As many great stories do, this one begins in a bar.
Shortly after seeing a Destroyer show in Chicago in late June, I was sitting with my friend at The Dark Horse in Wrigleyville, when the bartender started playing a mix of indie songs on Spotify.
As we all discussed various bands and concerts we’d enjoyed, one of the songs caught my ear. After plugging it into Shazam, I discovered it was “Figure It Out” by Suckers. I’d never heard of the band, but the bartender noted that they were pretty good, so I stuck that in the back of my mind for future use.
Fast-forward a bit, and, after listening to the band’s new album, Candy Salad, more than a handful of times, I’m confident that it will be among my favorites at the end of the year.
The first thing you notice when listening to the Brooklyn band’s two-LP catalog is how much its sound varies from track to track and album to album. While the 2010 debut full-length, Wild Smile, was something of a mishmash of influences — including most prominently Modest Mouse and Arcade Fire — the follow-up is much tighter and melodic.
On several tracks, lead singer Quinn Walker’s voice conjures up thoughts of Gruff Rhys, frontman for Super Furry Animals and Neon Neon. On a few other tracks, it almost sounds like the band employed the services of TV On the Radio vocalist and fellow Brooklynite Tunde Adebimpe.
The bulk of the songs on Candy Salad are rather catchy, as the other two band members join the fray vocally while also churning out some “psychotropic hooks.”
In addition to the above two songs, other standout tracks include “Bricks To the Bones”, “Leave the Light On”, “Going Nowhere”, “Charmaine”, “Lydia” and “Roses”.
Sidenote: It was actually while searching for Candy Salad that I discovered Plixid.com. So, bonus points for that.
If you and I have ever had discussed music for any period of time, chances are that I came off as a pretentious, know-it-all indie snob. I don’t mean to act like such a prick, but I tend to be pretty passionate about the music that I love, and the snark just kinda happens.
I’m well aware that my knowledge of music — and musicianship — is very limited, and my taste usually doesn’t jive with that of most people I encounter. As for this blog, one of my main missions is to share good, new (or newish) bands with anyone who happens to stumble upon the site.
And occasionally, I’m willing to put aside my feelings and write about a band that I’m not necessarily keen on but think others with similar tastes might enjoy.
And that brings me to Django Django.
The above track is the first single off the self-titled debut from this Edinburgh-bred, London-based quartet. Defying all labels and belying any influences, these lads mix electro, psychedelia, tribal percussion and a whole host of other sonic blurs into a wall of sound that is definitely an acquired taste.
I first discovered the group a month or so ago via And Pluck Your Strings. The Aussie-based blogger considered the album to be among the best of the year thus far.
Obviously, I don’t concur. But you can be the judge.
Filed under: A, B, F, H, T, W — assman41 @ 4:26 am
The last few months, it’s been difficult to find reliable websites to download music for free. The old standbys, such as MegaUpload, MediaFire and FileTube, have either been shut down by the government or simply don’t return any worthwhile results.
Rather than download RAR and ZIP files, I’d been forced go the torrent route and hope that Vuze would have the albums I was looking for. But that’s generally hit or miss.
But a couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon my savior — Plixid.com. Not only does this site provide reliable links to albums, it’s also become an invaluable source for discovering new music.
The site adds one album every 15 minutes. They cover numerous genres and include a lot of new stuff — but there’s also plenty of old albums.
Instead of sifting through everything, I stick to the Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk feed and have already found numerous gems. The highlight so far was The Darlingtons, who I featured in last week’s post. But there’s been enough good stuff to keep me busy.
Here are the standouts from the past few weeks:
Air Traffic Controller
Immediately at the start of “Hurry Hurry”, the opening track the album, Nordo, I figured Air Traffic Controller had to be a side project for one of the dudes from They Might Be Giants. You cannot listen to that song and think of TMBG’s “Birdhouse In Your Soul”.
But as the album plays on, the similarities die down and are replaced with some rather catchy tunes. But in the way that one fan’s “catchy” is another fan’s “annoying.”
With some quirky songs about “Field of Dreams” and “Star Wars”, this group keeps things light while still churning out some solid tunes.
