![The Lucksmiths: Staring At The Sky [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2062165_lg.jpg)
It was mid August, 1999 and my parents pulled into the small college town of Pullman, Washington. They left me standing at the side of the road as I waved goodbye. Thousands of miles away in Paris, The Lucksmiths were recording an EP. Years later, the music they defined themselves by would become the pleasant music of my dreams. The EP was Staring At The Sky , a well crafted pop album that comes to us from a group of Australians whose mastery of song brings pleasant twists and turns, accented harmonies, and a variety of instruments [...]
![Lightspeed Champion: Falling Off The Lavendar Bridge [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2061530_lg.jpg)
Devonte Hynes was once in a band called Test Icicles and if you're aware of that group's blend of indie-rock, hip-hop and punk, be prepared to be surprised, 'cause Hynes's new project Lightspeed Champion is a pretty big change. Instead of the loud guitars that fit well with similar groups like pre-Islands band The Unicorns, Hynes now focuses his talent on creating minimalistic orchestral-like movements with a violin and acoustic guitar. The melodies are sweet but slightly harsh and pointed—and I mean that in the best of ways. [...]
![Vic Chesnutt: Skitter On Take-Off [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2058845_lg.jpg)
Vic Chesnutt is a pretty remarkable musician. His distinctive voice and folk guitar styling is par none, and he is often accompanied by the most notable of artists no matter what the genre. Chesnutt recently released just such an album called At The Cut which featured Guy Picciotto (Fugazi) and members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. While that record may have garnered him a bit of press, he slipped in a sleeper for the die-hard folk fans. Yes, he also released Skitter To Take-Off . [...]
![School Of Seven Bells: Alpinisms Deluxe Edition [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2058456_lg.jpg)
As a whole, the original Alpinisms warrants much praise. Songs like "Iamundernodisguise", "Half Asleep" and "Connjur" are, quite literally, among the best electro-pop songs released this year. And, in some ways, School Of Seven Bells defies that genre classification, as their music strays into an occasional repetitive shoegaze, hints at a little feedback filled noise, and dives headlong into a swirling and dreamy atmospheric state. With success rampant thanks to a fair share of hype and positive reviews alike, SVIIB now gives Alpinisms a [...]
![Supercluster: Waves [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2055834_lg.jpg)
Supercluster may have that famed super group make-up, but it lacks in the pretentious ego-driven in-fighting to which such groups are prone. The artists behind Supercluster are responsible for some of today's best groups, from Of Montreal and Casper & The Cookies to Deerhunter and The New Sound Of Numbers. Despite the who's-who of indie pop, Waves is a portal into lo-fi psych pop famed to regions like Athens, GA. Also unlike the typical super group, Supercluster lacks overproduction thanks to the hand of Jason NeSmith (Casper [...]
![The Wind Whistles: Animals Are People Too [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2053200_lg.jpg)
Liza and Tom are back again! Yes, British Columbia's finest boy/girl folk/pop The Wind Whistles have blessed us with yet another collection of seriously fun tracks that are nothing short of delightful. But, Animals Are People Too shall ring a bell with a pitch very different from their debut album, Window Sills . It is safe to say they have stepped their game up. Or at least taken it in a different, possibly four legged, direction. Though the title of this frenzy-inducing pop album [...]
![Bear In Heaven: Beast Rest Forth Mouth [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2051233_lg.jpg)
The transformation undergone by Bear In Heaven between their outstanding Home-Tapes debut, Red Bloom Of The Boom , and their sophomore release Beast Rest Forth Mouth , is, quite literally, breathtaking. Red Bloom debuted Bear In Heaven's experimental rock with a sound that was, for the most part, entirely their own. Sure, there were traces of influence that in my opinion sided pretty heavily toward artists like Animal Collective, but it was also fairly unparalleled in its style of experimentation. What sets Beast [...]
![The Rest: Everyone All At Once [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2051043_lg.jpg)
There is no telling what emotions The Rest might conjure up when you hear their brilliant sophomore release Everyone All At Once . This is an indie-rock rock-symphony for our time. The band has worked long and hard to create an atmosphere derived solely from their heart's ambition. As well as pulling influence from nature and booze. But, aren't most great works inspired in such ways? This album plays out like a shoegaze fairytale. Every corner-piece is in place, and no integrity of their centered [...]
![Open Choir Fire: Dirt Bathed And Quilted [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2047885_lg.jpg)
Call it indie rock, or call it power pop; however you label it, Open Choir Fire 's new LP, Dirt Bathed And Quilted is flat out good. There's an unquestionable 90s influence focused primarily on the Northwest region, which is no surprise as the band hails from Seattle. "Killing The Messenger" is a hard-hitting rocker, while its successors in "Big Regret" and "You Should Take The Bus" take it down a notch but are no less intricate, powerful or yes, even sophisticated. Yeah, it includes several 90s signatures, [...]
![The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Higher Than The Stars [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2043801_lg.jpg)
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart is definitely one of this year's biggest hype bands, and it's obvious why: their fuzzy pop is undeniably catchy and not overly drowned in the forced underproduction that can often plague the sub-genre. After a wildly successful self-titled debut LP, they return with Higher Than The Stars , an EP whose title track matches the best tunes in the TPOBPAH library thus far. In all actuality, "Higher Than The Stars" is more reverb than fuzz, though its overabundance almost gives the impression of a [...]
