Party! DIE! Party! DIE!
YSP!WSD! is a quintet from Canada who create dark, dancy, anthem-like music. Think Metric meets Yeah Yeah Yeahs. "There is XXXX (in my heart)" is a perfect example of what this band has to offer. The song has a haunting but super catchy melody that plays while "There is love within my heart, there is love! love! love!" is sung. The song starts off isolated with Becky Ninkovic singing perfectly in context with the chilly melody but transitions with harmonizing "ohhhs" until about two minutes in where the drums and a rest of the band blast in.
Check it out. Snag a download. Lemme know what ya think!
Ready for summer? or at least spring? I know I am!! And this song by Washington based Pill Wonder only gets me even more stoked for it. Whenever I listen to this song I feel like taking a trip through a tropical bazaar while the sun is blaring and people are roaming around.
Seriously... Try It!
Close your eyes and listen to the song and TRY not to think of it.
The song even manages to leave you in the check-out lane with grocery store beeps and a chattering people.Hope you enjoy it!
Yes, yes! Josiah Wolf (of Why?) has released a new song from his forthcoming solo album "Jet Lag" due out March 5th! Check it out, give it a listen, lemme know what ya think!
Grave With No Name. Not a very easy project to distinguish. What do I mean by that? They are scattered. One minute they'll be jamming with pretty straight-forward rock and the next they will be serenading you to the point of sleep. I actually rather enjoy this particular schtick, however.
GWNN is a partial one-man bedroom project by Alex Shields , with some help of Bassist Tom King and guitarist Anupa Madawela when aid is needed. Their debut full-length album, "Mountain Debris" dropped about a week ago. I had heard about them through a peppy, silly song by the name of "Open Water", a song I find very hard not to sing along.
Check Em Out And Let Me Know What Ya Think. Thank You. Love You. Bye.... I'm and idiot.
Broken Bells is a gnarly collaboration of Danger Mouse and James Mercer, frontman of the Shins.........Do I even need to say more? They currently have one song out that will be included on their upcoming Columbia Records, self-titled album out March 9, by the name of "The High Road", and lemme tell ya.....it's good. Very good. Influences from both musicians are evident in the song, from Danger's beats to Mercer's distinct/chill voice. Not to mention this song has a damn catchy melody. So give it a listen and snag a free download. Lemmeknowwhatyathink! Enjoy!
"War" and all of its constituents is a topic regularly regarded by Austin based rockers, The Black Angels. Much like their song "Young Men Dead", their sound is dark and psychedelic and their lyrics pertain to memoirs of war and eery situations. The band has resurrected that beloved sector of 70's hippy, anti-war, protagonist rock music. However, it isn't to be a hippy or anything of the sort to enjoy their angry music. Check em out and get pumped! lemmeknowwhatyouthinkkaybye
First of all, take a look at the picture......monopoly money, goofy faces and it appears that they are enjoying themselves. So what impression does that give you? Serious, melodramatic and sincere? I hope not, because if that's what you were hoping for, this band will probably let you down. Now, does that mean the band is completely incompetent of creating serious and sincere music? Absolutely not. Take "Devil In Your Eyes", the third song off of there recently released EP "Big Changes", for example. The song begins with a solemn organ setting the mood for a "to-be-taken-seriously" arrangement. As the organ continues, guitar pings and a quick drum beat are layered on, the song progressively grows larger with accompanying hand claps and the guitar pings become clear chords. But juuuuuuusst as you deem the song according to its introduction, the band switches lanes and sings, "You laugh, you cry, everybody has to die" while harmonizing "aahhhs" are heard in the background. And just as you get comfortable with your had boppin to the kick drum, they change time and sing together, "Picking it up, breaking it in, knocking it down, taking your time". Though your sitting there in approval of the time change your going "that was unexpected".....
That is what is so great about this band. They are willing to mix things up and change direction. Very few of their songs follow a direct path throughout the whole song. Yes, there are moments on the EP that stick to a straight-forward and more linear path, "Summer Jams" for example, the first song on the EP, steers pretty straight. But there are many surprises and unforeseen areas that stick out, creating a unique listening experience. There are also many areas where the band harmonizes sections of lyrics ("Funny Money" and other songs) or just simple "oohs", which is...............(I just realized why there is monopoly money flying around in there picture...) incredibly enjoyable. I almost want to relate these guys to Pavement. You know, that hidden, underlying humor feel while not completely giving in and getting too silly.
This is a very tight, and creative band that deserves your ears. I highly suggest and recommend you check em' out and give some love. Snag a free MP3 of their insanely good song "Devil In Your Eyes" and give em a shout on myspace.
Oh, by the way, you are required to buy their new EP "Big Changes" if you read this review......sorry, forgot to mention that...............just kidding. BUT you should definitely snag their EP for the pocket-change price of $5 dollars.
