Fire up this Spotify New Years playlist from our team and Happy 2018 everyone!
Year: 2017
Indie Thanksgiving Songs Playlist with Beck, Black Lips, The Strokes, Yo La Tengo, CYHSY, M. Ward, Wilco, LCD Soundsystem, Iron & Wine, Jack Johnson, The Shins
Here’s our latest and best Indie Thanksgiving Songs playlist for Thanksgiving.
Feel free to share. Tits the season.
Fresh Indie Rock Tracks from Caelo, Fornis, Shoring, Danny Baxley, Dizzy Bats, Papa Sierra, All This Huxley, Papersleeves, Indya
It’s mid-October and the Fresh Tracks keep popping up by bands spanning the globe from South Africa to England; California to Massachusetts; Norway to the Big Apple; Pennsylvania to Oregon, and places in between.
Caelo – Cape Town, South Africa
Fornis – Sacramento, California
Shoring – Portland, Oregon
Papa Sierra – Trondheim, Norway
Dizzy Bats – New York, New York
Danny Baxley – Boston, Massachusetts
All This Huxley – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Papersleeves – Martinsburg, West Virginia
Indya – Brighton, England
Caelo – “Visions”
Back in June of 2016, the folks of Cape Town, South Africa had their first glimpse of a new alt-rock trio called Caelo. The band jettisoned from relative obscurity to local popularity within weeks of their debut performance.
With the release of their new Visions EP last month, the band is building even more of a fan base thanks to the electrifying energy on tracks like “All You Need,” the grinding and hard rocking, “Renegades,” and the title track, which has amassed over 10,000 plays on Soundcloud alone in just a few weeks.
“Visions really captures the energy of our early beginnings and consolidates many feelings from that time,” says guitarist and vocalist Joel Bronner, who together with bassist Matthew Winfield and drummer Mike Dickens form the Cape Town rock trio.
The trio’s flair for dynamic ranges in their music indicates that their alt-rock verve comes from influences like Muse, Royal Blood, The Black Keys, Foals and, of course, Biffy Clyro. The band has opened for artists like CrashCarBurn, Springbok and Nude Girls.
It was actually during a Biffy Clyro performance in 2015 that Bronner decided to kick of Caelo and he went out fervently to make it happen. Now in the studio recording a new album, Caelo hopes to build a U.S. and overseas fan base in 2018.
Bonus Track: “Renegades“ – Caelo from Visions
Fornis – “Generic Hope”
Based along the western foothills of the Sierra Mountains, in the California capital city of Sacramento is the DIY rock band Fornis. They knock out good old rock and roll with various other influences and genres, as evidenced on the band’s new release, Generic Hope.
Founded in 2013 and co-fronted by vocalist and guitarist Todd Pittman, the band, he says, like to call their music ‘bolster rock.’
“We take the good old rock and bolster it into something new,” Pittman says, “with personal musical influences of old school punk rock, doo wop and old rock and roll, like Little Richard, and Dion and the Belmonts.”
Pittman is also fond of the old girl bands, such as Darlene Love, the Crystals, and the Ronettes.
The standout single, and title track, “Generic Hope,” rifles away with lo-fi ringing guitars, bumping bass lines and mad drumming, sounding more like a punk rock band than old school rock, although it is peppered generously throughout the rest of their songs and again making it difficult to place the band into one genre.
Songwriter Todd Pittman began writing and singing original songs with the creation of Fornis. His persona is rock-a-billy with pompadour combed to a ducktail. It’s difficult to peg him or the band’s music into one genre – it’s an amalgam of tastes and styles, using generations of rock influence as foundation, which results in a hard hitting, foot stomping, old school, unique and catchy musical style.
Fornis solid bottom end, drums and bass, are supplied by drummer Trapper Herzog and keyboardist ‘Keydragon,’ aka Ron Langford. Trapper has played in the past with bands like Tower of Power, Elvin Bishop, and The Cliff Fields Group while Langford has been active in music since the 70s
Prior to Fornis, Pittman fronted two other bands, a punk rock outfit called Pruno (named after the ‘jail juice’ prison inmates drink) and a punk band named Duodenum – apparently named after a section of the large intestines.
Though nowadays Fornis primarily plays its ‘bolster rock’ originals, they also enjoy playing cover songs of Del Shannon’s, The Cars, Elvis and others, with influences that range from the Ramones and Misfits to Dion and the Bellmonts.
Shoring – “I Wonder”
Four musicians who spent a decade in various other Portland bands decided in 2015 to form their own new band called Shoring.
Built around the songs of frontman Brian Bergstrom, the veteran musicians spent over a year recording their self-titled debut album, dropped earlier this year. Prior to completing the album, and armed with only with a demo track, the band was able to book a 10-show tour in California.
