Viking's Choice: MxPx, Daniel Bachman, Matana Roberts, more
On this episode of All Songs Considered, we hear new music from (clockwise from left) Matana Roberts, Slant, Svitlana Niano, MxPx, Liam Grant and Daniel Bachman. Courtesy of the artists hide caption
On this episode of All Songs Considered, we hear new music from (clockwise from left) Matana Roberts, Slant, Svitlana Niano, MxPx, Liam Grant and Daniel Bachman.
Courtesy of the artistsBob Boilen believed in me. I was a 23-year-old intern when, in the summer of 2006, he asked me to be a guest on All Songs Considered. I was nervous, but also felt welcomed by this person who in me saw a familiar spark for sonic adventure, coming in from a different territory — "music that has been completely off my radar" was how Bob put it then. When NPR announced that it was expanding its online music coverage that same year, both Bob and Robin Hilton encouraged me to stick around D.C. I've now been at NPR Music for 17 years.
If you haven't heard, Bob will retire from NPR, where he has worked for 35 years. For 18 years, he directed All Things Considered. He founded All Songs Considered, which helped set the building blocks for NPR Music. He co-created the Tiny Desk concert series and its myriad of offshoots. He leaves behind a legacy of creativity and passion. I'm just one of many young journalists and musicians encouraged by Bob — it's no small thing to have a champion who sees your potential, then goes the extra mile to make something happen. I can only hope to carry on that energy.
Bob decided to spend one of his final episodes hosting All Songs Considered with me. So what do I play? It's all Viking's Choice, what we've come to call this buffet of loud and weird. We begin with MxPx, a decades-spanning pop-punk band that just put out Find a Way Home, its best album in quite some time. I'm thrilled to see them headline Furnace Fest this week.
We fly over the ocean to Seoul, South Korea for the bruising hardcore of Slant. On its new demo, every riff hits like a curled fist, yet carries a rock and roll swagger.
On his upcoming album, Daniel Bachman puts down his acoustic guitar for a cabin full of homemade string instruments. He spent hours improvising on a cheap banjo, then meticulously cut up and rearranged the sounds into droning sound collages — the results are glitched and broken, yet somehow bright. When the Roses Come Again is out Nov. 17.
The saxophonist and composer Matana Roberts connects the worlds of avant-garde jazz, chamber music and spoken word — then collapses everything in order to rebuild. Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the garden... continues a 12-year project to tell the stories of their ancestors.
In the '90s, Svitlana Nianio was a key member of the Ukrainian avant-garde underground. The unearthed Transilvania Smile, 1994 preserves music composed for a dance performance — these are quiet, haunting and beautiful songs written for voice, piano and harmonium. Nianio still makes music today, including a recent duo with British pianist Tom James Scott.
Finally, one small piece of advice Bob and I both believe in: Never miss the opening act. On a recent tour with the singer-songwriter Buck Curran, the guitarist Liam Grant reminded me of Jack Rose — a raw and wild fingerstyle undercut by youthful sweetness — yet there's definitely something of his own. His first widely available release, Amoskeag, is out now.
Thanks for all the songs, Bob. I'll see you at the show. —Lars Gotrich