Review/Listen: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Here
For the past three years, moonlit drum circles and hippie singalongs on beaches and college campuses alike have kept the magic of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros alive from sea to shining sea. Their debut LP, Up from Below, proved to be one of the most darling efforts in reviving indie freak folk and it reached popular circulation, sparking current generations to mimic those joys, emboldened with glamorized ’60s hippie wonderment. While Edward Sharpe has garnered all it could with endless “aw-shucks”-isms and retro appeal, their real challenge comes with their sophomore album, Here, which offers new artistic directions while simultaneously renewing their previous set of songs with an updated spirituality.
In an old Nick Hornby essay about Nelly Furtado’s ”I’m Like a Bird” (find it in his book “Songbook”), he defended well-crafted pop music from the scrutiny the genre receives from music snobs, altogether stating that songs like “I’m Like a Bird” have their worth as interesting and, frankly, fun pieces of music; entertainment and enlightenment can come hand in hand, as much as people shy away from that fact. This circumstantial argument also applies to Edward Sharpe’s popularity, especially their prized badge song: “Home”. Sometimes, the higher you stick your nose in the air, the more you’re missing out on the magic.
In a sense, that’s the approach some will have to take when listening to Here as a whole. Spanning only nine songs, Edward Sharpe maintain their twinkled, dollop o’ honey-esque sweetness with their bucolic instrumentation and slightly seasoned, denser subject matter. The album inadvertently runs the risk of being pigeon-holed by listeners opposed to simpler, more accessible folk-pop tunes. Much like M. Ward’s recent A Wasteland Companion or Alabama Shakes’ Boys & Girls, Here falls under the same strain of records that base their appeal off of a nearly interactive experience: what makes this album great is up to you. The artist has drawn out a blueprint, laid out the tools, and given you the choice of building your own meta-physical creation out it. I don’t mean that in the same way people love a Dave Matthews Band or Phish record or in the same way one could decipher an ambient or post-rock album. It’s unfair to label a group like Edward Sharpe, who constantly try to be loved and understood in a myriad of ways. They’re not interested in putting themselves out there to be judged, scrutinized, or nit-picked. Whether its the cheery best-friend romantics of “That’s What’s Up” or the tactfully spiritual “Dear Believer”, their intent is to be very personal, as if there isn’t an artistic statement to be made, but more of a kindred interaction between you and the audio. They might be on the other side of the stage, but on Here, all Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros want to do is sit next to you, watch the sunset, and understand life a little bit more with you.
Connect with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Facebook | Twitter | Last.fm | Website
Introducing: The Bronze Medal
Over the last few weeks we’ve introduced you to a number of great bands and artists to soundtrack your summer. Bands that trade in the sort of happy sunshine pop that we love to listen to whilst soaking up the serotonin. Problem is, summer isn’t all peaches and cream. Sure, there are fun times to be had, but the sunshine can’t protect you from the real world. There’s pain and suffering out there, people, and playing Frisbee at the beach isn’t going to change that. So after a care-free day listening to great bands like Cruiser or Modern Rivals, you may find yourself yearning for something a bit more contemplative and emotive. For this purpose I introduce The Bronze Medal.
This five piece from Bristol, England, specialise in the sort of heart-on-sleeve, earnest indie rock that can at times leave you feeling a little introspective - but in a good way. They combine a folk rock approach to melody and harmony with almost post-rock instrumentation. Their self-titled debut EP, released July 2nd, has elements of slowcore, reminiscent of at times of bands like Low and Gregor Samsa. Tracks like “Show Me Land”, propelled within an insistent drum beat, increase the pace and shows off the bands best attributes perfectly. It combines beautiful melodies and harmonies with tender lyrics and a stirring, building climax.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like these guys are dreary depressives - they really aren’t. In fact, from the four-track EP, two tracks, “Womb” and “Show Me Land” (which you can listen to below), will probably leave you feeling uplifted, and yearning to press the repeat button. And if you are ever lucky enough to catch them live, you’ll find them a louder beast than on record. If they might be slightly lacking in stage presence at times (a lot of long hair and ‘shoe-gazing’ at effects pedals), then they more than make up for it by assaulting the crowd with wave after wave of stunning noise.
I think it’s fair to say that The Bronze Medal play it understated and let the music do the talking. They’ve called themselves ‘The Bronze Medal’ – it could have been ‘The Silver Medal’, or they could have gone all out and declared themselves ‘The Gold Medal’. But no, they’ve gone for good old bronze: third place, pretty good, but not the best. After giving them a listen on one of these miserable summer nights, however, you’ll probably agree that they’re under selling themselves quite a bit.
