Best of 2007

Top albums (in no particular order)

Patrick Cleandenim Baby Comes Home (Broken Horse)
The Broken Family Band Hello Love (Track & Field)
Rilo Kiley Under The Blacklight (Warner Brothers)
The Autumn Defense S/T (Broadmoor)
Silver Ray Homes For Everyone (Silver Ray)
Prefab Sprout Steve Mcqueen (acoustic versions) (Kitchenware - bonus disc with the remastered version of their 1985 album)
The Decemberists The Crane Wife (Rough Trade)
Proud Simon Shoestring Universe (Proud Simon)
Wilco Sky Blue Sky (Nonesuch)
Glenn Mercer Wheels in Motion (Pravda)

followed by (also in no patricular order)

OK Jones Elephantoms (Centropolis)
The Clientele God Save The Clientele (Merge)
Benjy Feree Leaving The Nest (Domino)
Dinosaur Jr Beyond (PIAS)
Candidate Oxengate (Snowstorm)
Band of Horses Cease To Begin (Sub Pop)
Beirut The Flying Club Cup (4AD)
Bishop Allen & The Broken String (Dead Meadows)
Iron & Wine The Shepherd's Dog (Sub Pop)
Miracle Fortress Five Roses (Rough Trade)
UK States Psychogeography (Hitback)
Okkervill River The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)
Bill Callahan Woke on a Whaleheart (Drag City)
Cam Butler Healing Feelings (Pharmacy)
The White Stripes Icky Thump (XL)
David Vandervelde The Moonstation House Band (Secretly Canadian)

Some of 2007's best tracks

Rilo Kiley Silver Lining
The Broken Family Band Give and Take
OK Jones Deep Sea Divers
Proud Simon American Caskets
LCD Soundsystem All My Friends
The Autumn Defense About To Change
Patrick Cleandenim Days Without Rain
The Yellow Moon Band Entangled
Wilco Impossible Germany
Andrew Bird Heretics
Prefab Sprout Bonny
Bishop Allen Rain
Candidate Furlough
David Vandervelde Nothin' No
The Decemberists When The War Came
Wilco On and On and On
Glenn Mercer Another Last Time
Dylan Mondegreen Girl in Grass
The Autumn Defense We Would Never Die
The Living Image The Show
Tegan and Sara The Con
Bill Callahan Diamond Dancer
Okkervill River Unless It's Kicks
Beirut Un Dernier Verre (Pour La Route)
The Clientele Bookshop Casanova
Patrick Cleandenim Rocket To The Moon
Silver Ray The Streets of Melbourne
Rilo Kiley Close Call
Glenn Mercer Morning Lights
Wilco You Are My Face


Favourite (non 2007) album of the year

Camper Van Beethoven Tusk (Cooking Vinyl 2002) DBL CD

The Autumn Defense on Broken Horse

The Autumn Defense's 3rd & self titled album will be released on Broken Horse for the UK/Europe on January 28th 2008. The core of the band is John Stirratt & Pat Sansone from Wilco. The Broken Horse issue will feature brand new artwork and photos and has been re-designed by Pat Sansone himself (is there nothing this guy can't do?)

"After the release of their second album in 2003, The Autumn Defense, multi-instrumentalists John Stirratt and Pat Sansone, realized that there was indeed an audience for their Simon & Garfunkel/Bread influenced soft-rock that they hadn’t truly appreciated, and like most things took some time to develop.

"We’ve known each other for a long time. We just all knew each other from being around the Mississippi music scene back in the late 80’s and early 90’s," Sansone said. "I reconnected with John when I moved to New Orleans around 97. John was living in New Orleans as well, so we just started hanging out and listening to records and we realized we had the same tastes at the time and we started strumming and singing and realized we had a real great vocal blend, which was really the reason we started the band."

“I loved the way that [2003's Circles] had this sort of gestation period...that it took a while for people to find it, but when they did, they really dug it”, according to Stirratt. Circles earned high praise from critics like David Fricke of Rolling Stone who called it, "warm, gorgeous, and delightful," and picked up 4 stars from both Mojo and Uncut.

In the meantime, Pat Sansone joined Wilco as a full time member just before the release of 2004’s A Ghost is Born. A necessary move from New York to Chicago for Sansone allowed them to work together as often as possible and to record at their leisure in Wilco’s sprawling musical Aladdin’s cave-like loft studio.

