I'm not sure why certain albums click when they click. Dirty Projectors' 2009 release Bitte Orca was one of those albums for me. I knew "Stillness Is The Move," and I knew it was "good," but for some reason it was a bit too sprightly to focus my attention. But somehow, song by song, friend by friend, that album crept into my life to the point that I found myself nodding in agreement that life under the sun is a crazy, crazy dream — the delicate, time-stopping beauty in "Two Doves," the arrogantly funky "No Intention," and the bright, [...]
It may just be my inability to think in shapes, like my doomed attempts at fumbling with Bjork's Biophilia iPad app that leave me feeling inadequate and lonely ("I don't...get it..."), but I had to first get over the bandname alt-J and then the fact that it's visually depicted as ∆, the delta symbol those keys make on a Mac keyboard. But as soon as Joe Newman's warbling, inflated vocals come in, there's clearly something meticulously uncontained about them, and you get the sense that there's a lot of fun happening in the basement where the quartet who met [...]
It's a funny thing getting older at the point while you're still young. Yeah it's the big things we anticipate, like jobs and bills, and growing outside of your parents lives to form your own, but along the way there are the things that set us back because they come somewhat unexpectedly. The way people drift out of our lives, and the way we let it happen that leaves us feeling really blown by the winds of change. We get so caught up in our own hustle that people who meant so much to us at one point, [...]
Afie "Bahamas" Jurvanen was a guitar player in Feist's backing band before releasing 20112s Pink Strat . The Toronto singer-songwriter makes music that's hearty and humble, and the opening track to this year's recent Barchords is simple songwriting driven by the warmth of its guitar line. The rainbath of a song forges a context for itself with the porch swing patience of a mood and its cooing narrative that spikes up only for the line " So you wouldn't be wrong/ Being free, leaving me on my own " that sums up his reluctant acceptance of what likely lies ahead. [...]
Grizzly Bear is back with a new album this fall and the first track released off their fourth LP is the opener, "Sleeping Ute," whose intricate melody gallops right out the gate. Its scattered thunder builds to a steady roar with the packed seamlessness that the band has filled out to the brim. Sounds swirl about in a storm, observed under the safety of some covering, but when Daniel Rossen's porcelain vocals first confess " I can't help myself ," the tune melts into a lullaby that at its end feels more like a veiled apology for what must come, finally, [...]
Today marks the release of Michael Davis With Lions' first EP, Bandages . With his new band, singer-songwriter and QM favorite Michael Davis brings us a refined collection of contemplative songs about love and longing. Bandages was produced by Nik Freitas , a Californian songwriter who is known for his work with Conor Oberst's Mystic Valley Band, and as a touring member of Broken Bells. The EP features three songs from the forthcoming LP, and one non-album track, called "The Same Lines." It's available on iTunes today, so be sure to take a listen before June 23rd, when Michael Davis will [...]
We’ve all had those nights. The ones where you happen upon a kindred spirit at the bar or house party or cousin’s bar mitzvah and sneak away, talking until the sun rises, sharing your deepest thoughts and coming to profound realizations about yourself and your life with a person you barely knew half a day before. They seem beautiful and powerful when they occur, and may even culminate with a kiss or more, but as the dew descends and the twinkles subside, what lingers most is the sour film of un-brushed teeth and the ornery throb of your hungover brain. In the best cases, [...]
UK singer Jessie Ware put out a cover of Bobby Caldwell's 1978 hit "What You Won't Do For Love" that takes away some of that quiet storm shuffle for a drippier, slippier confessional at the mercy of a devotional love. With a more minimal approach that rids the tune of horns to dictate the emotion in the songwriting, Ware's I Can't Believe It's Not Butter vocals carry what would be an easy walk in the R&B park into an interesting listen that's restrained in all the right places but open-hearted enough to work even with its bare electronic context.
“Definitely the thumbtacks,” Gauntlet Hair’s lanky, wisecracking drummer Craig Nice answers without hesitation. His confident answer is met with decided skepticism from band mate Andy. “I don’t know, they might not ever come out.” “Andy, you could cut off your lower lip,” Craig offers, “you could get some great vocals like that. You’d just need a thick moustache to comb down over it.” I’m sitting with Denver based noise rock duo, now trio, Gauntlet Hair outside of a Silverlake coffee house where dark blend is referred to as Onyx. We’re across the street from [...]
