Channeling Fleetwood Mac's musical stylings with a hint of late-era Beatles, Family of the Year braid catchy melodies, stellar male/female vocals and personal folk tales to create some of the happiest and saddest music you've ever heard. Opening up with "Feel Good Track Of Rosemead" it's a delicate harmony and rock guitar combo, very much like The New Pornographers, or The Polyphonic Spree. Actually, it's singers Joe Keefe (formerly of The Billionaires) and Vanessa Long who harmonize and get lots of milage out of their pop chemistry and aural dynamics. Fans of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds who hear the [...]
"It's fun to put in the odd moment of vocal insanity." I can't say I've ever easily pinned down who Kate Miller-Heidke is. Her demeanour suggests coy, gentle lady of the house, ready to throw a tea party. Some video clips, like Can't Shake It, reveal her as a Gwen Stefani hopeful, teetering towards hysteria with colour changing black head remover still in place. And when I speak with Kate I feel I could just as easily be sharing a pint with an old uni friend. Despite her approachable down-to-earth friendliness, Kate has good [...]
Μετά απο πολύ καιρό το Radio Beans επιστρέφει στην ραδιοφούσκα του και σταυτιά σας. Παρεμπιπτόντως, είναι το πρώτο μας post εδώ και δέκα μέρες οπότε χαρείτε το όσο μπορείτε. Αυτή τη φορά το Radio Beans ασχολείται με την προσωπική συλλογή επτάϊντσων βινυλίων της uptight. Ακούμε ένα ένα τα κομμάτια απο τη μικρή αλλά αξιοπρεπέστατη συλλογή της ενθυμούμενοι παράλληλα και πως τα απέκτησε. Οι ακροάσεις αυτού του Radio Beans θα πάνε σε καλό σκοπό* οπότε κανονίστε... Radio Beans 17 Tracklisting: Pulp - "Do You Remember the First Time?" Inspiral Carpets - "She [...]
It's been almost three weeks since I got back from The Bridge School Benefit shows and if I postpone this post any longer, it may end up like my never posted Calgary Folk Fest '07 Part II (sigh). Quickly, Ben Folds with the Seattle Symphony was awesome as expected (from the 2nd row!), but The Very Best show in San Francisco was unceremoniously cancelled on the day of the show since Esau Mwamwaya had passport issues getting into the US... very disappointing. After the stage was blessed by native [...]
In part because I thought it'd be fun to have back to back picks of the week with the word 'Whale' in the title of the band name, and in part because I've been listening to Noah and the Whale's The First Days of Spring almost exclusively this week, I present to you... Noah and the Whale's The First Days of Spring ... Before seeing Noah and the Whale at Criminal Records a couple of weeks ago they weren't on my radar screen at all. I'm fairly confident they were/are [...]
A very excited fan. (Flickr, The Advanced Guard) Here are more results from the survey we sent out to a variety of folks in the music, arts and entertainment communities. Here was the question: How much physical evidence of your music fandom have you shed in the past decade? How much have you collected? Lance Bangs, [...]
How many spins do you give a record before you decide whether it's a winner or not? We're the first to admit, there've been times when we fully appreciated a song or album only years after it hit (or missed) the charts. But there's still something to be said for that first time a new piece of music reaches your eardrums, and that's what this feature is all about. Every so often we'll be registering our initial thoughts on a new album in real time (ooh, fancy!) and posting the verdict. First up: Today we're geared up [...]
This week's fresh Fresh from the Post is New York based musician, Jacob Vanags , who's songs aims to bring back the oomph in piano music and let you know that fun stuff can actually come from the boring old piano lessons you had as a kid. Read on as Jacob answers some of our questions and talks to us about his newly released EP, Pulses are Pluses - To start off, when did you start making music and how did it evolve [...]
Wye Oak - "Dance My Pain Away" (mp3) Mickey Free - "That I Do" (mp3) Splice Today , a great site that I've been doing some writing for, recently released its second compilation album for free on the site. Baltimore Does Baltimore, Part 1 is, as you can probably tell from the title, a collection curated by Zach Kaufman of Baltimore musicians covering songs by other Baltimore musicians, mostly people from the indie rock scene. However, there are two tracks [...]
[ This post, written by Trip, originally went up a few months back. It is being reposted because of technicall gremlins ] Imagine a reverb-less Fleet Foxes with Ben Folds playing piano and harmonizing and then listen to this absolutely lovely new song by The Avett Brothers, the title track to their new Rick Rubin produced album, I And Love And You, due 9/29 from Columbia Records. This moves to the top of my "I'll keep [...]
