Few records have instantaneously reeled me in like the fiery, sharp-cutting power-pop of Gentleman Jesse's 2008 debut, the cover of which appropriately paid homage to Elvis Costello's This Year's Model . Songs like "All I Need Tonight (Is You)" and "The Rest of My Days" had touches of everyone from The Exploding Hearts to Paul Collins, all wrapped in Jesse's distinctive musical personality: lyrically playful, rhythmically driven, and overflowing with fearsome and addictive pop hooks. Jesse's been quiet of late. He released two 7"s in 2010, but now it appears we're finally getting [...]
Thanks to a tip from the always tasteful Gentleman Jesse, I've recently been listening nonstop to the punk-glazed power-pop offerings of Indiana trio The Happy Thoughts. The band put out its debut LP via Hozac Records last spring and it's difficult to put into words just how fun, addictive, and charming these songs are. Sprinkling a bit of punk grime over late 50s and early 60s rock 'n' roll staples like Ritchie Valens, The Bobby Fuller Four, and Buddy Holly, The Happy Thoughts have created a crisp and unapologetically cheerful summertime record colored with frisky beats, handclaps, and sharp sing-along [...]
Longtime Everybody Taste favorites Luna have digitally remastered and released the LPs Romantica, Rendezvous and the 2002 EP Close Cover Before Striking over on Bandcamp . Word on the street is the band may even try and repress a few of these classic records onto vinyl (we've got our fingers crossed over here). If you're a fan of the band's dreamy and mesmerizing pop music, former bandmates Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips have also been keeping busy as the duo Dean & Britta with the acclaimed and spectacular 13 Most Beautiful: Songs [...]
Los Angles shredder and songwriter extraordinaire Blake Mills—whose 2010 record Break Mirrors inspired the creation of our own Analog imprint—has been keeping busy touring with and opening for Lucinda Williams, playing shows with his former bandmates in Dawes, and recording a few exceptionally sharp covers with fellow musician (and girlfriend) Danielle Haim . Over on Mills' new website , you can snag an ace rendition of The Beatles' "Come Together," which features some killer guitar and percussive work by the pair. For Amnesty International's Chimes of Freedom compilation—which features 76 Bob Dylan [...]
New Paltz, New York's Breakfast In Fur —a member of our own Analog Edition family—released a brand new track yesterday as part of the Sunchoke collective's Winter Warmer compilation. The song, "House," is a blissfully fun sing-along colored with irresistible group-sung harmonies, bursts of homemade synthesizers, and a wonderfully light and swinging guitar line. All together, it's the perfect warming antidote for a cold winter night. Download the entire 17-track comp for free over on Sunchoke's Bandcamp . Breakfast In Fur - "House" [...]
Let me start by saying nothing in 2011 has come close to the affection I still have for my two favorite records of 2010: The Walkmen's masterful Lisbon and Blake Mills' so-good-why-the-fuck-haven't-y ou-listened-to-it-yet Break Mirrors . But that's not to say 2011 hasn't been a great year in music. In fact, I don't think I've ever discovered so many favorite new bands (Natural Child, Stone Darling, Breakfast In Fur, Marisa Anderson, Mikal Cronin, Bare Wires, Future Islands, Braids, etc.) in a single year. The internet has created so many minute niches catered by small communities, micro DIY labels, [...]
Dear My Morning Jacket: Let's be friends again. You're one of my favorite bands of all time. You're one of the—if not thee—best live bands in the world. Remember in 2003 when I saw you for the first time? I'd taken too many drugs and was confused why vikings were at Bonnaroo. Or in 2009, again at Bonnaroo, when you put on the best (and longest) show I've ever seen? But I need to be honest, Circuital wasn't a perfect record. In fact, it was kind of boring. I've seen you play countless times, own [...]
50. Yelle - "Safari Disco Club" 49. Body Language - "Social Studies" 48. Bleached - "Searching Through The Past" 47. Craft Spells - "After The Moment" 46. Future Islands - "Crish (Javelin Remixxx)" 45. [...]
We couldn't really recap 2011 without mentioning Everybody Taste's venture into the world of vinyl pressing with our very own imprint, Analog Edition Records . Analog Edition started out of a desire to press what we still consider to be the best record of 2010 onto vinyl: Los Angeles guitarist Blake Mills' spectacular Break Mirrors . Thanks to the folks at Blake's label Record Collection, we ended up with a double A-side 7" featuring two of Break Mirrors' best tracks, the two-chord foot-stomper "Hey Lover" and the Fleetwood Mac-tinged "Winter Song." From there, Analog [...]
Denney & The Jets :: "Killin' Machine" 7" For some reason the good folks at Infinity Cat pressed the two sides of this 7" at two different speeds: 45 and 33 1/3 RPM. I'm guessing it was an issue of space and track time, but for the vinyl debut of Denney & The Jets' scuzzy country and blues songs, it's a rather appropriately fitting blemish. Denney & The Jets - "Pain Pills" Bare Wires :: "Wanna Fight" 7" [...]