Connect with The Bronze Medal: Facebook | Twitter | Last.fm | YouTube
Interview: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
With their sophomore album, Here, released a month ago, I had the fine opportunity to sit down and chat with guitarist/vocalist Christian Letts of beloved folk group Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Everything from bartering action figures for hip-hop records, fans reaching out to their music and secret wishes to collaborate with Jay-Z is covered here.
How did you get started making music? Was there are a particular artist and/or album that inspired you and made you decide this was what you wanted to do with your life?
Alex [Ebert] and I have known each since we were three, we’ve been creating stuff together since we were kids really. After working on some demos, we slowly realized we mainly wanted to record and play shows. It wasn’t really a goal in mind to sound like anything. We’re all inspired by so many things, the twelve of us. It just came to be what it was, but not without any other thoughts other than just being very honest, that was it.
It’s been 3 years since your debut Up From Below came out, are you guys finally excited to add more material to your setlists?
We’d been playing some new songs on sound check for awhile, being three years on the road got us writing and experimenting a lot. It’s been great to play some new stuff. The album we just did, it was pretty important because we had recorded forty songs. It was something we really got into when we’d get home, was just to record.
From your recorded sound even, you guys always sound like a band intended to play live.
Yeah. I mean, the songs are always different every night too, which is so fucking great from a performing side. We never really know how the song’s going to play out either and the people who come to our shows are really open to that and we’re open to experiment with that too which adds to this beautiful atmosphere while we’re playing.
A more lighthearted question: You guys have your most celebrated song from the first album “Home”. Do you guys grow sick of playing that song or is it still a piece of work you can embrace and play it like it was the first time?
[Laughs] I still love playing that song. I absolutely love it. When we started doing the demos, we did “Home” and “40 Day Dream”. Within the first week, I came home and said ‘I know exactly what I’m doing with my life’. This felt so right to me, something I wanted to dedicate my soul to. I had another band at the time too, which was great, but this felt like the right path though. This was the best, or one of the best blessings I’ve had in my life.
It’s funny, one time I was in the middle of nowhere on a college campus in Nebraska at night and from a distance I hear a large group of people, like a moonlit drum circle basically, playing your songs. Your songs began feeling really ubiquitous and sentimental to me.
[Laughs] It’s so great. Me and my girlfriend will be walking down the street sometimes and we’ll hear people whistling, humming our songs. Like, fuck man, that’s so amazing. And it’ll happen so many times around the world now, it just makes me thrilled. It’s really important to do for you, but then having it effect other people is the bigger gift.
So what were the main artistic transitions from the past album to your latest album, Here?
We spent so much time together, number one; living in a bus together really, for three years. Everybody brought something to the table musically as well, it was a huge community effort. The first album too, but Alex had written most of the album before and we came in and brought it to life. This album was more of a collective experience, in a different way. Of course there was the pressure of having your second album, but I personally didn’t feel that. It was more of us working more on arrangements together and in the studio. Even in the beginning of the day, somebody would come up with, like a bass line or something, then we’d all jump in and help find where it should go from there.
We had a question from a Facebook fan actually. Neil Stanforth asks: Compared to the first album, Here has a more spiritual or religious feel. God and prayer comes up in a few songs. Is religion or god something that is important to any band members or purely a subject on which all people tend to have a medium or belief on in some way?
I think everybody has their own idea of what god is. Of course, there’s the classic definition. But it’s more of a question of your own spirituality, it’s not leaning towards one religion or another. [Laughs] That’s all I can say really, a lot of people ask us if we’re a Christian band and we’re not.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the music industry at the moment and if you were able to, how would you fix it?
That’s a good question. Well industry-wise, we’ve been really lucky. We’ve worked with so many great people that I haven’t had a sour taste in my mouth about anything. This is my first real rodeo with the whole thing, so I got really lucky. Everyone we’ve worked with has been so positive with a family sort-of attitude, which is how we always wanted it. I do hear horror stories as well, but I haven’t had to experience much of that. I do like, on the creative end, that there’s a lot of posturing happening. Like I remember a while ago, nobody smiled, nobody fucking interacted with the audience. But I feel like that wall’s being broken down more and more.
Which is also great for fans too, on the other side. Well, obviously we’re fans of you guys on the site, but are music sites and blogs important to you personally or as a band, as a means of getting your music out there? Do you read articles about yourself, or reviews of your music?
