I have made the decision that this blog is not really what I want to do anymore. In case anyone out there actually took the time to check in, thanks. But I am done with weekly discovery updates from now on. If you are interested in more, I do have a radio show at WSUM, 91.7fm Madison (wsum.org) where you can listen to my shows and reviews. I have a show this semester Tuesdays from 7-8 p.m. I also have a soundcloud page where I ‘like’ all of the new music if find, and make playlists.
Wow. Sorry guys. It’s been a while. I’ve collected so much music over winter break, it’s been overwhelming thinking of what this first post could possibly look like. But it has to come eventually, so here it is. The write ups will be especially brief since there’s so much to write about. But here we go.
First- Anderson .Paak finally released his first major LP Malibu. It’s brilliant. It’s D’angelo meets Kendrick Lamar meets Frank Ocean. And since we’re all pretty sure Frank Ocean went back to the foreign planet he came from and won’t be gracing us with any new music any time in the next millennium, this might just be the next best thing.
Field Daze is a young Chicago based group, who released a single EP for their senior project. They’re friends of a friend, but when I heard the song “What it is” I was hooked. It’s all good, mathy rock. Check out their EP here.
WHITNEY! More Chicago goodness. A supergroup formed of ex-members of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Smith Westerns, and Touching Voiders come together to form a southerny rockin indie vibe band. They covered a Glen Cambpell song, and I’m pretty sure these guys will be the millennial generations “dad music”-in the best way possible.
More soulful sounds, Fat Freddy’s Drop is a 7 piece group, and I think they can explain exactly who they are for themselves: “the New Zealanders have navigated their way from the incubator of sunshine reggae through a colour-saturated field of soul psychedelia before swerving onto a desolate Detroit superhighway at night. It’s a sound that demands to be heard live, a potent mixture of jazz virtuosity and diaphragm-wrecking digital sonics.”
Captured Tracks roster filler, and frontwoman of Blouse, Charlie Hilton released her first solo LP Palana. It’s like Nico traveled forward in time and discovered indie-rock style synths and made another great record. She’s based out of Portland, but sounds like she just crossed the ocean from Sweden. Mac Demarco was featured on the track “100 Million”. It’s all good stuff.
If you’re looking for some silly, groovy, dancin’ tunes, look no further than Jerry Paper. The album Fuzzy Logic is absolutely killer. It’s the type of electronic music that you’re not quite sure if you’d rather dance along to, or laugh at. But no matter what, you can’t help but smile listening to it.
One that’s a little out there, but I absolutely love… when Women split up, half of the group went on to form soon-to-be FKA Viet Cong. But the rest of them went on to become Cindy Lee. They released their album Act of Tenderness last year, and its a dark, but beautiful experimental LP. The noise is luscious, it’s got a few tracks that are pretty noisey, but songs like “Wandering in Solitude” and “Power and Possession” on this album that will leave you speechless with their beauty.
Well that’s all I got right now. Two quick shameless plugs: my friends and I made an album while I was away. We’re called Opa Yeti, and you can listen to our album, along with my bandmate’s other band The Accountant’s album below.
But before we get into that, quick note on the Deerhunter show:
It was a really solid performance. Atlas sound (Bradford Cox’s solo project) opened. I haven’t spent too much time listening to their studio releases, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What we got was a lot of chaotic, beautiful noises that bled from one to another, and it was nearly impossible to tell when one song ended and another began. The crowd was really digging the vibes from the music though, and it was a new experience for me. So I was a fan as well. Deerhunter killed it though. Aside from a five minute break when Bradford had to walk off stage and probably pop a few pills to help with his back pain (he was in a car accident earlier this year), it was endless great tunes from start to finish. My favorite moment was the nearly ten minute jam during Agoraphobia. It was insane. Bradford started ‘tapping’ the guitar, and the crowd was going crazy for it. Overall an excellent show.
Now for the list. Quick side note, I have these albums in order, but in all actuality they vary on a day-to-day basis for me. But here we go anyways!
The only reason this album is so this low on the list is because none of these songs were new to me. They all came from his previously released bandcamp albums, so it wasn’t fair it seemed to place him above the other artists with original work. But this album stuck out to me largely because of the song writing, the lyricism, and the overall ethos to every Car Seat Headrest project to date.
