[Moshe]

http://www.aversion.com/bands/reviews.cfm?review=3491&artist=Tall%20Firs&title=T oo%20Old%20to%20Die%20Young

 

It's just too darn easy to mistake sounding different with being weird and eccentric. Underground rock's gutters are lined with bands that made that mistake, thinking eccentricities are a stand-in for hard work and talent. And in the short term, they sometimes are, but, the record-buying community's still a lot smarter than anyone gives it credit for. That kind of trick doesn't fly for long.
Tall Firs' second album, Too Old to Die Young, offers the flip side of that coin. The New York trio knows, and knows darn well, that being different is no substitute for chops nor should immediate accessibility stand in the way of finding yourself musically. And while you'll probably be stuck trying to pin down where Tall Firs come from on this album -- is that a bit of Dinosaur Jr.? Did I catch a glimpse of the Voidoids? Was that spacious rocker more indebted to Sonic Youth than it first appeared? -- you shouldn't have to fuss too hard to just sit back and get down to it.
That maneuver takes the band closer to conventional indie rock. Its mix of single-note guitar patterns entwined with meatier rhythm stretches busts any immediate connotations with hipster favorites out the door. Instead, bits and pieces of Dino's tuneful side sink in under a taste for spacious guitars gleaned from Tom Verlaine. Psychedelic bits and bobs are somehow help conjure up the ghost of folk minimalism that haunts Too Old to Die Young. It's like taking a lot of uppers and a lot of downers at the same time, and, they sort of cancel each other out, but leave you feeling light in the feet and leaping at the same time.
"Good Intentions" sounds like J. Mascis tripping on a bottle of cough syrup, all molasses tempos and sticky-thick melodies. "So Messed Up," and "Warriors" shake off that haze, but still find the band wandering, a little stoned, through a haze of semi-droning guitars and enormous stretches of unfilled space; the Firs might have sped up a little bit, but they're still command emptiness like before. "So Messed Up" and "Hairdo" edge the band closest it's going to get to normalcy, somehow juggling bits of Pavement, Sonic Youth and Television like roaring chainsaws.
Tall Firs have their sound, and it's rather distinctive. Big deal. That distinctive sound only really matters because the trio wants to make it engaging more than entertaining. That's the real story behind Tall Firs: Their ability to make the weird and idiosyncratic seem almost -- almost, mind you -- normal and commonplace.
- Catherine Asher

[king_buzzo]

nice, i saw them live a year ago and they were pretty cool but i dont remember their songs now... i should check that cd out.

[Moshe]

I hope the new album would be as good as the first one. You can check some songs on their Myspace.
FYI-one of the band members is Aaron Mullan who is Sonic Youth's sound-man and is in charge with O'Rourke on the great sound in the deluxe reissue.

[Moshe]

