Amazing doesn’t even begin to describe how fantastic this track is. Occupying the fine genre of baroque-pop, the Philadelphia based Brown Recluse has completely rocked my face today with their mini-LP Panoptic Mirror Maze, which they released freely on their Bandcamp. The retro sound hearkens back to the rock ‘n roll music of the 1960s, and in a way, sounds a little like The Morning Benders or perhaps even The Young Veins.
From the opening brass section to the closing electric guitars, it’s hard not to love “Memory Museum.” The track immediately captured me in its trance. It’s everything that I love about music, and while it is not as relaxing as folk music, there is something quite inherently great and relaxed about it.
Their debut album, Evening Tapestry, is being released by Slumberland Records on March 15th.
Hailing from Brooklyn, indie folk-rockers Soft Landing—as you might have guessed—are quite a soft band. With arrangements as strong as fellow folk-rockers Grizzly Bear and Bright Eyes, the finesse that Soft Landing brings to the table is admirable to say the least, and it’s no surprise that they got picked up by a label as quickly as they did.
Delicacy does not even begin to describe the sound of “Pendleton Woolen.” The finger-plucked guitar work and controlled vocals produce this form of intimacy and delicacy rare seen in folk music today. You would have to go back to the earlier days of Iron & Wine, Blind Pilot, or perhaps Joe Purdy for something comparable to the intimacy of this song. Perhaps it is the sweat upon my brow from a hard day’s work, but there is something about “Pendleton Woolen” that just seems to relax every muscle in my body.
Newfoundland (that’s in Canada for you geographically challenged) based indie-rockers Hey Rosetta! made some pretty big splashes in the Canadian rock scene with their 2008 album Into Your Lungs. Aside from being shortlisted for 2009’s Polaris Music Prize and winning, and having a quite skilled string section—not dissimilar from fellow Canadian rockers Arcade Fire—the band has been working on their new album Seeds, which is due for release on the 15th, and they have kindly given the internet their debut single “Yer Spring” to disseminate and enjoy.
“Yer Spring” starts off delicately enough—even with an opening vocal that immediately had me checking to see if Scott Hutchinson of Frightened Rabbit was singing on the track—and builds up to a nice rock crescendo that showcases their string section. It weighs in a little hefty at a full five minutes in length, but it’s an enjoyable indie-rock song that doesn’t tread on anything to heavy.
Icelandic producer—and player of many instruments—Ólafur Arnalds started his solo career in 2007 with Eulogy for Evolution, and has been making ambient piano and string arrangements ever since. His career as a solo artist is vaguely reminiscent of fellow Icelander Jónsi’s first album, Riceboy Sleeps, in that it contains some of the more beautiful compositions—with the exception of the untouchable Philip Glass—I have heard in quite some time. This track “Fok” is a throwback to his to his 2008 EP, Variations of Static.
The track itself contains a beautiful piano loop mixed with some light beats and gorgeous strings. It’s a rather dark song that is as beautiful as it is extraordinarily bleak. Listen with care, and be swept away.
Seattle-based folk outfit Fleet Foxes made quite their mark on the quite active indie-folk scene when they released their debut album in 2008. Perhaps what set them apart from every other entry into that year’s folk scene, including Bon Iver’s genius For Emma, Forever Ago, was their ability to sound beautifully natural both in the studio and on the stage. They have even gone on to inspire the equally fantastic and talented First Aid Kit. It brought me great pleasure to wake up this morning to the sight of a new song and a new album being announced by the group. The new album is entitled Helplessness Blues, and while it may not be coming out until May 3rd, they have given us the titular track to tide us over until then.
Judging solely based on the titular track, it seems as if we can forget being worried about a sophomore slump. The track possesses all of the beauty of their past efforts and somehow manages to be even more beautiful—and longer—than all of them. The forzando that you reach about halfway through the track I can only describe as magical, and will leave you even more eager to continue on for the duration of the track. “Helplessness Blues”—the song—is excellent, and if it is any indication of what is to come on the full album, then I suspect that this will be yet another year of glory for Fleet Foxes.
Hailing from Washington D.C., the appropriately named U.S. Royalty have been rightfully making a name for themselves around the music blogs with their recently self-released album Mirrors. Sounding like a more tightly arranged and soulful version of fellow indie rockers The Daylights mixed with the delightful—and previously featured—The Steelwells, it’s hard not to imagine U.S. Royalty becoming a sensation both live and in the studio.
On “Monte Carlo”—the third track on their new album—you get a prime example of their old-fashioned, soul-filled, indie rock. The track is nearly five minutes long, and it does not make you regret a single second of it.
When I first started listening to Houdini, my friend Ghada immediately pointed out the similarities between it and MGMT’s “Electric Feel”—and then quickly pointed out that it was actually better. While I am not sure if it beats MGMT’s iconic single, it is certainly one of the more charming uses of synthpop I have heard in a while.
French electro-house musician and remixer Vitalic has quite a history of good music and remixes under his belt, and this more upbeat version of a href=”http://www.myspace.com/amadouandmariam” target=”_blank”>Amadou & Mariam’s Sabali is no exception to his works. The electro comes in strong in this remix, and the beat even stronger.
Sounding like a mixture between Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and She & Him—with possibly a dash of a Generationals song—“Egg on a Sea” by Cotton Jones is one of those unique songs that, much like aforementioned bands, you want to listen to on sunny days with a lovely beverage in hand.
Tim Goldsworthy (working under the name of Thee Loving Hand) has made quite a name for himself producing a number of albums and co-founding DFA Records with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy. Having worked with the electronic genre for quite some time, it should come as no surprise just how elegantly crafted this remix of Cut Copy’s “Take Me Over” is. It weighs in at a hefty nine minutes of pure electro-dance, with a full minute of outro beats.
Its 2011 and we want to give you more. Think of it like daily brochures with a healthy dose of information and songs. Stay tuned for the next dojo session!