I personally don’t. [Laughs] I read one once, it was outrageous really, it said something about someone should shoot the gas tank of our tour bus. [Laughs] Which isn’t the best thing to read. I figure it’s better to have an effect on somebody, in either direction, instead of being lukewarm. You can hate or love it, but if you think it’s okay, that’s never really a good thing. But I might have seen some reviews here and there about the album, but I personally don’t read the reviews.
Does anyone else in the band read them or take them to heart?
There have been a couple reviews we’ve discussed, but honestly, it doesn’t really come up often.
So it’s never really been a concern of the band.
Not really. What I do like about the connections through websites and blogs is when fans start reaching out. We get people sending in videos of listening parties and music videos to our stuff, which is so humbling.
Did you guys see that popular YouTube video of the father and daughter duo singing “Home”?
Yeah! Holy shit, that was so awesome. It completely warmed me up. I had got a call, a couple of days after we were on the road, asking if I’d seen this thing and it was right in the morning so I’d check it out later. I checked my e-mail and all of my friends sent this video, telling me to watch it. And the views on that thing went crazy. We’d even seen them on America’s Got Talent and got to connect with them afterwards even. Stuff like that I love because it uses technology in such a cool way to spread things out in a positive way.
Going in the opposite way with technology: Do you guys ever buy vinyl? Is the medium important to you, as artists?
Oh yeah, that’s my favorite way of listening to music. It feels like the way music is supposed to be, something about that crackle and warmth to it. And the whole ritual of putting the record on and being careful with it so you don’t fuck it up and scratch it. In my house, that’s basically how we listen to music.
Do you have a favorite record store that you go to a lot?
There’s this guy called The Record Collector in West Hollywood that I really enjoy to go visit, who has this insane collection even of ’30s and ’40s Django Reinhardt records. It’s also cool to go on the road and visit so many record stores through the country, even in places you wouldn’t expect to be prime spots. But the trick is bringing the records all back home.
Do you remember the first vinyl you bought? And, do you still have it?
The first vinyl I bought, I actually didn’t buy it. When I was a kid, this lady who’d take care of me, her grandson used to come over all the time. And my parents always bought me toys, but I really wanted records, and his brother always got him records. So we would barter. I was, I think, five. And at first, I was first into hip-hop so I’d get stuff like Big Daddy Kane, N.W.A. and Eazy-E. So I remember I traded a He-Man for a Grandmaster Flash album. That was my first vinyl. [Laughs] And I’d put it on my Playskool record player.
Oh, I remember those.
Yeah, it was like that tan one with the orange bottom. I’d trade in all my toys for those records and my mom would be like “Where did all your toys go?” [Laughs] It was just an insane vinyl collection of old school hip-hop for a five year old.
Did you ever have a record most prized to you or most expensive beyond others?
I’ve never spent a crazy amount of money, but I have this ‘39 record of “Hot Cup of France” by Django Reinhardt that I’m very precious about. Because that version is what got me into guitar when I was 15.
That’s awesome. Well, Record Store Day happened not too long ago and I landed a vinyl copy of The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, which is my most expensive/most prized piece of music considering how much it went for on eBay.
Yeah, how much did that go for?
On the first day when people lined up at 6am and got multiple copies of it, it was around $80-200.
What?! No way.
Yeah, and it was funny because after a few weeks, it got re-issued. Like two days ago, I found it at a record store for like $40 and I felt like an idiot considering I’d spent like $80 on mine.
[Laughs] Oh my god, that’s amazing.
There’s another Facebook question about your song on that album: Facebook fan Kaelin Bougneit asks: I’m kind of wondering what it’s like chilling with The Flaming Lips and how that whole collaboration went in general. I’m also wondering how you manage to stay so positive and channel that energy into your music. Is there an alternative outlet for your negative feelings; something creative, destructive, or otherwise?
We got to know them on the road and at festivals, it’s been a couple of years running into them now. They’re all super nice, which is nice when big bands are still cool like that. So we just sent stuff back and forth with them for the song. As far as negative energy, you can choose to make something destructive or beautiful out of it. I’m a painter as well and I remember I got into this argument with one of my friends and I was really bothered by it and got really angry then I said, “I’m gonna make something beautiful out of this.” So I went and painted for the next ten hours straight and make this beautiful piece which I gave to our productionist for Christmas. And I was glad that happened because I channeled my energy instead of being destructive.
Which artist from another genre do you think is that genre’s version of you?
I think artists out there who are doing a lot of positive shit out there, like the Mumfords, those guys are fucking amazing. Pretty random though, but I think Jay-Z is a fucking badass too. To me, he’s a pretty positive dude too.