Heavenly Beat
When he decided to try his hand at the whole solo thing, John Pena decided not to stray too far from his bread and butter.
Pena has taken the electro-dream pop he helped create as the bassist for Beach Fossils and jazzed it up, infusing it with a new level of complexity.
The songs on the recently released Talent are the kind of dream pop catnip that could lull someone to sleep. But there is also a whole other layer of electro-pop that makes the music more engaging. It’s this dichotomy that makes every track so enjoyable.
Factories
If you’re anything like me, you’ll be humming “It’ll Be Alright” for at least a couple of days after your first hear it via Factories’ debut album, Together.
The second track on the disc, this song is a perfect example of the heights this band can reach when its lyrics live up to the standard set forth by the sonic electro beats that permeate throughout.
The rest of the album is pretty solid, with such notable songs as “Canada”, “Calypso”, “Kamikaze”, “Pressure”, “No One Noticed Me But You” and the title track.
Here’s one reason you may feel a little apprehensive using Plixid.com. Apparently, Heat Waves, the debut full-length release from Brainstorm, isn’t officially out until Oct. 2. Meanwhile, I’ve been enjoying it for the past couple of weeks.
Oh well. I’m glad I was able to hear it early. The album is definitely solid, filled with catchy indie rock-pop ditties. But that description does not do these songs justice.
This Portland trio has an intoxicating mix of influences that work so well together — kinda like Vampire Weekend, except the two bands really don’t sound anything alike.
The indie gods giveth, and the indie gods taketh away.
Shortly after downloading a few tracks by the group, Trespassers William, I’ve come to find out that they are disbanding. The September release of Cast, a collection of B-sides and rarities, will be the final output of the Seattle group.
After three full-length albums and two EPs, the group’s two main members — Anna-Lynne Williams and Matt Brown — have decided to focus on their solo projects.
From what little I’ve heard of the group’s music, I know that it will surely be missed.
You know that feeling when you hear a band for the first time, and you know — you just know — that its music is going to instantly become a part of your rotation for many months to come?
With as much music as I listen to, you’d think it’d be a common occurrence for me. But, in actuality, it probably only happens a few times a year — if I’m lucky.
Well, it just happened to me again yesterday. I’d downloaded several albums from a new site I recently found — I’ll go into more detail on that next week — and I was listening to all of them during my shift at work.
They all sounded pretty good, to varying degrees. But once I got to The Darlingtons, I knew immediately that they were special.
Releasing their debut full-length, Decades Dance, on May 21, this four-piece indie rock band from Taunton, Somerset, England, officially staked a claim at being included on many a best-of-the-year list.
Admittedly, their sound isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but that doesn’t stop them from churning out non-stop catchy tunes.
The last time I was this excited about a debut album was probably in 2010 when Two Door Cinema Club hit the scene.
The Darlingtons share at least some of their sound with 2DCC, but they’re not as dancy. They also remind me a bit of Glasvegas, but much poppier and without the thick accents.
There’s really not much more to say about these lads, other than that I really hope they make it to the States soon.
By the way, while there is no filler on this album and the above three songs are all solid, I couldn’t find links to my two favorite tracks — “To Break a Heart” and “A Song For Someone Else In Time”.
If there was any doubt in your mind whether you should invest some time — and maybe money — in The Lumineers, just check out some of the many reviews of their self-titled debut full-length release on Amazon.com.
One fella from Minneapolis was so enthralled by the release and certain that you would be too that he offered a free sandwich as a guarantee.
“… if you buy this album and you don’t like it I will meet you exactly halfway between my house in Minneapolis and your house wherever that is and I will buy you a sandwich.”
Another, who wasn’t quite as enamored with the album but still liked it plenty, gave a rather pragmatic response.
“While I would not say that it is unlike anything I have ever heard, I would be comfortable saying that I thoroughly enjoyed it the whole way through and it is only growing on me with each listen (as most good music does..IMO).”
The Lumineers have been around since 2002 (or maybe 2005, depending upon which part of Wikipedia you believe), and they’ve been a trio since Wesley Schultz (lead vocals) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums) moved from New York City to Denver and found Neyla Pekarek after posting an ad on Craigslist for a cellist.