Another classic bandcamp artist, Alex G released his second real ‘studio’ LP this year and I absolutely loved it. While there were some phenomenal stand-out tracks, there wasn’t bad song on here. And he really took the chance to experiment a little with his classic college, bedroom-rock sound, with great success. It’s got it’s sweet moments, but also themes of heartbreak and confusion. I would definitely give this LP a listen.
The 19 year old fold-punk duo sprang onto the scene with a nostalgic, punchy LP out of nowhere earlier this year, and were quick to earn the attention of music fans from across the world. They went on tour with Alex G, they played solo shows (one of which I saw and was blown away by), they’re already seasoned veterans of the sport. Their voices are always incredibly in sync, and they have a knack for pulling heart strings with lyrics that make you long for your high school friends.
On their second full-length, the Australian neo-soul group does an excellent job fusing genres and making music that you really can’t help but dance to. It’s jazzy, and almost sounds like it had to be improvised, because I can’t imagine where in a human mind those ideas can come from. But alas, there they are. These guys are really driving music into funky, unexplored territory-and I love it.
On their thrid LP, Tame Impala comes out with a sound no one was expecting. For their fans, Tame Impala was a psych-rock band in the truest form. Drawing on influences from the later Beatles albums and Pink Floyd, but also a slew of lesser known 60’s and 70’s psychedelic bands. So when Currents was finally released, it divided the crowd. Some embraced the change of style, and saw this new funkier, dancier, borderline disco sound, while others were disappointed by the change. I am of the former opinion. I think Kevin Parkers experimentation on this album was great. There were a few tracks on here that I was less excited by, for sure. But as a whole, I think he did a good job at isolating the aspects of classic 80’s music that were pleasant, and leaving behind everything that makes it cliche. It’s an album I keep coming back to, and I’m excited to see what direction the band will take this into the future. Also, they win the award for consistently best music videos released this year.
5. Courtney Barnett– Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit
Melbourne sweetheart rocker Courtney Barnett hits the ground running with her first full-length LP. Holy cow. It came out pretty early in the year, and right from the time I first heard “Pedestrian at Best,” I knew I was going to love this project. Her accessible grit, and dry humor is what hooked so many of her new fans. Her live performances throughout the year proved to everyone she was born to rock. And the indie world was pleasantly shocked to see her nominated for Best New Artist for the Grammy’s! It’s a huge win, either way. But if she wins the title, people are really going to lose it. But there’s a reason she deserves the title. Her lyrics do have this comedy to them, but also a sense of tragedy. Feelings of loneliness, helplessness, inevitability of the destruction of our planet. All of these themes so seamlessly intertwined into a single LP. It’s really something special.
I’ve always been a fan of Sufjan. Something about his voice and his songs resonates on an emotional level unmatched by many artists today. Although Age of Adz was a solid record, I wasn’t necessarily a huge fan of Sufjan going in that direction. So when Carrie and Lowell came out at the beginning of the year I was thrilled the second I heard the acoustic guitars. It was a folk album. And it was gut-wrenchingly sad, as the album is a tribute to his mother who died earlier that year. The album was a reflection of the time he had spent with her and his temporary step-dad Lowell Brams (who later helped Sufjan form Asthmatic Kitty Records). Sufjan has proven himself above all else to be a wonderful storyteller. And his lyricism is at a new peak for his own standards. The songs themselves are elegant, and in some instances touch instances of sublime. It’s an album that I know I will continue to revisit for years to come.
Ruban Neilson’s third full-length release comes after a crazy polyamorous experiment he, his wife, and a semi-fan-semi-stranger had. The album is full of confusion, of grey area, but more than anything else, full of funk. My goodness does this album make me want to dance. It’s got the grooviest aspects of every decade combined into one futuristic sound. It’s not rock, really, not indie, nor electronic. It’s almost worthy of a genre of it’s own. I would say this is in my opinion the most underrated album of the year, since almost no other music sites that I’ve looked at list it in their top 50. WHY?! I don’t understand how someone couldn’t love this album. It’s a feel-good sound, juxtaposed with a story of uncertainty and chaos. It’s brilliant. Please do yourselves a favor and check this thing out. I would have to say it’s probably my most listened to album of the year.