If Edward Sharpe were a rapper, would it be the equivalent to Jay-Z then?
[Laughs] I don’t know about that, I just think he’s a fucking genius in a lot of ways. I would love to do a song with him one day, that’d be a dream come true.
That’d be an interesting collaboration.
[Laughs]
Well, going back to your new album. Was Here something you guys made for yourselves, your fans or the critics?
It was really important for us. We spent so much time on the road and it felt really important for us to get back in the studio and start creating together considering we each had something to say. The perks in that was we’d play for people who’d really appreciate that, which was such a gift too. I was excited to get back in the studio to make some new stuff and getting it out; make room for new stuff. But making new stuff never really stops for us.
A good final question for you, as you mentioned you’re a painter. If you had to paint the style of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros on a single painting, what would that painting look like?
There’s this painter, my favorite painter, John Singer Sargent, who had a whole collection he did in Venice and for some reason whenever I see those, I think of my band. I’d look at those as much as possible, the 1880-1920 pieces. They sort of look like us too.
Well thank you so much for your time, it was great talking to you.
Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it. Cheers.
Connect with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Facebook | Twitter | Last.fm | Website
Review/Listen: Anni B Sweet - Oh, Monsters!
In my previous introduction piece on Anni B Sweet, the 21-year-old Spaniard, I mentioned just how much she had grown from her debut album, 2009’s Start, Restart, Undo, based on the four songs we’d been able to preview from her sophomore effort, Oh, Monsters!. After repeated listens to the full body of work, I can say that I was only half-right in my statement. Ana López, the young woman behind the mask has done more than grow, she’s leapt forward years ahead of where it might have been possible to predict.
There was little in that first album that indicated the sonic exploration López would undergo in just three years. Aided by vetusta morla’s Gullermo Galván on production duties, she creates fourteen fairly diverse landscapes in which she is able to weave stories about her fears, her “monsters”, if you will.
One such fear seems to come from aging, and everything it entails. In “Getting Older”, one of the album’s finest moments, López compares her childhood memories to her current reality, and the growl in her voice, backed by the frantic instrumentation seems to demonstrate her disdain. “Hole In My Room”, which closes the album,seems to dwell on ignoring problems and fears only to have them return sooner or later.
More interesting than the stories that Anni B Sweet tells, though, are the musical directions and ideas she explores, most of which are successful. The aforementioned “Getting Older” is a full embrace of 60s psychedelia with hints of blues-rock thrown in, which makes it a really exciting track. “Ridiculous Games 2060” is a straight-up rock tune, with driving guitars and swaying tempos; it contrasts nicely with the following track, “Locked in Verses”, an acoustic number reminiscent of the material from Start, Restart, Undo. Elsewhere, “Missing a Stranger”, another album highlight,and “The Closer” explore something resembling a more fleshed-out version of dream pop, creating atmospheric instrumentation juxtaposed with abrasive drum beats.
As good as a lot of the material on Oh, Monsters! is, it doessuffer from a couple major flaws. At fourteen tracks and almost an hour in length, the energy and allure run out, especially considering that it is a tad front-loaded. Cutting out a couple tracks from the middle or end, particularly those most similar to the material present on the debut might have made for a more engaging listen. The album, to my ears, also feels a bit unnatural in the way it was mixed and mastered. A lot of it sounds unnecessarily abrasive, and it can distract a bit from the overall flow of the music. Granted, this probably isn’t an aspect López had much of a say in, but it’s a shame to hear music ruined by the more technical aspects of music.
Would I recommend Oh, Monsters!? Absolutely, particularly the first half. Given how little music from Spain actually makes it abroad, I think artists like Anni B Sweet do a great job of exemplifying that there’s more than capable musicians here. It’s just a matter of them catching on.
Review/Listen: The Tallest Man On Earth - There’s No Leaving Now
After opening for Bon Iver in 2008, Kristian Matsson garnered countless comparisons to Bob Dylan because of his folky wanderlust and romantic, husky crooning. Matsson’s last release, The Wild Hunt, built the foundation of his music around his potentially abrasive vocals, allowing his lyrics to shine through. There’s No Leaving Now, his third album as The Tallest Man On Earth, is hardly a departure from his notoriously nasal style, but offers another glimpse at Matsson’s mix of beautifully composed guitar, blanketed by enigmatic folk stylings.
