As a companion to their third album, New Jersey indie rockers Steel Train got some female friends to provide covers of every song on the record — friends including Scarlett Johansson, Tegan and Sara, and Amanda Palmer.
Named after the band’s new independent label, Terrible Thrills, Vol. 1 is released today in conjunction with the group’s ambitious new self-titled record. Also among those providing a gender-flipped take on Steel Train‘s 12 tracks are Nellie McKay, Angel Deradoorian, and Arrested Development star Alia Shawkat.
As Inlets, multi-instrumentalist Sebastian Krueger blends the simple warmth of his banjo with the lush scope of orchestral pop.
His self-recorded debut LP, Inter Arbiter, comprises layered songs that benefit from repeat listens. Krueger’s experience as a hired gun for My Brightest Diamond and Feist also pays off by bringing him a slew of guest artists, including Dirty Projectors vocalist Angel Deradoorian and Beirut frontman Zach Condon, who contribute to the album’s melancholic harmonies.
Dave Longstreth looks like a dinosaur. He slouches when he plays the guitar, lowering his head to reach the mic stand, which he refuses to raise. His Statocaster is strapped far above his waist and so his lanky arms have to curl around the guitar, his hands dangling like little raptor claws. For the past six months since the release Dirty Projectors‘ Bitte Orca, we have allowed Longstreth and his gang of human harmonizers to devour our iPods, our “Best of the Year” lists, our “Best of the Decade” lists. So when we finally see the band live at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, we realize — the predator stance is appropriate.