“Our music is inspired by reclaimed lumber, people who speak the truth, and that perfect cup of coffee,” says the band with ethos aimed at providing “quality and authenticity” and to play “purely for the love of it.” The band’s sound draws from folk and Americana influences, as well as 1960’s pop and ’70’s rock with more of a rhythm section “steeped more in the virtues of Cheap Trick than James Taylor.”
The band – which in addition to Bergstrom, features accomplished musicians like drummer Nick Kostenborder; guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Dreher and Mickey Nucci on bass – has opened for artists such as San Geronimo, Frontier Ruckus, The Loved and count among their top musical influences Ryan Adams, Dire Straits, Deathcab For Cutie, John Prine, and Tom Petty.
In The Morning
Papa Sierra – “The Dictator”
Hailing from the town of Trondheim, Norway, DIY band Papa Sierra is, according to frontman Per Sundet, “semi-political desert polka band.”
“Our music is light hearted and lively. We wish to tell you small stories from a place you never heard of,” he says, citing the band recent album drop, The Dictator.
The album’s songs are inspired by “personal adventures as well as terrible real world events. Everything from violent revolutions to love and espionage. The musical notes we use are concocted of highly experimental and illegal stuff.
We advice you to dance and sing along,” he exclaims, on songs like the exhilarating title track, with it’s energy-charged Arabian-like verve. You almost have to get up and dance.
Contributing to it all are, in addition to Sundet, band members Torje Markussen, guitar; Espen Berg Nilsen, drums; Øyvind Fjeldstad; piano, Julian Haugland, bass, and Johan Grødal, bass.
The band has opened for artists like Skóg and Whisper City, and count among their top influences bands like Kaizers Orchestra, Kasabian, Kate Bush, and The Flaming Lips.
Dizzy Bats – “I’m Listening”
The New York City DIY rock band Dizzy Bats has a Green-Day-meets-Weezer-pop-punk vibe on songs like “I’m Listening” and “Scared” from the band’s just-released album, I Don’t Live Here Anymore (Sept 19th).
The band officially formed in 2011 in vocalist and guitarist Connor Frost’s basement. The other band members include David Ma (vocals; bass); Derek Swink (drums); and Jared Sochinsky (guitars).
Bonus MP3: “Scared“
All This Huxley – “Comrade Winston Smith”
Based out of the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia indie rock band All This Huxley are noted by their beguiling riffs, genre-shifting playing and introspective lyrics as found on songs like the interesting “Comrade Winston Smith” from the band’s recently released eponymous debut.
A unique aspect of the band is that each member – guitarists Trevor Serine and John Corcoran, bassist Alex Marlys and drummer Josh Mayer – alternate on lead vocals, and Serine and Corcoran switch spots on guitars from rhythm and lead throughout the album.
All This Huxley has performed at some of the most iconic venues in Philadelphia and the surrounding area, and has built a reputation for delivering rock-solid performances. They opened for bands like
Castle Black and Shadowplay, and are most influenced by artists like Wilco, Dr. Dog, Guided by Voices, Archers of Loaf, and Tom Waits.
Papersleeves – “Sensation”
It is not often that we receive music from the fine state of West Virginia, but a new band from Martinsburg, named papersleeves, just dropped their debut album, V.1 (which implies perhaps that there will be a V.2 and perhaps V.3 and so on).
The songs on the album are built on strong traditional rock ethos yet are also heavily pop rock hook oriented such as on memorable tracks like love song, “Chasing After You” and the hard-rocking, “Sensation.” The band’s musical influences include U2, Weezer, Radiohead, and Pearl Jam.
The band members include Lucas Barnhart on guitar; Michael Flynn on lead vocals; Reece McClung on lead guitar; Allen Hutzler on bass and Joel Weedy on drums. The band formed in 2015.
Danny Baxley – “Ithaca”
Outta Beantown, Boston musician Danny Baxley has put his stake in the ground of the city’s long tradition of birthing trail-blazing artists who borrow from indie, pop, electronic, R&B, psych rock and lo-fi to craft unique tracks like the inspirational “Trials and Errors of a Troubled Mind” and “Ithaca” from the Baxley’s debut album, Love Sex Alcohol.
Baxley’s biggest musical influences include Modest Mouse, Grimes, Sylvan Esso, Crystal Castles, and The Doors.
Bonus Track: Trials and Errors of a Troubled Mind
Indya “Insane Love”
Any UK artist that opens for big name musicians like Noel Gallagher and bands like Republica is going to get people’s attention.
That’s exactly what the artist Indya, from the city of Brighton, England, did here in the cafe. But we should not make too much of such credentials because her music itself is what captives people.
