In a year that has already brought new releases by perennial MoB favorites Andrew Bird, Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, and upcoming albums due from The National and Spoon how has The Besnard Lakes risen to the top of our favorite list for 2006? If Of Montreal’s Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? was the record that got the most attention from us in January in February, no record comes close to amount we’ve enjoyed The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse since it’s February 20th release date on Jagjaguwar.

One of my biggest tragedies/regrets upon returning from SXSW was missing The Besnard Lakes performance, and try as I have to get them to come to Madison, the album will have to be my main source of enjoyment for the time being. I’m actually somewhat surprised I’m writing this now, because I thought I had written about this band already, but numerous searches on the site proved that to not be the case and here I am professing my admiration for a record that has completely engaged me with each listen.

Their label aptly describes their sound as, “rich with Beach Boys style harmonies, Roy Orbison reverbs and orchestra, Pink Floyd’s pacing and Freddy Mercury’s falsetto.” I hear all of that but the Pink Floyd, but don’t be surprised if everything you read about this band references the Beach Boys at some point, and for fair enough reason.

Lately, I’ve been complaining that I’m sick of all the music on my ipod and that I haven’t heard anything refreshing in some time. The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse is one of a handful of records that I can continue to enjoy as the rest of my collection grows stale and uninteresting. Look for it to grace a lot of critic’s year end lists.

MP3: The Besnard Lakes - And You Lied To Me
Myspace: The Besnard Lakes

++See other records that We Like at Muzzleofbees.com++

I expect this show to sell out fast. The Riverside Theater continues to bring quality acts to Milwaukee at affordable prices. They welcome Morrissey on Saturday, May 12th. Tickets are $34.50 and go on sale tomorrow at noon.

Myspace: Morrissey

When I interviewed Shara Wardon of My Brightest Diamond in September of last year she alluded to the fact that she was working on a remix album of her fabulous Bring Me The Workhorse. Well that remix album, titled Tear It Down was released at the beginning of this month (March 6th) and over the past couple of days spent in Miami I’ve come to enjoy this album even more than I enjoyed the original.

While the songs in many cases take on a much different persona on Tear It Down, fans of Bring Me The Workhorse will no doubt find plenty to get excited about with each repeated listen.

My Brightest Diamond is on tour with The Decemberists and those of you in Wisconsin have two opportunities to catch her with stops at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee on April 16th and at the Orpheum Theatre in Madison on April 20th.

Myspace: My Brightest Diamond
MP3: My Brightest Diamond - Golden Star (Remix by Alias)
MP3: My Brightest Diamond - Freak Out (Gold Chains Panique Mix)
Related: 5 Questions w/My Brightest Diamond

WOW. Pitchfork reports that The Hold Steady will play Milwaukee’s Miramar Theatre on May 17th followed by a performance in Madison at the Orpheum Stage Door on May 18th.

The Hold Steady’s Boys And Girls In America was one of our favorite albums of 2006, and their performance at last year’s Lollapalooza made our list of favorite concerts of the past year as well.

We could say more, but instead we’ll say buy your tickets and don’t be shut out of this one folks!

Myspace: The Hold Steady
MP3: The Hold Steady - Your Little Hoodrat Friend
MP3: The Hold Steady - Killer Parties Remix

MoB favorites Cloud Cult released The Meaning of 8 this year, and we have been playing it non-stop. We were thrilled to get word that Cloud Cult will be swinging through town once more to play the very appropriate Orpheum Stage Door on Thursday, April 19th. The band will also be playing further down the road the following day in Milwaukee on April 20th with a tour stop scheduled for Shank Hall.

Cloud Cult was one of the bands to catch while in Austin for SXSW playing showcases by fellow bloggers My Old Kentucky Blog and Brooklyn Vegan. We’re very pleased that they continue to make Madison and Milwaukee destinations on their tours, and hope all of you get a chance to make one of their upcoming shows - they are not to be missed.

Also Announced Today: 4/17 - Casper & The Cookies - Cafe Montmartre, Madison

Myspace: Cloud Cult
Watch: Cloud Cult - Chemicals Collide

Café Montmartre runs a mean drink special on Monday nights. It’s usually busy, but last night, twice as many people turned out. The reason: The One AM Radio.

Muzzle of Bees, along w/ Montmartre, brought the band to town for a free show.

The One AM Radio played a well-honed set, even if half the audience wasn’t as attentive as the other half would have liked. They are in the last week of a six week tour, so by now, they play together smoothly. The live show highlighted a few of the aspects of the music that can get lost in the complexity of the album versions. The brass section (two of the four guys played sax) blended perfectly. A strong bass line and laptop beats laid the groundwork. Hirway’s detailed, intimate lyrics – that come across so strong on the album – took a backseat last night to the tone and the complex musical layers.

Their show showed off the new release – This Too Will Pass – reviewed here by MoB.

The tour wraps in Boston on 03.31.07. Those of you between Madison and Boston should try and catch one of these closing dates.