Tall Firs
'Too Old to Die Young' available on Ecstatic Peace! March 2008
After a 2006 debut which drew accolades from Rolling Stone, Vice, NME, Q, and Harp amongst others, Tall Firs return with a second dose of songs showcasing a new non-drowsy formula. First record masterminds Dave Mies and Aaron Mullan have now been joined by drummer Ryan Sawyer as the third full-time Fir, and the results are like a fine cough syrup: A confusing, bittersweet concoction laced with just enough speed to keep you feeling a bit better about the world of sickness closing in around you. Too Old to Die Young maintains the lugubrious lyrical stylings Firs accolades demand. The band are unafraid to invoke the pocket-orchestra balladry of the first record, tastily accomplished on songs like 'Secrets + Lies' and 'Good Intentions.' But several new strands have entered the gene pool as well, and the outcome is no chimera of crudely assembled influences, but a cohesive new beast. You try to translate the opening 'So Messed Up' into words and back into music. You'd end up with the ghost of Townes Van Zandt voiced by a David Byrne/Neil Young Frankenstein in pirate bespanglement backed by Echo and the Bunneymen starring Television on guitar and Rashid Aronoff on drums. But with zero tolerance for quirkiness. From the final chord of that first song the sizzurp hits hard and you realize you're staggering around the streets in jeans and a bra and then stuff starts to get hectic. 'Blue in the Dark' updates the Tall Firs post-apocalyptic love song theme to suggest that we have actually passed through the End Times but it's still OK to love. 'Hairdo' is maybe the first Mullan-penned love song where nobody dies. 'Warriors' offers a convoluted triple analogy involving the movie of the same title and the defense of one's barstool as an inherently anti-war act. Multiple loves and deaths later Holly Miranda (Jealous Girlfriends) joins Mies at the mic for a finale duet of crossed lovers, and 36 minutes after we started, it's all over. Without clear allusion to influences, Too Old to Die Young inhabits the same ecstatic crisis plane as Creedence, the Band of Gypsies, Stalk-Forrest Group, Celebration, New Order, Muluqén Mélésé, Kiln House-era Fleetwood Mac, Gamelan Orchestras, Mudhoney, Howlin' Wolf, Love, Blues Control, Interstellar Space, and Paranoid. There's an off-the-cuff epicness going on, but not super heavy handed. More Iron Maiden than Europe. Like its 16-years in the making predecessor, Too Old to Die Young took time to happen. Certain songs date from 2001, and recording proper started January 2005. Between that time and the album's completion the band criss-crossed North America twice, performed at All Tomorrow's Parties in the UK, opened dates in Europe for Shellac, and did a short headlining tour of England. Regular apparations at Brooklyn and Manhattan hotspots find the band on bills with the aforementioned Celebration, Effi Briest, Dragons of Zynth, The Thurston Moore Groop, Awesome Color. David Fricke described one Tall Firs live set in his Fricke's Picks column: “A gently uplifting highlight of my…weekend…a psychedelic-folk tangle of spider-leg-guitar arpeggios and hazy, bong-room singalong harmonies. The Guardian (UK) describes a recent live show as possessing 'a muscularity that recalls Neil Young in one of his more ornery moods, or a beefed-up Galaxie 500'. Too Old to Die Young brings this muscularity to the friendly confines of your private listening environment. In gems like "The Breeze" and "The Woods," their duo vocals are moody, without squawking in that already dated freak-folk style; the guitars are occasionally colored by chimes, organ and brushed drums. "Go Whiskey" has the high, lonesome shiver of an old Townes Van Zandt record, except without any obvious country affectations. If your idea of staying warm on a winter night is a bottle of bourbon and a bleak memory, Tall Firs will make excellent company. Rolling Stone
If Sonic Youth is the primordial, towering redwood forest of the indie noise-pop landscape, then underground NYC electric folk-duo the Tall Firs are the newly rising evergreens nestled at the foot of them. Harp
[T]hese songs possess a sense of simmering tension, where lugubrious lyricism and instrumental drift do not detract from a poised delivery and a subtle but thoughtful use of contrasting shades. The acoustic-electric interplay suggests a kind of rootless, melodic modernity… The Wire
Tall Firs are brimming with an earnest beauty and win through, most notably on the sublime 'Go Whiskey' where the guitar sounds as though it was recorded in another, more stately century. A tiny treat. Q

[Moshe]

