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Wild Nothing – Gemini

thismusicwins — Sun, 23 May 2010 03:52:18 +0000

Sounds like: Neon Indian, Memoryhouse, The Depreciation Guild

Song: Gemini - Summer Holiday [download here]

What's so good?

Wild Nothing aka Jack Tatum releases début album “Gemini” next Tuesday (May 25) via Captured Tracks, before setting out on mini-tour with Neon Indian next month. It’s been a busy year for the lo-fi artist, who’s Summer Holiday 7″ was just the beginning of a steady ascent to recognition for the Virginia based musician.

Typically, hushed vocals can barely be heard beneath the sonic haze Tatum undertakes, one which sees fashionably murky recording styles in full use to emphasise general melody above individual arrangement. Splurges of chorus coincide with the overwhelming feeling of semi-ambient summer nostalgia – in particular on guitar heavy “Summer Holiday” and tracks such as “Live In Dreams”. Other songs display equally shoegaze sections. Pick up his Kate Bush cover from my post last year, and “Summer Holiday”, as was described above.

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1. Original post: Wild Nothing – Gemini

2. Posted in: chillwave, dream pop, lo-fi, dreamwave, wild nothing

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

The Powder Kegs – Empty Side EP

thismusicwins — Fri, 21 May 2010 02:51:04 +0000

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Sounds like: Vampire Weekend, Paul Simon, Jason Mraz

Song: The Powder Kegs - La Mariposa [download here]

What's so good?

The Powder Kegs began in 2005 as an old time busking bluegrass band from New York City and New Jersey, however on winning a 700-entry radio talent competition entitled “People In Their Twenties Talent Show” from A Prairie Home Companion Radio in Vassar, NY, their subsequent burst of fame and hype enabled them to sell 1,400 copies of their debut CD that following year. Now four years on, the Empty Side EP brings a new sound which represents the other side of the coin in terms of the fusion of indie pop and folk which their hype-ridden 2008 full-length exhibited. The latest installment, the Empty Side EP, arrived unannounced in my inbox last week and proves a stark difference from the twangy bluegrass roots which launched the band all those years ago.

Having relocated to Philadelphia, the trio’s modified sound has brought their music to more mainstream attention. Single “La Mariposa” did brilliantly on the Hype Machine recently, crossing languages and genres to create a half-Spanish, half-American beach jam song, with influence displayed from artists as far ranging as Paul Simon and Jason Mraz. Although they play music nothing like so sickeningly cheesy as the latter, their music could certainly appeal to the same audience if it was ever to reach their ears. “Window on Your Wall” opens the EP wearing its Vampire Weekend influences on its sleeve; even the vocals aren’t far off those of Ezra Koenig’s multi-million dollar afro-pop outfit – and this theme continues to some extent in to the rest of the tracks.

“Don’t Cry, Little Baby Bird (Its All Right)” however is quite clearly Beatles influenced, and the very same track displays some piano and vocal lines which wouldn’t be out of place in a Wilco song. Aforementioned “La Mariposa” is followed with “Shake Me Down”, a narrative vocal based track with chill-out bass and keys to accompany. The EP is rounded off with perhaps its most upbeat track “The Right Time”, and this strummed finale is where the clean 60s production really comes into its own. Organ sounds push acoustic guitar into the background in this builder, and pretty quickly a track which begins with organic sounds turns into a swinging folk pop song.

The Powder Kegs expertly combine organic folk sounds with influences far ranging as they are old, to create a concise 5-track showcase of their recently reformed genre preferences. Once more, the album is available through band camp at name your price. All you have to do is follow this link and you are free to pay as much or as little as you wish for the Empty Side EP. If one track however is all you’re after – La Mariposa is the one to grab from below.

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1. Original post: The Powder Kegs – Empty Side EP

2. Posted in: folk, folk-rock

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Darwin Deez – Darwin Deez

thismusicwins — Fri, 07 May 2010 02:57:48 +0000

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Sounds like: Whitest Boy Alive, Vampire Weekend

Song: Darwin Deez - Constellations [download here]

What's so good?

Darwin Deez is far more of a breath of fresh air in terms of mainstream entertainment than he is in musical innovation – its fair to say that the ten tracks and 32 minutes of his debut album will just about hold most people’s attention for long enough to reach second single “Radar Detector” at track nine. Aside from “Constellations”, “DNA”, and the aforementioned single, the self-titled debut from former Creaky Boards guitarist is arranged into a hierarchy of great tracks and decent ones – whereby the seven remaining tracks on the album are distinctly average. In spite of this, they still make for a nice listen; there’s no way you’ll listen through the album in full and not be whistling a melody at the end or chuckling to yourself at some of the lame Americanised lyrics which never stray far from Darwin Deez’s songwriting.

However in comparison to the bands which Darwin Smith’s voice appears to mimic (we’re talking US pop-punk, enough said), the lyrics are comparatively meaningful – even if the occasional rather strange lyrical pairings “the sky is green // say you love me now”, and “the river is a bed // the hair on my head” filter out the lyrical tastes of many more deep-thinking listeners. The music, mainly guitar based, has also been done before. Merging guitar tones of Albert Hammond Jr and afro-pop overdrive that Vampire Weekend re-popularised in 2008, Darwin Deez makes friendly pop music sounding like an amalgam of all the above, We Are Scientists and the musical demand that an increasingly Americanised NME-brandishing British seem to unquestioningly consume.

