MP3: Night Beds - "Ramona" Night Beds, the solo project of 23-year-old Winston Yellen, turned heads in September when he signed to Dead Oceans and released the stunning " Even If We Try ". With that, listeners were treated to Yellen's soaring and operatic vocals, there complemented by entrancing strings and ghostly wordless croons. When news came that it was the first track he wrote, at age 18 nonetheless, it probably made a bunch of aspiring songwriters in their 20s and 30s feel rather hopeless. It projected the sort of beauty that veteran [...]
The Vow write chirpily upbeat power-pop songs like it's their second nature. Few show this talent better than "A Walk in the Sunshine", a breezily joyous effort led by jangly guitars and twinkling keys. "No one can take what is already mine, out of my place in the sunshine," sings lead songwriter/vocalist Graham Trust during the sparkling chorus. The melodically capable Trust seems to have inherited his musical chops from his father Eric, a noted organist and choirmaster at St. Mary's church choir in Grassendale, Liverpool. Always a fan of pop groups like The Beach Boys and The Monkees, Trust credits [...]
Longings , the new EP from hypnotic R&B-electro producer Jogging House, was released just a few hours on Bandcamp - where you can download the album at a price of your choosing. The man behind Jogging House, Boris Potschubay, clarified his project's unique name in an interview : "[It] comes from the German word for sweatpants “Jogging Hose”, which is what I’m wearing mostly while making music. I just added an “u” to make it sound more international and leave some room for interpretation." Loose-fitting sweatpants seem like proper attire for his sample-laden mixture of R&B and electro-pop, steeped [...]
The rootsy folk-pop of Boston-based We Avalanche is led by guitar, mandolin, and cello. Each member of the trio specializes in one, and on their debut album, Time Travels , their chemistry is evident and fruitful. Released just last week, the album boasts an impressive collection of sounds. Brady Custis' vocals are similar to Elliott Smith's, haunting and ethereal despite occasionally muted angst. His range is silky-smooth, and his ability to hold a note pays great dividends on lush efforts like "Multiverse" and "One Day Soon", the former a stripped-down folk whisper and the latter a string-induced flash of darkness. Some [...]
Brooklyn-based digital label Prison Art Tapes released an enjoyable lo-fi pop split from Celestial Shore and Shopping Spree, both fans of concise yet expressive "avant-pop". Shopping Spree play more on swirling psychedelia, through clumsy synth bleeps and choppy percussion that help guide varying vocal layers - many of them cartoonish and exaggerated in pitch, similar to Super Furry Animals and Ariel Pink's barest works. " Eye Bridges " shows their halted approach, where trickling minimalist guitars abruptly transition to bursts of noise and vocal harmonizing. Celestial Shore, while abiding to a similar psych-pop scope, are more polished in their approach. The [...]
boerd is the alias of Swedish producer Bård Ericson, a classically trained double bassist dabbling in atmospheric electronica, jazz, and klezmer music. Exciting new track "Zombies Part I" is certainly of the electronica element, as warbled keys extend into glisterning synth pads, underwater sound effects, and Ellen Arkbro's ethereal vocal harmonies. The final two minutes presents a drone-friendly meshing of piano arpeggios and sonorous ambiance, while everything prior maintains a bubbly pop appeal despite its ambitious leanings. Ericson started writing electronic songs in 2005, when he was only 14. He used a program called Little Sound Dj, a tool for Game [...]
#50 to #41 // #40 to #31 // #30 to #21 // #20 to #11 // #10 to #1 ------------------------------ ------------ 10. First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar With The Lion's Roar , Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg take the jump from relative obscurity to deserved acclaim. Their reputation has grown steadily since their 2008 cover of Fleet Foxes' "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song", which aided the critical recognition of 2010 debut The Big Black & The [...]
#50 to #41 // #40 to #31 // #30 to #21 // #20 to #11 // #10 to #1 ------------------------------ ------------ 20. Dent May - Do Things Formerly known for ukulele-led material, Dent May traded the uke in for some vintage synths and a drum machine on Do Things , his second full-length on Paw Tracks. One of the album's standouts, “Best Friend”, is a disco-tinged burst of revivalism, with a touch of Brit-pop recalling the big-personality variety of Pulp and Squeeze. [...]
#50 to #41 // #40 to #31 // #30 to #21 // #20 to #11 // #10 to #1 ------------------------------ ------------ 30. Scott Walker - Bish Bosch Scott Walker's early days with The Walker Brothers were marked by beautifully orchestrated pop songs like " Make It Easy On Yourself ". When his remarkable solo career kicked off in 1967 with Scott , it initially showed very much of the same. But with each successive release, his music became darker, the themes heavier, and [...]
#50 to #41 // #40 to #31 // #30 to #21 // #20 to #11 // #10 to #1 ------------------------------ ------------ 40. Caspian - Waking Season Caspain were one of many groups to form in the wake of early '00s post-rock successes like Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and EITS, who proved to many aspiring rock groups that indulging in epic songwriting tendencies was neither inaccessible, nor over-indulgent. Not having to find a singer to achieve wide appeal was another plus. Unlike many other admirable [...]
What a great year this has been for music. Here's what I thought were the best 50 albums of 2012. As usual, enjoy streaming highlights from every album after its write-up. And to clarify: this is NOT a listing of the best obscure albums. This is a listing of the best albums released this year, regardless of their popularity. I hope you enjoy it. Expect running updates throughout the week as the list gradually becomes completed. ------------------------------ ------------ 50. Chris Cohen - Overgrown Path Los [...]
