I first wrote about The Joy Formidable about 14 full months ago and back then I had nothing but words of praise for their clever indie rock sound. And although my words of praise haven't change, at all, I would like to change the bands I think they sound like. At fist I thought they were a bit like The Dodos mashed up with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but now I must drop those parallels and say that their full length debut reminds me a lot of a now defunct band The Anniversary. And that is a good thing. [...]
The other day my brother passed along a link to a youtube video in which Weezer plays a live cover song of both Kids by MGMT and Pokerface by Lady Gaga. I'm not entirely sure how the two songs fit together {both ideologically and musically}, but in some way Weezer makes it work. And through some clever use of the internet {thanks google} I ripped the video, extracted the audio, and now you're presented with a delicious mp3 for your consumption. mp3 : Weezer - Kids and Pokerface (MGMT and Lady Gaga Cover) [...]
Well I received this track in my inbox this morning and I'm not entirely sure what I think of it. On one hand I really liked the Kanye original because at points during the song his voice would break down like he was literally reliving the heartbreak. On the other hand I didn't really love the Kanye original because of the fact that, at least in my mind, Kanye should stick to what he does best, that being gallivanting around as a rap master, and leave the singing to the pretty boys. And speaking of pretty boys, here we have [...]
I'm not quite sure where I first heard Gareth's cover of the now classic MGMT track Time To Pretend, but I stumbled upon it yet again today and I thought I would share it with anyone out there that has yet to hear it. The first time through the song I kept waiting for a voice to start singing, I almost needed to hear the lyrics. A strange thing happened to me though, the more I've heard this song since then the more I think it sounds just right without any lyrics whatsoever. mp3 : Gareth Pearson [...]
Regina Spektor has a new album, entitled Far ( amazon ), that is set to be released in a few weeks on June 23. Leading up to that date Regina has gone on a small publicity push that has included dropping the first single, the haunting and somewhat melancholic Laughing With, onto her myspace page. I personally enjoy this track a lot. It's lyrically clever, the melody is haunting and fits Regina's voice perfectly, and overall the song is slightly depressing. Basically Regina has taken the matrix by which I measure a track and applied it [...]
We Plants Are Happy Plants has deemed us worthy of a new track from a forthcoming album entitled Twilight of The Dawn. The track is entitled Apollo. Now whether or not he is referencing the Greek god, the Apollo series of space flights taken by NASA, or Battlestar Galactica is up for interpretation. Regardless of actual reference the common thread between those three possibilities and the track itself is this; they are all out of this world. Literally. mp3 : We Plants Are Happy Plants - Apollo The opening dialogue in the track [...]
I'm not entirely sure about his choice of press photos {is that a wink? is there something in his eye? is it really dusty in Sweden? does blue plastic wrap prevent communicable diseases like swine flu?}, but his choice in making music is top notch. Magnus Sätterstrom, also known as Little Big Adventure, will be releasing his debut EP on May 13th but I thought this song was good enough to pass along before the street date. mp3 : Little Big Adventure - Happiest Times Magnus has found his publishing home with [...]
So a few weeks after I wrote a rambling letter imploring Sufjan Stevens to return to his fans and release a new album he has sorta, kinda, maybe responded by teasing us a little bit. On his blog {which is really just a slice of his label's website, Asthmatic Kitty}, he occaisionally drops a stream of consciousness post about his past. On August 24th he talked about his name , how he tried to change it when he was young, and how as an undergrad at university he wrote an entire album about names. Apparently the other day he [...]
Michael Grubbs sat down and recorded a five song EP, The War Sweater, which will be released on May 18th of this year. It's a solid five songs and he has some talented individuals backing him up with instrumental sections that really fill up this piano mans sound {most notably Kelly Pratt, Maxim Moston, and Julia Kent}. Here's a sample of what you can expect on the EP when it officially hits stores in a few weeks. mp3 : Wakey!Wakey! - LGA mp3 : Wakey!Wakey! - [...]
Yes, I am just that fortunate. A few weeks ago, when I was down in Indy to catch a brilliant set played by White Lies, I also was able to enjoy a set by indie dance rock darlings Friendly Fires. And let me say this; if all you've ever done is hear the studio album by these three gents then you have yet to scratch the surface of Friendly Fires' entertainment value. Seriously, these kids know how to have a good time in a live venue. Their energy was contagious. mp3 : Friendly Fires - Paris [...]