Pat Sansone "I think that Chicago kind of lends itself, especially if you’re recording in the winter time, which we did; it lends itself to locking yourself inside because it’s so cold outside. It’s kind of easy to focus and concentrate because you want to be inside. I think that probably did influence this record in trying to make it warm sounding."

Once the songs were in place, they recovened with their rhythm section of the last six years: drummer Greg Wieczorek, and producer/ session man Brad Jones, as well as other Autumn Defense regulars like pedal steel player John Pirruccello and horn player Steve Tyska.

“We’ve worked with them for so long now, that there’s a certain intuitiveness about the track as it’s going down... that they know the possibilities as well as we do,” says Stirratt. And through Brad Jones they were also able to work with new friends Chris Carmichael and Jim Hoke, whose string and flute performances brought Sansone’s light orchestral arrangements to life, and to helped provide a truly organic feel to the recordings.

The result of a long winter’s work is the self-titled release, The Autumn Defense. It is the culmination and continuation of what the band has reached for in the last two records, from the Philly-soul of "Feel You Now", to the baroque "Estate Remains", the bossa "City Bells" to the classic Southern- California sound of "We Would Never Die.” (also featuring Wilco’s Nels Cline). Playing this album next to Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky which followed “The Autumn Defense” a few months later (The Autumn Defense was released in the U.S in early 2007), it becomes clear how integral both Stirratt and Sansone are to the current Wilco sound in what is looking likely to be it’s most successful and enduring line up."

November listening

Nick Drake Heaven in a Wild Flower (1985 best of) (Island) CD
Camper Van Beethoven Tusk (Cooking Vinyl) DBL CD
Fire Engines Hungry Beat (Acute) CD
Living Image The Show (demo) MP3
Andrew Morgan S/T (tbc) forthcoming CD
The Railway Children Brighter (Factory) 12"
Fleetwood Mac Rumours (Warner Brothers) DBL CD
The Specials Singles (2 Tone) CD
Bobb Trimble Iron Curtain Innocence (Secretly Canadian) CD
Dave Kusworth In Some Life Let Gone (Troubador) DBL CD
Edwyn Collins Home Again (Heavenly) CD

Patrick Cleandenim on Radio 2

***UPDATE - Patrick came 2nd! Thanks to all that voted! ***

Patrick Cleandenim's Rocket To The Moon is up for consideration as Mark Radcliffe & Stuart Maconie's record of the week next week on Radio 2. If it wins it will mean it gets played 4 times next week which could make a real difference to both Patrick & Broken Horse.

Please help us by voting for Patrick

The link for people to visit is below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/radcliffemaconie/picknmix.shtml


the email address is

radcliffe.maconie@bbc.co.uk

subject line : Pick n Mix

Message: Patrick Cleandenim - Rocket To The Moon


Please do take a minute to vote - it will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Autumn Defense Manchester show cancelled

Unfortunately, the Autumn Defense show at the Briton's Protection has been cancelled because Wilco have pulled all their UK shows which were due to start next week. Apologies to anyone who was hoping to come down. The AD should be back in the UK in early 2008 for a proper tour of their own though.

Thanks.

Patrick Cleandenim vs Jens Lekman/CMJ/Interview

Patrick Cleandenim is supporting Jens Lekman at the following shows

Black Cat, Washington, DC.
October 25th

Webster Hall, New York, NY
October 27th

Paradise, Boston,Ma
October 28th,


Also Mike Wolf, editor of Time Out NY talks on WNYC's Soundcheck about what acts will emerge from CMJ unforgotten. According to Wolf, "the embarassingly talented" Patrick Cleandenim is a likely contender.

Click here to listen to the interview



Finally, Press Play and record have posted an interview with Patrick right here

The Autumn Defense - live in Manchester - CANCELLED!!!

****SHOW CANCELLED-SORRY!!!****
****SHOW CANCELLED-SORRY!!!****
****SHOW CANCELLED-SORRY!!!****

Broken Horse will be releasing The Autumn Defense's self titled (3rd) album in January 2008 in the UK/Europe.

By way of a pre-album launch we are promoting a show for the band in Manchester on Thursday 1st November. John & Pat will be in town to play with Wilco the next night but will be performing their only European show this year at the very intimate Briton's Protection (which is right next to The Bridgewater Hall).