Matsson sounds more relaxed, even from the start of album-opener “To Just Grow Away”, which contains the typical The Tallest Man On Earth sound of jangling acoustic guitar and lyrics that feature anecdotal relationships between life and nature. The album’s single, “1904”, is the familiar combination of crystalline acoustic guitar and Matsson’s powerful wail and, as a single, it shows the separation between new and old The Tallest Man On Earth sounds. Though the difference may be subtle, Matsson’s raspy delivery is less blistering in the past, seeming like a guised pop track once the chorus kicks into gear.
There’s No Leaving Now features much more instrumentation than past records. Matsson opted for percussion, multi-layered riffs, and even piano. His energy is not as brash this time around as he opts for a calmer, more reflective demeanor that’s perhaps less distinct also. He is more successful in slow-burning songs like “Criminals” and “On Every Page” because he turns everything down except his voice, allowing it to fill the empty space. When he sings the chorus on “On Every Page” he hits a high note that will bring shivers to your spine and, to be honest, that is the furthest musical outlier in this album.
Even though There’s No Leaving Now does not expand anything but Matsson’s songbook, longtime fans of Tallest Man may notice a lack of urgency from Matsson’s vocals that previously appeared on tracks like “King of Spain” and “The Drying of The Lawns”. The raw power of Matsson’s past recordings are dulled down on this record to make way for a shinier presentation and, for singer-songwriters like him, this is a natural progression. Instead of supercharging his voice to the brink of blowing out the speakers, Matsson shows more inhibition.
What he hasn’t phoned in at all is his image, still that of a beloved troubadour, laying on thick lyrics like “whatever happened to the boy is now a tale for the seas” and “I’m just a rock that you’ll be picking up through the ages.” Matsson’s lyrics are still rich with natural imagery and vigorous self-proclamation, straddling the line between hyper-metaphorical and deeply personal. He’s always been a master of avoiding convoluted lyrics and staying genuine to his image, and this record is no exception.
There’s No Leaving Now is a fine follow-up to The Wild Hunt because it shows artistic growth while adhering to his same general approach. Simply, if you were a fan of The Tallest Man On Earth, you should most likely dive head-first into this record. If you disliked his sound in the past, nothing on this album will change your mind. A friend of mine recently likened Matsson to Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen in that their fans value smartly written songs over showy musicianship. Even though Matsson is clearly musically talented, his voice paired with acoustic guitar is his strong-suit and he wears it well on this album.
Connect with The Tallest Man On Earth: Facebook | Twitter | Website
Review/Listen: Marissa Nadler - The Sister
Listening to Marissa Nadler’s The Sister is like having a beautiful ghost laying in your bed, waking you in the middle of the night to tell about her past, a past riddled with haunting, poetic stories.
This Boston singer/songwriter is given the respect of an older sister figure within the community of her genre; throughout her past five albums, Nadler remains criminally underated in some circles despite her nearly peerless sense of musicianship. As we’ve seen Nadler evolve with each new release, particularly her delectable 2011 selt-titled album (to which The Sister is a follow-up), not only has she built on her own nuances, but her hypnotic and resilient artistic styles have been sighted frequently in the work of other increasingly acclaimed female songwriters too: Sharon Van Etten and Lower Dens’ Jana Hunter spring to mind.
Much like the celebrated sonic succession seen from Beach House’s 2010 LP Teen Dream to their latest Bloom, Nadler’s The Sister follows suit by taking the same creative approach. Instead of carving out a new sculpture altogether, both artists reassess their past artwork with a keener eye and chiseled out a extra layer of detail and texture to an already gorgeous piece. Both artists can be noted for mastering their songwriting skills along with polishing their music’s thematic elements, both compartments they already specialized in. Where Nadler shines brighter, however, is with her finesse, her carefully colored, haunting imagery.
It’s this obvious care in the album’s creation that allows you to feel an intimate connection between Nadler’s thoughts, stories and instrumentation. Despite that connection, Nadler never reveals all: a wispy element cloaks Nadler’s music, leaving you unable to touch and feel. It’s this rare artistic quality Nadler owns: she’s a beautiful apparition, lingering to only look in your eyes and whisper in your ears. This notion lies parallel to her music styling choices as well: songs like “Constantine” and “Your Heart is a Twisted Vine” coat the album with an unshakable gothic flavor while “Love Again, There is a Fire” is hypnotic enough to make you go numb with misery in the most enchanting way possible.
As far as I’m concerned, Marissa Nadler is six for six on this one. She’s a unique kind of tightrope artist: where songwriters struggle and quiver over their footing while fifty feet in the air, Nadler dances with her eyes shut on the rope to a melody only she can hear.