Behind the one name moniker is musician Natalie Indya West, a graduate of the British School of Performing Arts. In 2015, she formed her band who were influenced by classic rock artists like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and David Bowie.
They dropped a new album in August, Insane Love, featuring songs like the raucous title track. West is supported by Raymond Tognola (bass); Andrea Rapisarda (drums) and Paolo Marelli (guitar).
Notable Indie Rock Debut Albums, Vol. I – Nopes, CapCapCap, Seed of Freedom, Shirt/Pants and Umbrella Cult
This new series of notable indie rock debuts highlights standout first releases from DIY artists and bands that few underground listeners have heard (yet).
As part of this series, there is no time-stamp requirement; meaning the debuts we feature range from those dropped recently to a few years ago. What matters is the music. Always. And what has also always mattered -in a big way – to IRC and its audience is unveiling and promoting of talented indie artists and bands that cross our radar screens.
In this latest edition, you’ll find bands from close and faraway places like California, The Netherlands, Russia, Washington DC and Florida.
We’ve chosen some of the top singles from each of the debuts featured in this post playlist. If you like what you hear, please show your love for the artists and IRC by sharing it with friends.
If you have music that needs to be heard, submit to Indie Rock Cafe. Keep independent music alive and out of reach of the corporate henchmen.
In This Installment:
Nopes – Oakland, California
CapCapCap – Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Seed of Freedom – Moscow, Russia
Shirt/Pants – Washington, DC
Umbrella Cult – Sarasota, Florida
Nopes – Oakland, California
San Francisco Bay Area band Nopes bangs out noisy bubblegum punk music that juxtaposes two otherwise polar opposite genres and smashes them together into a swirl of manic noise pop.
“Generally, we love pop melodies just as much as we love dissonance and noise,” says bassist Kevin Quijivix. “So on any given Nopes’ song, those two elements battle out and harmonize in sync.”
This is evident on standout songs like “Matinee at Market” and “Jingle Berries” from the Oakland band’s fantastic debut EP, Nectar of the Dogs, originally dropped in June 2015, and which received a solid amount of support on Bandcamp.
In reply to ‘what is indie rock’: “Calling your music indie rock has absolutely no meaning,” Quijivix asserts. “In the 1980s and 90s, however, indie rock was the direct alternative to mainstream media, more in line with punk music than guitar pop in terms of DIY ethos.”
The band’s BC page lays it out like this is:
Stereo-fed on the blood and sweat of early Californian punk history, a period which barfed forth influential pre-hardcore/pro-punk provocateurs like The Germs, Angry Samoans and The Dead Kennedys, Oakland’s Nopes spring from similar Suburbian dungeons, hearts burning with the fun and fury of being young, gifted and ultimately unaccountable.
Nopes has opened for bands like Diesel Dudes, Slothes, Toy Guitar, Sexless, Mall Walk, and Toner, and counts among their major influences artists like Guided By Voices, Dead Kennedys, R.E.M., Husker Du, and Pissed Jeans.
The EP was recorded by Jack Shirley (Deafheavan, Boss-De-Nage) at the Atomic Garden Recording Studio in East Palo Alto, California and mastered by Will Killingsworth (Orchid, Ampere, Bucket Full of Teeth).
CapCapCap – Sonder
We don’t know much about the interestingly-named indie band, CapCapCap, stationed in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, but we do know that they craft gloomy, simmering indie rock with elements of alt. rock on the debut LP, Sonder.
CapCapCap’s music, as heard on top tracks like the ethereal, “Kerozan,” and the experimental, “Heads,” is soaked in dark, wavy synthesizers, looping guitar effects, electronic drums, and computer samples. The vocals of guitarist Lydia Roos are familiar yet still her own; her vocals fit the music nicely and are kind of spooky and comforting at the same time. Think Beach House meets Portishead.
The band’s dark post-rock sound has more vocals and less instrumentation than most post-rock bands, but then again, we wouldn’t say that CapCapCap is necessarily post-rock per se.
According to the band, they are genre-blenders, bringing together elements of 80’s new wave, rock, post rock, and trip-hop. On songs like “Heads,” dark synths, driving drums repetitive guitar lines and layered vocals drive it forward.
Lead guitarist Job Huberts explains the album and the album title this way: “The days become darker, people start huddling together, each and every one of them living their own lives, passing you by, being a part of your life for just this tiny moment in time.”
The other band members that make up the quartet are bassist Thijs Meulendijks and drummer and sample master Thijs Brok.
CapCapCap have opened for bands like Interpol, Gosto, the Horn the Hunt, and Mmoths. The band’s top influences include Portishead, The Sound, Warpaint, Viet Cong, and Sonic Youth.