All weeklong Everybody Taste will be reflecting and ruminating on 2011 with a serious of posts and lists dedicated to celebrating the best (read: our favorite) music of the year. When you think of the particularly prolific artists of 2011, Cass McCombs and Thee Oh Sees—both of whom somehow released two stunning and critically-lauded full-lengths this year—might come to mind. Or maybe it's Taylor Goldsmith, the star of the Middle Brother supergroup's debut LP and whose own Dawes released their boldest record to date. Or the Orrall brothers, Jake and Jamin. Sure, they [...]
Minneapolis trio Nallo play with a wonderfully warm and ramshackle sound. I first stumbled onto the group via the two-minute garage-born barn-burner "Submarines" over on Rollo Grady . That track doesn't so much play as it does blast off rocket-ship like with ferociously beaten drums, swinging guitars, and loosely harmonized vocals. The band's most recent offering, "Wine," is a slower-paced gem that showcases a more intimate side of the band. Over a rattle of tambourine, a strummed acoustic, and a touch of organ, the band's throaty chorus of voices come across like a late-night offering of faded [...]
While I don't particularly care for the Vivian Girls, I've found myself becoming a rather dedicated fan of Katy Goodman's this year, particularly her work as La Sera. On the La Sera debut, Goodman's pristine vocals and hypnotic guitar work fondly recall everything from The Pixies ("Devils Hearts Grow Gold") to Spector-era Wall of Sound production ("Never Come Around"). Recently, Goodman has been posting demos from the record to her Tumblr page and one of the more impressive to date has been the sparse acoustic guitar and vocal take of "You're Going To Cry." Her layers of [...]
After two full-lengths as Hunx & His Punx, Seth Bogart is set to release a solo LP as Hunx on February 28th titled Hairdresser Blues . Bogart's troupe of backup singers will certainly be missed here, and none more so than the brilliantly soulful voice of Shannon Shaw of Shannon and The Clams, also a cowriter on several of 2011 standout Too Young To Be In Love 's best tracks. But don't fret just yet, the toe-tapping first single from Hairdresser Blues , the jangly pop-punk number "Always Forever," suggests everything will be [...]
As folks start to think about their favorite records of the year, I wanted to shine the spotlight again on one of my own favorites which has unfortunately flown a bit under the radar: Steve Salett's project The Poison Tree. Salett—who also wrote one of the year's best tracks in The Bandana Splits' "Sometimes" —quietly released an intimate treasure last winter sparsely colored with bits of acoustic guitar, upright bass, and jazz-flavored horns. Here's what I wrote back in January: "The songs on Steve Salett's debut as The Poison Tree are in no hurry [...]
Just when you think the whole singer-songwriter schtick has finally teetered out, a talent like Sharon Van Etten comes along. In the internet's computer-, synth-, and remix-centered climate, it's impressive how much steam Van Etten has been able to generate with just her guitar and achey heartbroken voice. On paper, her personal and emotive brand of musical storytelling represents nothing new, but then you hear that one-of-a-kind voice and instantly everything else melts into irrelevance. For Van Etten's forthcoming third LP Tramp , she received support from the likes of The National's Dessner brothers, Zach Condon of Beirut, and [...]
The great Friends Records out of Baltimore released its second annual compilation of music from some of the area's best talents on Thanksgiving. The compilation—available now as a free digital download and as a limited edition cassette —features tracks from a host of ET favorites including Future Islands, Lonnie Walker, Moss of Aura, Celebration, and Lands & Peoples. But even more exciting is the potential for discovering new favorites, and for me, that's been the smokey jangle and strut of "Weepy Little Fingers" by Secret Mountains . Download the Friends [...]
There's nothing more rock and roll than the three-piece, especially the drum, bass, and guitar combo: straight shots of pounding rhythm and melody with every frill and decoration thrown out the window. The latest release from Oakland's Bare Wires, the 10-song 10" Cheap Perfume , is the perfect example: these songs don't just play, they fire out of the gate at lightning speed, never once looking back over their should nor outstaying their welcome (only one track breaks the three-minute barrier). Formed in 2007 as a side project of Matthew Melton, Bare Wires has since turned into a full-time [...]
Nashville's now defunct MEEMAW was an all-star trio that featured soon-to-be Infinity Cat regulars Daniel Pujol of PUJOL, Wez Traylor of Natural Child, and Jessica McFarland of Heavy Cream. Considering ET's adoration for Natural Child's debut LP 1971 and Pujuol's Nasty, Brutish, and Short (and really all things Infinity Cat), I did some digging this morning and gave MEEMAW's debut Glass Elevator a listen—and this shit is wild. Dirty southern rock is an apt descriptor, but it doesn't really go far enough. This record's full of fuzz, [...]
Here's an absolutely killer cut from the relatively obscure Neo Boys, a group named for this Patti Smith phrase and touted as one of Portland, Oregon's first all-female punk groups. "Time Keeps Time" is taken from the 1982 EP Crumbling Myths , one of only two releases by the band along with their self-titled 1980-released 7". The punchy persistent drums and at turns surf-inspired and muted guitars of "Time Keeps Time" create an unsteady and irresistible wave-like force teeming with electricity. Big thanks to ET favorites Grass Widow for this introduction. The San Francisco-based band's recent [...]
Everybody Taste
Avicii – Two Million
Video: M83 – “Reunion”
Check Out: Los Campesinos! – “Tiptoe Through the True Bits”