It was a sunny summer afternoon, and I was driving to a friend’s house when the song “Waitress” comes on the radio. Something was special here. The vocals were borderline screechy, but they had this sweetness to them too. And the song was driven by these killer guitar riffs, and the whole thing was just as rock and roll and it gets this day and age. I loved it. I needed to hear more. Then I saw a night later they had a tiny desk concert, and watching that my love of them was solidified. I went and got their two albums Get Disowned and Painted Shut and listened to them non-stop for weeks. I dabbled in their earlier work as ‘Queen Ansiles’, and they could do no wrong for me. The Philly group had my attention. And Painted Shut is absolutely no exception. I’ve come to the conclusion that “Sister Cities” is my favorite track from 2015. The heavy guitars, Francis’s raspy voice, it’s just instantly classic to me. I would say listen to this album. For Sure. But take the time to listen to everything you can from these guys. They are genre-defying at times, but even their most out-there songs are still accessible, and have a child-like funness to them.
Just like Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On is an album that defined a period of time, To Pimp a Butterfly will be looked back at in the future as an LP that truly defined a point in time. But at the same time, it is timeless. With references to Nelson Mandela, Tupac, fictional 18th century slaves, it’s more a work of art than any album I’ve heard in a long time. The poem that threads and grows throughout the LP is powerful, self-reflective, and honest in a way few artists dare to be. The production is stunning. The flow is effortless. The backing instrumentation is jazzy, or funky, or straight up party music, but whatever sound a single track is going for, it hits the nail right on the head. The social commentary is eloquently articulated and extremely well thought out. There is pretty much no flaw I can find in this album. It’s damn near perfect. It’s a concept album as much as it is a pop album, and I can’t think of a single other artist who has had equal commercial success and fame with the same blatant self and social criticism. Kendrick is a genius. It is as simple as that.
We’re back with one last week of discovery for 2015!
What a year it’s been. This has been one the most solid years in new releases I can remember, and I’m stoked for all the new music we’re bound to find in 2016.
To get this week started, captured tracks newbie Charlie Hilton released the single “100 Million” earlier this week. Hilton was previously front woman for Blouse, and she’s got a great Nico-esque simplicity and beauty to her songwriting. The third chorus of the song features a low-key vocal feature from Mac Demarco. It’s a fun, lovely, swayin’ tune.
Next up, this group called Social Work released this funky, dance-y, dream-pop track “Funny Dancers” last week. The only information I’ve been able to find out about the mysterious group was that they’re from Oakland, California, and that they released this track. Other than that they’re pretty much a mystery. But I’m excited to see what else they come out with in the future.
I am super psyched to see Deerhunter and Atlas Sound (Deerhunter songwriter Bradford Cox’s solo project, and yes, that means he’s opening for himself) later this week. I’ll let you guys know how that goes in a week. But I took the time to listen to Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt’s side project Lotus Plaza to broaden my horizons a little. I listened to their album Spooky Action at a Distance, and it definitely lived up to the critical acclaim it has received. The album is profound, it’s spacious, and it has the great classic dream-rock guitars and synths that most classic indie albums are famous for. Here’s my favorite track from the LP, “Jet Out of the Tundra.”
Another group I feel in love with over the summer, but just got to listening to their full LP this week is MOURN. The female punk rock group from Barcelona were signed this year to Captured Track’s roster. This year they released their self-titled LP, and it’s killer. It’s grunge-y, it’s straight up punk, and it’s incredibly mature for girls who wrote these songs with less than two decades of life experience under their belts. I recommend giving the whole album a listen, but here’s one of my favorites: “Boys are Cunts.”
Last, Sufjan Stevens recently released the music video for his 2012 Christmas ‘classic, ‘ “Christmas Unicorn”. The track was originally on his Silver and Gold christmas EP collection. But just this week the video was released, and wow. It’s something else. The song itself has an unsettling undertone- criticisms of consumerism around the holidays and the loss of religion to the holiday so central to Christianity, and also a tribute to Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear us Apart.” But the music video takes it to a whole other part of the cosmos. It’s like decorating a christmas tree on acid. It’s trippy as can be, and definitely makes me think of the mind-washing video from Zoolander. If you’re feeling bold, watch it all the way through. But not for the weak minded. Enjoy!