Seed of Freedom – Revolt
It’s not often that a band from Russia sounds as western as does Moscow‘s indie band Seed of Freedom on their under-the-radar debut EP, Revolt, released in October of 2015.
The five-track EP is brimming with dreamy tracks that are too good to ignore, including the glimmering lo-fi psych rock of the unforgettable, “Time Machine,” and the twinkling dream pop and angling guitars of “Put The Gold In My Bag.”
These are just two of the memorable tracks from this notable indie debut out of western Russia. Why more indie/DIY music lovers didn’t hear this EP is a mystery other than to say the band (as happens to so many great bands) just didn’t have the publicity and promotion they needed behind it.
The band members are three brothers – Benjamin Ivanov (vocals, guitar); Jackob Ivanov (guitar) and Philipp Ivanov (drums), plus Marco Boccamazzo (bass, keys).
SoF’s polished sound is clearly influenced by some of their top musical influences such as Foals, Tame Impala and Arctic Monkeys, but even more so by their love of retro dream pop that has been prevalent in Europe for decades.
MP3: “Put The Gold In My Bag“ – Seed of Freedom from Revolt
Shirt/Pants – Save Your Lungs For Cigarettes
When Washington, DC noise/garage rock punk surf band Shirt/Pants first debuted in 2015 with the EP, Save Your Lungs For Cigarettes, we took notice. The teens/early 20-somethings had been rocking venues up and down the east coast with their gritty, lo-fi, genre-blending tracks like the anthemic “Knockoff”; the spaghetti-western-inspired, “Haze & Ginger”; and the punk fueled track, “Slacker.”
Other times, such as on the track, “Nadsat,” the band incorporates indie pop cloaked in wonderful, lo-fi noise. Shirt/Pants has opened for bands like Twin Peaks, Frontiers, Dolly Spartans, Two Inch Astronaut, and count their biggest musical influences as Together Pangea, Ty Segall, Arctic Monkeys, The Orwells, and King Krule.
MP3: “Knockoff“ – Shirt/Pants from Save Your Lungs For Cigarettes
Umbrella Cult – Apocalove
Back in 2012, Sarasota, Florida DIY band Umbrella Cult released an impressive debut album Apocalove, featuring a collection of standout tracks, including the indie rock tracks, “Another One Goes,” “Take Us Home” and “New Mistakes,” among others.
In 2011 and 2012, the band’s gritty, lo-fi production style and high energy concerts quickly garnered a strong and loyal fan base in their hometown and the surrounding region.
It was during this time that the band soon began work on an entirely self-produced album in the foreclosed childhood home of one of the band members and started calling themselves ‘Umbrella Cult’ and the sessions the “Foreclosed Sessions,” resulting in the recording of more than 30 songs – 14 of which made it on the album. The album is a trip through sonic landscapes, unlike many debuts we’ve heard recently.
UC purposely embraces the “raw and reverb-y production of the 60’s and 70’s,” to create a sound that is balanced by modern and vintages aesthetics while retaining a retro rock edge.
Their songs range from indie radio hits (“New Mistakes”), and songs which are yearning pop (“Take Us Home”), oddly cinematic (“Theme From Apocalove”), and ethereal ballads (“Jane”) to snotty trash rock (“Sue Aside”), lo-fi dream states (“Letter to the Unaddressed”) and a prevalent nostalgic, heavily vintage sound (“Blue & Green”) of the 1960s and ‘70s.
Fresh Tracks with The Giving Moon, Griffin Robillard, Distant Creatures, Sky Chefs, Telamor and Spencer Roberts
The latest edition of Fresh Tracks, just in time for the start of autumn, features artists from New England to the west coast and from the deep south to the mid-Atlantic.
The Giving Moon – New Orleans, Louisiana
Griffin Robillard – Boston, Massachusetts
Distant Creatures – Washington, DC
Sky Chefs – Los Angeles, Califronia
Telamor – Gloucester, Massachusetts
Spencer Roberts – Lynchburg, Virginia
The Giving Moon – “Natives”
It may seem a little late to roll out a summer-themed track, but the indie pop single, “Summertime” by the New Orleans DIY band The Giving Moon caught our attention. The song features shimmering guitars, reverb-heavy, smoky vocals, and a fantastically catching beat and rhythm.
And that lead us to listen to more tracks from the band’s recent album release, Forever Awake, like the more funky, R&B rocker, “Natives,” sporting a danceable rhythm, soothing vocal work, atmospheric guitars and a post-rock mixed with alt. rock element that runs throughout many of the band’s songs, including the title track, “Friction,” and “Folded Thoughts” among others.
The band’s 2015 EP, The Wild, garnered a good bit of love online, thanks to impossibly addictive tracks like the upbeat, driving pop rock of “Making Chemicals” and the glimmering guitars and melodic shifts of “Hills.”