MP3: Lest I Forget from This Too Will Pass
MP3: In the Time We’ve Got from This Too Will Pass

(travis)

Secretly Canadian’s Richard Swift released Dressed Up For The Letdown this year, which was my first exposure to his music. At first listen to the track “The Songs Of National Freedom,” I couldn’t help but hear similarities with Phil Collins smash hit “That’s All.” Most people would be turned away or stop listening to things when a comparison like that raises his head, but since my parents were keen on Collins and his contributions to Genesis, I kept on listening.

Richard Swift is the type of artist that I picture myself listening to while driving a convertible driving through the Arizona desert. His music is jubilant and confidant and after checking out his previous record, The Richard Swift Collection Vol. 1, I can unabashedly say this is an artist who’s growth is apparent with each release which only means great things are in the future for Richard.

Myspace: Richard Swift
MP3: Richard Swift - Kisses For The Misses

Here are the Wisconsin concerts we recommend you take in this week. Check them out below and let us know which ones you’ll be attending or ones you think should really make our list.

3/26 - The One AM Radio - Cafe Montmartre, Madison
3/26 - Patty Griffin - Barrymore, Madison
3/28 - Paleo/Gabriel Reed - Cafe Montmartre, Madison
3/30 - James Hunter - Northern Lights Theater, Milwaukee
3/31 - Patchwork - Cafe Montmartre, Madison
4/1 - The Black Lips - Mad Planet, Milwaukee

+++++Please remember you can always find a list of upcoming shows in Milwaukee and Madison by visiting our shows page +++++

Upon returning from last night’s Man Man/Girl Talk show at Club 770 I’ve tried to put myself in the position of the young college couple located directly behind me who appeared to be on a first date because of the awkward exchanges of “so do you go to a lot of concerts,” and “do you listen to Dave Matthews?” I was first surprised to learn that Dave Matthews is, in fact, still playing and recording music, and, on top of that, people are still listening to it. What I found most interesting though was their choice of place to spend their Saturday night with a bunch of total strangers as Man Man and eventually Girl Talk played to extremely enthusiastic crowds.

If it was your first exposure to Man Man last night you know doubt questioned when Tom Waits got young, joined a carnival, and started experimenting with excessive amounts psychedelics. I’d seen these guys last summer in Chicago at the Pitchfork Music Festival and was immediately impressed with the way they throw themselves into each performance and make crowds of like minded individuals (sans the two I mentioned earlier) absolutely lose their brains. The release of Demon Bag in 2006 catapulted the group to the forefront of indie rock and earned them the ability to tour extensively behind it; the majority of their live performances continue to derive from it, which works just fine as it’s those tunes that got them their fans and the songs that people come out to hear night after night. The band is currently working on their second release in Chicago.

I was initially skeptical when I heard the bill would include Man Man and Girl Talk, thinking their fans might not exactly blend together in a seamless manner. I couldn’t have been more incorrect. In fact Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) stood to my right for the majority of the Man Man performance and seemed to genuinely be enjoying it. It was hard to tell which artist the people in attendance were there to see, but it was apparent that everyone on stage with Girl Talk absolutely loved the mash up/laptronica tunes he was playing.

I’ll admit it’s hard for me to enjoy music like his for excessive periods of time, although I was able to enjoy his latest, Night Ripper from start to finish this morning. What translates with his live performances is the energy they bring about that you just don’t get during an hour with his record. Constant tempo changes and escalating beats educed a furry of dance moves and grinding both on stage and off. It was clear that everyone was enjoying the show supremely and to get a measure of Girl Talk’s enjoyment you’d have to look no further than his sweat soaked body and occasional stage dives in the audience to realize that he not only succeeds in winning over and audience but seems to enjoy it night after night.

Girl Talk is not a DJ and he’ll tell you that straight up. His music, and more importantly his live performances are built of the thesis of giving people a good time through familiar and well known songs combined together. With only one stop due to technical difficulties, there was little to complain about once he took the stage. I’m sure a lot of individuals were looking for an after party that would provide a similar experience to keep the night going.

It remains unknown if the couple I mentioned at the beginning made it through Man Man’s set or if they caught any of Girl Talk’s.

Myspace: Man Man
Myspace: Girl Talk
MP3: Girl Talk - Hold Up
MP3: Girl Talk - Bounce That
MP3: Man Man - Van Helsing Boombox

We’re just beginning to digest the new Modest Mouse album, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, which was released this week. So far the overall reaction I’ve read and heard has been less than positive, but I think we all owe it to Isaac and the rest of the crew to let this album settle in a while.

We have a limited edition 7″ to give away that includes the album track “Fire It Up” and the unreleased “King Rat”. Leave a comment telling me why I should love or hate the album for your chance to win.

Buy: Insound
Wikipedia: Vinyl/Records
Myspace: Modest Mouse
Pitchfork: We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank [7.8]