Have a lovely week! Hope you’ve enjoyed the years music as much as I have. I’ll be back next week with a brief update on Deerhunter and my top ~10 of 2015, but this’s all for now!
Hey guys. Sorry for the wait, but I’m back from Thanksgiving with some great new discoveries for you guys.
First, I started listening to a group called the Evens. These guys have been around for a while, with three LPs to their name, the latest of which came out in 2012. The project was started by Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina after Fugazi’s hiatus. The duo sounds to me like if the instrumentals and song structure of modest mouse was layered with the melodies and harmonies of the Dirty Projectors. Check em out.
Cat Power is an artist that I’ve listened to in the past, and I knew that I liked her haunting vocals and spacious instrumentals, but I never paid too much attention to her and her artistry. A friend of mine encouraged me to listen to her album Moon Pix, so I gave that a listen over break and fell in love. It’s laced with drawn out piano and acoustic guitars, and drums that keep the songs humming along. Her voice is GORGEOUS. And her songs have a wonderful melancholy to them that isn’t capture with this level of emotion by many artists. Here’s one of my favorite tracks from the album, “No Sense”.
Over the weekend I finally got to see Car Seat Headrest live. OHMIGOSH was it amazing. Will killed it on stage, and I had the fortune of getting to speak with him after the show. He’s such a fun, humble guy. So much respect. The opener was a group called Varsity. They’re from the Chicago area, and they had a great set as well. It’s a female lead dream-pop/rock band, and they have some awesome material.
A tune I heard listening to my old high school radio station, Cate le Bon’s “are you wiht me now.” It’s like a sweetened, quirky take on the classic tunes “Wild thing” and “Like a Rolling Stone”. Le Bon is a Welsh singer/songwriter with a few solid, cute-but-profound albums to her name. Give her a listen.
A jazzy one for the road, Badbadnotgood is an Ontario based trio, formed back in 2010. These guys have collaborated with huge artists like Ghostface Killah, Earl Sweatshirt, Frank Ocean, and more. Their skill as instrumentalists is only matched by their creativity with production. These young jazzed up artists just released a few tracks on their soundcloud earlier this moth. Here’s one of the tracks “Here and Now”.
Well, that’s all I got for now. Catchya back next week!
I’ve been listening to soooo much music lately, it’s been great. There’s a few albums that came out pretty recently I’ve been dying to share with you all, and I have a few other tracks that I have been introduced to that I’m also excited to talk about.
First up, Julien Baker is a 19 year old Tennessee native who just released her first major LP Sprained Ankle earlier this month. The album was written in the soundproof music room at her university, and it is nothing short of gorgeous. If you’re looking for an album so full of desperation, longing, and self awareness she has to remind herself in song not to yell at herself in public, give this one a listen. The piano ballads are heart-wrenching, the melodies-haunting but angelic, and while the songs are pretty simple, they are full to the brim with emotion and rawness.
Next, Laura Stevenson just released her latest LP Cocksure. It’s a power-album for the New York based singer-songwriter, and it was produced by long-time friend/collaborator/Bomb The Music Industry frontman Jeff Rosenstock. When the first few singles “Jellyfish” and “Torch Song” came out, I wasn’t necessarily thrilled about how the rest of the album would turn out. But like so many albums that we got this year, the singles sounded almost nothing like the rest of the record. This was great for Stevenson, and Cocksure turned out to be one of my favorite of her projects to date. She usually has a more soft, supple song-writing style, with melancholy lyrics and orchestrated acoustic instrumentals. And while there are a few tracks that hold on to this sound, it’s really a rock/punk record, that sounds almost like a female Weezer. I think aside from the two singles, every track on this LP is super solid, and would highly recommend giving it a listen.
