Posted by Ant on Jul 17 2011 to Alternative
So I’ve never heard of Danger Mouse or Daniele Luppi (and for the purposes of this post, I will assume you haven’t either), but I’d wager a bet that you’ve heard of Norah Jones and Jack White? The latter of which being half of the White Stripes and the former being, well, Norah Jones? Perhaps that means you think you know what’s coming, given that they have graced a couple of tracks with their vocal talents for the album Rome, but you’d be entirely wrong.
Rome can be best be described as a kind of concept album, made to emulate the the classic scores of spaghetti westerns (most notably, the scores of Ennio Morricone). These old scores had a vivid warmness to the quality of the recording, as well as a brooding, kind of mysterious desert aura to them as well, all of which has been replicated wonderfully in this album. Having said that, the compositions themselves feel modern at the same time, meaning there’ll be something on this release that’ll grab you: I am most fond of Norah Jones’ contributions, as they are substantially removed from her usual repertoire but are still a perfect match for her vocal talents. Even Jack White’s work is good, despite me not being a particularly big fan of his.
So yes! It is certainly an interesting album. As lame as it is to say this, it’s definitely an album that’ll take you on a journey. Oh, and anyone using Google Chrome: check this out.
Downloads
From Rome
Black – (YouTube)
Roman Blue – (YouTube)
Posted by Ant on Apr 13 2011 to Alternative
I have a good feeling that we’ll be hearing more from these plucky English lads in the future, if not already. Their music has been liberally sprinkled on all manor of things, including films, ads (apparently anyway: we certainly don’t get them here) and awesome video game trailers starring Batman (which is where I happened upon their music). This isn’t a bad thing, everyone: what better reward could there be for producing great music than to make sure a wide variety of people get to sample it?
And boy howdy, what music it is too. It’s a delectable mix of indie rock, mixed in (at times) with just a hint of gypsy punk and also what Wikipedia calls Neo Funk. Which is seriously awesome! As I’m sure that I’m doing a disservice to them with this lousy post, I highly recommend that you dive into the following YouTube links and then proceed to buy their album. It’s the only right course of action.
Downloads
From The House That Dirt Built
Oh No! Not You Again! – (YouTube)
How Do You Like Me Now – (YouTube)
Short Change Hero – (YouTube)
Posted by Ant on Apr 10 2011 to Alternative
Like m’colleague, Hugh, I was pretty smitten with Imaad Wasif’s first solo album. I believe his words were “I think I’m in love”, and they’re sentiments that I also reflect. Unfortunately for me, I forgot to keep checking up on Mr. Wasif, so you can all thank the revival of either/or that I’m here to alert you to his newer stuff.
Since one of our mottos is something about being better late than never, I bring you The Voidist from the historical depths of… 2009. This is most certainly a different album to his debut, but it retains the dreamy vocalisation and mesmerising lyrics that defined it. There’s something kind of lo-fi with this release, almost as if it was recorded in the 60s or something: a bit of psychedelic twang and a darker sort of ‘flower power’ feel that moves way past the quiet, reflective mood of the debut.
As per usual, I am lousy with describing music! Also, as per usual, I have no MP3s, but I do have YouTube links and one to his page on the Tee Pee Records site.
Downloads
From The Voidist
Redeemer – (YouTube – Video is a bit NSFW)
Widow Wing – (YouTube)
Imaad Wasif on Tee Pee Records
Posted by Ant on Dec 9 2009 to Alternative
I am all about sentimentality at the moment, and finding the right tunes for said moments. I happened to stumble upon these plucky lads from an ad for play.create, a wonderful night of charitable events. Explosions in the Sky are an American instrumental group, specialising in just such music.
Now, I’m not one for instrumental music, short of orchestral scores: I just find it to be rather dull. Explosions, however, are incredibly pleasing to the aural palette, which is probably the best I can say about them. I’m sure many won’t really get what I’m digging at, but there’s something soothing and flowing about these tunes – they tell their own stories as well as, if not better, than what most ‘musicians’ care to shove down their microphones these days.
