Tweet Talk about serendipity. While frying up some eggs the other day, numb to everything except the sizzling in the cast-iron pan over a blue gas flame, Head of Femur's 'Where's the Fire' came on at random on my iTunes and put me in a wildly good mood. It had been a tough week at work in the salt mines, and this welcome boost of seratonin was just what I needed to make it to the weekend. Everything about this song works. The vintage organs, percussive piano [...]
THE BEST of 2008 (so far!) SERIES : HEAD OF FEMUR TALENTED CHI-TOWN POP GIANTS HEAD OF FEMUR ( Greyday Records ) is the creative vessel for the whimsical pop music explorations of Mike Elsener and Matt Focht (former drummer of Bright Eyes). In March, the band just released the GREAT PLAINS album . The new record is a rumbling [...]
Girls, Girls, Girls!!! One more time, in case we still have visitors. (Hopefully you haven't noticed our recent AWOLitude.) Here's what we've been up to. How 'bout youse? Teenage Head - Top Down mp3 The Girls - Transfer Station mp3 from Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes, No - Thanks to Pitchfork.The Ettes - Marathon mp3 - off the forthcoming release Look At Live Again Soon - Thanks to Alyssa Kleven at
Download: David Vandervelde - "I Will Be Fine" Over at the forums on music blog aggregator Elbo.ws (a site we may or may not mention ), at least twice every 30 days, there's been a discussion of what are 2008's most overlooked records, inspired by Pitchfork's post-festival attempt to do the same . My contenders for this year include Dosh's Wolves and Wishes ( mp3 ); Head of Femur's Great Plains ( mp3 ; and, agreeing with the 'fork, Ponytail's Ice Cream Spiritual [...]
There's a fine line between being influenced by an artist and being derivative of an artitst and Picture Atlantic is staggering along that tightrope. The Oakland, California based quintet seems to be managing pretty well so far. They recently got the chance to open for Brit-pop brontosaurus Coldplay in California, but while Picture Atlantic's influences clearly lie in the British Isles, they avoid the trap of sounding like a Coldplay (or Keane, or Travis) cover act. Their self-recorded and produced debut Kleos ( buy ) broke through the drone of backlogged music this weekend, initially because of it's Anglophile tendencies. But the [...]
Subtle - Wanted Found Rogue Wave - Like I Needed Head Of Femur - Science Needed A Medical Man The Go! Team - I Never Needed It Now So Much Clearlake - I Hate It That I Got What I Wanted
Feature artists Shay Estes and Mark Lowrey rekindle the torch song, seek cell phone sponsorship. MP3 : " Where You At " by Shay Estes and Mark Lowrey. Jocks, queers, tigers after the jump. Matt Alvarado gets personal with homemade music. MP3 : " Now Run " by Matt Alvarado (MPF Records) [...]
Poke my eyeballs out if the vocalist for Head Of Femur doesn't totally remind me of an exact cross between Chris from Ruth Ruth and Matt Pond. Go ahead, poke 'em! Head Of Femur's latest album Great Plains is a quirkily enjoyable slice of multi-instrumentalized indie-pop straight outta Chicago. But it's good; good like a toasted PBJ sandwich. Just imagine the fairly straightforward melodic bent of Matt Pond PA crossed with the raw-quirkiness of early Flaming Lips or TMBG stuff and you might be onto something. [...]
(photo by Maggie Pedersen) Like us, you may have missed the release of Great Plains , the newest album from the sneaky bastards in Head of Femur , when it dropped in March. The record saw the band massively strip down its composition from the sometimes-20-member collective to a more hotel-room-block accommodating 4-or-5-ish core members who currently preside over the project. Learning to have the prog take a backseat to the pop in their usual formula was also a big change for the Chicago-based group (bassist "The Chancellor" still lives in Omaha though). [...]
ONE TO WATCH IN 2008 - HEAD OF FEMUR TALENTED CHI-TOWN POP GIANTS HEAD OF FEMUR ( Greyday Records ) is the creative vessel for whimsical pop music explorations of Mike Elsener and Matt Focht (former drummer of Bright Eyes). In March, the band just released the GREAT PLAINS album . The new record is a rumbling ride through the country, a rocket ship into space, a journey into [...]
I can't believe it's already April! We got some new tracks for you. I am ultra busy these days so you might not see as many posts rollin' through around these parts but worry not, we'll be back in full swing soon. In the meantime check out these songs for the weekend! Evan Voytas - The Yellow World of 83 Vicious Vicious - Shake that! Kensington Prairie - Crooked Things Straight The Lovely Sparrows - Department of Forseeable Outcomes Megafun - Find [...]
The Good: Islands - "Creeper"; Nick Thornburn has already proven his ability to pen addictively catchy pop songs with The Unicorns and on the first Islands album, but with "Creeper" he may have outdone himself. This song is syrupy smooth, a song of a broken heart with a dance beat and just enough rock licks to appease even the most jaded of music snobs. Its a killer song that gives me super high
Not nearly as many new releases as March 18th. Albums Released on 3/25/08 Things I've Heard: The Raconteurs : Consolers of the Lonely (Third Man / Warner Bros.) – I've got a vinyl copy and it didn't come with a download card, so I've barely listened to it. My first impression is that it's better than the last one (which was just okay). Detractors can't seem to decide if it's got a crappy, glossy 1970s arena rock vibe or if it was too rushed. Most critics seem to like [...]
artist - song - album :: extra info The Sound of Arrows - Danger! - Danger! EP :: out May 7 ( website | myspace ) We Were the States - Up Your Sleeve - Believe The Thieves ( website | myspace | Up Your Sleeve video ) Mystery Jets - Young Love - Twenty One ( website | myspace | Young Love video ) Head Of Femur - [...]
Chicago's vast baroque pop collective summons every instrument known to man in its fourth and best full-length album, working them jigsaw-like into complicated, colorful patterns.
I had a feeling this week would be taking a turn for the worst, considering when I went outside earlier in the week, I had noticed that pollen was out and about in full force - which made me cry a little inside, as now I am racked with allergies. What better way to combat the spring allergy season then with some new album releases, which there are more than plenty of. A few albums i'm interested in checking out include A Silver Mt. Zion's 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons , Plants & Animals' [...]
Great Plains is het derde album van Head of Femur , een indiepopgroep uit Chicago. De band bestond enkele jaren geleden nog uit acht leden, tegenwoordig doen ze het met z'n vijven. Zanger Matt Focht, afkomstig uit Omaha, Nebraska, was drummer bij Bright Eyes . Fijne melodieën, violen, een trompet, koortjes. MP3: Head of Femur - Isn't It a Shame Head of Femur op MySpace [...]
Music: Head of Femur - Great Plains Listen to : Jetway Junior ( mp3 ) De Novo Dahl - Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound ( stream ) The B-52's - Funplex Excepter - Debt Dept Listen to : Kill People ( mp3 ) Morgan Page - Elevate Alone At 3AM - City Out of Luck DVD: Control [...]
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