Before kicking off our Best Albums of 2012 feature, here's a compilation of artists that made November one to remember. Since this will be the last of these compilations published in 2012, I must remind readers that ALL our compilations are accessible here . There you can download every Obscure Sound compilation in existence, spanning from March 2007 to November 2012. People often ask why we don't do a Best Songs feature at the end of every year. While that may occur in the future, I find the compilation archives to be more efficient. Hundreds of [...]
Bell Gardens is led by songwriters Kenneth James Gibson and Brian McBride, who is half of ambient-classical duo Stars of the Lid. Their knack for beautifully organic songwriting carries onto Bell Gardens, but that's not to say it sounds entirely like Stars of the Lid. Gibson's vast and stylistically multifarious experience as a songwriter and producer helps make Bell Gardens' new album, Full Sundown Assembly , an entirely unique experience. Gibson's career has touched everywhere from energetic noise-rock of the '90s (Furry Things) to minimalist techno ( [a]pendics.shuffle ). Bell Gardens is perhaps the most accessible [...]
The sibling duo of Richard and Cecilia Daskas produce experimental electro-pop with lively and atmospheric textures, comparable to the most expansive works of Autre Ne Veut and Patrick Wolf. "Quake" is a highlight off their debut album Henri , which Richard and Cecilia have been working on since the summer. "From caverns and jungles," Richard repeats over hazy synth twinkles, string-like staccatos, and a bass line that cleverly weaves in and out of the lead. A chirping, nocturnal ambiance takes over the track's middle, as hushed voices form indiscernible words. When the staccatos and twinkling key leads return, it signals a [...]
Los Angeles native Chris Cohen is no stranger to variety in several forms. He retreated from the hectic LA buzz to rural Vermont farmlands, in the midst of a career that includes work with Deerhoof, Haunted Graffiti, and Cass McCombs. The latter artist is an apt comparison to Cohen's sound, a sprawling emotional presentation steeped in elements of hypnotic psych-rock and brooding folk. Like much of McCombs' work, Cohen's applies gentle tones and caressing vocals throughout, resulting in a very serene listening experience despite the abundance of ideas and transitions. Cohen's voice is creaky and subdued, but the shifts from monotone to sonorous [...]
MP3: Heaven's Gateway Drugs - "Highway Hypnosis" Psych-rockers Heaven's Gateway Drugs describe their native Fort Wayne, Indiana as rampant with "churches and strip clubs", a stark contrast if there ever was one. Such a jumbled co-existence is nowhere to be found in the group's music, though. Their love shows are no different, as a typical performance "flows outward through liquid light projection, burning incense, and the inclusive mantra 'You are Heaven’s Gateway Drugs.'" Whatever that means, this is some heady stuff. Their new five-track release, CPF Cassette , features a lot to love, but two standouts [...]
I apologize for the hiatus. The holiday, long-distance travel, and non-OS work tended to get in the way. But what better way to come back than to a new Memory Tapes album? I've enjoyed frontman Dayve Hawk's work since 2007, when I featured his disco-friendly Hail Social project. He remains a highly infectious and varied songwriter with Memory Tapes, where he has produced his best and most expansive works to date. Last year's Player Piano is highly recommended, in particular. Electronic pop with rock and funk influences indicate Memory Tapes' primary sound, with Hawk's disco [...]
Josh Cohen cites My Bloody Valentine, Portishead, and Brian Jonestown Massacre as some of his biggest influences. Under the name Blind Moon, he creates a sound steeped in dream-pop and shoegaze, with hypnotic methods of production he compares to the feeling of "dizziness." The artist does a great job of describing his work: "The songs are based around a wall of sound which comes from crazy amounts of guitar tracks being layered on top of each other," Cohen says. "Another extremely important part of my music is the layered, delayed, and washed-out vocals. All of what has often been described [...]
If there's one thing to ask of Emotional's Brian Wakefield, it would be to turn down his effects on some tracks. That is not exactly a criticism; I just find Wakefield's beautiful songwriting stunning enough to prevail without heavy reverb and other psych-rock effects. His new album, Feeling , is an echo-laden presentation of his dream-pop and space-rock tendencies, with flashes of garage-rock on more aggressive guitar tracks like "I Hate the Sun" and "The One That Got Away". It's a lofty sound for such a DIY project, but Wakefield's knack for vintage-sounding production hits home, even if the [...]
It's incredibly easy to get lost in Psychasthenia , the new album from Dutch producer/beatmaker J'lectroniq. His chilled-out electronica may help lull listeners to sleep with its lush soundscape, but not because it's dull or contrived. J'lectroniq's has blended his experienced hip-hop pedigree with refined uses of IDM, ambient, and dubstep. Slowed-down vocals, similar to the work of Burial and Silky Johnson , are a notable factor in the album's crawling and hypnotic approach. The album's enjoyable placidity is often awash in lush and effervescent synth pads, gradually complemented by gently pounding bass and soft percussive trickles. Other instrumental additions have notable [...]
Obscure Sound
Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull 'Live It Up': video ufficiale e testo
The National – Graceless
What is this?
Phoenix - Entertainment (Robotaki Remix)(Free Download)
