Alessi’s Ark : The Still Life – Alessi Laurent-Marke epitomizes the folk/pop genre. She takes everything that is appealing and engaging about folk and pop music, and mashes them together; creating music that transcends either category. She has created an album that is genuine and alluring. Born in Hammersmith, West London, Alessi’s Ark is complete with that dainty quality often synonymous with our oversea neighbors. Hints of her accent make the songs endearing, and Laurent-Marke’s sweetly sung lyrics will capture your heart, despite the subject matter. She starts [...]
There’s a lot of great stuff going on in Canadian band No Joy . I love electronic music and indie pop and the like, but it’s always a blast seeing a band that can really rock. The heavy, distorted guitars and bass somehow complement the female vocal harmonizing wonderfully, resulting in a really cool sound. I don’t want to make gender into a big thing here, because they’re a great band regardless, but it’s great to see such a cool band that’s also playing live shows with a 3 to 1 girl to guy ratio. (It’s also probably worth [...]
Youngblood Hawke are a band that defies classification. It may be best to call them indie rock and leave it at that, but that would selling them a bit short. Despite labels, Wake Up has quickly become a favorite of ours and will definitely be one to watch as they begin to build a significant following. We were able to catch up with them during their gigantic North American tour to speak briefly about their new record and something you probably didn't know about them... Violent Success: [...]
Wampire: Curiosity - Rocky Tinder and Eric Phipps make up the freaky union that is Wampire . The Portland duo are following up their 7” debut with a therapeutically disturbing LP, Curiosity , via Polyvinyl. In an era where the bulk of new music released is so much aural mayonnaise spread on the thin Wonderbread of ever staler drum-machine beats, it's truly refreshing to hear a band that can actually write an intriguing song (despite the fact that Polyvinyl claims Wampire threw the album together more or less on the spot in the studio). [...]
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.: Patterns EP - ‘If You Didn’t See Me (Then You Weren’t On The Dance Floor)’: could there be a more fabulous title to the single off of this EP? Doubtful. Dale Earnhart Jr. Jr. seems to be perfecting their sound. The first album, It’s a Corporate World , was released in 2011, and had two singles, ‘Morning Thought’ and ‘Simple Girl’. That album displayed an undeniable quirkiness. The band is made up of Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott, and they write and compose almost every song in [...]
We usually preview videos by artists on our Facebook and Twitter pages, but occasionally when an unusual amount of great videos comes across our desk, we make an exception. Such is the case today. Today we're featuring new videos by Psychic Twin , Chronic City , Allah-Las , Brøthers , and Tiger Forest Cat . For videos on a daily basis, ' Like ' us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter ->
Solar Bears: Supermigration - Straight out of Ireland, Solar Bears ' long-awaited sophomore release has finally arrived and for me, completed the beginning of my spring. With a sound that drifts somewhere between the subconsciousness and dream-like electronica, Supermigration is a record that sounds effortless, yet intensely thought-out. After the release of She Was Coloured In in 2010, I ran into them while perusing suggestions from a friend. Its subtle, sleepy melodies hit me like a ton of bricks, and I was instantly hooked. From its [...]
Cloud Cult is one of those bands that has been on my radar for ages and, for whatever reason, I just hadn't gotten around to seeing them live until last Friday. In true "if I knew then what I know now" fashion, I can't believe I waited so long to check them out. It's pretty telling that Cloud Cult sold out the show, and Lincoln Hall was packed to the rafters. When I say “packed to the rafters,” you should probably bear in mind that Lincoln Hall has a second story balcony. Still, seeing the [...]
Young Galaxy: Ultramarine - It’s been two years since Young Galaxy’s 2011 LP Shapeshifting , but the Canadian band has been busy mixing electronic dream-pop tunes for their upcoming fourth album release, Ultramarine . Recorded in Gothenburg, Ultramarine was produced by Swedish electronic genius, Dan Lissvik, who also produced Shapeshifting . The synthy mood of this album is bittersweet and lofty, and with the ups and downs of warm weather, rain, and snow [...]
Julian Lynch: Lines - I don't know what this album is trying to say, mostly because I can't understand what Julian himself is actually saying, but maybe, just maybe that's alright. In fact, that may be the best part. Perhaps the music is not about imparting a message. Lines is a canvas and Julian Lynch uses many brushes and colors with which to paint. I may not know art, but I know what I like. And I like this. I've heard Julian Lynch described as experimental folk and I [...]
M83: Oblivion OST - It’s been a while since I picked up an OST, and I was excited to pick up this one since I saw M83 ’s name on it. The first thing I thought when I heard this soundtrack was, “Oh, this is just like what happened with Daft Punk in Tron Legacy” By that I mean, it didn't sound like Daft Punk, although you could hear them in the mix every now and then- in many ways this felt like an extension of the that original soundtrack. Of course, I wasn’t surprised when I [...]