My interest and love for obscure music can only be given credit to one person: my cousin Kirk. If it weren't for his music suggestions and two simple mix cds, this music blog would probably not exist and I would still be listening to bands that I'm honestly too embarrassed to admit I listened to. So what does that have to do with Grandaddy, dude? Well, the first mix cd from my cousin contained this ridiculously catchy but at the same time ridiculously childish song that eventually transitions into an intriguing rock song. At first I just thought it was funny, now, nearly seven years later, I still listen to it and enjoy it immensely.
--Time to digress--
Do you remember the first time you considered or gave "indie music" a try? I remember the first band I checked out was Deathcab for Cutie and it was a song called "President Of What". I remember sitting there listening to the song with a WTF? face on, thinking, "What in the world am I listening to?". But for some reason I kept playing the song over and over and it is still one of my favorite DCFC songs ever. Anyways.....if you DO remember your first experience, I am very interested in hearing about. So lend the comment section your experience and let me know!
The Morning Benders decided to grab a bunch of their San Francisco friends, plop them all in a studio and record a massive, heart-throbbing song called "Excuses", the first song on their upcoming album "Big Echo". There are violins, multiple guitars, drums and a slew of friends just singing. You will probably recognize some notable faces among the group like Chris Owens of Girls and John Vanderslice. Nearly every time I watch this video I get chills. Hearing Christopher Chu's vocals backed by swaying friends singing along instills a sense of good time and peace. Check it out. Hope you guys like it.
Lemmeknowhatyathinkloveyoubye.
Explosions In The Sky...... First of all, even if I considered this band completely repulsive, they still have one of the best names ever. Explosions In The Sky. Awesome. However, I do not find this band repulsive in any way shape or form. In fact if I had to be stuck on an island of some sort with only 5 bands to listen to, EITS would definitely be on that list. Why? Because there would be those moments where the sun was setting under the clear blue sky and nostalgia would kick in, and what better way to feel nostalgic than with some EITS.
Explosions In The Sky have the talent to bring out and into the open, almost every human emotion known to man: fear, love, anger and revenge (with the exception of lust). In nearly any song of theirs, they display one of these emotions if not all. There are periods of distant warming guitars that could put the most ADD prone to sleep. And there are periods of pure rock with crashing cymbals and guitars sneering angst. Like waves, EITS produces plateaus of comfort before preparing you for a wall of rock.
It's amazing the spectrum of ideas or memories you can fit into their music. Times of hardship, times of joy or times of peace. Their music instills realism into memories and adds increased attributes to imagination.
Definitely a band to check out: oh ya!? Did I mention they are an instrumental band?
I hope you guys enjoy!
You might know Emily Haines as the lead singer of Metric. Her voice is soothing and gripping. Take the eery song "Doctor Blind" for instance, amongst the dark piano, her voice is about the only relief in this song. The video creeped me the hell out the first time I watched it but definitely caught my attention. Beautiful song, but spine tingling.
Tired of all that downer music? Do ya need some uplifting? Lend an ear to Sean Bones' "Dancehall"! The title of the track does justice to the song. With a ska guitar melody and reggae feel, it's hard to not bump your head or tap your feet when listening. GET HAPPY!
The Radio Dept. is a Swedish band that have been creating glazy, dream-pop music for over 10 years. They have a new album, Clinging to a Scheme, coming out on April 21. Here is a very promising song for their upcoming release. "Heaven's On Fire" begins with an audio clip from Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore on large record companies and capitalism. Near the end of this clip, Radio Dept. seep in with some jangly happy keys and continue until the rest of the band joins.
Awesome song!
I have discovered quite a lot of interesting things over these last couple of days. Some new songs, bands and videos. But now I get the privilege to share them with you! But where to begin? hmmmm.
I guess I'll start with what I'm most stoked on.
The Antlers have created a beautiful, forlorn video for their (my favorite) song, "Bear"! The band is shown sitting in a wintry, silver forest, clad in all black. Meanwhile, there is a women shown struggling with a carriage with a large black ball. She falls and spills the ball, discouraged until the band members come to her aid. Quite a lovely video.
The Antlers - "Bear"
Secondly, I came upon a band by the name of Warpaint. They are an all-girl band from Los Angeles who create lethargic, mellow music that reveals similarities to Cat Power and Beach House. I was introduced to them on a song called "Billie Holiday", a gorgeous but sad sounding encounter. The vocals are harmonized and soothing as they spell out "Billie Holiday" in a cleverly-made melody. But the intriguing part of this song is the "half-cover" of Smokey Robinson's "My Guy" they incorporate into the middle of the song.
