Author Archives: Jordan Coburn

[Alternative/Rock] Sunflower Bean – Wall Watcher

Posted by Jordan Coburn - November 16, 2015

Sunflower Bean
Wall Watcher

Manhattan-based Sunflower Bean has caught our attention with their latest single off their debut album Human Ceremony. Describing themselves facetiously as “night music” in their bio, the track “Wall Watcher” indeed sets a perfect tone for the cool kids jammin’ in the moonlight in an indie daze on your local street corner. You would just want to be their friends. Very reminiscent of the all-hailed Joy Division, the drums in this track give this song an edgy English rock flare. And with the title of one of New Order’s best hits in their album name (“Ceremony”), we’ll really never be able to get away from that comparison. Blessed with some rock-goddess vocals mixed with the perfect amount of reverb, the lead singer adds a delicate touch to the otherwise grunge-y tune making it a great listen for most any ears the entire time. Keep up the good work, Sunflower Bean. We’re looking forward to seeing where this album release takes you.

[Synth Pop] Grimes – Kill V. Maim

Posted by Jordan Coburn - November 12, 2015

Grimes
Kill V. Maim

Stream Only

Canadian singer, songwriter, producer, music video director, and record producer Claire Boucher, better known as Grimes, has been working on her latest release for quite a while. Anyone who follows Grimes knows that she’s been influenced and motivated by quintessential pop for most of her career, citing people like Mariah as her major inspirations. While her previous releases have been primarily infused with her insidiously experimental electronic flare, her latest album release Art Angels finally epitomizes the pop product she’s been working towards, and she absolutely nailed the aesthetic in her track “Kill V. Maim.”

This song packs the kind of punch that belongs in the official soundtrack to a fierce cheerleader’s escapades taking out crime while defying any and all gender stereotypes—a theme that Grimes touches on in many of her interviews and songs. Complete with word-spelling and hi-yahs, “Kill V. Maim” has a powerful beat and lyric structure that’ll make anyone want to take on the world, and has convinced us that that is exactly Grimes’s plan. Seriously, this girl can do anything.

[Electronic] Botany – Bad CGI

Posted by Jordan Coburn - November 12, 2015

Botany
Bad CGI

Soundcloud

Austin-based producer Spencer Stephenson, known by the moniker Botany, stepped out onto the electronic scene in a big way with his new LP Dimming Awe, The Light Is Raw. Demonstrating a significant command of the frequency spectrum, Stephenson has once again created a work that effortlessly combines ambient, hip-hop and psych in a landscape that transports the listener to a place of heightened auditory perception upon the first listen. Stephenson’s artistic interest in paying homage to all the freaks (aka frequencies) is hugely seen in this LP’s own “Bad CGI”, a track that will get you vibing all around.

Opening with a drone-y vocal sample that will come back to haunt you later on in the song, the track has an experimental low end pulse that fittingly follows, setting the driving bass rhythm for the rest of the track. The intro flows seamlessly into a funkier tune as the bass line comes in along with the highs of ambient flutter effects that fill the background of the track. It soon becomes apparent that this is one you can get down to. The transition from a chanty bass track to the track that could easily be dropped at a club is impeccable, and I think that’s what attracts us to Botany’s work the most. Check out the rest of his stuff for a groove-ridden train ride across his Texas-made bridge between the experimental and beats that anyone can feel.