Connect with Marissa Nadler: Facebook | Twitter | Last.fm | Bandcamp | Website
One To Watch: Bear Mountain
There’s something special about Friday nights isn’t there? Work is over and the weekend starts here, but to make a Friday night start properly it’s got to have the right music. You need something that’s going to get you moving and make you feel good. Well look no further than this great track by Bear Mountain.
Bear Mountain is the moniker of Ian Bevis, a Vancouverite who has played in bands since he was a kid. Having always been involved in music in a folky way he turned to electronic music when he found that folk just didn’t do it anymore. Experimenting with Hip-Hop and turning to that music lover’s staple, vinyl, he was able to pull some pretty random samples out and compose them together into songs, just to please himself.
His first love is still singing and playing guitar (he also plays bass in his friend’s band, Germany Germany), but Bear Mountain allows him to constantly experiment, giving him that middle ground between singer/songwriter and electronic music. He knows exactly where he wants to get to but always focuses on what sounds good and if this track is anything to go by then it’s working pretty well. We here at Listen Before You Buy are very excited by this and think he’s definitely one to watch.
Swim is a cool, little electronic dance number that got my toes tapping right from the start. As I got ready to go out tonight (I know, I had to write this up before the taxi came!) I had it on a loop and I had it playing loud. I might even have tried to bust a few moves, but I’d keep that quiet if I was you.
If you’re Canada based you’ll be able to catch him live through April/May, dates are on his Facebook page. The rest of us will have to wait til his next record comes out.
Connect with Bear Mountain - Facebook | Twitter | MySpace | Website
Ones To Watch: House Of Wolves
Sometimes at work I get the chance to sit in a room all on my own. It’s great because I get so much more work done when I’m not distracted by the day to day nonsense of office life, but even better, I get to listen to as much music as I like without someone asking me to turn it down/off or play something more tuneful!
The downside is when I then discover a fantastic piece of music or album and can’t share it with anyone. So I thought I’d share it with you instead, aren’t you lucky? The music I’ve been listening to this morning is the debut album from House of Wolves, “Fold In The Wind”.
House of Wolves is the solo creation of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist and former The Coral Sea frontman, Rey Villalobos. The name comes from the Spanish to English translation of his name, hold on, this is the second band I’ve liked that’s done that, I wonder what that means?
Although a Los Angeles resident, his family hails from Mexico and the Italian Adriatic coast and hints of this mixed background can be heard in his music. What I particularly love about this guy is that he cites Chopin as his first and main musical influence, very classy!
He’s had previous songs played on some TV shows and has toured with the likes of Sharon Van Etten, Villagers, White Rabbits, The Middle East and Avi Buffalo. The album is slated for release on June 17th.
I’ve included a couple of tracks from the album here to get those taste buds going. Firstly the beautifully plaintive “50’s”, with tender vocals and a muted trumpet backing it gave me goosebumps when I first heard it. The second, “Jealous”, has an echo effect applied to his voice giving it an otherworldly sound as he sings over an acoustic guitar and is absolutely gorgeous.
These two tracks alone would definitely earn him our “Ones To Watch” label but if you’re in any doubt you can get a digital version of his album from his bandcamp page right now.
Connect with House Of Wolves - Bandcamp | Facebook | Website | YouTube
[Listen/Download] - 170 MP3s From Artists Playing At SXSW
Every year for the past five or so, the SXSW organisers release a torrent of music containing hundreds of (free and legal) MP3s from the artists who are playing
Each year I dutifully download it and make my way through the copious amounts of new music, and this year was no exception; In order for me to bring this to you it took:
- Four weeks of listening to all 792 songs
- Going back through the 170 that I’d picked out and making sure they were still awesome on the second listen (they were)
- Making sure all of the songs had the correct ID3 tags and were labeled properly
- Putting the songs into six groups of ZIP files
- Uploading each ZIP file to Mediafire and then posting them below
- Listening to them all again and picking out my favourites
- Then going from the folder on my computer and copying the Artist - Song title, to pasting it in this post……170 times
- Uploading all of the songs to the site’s server
- Copying the MP3 location from the server, highlighting the song in the post and pasting the MP3 link so that it plays on this here page…..170 times
- And finally going through each song on this page and making sure they all worked (they did)
Don’t say I’m not good to you.
If you’re going to the festival you can use this as a guide to go check out some new music, and you can also use it as your soundtrack for the journey there (I included a handy dandy playlist (.m3u) file), but if you’re not going you can at least listen to what you’ll be missing.
