The third installment of my "Unheard Of" column is up at In Review Online. As usual, it features some artists I've already covered along with some I haven't. I'll post some links below, but for the full article and free songs , check out the full thing HERE. Will Stratton - "...over the course of two records - particularly No Wonder - he's demonstrated a steadily increasing level of maturity and brought greater depth to his songwriting" [...]
I apologize for my online absence - but there's some good stuff coming - I promise. That includes this selection of three noteworthy new artists of course: Sleep Whale - After a beautiful debut EP and an equally strong full-length both released this year, it was clear to me that Sleep Whale (originally known as Mom) were a band worthy of mention here. The (almost) entirely instrumental Little Brite EP (first released in 07) showed a band that could build gorgeous soundscapes [...]
Bobby Birdman - My introduction to Bobby Birdman came just recently with the release of his new album, New Moods, but he's been around off and on for eight or so years now, continually under the radar. The recently released record, which promises to be his "most complete musical effort to date," is an intriguing combination of bedroom electronica and freak-folk with traces of R&B throw into the mix. His laid-back vocal vibe often contrasts the fact that there's quite a bit going on with these [...]
In New York City, Dirty Projectors are set to play at Lincoln Center and the Bowery Ballroom. In Los Angeles, it's the Walt Disney Concert Hall. But here in Salt Lake City, Utah, it's the humble little joint called In the Venue that they're to perform at. To call this somewhat dingy club nondescript would be generous; still, I've seen some fantastic performances here (including Fleet Foxes last year), and expect this one to be no different. Arriving at what I've come to refer to as "concert standard time" (about a half hour after the show's 7 p.m. opening), I [...]
It was all too easy to miss Will Stratton in 2007, as I found recently. I hadn't heard a thing about the guy before a couple weeks ago when I had the opportunity to listen to his superb sophomore effort - No Wonder . Being impressed, I tracked down his 07 debut - What the Night Said (which was - astonishingly - recorded just after his senior year in high school) - and then wondered why much more hadn't been said about this talented singer/songwriter over the past couple years. It's easy to name-drop just about everyone [...]
Chances are you don't need a Weezer history lesson and providing one here would be particularly pointless, as there's really no need to create any kind of context in reviewing the band's latest album, Raditude . One look at that flying dog and cheesy, lightning-style font on the cover can give you as good an idea as anything else as to what you can expect from this seventh effort by Rivers Cuomo and company, who have consistently baffled and too often underwhelmed fans and critics over the past ten years or so. It seems Cuomo wouldn't have it any [...]
Just this year, Devendra Banhart signed to a major label (Warner Bros.). It took seven years promoting himself on independents for this to happen, but the feat is nonetheless impressive considering the nature of the artist's peculiar brand of folk music. Granted, the eccentric songwriter's oddness rarely detracts from his ability to create charming and melodic songs, and his appeal isn't difficult to hear, but Banhart's off-kilter style and frequently over-the-top artistic choices (2005's Cripple Crow is 22 songs long and clocks in at 74 minutes) make him seem an unlikely candidate for crossing over to the mainstream. [...]
Few bands have managed to create as many accomplished and acclaimed albums with as little reinvention as The Clientele. Since 2000's compilation Suburban Light (an exquisite collection of the band's early singles), the London-based quartet have remained remarkably true to their sound, never straying from the hazy, reverb-drenched 60s-esque pop style that has enamored so many, myself included. There have been minor changes to the group's approach throughout the past ten years, and an in-depth analysis of each album reveals a subtle, methodical evolution (more instruments, higher production values, etc.), but these changes are understated enough as to [...]
LAKE - There's no shortage of boy/girl indie-pop bands. In fact, there's been such a saturation that recently that description is more likely to make me wary than excited. Still, some groups manage to rise above what have now become cliched aspects of a somewhat tired genre - LAKE is one of those bands. Led by singer/songwriters Eli Moore and Ashley Eriksson, LAKE has released a stunning new album entitled Let's Build a Roof , a sophisticated - yet melodic - set of intriguing pop songs. The tracks utilize various instrumental approaches while Moore and [...]
Here's a playlist of some albums/songs from 2009 that aren't explicitly Halloween-themed, but would probably be appropriate for an eerie mix for the more indie-minded. There's a few free downloads in there and links to hear the rest. Happy Halloween! Artist: AFI Song: End Transmission Album: Crash Love It's AFI - so you know it's gonna be at least a little creepy. "End Transmission" is my favorite off their new album. Listen on YouTube Artist: Antlers Song: Epilogue Album: [...]
