Rock Torch

Noel Heroux of Hooray for Earth carries a torch for Oh No Ono

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Noel Heroux and Oh No Ono

Noel Heroux and Oh No Ono

Noel Heroux’s recommendation: “Oh No Ono has been the most important find for me in years. Their 2nd LP Eggs came out last year in Denmark, it’s the most exciting album I’ve heard since I discovered Broadcast. Chord changes and melodies never quit, and the production sends me off to get lost in fantastic places in my mind. Every song is an adventure.”

Watch Helplessly Young from Oh No Ono here:

Noel HerouxAbout the guest author, Noel Heroux: Heroux’s band Hooray for Earth had a solid following since it was formed when he was in high school, but the band found a new level of visibility when they were featured in this 2009 ABC Amplified segment. The band makes harmony drenched pop that sticks in your head, as exemplified in the tune, Surrounded By Your Friends. Be sure to check their web site for tour dates and pick up their EP, Momo, here.


Geoff O’Connor of The Crayon Fields carries a torch for Dory Previn

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Geoff O'Connor of The Crayon Fields and Dory Previn

Geoff O'Connor and Dory Previn

Geoff O’Connor’s recommendation: “I’d recommend the classy, mesmerizing songs of Dory Previn. I first stumbled upon her records “Mythical Kings and Iguanas” and “Mary C Brown and The Hollywood Sign” in a bargain bin and found the lyrics on the inside sleeves so intriguing that I had to take them home. I’ve since picked up her records every time I come across them, and luckily they are easy to find and quite cheap. There is something very warm, yet chillingly seductive about the persona she adopts in her more romantic songs, such as Lady With The Braid, that I find very distinctive. In her thematic album, “Mary C Brown and The Hollywood Sign” she creates a set of stories and characters that are extremely vivid and complex, without dwelling on any mundane details. Her songs suggest a life that is just as heartbreaking, scary and hilarious as the one she presents in her autobiography Midnight Baby, which I’d also highly recommend. She has a magnetic vocal presence that, coupled with the often conversational tone of her lyrics, can really follow you around. She’s definitely someone you could become quite obsessed with. She wears very cool glasses too.”

Find out more about the Dory Previn

New to Dory Previn? Geoff O’Connor recommends you start here: “Start with Mythical Kings & Iguanas.”

MP3 Audio – Dory Previn released this royalty free recording in 2002: Planet Blue

Geoff O'Connor of The Crayon FieldsAbout the guest author, Geoff O’Connor: O’Connor leads the ’60s inspired Australian band, The Crayon Fields. The band has earned opening spots for heavyweight headliners such as Stereolab, The New Pornographers and Built To Spill and has racked up some excellent reviews of their latest offering, All the Pleasures of the World, which was released by Chapter Music. Hear a track from that album: Mirror Ball.


Finn Andrews of The Veils carries a torch for Arvo Pärt

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Finn Andrews of The Veils and Arvo Pärt

Finn Andrews and Arvo Pärt

Finn Andrews’ recommendation: “I remember the first CD I ever picked up and inspected was Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa – to be honest I was more into Michael Jackson and The Time, but my mum and dad played Arvo all the time and I remember thinking how it sounded like the most ancient thing I’d ever heard. I used to make weird little movies as a kid and just wander around my mum’s house filming the bookshelves for ages and Arvo was always the soundtrack. It just made sense.

It pisses me off when mid-paced Indie bands say stuff like “Coltrane was our primary influence” so I’m keen to avoid sounding like that by name dropping a classical artist. I figure I get around this because a) we ain’t no mid-paced Indie band and b) though Arvo is technically ‘Classical’ he has never sounded specifically ‘Classical’ to me. You can hear elements of him in some of Brain Eno’s self generative stuff, and in The Arcade Fire, and in our stuff too. There’s a great little interview that Björk did with him (also one of the great Umlaut faceoffs) where she says his music reminds her of Pinocchio and the cricket and he agrees and says his music is always a call and response between his sins and a kind of divine conscience. I really liked that and man oh man that’s exactly how it sounds.”

Find out more about the Arvo Pärt.

New to Arvo Pärt? Start here: “Start with Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa. It might just be the most stirring Estonian neo-classical fever dream you ever experience.”

Finn Andrews of The VeilsAbout the guest author, Finn Andrews: Finn is the son of Barry Andrews, the keyboard player for XTC. Finn’s own band, The Veils, most recently put out Sun Gangs, a collection that Drowned in Sound hailed as, “…the most compelling chapter in The Veils story yet.” The Veils’ website shows that the band toured in early 2010 (New York Magazine said of their show, “The combination on that stage is magical and a sight not to be missed”) and are now recording a new album. Be on the look out for that as its sure to be another strong offering from the band that is clearly on its way to getting a bigger buzz.

MP3 Audio recorded by Finn between tours in 2009: Turn From The Rain


Rachel Flotard of Visqueen carries a torch for Dave Grohl

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Rachel Flotard and Dave Grohl

Rachel Flotard and Dave Grohl

The Foo FightersRachel Flotard’s recommendation: “There’s nothing like the urgency of the first Foo’s record. The ray gun basically shot me in the face, and I’ve always had a hut in my heart for it. Maybe it was because I was a recent Seattle transplant at the time, or that my inner-sterno was lit and my own songs were surfacing, but he/they just struck a chord with me. Always liked how scrappy-romantic and powerful it felt. Plus, any jovial brother that wallops the skins and cranks is good by me.”

Find out more about David Grohl and The Foo Fighters at their site.

Rachel FlotardAbout the guest author, Rachel Flotard: Rachel fronts Visqueen, the West Coast band that put out what we at Rocktorch.com consider the most perfect pop record of 2009, Message To Garcia. Rachel’s own words best describe record: “These songs are my friends. I wrote them through a long ride of self-conscious anguish and joy. They are braided with sunny, ubiquitous problems and snare drums. They reflect the part of me that wants to be happy and make out with Bad Company.”

Rachel, who was classified as “the human incarnation of the Energizer Bunny” by NPR, and the band are bringing their non-stop barrage of power pop and harmonies to a town near you, so check the tour page now and buy your tickets. (Rachel also seems to have a killer sense of humor. For those of you who caught the Springsteen reference in the photo to the left, you’re gonna love this pic.)


Visqueen – The Capitol

Related: Visqueen’s bass player, Cristina Bautista on Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.


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