The Giving Moon are one of those rare bands that come along who sound like they’ve already been playing together for a decade or more, but in fact, it has been half of that time. Guitarist, vocalist and front man Sean Seales, bassist Adam Suto and drummer Nate Melville were all high school friends in Chicago and in short order were traveling coast to coast to play shows for a growing fan base.
TGM has opened for an impressive array of artists and bands, including Eddie Money, Edgar Winter, Tommy & the High Pilots, and Welshly Arms. Their biggest musical influences include The Beatles, Young The Giant, Coldplay, Foster The People and Radiohead.
Griffin Robillard – “Cracks In The Ceiling”
Boston-resident-Minneapolis-born indie folk rock musician Griffin Robillard new debut album, Cracks in The Ceiling, fashions folk-tinged indie rock with introspective lyrics and a unique vocal palette on tracks like the title song
The twenty-two year-old’s debut pays homage to the Americana tradition, casting a wide net of what it means to reinterpret guitar music in the present while drawing from influences as wide-ranging as Bryan Ferry’s nervy croon to Wilco’s early raw energy, having been compared as ‘Rufus Wainwright meets Neil Diamond.
Raised on his musician father’s record collection of Jackson Browne, CSNY, and many other singer-songwriter and folk rock trailblazers, Robillard began writing songs as a child. As a high school student in Salt Lake City, he started to experiment with recording, playing everything from folk to grunge in various bands. When he relocated to Boston to attend college, Rolbillard became very serious about writing.
“For a long time it was something I did in my spare time,” he says. “A poem or song here and there. I went into college pursuing a biology degree. I failed spectacularly,” explains Robillard. Discouraged, he decided to go back to basics and was encouraged by encouraging professors. “Writing fiction and poetry was an itch that I could never satisfy and because what I was writing was just so bad, it just made it more frustrating.”
Written over a year while living in Copenhagen, Denmark, Cracks in the Ceiling chronicles a time of profound change for the young songwriter. “I had a fresh start, getting to know myself again after a really rough two years,” Robillard says. “In hindsight it was probably a form of depression, but the fog lifted and I also met my now girlfriend there. It was pretty overwhelming. I was writing as fast as I could.”
The title track begins with a lone drum-loop as an array of acoustic and electric guitars slowly swell into a balladic chorus. “The first song is all about how love between two people can double your view of the world, but just because you see more– through aging, experience, or the love itself– doesn’t mean we can escape a lot of the half-truths we tell ourselves.” And the song “Ghost” is bound to be a crowd pleaser – the musicianship and overall production, as with the entire album, are impressive.
Robillard teamed up with producer Jon Niess, who assembled an all-star ensemble of Austin musicians at his studio, Austin Signal. With studio wizard Charlie Kramsky (Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Elvis Costello) on the board, the album was laid down in just four days and put in the hands of Erik Wofford (My Morning Jacket, Explosions in the Sky, Bill Callahan) for final mastering.
Griffin Robillard Homepage
Sky Chefs – “Aquarians”
In the urban sprawl of Los Angeles, there’s a cluttered garage recording studio lovingly dubbed the Whack Ark. Inside, surrounded by wobbly tape machines, Craigslist castoffs, and an old iMac named Gozer, Dale Nicholls writes and records music as Sky Chefs.
Since 2015, Sky Chefs has dropped three LPs, three EPs, a lethargic Pavement cover, some funky videos, and one scuzzy lil’ single. The band is made up of Cherry Glazerr, Chris Cohen, and Psychic Temple.
Sky Chefs will officially drop their new album on September 29th – and their second album of 2017 alone. Aquarians, made up of “depression naps in dogpound doorways; sunburnt ballads and pockmarked pop songs, and the saints of bruised fruit and bloodshot eyes” and featuring standout tracks like the dreamy, piano-twinkling, sonic-shifting title track. The album officially drops on September 29th.
Distant Creatures – “A Friend’s Halo”
The new album, Snares in Safe Harbors, from indie band Distant Creatures is a thrilling trip through the realm of shoegaze and dream pop, hitting it off right from the start with the unforgettable opener, “A Friend’s Halo,” and followed by other notable songs, including the sunny “In Real Life” and the expansive and shimmering, “Night Flowers” and “Unsure.”
The band, based in Washington, DC, formed in 2015 when musicians Dane DiPierro (guitars & synths); Mina Karimi (vocals); Chris Mathews (guitars & vocals); Ben Silvernail (drums), and Mike Lewis (bass). The band has opened for artists like You’ll Never Get to Heaven, Blue Heaven, and Cheshi, and consider their top influences The Smiths, Slowdive, The Sundays, Exlovers, and Pale Saints.