A pair of psych-rock records for your listening pleasure. Coming all the way from Santiago, Chile, The Holydrug Couple makes super out-there psychedelic rock that’s trippy and fun at the same time. They’ve got a number of albums out already, and have a super cool take on classic psychedelic sounds.
Then back in the U.S., ROAR is making killer Revolver-era Beatles sounding psych-rock. It’s got some Beach Boys style harmonies infused into a super 60’s-70’s sounding style. But it has this nostalgia to it that can only come from the modern era looking back. They’re album I’m Not Here to Make Friends has been on repeat for me all week.
Lastly, a friend of mine recommended I listen to the Cure’s Head on the Door album. I’ll be honest, I’ve neber really been a huge Cure person. I know the popular tracks, “Friday I’m in Love” and all that good stuff, but I kinda assumed all music from that time was the same and not very good (shame on me, I know). So I didn’t really know what to expect going into this album. But then I heard the song “Close to me” and I just wanted to dance! I felt like I’ve heard that song before, and I probably have, but I never knew it was the Cure if so. So I had to hear on. And there were a few decent tracks, then “Six Different Ways” came on… wow. I fell in love. It’s sentimental, without being sad. I never thought I would consider myself a Cure person, but I definitely have decided I need to explore more of their discography for great tracks like these. Give the album a listen. Expand your horizons. They also just announced a tour, so you can get caught up on their music before seeing ’em live!
That’s all for now! See ya next week! Enjoy the cold!
It’s that time of the week again, and I’m ready with some kick-butt releases from this last week, along with some solid finds from this year, and a classic album for your listening pleasure.
First off, we had two fantastic releases this last week- Martin Courtney released Many Moons, and Car Seat Headrest put out Teens of Style.
As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, Courtney is Real Estate member, and his new album is full of tracks that could’ve easily been placed on any albums like Atlas or their self-titled LP. This solo project really emphasized a lot of the nuances that Courtney brings to Real Estate, however, especially in comparison to other member’s side projects (like Mat Mondanile’s Ducktails). The album is sweet, it’s melodic, and has a super 70’s-era groove to it which stands out against his work with the band. The title track has flute-oriented verses, and the whole album sounds like it could be meant as a soundtrack for a pleasant day spent at a park.
Now for anyone who’s read this blog at all before, you know just how stoked I was for Car Seat’s new LP, his first with Matador records. Teens of Style is a compilation record, taking songs from his earlier DIY projects and re-doing them with better equipment and resources. It’s still a brilliant record, and I love all that Will Toledo’s done with his older material. I won’t say too much about it since I’ve already mentioned him so many times… BUT LISTEN TO THIS GUY.
Another group I’ve mentioned before, LVL UP. I talked about them when I fell in love with double double whammy records, and their album Hoodwink’d has made it’s way to the top of my rotation lately. The New York slacker-rock group has been putting out music since 2011, although only 2.5 of their releases were really LPs, the rest were demos and b-sides. Nonetheless, their prolific discography is really fun to listen to. It’s got emotional lyrics, quick hit punk songs, but also songs like “I Never Feel Extra-Natural” which maintains the slacker sound, but has a really sweet, sentimental vibe to is as well. “You’re an easy sweetheart/Wonder where I’m gonna be/When you’re not around.”
I keep stumbling upon these great female lead rock bands who all share a really similar college-rock style, and I’m loving it. Groups like Hop Along, Speedy Ortiz, Palehound, and others have this intelligent-rock sound- it’s not quite math rock because it’s usually all in one time-signature, but it’s not pop either. It’s complicated, but maintains simplicity and beauty. Well, I recently stumbled upon the Forth Wanderers, who sound like Speedy Ortiz if the lyrics were written by Emily Yacina. It’s softer, more emotional, and less harsh than Speedy Ortiz, but still holds onto the driven fuzzy guitars. They’ve only got an EP and LP out at the moment, but they’re both incredible. I’ve got both of them on repeat, and there are a few songs like “Caramel Emotion,” and “Selfish” that may be some of my favorite discoveries from this year.