The results however are undeniably entertaining, and when combined with Darwin Deez’s brilliant dancing and colourful videos – 2010′s best entertainer looks all set to make it big whether his music has depth or not. I certainly love this guy even if I can’t quite place why without feeling a strong guilty pleasure. In short, nothing new or original – but influences of old, re-done with flying colours.

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1. Original post: Darwin Deez – Darwin Deez

2. Posted in: indie pop, darwin deez

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Trips and Falls – He Was Such A Quiet Boy

thismusicwins — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:48:25 +0000

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Sounds like: Nick Drake, High Places

Song: Trips and Falls - How Do You Do [download here]

What's so good?

Trips and Falls hail from Montreal, and became the latest Song, By Toad Records signing at the end of last year. After a six month wait, their début album ‘He Was Such A Quiet Boy’ came out on my 18th birthday, March 22, 2010. As is so frequent with the Scottish label (a long-standing favourite of mine), the band play music which is as strangely compelling as it is odd-sounding, featuring often times directionless vocals set loosely over clanking semi-ambient sounds. For me, the band strike a more organic similarity to High Places in vocal style – displaying mild twee elements above the mist of psychedelic brass sections. But despite all of this, structure is retained into something vaguely catchy, into cold-hearted pop songs whose chilling nature will come back to haunt you.

The band’s myspace page begins to expose the secrets of their sonic unpredictability. They label themselves progressive/bluegrass/pop and Jacob Romero plays an ambiguous set of ‘various instruments’ as well as vocals and guitar. Ian Langohr contributes percussion. Backing vocals, shakers, bass and keys are shared between Ashleigh Delaye and Amanda Caron – who incidentally also play ‘Estrogen’. But the band certainly don’t allow themselves to be limited by such a standard set-up.

The two tracks which I am allowed to share are two of the denser arrangements, the strangeness of the titles is far more representative of what Trips and Falls are really like. Drawing elements from psychedelic pop bands in the vein of High Places, as well as an eery, and perhaps oversimplified similarity to Ben Gibbard in vocal delivery, Trips and Falls are as ambiguous as their band name. Almost progressive changes in tempo appear designed to pre-occupy rather than confuse, and the background sound-pallete remains as creepy and impersonal as Menomena‘s or indeed Brighton band Esben & The Witch‘s eccentric arrangements. If my aim has been achieved, you’ll be intrigued enough to press play/download.

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1. Original post: Trips and Falls – He Was Such A Quiet Boy

2. Posted in: indie pop, acoustic, progressive rock, bluegrass, trips and falls

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Yeasayer – Odd Blood

thismusicwins — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:54:33 +0000

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Sounds like: Animal Collective, Gang Gang Dance

Song: Yeasayer - O.N.E. [download here]

What's so good?

The days of downbeat acoustic songs for charity compilations are over. Everything about this Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel band screams DANCE (and not in the conventional sense). This is hipster-dancefloor-80s-inspired funkpop with the sensibility of Peter Gabriel, worldbeat percussion and the downright quirkyness of Gang Gang Dance and Dirty Projectors’ endless list of mad collaborators.

The only real anomaly on the album comes before you’re even paying any proper attention, in the form of opener The Children, which slowly builds up using Animal Collective style waterboard synths and equally overmanipulated fuzzy drone-vocals. Soon, a Fuck Buttons-esque drone emerges, with a Phoenix style skewiff melody taking its rightful place above the cascade. A few seconds later, Odd Blood really kicks in.

Ambling Alp is a killer lead single from the album that’s been around on the internet for months, and from airy keys confidently explodes an infectious lead line and philosophical lyrical content “And if anyone should cheat you, take advantage of, or beat you//Raise your head and wear your wounds with pride.” The song develops as furiously as its intense and bipolar lyrics suggest – into a synth heavy bout of anger with squealing falsetto vocals, and euphoric 80s pop post-chorus.

You barely get a break across the entire album, only 80s power ballad track I Remember (“You’re stuck in my mind, all the time”) and off-beat psychedelic interlude Strange Reunions detract from the huge mood this album expresses. The latter is where Animal Collective’s offbeat vocals and weirdo sound pallete shine through again rather than the usual of Montreal styled indie funk which rings loud and clear on number 9 Mondegreen. The chunky brass sections of Mark Ronson’s Version combined with the rushed dancefloor vocal of Michael Jackson take precedence here as ever, driving this overpopulated dancefloor filler to ever more intense heights.

If people say that this album loses its sheen as it progresses, or bunches its singles at the start, I’m going to directly disagree; its not that this album becomes filler, its just that it becomes infinitely weirder as it goes on. As if the beginning wasn’t strange enough? Single Ambling Alp, Gang Gang Dance psych-dance track Madder Red and perhaps my personal favourite O.N.E are all single-worthy and lie in the first half, but you only need to take a look at the titles of the last two songs, the manic saxophone filled ska track “Mondegreen” and anomalous album ender “Grizelda” for confirmation that the ending is really going to live up to the name ‘Odd Blood’. With such a huge range of sounds, structures and melodies flying off in all directions – Odd Blood is a genuinely ecletic album, drawing comparisons to everything from Michael Jackson to High Places or Panda Bear, and at no point does the album get too weird. Yeasayer have succeeded in exactly what Vampire Weekend have already failed to do in 2010, producing a second album which has added depth not at the expense of appeal, freshness or their long-running fanbase.

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1. Original post: Yeasayer – Odd Blood

2. Posted in: experimental, electronic-rock, yeasayer

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.