An effervescent slice of electronic pop, Swimming Lessons meanders pleasantly through debut single, "Double". The percussion resonates as carbonated, an ever-rising loop of chiming sounds and loops - a snare sound for organizational purposes only - mixed with Ben Lewis charming, echoing vocal. The Leeds outfit gives hints of the Clock Opera empire that never was, and windows to the better sides of Ernest Greene's work in Washed Out. None of it necessarily aims for the ceiling. "Double" gives little hint of unchecked ambitions, rather a frictionless slow-drive through electro-pop tropes that sound as [...]
The first edition of the Valentine's Day Mixtape (crafted way back in 2006) was the very first mixtape ever posted here on ATG, and it's taken many different forms ever since. As my music interests-and personal relationships-have evolved since then, so too have the mixes. The twee innocence of the first mix (see: The Postal Service, The Long Winters) and my high school self has transformed into more nostalgic choices (as evidenced by the FOUR cover songs on this 8th edition) and meaningful melodies. As usual, we've got all of the previous Valentine's Day Mixtapes available for [...]
Sivu Page pode não ser o nome mais comum que você já ouviu, mas se depender do primeiro single do rapaz de 24 anos, taí um nome que você deve ouvir com muita frequência em 2013. Incentivado pelo produtor do brilhante disco de estreia do Alt-J , Charlie Andrew, Sivu era guitarrista de uma banda inglesa até que, ao mostrar suas músicas ao produtor, logo tratou de assinar um contrato com a Warner para lançamento do seu primeiro disco, que, sem muitas surpresas, também traz Andrew no comando. Sua estreia, a belíssima “Better Man Than He”, não [...]
Best of 2012: #31-40 When you go about listening to your favorite song of the year, one quickly starts to see the pattern that most of these songs sound like they belong in a post john hughes outsider coming of age/first heartbreak soundtrack for the new decade. Just playing all the songs within this grouping makes me realize that if anyone is looking for a music supervisor of something similar, please look me up! Besides the cinematic pop epicness of clock opera, niki and the dove, kindness, paloma faith (drama ballad of the year yo!) [...]
Words: Alison Potter, Emily Solan, Howard Gorman, Rajan Lakhani, Raman K, Saam Das, and Simon Opie 2012. The year that guitar music died. The year that hip hop died. The year that dubstep died. No. None of these things happened. 2012 was as healthy a year for music as any. At FADED GLAMOUR , we picked some of our favourite albums of 2012 and put them together in a list of 25 below. Pop, R&B, hip hop and yes, even guitar music [...]
I've been wrestling with charges of being a "music snob" lately, so here's one last retrospective list. This one's built to show that while there's not often much evidence of it on this site, I do actually have something of a soft spot for pop junk. In my darkest hours I do find myself turning to the likes of Dire Straits and Crowded House and The Eagles, and this year has added a few more tracks to what I euphemistically call my 'guilty pleasures' playlist. 5. The Boxer [...]
Our top 100 songs of 2012 are finally capped off with our final volume of 25 indie songs which we couldn't feel more lucky to write about, let alone ...
TOP 2012 – 1 TOP 2012 – 2 TOP 2012 – 3 TOP 2012 – 4 TRACK: We Like Turtles - 'We Believe In Groove' (Original Mix) La nota [....]
I'm sure I missed a lot of great records this year, but these ones stood out to me. 1. CLOCK OPERA - Ways To Forget 2. LORD HURON - Lonesome Dreams 3. WILD CUB - Youth 4. CALIFORNIA WIVES - Art History [...]
At the end of the year it often seems like I'm too busy with the big albums of the year and end of forgetting some lower profile releases. Here are some of the albums that we think you may have missed, but are still pretty awesome... 10. Hiss Golden Messenger - Poor Moon (Tompkins Square) [...]
CLOCK OPERA - MAN MADE PURITY RING - UNGIRTHED MSMR - HURRICANE KILO KISH - NAVY GHOST LOFT - SECONDS [...]
As we hit the last few days of 2012 so starts the annual round up of blog content. Today we re-visit the finest videos of 2012. This isn't a comment on the music, but the vehicle in which they're delivered. Ever since it's humbled 80s birth, which saw Buggles ' debut single, Video Killed The Radio Star, upon the new channel they called MTV, we've all enjoyed an ever-increasing collection of music videos year on year. The list is in no particular order, but every entry is noted for being outstanding. They have to be to shine [...]
White Noise The Lost Buoys Once And For All Man Made A Piece Of String 11th Hour Belongings Lesson No.7
Another year, and another top 5 gigs by bands that should not be missed live. How odd that three of them came one after another, but that's the cool thing about Washington DC. Except for December through the beginning of February (the dead of winter) and June through August (festival season), there is always a reasonably good selection of bands coming through here. But that hasn't always been the case. I am often asked on my travels why I became a music blogger, and the simple answer has always been this: when I [...]
Dec 17, 2012, 5:16pm
SGTMT
Tweet Fellow SGTMTer Tom got us started on Friday with 2012 Albums Of The Year - Part 1 . So I thought I'd continue the theme with, wait for it, 2012 Albums Of The Year - Part 2 . Didn't see that coming did you? HA. Fooled you, we win, you lose ALL bragging rights to team SGTMT. HA. Now Tom's a fine picker. Seriously, he knows his Clementines from his Satsumas. How could I top that list (duplication obviously isn't an [...]
“If indie carries on likes this, we’re gonna need a bigger landfill,” said Simon Price of the Independent of Clock Opera’s Ways To Forget . “Predictable arrangements…. middle-of-the-road sentimentalism and lack of killer tunes,” said Drowned In Sound in their 4/10 review. The NME went even further in its 2/10 review: “If you’re vapid enough to buy into anything this pointless waste of a beard meows into his distortion pedal, you should probably never watch the film Up as you might find it a bit much.” [...]
2012 had more than a handful of impressive debut full-lengths, including Alabama Shakes' Boys & Girls , Porcelain Raft's Strange Weekend , and Jack White's Blunderbuss . The tracks below don't even begin to scratch the surface of debuts this year, but these are a few of my favorites. The buzz band of 2011 did not disappoint. If you have yet to give this record a chance, you're only hurting yourself. It's more than just "Southern rock". It's rock and soul [...]
A surprisingly great live act, one would have imagined a Clock Opera to be bedroom boys hiding behind their banks of keyboards and failing to engage with an audience, how wrong I was.
Clock Opera - The Lost Buoys
Clock Opera have certainly grown since they last played The Portland Arms, back then this was a tiny room in a pub nestled away in Cambridge. They return with a successful album and with 200+ happy punters eager to see them yet again! This show was right in the middle of the UK-wide tour and they all looked a bit shattered, maybe down to the tour schedule or the coldness of the venue when they arrived, yet they still put on a spell binding performance. The first time I've ever seen them live and I can't believe [...]
32ft/Second
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Oh My Rock
wongie's music world
FADED GLAMOUR
the Eaten by Monsters blog
Music Under Fire
Neonized
Indie Music Filter
The Wounded Jukebox
THE RECOMMENDER
Electro Boogie Encounter
There Goes the Fear
Breaking More Waves
Concrete Opinions
Addict Music
videoboutique
It's All Indie
WATCH: Action Bronson ‘Strictly 4 My Jeeps’ (Official Video)
[stream] Smith Westerns // 3AM Spiritual