Unlike most of my entries, these folks have MP3s! And a lot of them too, so take your pick. The tune I heard in the ad was Day Five from their 2005 release The Rescue, but feel free to poke around this page for some more. They’ve very nicely put up the entire album as well! Ain’t that swell?
Downloads
From The Rescue:
Day One – (MP3, 6.7 MB)
Day Two – (MP3, 5.6 MB)
Day Three - (MP3, 6.7 MB)
Day Four – (MP3, 4.4 MB)
Day Five – (MP3, 9.0 MB)
Day Six – (MP3, 6.6 MB)
Day Seven – (MP3, 6.4 MB)
Day Eight – (MP3, 3.9 MB)
Posted by Hugh on Nov 19 2009 to Alternative
I mentioned the band Kingsbury a while back in one of my posts, so why not write about them again? Their latest EP, Lie To Me, came out late last year so isn’t particularly new anymore, but it is still good music that you crazy kids have yet to listen to. Their music is likely best described as atmospheric rock, more about setting a mood than blowing your mind with explosive guitar riffs. It is great music to relax to, preferably with a cold brew in hand. Another thing I love about this band is that they release all their music for free! I always like bands who would prefer to have their music heard than make a few bucks. That said, I am sure they also like making bucks, so go ahead and buy their albums if you like them. Or heck, donate your life savings! Remember to check out their site for more free music, too.
Downloads
From Lie To Me
Lie To Me – (MP3, 6 MB)
Back On The Orange Grove – (MP3, 7.3 MB)
As I See It – (MP3, 4.3 MB)
Posted by Hugh on Nov 9 2009 to Alternative
When I went through my inbox the other day, there was maybe a hundred e-mails that still needed sifting through. I believe three or four were about one band, Lemonwilde, which I suppose is a good way to grab someone’s attention. I’m glad they did, anyway, as their music’s pretty good! They released their EP, Red Room, in March, and now it is a free download. I would recommend them to anyone who likes Radiohead, Calla, or Kingsbury. If you’re not yet familiar with such bands, then think of it as rock that focuses more on intelligent lyrics than crushing guitar rhythms – the thinking man’s rock music, if you will. If you fancy yourself a thinking man type, then you should definitely download the EP. If you end up liking it, make sure to do them a solid and buy it, and keep an eye out for their upcoming album.
Downloads
From Red Room
Red Room EP – (Zipped MP3s, 23.2 MB)
Posted by Hugh on Dec 10 2008 to Alternative
If I’m ever going to get through this backlog of bands I enjoy to post, I’m going to have start… posting more of them! So for the next few days at least, enjoy some double-post days. First up is The Pity Party, who are not just any band in LA. No, they were selected as the best band in LA by LA Weekly. I take that entirely at face value, because doing otherwise would cause me to delve into LA Weekly’s musical tastes, and indeed full-bore paranoia. Anyhoo, this is another tough one to pigeonhole. Love Lies is a song that can only be referred to as scrumtrilescent, and singer Heisenflei’s vocals on it melt my heart every time I listen to it. The song sounds very much like something out of 90s alternative, with a teensy bit of electronics thrown in for effect. Bottom Of The Hole is a different beast entirely, unless 90s alternative songs had such dark piano playing, and I submit that they did not!
If all that wasn’t mind-blowing enough for you, these songs are at 320 kbps, which is pretty impressive for a free band offering, so kudos!
Downloads
From Orgy Porgy
Love Lies – (MP3, 12.6 MB)
Bottom Of The Hole – (MP3, 9.9 MB)
Posted by Doug on Jun 24 2008 to Alternative
I thought I had already made a post about this band, to which I was quite ready to link within this very post. Turns out, my slackerness is even greater than I thought, as that post was basically in my ‘todo’ queue, and did not technically even exist. Nevertheless, this CD came out in the interim, so here we go.
Someone described this band as “world-punk”, and I can’t really disagree, though the concept of “world” music seems to bring to mind bamboo flutes and whale songs – not exactly the most thrilling fare, generally. This record is a collaboration with Tamir Muskat, so it’s got a crazy Middle Eastern bent to it, which seems immediately reminiscent of Balkan Beat Box. They’ve never shied away from unconventional rhythms and instruments, leaving surprises on each disc, but on The Golden Hour, it feels like even more of a reinvention.
