Some new stuff from Greylag has me hitting repeat, so after a long lull here at Vocal Nerd Rodeo I thought I'd share. The Portland, OR outfit has their debut EP, The Only Way to Kill You , set to drop this May, and based on this single, entitled "Black Crow", I'd say we have some potential here. If I had to compare, I would do so to Local Natives. There are a lot of similarities, the most noticeable of which are the rolling drums and floating harmonies. Thankfully, it doesn't feel like a Natives rip-off...Greylag seems [...]
Do you have to understand the lyrics of a song to like the music? If you're not sure, listen to this not-so-new track from Mali's Amadou & Mariam entitled "Sabali" and get back to me. This song actually landed the duo on Pitchfork's Top 100 tracks of 2008, so it's not really breaking news. BUT, I heard the tune on The Current this morning and had no choice but to stop what I was doing (I was working, so any excuse is a good one) and give my full attention to the words I [...]
This track is not breaking news. I didn't rush to my computer after getting a PR email with the hopes of being the first schmuck to get it on the Hype Machine. In fact, I'll never do that...why? Because I don't give a shit. If you have any questions, please refer to the graphic in the sidebar to your right. The reason I'm posting this track now is because I heard it for the first time in a few months, and it fit. Personally, I'd argue that the 5 tracks making up The Years EP fit [...]
Got the heads up from Vagrant Records that School of Seven Bells had just released a new track from their upcoming album, Ghostory (2/28), entitled "Lafaye". This is certainly one of the best tracks I've heard over the past few weeks and it gives me high hopes for the album. This particular track will be available as a single on all the standard interweb platforms on 1/17 so if you dig it, you know what to do...in the meantime, enjoy! School of Seven Bells [...]
Brother-sister duo Blondfire (Bruce and Erica Driscoll) shot me a brand new track entitled "Walking With Giants", and it was just oh-so-tasty...had to post it right away so you could share in my joy. The dreamy beats and groovy bass-line are sure to give your weekend a little kick in the ass, so get out there young buck...the world awaits! Learn more about Blondfire here , and be sure to do that thing that people place too much importance on over at the Facebook ... Walking With Giants by [...]
Been loving this cover from Motion City Soundrack ...lately it's gotten a lot of play on my web-streamed radio station of choice, The Current , so I figured I'd share it out. The Current, Motion City Soundtrack and Trampled By Turtles have the common bond of Minnesota, and maybe it's just more apparent because of the fact that I randomly listen to a Minneapolis Public Radio station, but it seems MN artists have a strange tradition of covering each-other's music. Regardless, this track rocks and I hope you dig it as much as I [...]
Just a quick remix for you folks. Drake's "Crew Love ft. The Weekend" has been getting a lot of remix love since the release of Take Care . A nice one landed in my inbox, so I figured I'd break VNR tradition and throw up some re-imagined hip hop. This mix comes from Mark Kill out of LA...hope it helps you push through the rest of this post-holiday week. Downloads are enabled, so feel free to head over to SoundCloud to grab the mp3. Drake ft The [...]
Whoa...two posts back-to-back! Must be your birthday. Yet another great (and FREE) Active Child remix landed on my lap, so I figured I might as well share the wealth. Downloads are enabled...enjoy! Active Child - High Priestess (CFCF Remix) by Vagrant Records
Just wanted to share this poppy little indie-folk tune from the land of fire & ice. Of Monsters and Men is six folks, all of whom have names the I couldn't even begin to pronounce, and the track below entitled "Little Talks" can be found on band's Into the Woods EP (streaming here ). Looks like they have a tour and a full-length release planned for 2012, so expect to hear much more from Of Monsters and Men. In the meantime, why don't you bob your head to "Little Talks"... [...]
J-Live , all three of him, somewhat recently dropped a big ol' album called S.P.T.A. Said Person of That Ability that deserves a good listen. I don't listen to much Hip Hop, but as with most things if it's not shitty there's a good chance it'll be good (profound, I know). The man is crazy talented. If you need proof of that, just go here , stream the album, and then consider the fact that J-Live is behind the lyrics, the scratching and the production. Throughout the album, these three versions of this one man actually [...]