09 Mar 2008
And how do you like your guitars Madame/Sir? Tangled, you say? Slightly distorted and yet not metallic, a little grungy but also complicated and mercurial, melodic with an ambiguous mood that can produce feel-good excitement and yet edgy, never too happy or self-satisfied? Ah yes, so you quite like Sonic Youth but are put off by the atonality and experimental side. Then may I recommend the new Tall Firs album, you’ll find it to be made by the Americans, naturally, and influenced by the burgeoning free folk movement, but thankfully with nary a Devandra Banhart in sight.
At first hearing you probably wouldn’t say particularly its folky, but listen to the lyrics- it’s narrative reportage from the bars and squats of alternative North America, complete with hippies, punks and “acid-crazed teenage tweak-outs”. The words aren’t overly verbose but certainly evocative, taut, a world weary survey, taking stock of an altogether too familiar past and present and wondering what, if anything, the future holds. The endless days of youth are fading, living always for the present, the next party, the next hit, but we’re getting weary. Is that all there is? “We’re not too old to get drunk but we’re too old now to die young” they drawl on the fantastic album opener Messed Up, the repeated title lyric making a resigned yet somehow triumphant chorus.
All this is delivered in a conversational throaty vocal style that works well with the spiralling guitar interplay of Television-esque dizzy euphoric builds and squalls of freefalling treble atonality. This, the second album, also boasts a “new, non-drowsy formula” in the form of newly drafted drummer Ryan Sawyer providing welcome drum-rolling jazzy backbone to the free-flowing arrangements, of course remembering to keep it loose, man.
Warriors is another standout, a night-out downtown punctuated by a drunken brawl complete with jazzy drumming and crescendos a go-go. Yes its an effective evocation of that film the Warriors, complete with menace and interruptions, tense murmurings of “We were the only ones, and then we gained some” (that by virtue of the accent and backdrop sound ace), though of course all this is transplanted from a hip-hop inflected Bronx to nearer the vicinity of the bearded bottled-beer drinking arty districts. After this the album loses its way slightly, a couple of meandering country-fried tracks that are pleasant enough but not particularly attention grabbing, but they’re soon back to arresting urgency with Hippies and the woozily grandiose end-of-the night finale Secrets and Lies. All in all 36 minutes well spent, and I believe the tip is included in the album price.

http://playlouder.com:80/content/165...d-to-die-young

[PAULYBEE2656]

yes. new tall firs. i loved the first one.......

[Moshe]

 

Tall Firs at SXSW


If anyone's headed to Texas for this, please come hang out with us at one of these fabulous chances:

Thursday

9p, FREE! @ Longbranch Inn, 1133 E 11th St Bury Me in Brooklyn showcase


Friday
3pm FREE! + FREE BEER! Cream Vintage 2532 Guadalupe st.

10 pm OFFICIAL ECSTATIC PEACE SHOWCASE SHOW! METRIC SHIT-TONS OF AWESOME JAMMAGE! Mohawk 912 Red River St.

Saturday

1 pm(even though it says 230 on the website) FREE! Spiderhouse 2908 Fruth St (29th and Guadalupe) New York Night Train, Social Registry, and Cake Shop present 2008 SXSW New York Nimiety Party

[Moshe]

 

Tall Firs in Vice and Aversion


Hey- Vice Magazine just published a full-page interview with us where we talk about records that we like. I encourage you to go to their site so you can see the handsome photo. Feel free to leave a comment, ’cause the picture of the girl from Calgary smoking weed out of a PBR can has like 100 comments and we have one dude who couldn’t figure out that the band Tall Pines came after the band Tall Firs (though we wish them well).



Also, Catherine Asher wrote a thoughtful review of the new record for Aversion Magazine:

It’s just too darn easy to mistake sounding different with being weird and eccentric. Underground rock’s gutters are lined with bands that made that mistake, thinking eccentricities are a stand-in for hard work and talent. And in the short term, they sometimes are, but, the record-buying community’s still a lot smarter than anyone gives it credit for. That kind of trick doesn’t fly for long.



Tall Firs’ second album, Too Old to Die Young, offers the flip side of that coin. The New York trio knows, and knows darn well, that being different is no substitute for chops nor should immediate accessibility stand in the way of finding yourself musically. And while you’ll probably be stuck trying to pin down where Tall Firs come from on this album -- is that a bit of Dinosaur Jr.? Did I catch a glimpse of the Voidoids? Was that spacious rocker more indebted to Sonic Youth than it first appeared? -- you shouldn’t have to fuss too hard to just sit back and get down to it.