This isn’t particularly surprising, given how frontman Tod A recently “took a protracted leave of absence from an idiot-run America, the cut-throat music business, and the Western world in general,” visiting Thailand, India, Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia. His odyssey was certainly productive, and I hope they continue in their current direction.
From The Golden Hour
Borneo – (MP3, 5.0 MB)
Hey Clown – (MP3, 5.0 MB)
Electric City – (MP3, 6.5 MB)
Already Gone – (MP3, 5.6 MB)
From Ponzi Scheme
So Long, Superman – (MP3, 3.5 MB)
Another Perfect Catastrophe – (MP3, 4.0 MB)
From Psychopharmacology
Psychopharmacology – (MP3, 3.9 MB)
Posted by Hugh on Feb 16 2008 to Alternative
I might just be the worst blogger in the history of existence. OK, perhaps not. But considering I told Jake Mann that I’d write about his album Daytime Ghost last August, clearly something went wrong. I like to call it “getting a girlfriend,” but even so, six months is a ridiculous wait for anything. This review is incredibly overdue, but better late than never. R-right?
Anyhow, the album starts off with some pretty fuzzy guitar playing, which is always a good thing. Indeed, the guitar playing is one of Mann’s greater strengths – the fuzziness is just a bonus. The riff that kicks off Mudflat is damned good, so much so that it allows me to ignore my dislike of spoken-word material, which is quite a feat. His lyrical ability is not slacking, either; Edie in Hades starts off with a quite sinister lyric, “Somewhere in the depths of hell / They made a place for you,” and though he sings it like he’s said it before, it doesn’t make it any less awesome. But like I said, the guitar playing is really what shines throughout the album, especially in Mudflat, Beat The Drum, and Wallfollower. The standout track for me is still the one I’d heard before, Take You For A Ride, which was on his single that I wrote about before. It combines good lyrics with good music and good singing, which I guess is what makes a song good! So again, if you are into guitar music, then Jake Mann is the mann (pun sadly intended) for you.
Downloads
From Daytime Ghost
Mudflat – (MP3, 3.8 MB)
Posted by Hugh on Feb 11 2008 to Alternative
And now to make up for my lack of quality, here’s some quantity. Once upon a time, I was looking through a retail store’s sparse music section and found only two albums that I was legitimately interested in purchasing. Yes, I am a music blogger/pseudo-critic. Yes, one of these albums was Radiohead. Half my reason for buying it was just that I hadn’t heard of it at all, having been deprived of the Internet for so long. But when I realized it was 10 tracks and probably not just some single, I couldn’t not buy it. And so begins the review…
In the words of Miles Kurosky (of Beulah), “Radiohead’s the only band in the world that can change and not get shit for it.” While that’s probably not an exact quote, it sums up a common truth: Radiohead’s music changes all the time. Much of time, it could be classified as “difficult,” something that doesn’t immediately sticks to your head, but has to worm its way inside. This is unfortunate for me, because I’m a fairly impatient music listener: I’ve downloaded an album, listened to the first 5 seconds of the first song, and deleted the album. So now it is time for a truth, about me (what an ego!) Radiohead’s the only band in the world that, when I buy their album, I expect to not like it that much until the fourth or fifth listen. I’ve only listened to their new album, In Rainbows, once, so here is my quite generic summary of my opinion of it.
Many of the tracks on it bored me; though like I said, I haven’t really given it a fair shake. There were some songs that picked up the pace slightly, which doesn’t mean they are uptempo in any sense of the term. Faust ARP, House of Cards, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, and Videotape are all entirely worth a fan’s time. The rest, however, did not really work for me. Whether that’s due to my lack of devotion to either the song and/or the band, or simply just because the songs are little to be excited about, I’m not yet sure. That said, I’m sure I’ll be listening to it at least three more times before making a final judgment.
But on the plus side, the packaging is pretty sweet. And it comes with stickers! Awww yeah.
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