5 shows in 6 days. So it's not technically a week straight of concerts but anybody that goes to lots of shows consecutively knows it can be draining and exhausting...and all you're doing is listening to music. So that's what I'll be doing. I figured I should highlight some of the music that I'm going to see in Denver this upcoming week. I might also be bragging a little bit about all the bands I get to see. Tonight is Horse Feathers, a great folk band from Portland. Here's their song Belly of June . [...]
There's just something about this song that makes me want to post it on a Friday evening heading into a long weekend. Summerlong by Xylos just has that chill, indie dance vibe to it that fits perfectly for tonight. So that's it. Here's the song.
If you like electronic pop, I think you're going to like the new album from Glowbug, Suit of Swords . Glowbug is the LA-based ambient/dance/rock project of Daniel Anderson (formerly, of Idiot Pilot and currently, touring member of Hyro Da Hero). Suit of Swords was released today and was written, performed, and recorded entirely by Anderson. All 14 tracks on Glowbug's second album come almost exclusively from Daniel's Sherman Oaks apartment. Highlights for me included Heatwave , Strange Inside , and Oh No! (especially Strange Inside [...]
Merging the swagger of Manchester rock predecessors with some hints of progressive rock, The Kill Van Kulls have melded together an indie rock that might fit better in NYC where the namesake tidal strait Kill Van Kull exists. Geographic interests (and the related historic interests) aside regarding the strait, The Kill Van Kulls have produced an easy listening sort of rock that remains imperfect around the edges. Here on Alive , we have a song that never wanders outside its pleasant comfort zone. It knows, as well as a song can know, a pretty foolish notion admitted, [...]
Simple, easy listening from the Australian duo The Falls. I think they had me at the mention of Stevie Nicks and a quote by her in their bio-"devastation leads to writing good things." The Falls are made up of Melinda Kirwin and Simon Rudston-Brown. They note they've fallen in and out of love and this music was an outlet for their heartbreak. Their brand of indie folk is centered on intimacy: it isn't overproduced, overwrought with complex metaphors, or swallowed up by a wall of sound. It is is simple harmonies, lyrics, and bountiful amounts of sincerity. It's [...]
I don't want to see your face for the last time, I don't want to have one last goodbye. New song from Contrakids. It's called Last Time . It matches it in with their electropop catalogue. One critique is that the autotune is a bit overwhelming at times, but when the chorus comes in, you can tell that overall the song is awesome. You can like Contrakids on Facebook . Enjoy Last Time .
Cub Scouts is a band from Brisbane, Australia that plays indie pop that is somewhat similar to Two Door Cinema Club. Let me know what you think on Twitter .
New song from San Francisco's Young Digerati. It's the first single from their upcoming Endless Bummer EP
Between this song and new Passion Pit , you're privy to 90% of my listening habits this week. Those two songs have been on near repeat-listening at work, driving in the car, and in my bedroom. I simply can't get enough of either. Float , probably, even more so than Take A Walk -it's definitely going to be a song that sneaks on to summer mixtapes everywhere. At some point, I might want to escape it but between the happy sounds and relatable lyrics, I don't see that being any point soon. You can find [...]
"It's better to be late than to never show up." That's what I said when I was accidentally late to an event last week because, well, I took a nap and woke up late. I was just covering up with an excuse then, but it also applies here and sounds more poetic. I'm late to Dry the River's music and their song, New Ceremony . I've been missing out. It reminds me of Mumford and Sons, or better, Frightened Rabbit sans Scottish accents and I guess that makes some sense as they are Londoners. New Ceremony [...]
Welcome to the inner workings of mind If this was written a dozen years ago, I have no doubts it would be a song that sounds like something out of Melissa Etheridge or Sheryl Crow's alternative pop playbook as the intro of this song hints at. In 2012, it draws more influence from Florence + The Machine it seems. It's richer musically that complements the powerful vocals while not diminishing the lyrics. Playing to the popular schematic style of the day seems to have created a buzz for the band from New York. With [...]