Support comes from the excellent Starless and Bible Black

Seoul Boy

Andrew Morgan is currently residing in Seoul, South Korea teaching English whilst the mixing of his 2nd album is completed. He has started a blog to document his (mis) adventures whilst he's there. You can follow his progress here.

latest playlist

Fleetwood Mac - Say You Love Me (single version)
The Nectarine No 9 - Susan Identifer
The Velvet Underground - I Found A Reason (demo)
Okkervil River - Unless It's Kicks
Ghosty - Junior Grows Up
Rilo Kiley - Dreamworld
The Swimmers - Pocket Full of Gold
The Autumn Defense - This Will Fall Away
Laura Cantrell - Where The Roses Bloom Again
Okkervil River - A Hand To Take Hold Of
Fleetwood Mac - World Turning
Wilco - Impossible Germany
The Nectarine No 9 - Fibrecane No 4

Patrick Cleandenim - Days Without Rain (video)

Directed by Patrick Cleandenim. Also coming soon:

"We are nearing completion on The Scurimobile (Dir. Patrick Cleandenim) and it is set to be premiered in New York City in early December. The Scurimobile is an epic, Biblical tragedy set in 17th Century Italy, as performed by The Nile Room Stage Co. in 21st Century New York. It features Ingrid Schram, Philip John Velasco Gabriel, Georgia Gardner Gray, Loren Kramar and more!"

Patrick Cleandenim and the Living Image can also be seen appearing live this month:


12 Oct 2007 22:00
Triad Theatre New York, New York
19 Oct 2007 15:00
Cakeshop New York, New York
25 Oct 2007 20:00
Black Cat / w. Jens Lekman DC, Washington DC
27 Oct 2007 20:00
Webster Hall / w. Jens Lekman New York, New York

Patrick Cleandenim - Time Out (NY)

"As for opener Patrick Cleandenim, you wouldn’t think a guy in his early twenties would have such a developed sense of what separates retro from classic. But Cleandenim’s new Baby Comes Home (Ba Da Bing) re-creates the energy of so many strains of ’60s pop so effectively that we’ve come to believe the guy’s real success was in building a time machine, enabling him to take notes from Spector, Axelrod and Tony Mottola. Every song on Baby has a gentle dramatic sweep and classic pop snap. " Time Out (New York)

recent listening

REM Chronic Town (IRS) Mini LP
Beirut Elephant Gun (4AD) 7"
Pigbag Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag (Y/Rough Trade) 7"
Proud Simon Shoestring Universe (Proud Simon) CD
Cherry Ghost Mathematics (Heavenly) 7"
Ghosty Answers (forthcoming album!) CD
The Sisters of Mercy First and Last and Always (Warner Bros) LP
Television Adventure (Elektra) LP
REM Automatic For The People (Warner Bros) LP
Prefab Sprout Protest Songs (Kitchenware) LP
Fleetwood Mac Rumours (Warner Bros) LP

Pitchfork reviews Baby Comes Home

Pitchfork have given Patrick Cleandenim's Baby Comes Home an extremely positive review

"Ba Da Bing, which has shown a recent tendency toward the young and retro-dignified (Beirut, Essie Jain), finds its next constituent in 22-year old Lawrence, Kansas expat and Bobby Darin aspirant Patrick Cleandenim. His first LP under this moniker (his parents named him Patrick Clendenin Roberts), Baby Comes Home, was recorded throughout 2005 with significant help from enrollees in the University of Kansas' music department. Cleandenim recruited dozens of Jayhawks to serve as his backing band, and Baby's lush brass and strings reflect it. Studio time was tight, with recording sessions taking place during the graveyard shift-- only appropriate for a record with several songs that lurk through the darker side of the high life."

read the rest of the review here

Patrick Cleandenim - Sixeyes

The SIXEYES Blog has caught the Cleandenim bug, here's what they say,

"Listen up! What Zach Condon did for Balkan gypsy in the field of indie music, so Patrick Cleandenim (Patrick Clendenin Roberts) will do for minor key swingin' orchestral sixties pop. Indie label Ba Da Bing shows us all they're the real deal by first snagging Condon and now Cleandenim. I've got to admit that the idea of reviving this musical era and style left me cold at first, but after a few more listens over the past couple of weeks I've begun to see the light. This guy is gonna bring back the sing-a-long in cars on the way to the beach and on grey rainy Sundays, he's going to make us all feel like we're in our own private musical, which, and we can only hope, will kill karaoke for good (or, even better, Hollywood musicals), and he's going to turn some heads and prick some ears. But I've got a feeling this fellow won't stick to one style, he'll surprise with his next effort I'm sure.

