For the past few months I have been engineering and producing (and now managing) for a new artist, Marshall Lewis Baker . Marshall is a Bloomington, Indiana native, growing up in the college town of Indiana University. While he's just 18 years old, his guitar playing, voice and songwriting suggest that he's much older. He plays and writes intricate acoustic guitar pieces and has an incredibly soulful voice, one that reminds you of James Blake or Otis Redding. He's certainly an artist you'll hear a lot about in the coming years. On Thursday, May [...]
Sleeping Bag is a new band from Bloomington that will keep you warm through the lo-fi winter months. Headed by Dave Segedy , Sleeping Bag has been recording through the winter months and has recently posted Slime as a free download via Bandcamp . Sleeping Bag encompasses a raw and edgy sound that harkens back Starflyer 's Silver album in the early `90s, with a power pop sound that takes me back to Weezer 's Blue album. During Sleeping Bag's live set, Dave Segedy is backed by [...]
It is the end of the year and it's time to contemplate over the albums that we enjoyed the most during 2010. If you and I hang out long enough, music is bound to come up in our conversation. One thing that I'm likely to talk about is the relevance of an older album that is sweeping me away. So I though I might compile a short list of relevant albums that were recorded more than thirty years ago. Obviously this list could include fifty albums, but I've pared it down to just a few. The criteria I used to [...]
Several members of Beirut have formed a side project called Soft Landing . The band is comprised of Paul Collins , Perrin Cloutier , and Mike Lawless , and their debut album was released on October 12th, via Ba Da Bing (the same label Beirut is signed to). Stylistically it is a pop version of Beirut, heavy on the instrumentation and layers, with catchy melodies. Soft Landing - Baptism Due to the [...]
Several members of Beirut have formed a side project called Soft Landing . The band is comprised of Paul Collins , Perrin Cloutier , and Mike Lawless , and their debut album was released on October 12th, via Ba Da Bing (the same label Beirut is signed to). Stylistically it is a pop version of Beirut, heavy on the instrumentation and layers, with catchy melodies. Soft Landing - Baptism Due to the [...]
This summer The Innocence Mission released their latest full-length, My Room In The Trees . If I had been blogging regularly, I would have certainly followed up, telling you how much I was enjoying the new album. Though I'm getting to this a few months late, I'm still thoroughly enjoying this album. I was first introduced to The Innocence Mission around 1997. But this point they had already been a band for 12 years, with three full-lengths that had been released on A&M Records . The [...]
Blessed Feathers is a new band we're excited about. They hail from Wisconsin and we're certain you'll hear more about this band. This is a brand new video for their song FUDJ (Pawn Show Blues) , produced by Wooden Lens . Blessed Feathers - FUDJ (Pawn Shop Blues) Led to Sea is the solo project of violinist/violist Alex Guy . She has provided strings for bands such as Xiu Xiu, the Dead Science, The Pharmacy and Parenthetical [...]
When Great Lakes were formed in 1996, the original lineup included Jamey Huggins (Of Montreal). Ben Crum is now the primary songwriter, and their latest album, Ways of Escape , involved musicians from Mice Parade, Beiruit, Ladybug Transistor, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and Ryan Adams. Summer Fruit is the leading single off Ways of Escape , which can be streamed in entirety on SoundCloud . Great Lakes - Summer Fruit Ravens & [...]
When Great Lakes were formed in 1996, the original lineup included Jamey Huggins (Of Montreal). Ben Crum is now the primary songwriter, and their latest album, Ways of Escape , involved musicians from Mice Parade, Beiruit, Ladybug Transistor, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and Ryan Adams. Summer Fruit is the leading single off Ways of Escape , which can be streamed in entirety on SoundCloud . Great Lakes - Summer Fruit Ravens & [...]
Glasgow, Scotland's Belle & Sebastian have their first release in four years, called Write About Love . Check out their short film of the band performing several of their songs from their great (as always) album, a question and answering session, and short videos. Stuart Murdoch responds to the Do-It-Yourself approach to music: "This is the second big punk movement... is the whole Internet thing. It's just kicking in now." Stuart also has a discussion with numerous artists from successful bands, conversing [...]