From Sydney's Panama , a tropical-flavored Friday jam. via
New Passion Pit! The first new song from Passion Pit emerged a couple days ago. It's called Take A Walk . It's gotten plenty of plays already so I wouldn't be surprised if you've already heard it. If you haven't, you should most certainly take a listen. Part of me thinks this song is kind of vanilla (especially in comparison with some of their previous material), but part of me is just happy that we have new Passion Pit in our lives. It's got hints of the previous Passion Pit sound with the synths, but it is [...]
[So sorry - I forgot to click "publish" yesterday!!] Six days before my 24 th birthday, my favorite Chicago-based math-rock-indie-pop quartet released their latest album. If you're new to the musical readings of 1146 miles, then the band I'm referring to is Maps & Atlases. Their album, Beware and Be Grateful , has been on sporadic repeats and loops on my iPod/computer/iPad/phone/anyth ing-that-plays-music. Three weeks have passed of me letting this album simmer into my brain, in hopes that I'll somehow find the words to articulate how great it is. This is the best I can do [...]
Josh Moshier is a young pianist/composer working in Chicago. His most recent project is Touch and Go, a suite based on the work of famed Chicago radio figure and jazz critic Studs Terkel, created with the Moshier Lebrun Collective, an experimental group co-led by saxophonist Mike Lebrun. In this piece Moshier explores thematic connections, improvisation coexisting with meticulously through-composed sections, while focusing on what he believes to be music's most basic purpose: to tell a story. Rather than feature the nearly 60-minute Touch and Go, instead here is "Hometown Marvel," from Moshier's The Local Colorists, released a little [...]
Andrew Bird is a strange fellow. I watched him slack-jawed a few years ago as he held down a summer festival stage by himself, weaving symphonies out of his virtuoso fiddle-playing. He also barely uttered a word. And he writes songs about tumors. He at the very least doesn't seem as adept at expressing himself outside of music, and hadn't a clue how to respond to this unforgettable question the other week from Stephen Colbert: "Your music is emotionally evocative. Hypothetically, one of my writers can't listen to the album The Mysterious Production of Eggs without thinking of [...]
Eighteen year old George Barnett released his debut album, 17 Days , earlier this year. If that's not impressive enough, he's a multi-instrumentalist, playing drums, bass, guitar, piano, trumpet, harmonica, and keys as well as singing on it. Lone Rose is one of the songs of that album and as you can see above, there's a pretty cool video for it. It's a slightly abbreviated version of the song, essentially cutting out the outro, to help the video come in a little under 7 minutes long. It's happy-sounding indie pop [...]
This came through our new artist priority inbox and there's little information to be found on this duo from Brooklyn. They have a couple of songs up on Soundcloud, a single on Bandcamp, and an EP that they released last week. Forsaken is taken from that EP, which is entitled The Break . Their music is mysterious like the group itself and I find myself wildly intrigued by what they're doing. They provide two versions of the EP's title track: The Break (Summer Version) and The Break (Winter Version) as [...]
Half of the time we're gone but we don't know where, we don't know where. The Chicago band named after a Canadian town honored Simon and Garfunkel with a cover of The Only Living Boy in New York staying true to the original. David McMillin, Aaron Kiser and Jeff Piper are featuring it as the second installment of their "As Told By" cover series and it seems appropriate to feature it here as well. The cover features all three members providing harmonies. Check it out. The Only Living Boy in [...]
Haaaappy Monday! I hope everyone's weekend was as fun-filled as mine. If you dig catchy beats, quirky vocals, and reminiscently dance-worthy music, look no further; you're going to be playing this song on repeat just as I have been. This morning I was looking through some submissions and heard this upbeat track that pretty much sums up the feeling of this past weekend. Antonio Paul's Into the Night serves for the perfect single-song soundtrack for any killer weekend spent with amazing people in the city that never sleeps. [...]
1146 miles
Azealia Banks - '1991' [Listen]
THE MASTERSONS — BIRDS FLY SOUTH