Distant Creatures formed after Mathews and DiPierro, who shared a love for British indie and post punk bands of the 80s, began playing guitars together and soon recruited Karimi and the rhythm section of Silvernail and Lewis. The album was recorded in rural Virginia and is out now; listen to it on Spotify.
Telamor – “Midnight at the Drive-thru Window”
Massachusetts musician Tom Hauck, otherwise known as Telamor, just dropped a compilation called Playlist, featuring 12 of his top tracks from his first four CDs.
The leadoff track, “Flash,” has received college radio action over the summer and into the fall. It’s built on a guitar riff nicked from the Rolling Stones “2,000 Light Years From Home.” It’s a plea for global unity.
Other tracks include the smooth and funky, “Trippin’ – influenced by The Weeknd’s “I Can’t Feel My Face” – and “Lonelyhearts” is a remake of the 1980 track by Boston pop/punk band The Atlantics.
A college radio track, “Midnight at the Drive-Thru Window,” features lyrics that include only actual words found on a McDonald’s menu, and is “the story of a stoner who can’t stop ordering more junk food. The music is influenced by George Clinton.”
The songs were all recorded at Bang A Song recording studio in Gloucester; written and instruments played by Hauck and musicians Tony Goddess (guitar), John Lynch (drums), and Warren Babson (bass).
Playlist was produced by Hauck and Grammy-nominated audio engineer and mixer Warren Babson. Babson has worked with artists including Black Eyed Peas, Mark Foster (of Foster The People), Wyclef Jean, and Diplo, among others.
Hauck and remixed and remastered at Bang A Song, and to some we added new piano tracks to beef up the rhythm section. We were going for a big full-band sound, not unlike Oasis. Most of the songs have five or six guitar tracks, piano/keys, and percussion, plus the usual drums and bass.
Spencer Roberts – “As Days Go By”
Musician Spencer Roberts based in the mountains of Lynchburg, Virginia, began writing and recording songs just a couple of years ago and already has been featured on Spotify Fresh Finds and its’ Viral US Top 50.
“I am a solo multi-instrumentalist who aim to make laid-back music, a blend of mountains and surf rock – that I believe is an honest look at life,” he says.
“I began writing and recording in my attic in 2015 and have released an EP and played several small shows in Lynchburg. My music is a blend of influences from the mountains and a slightly surf rock sound.”
The result is his recent album, Home Tape, featuring songs like the captivating dreamy acoustic track, “As Days Go By.” Some of his favorite artists include Beach Fossils, Mac Demarco, Allah-Las, and King Krule.
Austin Indie Rock Band The Savage Poor Drop New LP ‘The Grown Ups’
Now safely established in Austin‘s competitive music scene, 80’s garage rock/Americana band The Savage Poor‘s new album, The Grown Ups, is steeped deep in roots rock and genre-mixing.
TSP is the musical project of brothers Jeff Brown and Ben Brown, both vocalists and guitarists. As teenagers growing up in central Pennsylvania listening to albums from The Ramones and David Bowie, among others, and taking their musical and songwriting cues from many other artists and bands they admire.
When the brothers were in their early 20’s, they decided to start recording their own music. This wasn’t a difficult thing to do for the musically-inclined brothers; in fact, they went the only path that made sense at that point: create original music that combined their love for so many different musical styles, including Americana, garage rock, cinematic music, 80’s UK post punk and indie music.
Further influences such as The Replacements, The Smiths, Lou Reed, Roy Orbison, The Cure and Doug Sahm have all helped to shape their music.
The Savage Poor’s musical influences and other talents and personalities culminate in the release of their new album, The Grown Ups (dropped last week, Aug. 18), engineered and mixed by producer Christine Smith, who has also worked with artists like Crash Test Dummies, Jesse Malin, Ryan Adams and Marah.
One of the highlights of the album, “Caligula,” is “an expansive sound painting that lyrically, through abstraction, tries to capture the emotional insanity and increasing surreality of American politics.”
Another track, “The Violent Bear it Away,” Brown says: “Partially a fish out of water comedy about the kind of American least adapted to modern times, the white conservative male.”
“The best records always straddle the line between accessibility and mystery. Thematically I knew that we wanted to make an unsettling record that spoke to the insanity of modern America, but more poetic than topical in its approach. The records that I like all have something to say.”
The other band members and contributors to The Savage Poor’s new album include Alex Moralez on drums and Roger Wuthrich on bass. Smith also contributed in many ways, including piano, synth, accordion, BVS, melodica, and omnichord.
“Because we used a variety of technology for recording,” Jeff Brown says, “from 60’s Studor tape machine to digital manipulation, and because we combined a lot of different influences from different eras, I really feel that the record sounds outside of time.”
“There will be plenty of times that you might think something sounds like so and so,” he says, adding, “but then you’ll realize that some element of it doesn’t fit your first impression.”
