I hope all you fine folks out there are faring well the apocalypse that is now upon us on this crisp winter’s morn. I’m enjoying mine with a steaming cup of earl grey & Solar Year‘s freshmen 7″ Night & Day on Stratosfear Records. The chill-waved “Night & Day”, coupled with recently premiered B-side “Magic Idea”, with its percussion-laden, new-age tribal vibes, will have you painting with all the colors of the wind. Here are both sides for your listening pleasure. They go quite well alongside R.E.M.’s “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It”. Be sure to pick up the physical 7″ sold here! Oh, and merry winter solstice everyone!
Shoegaze hadn’t found its way into my cochleas in quite some time. When it finally graced my presence once more, it was in the form of Feather Bed‘s second song to reach the light of day, and I was not disappointed. In true droned-out fashion, “Airbrushed” will have you lost in your head as a soft, lonely voice leads you onward, accompanied by a lone synthline & muffled kick drum. Marching forward, you almost don’t even notice the gradual buildup in melody & harmonies. Keep an ear out for their first full-length, The Skeletal System, releasing in 2013.
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Rah Rah‘s latest album The Poet’s Dead is one of my new favorites. This is their third full-length, and my first encounter with the group. The album is equal parts soft & heavy, with intriguing vocal & string arrangements, encompassing all things Rah Rah in their seven year stint as a group. Those slightly distorted guitar licks, upbeat drums, & verse-chorus-guitar solo seem few and far between in this age of dancey synth beats, droney chillwave tracks, & electronic repetition. The Poet’s Dead is a refreshing reunion to the alt-rock, physical instrumentations of bands gone by. Here’s their new vid for track 2 on the album, “Prairie Girl”.
Keeping with their longstanding tradition, Freelance Whales put on one helluva show last night. Having just released their latest and greatest album, Diluvia (streaming here), they were very eager to play the new stuff. What’s great about watching these guys is witnessing each member spend equal amounts of time on every instrument on stage, from the banjo in one song to the xylophone on the next. And with a sprinkle of Weathervanes tunes played throughout the night, their set was stellar. Opening the night was Newdust faves Geographer, who, needless to say, were fantastic. I’ll let the videos do the rest of the talking; above is Freelance Whales’ performing one of their new tracks, “Land Features”, and below is Geographer opening their set with “Lover’s Game” from their latest album Myth.
Mean Lady’s Kid Friendly E.P. puts you in a fairytale mood, and I mean that in the best way possible. It’s pretty damn magical. Mean Lady is Katie Dill & Sam Nobles, and they’ve conjured up a cool mix of downtempo, house, & Billie Holiday jazz-blues. Dill’s slightly smokey, dreamy voice is contrasted by Noble’s heavy hip-hop beats & chillwave synths. Grab a free download of the EP here.
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This is awesome. Canadian groups Hands & Teeth and The Balconies joined together for a live recording of Justin Bieber’s mega-hit “Baby“. The outcome has transformed Bieber’s dance hip-hop track into a sixties revival bubblegum pop gem.
24 year old Marcus Kimaro shares with us his first collection of DIY recordings, 21 Glasses. The four-track album is wonderfully poetic, & tells a story of love & desire, of heartbreak & frustration. Kimaro has been writing & tweaking the tunes for over a year now, and seems to have found his sound in the vein of Paul Simon & James Taylor: warm, simple, & beautiful story-telling tunes. Here’s my favorite track from the album, “Summer Night Tune.”
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