Each song is playable by clicking on it and each song is downloadable by right clicking on it, or you can download the whole thing via the Mediafire links below. Because they were almost 1GB (total) in size I had to split them up into alphabetical groups. In bold underlinies are my favourites, and if you do end up going I’d love to see your pictures, hear your stories, and find out just how good any of these guys were.
If you go, don’t forget to check out We Listen For You’s Walking Show. Tell them Franky B Rockafeller sent you.
Enjoy!
[UPDATE 6/12/2012: The individual MP3s were removed to conserve bandwidth, but you can still download them collectively via the Mediafire links below]
Playlist File For The Whole Shabang
Download ZIP files via Mediafire below (all smaller than 200MB each):
A-B | C-F | G-J | K-Q | R-S | T-Z
——————————————————————————————
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves - “We Don’t Need Our Heads”
Alcoholic Faith Mission - “My Eyes To See”
Alessi’s Ark - “The Robot”
Alvarez Kings - “Patience Is Strength”
Am - “Dark Into Light”
An Horse - “Trains And Tracks”
Anr - “The Endless Field Of Mercury”
Apollo Brown - “Desperation”
April Smith And The Great Picture Show - “Colors”
Artifacts - “Wrong Side Of The Tracks”
Automatic Loveletter - “Heart Song”
B. Bravo - “Computa Love”
Bahamas - “Already Yours”
Balmorhea - “Clamor”
Bare Wires - “Ready To Go”
Bear Driver - “Wolves”
Beat Connection - “Silver Screen”
Bell Gardens - “Through The Rain”
Belleruche - “Clockwatching”
Benjamin Francis Leftwich - “Atlas Hands”
Bikini - “Acheerlaeder”
Bloodgroup - “My Arms”
Blu - “Doinnothin’” (Featugod)
Boats - “Chrome Eyelids”
Body Language - “You Can”
Botany - “Waterparker”
Braveyoung - “And No Two Walked Together”
Candy Claws - “Sunbeam Show”
Capo - “Imposible”
Capsula - “Under The Woods”
Carmen Townsend - “Start All Over”
Cast Spells - “Glamorous Glowing”
Chappo - “Come Home”
Chapter 24 - “You Said”
Chikita Violenta - “Roni”
Christeene - “Fix My Dick”
Colour Revolt - “8 Years”
Cruel Black Dove - “Love Song”
Danny Malone And The Collar Bones - “Wait On Me”
De Staat - “Sweatshop”
Delicate Steve - “The Ballas Of Speck And Pebble”
Depressed Buttons - “Ow!”
Dignan - “Two Steps”
Dirty Ghosts - “Shout It In”
Erland & The Carnival - “Trouble In Mind”
Experimental Aircraft - “Paintings In The Attic”
Fake Problems - “Soulless”
Family Of The Year - “Chugjug”
Fast Romantics - “Cool Kids”
Fever Fever - “Monster”
For A Minor Reflection - “Flod”
Frazey Ford - “Blue Streak Mama”
Gallops - “Miami Spider”
Gemini Club - “Mirrors”
Geographer - “Kites”
Ghost Animal - “Single Man”
Giant Cloud - “Every Window Holds The Truth”
Gold Motel - “Safe In La”
Golden Ages - “Everything Will Be Alright”
Gospel Claws - “Avenues”
Grand Pianoramax - “Roulette”
Grass Widow - “Shadow”
Grimes - “Devon”
Guadalupe Plata - “Pobre Mary”
Gun Runner - “Fiber Glass”
Gypsyblood - “Take Your Picture”
Harrys Gym - “Old Man”
Homeboy Sandman - “The Carpenter”
Horse Thief - “Warrior”
Hospital Ships - “Bitter Radio Single”
I Was Totally Destroying It - “Come Out, Come Out”
Indigo Tree - “Leavingtimebehind”
In-Flight Safety - “Model Homes”
Inspired Flight - “Pull, Push, Let Go”
Intimate Stranger - “Beastie Queen”
Ivan Julian - “The Naked Flame”
Jeremy Messersmith - “Violet!”