That maneuver takes the band closer to conventional indie rock. Its mix of single-note guitar patterns entwined with meatier rhythm stretches busts any immediate connotations with hipster favorites out the door. Instead, bits and pieces of Dino’s tuneful side sink in under a taste for spacious guitars gleaned from Tom Verlaine. Psychedelic bits and bobs are somehow help conjure up the ghost of folk minimalism that haunts Too Old to Die Young. It’s like taking a lot of uppers and a lot of downers at the same time, and, they sort of cancel each other out, but leave you feeling light in the feet and leaping at the same time.



"Good Intentions" sounds like J. Mascis tripping on a bottle of cough syrup, all molasses tempos and sticky-thick melodies. "So Messed Up," and "Warriors" shake off that haze, but still find the band wandering, a little stoned, through a haze of semi-droning guitars and enormous stretches of unfilled space; the Firs might have sped up a little bit, but they’re still command emptiness like before. "So Messed Up" and "Hairdo" edge the band closest it’s going to get to normalcy, somehow juggling bits of Pavement, Sonic Youth and Television like roaring chainsaws.



Tall Firs have their sound, and it’s rather distinctive. Big deal. That distinctive sound only really matters because the trio wants to make it engaging more than entertaining. That’s the real story behind Tall Firs: Their ability to make the weird and idiosyncratic seem almost -- almost, mind you -- normal and commonplace.

[Moshe]

Tall Firs Sat April 5 'Too Old to Die Young' Record Release Show

One of us! One of us! One of us!

Please join Tall Firs for our biennial record release party on Saturday night. Our second album "Too Old To die Young" came out on March 18th and we're pleased as punch for yet another excuse to revel unrepentantly with friends and family. Be a part of our desperate struggle for bigger dreams and better memories. Our friend Tom Surgal helped us put this together as part of his series entitled "Red Desert Nights" at Rehab (formerly Club Midway). After formal recitals by the fabulously out of it and into it band Telepathe and then Tall Firs; NY Night Train's Loose Caboose is putting on a free dance party upstairs stocked with our peeps. On the wax will be DJ Awesome Derek, Busy and Mellisa from Telepathe and our very own Ryan Sawyer of Tall Firs (the other two Firs might get in there too). On stage, we will take no prisoners, but afterward we're gonna' take you all hostage. Plan to be in it for the duration... Dave Fir

Location: Rehab (formerly Club Midway) 25 Ave.B (les NYC) 212-253-2595

Ecstatic Peace record release party for Tall Firs (presented as part of Red Dessert Nights curated by Tom Surgal): doors at 8:00 Telepathy at 9:00 Tall Firs at 10:00 $8 admission

NY Night Train's Loose Caboose presents: dance party featuring DJ Awesome Darek, Busy and Melissa of Telepathy and Ryan Sawyer of the Tall Firs 10:00 pm onward Upstairs for free

[Moshe]

I heared the full album a few time now and I absolutely love it. It is quit different from the first album.
I don't know If SY influenced Aaron Mullan or Aaron influenced the SY sound but the guitar work sounds like some of the mellower SY tunes. It has the Murray St. vibe which is great. Sometimes it also reminded me Tom Varline's solo stuff. If you into that stuff you should definitely grab a copy.

[Moshe]

A last-minute in-store announcement here, as this Saturday, April 12th sees us welcome Brooklyn's Tall Firs to the shop at 6pm, supporting their second full-length (and first for Ecstatic Peace!), Too Old To Die Young.

soundscapes
572 College Street
Little Italy
Toronto, Ontario
M6G 1B3
ph: (416) 537-1620
Sunday-Thursday:
10AM-11PM
Friday-Saturday:
10AM-midnight

[atsonicpark]

Just listened to this. It's pretty good. I can see how someone who's really into Thurston's more straight-forward Sonic Youth songs would like this.