I realized I never mentioned Alex G’s new album on here. I told you guys about DSU, which was a killer record, but his latest LP Beach Music, will go down as one of my favorite albums of 2015 without a doubt. It’s got all the elements of a solid Alex G record: sweet guitar melodies, melancholy lyrics, hard-hitting nostalgia, and Alex’s great, careless voice. But on Beach Music we start to see Alex dabble into a little psychedelia and refine his acoustic driven sound. He expands into new territory as a means of strengthening his easily identifiable sound, and with great success. Here’s by far my favorite track on the album: “Ready”.
Last, I wanted to go back a decade and honor Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah’s self-titled LP which came out a decade ago this year. It’s such a classic, and influential album, and if you’ve never given these guys a listen, definitely check them out. It’s brilliant indie-rock, drawing influences from the Talking Heads, Pavement, the Strokes, and other greats of their time. It’s really a phenomenal album, and I’ll give you a little taste below with the song “The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth.”
That’s all for now! Enjoy the music. Feel free to comment, and I’ll see ya back next time!
Ohimygosh. It’s already Halloween weekend! October just FLEW by. What a great month it’s been though.
I’ll start with a new one. Chance the Rapper has been doing a lot of cool collaborative projects lately. He did a freestyle mixtape with Lil B, released a sweet track with Noname Gypsy, did a sick song with Action Bronson, and just this week released Angels (feat. Saba). Saba is another member of Chicago music/art collective “Save Money.” The track also had some help from other Save Money members Peter Cottontail, Donnie Trumpet and Nate Fox. It’s a solid party track, a nice mix of Acid Rap sound fused with the Social Experiment.
Chance put out a minute long free style featuring music from Hiatus Kaiyote, which was my first introduction to the band (along with a little guidance from a friend). The Australian quartet has one of the most original sounds coming out of the modern music age. It’s jazz fusion with hip hop and soul. It’s smokey, its groovy, it’s impossible not to sway along to. They’ve got two albums out right now, both of which are fantastic. I’ve listened, and re-listened to both several times since I’ve found them at the beginning of the summer. They’re great mood albums, and if you like this first song I show you, I highly recommend going and listening to the rest of Tawk Tomahawk, and also to check out their other album Choose Your Weapon.
A few more Australian bands for ya. Chet Faker (Nicholas James Murphy) is a soul/electronica musician. He has only released on full length LP, but it scored #1 in the Aussie charts, and went platinum. He’s worked with Flume and other artists since, earning him even more attention online and in the music world. He has been releasing singles and an EP this year all of which have been great. Check out the single “Bend” below.
Another Aussie group with a totally different sound: Crepes. These guys are friends with Good Morning, Cosmic Sattler, and all these Melbourne bands that share a similar style of music, though each group takes it in their own direction. These guys only have a single EP Cold Summers, but it’s brilliant. It’s got mellow instrumentals, sweet vocals with catchy melodies, and a tinge of psychedelia. It’s all really good stuff. For fans of Real Estate, and Mac, but with some Pink Floyd influence (especially on songs like “Ain’t Horrible“). It’s just a 5 song EP, and I recommend listening all the way through. Not a lame track on here.
Back to the USA for one more artist. ASO is a California guitarist/producer/beat maker/DJ who makes these killer smooth little songs. He does all of his production from home, and makes some really cool stuff from the limited arrangement he has. He’s got a lot of Tom Misch and J Dilla influence behind him, and it meshes into greatness. Give the kid a listen.
I’m back and ready for action! What an awesome week it’s been. I’m super pumped to share all these new tunes with you guys.
First: TOPS. Montreal band, friends with Mac Demarco (veeeerrry good friends), fronted by Jane Penny. They’ve got the riffs of a Real Estate song, the groove of an Unknown Mortal Orchestra song, and the mellowness of a Mac song. Their album Picture You Staring has been on my queue all week. Check it out below.
Next up, some more neo-soul. Two neo-soul guys actually. First, Chris McClenny, 21 year old Baltimore native with crazy piano and production skills. This guy writes great songs, makes killer remixes, and has BEAUTIFUL arrangements of classic songs. He’s got a J Dilla/D’angelo/Stevie Wonder vibe to him. He’s releasing his first LP pretty soon, but he’s put out a ton of individual tracks that are fantastic. Classical songs, to jazz, to soul, to funk-it’s all there.
