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The State Department is rock n’ roll. I have seen them play twice at a couple of DC house shows and the band was catchy, bombastic, and drunk as hell. Check out the song “Engender Me”. It sounds like what would happen if James Brown, David Byrne, and Tom Verlaine (Television) all had a love child. That soulful punk bastard would be The State Department. Mothers… guard your children. Attn DC: Check out The State Department on August 13th at Rock n’ Roll Hotel. |
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This is one of those albums you can just lose yourself in. Berry Weight’s latest, Music For Imaginary Movies, is a fantastic head-first dive into some intense, beat-driven, dark & moody jazz tunes. AKA Apewok & Stab, they’ve been described as ‘a soulful electro-organic-space-jazz duo, harmonizing storybook-like melodies and cinematic atmospheres.’ I couldn’t have said it better if I tried. This album really draws you in right from the beginning, and never lets up. Here are my two favorites from the album. |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Artist: Berry Weight Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Song: Krakatoa.mp3 |
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Wow. That’s all I can say about Tindersticks‘ latest album Falling Down A Mountain. From track one onward, there’s never a dull moment in this album. It has a real rootsy, bluesy soul vibe to it, & Stuart Staples’ vocals and lyrics are powerful & heartfelt. My favorites are “Keep You Beautiful”, “Black Smoke”, & “No Place So Alone”. If you’ve got the time, give this album a solid listen. You’ll be glad you did. |
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So I am trying to get pumped to kick it off my weekend and I stumbled across the blog Sunset in Rear View. It is a pretty good site and I am grateful to them for reminding me of the joys of Ray LaMontagne. I was into his stuff during my early undergrad years as I was trying to romance freshmen girls in my dorm room, car, etc. This song put me in the kind of Van-Morrison-shot-of-whiskey mood. Enjoy! |
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I was drawn to the fifteenth anniversary party of The Double Door in Chicago on a whim. These guys were performing a free show, and until that point, I hadn’t heard much about them. The crowd was one of the most diverse I had seen at a concert in a long time. When Little Dragon took the stage, the energy felt was nothing other than electric. Hailing from Sweden, with a Japanese lead singer, the group creates music that is soulful with electronica influences. Their CD, “Machine Dreams” is definitely worth picking up and listening to from start to finish. The Swedish music scene has given us talents like Miike Snow and Lykke Li, Little Dragon raises the bar even higher. |
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Deepak Mantena (aka Junk Culture) of Illegal Art has mastered the art of sampling, providing extremely contagious & soulful tunes for our listening pleasure. |
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West Coast, set to release this fall on Illegal Art (home to Girl Talk). They’ve got some really great bands on this label, definitely all worth a listen. These two songs will definitely leave you wanting more, & if one EP just isn’t gonna cut it for you, Deepak’s already working on a second EP set to release spring 2010. When performing live, Deepak has his brother Nitin playing drums & the sampler, while he plays the sampler and sings, along with synced-up live projected visuals. Planning on seeing Girl Talk in September?? Junk Culture will be playing three consecutive nights with Girl Talk, Sept. 18th @ the Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Wa.; Sept. 19th & 20th @ the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, BC. |
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Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Artist: Junk Culture |
