Friday Fix: Daniel, Jason Croff, Sea of Japan

For our Friday Fix, I’ve decided to offer up three tracks by Detroit bands that I’ve been meaning to write about with depth for a long time. But when you really want to write something stellar about music you really, really admire and enjoy, nothing is ever really good enough, and you eventually get fed up with not writing the words they deserve and just want to write anything about them in order get their music out there to others.

And that’s just what I’m a-gonna do…”

Daniel – “Goodbye Silhouette”
(from the upcoming album Lazrus)

I’ve mentioned Mr. Daniel Johnson on this blog as the writer of the great music blog Fone Culture and as a sometimes producer of and collaborator with Millions of Brazilians, but this is his own project and well worth your time and attention it is. Daniel writes with 100% heart, and perhaps 110% soul (that’s, like, 210% music, folks!). Dance-y electro-pop with lots of feeling and lots of authenticity is rare. It’s tough to be both fun and deep. Daniel pulls off this tricky and usually elusive musical balancing act.

Jason Croff Band – “Make a Little Time (for me)”
(from the upcoming A Cake for a File)

I’ve been saving this descriptive phrase for Croff band for a few weeks now: Bacharachanalia. Well, this collection of songs penned by The Dead Bodies and Four-Hour Friends’ keyboardist Jason Croff isn’t exactly all Bacharach nor all bacchanalian in nature, but it’s close enough to use up the phrase before it gets pushed out of my short-to-long-term memory by some ridiculous factoid about Katy Perry. Croff’s music is actually more in the mold of Todd Rundgren (which I think Jasper pointed out a few months ago). Regardless of comparison, I think Cake for a File could win the Detroit Music Award this year for “Best Album to Play on a Date to Ensure you Get Laid.” Read about a Croff Band live performance here. I’m not sure when/if the album will be officially released, but I’m sure if you want a copy, you can mySpessage him here.

^{[UPDATE: I wrote this post late last night. I think everything I wrote here is true, but after listening to A Cake for a File this morning at work, I wanted to refine the statement "I think Cake for a File could win the Detroit Music Award this year for 'Best Album to Play on a Date to Ensure you Get Laid.'"}

^{It's not that this is a sexy album in the way that Prince or Barry White or whoever is considered sexy, sultry, seductive is (and the fact that I can't think of good examples is telling). However, the reason this is a great album to listen to on a date is because it's romantic and fun. These songs are loose, familiar, and dancy as hell (both in the goofy, "I'm going to impress my date with my stupid dance moves and endearing sense of humor" sense and in the "let me put my arms around you and hold you tight as we sway on the dancefloor" sense). You can't help but feeling good while listening, of unconsciously making little dance gestures with your head and shoulders that your date will find charming, and the words are catchy enough to be able to learn and sing together in a short amount of time. Most of the songs on this album force you to feel good, and that always bodes well. So that's a better idea of what I meant.]}

Sea of Japan – “Maxine”
(from the already released and totally freakin’ free and excellent Black Out the Stars) (Download it here!)

I saw Sea of Japan last summer when Suburban Sprawl was hosting shows at Alvin’s. I believe it was their only show of 2008, but I may be wrong. The album, Black Out the Stars, got very little attention from anybody in Detroit, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to write a long, interesting review with lots of big, complementary words. I’ve been holding off on the review forever. I’ve spent time over the past 6 months putting sentences together, comparing them to Sean Lennon here or Badly Drawn Boy there and trying to figure out just why they so badly feel the need to conjure you to black out those dang stars, but I think it’s just time to write that I think this is one beautiful and mesmerizing album that you should spend time with.