I’ll just start out by saying I’m sorry it’s been so long since my last post. I’ve had a dearth of motivation lately, and it’s affected all aspects of my life. Particularly in the last week, I have done very little of substance.
But today feels like I may finally be getting out of my rut. I went to the gym and had a solid workout, I cooked a quality meal for lunch, and, perhaps most importantly, I found a band worth sharing with my loyal reader.
HAERTS is a five-piece indie-pop band based in Brooklyn and composed of members from England, Germany and the U.S. Their sound is similar to recent “it” acts such as CHVRCHES and Lorde with their predilection for haunting female vocals.
Where HAERTS differs is that, although all the songs on their debut EP, Hemiplegia, sound similar, there’s enough variation to infer that this group has the chops to make some really interesting music.
By the way, the name of that album is a medical condition that is defined as “total or partial paralysis of one side of the body that results from disease of or injury to the motor centers of the brain.”
This is where, by blog law, I’m supposed to tie that definition into some description of the band. But I’d rather just link to another video.
It’s tough to decide which is more impressive about Lorde’s full-length debut, Pure Heroine — the music itself or the fact that the singer-songwriter behind Lorde is only 16 years old!
The New Zealand native, whose actual name is Ella Yelich-O’Connor, had record labels in a bidding war not long after she entered her teens. At 13, she signed with Universal and a year later she was working with the label’s songwriters.
She put out The Love Club EP in November 2012 and followed that with the single, “Royals,” which hit the top of the charts in New Zealand and also became the first female solo artist to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs chart.
The song is definitely the peak of Pure Heroine, but it’s far from the only standout track. Throughout the album, Yelich-O’Connor mixes in a variety of influences. The opener, “Tennis Court”, calls to mind a little bit of M.I.A. But she also invokes artists such as Zola Jesus — with a far less haunting tone — on “400 Lux”, “Ribs”, “Team” and “Buzzcut Season”.
Still in high school — or whatever the Kiwis call it over there — Yelich-O’Connor is a rising star and has only begun to tap her seemingly endless potential. It’ll be fun to see what she can accomplish once she’s able to focus full time on her music.
And just like every scene before it, whenever a band’s buzz starts to fade, there’s always another one ready to take its place.
One group that seems primed to take over the mantel of indie folk darling is The Lone Bellow, a trio from Brooklyn churning out twangy tunes that are simultaneously heartfelt and catchy.
Best described as a cross between Dawes and Milo Greene, the group also evokes comparisons to several of the established bands mentioned above, as well as recent newcomer Little Green Cars.
The group was born out of tragedy, when the wife of guitarist and lead vocalist Zach Williams suffered temporary paralysis following a horse riding accident. While sitting by her hospital bed in Atlanta, the Georgia-born Williams had little else to do than write in his journal. Eventually, a friend suggested he learn to play the guitar and turn his journal entries into songs.
After his wife recovered, they moved to Brooklyn, where Williams crossed paths with an old friend, Brian Elmquist (guitar and vocals), and formed The Lone Bellow. Rounding out the band is Kanene Donehey Pipkin (mandolin), who provides the female vocal accompaniment.
While slowly building a buzz, The Lone Bellow are still very much under the radar. So, now is the time to latch on before they break out big time. They are currently touring throughout the U.S. for the next couple of months.
Not too long ago, I wrote about the recent trend of bands using monikers that were difficult to search for online — BOY, Girls, Women, The Men.
The band CHVRCHES could have had a similar issue, but they purposefully used the Roman V instead of a “u” in their name so as not to get confused with actual churches during searches.
That’s not exactly reason enough to trumpet the band — although it’s close. Thankfully, its debut album is filled with catchy songs that need to be appreciated.
The Bones of What You Believe was released late last month to much critical praise. The group’s main sound isn’t anything new — female vocals on top of a ton of synths. The thing that separates CHVRCHES from the rest of the pack is Lauren Mayberry, the siren who dominates every track on the album.
Whereas many of their contemporaries — such as The Naked and Famous, Cut Copy and Shiny Toy Guns — bury the vocals under synths and production effects, CHVRCHES put an emphasis on the vocals.
The trio is the latest export from Glasgow, and they’ve been slowly building buzz since forming in 2011. A breakout set at SXSW and opening slots for Depeche Mode and Passion Pit were followed by the release of the Recover EP this past March.
The full-length album is filled with single-worthy tunes. In addition to the above two tracks, other notables include “Recover”, “Gun” and “By the Throat”.
The group is on a lengthy tour with most of the shows overseas. It will make a swing through the U.S. in November but only in the southern half of the country.