The Thermals: Desperate Ground – Desperate Ground is cutthroat from the first second. With their new album, The Thermals capture rawness and vulnerability at its finest. Every song contains an element of distortion, as if they are not quite sure yet whether or not your heart can take it straight-on. The distortion in a warped way, actually filters out the bullshit, and leaves you with aching realness, and a connection that will stay with you forever. Around since 2002, The Thermals are no stranger to veracity. Westin Glass (drums, vocals), Kathy [...]
Minneapolis-based indie rock trio Now, Now played at Lincoln Hall last Monday, and when they took the stage, it was like the place was made for them. With a room chock full of machine-generated smoke, shifting colorful lights, and Now, Now ’s gorgeous music, I can’t begin to imagine a better start to the week. Now, Now started off the set with ‘Prehistoric’, which – full confession – is a personal favorite of mine, so I’m biased when I say it was a great way to begin the show. Many of their songs [...]
Yolke: Syrup - Self-proclaimed "psych-ambient" band Yolke , has after three years of dormancy, released their second EP Syrup . The Melbourne based outfit takes us on a jazzy trip-fest through the ocean on this one. The record opens up with an ambient arrangement that rolls in with swells of vintage synthesizers that break on the shores of your mind. It could easily fit into the soundtrack of a Nova-style science documentary. Imagine drifting around the ocean floor with Steve Zissou-that’s the vibe Yolke creates. Track two introduces the fragile, androgynous vocals of [...]
The Fox Must Pay: Xtraordinary Things - Um...The Fox Must Pay…please stop being so mean. You had to know this album was too good to only give us five songs. FIVE! Okay, but seriously, this new artist out of L.A. focuses on retro-electro sounds and ethereal voices. The three band members, Brandi Emma, Steven Evanne Heinstein and Thomas Schobel, are creating musical synergy. Right off the bat, The Fox Must Pay gives you a hit with the song ‘Lights Out’. Energetic and fun, the song builds you up toward a frenzy, and prepares [...]
Harper Simon: Division Street - Music runs deep in the Simon family. Check out Harper Simon , son of music legend Paul Simon. His recent release, Division Street , came out March of 2013, marking his second solo album. His first album, Harper Simon , debuted in 2010. Why, you might ask, has it taken him so long to finally put out a couple solo albums? Maybe it has to do with his other professions of songwriter and producer. I mean, he has been doing this since 1996 and doing it well, I might [...]
Hem: Departure and Farewell - Over the past fifty years, the percentage of people living in urban areas has increased drastically. In America, nearly 80 percent of us live in major metropolitan cities, leaving a scant 20 percent to tend to the sprawling rural areas that make up most of the country. That’s why it’s so refreshing to come across an artist that emphasizes the unity of urban and rural, celebrating the similarities that exist between them instead of the differences that set them apart. Hem is a band that takes [...]
Team Ghost: Rituals -Call me unimaginative, or maybe just skeptical, but when you name your band “ Team Ghost ,” it sounds an awful lot like you’re setting yourself up for a traditionally unsettling instrumentals, maybe some creepy strings, and the kind of airy, wispy, half-there vocals that drive me slightly batshit when bands can’t pull them off with finesse. The good news? I was so very, very wrong about Team Ghost and their new album Rituals . And yet, Team Ghost isn’t a misnomer at all. Let’s start with the vocals; [...]
Vondelpark: Seabed - Vondelpark, other than being an actual 120-acre park in Amsterdam, is a London based indie-electronic trio. Signed onto credible electronic-focused label R&S, these young twenty somethings are pumping out lush, mellow bass beats gathered on their debut album release, Seabed . This stuff may be chill wave and smooth, but don’t let that distract from how heavy it is. I am talking lead in veins, heart sinking to the floor, “maybe I should just sit here for a minute, an hour…a few days,” kind of heavy. Like [...]
City Society: City Society - There's a thing called ASMR(autonomous sensory meridian response). It is a condition in which people experience either a positive sensation such as tingling in their brain, euphoria, or a trance-like state when they hear someone whisper. There's a significant online presence, many YouTube videos dedicated to this phenomena and the condition was recently featured in a story on the popular NPR show This American Life. I bring all of this up so that if you have this condition or know anyone with it, you must, and I mean MUST, introduce them to [...]
Violent Success
Metallica Through The Never: poster e trailer ufficiale del film. Nei cinema dal 27 Settembre.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros imploran por días mejores en su nueva canción
Neko Case Covers Iron Maiden: The Number Of The Beast
On The Cover Of A Magazine
Daft Punk – Horizon (Japan Only Bonus Track)