Daughn Gibson released two new songs this morning from an upcoming 73 off the heels of his recent debut All Hell . The country antihero exhibits more of a sweetness among the ominous chord progression at the heart of his new releases. The melodies bend as if through the looking glass, telling the story of a man on a binge with the sudden, inverted head rush of peering down the side of an impossibly tall building. In the place between action and consequence, fractured masculinity brought about by a drug-laced introspection swirl together in unison, light and [...]
Blacksmif, aka Yemi is a young producer hailing from London. His recent release on Synchronicity was crafted with finesse and affection without resorting to well known tropes or obtuse programming. Here’s what he had to say for himself a few months ago on the current state of his scene, reaching out to wider audiences and war. On the Blake explosion… When I first heard about James Blake, I was like. You know what, there’s no reason for me to make music any more. Someone like this exists and that’s the same way [...]
The opener of DARKSIDE's wonderful EP got a video this week that looks like what your weird friends think they're doing when they go out to the desert. It follows three apocalyptic monks on a quest to find things that shine in a way that works well with Nicolas Jaar's eerily propellant and open "A13 - watch the video below.
Yeasayer put out a new song from what is the presumed follow-up to 20102s Odd Blood this week. "Henrietta" starts out with those familiar vocals in reggae adornment ( Ras Trent! ) before it shape-shifts into the ethereal refrain " Oh, Henrietta/ We can live on forever " that ends on the smoother, more meditative side of their psych-pop tendencies. Check it out below.
The Walkmen released a non-album track as the b-side to first single "Heaven" this week, and it's gorgeous. Leithauser's vocals move at a leisurely pace through inherited memories towards that damn build in the final minute that renders the last arc of the song completely afloat. The album is out May 29 on Fat Possum .
There is something about a Tallest Man On Earth morning. His first release from his upcoming There's No Leaving Now is a welcome return, like seeing an old friend after a particularly neglectful time to ground you back in place. Kristian Matsson captures the idea of constant movement like a sprawling green field that's growing and blowing, that no matter how indulgent you're feeling with how singular your life is, you have to always remember that everything around you is still moving just the same. It's this sort of big-picture wisdom that grounds much of his wandering songwriting [...]
For most females (and some males) of a certain age, the Disney Princess represents a deeply ingrained notion of ideal femininity. As little girls, we spent countless hours recreating her scenarios in our imaginations: swimming in sexy little shell bras and mutely wooing a foxy prince, escaping the confines of our enormous Arabian palace to mingle amongst violent hand-chopping common folk — only to be saved by a charming, fez-sporting street rat; taming ferocious and hairy (but ultimately gentle) man-beasts…the Everywoman list goes on. Like it or not, we internalized these stories as scripts for our own lives, and at least partially constructed our ideas of future relationships based on Disney’s [...]
New Four Tet tends to come along when I really need it. When it's a week where I need to lock into a groove, zone out from distractions, and enter into a state of pure focus. Hebden's newest release (off his Text Records) allows me to do just that. The A-Side, "Jupiters" begins with starry synth reflections before hitting home with the groove. There's a quiet after the electronic meandering, before the track finds it's path, allowing one a last chance to cut ties with the outside world. The track peaks as the beat, vocals, and synth lines [...]
Ever find yourself working late in a pizza parlor and have the strange urge to sever your finger on a pie sliced like a pentagram? While not a common urge, few of the deviant concepts in Father John Misty’s video peripherary are. Grant James’ dismal noir take at shotgun violence and brutal sacrifice finds former Fleet Foxes drummer Josh Tillman at the top of his strange game. Thanks Sub Pop. Keep the gems coming.
Whispertown is Morgan Nagler and her revolving band, whose EP Parallel came out last month. Her alternative lo-fi pop dangles its feet somewhere between the respective styles of Robyn and Jenny Lewis. "Open The Other Eye" features pouty, twee lyrics that don't take themselves too seriously around the neon bassline - it won't hurt your weekend. Catch her next week at The Bootleg with Margot and the Nuclear So and So's and Dinosaur Feathers (whoa) Wednesday, May 23. Get your tickets here .
There comes a point in May (and I think it's Cinco de Mayo) when we begin to hear summer's call, the time of year most closely associated with youthful indiscretion. It's strangely nostalgic and you have to just let it wash over you like a seasonal stage change. Josh Legg of NightWaves is based in Los Angeles so I can only assume he's named after "the best bar ever" and all-around great place to start off said misbehavior. Check out the open field track "Fifteen" featuring Australian vocalist Chela that lets you wander a bit in the past while [...]
Quit Mumbling
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros imploran por días mejores en su nueva canción
Daft Punk – Horizon (Japan Only Bonus Track)
Watch Prince’s new video for “FIXURLIFEUP”
