Month eleven is officially over, and we’re back with the second to last mini-EP: We Are Full Of Useful Noise. We’re particularly happy with how the first track, “Wars Keep Going On,” turned out. Due to some obscure November holiday, we all managed to be in the same place at the same time one weekend and spent a few hours hammering out the song framework in person. From there, we went back to our corners of the globe and added parts in our typical virtual manner. It was nice to finally finish a song we all actually worked on!
Take a listen for yourself here. Or right click here to DOWNLOAD the entire album.
You can always take us with you via the podcast. And of course there is MySpace and our brand new Facebook Group.
And most important… leave comments on the blog or via email at [email protected]. Enjoy!!
Tracklist:
1. Wars Keep Going On (Katzif/Crowley/Johnson)
2. 12th Century Russian Literature Makes for Good Bedtime Stories (Crowley)
3. We Are Abandoned In The Towns Our Fathers Built (Katzif)
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It was around this time two years ago that Aryn and I began hunkering down to come up with a website to feature our music. Initially it was just going to be a typical band website to archive all this stuff we had done in years past. Then we realized that we didn’t live in the same city, so our output dried up. Year one of Hello Come In was sort of ambiguous and undefined, filled with failed collaborative experiments (Hello.Column etc.). However, sporadic as it was at that point, Aryn, Greg and I had begun tinkering with making music on our computers, creating home recordings and such.
So it was around this time last year that the three of us started laying the ground work for our year long EP project. Looking back, it was ambitious to strive for 12 months of straight music creation, especially when all three of us lived in three different cities. It took a bit of time to logistically and technically figure things out (thank god for high speed internet and kick ass music software). But once we knew we were able to artistically develop new material and eventually hit those deadlines a few months in a row, we then began to think “Okay, now what?”
In the back of our heads though, I know we really were hoping for full group collaboration. Often working in a bubble, left to our own devices, our music did not always sound unified or really as one voice, let alone complete. But month by month, this open piloting and exposure of unfinished material — both to the other two of us, or to the few people following along at home (dozens I’m told…dozens!) — became easier; the criticism, suggestions and contributions more constructive.
So I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I say that the highlight for me this month is Wars Keep Going On, a song that all three of us had near-equal input on. Gathering for about ninety minutes one afternoon over Thanksgiving with only a simple chord progression chicken scratched out a few hours ahead of time on the back of a grocery list, we got to work. I think we hit on something good.
In many cases we found the proximity this time around extremely helpful in crafting a song that I by myself would’ve labored over a lot longer, just by playing it out for Greg and Aryn and talking about it. You sort of catch onto the momentum and creativity of the others and just run with it. This is certainly not the first time we’ve had that experience..hell we played countless amounts of gigs together dating back to highschool, so familiarity here is also key.
But the end results I think might be our most complete work. While it’s not the most complex, experimental or even all that original in the larger historical scheme of music (given a paltry 6.8 by Pitchfork), but it might be the most representative of what the three of us can do at this time. It’s also perhaps a tiny glimpse of what we could do if we were able to play in person on a regular basis.
We still have one last month left in our year of EPs, plus a few upcoming ideas for future projects in 2008, but I have to say, it’s rewarding to finally hit a creative goal that we set and know that this is just another new beginning. It only took us 11 damn months to do it.
— Mike, Nov. 2007
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Temporary Setback :: January 2007
Clouded Spaces, Falling Skies :: February 2007
First Pull Up, Second Pull Down, Third Take Away :: March 2007
Ancient Telephones :: April 2007
The Cavalry Arrived Again :: May 2007
Designed In Anticipation Of His Centennial Years :: June 2007
The Rundown :: July 2007
The Ninth Great Fire :: August 2007
Empty Bottles And Dog-Eared Books :: September 2007
I Can Fix Things In The Morning :: October 2007
We Are Full Of Useful Noise :: November 2007
The Last Duel :: December 2007
I’ve done it again. Cranked something out in about 30 minutes ( from picking up the upright bass to rendering the master copy from live).. This is a pretty fun process, it really forces me to make quick decisions with regards to melodies and what not (hence the simpleness), and I think I’ve created a cohesive trilogy of sketches. 
I came across this early in January or February after the long lull of the winter months where very little comes out. Yet this Montreal-based band had all the things to have long lasting repeat value: icy art pop, mysterious lyrics and Beach Boys-inspired vocals. I am seeing them in a few weeks so it will be interesting to hear how it all translates live. (Check out my earlier review 
This trio’s previous album Misery Is A Butterfly was the one that brought me to the band’s dark avante pop. But this new one is on of those that has finally made their sound fully accessible without sacraficing their sound. This is their fullest sounding and most developed record yet with amazingly catchy hooks and a refined vision. (Also check out an earlier review 
What can we say about Andrew Bird at this point that we haven’t already raved about 
Another great album from a really great band. I got to see them again this year, and they did not dissapoint in the slightest. My only wonder is if they can keep up the fact that people around them keep dying, you would think they would run out of people to mourn.. Eventually they will start having babies and the whole funeralesqe outlook on life will get buried in the grave.
Here is a super-group that created something that doesn’t sound completely like a supergroup. ( in the negative way that they never turn out being as good as the group could theoretically sound) Its got a great blend of post-punk and electronic sounds that I seem to listen to every single time I drive to and from Midway Airport.