![Letters & If It Ain't Breakfast, Don't Fix It: Scattered Areas Where A Thousand Follow In Likeness [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2040676_lg.jpg)
One of last year's best albums was In Case We Lose What We Have , by Olympia band Letters . It made number 23 of my favorite albums of the year. Well they're back and they've joined forces with If It Ain't Breakfast, Don't Fix It . The DIY folk of Letters works almost too well with the wild noise of If It Ain't Breakfast. The collective has created something outstanding that can only be dubbed lo-fi noise folk. What may come as odd is [...]
This self-titled EP by David & The Citizens may have preceded Until The Sadness Is Gone only by a few short months, but the debut extended play holds definite traces of an earlier, less mature group. One would think the short amount of time would leave little room change—yet the songs found encased here vary greatly from each other, and many from the long play that followed. "Graycoated Morning" was a highlight off Until The Sadness Is Gone and, in fact, changed little if at all from [...]
![Adam Hill: Them Dirty Roads [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2035216_lg.jpg)
Adam Hill 's style of folk always donned the traditional styling so often seen as timeless within the centuries-long timeline the genre encompasses. Them Dirty Roads is, for the most part, no exception. But when the fiddles and acoustic guitar are removed, as found in opening track "Prelude", something else happens - Hill produces a sound quite unorthodox, featuring a trumpet and static samples. As a prelude, the track works wonders to introduce Hill's very clear-cut folk. "Wyoming Skies" emerges with country-influenced vocal patterns, and the lyrics follow [...]
![Bombadil: Tarpits And Canyonlands [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2034737_lg.jpg)
There are a lot of swirling sounds within Bombadil 's Tarpits And Canyonlands . On one end it is minimalistic - stripped to its most basic components, "Sad Birthday" is piano and percussion with a slew of vocalists. But it's not minimal, as even two instruments can create a sound all-encompassing. Add the collective of vocalists and precisely placed hand claps and the result is a sound much like that of Slaraffenland. But Bombadil cannot be limited to mere comparisons - the light instrumentation and experimental folk sounds they dabble in are truly their [...]
![The Dutchess And The Duke: Sunset / Sunrise [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2032468_lg.jpg)
In their somewhat self-titled debut, She's The Dutchess, He's The Duke , The Dutchess And The Duke popularized their lo-fi psychedelic folk with epic tracks like "Reservoir Park" and "I Am Just A Ghost". With romantically-tinged dual male/female vocals, the duo of Jesse Lortz and Kimberly Morrison reverted to a sound that hinted at another time, one strife with protest and objection to the powers that were, at the time, seen as opposed to the greater good. In that, The Dutchess And The Duke were debuting at a very similar time mentally, and while their sophomore [...]
![Dial M For Murder: Fiction Of Her Dreams [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2022425_lg.jpg)
Listening to Sweden's Dial M For Murder , one gets the eerie feeling that this could very well be how Interpol would sound were they to hail from the indie pop centers of Sweden. That, or maybe this band had a bit of an early youthful obsession with Bauhaus. Fiction Of Her Dreams is filled with new wave pop and similar deep, dark vocals often attributed to those bands. Heavy on the synths and backed by a drum machine, Dial M For Murder also lives up to the [...]
![Emmalee Crane: Crux [Album Reveiw]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2021881_lg.jpg)
Crux by Emmalee Crane is one of those ethereal atmospheric albums that you'd think would have a welcome home alongside masters like Windy & Carl on Kranky Records , but they find themselves on a small but budding San Francisco label The Streetlight Farm . Crux matches the power of Kranky's drone-worthy artists, from the aforementioned to the excellence of Greg Davis and Gregg Kowalsky. And in that manner alone, Crux is an absolute success. But given a deeper listen, Crux stands [...]
![The Argyle Wishlist: My Thoughts Exactly [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2019534_lg.jpg)
After debuting on Series II Records joint 33 series club with Eggnog Records , The Argyle Wishlist return with their infectious lo-fi indie pop. My Thoughts Exactly follows the twee-pop this Milwaukee, WI band has established as their trait over the past several years. Featuring jangly guitars and lovable vocal hooks, and hints of orchestration with a backing trumpet, The Argyle Wishlist succeed in creating the perfect album for a DIY label like Series II. Amidst songs like "(You Make) Everything Else OK" and "Place [...]
![National Beekeepers Society: Pawn Shop Etiquette [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2019032_lg.jpg)
The National Beekeepers Society 's style is sort of rough around the edges, but sets itself over happy-go-lucky melodies. It's been done before, and can create a rather sketchy scenario. But, their album Pawn Shop Etiquette is proof that these guys have mastered where so many have failed. They deep sea dive into the vast "sort of punk, but not really" ocean that can be devastating and as dried up as Dennis Miller's sense of humor. The tone of intensity throughout the album is set by the opening [...]
![Eva & The Heartmaker: Let's Keep This Up Forever [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2006727_lg.jpg)
There's a classic backing to the music Eva & The Heartmaker create; part soul, part pop, and, yeah, toss in a bit of rock as well. If you're looking for something groundbreaking, Let's Keep This Up Forever is not likely to satisfy your taste buds, but if you dig that classic mainstream pop sound circa the late 60s and early 70s, you'll be right at home with Eva. With clean guitars, funky bass lines, and soulful keys and vocals, it's easy to get in a head-nodding mood with [...]
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![Niki & The Dove - The Fox [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/l2f6UbMnlq4_130.jpg)
Chromatics: “Into The Black”
Whitney Houston uncovered
Saltillo – Monocyte, soundtrack voor een donkere strip
Download: The Violet Lights - "Sex and Sound"
Download: Lissy Trullie - "It's Only You, Isn't It"