Jagwar Ma has a fairly new video for their single "Come Save Me", and it's a little slice of retro that I just had to share. Learn more about the Aussie band by following their Facebookings , and stream some tunes right over here . Keep your ears open, as you're sure to hear more from Jagwar Ma in the early months of 2012...
Singer-songwriter turned (mostly) pop-artist Matt Lowell released a little 4-track EP this past summer entitled Drop Your Guns , and about (well, exactly) half of it is well worth your time. I discovered the music after Paper Garden Records posted the titled track to their Lovely Hearts Club blog...after which I had a listen to the whole EP right over here . The first 2 tracks, "Calling" & "Drop Your Guns", are just incredible. They'll grab you for entirely different reasons, which is quite refreshing when exploring [...]
Did you notice? VNR is all pimped out for the Holidays. Thought I'd go ahead and post just a few indie Christmas tunes that I enjoy...not necessarily new, but who cares right? VNR is about the music, not scrambling to be the first snob to get a post up about what's his name's new jam (featuring whoever the hell that guy is). So without further delay...go git you some Christmas, VNR style! PS - If you like what you hear, let me know by using the reaction buttons at the bottom... [...]
As you can see, it's snowing...and it's not supposed to stop anytime soon. Don't really have much to say, I just wanted to share the perfect soundtrack to a snowy evening. Oliver Tank is a young musician out of Sydney and he offers an entire synth-filled EP ( Dreams ... Yes Please Records ) as a name-your-own-price download right over here . Need to relax? Holiday stress can be a bitch...throw on some fancy headphones, find a couch and enjoy some smooth, dreamy sounds from down under. Here's a track entitled "Last Night I Heard [...]
For those of you still out there working, trying to push through the last few days before a holiday weekend (or if you're like me, a holiday week) this post is for you. If you haven't yet figured it out, some solid, driving (mostly) instrumental music is just the ticket when you're behind on those TPS reports and Lumbergh is breathing down your neck. Lately, Tycho has been my go-to but today, let's try something different. Strawberry Girls is four guys out of Cali, and we can go ahead and credit Mr. Brandon Whalen [...]
That's right...I said "Hip Hop Inspired Country Western". Now let's be honest, that doesn't exist, but it's exactly how Boss and Rand ( Stop the Buck Records ) describe their genre of tunes. While I won't go rushing to add that as a VNR category, I suppose I can see the Seattle duo's point. Twangy guitars laying down riffs that would be perfectly comfortable as the opening to an episode of The Lone Ranger give way to heavy beats, Castanets and tongue-rolls. What, you ask, does all that mean? Hip Hop Inspired Country Western...that's what [...]
After recently moving back to Denver from Chicago, there are a couple of things I immediately missed: the L (not the smelly thing itself, just the convenience), Mazarad the doorman, Cricket & Corky (you wouldn't understand)...and of course, Schubas . Some good memories of that joint, including but not limited to my buddy telling the Deep Dark Woods that, after seeing them play, he was going to buy a casino (the guitar)...which was followed by a strange conversation, as they assumed he meant a place of gambling. Anyway, one of my favorite bands to see [...]
No better music for enjoying a sunny weekend in Colorado than John Denver. I happened to come across this Youth Lagoon cover of "Goodbye Again" over at Brooklyn Vegan and though I'd share. Definitely an interesting combo, but somehow it seems to work just fine. The Soundcloud embed from BV below is downloadable, so please feel free to grab it. Happy weekend... Youth Lagoon - Goodbye Again (John Denver Cover) by brooklynvegan
News flash: There's a lot of great music in Brooklyn. If you need proof, just follow the work and the blog of Paper Garden Records . My latest Brooklyn find (well, they found me) is a four-piece by the name of Teletextile . Their Reflector EP is a simple 5 tracks, 4 if you don't count the intro, but it's a really great listen. Personally, I love a band that can get away will using all kinds of instruments without the tracks sounding like a train wreck. Teletextile has no problem [...]
Friday eve (well, almost) deserves some upbeat synth-pop, don't you think? You won't find much music from this Aussie duo floating around the web...actually, this is about it. Look out for an EP from Colour Coding coming soon ( Cosine Records , NYC). Until then, this wicked catchy track will have to suffice. If you have a thing for 35MB files, you can head over here to download the WAV. Perfect by ColourCoding
vocal nerd rodeo
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