When great musicians collaborate, the results are almost 100% positive. Turns out this was the case with Mt. Desolation . The self titled debut from this all star lineup of a group will be released through Island Records on Oct 19th. This is a record for everyone. It's authentic, pure, musically gorgeous, and very easy on the ears and soul. With members of the group coming from Keane , The Killers , Mumford & Sons and other random friends, you already know the quality of the music is going to be [...]
Filligar have quickly become one of my favorite groups from Chicago. Their album The Nerve has worked its way into my listening library ever since the first time I heard it. The latest news from these fantastic guys is their new video shot by 2010 VMA winniner, Matt Hartzler . It's for the track 'Guilty Good Intentions', the second track off of The Nerve . The video is capturing a performance of theirs from Amherst College on Sept 18th, 2010. You would never look at it as [...]
Formed in Georgia in 1996 and led by singer/songwriter Ben Crum, Great Lakes has made over a decade of music tinged in a range of stylings. The latest release Ways of Escape is leaning strongly towards the alt-country sound. The history of the group is somewhat complicated. Members have floated in and out and their debut album wasn't even released until 2000. But that's what makes them all the more interesting. Ben Crum has always been at the center of it all, but members of other prestigious groups have come in and out joined [...]
Chicago based Archie Powell & The Exports are set to release their first debult LP Skip Work . With one EP under their belt, the group has already started to gain some great attention. I have no doubt that when this record gets released, you'll be hearing a lot more about them. Skip Work puts a great amount of attention to the songwriting. I hate putting on a record, and walking away from it not remembering a single phrase of what I've just heard. This doesn't happen with this LP. [...]
All it takes is the opening track on Flags to have Brooke Fraser win you over. The catchy hummed melody, bouncy guitar and drums that lead you quickly into the perfectly layered hook pulls you right into the album. This New Zealand artist took the opening track 'Something In The Water' straight to #1 on iTunes New Zealand. Rightfully so. It's pop perfection while keeping an immense amount of artistic integrity. Brooke Fraser put together an extremely solid record with her third release, Flags. Recorded in LA and self-produced, this [...]
Neil Young never seems to disappoint. With a career spanning decades, it's hard to believe he still has it in him to write and play songs that sound fresh. Bust most importantly his playing and voice have stayed true to who he is. Le Noise is a very special record. Daniel Lanois captured solo performances of a rock icon and made them sonically gorgeous. These are no early Elliott Smith recordings with hiss and pops getting in the middle of a man and his guitar. ( although I do love those ) These [...]
The second album from Murdocks is definitely a step in the right direction. All you can ask from a band is to ( hopefully ) improve on each new release they put out. The guys have definitely done this on Distortionist . The album is catchy, powerful, and lyrically/musically passionate. You can tell the guys put a lot of effort into it but things still seem very off the cuff. The performances are tight but don't feel contrived. As a listener that seems easy enough to accomplish but really isn't when put into a recording [...]
Neil Young has had a career most musicians can only dream about. His ability to write and perform quality songs over decades is absolutely stunning. I don't always get excited to hear when old school musicians are releasing new records, but Neil Young doesn't fall into this category. His latest work Le Noise is... ...Don't hate me, album review to come next week! Until then, here are a group of videos to get you excited for the release on Sept 28th. There will be a DVD portion where [...]
Two weeks ago I heard an exclusive track on A Heart Is A Spade by an unknown artist (to me) named Alex Kemp. This brilliantly catchy, perfectly produced , off the cuff gem of a song got me hooked and I had to find out more. Alex Kemp's website is a blast to visit, but can be tricky to provide the greater details I was seeking about him. So I did my digging and found what I was looking for. Kemp is a true artist. RISD [...]
I always hear about the Hollywood Bowl and what an amazing venue it is. Needless to say, it gets a lot of hype. I guess it was overly fitting that the three bands I was able to catch on a gorgeous night in LA generally get thrown into the category of being overly-hyped. Girls , Grizzly Bear , and Phoenix set the tone for what I would call a perfect night of music. If I were to guess,the roughly 18,000 others in attendance to this sold out show would most likely [...]
What I am writing about might be the best 73 I've ever owned. At a recent Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin show, I happened to catch Golden Bloom as the opener. Watching Shawn Fogel play with Golden Bloom (members who also play with Neutral Uke Hotel ), I very quickly managed to fall in love at first listen. When I saw that split 73 sitting on the merch table with The Motion Sick on the other side, my wallet whipped out so fast that even Bruce Lee couldn't [...]