When I wrote the other day about bands who string along fans waiting on a debut full-length, I actually had a particular group in mind. HAIM, a trio of sisters from Los Angeles, have been putting out singles and EPs for more than a year to much hype and acclaim. But it wasn’t until last week that they finally dropped Days Are Gone, an 11-track effort that includes several previously released tunes.
If their Wikipedia page is to be trusted, HAIM, which rhymes with “rhyme,” is reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac, and their sound is some sort of combination of folk, pop and R&B.
In actuality, the girls are straight-up electro-pop, sounding more like a trio of Annie Lennox clones than Stevie Nicks. Although, they could probably be mistaken for Christine McVie at times.
The sisters — their names are Este, Danielle and Alana and they range in age from 21 to 27 — have been singing in various groups since they were children, when their parents enlisted them to play covers at local charity fairs under the moniker Rockinhaim. Este and Danielle were members of the Valli Girls, which scored some minor acclaim among the tween set in 2005.
Danielle, the middle sister, played guitar and drums in backing bands for such artists as Jenny Lewis, Julian Casablancas and Cee-Lo Green. But, eventually, she and her sisters decided to focus on putting out music together.
Their first release was a three-song EP, Forever, in early 2012. Besides the title track, it included “Don’t Save Me”. When that song was released as a single, its B-side was “Send Me Down”, which did not make the full-length album but has one of my favorite choruses of the last few years.
Having already toured with such acts as Mumford & Sons, Ke$ha, Florence and the Machine and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, the band’s star is definitely on the rise. And now that it’s finally released a full album, it’s probably just a matter of time before the sisters hit the road for a major headlining tour of their own.
Generally, I don’t like to write about a band until it has put out at least one proper full-length album. That way, you get a better feel for its sound, rather than just hearing a few choice tracks on an early EP.
However, that’s becoming a little more difficult as more and more bands choose to drop an EP — or several, in the case of The 1975 — before the inevitable LP. I realize bands have been doing this forever, but I’m referring specifically to groups that clearly have a load of solid songs at the ready but choose instead to slow-play listeners.
Rather than twiddle my thumbs in anticipation, I figured I’d just break my own rule and let you know about Wildcat! Wildcat! An electro-pop trio from Los Angeles, the group put out a self-titled four-track release last month and is tentatively scheduled to drop a full-length by the end of the year.
Judging by the first few songs, the LP has the makings of being top-notch.
Despite the band’s in-your-face name, it’s actually relatively laid back. Friends since middle school, Jesse Taylor (vocals, bass), Michael Wilson (vocals, keyboard) and Jesse Carmichael (vocals, drums) have a sound that would best be described as a toned-down version of MGMT or Passion Pit.
The group, which has only been a proper band for less than two years, has recently opened for such acts as Alt-J and Portugal. The Man — if that gives you another hint at its sound.
And with that, I resume twiddling my thumbs as I wait patiently for the full-length release.
My girlfriend definitely has the ability to turn me on. But she’s never been too good at turning me on to new bands. (How ’bout that for a lead, huh?)
We have a lot of things in common, but musical taste is not one of them. I suppose the best way to summarize it is that she could go anywhere in this country and find a radio station to enjoy. I could not.
So, when she posted a link on my Facebook wall for the band Twin Forks, I was nervous to say the least. Particularly when I saw that the group was fronted by Chris Carrabba, the former lead singer of her favorite group of all time, Dashboard Confessional.
I figured I’d give it a quick spin, decide it wasn’t for me, then let her down gently.
That plan went by the wayside as soon as I hit the chorus of “Something We Just Know”.
The second track on the new band’s recently released self-titled debut EP, it is insanely catchy and a perfect example of why this band will earn endless comparisons to such acts as The Lumineers.
Every one of the songs on this disc would be worthy of radio airplay, particularly “Back To You”, the awesome opener, and “Cross My Mind”, which seems destined for a 2014 Volkswagen commercial.
Anyone worried about this group being a Dashboard spin-off need not worry. Those days are clearly in the past for Carrabba. The closest he comes is on “Can’t Be Broken”, which slows things down a bit, but only intermittently.
Even the weakest song here, the closing “Scraping Up the Pieces”, is worthy of at least one star on the iTunes scale.
The only bad thing about this album is that it’s so short. The five songs are over before you know it, forcing you to immediately hit the Play button again.
We are tentatively planning on seeing the band when it comes through Chicago this weekend, so I would imagine it will have a more fleshed-out setlist, likely including a cover of the Talking Heads’ “And She Was”.
I’m always a little leery when I see that a musical act is being promoted as just one person. Whether it be an artist going by his actual name (e.g. M. Ward or Conor Oberst) or a pseudonym (e.g. Phosporescent or early Bright Eyes).