You may remember drummer Sam Smith from such acts as Ben Folds and The Comfies. But in his secret identity as one of Nashville's iron-man cinephiles, Smith spends much of his spare time designi... Continue reading "How Sam Smith's Evil Cat Went National" >
Is it the 44th week of 2009 already? God that's depressing. But you know what isn't depressing in any way, shape, or form? This hilarious, hilarious, phone message ... oh, and Said the Whale 's Islands Disappear . From the dramatic intro "Dear Elkhorn" I thought I might be in for another band similar to my new favourites the Wilderness of Manitoba , or one of last year's best blog bands, Fleet Foxes , which would've been a good thing, but it was not to be. Instead, [...]
Un retour sur le blog pour une sucrerie fifties chantée par des filles en jupes à pois qui n'en est pas une. On dirait que cela été fait dans un studio hollywoodien des années 50 avec la fraicheur et l'efficacité qui va avec, …hé bien non. Cela vient de la New Orleans quand même, mais c'est bien de 2009. Et fait par deux producteurs. Generationals – When They Fight, They Fight [...]
It's a curious thing, this strangely eccentric music of U.K. neo-folk outfit The Unthanks . Led by Mercury Prize nominee Rachel Unthank and her sister Becky, this provocative quintet take the bleakest, most despairing traditional British folk laments and then dresses them up with modern, minimalist neo-classical embellishments. Telling tales of a lost lover's suicide, harrowing coal mine child labor, drunken wives and other equally morbid topics, the recently released Here's The Tender Coming (EMI, U.K. only) could be an unrelenting downer. But thanks to the spare but richly tailored production and imaginative arrangements - think Erik [...]
Hope everyone had a good Halloween! Easy Gang All-Stars - Paranoid Android (Radiohead cover) Ben Folds - Lost In The Supermarket (The Clash cover) Arctic Monkeys - Baby I'm Yours (Van McCoy cover)
The piano is a bit of a weird instrument when you think about it. It has a lot of range, and a lot potential but it is kind of rare for someone to do something different. Sure Ben Folds messes around with it a bit, but it is still just boils down to a blending of genres. However there is one person doing some interesting stuff with it and that is Kristeen Young . Kristeen Young is an experimental group made up of Kristeen Young on piano and Baby Jef White on drums. What [...]
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are a strange, strange, looking group. At times E.S. looks like a longer haired version of Aldous Snow (the rock star character from Forgetting Sarah Marshall ) and at other times he looks like a member of the McPoyle family ( It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ), so, not a group that is going to be appearing any CK ads anytime soon. But, we all know that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and so even if you don't want to invite E.S. and the M.Z.s out with [...]
Here's what I love most about being a music blogger: I get to go from listening to the murky underworld of Raekwon's Cuban Lynx 2 to the sublime, ethereal sounds of Los Angeles' Yoya . Vocally, lead singer Alex Pfender sounds like Ben Gibbard imitating Jeff Buckley: He's got a light touch, smooth and kind. Musically, the debut EP is a few shades to the center of Radiohead: Moody and soaring, but accessible. I particularly enjoyed "The Moon and the Shore," with its time changes and guitar-drum-vocal interplay. This EP is definitely worth your time. [...]
Here are the Wisconsin and Chicago shows we recommend you take in this week. Check them out below and let us know which ones you'll be attending or ones you think should really make our list . This week's recommended new releases include offerings from Devendra Banhart , R.E.M. , and Tegan and Sara . Upcoming Wisconsin Shows: 10/27 - David Bazan + Say Hi - High Noon [...]
![Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears: Mad Valentines [EP]](http://cache.elbo.ws/posts/2079264_lg.jpg)
Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears Mad Valentines [EP] Old Flame Records [2009] Fire Drill Review: Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears new EP Mad Valentines is a mad mix of Queen theatrics, Ted Leo guitar, ELO's harmonies, Ben Folds piano madness and Brendan Benson's likable alt-pop vocals. It is this giant mash up of styles that gives this record pep and Scary's vocals that give it cred. The record could easily slip into [...]
new music from vampire weekend – cousins + music video
No Curve Allowed (Grading This Week's New Tracks)
Beach House: Norway
Friday Five: Surf Songs
HOT CHIP TAKE another crack at IT and I’m IN