Jukebox the Ghost set out to perform outdoors in all five boroughs of New York City, as part of the city's Play Me I'm Yours . They're currently touring the US. Now for Australian synth-pop by the new duo, Voltaire Twins . Their single, D.I.L. is already gaining 'acclaim' status. Voltaire Twins have already shared the stage with Vampire Weekend, Florence and The Machine, The XX, Peaches, Tegan & Sara, Goldfrapp, Yelle and Metronomy. Voltaire Twins - D.I.L. Once I heard this song [...]
The other night I saw Monahans open for Husband&Wife 's CD release show at The Bishop , and I was instantly sold. They mentioned during the set that they're releasing a new song every month as a free download. This is something they started in March, and with a ten track album, they'll be finished in December. I'm always intrigued when I hear of artists trying this. The danger is that the songs will sound too disjointed from each other, fighting each other as an album. Of course, that is assuming the intention [...]
Canadian band, The Rest , is prepping their next release for early 2011. The album is called SEESAW , and they're giving away a track, John Huston , several months in advance. It's an absolutely beautiful track (and free to download at Bandcamp ). Since we first wrote about The Rest last year, the band suffered an enormous setback. Shortly after forming as a band nine years ago, while the band members were still in high school, they [...]
Canadian band, The Rest , is prepping their next release for early 2011. The album is called SEESAW , and they're giving away a track, John Huston , several months in advance. It's an absolutely beautiful track (and free to download at Bandcamp ). Since we first wrote about The Rest last year, the band suffered an enormous setback. Shortly after forming as a band nine years ago, while the band members were still in high school, they [...]
Earlier this year we introduced you to a duo called Swimteam . Mike Marais and Aidan Hair , barely out of high school, have finished their second full-length of experimental electronic tracks they recorded in their bedrooms. But as their debut album surprised us, their follow-up, Street Eater , is equally as impressive. Since Swimteam released their debut on Bandcamp in March, the duo has released Treebeard EP and [...]
The New Zealand music scene is one that I'm not terribly familiar with, but if Glass Vaults is representative of what artists are experimenting with then I should pay more attention. Glass Vaults have an ambient big-beat sound, and their Glass EP is set for a US release on November 1, 2010 via Jukboxr. The digital version is available as a free download on Bandcamp . Glass Vault hails from Wellington, New Zealand, the political capital of New [...]
In the 1960s several naturalists went hiking in the Rocky Mountains, carrying their camera with them to film their adventure. Fifty years later their footage has become the backdrop for a simplistic acoustic band, Blessed Feathers . The result is spellbinding. As the couple in the video fishes and washes their hands in the crystal clear stream, Blessed Feathers sings, "Away from these hands. Their lack of reason. American sands and earhly treason." The grainy footage is beautifully articulated by the natural sounds and lyrics of Blessed Feathers. [...]
It's easy to spot a seasoned artist. Lee Miles comes to mind when I think of someone that has been writing, recording and performing for most of his life. Hailing from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Lee Miles has developed his craft of folk songwriting that brings early `70s Neil Young to mind, or more recently a southern The Tallest Man on Earth. I first saw Lee Miles perform thirteen years ago, when he was barely old enough to vote. His professionality shone through even then as he painted images with words. Recently I [...]
Blonde Redhead released their eighth album this week, Penny Sparkle , and it's possibly their strongest album in the fifteen year existence as a band. While promoting Here Sometimes as the promotional single, their first video for Penny Sparkle is Not Getting There . Both songs are remarkable. Blonde Redhead - Here Sometimes YouTube - Blonde Redhead - "Not Getting There" Official Video . Related [...]
J. Tillman may be best known for his involvement in Fleet Foxes , but he has been releasing laid-back solo albums before he became fleet as a fox. His debut album was released in 2005, and since then the has performed with David Bazan , Damien Jurado and Jesse Sykes . Singing Ax marks his seventh full-length release in five years, along with three EPs, with a sound that is reminiscent of Neil Young's early solo albums. The entire album was recorded in three days [...]
Puddlegum
Soft Arrows - Figure 8 free MP3
Tom Odell – Long Way Down
Willow Beats: Top 5 experimental tracks
Some wonderful, danceable magic to start your day off courtesy...