Putting on The Runk threw me right into a full flashback of my years at Berklee College of Music. Makes a bit of sense as Sam Gilman ( Hammond B3, Wurlitzer, Moog, Clav, Rhodes, and Mellotron ) is a piano tech at Berklee. Otis Grove ( audio warning on click ) is a trio that is holding down their funk-ass sound REAL tight. On their second record with Ropeadope , these guys hold true to what you'd expect from a keys lead trio but do it with a quality of the highest standards. [...]
( written in collaboration/lyrical analysis with debcha , of zed equals zee ) It took me about 19 seconds to fall in love with Boxer . All thanks to the masterpiece of an opening track "Fake Empire". An album that is worthy of being called a classic is one that you can spot within the first few bars. Pet Sounds has this, and so does Boxer . A swooping guitar swell, the tape hiss from the upright piano track, topped with the speaker-filling vocals of Matt [...]
dysonsound is all about posting music I love. Ryksopp is not a band I love. But their video for 'The Drug' and their latest release 'Senior' is one I've grown a fond attachment towards. Their album 'Senior' is one that's actually grown on me and found a nice corner in my music listening library. This is not an album to change your mind on the world or musical genres. It's an album to work to, one to put you in that place where you're half paying attention and half getting your work done.' [...]
Aside from the fact that I love it, I have a really hard time putting my finger on the sound Inoculist creates. It's some mix of folk, jazz, indie, rock, and dreaminess. All those things combine to create a very unique sound that I struggle to find any sort of band comparison with. I have little knowledge of the group aside from listening to their debut LP 'Shells' on repeat for the past week or two. It's definitely an album to set a mood. What sort of mood that is? Not a clue. But I imagine [...]
I've gotta give it up for the folks working tirelessly to make music and stand behind every aspect of it. Beware Fashionable Women definitely fall into this category. Founded and lead by guitarist/vocalist Barak Shpiez, the group has been gaining growing attention with their irresistibly catchy songs. Based out of Pittsburgh, PA, Beware Fashionable Women have been working hard touring and promoting their full length self-titled independent release. The record is definitely one to satisfy many moods you might be looking to help play as a background to your life's musical soundtrack. Catchy pop [...]
There's no shortage of great music in Chicago. And to be more exact, there's no shortage of great music all around the world. But Filligar shows us that Wilco isn't the only band to come out strong from the amazing city of Chicago. This group of three brothers and one long time friend have been playing together for nearly a decade and have released some amazing records. Their latest "The Nerve" is one of their finest. It's such a cohesive, flowing record that takes you through the Led Zeppelin ( although not the best [...]
The more I hear about new artists, the more I hear about them coming from Silver Lake, LA. Is Silver Lake becoming or has it been the west coast version of Brooklyn all along and I haven't noticed? Well, all I know is that yet again a new favorite of mine has come the way of Silver Lake. Armed with a stellar EP ' Forming the Shapes ' under their belt, Vanaprasta are gearing up to release their first full length titled 'Healthy Geometry'. The most exciting news for me? They're offering 2 tracks [...]
The music and performances from of Montreal can at times be called "over the top". And most of the time this is true. But describing it that way makes it sound like it's too much to handle. Musically they've gone ahead and proven this wrong on their latest record 'False Priest'. Out of all of their records and EPs, I believe 'False Priest' to be the most palatable to listeners, yet never steering away from what makes of Montreal well, of Montreal. A lot of this seems to be due to the influence of Producer Jon [...]
When a familiar sounding, yet unique album comes your way, it's hard to avoid it and not keep listening to find out what makes it so unique. Listening to the latest record "Everything Under The Sun" from Jukebox the Ghost has me starting it over each time I've reached the end. Produced by the brilliant Peter Katis , this record is one that translates brilliantly onto tape yet makes me imagine what a live show would be like. I imagine energy, franticness, and a full onslaught of sound in your face. Luckily they'll be in [...]
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MP3: Daft Punk – “Horizons” (RAM Japanese Bonus Track)
Listen to Daft Punk’s “Horizon”, the Japanese bonus track for Random Access Memories
Lil Bibby – IDGNF