I realize that most of these solo artists have some help on a record and in live performances, but, generally, I assume their music is going to be too boring or not have enough going on.
I’ve often been proven wrong in this regard, but never more than when I listened to Telekinesis. While it’s often referred to as a band, according to most sources, its sole member is Michael Benjamin Lerner.
Considering the number of instruments that can be heard on his/their albums — guitars, bass, keyboard, drums — one is left to wonder if he just moves from station to station, recording each instrument and piecing it all together in the end. More than likely, he’s got a bunch of studio musicians helping him out, but they just don’t get prominent credit.
All of this is really irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that Telekinesis has put out three albums since “forming” in 2008, and all of them are above average.
That is the big single from the band’s 2009 debut, Telekinesis! It’s a pretty good representation of what Lerner has been doing ever since. Just straight-forward indie rock that’s catchy and filled with fun, clever lyrics.
Other strong tracks from that disc are “Imaginary Friend”, “Tokyo”, “Look To the East”, “All of a Sudden” and “Calling All Doctors”.
Lerner’s vocals are reminiscent of fellow Seattle resident and doppelgänger Ben Gibbard, whose Death Cab For Cutie bandmate, Chris Walla, does a little bit of everything, including production, on Telekinesis’ first two records.
The 2011 follow-up, 12 Desperate Straight Lines, isn’t much different from its predecessor. Lerner and crew do sprinkle in a few different rock styles throughout. There’s a little bit of grunge on “50 Ways” and something harder on “Fever Chill”. The best is when they throw in a post-punk guitar riff on “Country Lane” and “Please Ask For Help”.
Other notable entries here are “Gotta Get It Right Now”, “Palm of Your Hand” and “Car Crash”.
For the latest release, Dormarion, which came out this past April, Lerner traveled to Austin, Texas, to record in the studio of Spoon drummer Jim Eno. The album is named after the studio’s location, on Dormarion Lane.
I don’t know if the switch is what caused it, but this record isn’t as strong as the previous two. It does have a very strong single in “Ghosts and Creatures”, but the rest is hit or miss. The few other songs worth mentioning are “Wires”, “You Take It Slowly” and “Ever True”. A lot of people have praised album opener “Power Lines”, but it’s only so-so.
It would appear as though I’ve already missed Telekinesis’ latest swing through the Midwest. Perhaps I’ll catch him/them when they pass through again.
There are two things that are inevitably included in every review that’s been written about the band Diarrhea Planet. First, there’s the obligatory not-so-clever comment about the band’s shitty name (see what I did there?). Then, there’s the eventual description of their raucous live performances.
Having never seen them in person, I can neither confirm nor deny the latter, but I’m willing to go out on a limb and assume they’re the real deal. Judging from their two albums, it seems like a safe bet.
Their 2011 debut full-length, Loose Jewels, is a solid table-setter and probably a closer representation of their live show than the follow-up release, I’m Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams, which came out last month.
With the vast majority of the 11 tracks clocking in at under 2 minutes, the first album almost seems like a sampler of sorts, with no other purpose than to get the Nashville sextet’s music out there and heard.
The recent release is leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessor in terms of complexity, production quality and just about every other metric.
Where Loose Jewels came across as a demo cassette, Rich …, is a true album with no real filler among the 13 tracks. It’s not quite worthy of being included in a best-of-the-year discussion, but it’s not far from it.
That’s “The Sound of My Ceiling Fan”, probably the best track on the disc but far from the only good one. Other strong offerings include “Kids”, “Emmett’s Vision”, “Lite Dream” and “Ugliest Son”.
I definitely intend to give this album more spins throughout the year, but I am admittedly glad to be done with this post. Now, I can stop awkwardly searching for “diarrhea planet” while sitting in a coffee shop.
Fret not, riot grrl fans, there are still plenty of new acts out there to feed your need. But nowadays they often come with a twist.
The latest entrant in the race for your affections is Speedy Ortiz, a four-piece outfit from Northampton, Mass.
Started in 2011 as a solo project by former guitarist Sadie Dupuis, it had expanded into a full-fledged indie band by 2012 and churned out an EP and a couple of singles before dropping a proper full-length, Major Arcana, this past July.
If the music doesn’t scream it, that video should have tipped you off — this band is heavily influenced by the ’90s. There’s the halting guitars and lyrics, the lo-fi quality and the ever-present slacker vibe emanating from every track.
So, it’s not exactly riot grrl, but it’s definitely from that era.
If you want to see the entire 12-minute performance on KEXP, go here.
Infinite Shuffle 