These are both Golden Five Star songs. Arrangements and performances cry out for your sympathetic ears. Arpeggiated string runs chime chords that mean business. The rhythm section vibrates to life as if drum and bass have hacked the computers of a top-line, ultra-secret, Swiss medical instrument manufacturer and stolen the launch codes from God’s own …
Search Results for: SXSW
Look for audiobooks at SXSW. Here’s how the band describes themselves on their Youtube page: “If you’re going to call your band audiobooks, you’d better get your stories straight. Evangeline Ling and David Wrench have great stories. Their songs are full of them – discombobulating observations over discomfiting oscillations. There are woozy fly-on-the-wall accounts of …
Ah Conrad Denke I had no idea the Band in Seattle Christmas Special is including our ‘Slow Jam’ again. It’s so good to be a part of this tradition. Check out Eva Walker and her brother Cedric hosting! This year I have been so focused on trying work this Jamaican magic, I have been just thrilled to see this evolve in …
Last month, Lexie Liu made a strong impression with “Sleep Away“, the first single off her forthcoming project. The Fader named the track on of “10 Songs You Need In Your Life”, Nylon listed is as the “Best Music Releases of the Week”, and Refinery29 said “their ears are very into Lexie.” Building off of …
Company of Thieves is back after taking six years off. Their new tune, “Treasure,” is pretty cool and you can hear it below. The band had a music industry story you hear about in the movies – founding members Marc Walloch and Genevieve Schatz met on a train station platform in Chicago and bonded over …
Fresh off the first leg of their first-ever national tour, a marathon stint of SXSW shows and a current string of west coast dates in support of Spoon, Sweet Spirit will bring its spiritual thrill-ride of garage soul joy and endearing mayhem for their first-ever Portland show, setting up shop at Kelly’s Olympian on Saturday, …
On 12 September 1962, John F. Kennedy famously said during a speech: “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard…” Side One (and the title track) of Public Service Broadcasting’s new …
With their second full album due out in February, Public Service Broadcasting have set their sights high on Race for Space. Beginning with the brilliant teaser video and album presale campaign, it’s been a solid promotional effort. With the first single from the album, ‘Gagarin’, they now have an accompanying video that’s something of a …
I like this new tune from Deluka, particularly the easy, 80s theatricality in the vocals of Ellie Innocenti. She is, of course, lovely to look at as well. Her voice sounds like a Stoli Gimlet, full of limey bite, worldly burn and mysterious physiological comfort. Deluka will appear several times at SXSW. The photo below …
Finally, after waiting patiently for a few years now, North American fans of Public Service Broadcasting are finally getting their wish. Starting on 18 February at the Casbah in San Diego and concluding with 16 March, 2014, the south London duo are bringing their dynamic and cinematic multimedia experience to thirteen shows with potentially another …
It’s been an exceptional year in music, so I’m breaking with tradition to create a “best of” list of sorts. My 2013 list includes nine favourites, actually. Why only nine? It was nearly impossible to name a tenth and leave off everything else, so I’ll leave it there. Subjective though these lists may be, one …
What started out easily enough as an interview with The Joy Formidable this year ended in a fantastic journey. This past spring, I sat down with Ritzy and Rhydian of The Joy Formidable to have an open and frank discussion on the state of affairs in their world and the music business in general. With …
Behold the official video for “Keep You” from Wild Belle. Directed by Melina Matsoukas in Kingston, Jamaica, the video features lead singer Natalie Bergman in a tale of unrequited love. Watch the video and read more from the director at: http://smarturl.it/keepyouvideo After a quick trip overseas, Wild Belle will return to North American for their …
It’s been nearly a year since the debut of Ben Howard’s Every Kingdom album and less than that introducing the young Devon, UK native to American audiences. But already the evidence of his success is clearly visible. The more obvious signs are his sold-out gigs and teams of Ben fans cropping up on social media, …
Happy accidents are a rare pleasure in music. However your marginal propensity of discovering a good new band are roughly multiplied by a factor of 100 when you attend a major music event like SXSW. So luck was running high when my colleague Mike Hughes and I were midway through a solid week of bands …
Hmmmm, so far I have missed Poliça. That’s more the fool me. Check out this lot from those lovely lovely lovely people at NPR. In fact, once you’ve watched the video, you can go HERE and download the audio, all 30-odd minutes, as a freebie. It’s her voice that works for me. Doesn’t it always? …
It has been 30 years since Men Without Hats asked the world to dance (if they want to), and this year the Montreal New Wave group will ask the question again with the release of their highly anticipated new album Love In The Age of War (out June 5th on iTunes and everywhere June 12th …
I met with The Joy Formidable this past December prior to their last show of the year at the Vogue Theater in the Broad Ripple, Indiana. With my better half in tow, Pam and I sat down to a lengthy discussion with a band on what has been a very long and successful year for …
I think “Video Games” works quite well as a multimedia experience when you hear the recording with the video. But on SNL, many of its limitations were foregrounded. The song has its virtues, but I don’t think it’s as a good as you might conclude from hearing the recording. If you listen to Lana Del …
On Thursday, 11/17/2011, Portland’s supercool, cassette-only, indie label, Apes Tapes, will celebrate one full year in business and the release of a sensational new mix tape (Mixed Ape) of local artists with a celebratory show at Holocene featuring ONUINU, ADVENTURES! WITH MIGHT, (a reunion performance of) VANIMAL, XDS and PEGASUS DREAM with special mini sets …
So much has already been written about The Joy Formidable that its nearly cliché to discuss the band’s size, sound, attitude, relationships, or comment on all the attention they’ve recently been paid by other musicians, the press, or the late night show circuit in America. However, one common theme that keeps being bandied about is …
As an antidote to the awful Miley Cyrus video, here is something worthy of your time. She seems to have impressed everyone who saw her at SXSW or indeed anywhere else. – Mike Hughes (Catshoegazing) [Beware, there’s a prominent breast in this video.] . AUSTRA "Beat and the Pulse" by domino .
Firstly, a short introduction: By way of The Joy Formidable and SXSW, I first met Dave Kennedy at the NPR showcase. His own enthusiasm for a little band from Wales was on par with my own, and that was enough for me to begin inquiries into his mental state. But he’s alright and now he’s …
Love Will Make Our Ears Bleed, Again: The Joy Formidable, “The Big Roar,” by Peter Raffington Dysart
The Joy Formidable – Music – More Music Videos Valentine’s Day has come and gone and good riddance. In what could be antithetical to modern analogs of Valentine’s Day, the Joy Formidable’s debut CD, “The Big Roar,” is a release of mammoth proportions, dark emotions, and impossibly gigantic and brilliant sounds. It’s an effort is …