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Man of melody John Vanderslice has revolutionized his sound by letting down the guards and opening up a whole new game. He has reached new sonic heights with
Pixel Revolt, the first installment of this new beginning for Vanderslice.
For this outing he’s equipped his arsenal with new synthesizer and turntable effects and a wider range of instrumentation, including guitar, drums, tabla, piano, double bass, strings, bells, flute, male and female backing vocals, and lyrics that often speak sweetly in the first person; Vanderslice has opened his heart with
Pixel Revolt, like a charming boy trying to win you over with a serenade outside your bedroom window; "Oh dressed like that, you're the flag of a dangerous nation, dressed like that, you are my declaration," Vanderslice sings in the fifth track, Trance Manual. There is no dispute that Vanderslice has won me over again!
Each of the 14 tracks identifies with a new style that Vanderslice has tucked away in his repertoire of original music; some of it peppy, dance-worthy, melancholy, rocky, and there are a few sweet lullabies. All of the tracks are completely satisfying.
This San Francisco artist will appeal to fans of Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service, Travis, Fog, and Sufjan Stevens. Massive growth has taken place since his previous albums, Mass Suicide Occult Figurines, Time Travel is Lonely, Life and Death of an American Fourtracker, and Cellar Door. Vanderslice has clearly found musical inspiration once again, just in time for Pixel Revolt.
This record wasn't composed alone; Vanderslice thanks friend John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats for his editing and additions to the lyrics.
Barsuk best describes the Vanderslice style as, "under the radar rock music." This wholesome, sonic, pop-rock, story-lined record is a self-discovery and the best yet from Vanderslice. It is a perfect blend of his sweet voice and words, incredible instrumentation, electronic synths and effects, and an exploration of different styles. With all of this combined, he has created an 'all about me' hit, and people... you're going to love it!
Kristen Cudmore
Events
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Sat, 30 Aug 2008
Bumbershoot
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Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, The Offspring, The All-American Rejects, Stone Temple Pilots, Nada Surf, Paramore, Ludacris, Band of Horses, Anti-Flag, The Walkmen, Minus the Bear, !!!, M. Ward, T.I., The Black Keys, Neko Case, Battles, Final Fantasy, Sondre Lerche, The Fall of Troy, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Adele, Aiden, Bedouin Soundclash, Ingrid Michaelson, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Lucinda Williams, John Vanderslice, Unearth, Estelle, Saul Williams, Sons and Daughters, Mike Doughty, Keyshia Cole, Xavier Rudd, Man Man, Old 97's, Brother Ali, These Arms Are Snakes, Dan Deacon, Flobots, Superchunk, Blitzen Trapper, Kinski, Throw Me the Statue, MIDIval PunditZ, Tim Finn, Kid Sister, The Whigs, West Indian Girl, Langhorne Slim, Barcelona, Joe Bonamassa, Arthur & Yu, Jakob Dylan, The Blakes, Thao Nguyen & the Get Down Stay Down, Darondo, Ravens & Chimes, Dale Watson, Orgone, Tyrone Wells, The Girls, Forro In The Dark, Ryan Bingham, Howlin Rain, Nino Moschella, Ian Moore, Strange Fruit, Zach Galifianakis, The Shackeltons, The Hands, Chester French, Monotonix, Jeff Parker, Pacifika, pwrfl power, Ashleigh Flynn, Joshua Morrison, Doug Benson, Beehive, Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands, Hadley Caliman, Grynch, Thomas Marriott, J Boogie’s Dubtronic Science, Star Anna, Kate Tucker, Asylum St. Spankers, Jessi Klein, Langhorne Slim & the War Eagles, Tig, Chip Kidd, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Dead Horses, Joshua Ferris, Canary sing, Matt Jorgensen 451, Karen Kilgariff, Edmund White, Ivan Brunetti, Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby, Nathan McCall, Kevin Sessums, Hannibal Buress, Sara Bynoe, David Schmader, Adrian Tomine
at Knitting Factory Concert House, Spokane, WA United States
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Sat, 30 Aug 2008
Bumbershoot
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Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, The Offspring, Stone Temple Pilots, Nada Surf, Paramore, Band of Horses, Anti-Flag, The Walkmen, Minus the Bear, !!!, M. Ward, T.I., The Black Keys, Neko Case, Battles, Final Fantasy, Sondre Lerche, The Fall of Troy, Tapes 'n Tapes, The Weakerthans, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Aiden, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Ingrid Michaelson, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Lucinda Williams, John Vanderslice, Unearth, Saul Williams, Sons and Daughters, Mike Doughty, Keyshia Cole, Xavier Rudd, Man Man, Brother Ali, These Arms Are Snakes, Flobots, Superchunk, Kinski, Tim Finn, Kid Sister, The Whigs, West Indian Girl, The Hands, Velella Velella, Thee Emergency, Human Giant, Black Eyes And Neckties
at Seattle Center, Seattle, WA United States
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Mon, 01 Sep 2008
Bumbershoot 2008