A little over a week ago I had the good fortune of catching the international tour of a great band out of the UK. White Lies played a strong set at a gem of a venue in Indy called Radio Radio. The tickets were cheap, the booze was way overpriced, and the music was pretty much amazing. White Lies was the second band to take the stage and to sum up their performance in as glib a way as possible I would say that they sound like the Killers mashed up with Muse with The Strokes sprinkled over top of [...]
Dear Sufjan Stevens, Every single day that I am at work I find a way to listen to music. Some days I find myself drifting along to whatever John Richards of KEXP has to offer, other days I browse random websites, myspace pages, and other forms of online media like youtube, and on a few days each month I dive into old albums and songs that I've always loved. I love music and I love to hear random tracks, brilliant live covers, and new music from artists that I genuinely appreciate. Today at work I received [...]
There are a lot of adjectives I could use to describe The Grates album Teeth Lost Hearts Won ( amazon ) ( itunes ). I think that list would start with awesome, then add reminiscent, familiar, exploratory, expansive, fun, danceable, loveable, laughable, joyous, classic, power pop, and come back at last to awesome. It really is a solid effort. In fact the only reservation I have about this album is that it hails from Australia and the ladies and lad don't have any plans, yet, to tour my neck of the world {although I live in the Mid [...]
It's not often that a song makes it directly from my email inbox onto a post in one day, but occasionally a song drifts along and forces me to pass it on. This morning I got a cover of the Killers track When You Were Young as it is reinterpreted by the Noisettes in an in studio live performance across the pond in the UK. I edited the track a bit so all you get is the music {not the intro and outro} and I put it into stereo as I always think it sounds a bit better than when [...]
The boys behind Lonely Island; Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, are brilliant. There, I said it. They're quite honestly the best part of SNL in the current season {probably the best parts ever since Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon left the show} and it amazes me how they somehow convince big stars across the board to partner up for a quick song and accompanying music video in the form of a SNL Digital Short. To round out their tour of all that is awesome earlier this year the boys behind The Lonely Island decided to put together a [...]
For some reason track seven from Arcade Fire's first album, 2004's Funeral ( amazon ) ( itunes ), has been stuck in my head for almost a month now. From the repeated and chanted chorus of "ohhh" to the story Win Butler weaves throughout the song I just can't seem to get it out of my thoughts. So I thought I'd troll the interwebs and find a few various versions of this track to cheer everyone up in what has become a bit of a rough stretch for the world. mp3 : Arcade Fire - [...]
There are some artists that just grab your attention and never let it go no matter what new bands or new albums come along to steal your short term attention. Zach Williams is one of those artists. I first became hip to his sound when he was living in Florida, playing under the moniker Zach Williams and The Ramparts, and only had a few tracks available on his myspace page. Well today I stumbled upon a few of the tracks that I first learned to love about two years ago and I thought I would put them up for everyone [...]
The other day I wrote a bit about French Canadien artist Coeur de Pirate and claimed that she was a bit like all the good parts you love about Regina Spektor minus all the annoying songs you don't appreciate quite as much. Well that got me thinking about another artist that I would file under the same heading. Bosque Brown's latest album Baby ( amazon ) is full of songs that may, at times, reference the trademark sound of artists such as Coeur de Pirate and Regina Spektor, but there is another layer to front woman Mara Lee [...]
Due to an awesome comment left a few days ago here at TWF I have had the pleasure of being introduced to a great artist. Coeur de Pirate may sing in a language I understand very little of but her music is quite universal. To be honest I think the self titled album Coeur de Pirate is better than a lot of debut eponymous albums I've heard to date. If I was forced to offer up a glib little review this is all I have to say. Take your favorite parts of the Regina Spektor cannon {leaving out all the [...]
Dear Matt and Kim, I feel compelled to write you a brief and open letter here on the internet. If I could, I would travel back in time and leave this note tucked somewhere amongst your high school yearbooks, but alas we did not attend the same school {and time travel is impossible}, so this meager slice of the web will have to suffice. Never change. Stay the same forever. Keep making music that's as good or better than your latest album Grand ( amazon ) ( itunes ). It sounds like eight bit Nintendo soundtracks [...]
The World Forgot
Bison - Quill
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Shinichi Osawa – Big Beach Mix 2012
