
Editor's Note Happy New Year! Some of you are probably wondering what happened to us. Well work, family, and of course organizing our little (not so little anymore) variety show Snob Theater has taken quite a bit of time away from the website. We've had probably the best year so far and I'm happy to announce my favorite records of 2011 to launch the reboot of Kata Rokkar. I don't review albums at all but i do listen to a shitload and it's been a great and surprising year for new music. [...]

I'll never stop loving the beauty of a physical album; everything from the scent of a new vinyl, to the magic of reading the lyrics and seeing the images inside the insert, to the touch of the glossy, matte or recycled paper, and the most important factor - the cover art of the actual overall masterpiece. Here is some of the best album art of 2011. It's easy to see in all of these artists, that there was an actual thought to the structure of not only their music but how it visually sounds. Enjoy! [...]

Live This Month: January 2012 (Podcast #268) In Live This Month , we sample some of the great local and out-of-town bands performing in the coming month in the San Francisco Bay Area. If the beginning of January feels a little slim on the live music front, things should ramp back up into the usual overwhelming number of interesting shows by the month's end. Several young local bands recently came onto our radar - including Churches, Poor Sons, and Primitive Hearts - and they're all partaking in locals-heavy bills in the next [...]
Vandaveer – Dig Deep DownDownload "Concerning Past & Future Conquests" Chad VanGaalen – Diaper IslandDownload "Sara" Vetiver – The Errant CharmDownload "Can't You Tell" and "Wonder Why" Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My HaloDownload " Jesus Fever" and "In...

Welcome to FWBA's best-of 2011. This has been such a meaningful year in music to me that it's tough to represent in one post. I'm going to be honest, this took me quite a long time. I wanted to do this year justice because personally, it was a total dream: living in San Diego working with some of my favorite artists, going to SXSW and Lollapalooza, seeing Dave Bazan in stranger's living rooms, Feist play a hometown show, saw tune-yards electrified show at Soda Bar clocking in as one of my favorite performances, watching Zach Rogue and my boyfriend playing [...]

With the horizon of a new year seemingly inches away, we're proud to present our best songs of 2011. We have been slaving over albums and hidden tracks for the past month, but now the beginning of our five-part list of the best of the best. 100. Maritime - Paraphernalia The charmer of Human Hearts held the ethereal appeal from a group we come back to with each new record. The group signed with Dangerbird this year and we only see bright things in their future. [...]

Best friends, labelmates, collaborators, traveling companions. These all describe the relationship between Andy Cabic of Vetiver and Eric D. Johnson of Fruit Bats . Both bands have new releases this year on Sub Pop, and both joined us at the XPN2 studios for music and conversation. Now you can stream this special co-headlining session whenever you like! We'll hear Vetiver play songs from their new album, The Errant Charm , and Fruit Bats play a selection of songs from their most recent albums, The [...]

If you've read ENS at all, especially at the end of a year, you know I like lists. This year wasn't the best for albums in my humble opinion, but there were still some excellent albums that kept my attention. I like to clarify too, that I don't think these are necessarily the best albums of the year, but they are my favorite, and I hope that something on the list makes you want to check an album out, or give one another try. Enjoy. #25- Gardens & Villa - S/T [...]

Image edited by Ben Kramer 1. CHARLES BRADLEY - THE WORLD (IS GOING UP IN FLAMES) MP3: Charles Bradley - The World (Is Going Up In Flames) 2. PORTLAND BIKE TRAILS - HIGH SCHOOL LOVER MP3: Oregon Bike Trails - High School Lover 3. MEGAFAUN - GET RIGHT MP3: Megafaun - [...]

#25 Alela Diane - Alela Diane & Wild Divine #24 the Black Keys - El Camino #23 Vetiver -The Errant Charm #22 Austra-Feel It Break #21 the Jezabels-Prisoner #20 Diego Garcia S/T [...]

Vetiver - It's Beyond Me (via notarobotbutaghost )

I can't believe it's already that time again- and I'm just mildly envious/sad that I'm not there to be apart of it this time because last year's Invisible Children Holiday Benefit show was pretty much the highlight of my 2010. This year, the guys have totally outdone themselves with TWO nights of music back to back. Check out the lineup below. And get your tickets now because it sold out quick last year- and with a lineup that includes, MOUNTAIN GOATS, FRUIT BATS + VETIVER playing together- it's most definitely going to sell out. I'll be [...]
The Fruit Bats and The Parson Redheads brought their folk rock aesthetics to Great American Music Hall.

Vetiver 9.22.2011 The Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO Source: MBHO KA200N [DINa] > Active Cables > MBHO MBP 603A > XLR > Lunatec V3 > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave Taped by: Lance Stack Setlist: 1. intro 2. Wonder Why 3. Strictly Rule 4. Hard To Break 5. Right Away 6. [...]
Psychedelic folkies Vetiver show their late '60s influences with a cover of 'Here Tonight' by the Flying Burrito Brothers

This was a semi-acoustic in-store performance with Andy Cabic and Eric D. Johnson, backed by Daniel Hindman and Nathan Junior. Fruit Bats and Vetiver 9.22.2011 Twist and Shout Records, Denver, CO Source: MBHO KA200N [DINa] > Active Cables > MBHO MBP 603A > XLR > Lunatec V3 > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave Taped by: Lance Stack Setlist: 1. intro [...]

If you're anything like me, you know how difficult it can be to keep track of all of the new music that's constantly floating around the Internet. Here's our latest month-in-review mix collecting some our favorite new (or new to us) songs recently posted on the website. Gathered in the mix are eighteen (!) new tracks that were posted on TheBayBridged.com in September, with links below to download each of them individually. The Bay Bridged - Best of the Blog September 2011 Mixtape Tracklisting: [...]

Got my first bit of vinyl promo through today and didn't really know what to make of it... Mainly because I don't have a record player... but also because its stirred something up inside me about wanting to get my hands on a physical bit of music. I think its strengthened my resolve to get a turntable now and get to the bottom of why people go on and on at me to get involved. A big thanks to whoever took their time and sent it out to me! So what I got through was this gorgeous [...]
Click image to download track Sounds like: Chris Bathgate, Neil Young, Vetiver, Other Lives "Jonathan Wilson - Desert Raven" What's so good? Jonathan Wilson's "Desert Raven," a single from his recently released solo album Gentle Spirit , is a wandering, psychedelic folk track that sounds like the ghost of Neil Young. After a lengthly intro, Jonathan Wilson's soft, luxurious voice kicks in. [...]