Another soul great- Jordan Rakei– friends with Tom Misch, Alfa Mist, and the friends. He’s a London artist with a silky voice, and always jazzy background instrumentals. His album Groove Curse is full of just great dance-y, smooth, funk vibes. It has a powerful sensuality, but also a gentle rhythm that keeps the grooves flowing from track to track-it’s just awesome. He just released a song called “The Light”. You won’t regret the listen.
Now for something a little different. Just discovered this band called PWR BTTM. They’re on Father/Daughter records (think Diet Cig, SPORTS, EX HEX), so they have a solid fuzzy, soft-punk, college-rock sound. Stereogum just called them one of the top 50 new bands of 2015, so that’s pretty sweet. They’re a New York based duo featuring a female drummer and male guitar/vocalist, which we really don’t see a lot of. They’ve got a little Viet Cong in them, maybe a little American Baseball, but more punk and a little more accessible. But they’ve got a really fun, unique, sound. Definitely give these guys a listen. Here’s the title track to their Release from September:
Lastly, a fun, but surprisingly honest party song. Snakeships (whom I really don’t know much about), this week released a song called All My Friends- no relation to LCD Soundsytem. It features verses from Chance the Rapper and Tinashe. I’m really not a party anthem girl myself, so I was pretty impressed by how much I actually liked this song. I’m sure it’s mostly to do with how relatable the song is, “well, we’re at a party again… everyone’s drunk…again…. so I guess here we go.”
…And we’re back with another lovely week of music. I’m pumped to share all the good vibes with all of you once again.
I had the pleasure of seeing Girlpool the other night. They’re a pretty remarkable duo. The two girls (Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad) formed as a highschool punk band. They released their major debut Before the World Was Big earlier this year, and I’ve been a huge fan since I heard the title track as a single. They make DIY sounding punk with just vocals, bass and a guitar. It’s pretty crazy to hear legitimate punk music without a drummer, but they nail it. They’re voices and instruments are always in sync, and always fun to listen to, and they’re awfully talented for their age. Their sound is super original sound, and I highly recommend giving them a listen.
Next, a friend of mine introduced me to Pinkshinyultrablast (yes, it’s one word). These guys are a Russian shoegaze group, and they’re awesome. It’s much more upbeat and happy than more well-known shoegaze groups (think Jesus and Mary Chain or DIIV), but I personally find their sound to be really fun and inviting. Their take on a relatively uniform sound is refreshing and I really enjoyed listening to all the music of theirs that i could find. Here’s my favorite song from their selection on soundcloud “UMI.”
Raury Alexander Tullis, or Raury, is an Atlanta R&B/folk/soul/indie/hip-hop artist. Now I know what you’re thinking…. “am I seeing folk and hip-hop in the same description for a single artist?” And yes. Yes you are. He blends all of these genres with an awesome, original, creative sound that never fails to produce good vibes. At the ripe old age of 19, he’s already worked with SBTRKT, and Joey Bada$$. He’s got a sweet, soul-melting voice, and has a really beautiful approach to songwriting. Earlier this week he released the track “The Sea.” Give it a listen below.
I’ve listened to a few artists on Double Double Whammy record label before, I love Eskimeaux, and the Quarterbacks. But I was perusing their soundcloud page and realized just how many of their artists I really like (I also discovered a few new ones that I’m super stoked about). All the artists have a nice garage-y, grunge to them, but also all share a knack for powerful lyricism. My favorite of these new finds is called LVL UP. They’re a New York Based group who’ve been making music since 2011. These guys rock and I’ve been really digging their album Hoodwink’d. Here’s a little taste:
Neon Indian’s new album VEGA INTL. Night School comes out this week. NPR was doing an early stream of the album, so I got to give it a listen, and WOW was it great. Alan Palomo’s song writing just keeps getting better and better. The album is incredibly danceable, and extremely catchy. When “Annie” first came out I just knew that this album would be full of greatness, and I was far from disappointed. There was also an accompanying psychedelic music video set to go along with the album made in collaboration with artist Sabrina Ratté. I had a good time watching that as well.
Thanks for checking in once again! Hope to see you back next week! Have a good one!
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