Jesse Malin & The St Marks Social - “Burning The Bowery”
J-Live - “The Way That I Rhyme”
Karkwa - “Les Chemins De Verre”
Kastle - “You Know That I Know You Know”
Kimbra - “Settle Down”
Kinch - “Carolina Cannonball”
Kyla La Grange - “Walk Through Walls”
Lady Lamb The Beekeeper - “Penny Licks”
Les Handclaps - “Cliche”
Letting Up Despite Great Faults - “In Steps”
Light Fm - “Friends Aren’t Friends”
Literature - “It’s Cruel”
Los Rakas - “Soy Raka”
Maren Parusel - “Don’t Take Your Eyes Away”
Michael Lowenstern - “Trip”
Midnight Magic - “Beam Me Up”
Monogold - “Spirit Or Something”
Morning Teleportation - “Expanding Anyway”
Mujeres - “Reyerta”
My Gold Mask - “Violet Eyes”
Natalie Prass - “Bird Of Prey”
Nerdkween - “If”
Netherfriends - “Bret Easton Ellis Novel”
Nive Nielsen - “Done & Gone”
Norman Palm - “Easy”
Now, Now Every Children - “Neighbors”
Oh Sunshine - “I Belong To You”
Pictureplane - “Cyclical Cyclical (Atlantis)”
Prison Garde - “Where You Been”
Quadron - “Slippin”
Quiet Company - “How Do You Do It”
Rah Rah - “Arrows”
Random Axe - “Monster Babies”
Reptar - “Ready Or Not”
Revolver - “Get Around Town”
Roach Gigz - “Can I Rap”
Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside - “Danger”
Salva - “Wake Ups”
Sarah Jaffe - “Clementine”
Sasquatch - “Took Me Away”
Sean Nicholas Savage - “Disco Dancing”
Secret Cities - “Boyfriends”
Sepalcure - “Love Pressure”
Sex With Strangers - “New City Anthem”
Sherlocks Daughter - “Reprise”
Shuttle - “Tunnel”
Sims - “Burn It Down”
Sister Crayon - “Anti Psalm”
Small Sins - “Why Don’t You Believe Me”
Social Studies - “Time Bandit”
Soft Swells - “Every Little Thing”
Something Fierce - “Empty Screens”
Stamps - “Things You Do To Me”
Strand Of Oaks - “Last To Swim”
Sun Araw - “Deep Cover”
Sunbears! - “Little Baby Pines”
Superhumanoids - “Persona”
Suzanna Choffel - “Animal”
Sweatshop Union - “Oh My”
The Black Angels - “Haunting At 1300 Mckinley”
The Boom Bang - “Tobacula”
The Brother Kite - “The Scene Is Changing”
The Bubble Puppy - “Hot Smoke And Sassafras”
The Chain Gang Of 1974 - “Hold On”
The Deer Tracks - “Ram Ram”
The Devil Whale - “Barracudas”
The Frontier Brothers - “The Strut”
The Growlers - “Sea Lion Goth Blues”
The High Dials - “Uruguay”
The Hounds Below - “Cumberland’s Crumblin’”
The Jezabels - “Mace Spray”
The Kingston Springs - “The Weight Of This World”
The Limousines - “Internet Killed The Video Star”
The Melovskys - “King Of The Boombox”
The Minutes - “Secret History”
The Niceguys - “Die Later”
The Novocaines - “Cup Of Coffee”
The Rocketboys - “Brothers”
The Rural Alberta Advantage - “Stamp”
The Seedy Seeds - “Verb Noun”
This Is The Kit - “See Here”
Tigers That Talked - “23 Fears (Summer ‘10)”
Two Fresh - “Legal Tender”
Uncle Bad Touch - “I Wanna Love You”
Venice Is Sinking - “Tugboat”
Viva Viva - “Valentine”
Volkova Sisters - “Trouble”
Voxhaul Broadcast - “Leaving On The 5Th”
We Barbarians - “Chambray”
Wheelchair Sports Camp - “Party Song”
Withered Hand - “Religious Songs”
Zoe Muth And The Lost High Rollers - “You Only Believe Me When I’m Lying”
Zorch - “Zut Alore”
[Listen/Download] - New Song By Kanye West feat. Bon Iver - “Lost In The World”
[UPDATE 9/29] - The original leaked version was shat upon by tags (some tool yelling dubya dots all over it), but thanks to Pigeons and Planes it’s now updated with a tagless version. [UPDATE]
Even though it’s all tagged up to shit and back, I’m really liking this new jam.
I like auto-tune when it’s well done and this I think uses it well, what with Bon Iver’s use of it on the “Blood Bank” EP and Kanye’s use on 808s (which I loved), but this is our second taste of the oft-reported “collaboration” between the two.
Hopefully an untagged version shows up soon, because the fool who tagged this clearly doesn’t know his dubya dots.
Kanye West feat. Bon Iver - “Lost In The World” (No Tags)