Artist Spotlight – Canadian Alt. Folk Artist Dawson Rutledge
Nineteen-year-old Dawson Rutledge is an award-winning alt. folk and Americana musician and songwriter from Cranbrook, British Columbia who has earned himself a place in British Columbia’s local music scene years before his contemporaries.
Establishing himself early as a talented young songwriter, musician and vocalist, Rutledge is one of those artists that we feel will break out in coming months. In fact, it was only a couple of years ago – when he was 17 years old – that Rutledge first dove into writing and recording his own music.
Rutledge’s songs – like the emotive, slow folk rock of “Mysterious Woman” and the haunting “Yours Truly” – are introspective and sublime, with an organic acoustic vibe, and connote a maturity that is beyond his years.
His many influences include The Head & The Heart, Mumford & Sons, and Shakey Graves. These bands also had a huge influence on Rutledge’s guitar playing, he says.
“When I was in high school, I had this great teacher who had created a recording class.”
“In this course we learned a lot about music and musical composition,” Rutledge remembers. “By the end of the course, each student was required to write and record a set of original songs. At that point, I was hooked.”
Around the same time, Rutledge says he also was suffering from a broken heart, which for many musicians leads to great material. These influences had a profound affect on the young musician, spurring the writing of more than a dozen new songs over the span of six months.
Record executive Geordie Gillespie of Unleashed Music first heard Rutledge at the Mesa Music Festival and Jersey Shore Festival, declaring him as “one of the artists to watch” at both fests.
Gillespie then set up a meeting with Rutledge, after which Gillespie offered him a deal.
He felt a perfect match to bring Rutledge’s recordings to fruition was to bring in the three-time Grammy award-winning producer Justin Guip (Levon Helm; My Morning Jacket; The Black Crowes).
Within a few short, productive weeks at the studios in Woodstock, New York, Rutledge and Guip developed the impressive masters for his studio debut, Monsters, which is set to drop on September 15th.
In addition to Rutledge’s stunning picking, the recordings feature the pedal steel work of Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Amy Helm) on songs like “Yours Truly”.
There’s a rustic, organic acoustic feel to the album that has a warm ‘70s Woodstock-like vibe.
From the opening track “Thief Of A Lover,” Rutledge sings: You lost your tongue/in the mouth of an icy stream. The subtle rhythmic groove of “When Life Gives You Monsters” feature Rutledge phrasing in Caribbean-like patois and spitting out lines like: Our two track minds have been tugging on each other / It seems no good can come from staying desperate lovers.
Another standout track, “Heavy Heart,” features a hook-friendly, chill keyboard riff and somber lyrics about another love affair that failed. One of the trademarks Rutledge’s studio debut is how conceptually strong the collection of songs are; lyrics, music, vocals and arrangements all seem wonderfully consistent throughout the record.
Rust Dust’s Raw, Lo-Fi Mix of Blues, Country, Folk and Gospel
Here’s what you’ll get with the outlaw folk of Rust Dust’s new album, Diviners and Shivs: one voice, a few fine old instruments, and an unflinching, all-of-a-piece performance that will reach you in the moment and resonate with historical memory.
Rust Dust is the new moniker of Jason Shealy Stutts, a South Carolina native with a healthy aversion for barbers and liars. He earns his keep repairing and dealing in guitars and amps of a certain age.
After bonding with Oscar-winning, Grammy-nominated producer John DeNicola over their mutual affection for this sort of vintage gear, Stutts explained his concept for a record.
“A set of songs came together. I rearranged and de-arranged them until they tell the story of Diviners and Shivs [the new LP],” he says.
“They seemed to fit naturally with the country, blues and gospel songs I always held dear, and I hoped to record them, live, with someone who wanted to contribute to the sound and feel so that this wasn’t just a ‘dude with an acoustic’ record.”
DeNicola was enthusiastically on board for the recording.
“Jason wanted to do this like a performance art piece, a live recording straight to two-track tape, and I thought my barn studio in upstate New York would be the perfect setting,” DeNicola says.
“While Jason would be the only guitarist and singer, he saw the project as the work of a ‘band,’ with me and our engineer, Andris J. Balins, ‘playing’ the gear.”
And so Rust Dust made use of the large hayloft and milk house, placing different mics in various locations to capture subtle nuances.
They even used the corn silo as a reverb unit, putting a mic at the top and bottom and sending Stutts’ voice and guitar through a speaker. They also recorded outdoors to capture a more organic, country feel.
You’ll hear this process in the prison-break intensity of the title track and the rawboned blues of “Just Can’t Keep From Crying.”