Capybara - Earlier this year, Capybara self-released their excellent debut album - Try Brother - and are now planning on a proper release next week on indie label The Record Machine. Hopefully that means more exposure for the band, whose music deserves any attention it receives. Freak-folk might be an appropriate label for the Kansas City group, but they rest on the softer, more melodic side of the genre. Their lo-fi approach - utilizing guitars, banjos, and various percussion - gives their songs a charmingly rustic sound, but its the songwriting that truly shines [...]
Alex Brown Church, the singer/songwriter behind Sea Wolf, is wise as to the timing of his album releases. 2007's impressive debut - Leaves in the River - dropped in September and was a perfect fit to the fall season, with a broad stylistic range of folk songs that conjured both the last sighs of summer and the eerie approach of winter, using everything from acoustic guitars to accordions to digital percussion. And Church's voice - an unassuming, earthy tenor - just amplified the autumn-ness of the music as he delivered stories with titles like "Black Leaf Falls" and [...]
Spring Tigers - Learning that upcoming pop-rock band Spring Tigers hail from Athens, Georgia, I was initially a bit confused. Though there's no shortage of U.S. bands seeking to mimic Brit-pop artists even down to their charming accents, Spring Tigers really seemed distinctly and genuinely British. The mystery was solved when I found that singer/songwriter/guitarist Kris Barratt is - in fact - the real deal, though he's spent some time now in the States, where he met the rest of the band that would become Spring Tigers. The band's self-titled debut EP (or mini-LP, [...]
For Bradford Cox (known primarily as the frontman for indie heavyweights Deerhunter), albums released under his solo moniker, Atlas Sound, are clearly labors of love. When early versions of the songs that would eventually make up his new album, Logos , accidentally made their way onto his blog (he was, unfortunately, the one responsible), Bradford was so upset he nearly scrapped the entire project. For a man who routinely offers free tunes of all sorts on that same blog, this may have seemed like an overreaction, but it's obvious that Cox intended for his sophomore solo effort to be [...]
The second installment for the "Unheard Of" feature I'm doing for In Review Online just went up! There are some bands I've featured before on Chewing Gum for the Ears, and a couple new ones - so check it out! I'll post a shorter version of the feature below, but visit In Review for the full thing - including some free music! Full article: Unheard Of #2 Featured Artists : fun. - Recent Release: Aim and Ignite [...]
Old Canes - Chris Crisci, frontman of the Appleseed Cast, is the driving force behind Old Canes - the indie rock band that released their sophomore effort just this week. Feral Harmonic is a noisy blast of folk rock that contrasts that more electric style of Crisci's other project, with the band members using acoustic guitars, drums and all sorts of percussion along with their leader's rough tenor voice. It's a raw and energetic album packed with noisy hooks and bright melodies, usually hitting hard and quick with the 12 songs coming in [...]
Maybe this should read last week at In Review Online, but these review just got posted recently and I think we've got a good haul for you. My Monsters of Folk review I've already posted, but here's the full list: Flaming Lips - Embryonic ( by Yorgo Douramacos) 3.5 Stars (of 4) "If all you think of in connection [...]
Portland dance-rock band Hockey may be new to the scene, but they've already covered quite a bit of ground. They've toured on either side of the Atlantic, appearing on both the Jools Holland show and Jimmy Fallon, and created all sorts of well-deserved buzz on early singles like the infectious "Too Fake." After hearing a few tunes from the band, I was excited to get my hands on a copy of their debut album - Mind Chaos - which was recently released and mostly delivers on the sizable amount of hype with a healthy dose of both understated [...]
If the word "supergroup" makes you uncomfortable, you're not alone—that term has all too often created false hope for bands that should by definition be excellent but almost never fulfill those high expectations. But as jaded as you may be, it's impossible not to be intrigued by the idea of folk superstars Jim James, Conor Oberst and M. Ward, together with Bright Eyes member and producer Mike Mogis, teaming up to release a collaborative album. And really, Monsters of Folk, or MOF (as it is frequently abbreviated), would probably only qualify themselves as a supergroup with the same kind of [...]
Enjoy an unintentionally B-themed Three for... with lots of free music! The Blakes - Garage rockers The Blakes have returned with another helping of DIY rock 'n' roll on what is their second widely-available album, Souvenir , though the Seattle trio have been steadily recording music since their formation in 2001. The new record doesn't really expand much on the band's simple guitar-rock formula, but what they lack in invention they make up for in hook-filled, pop-rock songs with rough, unrefined edges that are [...]
‘09 Been Kind
WKND PLYLST!! This has nothing to do with NEW MOON!
Vampire Weekend - Cousins
HOT CHIP TAKE another crack at IT and I’m IN
