Of Johan Angergård’s three bands, only Acid House Kings stays fixed within its prior works’ roots. This band has always created lovable pop music and that hasn’t changed one bit in their first single in five to six years, “Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends?” The track is off the bands LP Music Sounds Better With You.
Read More »Acid House Kings: Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends? [mp3] The Asteroid #4 are masters at psychedelic pop. It was rampant on the band’s fifth album, These Flowers Of Ours…,… Read More »The Asteroid #4: Ignition Slated For Eight [mp3]
Megafaun has returned after last year’s Gather, Form, and Fly to give us their mini-album Heretofore, out now on Hometapes. On the new one, the band continues with their off-beat folk style, comparable to those they’ve toured with of late, from Bowerbirds to Akron Family to former band-mates Bon Iver. They’ve got a bit more energy though, and they’re a bit further out into the foothills and backwoods of rural America. Read More »Megafaun Returns with Heretofore [Feature]
From the remnants of Sarah Records and the twee movement come The Orchids, who have spent the past few decades mastering their craft. The band has a new record out now on Pebble Records, and their song “The Girl & The Soldier” comes from it. What makes the song so endearing is accompaniment by the Cairn String Quartet, who has also worked with Camera Obscura. The song itself is relaxed and laid back, soft and slow. It’s the perfect ballad for an indie pop slow dance, and nerds everywhere will rejoice upon hearing it. I know I did. Read More »The Orchids: The Girl & The Soldier [mp3]
Last month… actually, two months ago now that it’s officially November, Danish artist Bjarke Bendtsen released his debut album under the guise of The Migrant. That work is titled Travels In Lowland and it is a wonderful mix of pop and psychedelic folk. Bendtsen’s life seems a dream; he spent the past year traveling through the states with a guitar and a suitcase only to return to Denmark to record this album. And he did so from a cottage on the coast. That is, I assume, where the cover art comes from. Then he returned to the states to record his second, which we will see next year. Read More »The Migrant [Feature]
The Head and the Heart craft songs of such sweetly cadenced melodies and rhythms we can’t help but feel all together joyful when we hear them. Their self-titled debut album is from beginning to end an effortlessly accessible celebration of a refusal to give in to the thick of things. With a beautiful sun-lit Americana style, this band captures in sound the idea that songs are stories. Stories about the hope, glory, and severity we experience while being uprooted and replanted. About what we’re looking for, what we’ve left behind and who we’ve found. Stories about us. Stirring together classic elements of guitar, percussion, piano, bass, and strings with gravely vocals and a touch of hand-clapping, this band has a maturity in their musicianship that defies expectation. The Head and the Heart’s folk/pop approach may not be new, but it’s sure as hell fun, rousing and full of spirit. Read More »The Head And The Heart [Feature]
Creating a music video, in my opinion, should be about creating art. There are so many intricate elements that should go into a video that are so often left forgotten or, at least, unattended. First and foremost is the song itself — a video must compliment the art to which it is expanding from audio to video. Connecting the two is extremely important. Second is theme. The best videos have some storyline, vague or distinct. Or at least something visually interesting. Read More »25 Great Bands, 30 Great Music Videos
The Only Light On begins with a dreamy, shoegaze-like percussion and guitar pattern, fronted by a playful keyboard riff. Blending post-rock and shoegaze with elements of psychedelia, Ghost Box Orchestra finds a comfortable mix between being instrumental versions of Piano Magic and The Black Heart Procession. Vastly instrumental, Ghost Box Orchestra’s music finds solace in dreamscapes, and “Oh, The Moon Hangs Low” is no different. However, it has more of a rock edge to it, with heavier, louder guitars. And it has vocals, which sets the song apart from the others on The Only Light On. “Oh, The Moon Hangs Low” is explosive, hypnotic and swarming with the ethereal mystery you expect in post-rock meets shoegaze, and they execute it all masterfully. Read More »Ghost Box Orchestra: Oh, The Moon Hangs Low [mp3]
I am at a loss for words. The People’s Record, the latest by Swedish pop group Club 8, defies explanation. The band has always fit the pop mold, often flirting between dreamy electro-pop and indie pop sensibilities, but this new stuff has islands-ish percussion, playful guitars, and obscure keys. It’s as if their traditional Swedish pop took a tropical vacation. We heard it on the album’s first single “Western Hospitality” and it’s written all over their latest single, “Closer Now”. These new sounds are upbeat, fun and completely refreshing. There truly is nothing like it out there in the world of indie pop. Read More »Club 8: Closer Now [mp3]
A full two years ago, I raved about a little band from Olympia called Letters. Their music featured simple melodies played by complex and unique instruments. Vocals, too, focused on patters that caught the ear and pulled a listener in. It was this combination of elements that made them so intriguing. And intriguing they were, are and will likely continue to be as we speed forward into the future. Their latest effort is simply titled “A Free Sampler” and, true to their nature, it includes plenty of grit and catch, an abundance of lo-fi and pomp, and just enough spacer interludes to make the listener question. Read More »Letters [Feature]
