (a little label called Saddle Creek) will give it to you 2 weeks early if you preorder.

{buy the anniversary recordings on insound}
{buy white flight recordings from saddle creek}