Music Review: Jon Lindsay - Escape From Plaza-Midwood

Portland, Oregon-born, North Carolina-based singer/songwriter Jon Lindsay has been musically active since the ripe old age of three. But for the past 10 or so years, he has performed all over the U.S., fronting the likes of The Young Sons, Catch Fire and Carlisle, and also performed solo or toured as a multi-instrumentalist/singer with the renowned Brooklyn-based folk/alternative vocalist Nicole Atkins (Columbia Records), Benji Hughes, and others.

Last year, Lindsay came out with his own work, the five-track EP Magic Winter & The Dirty South, which saw high praise from the likes of Paste Magazine and Shuffle Magazine, for starters. He’s also received compliments from peers, including Ken Stringfellow (of The Posies, Big Star and R.E.M., among others), and members of The Love Language (Stuart McLamb), Ben Folds (Britt Harper Uzzell) and Whiskeytown (Caitlin Cary).

On August 17, Lindsay will release his long-awaited debut, a 15-track affair titled, Escape From Plaza-Midwood on Chocolate Lab Records, an independent Chicago label home to other acclaimed acts like Radiohead’s Thom Yorke’s brother Andy Yorke and (mostly) instrumental rockers Motion Turns It On.

Leadoff gem “These Are The End Times” features an array of instruments, including folky guitar strums, a melodica, and steel drum, along with sleigh bells. And then there are the lyrics (sung at times with ‘60s-style reverb running through the mic). Since we are in the “end times,” Lindsay wants one to “make some moonshine,” then thinks of California sinking, and later, inventively uses Bernie Madoff as a verb. Such is the world of one Jon Lindsay.

Lindsay’s imagination and storytelling is captivating, and so often is matched by strong pop hooks. His imaginary tales run wild in the buzzing bass-heavy “Futuretown,” for example, as he cleverly slips in a Kato Kaelin reference, a rare f-bomb, and discovers that his new “lady friend” was a “half a robot, half a cop.” The tune was featured on AOL Spinner at the end of July.

The anthemic “My Blue Angels” is another highlight, with its infectious, twinkling sounds and as the song kicks into full gear, fast, post-punk energy and chords.

This article was first published at Blogcritics Magazine. Please click that link to read the full review.

Music Review: Motion Turns It On - Kaleidoscopic Equinox

Published earlier today first at Blogcritics Magazine

For over five years, progressive and jazz-minded psychedelic post-rockers Motion Turns It On (Chocolate Lab Records) have been developing a tight, yet free form sound they can call their own. In 2007 the then all-instrumental band released its impressive debut six-song Rima EP, and a live record, Live At The Southpaw, followed early the next year.

For its long-awaited debut full-length Kaleidoscopic Equinox, which hits stores Tuesday, February 16, the band recorded plenty of bass parts but went from a foursome to a “bass-free” trio (parting ways with Derek Sinquefield), which now consists of William Kenny (guitar), Steve Smith (drums) and Andres Londono (keyboards). They did however add one new wrinkle to its densely layered mix: vocals (courtesy of Londono and Kenny).

On Rima, MTIO already sounded like seasoned pros. If you had to draw comparisons, hints of fellow Texans Explosions In The Sky and Mars Volta, or even Chicago’s post-rock mainstays Tortoise could be found if you looked hard enough. With Equinox, you get an even more creative, intense and fucked-up beast of a sound. A kaleidoscope of sounds is more like it.

After a brief intro to the album, a heavy, five-minute long math rocker “Exchanging Souvenirs” gets the record off to an enjoyably noisy and forceful start.

Extraterrestrial sounds and feedback make up interlude “Teraform” before the one-two punch of jazz/rock tunes “Lo Pido Con Piedad” and “Occipitalized” blast through your speakers to show off the threesome’s incredibly tight arrangements and tremendous musicianship. The latter track would qualify as a frantic Mars Volta cover if you didn’t know better.

Elsewhere, the seven-minute-long “Moyedi,” despite its indecipherable distorted vocals, has a flair for the dramatic, musically speaking, but gets lost in itself for a bit too long around the halfway point, then without warning, heads into a strong, rockin’ steady finish.

“No Limbo” sounds like the musical equivalent of the Twilight Zone with its weird synths and airy guitars, while the psychedelic "Way Station" could be the soundtrack to a journey into outer space.

All is well that ends well, as they say, and a seamless transition from lead single “Give Up The Ghosts” to the dreamy, warm “Sinking Suns” is a welcomed bookend to Motion Turns It On’s first proper full-length. Here, as in other places on the record, the (heavily processed) vocals serve as another instrument, blended smoothly into its sea of sounds.

It will take a few spins of Kaleidoscopic Equinox to take in all of its crackling energy, intensity, and few moments of relative calmness. But aside from a few periods of over indulgence, it is an adventurous listen that aggressive prog rock fans will surely dig.

The band may be making a lot of noise on this disc, but with a few important gigs lined up at the annual SXSW Festival in March, Motion Turns It On is bound to turn some heads with their explosive live shows as well.

Further Listening:
Download ”Give Up The Ghosts” for free at the Chocolate Lab Records website.

Click on the following highlighted links to watch live Motion Turns It On performances of Rima track “Satelightening” and unreleased live song ”Backspinn.”