I’m a sucker for limited edition, vinyl-only releases, and so it should come as no surprise that I actively hunted down Mi Ami‘s Thrill Jockey debut, Cut Men, which was released in a limited edition of 750 copies. Mi Ami are the San Francisco-based trio of Jacob Long (bass), Daniel Martin-McCormick (vocals/guitar) and Damon Palermo (drums). If the names sound familiar to you, it may be because Martin-McCormick and Long were former members of Washington D.C.’s Black Eyes. They moved to San Francisco, and in 2007 with the addition of Palermo on drums, formed Mi Ami. Since that time, the band has already issued a handful of limited 12″ records on a number of labels as well as their first full-length “Watersports” and the “Echononecho” single on Quarterstick/Touch & Go in early 2009. Cut Men is their latest release, and features two new cuts.
Recorded by Trans Am’s Phil Manley, the bio for the release notes that “the A-side was recorded live with only vocal overdubs. The recording captures the energy and tension of a live performance with stunning clarity. The B-side is a dub. It’s a heavy, deep, and oblique re-visioning of the A-side that began as a version but transformed into a song of unique character and energy. Recorded as an extended take, “Out at Night” was later manipulated with slight edits and further dub mixing.” Although strikingly different, both cuts are darkly menacing, and yet, at times, exuberant. Mi Ami are performing at the Lab in the Mission District in San Francisco on Friday, December 11. Pick up a copy of Cut Men over at Thrill Jockey.
Mi Ami – Out At Night (file removed by request)
Head back to eating/sf to read Kasey’s review of Starbelly.
