Johnny Foreigner (for fans of Los Campesinos! and life, happiness, fun, etc.)

[If you shout...]

This band is pretty fucking good, and their new record, Waited Up Til It Was Light is pretty fucking great. It's not perfect, and I'm not ready to anoint them the saviors of the world, but, damn it...I like it, and I'm excited about their future! They sound a great deal like Los Campesinos! (minus the propulsive knob-twiddling of BSS/SFA maestro/arranger Dave Newfeld), and I really enjoy their music. Here's a music video for "Our Bipolar Friends," which is a joyous, crazy-style, sugar-high rethinking of those amazingly melancholy-happy, not-yet-too-ironic moments on the first two Pavement records. Utterly perfect.

YouTube - Johnny Foreigner- Eyes Wide Terrified

Plus, as I've mentioned in the Los Campesinos! thread, their album cover is possibly the best of the year, of those that I've seen! Hella-cool, and certainly worth a vinyl purchase, just to have it all big-like!

Anybody have any thoughts? I'd love to hear them. Be advised, too, that I'll be difficult to convince to just let this thread die, so you may as well just start listening and posting, now. Save yourselves the hassle, you know?

 

[If you shout...]

Oh, and they were even keeping a diary of their year/tour, over on DiS! Isn't that great? Also, you don't need to pay like $40 dollars to read it, and they updated it more than once a year! They're like the anti-U2, so maybe it's a risky proposition to be posting about them, here on Interference, but I'm willing to bet that at least a few of us are happy to discover that there are bands out there which actually care about music, their fans, and having a good-ass time, as well as (rather than only) the bottom line. I figure it's at least as cool as a track-by-track podcast, Laz! A good read, this:

Drowned in Sound - Features - Johnny Foreigner's 2008 diary: February

I wonder if they'll be picking it back up, now that things are ramping up, due to the record's release...?

 

[If you shout...]

A few things...

1) First of all, that video up there isn't for "Our Bipolar Friends," but rather, as the link title suggests, "Eyes Wide Terrified," which is also a baller song.

2) Fans of The Octopus Project (especially the last record, Hello Avalanche) would also do well to check out this band/record.

3) Come one, people! Somebody's gotta be feelin' this!!!

 

[LJT]

Dude I dig, the band sound like they have a great future ahead of them tis a very promising record, better than Los Campesinos though!

Listening to absolute balance at the moment, does sound like a Cure mash up....they are quite good!

 

[LJT]

Actually sounds like The Cure meets the Pixies, or more specifically Close to Me meets Debaser. I've been tryin to work out that song for the past few days

 

[If you shout...]

Word to your mother, LJT. Let's spread the gospel!

People, you gotta listen up! This is a solid-ass record!

 

[If you shout...]

Oh, and anybody from Baltimore or D.C. who's familiar with and enjoys Karmella's Game, you'd do well to check out this band. More than a passing similarity, there.

 

[If you shout...]

I find this to be an oddly touching and naive (both stylistically and in terms of its content) video. Bad sound quality, great song:

YouTube - Yes! You talk too FAST! Johnny Foreigner

 

[If you shout...]

A video, for anybody who was smart enough to allow him-/herself to be turned on to this band, by my 2008 list! Fans of Los Campesinos! will be more than curious, I'm sure.

YouTube - sometimes in the gareth

 

[If you shout...]

Also relevant to my interests:

MySpace.com Blogs - EEXLCUXISVE FREE SONGS!!!!!1!! (and our first european tour!) - johnny foreigner MySpace Blog

 

[If you shout...]

Laz and anybody else who cares, I have heard Grace and The Bigger Picture. It is pretty good. It sounds like JoFo. Zero progress, but the songs are still pretty baller, as a general rule. Holler at me, if you're curious and willing either to delete it (if you don't like it) or buy it (if you do).

 

[lazarus]

Is that a whole new album? Or an EP?

 

[If you shout...]

New LP, B!

 

[lazarus]

So far, so good.

 

[If you shout...]

It definitely has its moments, while being a weaker record on the whole, I think. A bit shoutier, so to speak, than the last one, don't you think?