Now for a bit of comic relief from both of those lovely but downtrodden songs, here is a band by the name of The Cobbs with a folky, honky tonk song called "Say You Never Knew Me".
Too Roads would appreciate it IMMENSELY if you checked out the site and answer this questionnaire.
oh please oh please oh please!
Please dont upset little Johnny any further.
Ahh yes. Whats better than a good (or bad) song that gets redone only to sound better? I'm sure you could thing of a slew of things that are better, but well just say "nothing" at this point. It is quite a bold move to cover someone else's work. Sometimes it can be flattering and in some ways offending.
However they may be taken, there have been some absolutely ground-breaking covers. There has been instances where people thing the cover is the original and are totally oblivious to the original. Funny huh?.
Here are 10 of my favorite covers. There are bands in this list that I absolutely can't stand, but I have to give credit to their covers.
Snag the MP3 of them (if provided). Hope you enjoy them!
Drop a comment and lemme know some of your favorite covers!
(In no particular order)
1. "Take On Me" - Reel Big Fish (as made famous by: Aha)
My absolute favorite song by The Walkmen (probably my favorite band).The song begins in-your-face with wildly strummed guitars until they slow down and pick back up. All while Leithauser wails "and I've lived in a suitcase....for too long". The band rises and falls with Leithauser's vocals like a giant wave rolling towards the shore. This persists throughout the song until about two minutes in, when the songs flattens out for a breather. This is were the songs' climax comes in with a magnificent spine-tingling crescendo then flattens out again for the end. Might take a couple of listens to get into, but OH MAN....what a reward you get. Hope you guys enjoy it!
OH! I almost forgot!! Listen to this song AS LOUD AS YOU CAN!
- A beautiful album compiled of tear-jerking but shameless enjoyment. Each song is poignant, chilly, and compelling. So far my favorite album of 2010. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED "Norway" - Free MP3
2. Surfer Blood - "Astro Coast"
- Do you enjoy Real Estate but find yourself craving something similar but with a little more...."rock"? Surfer Blood is more the competent.Astro Coast is a straight-up, loose, beach rock album. "Swim (To Reach The End)" - Free MP3
3. Larrks - "An Exaltation of Laarks"
- This is a more than exceptional debut album from Laarks. Its lit with energy and sentiment but capable of avoiding sappiness. Very fun and easily accessible album.
4. Vampire Weekend - "Contra"
- Vampire Weekends' follow up to their self-titled breakthrough album. Contra sticks to the bands' roots but throws some interesting new things to the mix.
"You'd like this more if it were Lady Gaga", proclaims the...uh....lead singer...of......this....band on the song "Lady Gaga", the intro song to their latest album "Good Looking Out". Unlike Gaga, this band reeks "whit", "humor" and "fun". But don't be misled, these guys dish out solid enjoyable songs while incorporating all of these things into their music.
I can't honestly reveal why these guys kept me listening, because I still dont know why. Maybe its the various moments where I literally laughed out loud (lykeomglol!) while simultaneously bumping my head to the their sloppy yet crisp music. Or maybe it's because I never knew what was coming. For example on "Spooky Treat", they begin with an scratchy distant sounding guitar while the.....lead........singer..... hilariously sings, "I'm gonna kill myself for Halloween, won't that be a spooky treat, I don't know if I want to go alone, or in front of children in the street" and just when you think WTF? thats twisted... they blare into this skippy chorus of "HE'S GONNA DO IT, HE'S GONNA DO IT ON HALL-O-WEEEEEN". They are seriously all over the place. One minute they're rapping on "Custardy Battle" then the next they're jammin on "Radioactive", which sounds relatively like Cake/Pavement. However, my favorite moment is "RPG Theme" which starts off with a little tune that sounds, well, like one of those old SNES RPG games, then introduces this sick drum beat until they whole band wails "But I Don't Know, So I Won't Go!!!". Pretty sick.
I guarantee you will have a smile and/or "wtf face" on the whole time you listen to these guys. Dont take them seriously and don't expect anything, because if you do you'll probably miss out.
"Moving Units is a dance-punk trio from Los Angeles." That's according to Wikipedia. Don't get me wrong, this is a 100% truthful statement. But, gosh, what little justice it does to the band. It does not mention anything about their ability to deliver straight-forward original punk music. Nor does it mention how they create a volume that reminisces that of the hazy 80's zeitgeist. I could imagine a young kid hearing about them, googling them, winding up on this wiki page and reading in the "Bueller....Bueller.....Bueller" monotone voice that: "Moving Units is a dance-punk trio from Los Angele". Kid becomes thoroughly disinterested.
Maybe this is actually a.....!Yes! of course....a plan by Moving Units to show listeners otherwise, that they do not deliver boring lackadaisical music. But then again, if you were to ask them what they thought about it.....they could probably care less about the Wiki page.