They finally released their first album this past April and have been gaining a lot of attention since their single, “Ho Hey”, appeared in an episode of Hart of Dixie in the winter and later in a Bing commercial last month.
As you can tell from the above song, the Lumineers’ sound is pretty straight-forward folk rock/Americana. As far as comparisons, all of the usual suspects should come to mind, but the most prevalent is probably The Head and the Heart.
There really isn’t any filler among the 11 songs on this initial offering. Some of the standouts are “Submarines”, “Slow It Down” and “Dead Sea”.
It looks like the bulk of their upcoming tour stops are in the East and Southeast before heading overseas. After some strong showings on various Billboard charts, this band’s star is definitely on the rise, and there’s no telling how big it will be by the time it returns Stateside.
At this point, I should probably re-evaluate every band that I’ve ever written off.
That’s the lesson that I’ve slowly grasped during the past year or so of listening to new music from bands I’d previously discarded.
The latest retrieval from the trash heap is Japandroids, a punk/pop-rock duo from Vancouver.
I’m not sure if I was confusing them with Japanther or I just heard the wrong song, but I definitely had them pegged as nothing more a couple of loud, somewhat abrasive hacks attempting to play rock but failing.
Turns out, they’re actually pretty solid, particularly on their latest release, Celebration Rock, which came out early last month.
Their 2009 debut, Post-Nothing, was a slightly lighter attempt at garage/pop-punk, with every song coated in distortion. Most of the songs sound pretty similar, but the few that stand out are “Young Hearts Spark Fire”, “Rockers East Vancouver” and “Sovereignty”.
There was also a release in 2010, No Singles, which was just a compilation of a couple of EPs.
The more important album is Celebration Rock, which tones down the distortion greatly, tightens the guitar work and produces songs that are far more accessible.
At several points throughout the album — such as “Adrenaline Nightshift”, “Younger Us” and “The House That Heaven Built” — the Canucks start to channel The Gaslight Anthem, but without all of the Springsteen worship.
The above song is easily the best on the album. But there are a couple more worth noting — “Fire’s Highway” and “Continuous Thunder”. Maybe it’s because I just listened to a bunch of Guided By Voices the other day at work, but “Continuous Thunder” reminds me of Robert Pollard’s crew — but with more distortion.
By the way, if you haven’t already heard it before, Japandroids have a pretty interesting back story. Including the fact that they were all but disbanded when they finally got their big break.
Last week, I wrote about Alabama Shakes and mentioned other bands who’d ridden a wave of hype at the start of their careers.
Another artist who’s been receiving a lot of early buzz — albeit on a much smaller scale — is Kishi Bashi. The gang over at NPR’s All Songs Considered have been singing the praises of the singer/songwriter/violinist ever since discovering him at SXSW.
The project name is actually a pseudonym for K Ishibashi, who was born in Seattle, grew up on the East Coast, helped found the Brooklyn-based band, Jupiter One, and is now a member of Of Montreal.
It’s a good thing he’s made it possible to embed all the tracks from his debut album, 151a, because it’s difficult to pinpoint his sound.
The best I can come up with is a cross between MGMT and Jonsi/Sigur Ros, with several other influences sprinkled in. And Ishibashi’s stirring violin adds an incredible dimension to all of it.
The track that first introduced him to NPR listeners was “Bright Whites”, definitely a catchy tune and probably the best on the album. But “Manchester” is certainly a worthy contender for that title.
While there is no real filler here, a few other standouts include “It All Began With a Burst”, “Chester’s Burst Over the Hamptons” and “Atticus, in the Desert”.
It never fails. Every year, the indie tastemakers find one new act to hype the hell out of — often before it even releases its first full-length album.
And usually, because of the excessive hype, I end up steering clear of said band for several months, no matter whether I think I might like it or not.
Some of the notable “it” bands have included Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend and The XX.
This year, the band is Alabama Shakes, the roots rock quartet hailing from Athens, Ala., that has become the darlings of the indie scene.
Formed in 2009 by lead singer/guitarist Brittany Howard and high school classmate Zac Cockrell (bass), along with Heath Fogg (guitar) and Steve Johnson (drums), Alabama Shakes put out a self-titled EP last fall and went viral seemingly overnight.