[Moshe]

Tall Firs Go West, Offer Free LP
May 13, 2008
Story by: Rebecca Raber
Experimental psych-folk trio Tall Firs has just announced a slew of July dates in support of their sophomore album, Too Old To Die Young. To celebrate this 10-date tour—including the band's first shows on the West Coast in more than a year—the three-piece is making Too Old, which was released via Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace in March, available to fans free of charge. The record can be downloaded here for one week only, so hurry.

Tracklist For Too Old To Die Young:
01. So Messed Up
02. Blue In The Dark
03. Hairdo
04. Good Intentions
05. Warriors
06. Lookout
07. Loveless
08. Hippies
09. Secrets And Lies
10. Evil Rose

Tour Dates For Tall Firs: 07/02 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern
07/13 - Portland, OR - Towne Lounge
07/15 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord
07/16 - Oakland, CA - 21 Grand
07/17 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Crepe Place
07/16 - San Luis Obispo, CA - TBD
07/19 - Los Angeles, CA - Mountain Bar
07/25 - College Park, MD - WMUC
07/26 - Philadelphia, PA - M Room
07/27 - New Haven, CT - Sundazed @ Bar

www.tallfirs.org

[StevOK]

Cool! By coincidence I was listening to that Tall Firs bootleg that was uploaded on this board a recently.

*downloads some more*

[Bollocks_to_Pop]

Thanks Moshe. I was gonna skip this record all together since the other one was a bit disappointing in my mind, but since it's free what the hell. Even though I'm 19 now, of course they had to pick 21+ places in Nor Cal.

[Moshe]

Tall Firs in the West

Tall Firs West Coast Tour

Dudes, Dudettes, Flesh-eating Hermaphrodites, Birdmen, Half-Shark/Half-Alligators, Part-time Punks, Skate Bettys, Recluses, Destructo Swarmbots, Freshwater Dolphins, Ants- in a word: Friends. I write to tell you that the Tall Firs will be traveling the West Coast of the USA starting this Saturday in Seattle. Please bring your friend to the concert because the sheer white heat of rock emerging from the stage is flattering and you’ll find that new haircut even more stunning and the jeans downright raunchy.

We are very excited to be amongst the last bands to have to travel in the sorely antiquated non-hybrid fashion. High gas prices, long stretches of highway, uncontrollable fires, BRING IT ON!!! We will be celebrating our 100th show on the road. There is no stopping us. If you notice we have a couple of days off so if there is a briss or funeral that needs a band we are cheap and easy. Let us know. See you there.

Love,

Firs

7/11/08-Portland (House Party) Slouch House w/Little Claw!!!/Mean Jeans/Dark Skies

7/12/08-Seattle Sunset Tavern-Early Show

7/13/08-Portland Towne Lounge

7/15/08-San Francisco Cafe Du Nord w/Corvette Summer/SleepySon/Citay We play at 9pm

7/16/08-Oakland 21 Grand w/Citay/Brian Glaze/Meridians

7/17/08-Santa Cruz The Crepe Place

7/19/08-Los Angeles Mountain Bar

[DNAINTHEDNA]

 

[Moshe]

 

Tall Firs at the Studio at Webster Hall with Peter and the Wolf and Isles Tuesday Nov. 18


Everybody's going wild about the Studio at Webster Hall, and everybody's going wild for Peter and the Wolf. And guess what, if you do the research you'll find that the PATW dude was raving about the 'Firs way back in 2005 and even putting them on a mix CD! Slam Dunk, people! In your FACE!

We don't know much about these Isles characters except they've got some catchy numbers on the computer and are pretty cute in a South Brooklyn coiffed-moustache kind of way. No word on if they are single or have a steady income but good eye candy nonetheless.

Party on, Party People.

Aaron Fir

125 East. 11th Street. New York, NY Doors at 7:30 $7 advance/$9 door

isles
t.f.
peter + wolf

sets 8:30/9:30/10:30