Cleandenim is living in New York and he and his new band, Living Image, will be doing a few shows in the coming weeks in support of Baby Comes Home, check their myspace.

"I saw you walking with the vampire last night..." , so begins the opening cut, "Baby Comes Home", and if you let it, the music will sink it's teeth in and won't let go. "

Patrick Cleandenim and The Living Image - Live

Patrick Cleandenim and his new band The Living Image are playing four shows in New York in the coming weeks.

Sway
15 Aug 2007, 22:00
305 Spring Street (Between Hudson and Greenwich), New York, 10003

Admission is FREE

Sound Fix record store

24 Aug 2007, 20:00
110 Bedford Ave. (N. 11th.), New York,
Cost : Free

White Rabbits will perform at 10pm.

Mercury Lounge

30 Aug 2007, 19:30

On stage 7.30 pm! $10

Galapagos Art Space

13 Sep 2007, 22:00
70 N. 6th (Between Kent and Wythe), New York, 11211

Audiversity on Patrick Cleandenim

"To say Baby Comes Home is a promising solo debut is putting it lightly; this is a phenomenal debut of sheer (and somewhat already met) potential."

Read the whole article here

Baby Comes Home - Hartford Courant review

The Hartford Courant which is Connecticut's largest daily newspaper has reviewed Baby Comes Home.


PATRICK CLEANDENIM
Baby Comes Home
Ba Da Bing

Patrick Cleandenim hit 21 just as he finished recording "Baby Comes Home." That's slightly disturbing, given how mature the album is. The ambitious Cleandenim dishes out stately, orchestral pop like a young Burt Bacharach, though he's more likely to cite David Axelrod and Phil Spector as influences. Using University of Kansas music students for string and horn sections, the album boasts an unlikely alchemy of spirited Motown and baroque confessionals, imbued with the playfulness of bubblegum.

Yet darkness often descends, whether Cleandenim is crooning about poisoned cognac and caviar (with a sassy backup singer to boot) or pondering the difference between the drugs in various cities. Without a trace of emotion he sings, `I didn't have a clue what we were coming to / Until you said `I'm gone.'" That this all happens over such a classic-sounding backdrop makes it more unnerving still.

Cleandenim holds court from the bench of his piano, delivering pitch-black lyrics in the smoothest of voices as flurries of instruments sweep around him. That the album was recorded during the graveyard shift may explain its sinister vibe, but it's harder to fathom how a no-name 20-year-old crafted a stunning debut with eerie depth.

- DOUG WALLEN

Patrick Cleandenim and The Living Image - Live in NYC

If you're lucky enough to be in NYC over the next few days you can catch Patrick Cleandenim with his new band The Living Image not once but twice in the space of three days.

































On the Broken Horse stereo:

Spacemen 3 Walking With Jesus (Glass) 12"
Violent Femmes It's Gonna Rain (Slash) 7"
Weezer Hash Pipe (Geffen) 7"
The Velvet Underground Another View (Polydor) CD
Oddfellows Casino Giant Redwoods (Pickled Egg) 7"
Felt Forever Breathes The Lonely Word (Creation) LP

Patrick Cleandenim - So Far, So Good

Still not bought Baby Comes Home? OK, let's see if any of these guys can persuade you.

“I honestly can't imagine how Patrick Cleandenim will ever be able to follow this work up, as debuts of this caliber are pretty rare. No use worrying about that now, however, as this album has far from overstayed its welcome in my CD player. Baby Come Home is one of those records that reveals itself a little more with each listen, and I'm still listening” Other Music (NYC)

“He enlisted a cast of old pals and some music students and this timeless, cracking album resulted….The collision of expansive arrangements, smart songwriting and slightly amateurish sound quality makes for something truly original” (The Times)

“Music that swings (remember that?), all sleighbells, vibraphone, and sophisticated brass and vocal parts, topped off by Cleandenim's rich delivery and lush strings, testament to his skills as a classic-pop arranger based on an encyclopedic knowledge of everything from Motown to movie soundtracks to gritty mid-60s R&B.”