One listen to their first single, “Hold On”, and it’s clear that they have the chops to live up to the critical praise.
And while their debut LP — Boys & Girls, which came out in April — is solid, the sound is one that could get old fast. For the most part, Brittany and the boys do their best impression of Big Brother and the Holding Company.
Howard’s similarity to Janis Joplin is unmistakable and perhaps even better than the original.
Alabama Shakes put out the kind of music that a lot of people can agree upon. But there are plenty of music fans that will probably be turned off by them — either because they’re turned off by the lack of depth or because they’re too pretentious to enjoy this style of music.
It’ll be interesting — after all the hoopla dies down — to see where the Shakes go from here. They could easily churn out more of the same tunes to a public that will eat it up. Or, they could try to develop as a band and add some nuance to their sound.
Either way, it’s doubtful they’ll be falling off the map any time soon.
A lot of times, a band’s first big single stands as a beacon of things to come. Fans can latch on to that catchy song and expect to hear a similar sound on the rest of the album.
But it doesn’t always happen that way. Sometimes, a band’s big hit sounds nothing like the rest of the album.
Imagine if someone had first discovered Green Day by hearing “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”. Said person would be rather surprised, and possibly displeased, after listening to the rest of Nimrod.
That’s kinda the situation with Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, the 2009 debut from English alt-rock trio Band of Skulls. Its most recognizable song is “Light of the Morning”, which was not released as a single, but has been featured in commercials and movies.
While the song is pretty solid, it doesn’t mesh with many other tracks on the album — except maybe “Death By Diamonds and Pearls” and “I Know What I Am”. If you had only listened to that, you’d think Band of Skulls was nothing more than a derivative of the White Stripes.
But delve deeper and you’ll discover a band that has a lot more going on. In addition to their killer riffs, Russell Marsden and Emma Richardson do a great job backing up each other on vocals. And Matt Hayward’s drumming ties everything together.
Other strong songs on the debut disc include “Fires”, “Honest” and “Patterns”.
The group takes its melodic, blues rock to a slightly higher level on its latest release, Sweet Sour, which came out in February of this year. Rather than just churning out straight-forward rock, the Skulls soften it, in a similar manner that Silversun Pickups have mastered.
The top songs here are “Bruises” and “Lay My Head Down”, the latter of which is slowed down considerably and becomes something of a heavy ballad.
Other solid entries include the title track, “Wanderluster”, “Hometowns” and “Lies”.
When I received the text message a few weeks ago, I was excited, but also a little nervous. My friend, Scott, who is one of the few people I respect when it comes to their taste in music, sent me word that I needed to immediately check out the group Alt-J and that their debut album, An Awesome Wave, was easily one of the best of the year.
Naturally, I was intrigued. Usually, before checking out a band, I’ve at least heard a minor mention of it once or twice via various sources. But when I downloaded and first listened to Alt-J, I was flying completely blind.
Upon the first listen, I immediately classified it as “an acquired taste.” It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was gonna take a few more listens before anything grew on me. And, as I suspected, after a handful of spins, I’ve grown — not exactly fond, but — accustomed to the mixture of influences. From Junip to modern Radiohead to some other hard-to-pinpoint elements, Alt-J churn out some tunes that are at times funky, at times electro, but always chill.
As described on their Last.fm page, the music is …
… alt-pop that draws on poignant folk verses, crushing synths, smart hip-hop syncopations and tight vocal harmonies.
The quartet formed in 2007 while the four members were all students at Leeds University in England. Known first as Daljit Dhaliwal then FILMS, the band eventually took on the moniker ∆, which is the symbol that results from hitting Alt + J on a Mac computer. I’m on the fence as to whether that’s incredibly awesome or totally pretentious.
Nevertheless, they worked on their sound for several years and eventually gained a local following. After a four-track demo, they put out a pair of 7″ records and eventually released the full-length debut this May.
While Alt-J almost certainly will not be making an appearance on my best-of-the-year post, I wouldn’t kick them out of bed for eating crackers.
(I apologize if that last clause was confusing. It’s something one of my college roommates used to always say, and it occasionally pops into my head.)
Infinite Shuffle 