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The Offspring, Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, Stone Temple Pilots, Nada Surf, Paramore, Band of Horses, Anti-Flag, The Walkmen, Minus the Bear, !!!, M. Ward, T.I., The Black Keys, Neko Case, Battles, Final Fantasy, Sondre Lerche, The Fall of Troy, Tapes 'n Tapes, The Weakerthans, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Adele, Aiden, Bedouin Soundclash, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Ingrid Michaelson, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Lucinda Williams, John Vanderslice, Unearth, Estelle, Saul Williams, Sons and Daughters, Mike Doughty, Keyshia Cole, Two Gallants, Xavier Rudd, Man Man, Old 97's, Brother Ali, Kathleen Edwards, These Arms Are Snakes, Dan Deacon, Flobots, Superchunk, Blitzen Trapper, Kinski, Throw Me the Statue, Tim Finn, Kid Sister, The Whigs, West Indian Girl, Barcelona, Joe Bonamassa, Mariee Sioux, Arthur & Yu, Jakob Dylan, The Blakes, Asylum Street Spankers, Ravens & Chimes, Dale Watson, Orgone, Tyrone Wells, The Valley, The Girls, Forro In The Dark, Choklate, Howlin Rain, Ian Moore, Feral Children, Mono in VCF, The Shackeltons, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down, The Hands, Chester French, Velella Velella, Monotonix, Thee Emergency, Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden, Pacifika, New Faces, J-Boogie's Dubtronic Science, Sage, pwrfl power, The Lonely H, Speaker Speaker, Ashleigh Flynn, Lushy, Joshua Morrison, Grieves, Sweet Water, Beehive, Black Eyes And Neckties, Shim, Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands, Grynch, The Tripwires, Thomas Marriott, Star Anna, Das Vibenbass, Vicci Martinez, The Maldives, The Physics, The Round, Langhorne Slim & the War Eagles, Riffat Sultana, Nick Vigarino, The Staxx Brothers, Joshua Ferris, Shane Tutmarc and the Traveling Mercies, Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby, Hannibal Buress, Manooghi Hi, Tiptons Sax Quartet
at Seattle Center, Seattle Washington United States
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Wed, 03 Sep 2008
MusicFest NW 2008
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Polvo, Mogwai, TV on the Radio, Nada Surf, Built to Spill, M. Ward, Mirah, Ratatat, Vampire Weekend, Battles, Menomena, Les Savy Fav, Jedi Mind Tricks, Hot Water Music, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Sir Mix-a-Lot, John Vanderslice, Fleet Foxes, Deerhunter, Portugal. The Man, Old 97's, No Age, These Arms Are Snakes, Dan Deacon, The Helio Sequence, Trans Am, Fuck Buttons, The Cool Kids, Blitzen Trapper, Matt & Kim, Throw Me the Statue, The 1900s, Oxford Collapse, Fucked Up, Bodies of Water, Norfolk & Western, Crooked Fingers, Centro-matic, Colour Revolt, The Whigs, Old Time Relijun, boat, Best Fwends, Dolorean, Port O'Brien, The Shaky Hands, The Joggers, The Blakes, Seaweed, Laura Gibson, Akimbo, Typhoon, Calvin Johnson, Jaguar Love, Britt Daniel, Bobby Bare Jr., Copy, Death Vessel, United State of Electronica, Boy Eats Drum Machine, A Weather, Crystal Antlers, The Muslims, Lackthereof, danava, Pseudosix, Sandpeople, Steel Pole Bath Tub, Monotonix, Starfucker, Strangers Die Every Day, Eat Skull, The Builders and the Butchers, Black Elk, Cool Nutz, pwrfl power, The Fucking Eagles, Weinland, Please Step Out of the Vehicle, Caves, Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive To Death, pierced arrows, Wow & Flutter, Living Proof, White Fang, another cynthia, We're From Japan, Stevie Jackson, Red Fang, Matt sheehy, Truckasaurus, Southern Belle, Cafeteria Dance Fever, Rabbits, Gray Matters, Dirty Mittens, The Retrofits, Copacrescent, The Rainy States, World's Greatest Ghost, Barry Hampton & The Triple Grip, Andy Combs & the Moth
at Various Venues, Portland, OR United States
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Wed, 03 Sep 2008
John Vanderslice
:
John Vanderslice, Death Vessel
at The Media Club, Vancouver Canada
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Fri, 05 Sep 2008
Vampire Weekend
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Vampire Weekend, John Vanderslice, Lackthereof
at Crystal Ballroom, Portland United States
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Sat, 13 Sep 2008
Monolith Festival
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DeVotchKa, The Fratellis, TV on the Radio, Justice, Band of Horses, CSS, The Kills, Cut Copy, The Cribs, Vampire Weekend, Cansei de Ser Sexy, The Ting Tings, Neko Case, Tilly and the Wall, Atmosphere, Tokyo Police Club, Silversun Pickups, The Presets, Foals, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, John Vanderslice, Akron/Family, The Bronx, Hercules and Love Affair, Holy Fuck, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Mickey Avalon, A Place to Bury Strangers, Blitzen Trapper, Pop Levi, The Avett Brothers, Superdrag, Colour Revolt, Port O'Brien, Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip, White Denim, The Heavy, The Hood Internet, The Elms, Darker My Love, The Morning Benders, Jukebox the Ghost, The Photo Atlas, Love Like Fire, The Night Marchers, The Giraffes, KaiserCartel, Pomegranates, Chester French, Bright Channel, Paper Bird, pwrfl power, Dave Beegle, Grampall Jookabox, Candy Coated Killahz, Scratch Track, American Bang, Erin Ivey, David Moore, Hearts Of Palm, The Chain Gang of 1974, The Wheel, Airborne Toxic Event, Cameron McGill & What Army, Joshua Novak, Noah Harris, The Rosewood Theives, Lynsey Smith, Boyhollow
at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison United States
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Sat, 20 Sep 2008
Treasure Island Music Festival 2008
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Goldfrapp, Tegan and Sara, Hot Chip, TV on the Radio, The Raconteurs, Justice, Amon Tobin, Okkervil River, CSS, The Kills, Vampire Weekend, Cansei de Ser Sexy, Aesop Rock, Tokyo Police Club, Foals, Spiritualized, John Vanderslice, Fleet Foxes, Dr. Dog, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, The Dodos, Nortec Collective, Loquat, Port O'Brien, The Morning Benders, Fussible, Mike Relm, Chester French, Cansei de ser sexi, Nortec: Bostich
at Treasure Island, San Francisco United States