(The Guardian)

“An unexpected gem of an album” (WORD magazine)

“This newcomer has created a songbook with class, Rat Pack sass and a self assuredness that will make the Scissor Sisters check their shadow” (The Stool Pigeon)

“Cleandenim has crafted a magnificent album” (Alternative Ulster)

“Like debuts by The Strokes, Oasis, and even The Beatles, Baby Comes Home is a wall-to-wall clinic in songwriting…It’s an instant classic – a page from pop’s golden era brought to life in the 21st century” (Daytrotter)

.“Patrick Cleandenim will remind you of The Association, David Axelrod, Marvin Gaye, Bobby Darin, Prefab Sprout, early Todd Rundgren, ELO with soul and any number of legendary Brill Building singers and songwriters. The connection between The Delfonics and Rufus Wainwright, Cleandenim's debut is big and sweeping and oh so Sixties. The stunning album is called Baby Comes Home “(Some Velvet Blog)

“it's certainly only a matter of time before Patrick Cleandenim's big tunes are big news.” (Turn The Page)

“'Baby Comes Home' is so utterly accomplished, it comes over like a master-class in songwriting, albeit a very enjoyable one.” (Urban Junkies)

“For the second year in a row, it seems that the small Ba Da Bing! Records has a big time winner on its hands.. Who knows where he'll go from here, but this is one heck of a great start.” (Almost Cool)

“one of the most authentic pop albums in what feels like decades.” (Rant Magazine)

“Like Scott Walker joining arms with Divine Comedy, 'Baby Comes Home' has a depth and eloquence above and beyond.” (Flux)

“Patrick Cleandenim is an orchestral pop prodigy and Baby Comes Home should be your new best friend” (Swell)

Other Music on Patrick Cleandenim

New York City's premier independent music store Other Music has been heaping praise on Baby Comes Home

"Looks like Ba Da Bing!'s got quite a knack for discovering young up-and-coming crooners, what with the 2006 success story of Zach Condon (a/k/a Beirut) and his gypsy folk-inspired indie pop and now, a year later, Patrick Cleandenim, who's just released this surprisingly ambitious debut. Like Condon, it's impossible not to be impressed with the songwriting chops of this 22-year-old who possesses a voice that sounds to be a natural cross between Rufus Wainwright and Todd Rundgren. But rather than going to the Balkans for musical inspiration this Lawrence, Kansas native sticks a little closer to home, delivering a swinging piano-driven full-length that's much more American-influenced, with strong elements of Tin Pan Alley, Burt Bacharach, and Rat Pack-era orchestration thanks to his lively 12-piece backing band.

In this day and age, it would be easy to imagine all of these pieces of the puzzle coming together as some sort of ironic pastiche better suited for the '90s-era bachelor pad, but Baby Come Home stays faithful to the form and remains perfectly suited for these modern times as well. The self-titled opening track kicks the album off with the same swagger as "(You Give Me) Fever," but Cleandenim and his band quickly turn the song into a jaunty, sexy number involving vampires and werewolves. On the surface, his lyrics are simple and romantic, but his gift is turning easy rhymes into detailed stories with plenty of dark twists. "Cognac and Caviar" sounds like a plot lifted from an old Thin Man movie, where Cleandenim plans the murder of his love interest's boyfriend -- "I'll put poison in his cognac and caviar" -- following up with the promise that "if you can find a hideaway, I'll take you there." The crown jewel of Baby Come Home is surely "Days Without Rain," a dramatically lush psych-pop song with dense harmonies and waltzing strings that head for the cinematic scope of Jean-Claude Vannier. Meanwhile, Cleandenim uses the song title as an effective, heartbreaking metaphor, where he begs his lover to come home in the morning, "before our love begins to dry away."

I honestly can't imagine how Patrick Cleandenim will ever be able to follow this work up, as debuts of this caliber are pretty rare. No use worrying about that now, however, as this album has far from overstayed its welcome in my CD player. Baby Come Home is one of those records that reveals itself a little more with each listen, and I'm still listening. " Gerald Hammill