You’ll feel it in the acidic sincerity of “Nothing Hurts Worse” and know it via a medley that teams Townes Van Zandt’s “Lungs” with Rust Dust’s “Modern Times” – a tragedy for the Trump era with rough and tumble guitar, before seg-waying into the possible salvation of “Everything Got Softer.”
There’s the jaunty delivery of “Wayfaring Stranger” and an “Amazing Grace” from your strangest dream.
“I hope everyone can listen and dream their own story of Diviners and Shivs. John and Andris made sonic changes live and played the barn, board and tape machine while we recorded straight to tape. It gives the album a cool sound and movement.”
Listen to Rust Dust on Spotify
The LP will officially drop on September 22nd via Omad Recordings.
New Indie Rock Songs from MOSAICS, The Penthouse, Amber Lamps, Jordan Sleed, Matt Squires, Brett Weller and The Congregation
The latest edition of Fresh Tracks traverses the continental United States from California to New York and Texas to Wisconsin.
MOSAICS – San Francisco, California
The Penthouse – New York, New York
Amber Lamps – Queens, New York
Jordan Sleed – San Antonio, Texas
Band of Dust – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Brett Weller and The Congregation – New Orleans, Louisiana
Matt Squires – Austin, Texas
…plus Striving Artists and Woven Green
MOSAICS – “Secrets”
Returning with a fresh new track, “Secrets,” San Francisco indie trio MOSAICS turn up the heat just in time for summer with a simmering and provocative new scorcher. Drawing from the remarkable and pensive instrumentation work of Devon Kelts and Tyler Hill, lead vocalist Maryam Sadeghian delivers a sultry and booming performance on vocals.
The mechanical, lashing beat, perhaps one of the signatures of MOSAICS’ evolving sound in the past year to 18 months, is hypnotic paired with keys, guitars and Sadeghian’s mood-setting voice.
The band performs regularly in San Francisco proper and the Bay Area. They plan to release a series of singles throughout the year. Top musical influences include Radiohead, FourTet, Apparet, and many others.
Listen to “Secrets” on Spotify and follow/share MOSAICS.
The Penthouse – “City Lights”
Straddling between two cities – Boston and New York, DIY band The Penthouse are finding themselves settling more in NYC where the gigs are, and are regularly booked for this up-and-coming band who are sounding better on each new track. The evidence of that is on the upbeat indie pop track, “City Lights” just dropped last week by the band.
The Penthouse has been on our radar for about a year now and we think they could be a popular NYC band within the next couple of years as they improve and grow their audience and followers.
Thee band members include Patrick Minogue (vocals; guitar); Kyle Raney (bass); Jesse Mason (guitar); Eric Derwallis (drums) Jacob Arias (guitar). The band’s top musical influences include Foster the People, Two Door Cinema Club, Young The Giant, and The 1975.
Newly based out of the Astoria section of Queens, New York, the pop punk DIY band Amber Lamps burn it up on the new single, “Bitter Ride” from the band’s recent album drop, Plaidypuss.
Some listeners might hear a likeness to Green Day and The Kinks, but there is one thing for sure – they will rock your party and are professional musicians who are not messin around. The band’s top musical influences include Green Day, Weezer, and Blink-182.
Yet another solid, summertime party track is the pumping energy and fast-changing melodies of “Between The Lines.” The band originally formed back in 2009 as a one-off high school graduation party cover band and evolved over the years into a punk-punk-loving trio who dig “catchy hooks, aggressive guitars and killer bass.”
Jordan Sleed – “Drift Apart”
At the young age of just 19 years old, San Antonio singer/songwriter and musician Jordan Sleed has already released a sleuth of interesting, and in some cases, unforgettable, tracks over the past couple of years, on various social media platforms.
Tracks like the beautiful and inspiring love song “Drift Apart” are at the heart of Sleed’s sound – one that he has been developing for many years.
“At 13, I picked up the ukulele and have since then used it to discover a passion for music and songwriting,” Sleed says. “I write in an innovative way, being driven by the ukulele/guitar and my voice.”
“The music speaks for itself, showing influence from great soulful musicians” that he says include John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, The Beach Boys, James Taylor, and Jake Shimabukuro.
Sleed has been performing regularly around the San Antonio area for years, at times for audiences of nearly 3,000 people.
Other songs like “Words,” with its soul and R&B influences coupled with acoustic guitar, and Sleed’s sensual, versatile and soulful vocals. We hear a lot of DIY music and most of the time it is the vocals that don’t work.
In Sleed’s case, that is not a problem. His vocals and amazingly mature songwriting on track after track, whether it’s a cover song of influences like John Mayer, or one of his original songs, Sleed hits it again and again.
MP3: “A Fool’s Game“ – Jordan Sleed from Jordan Sleed
The rambunctious folk rock single, “Blue Flame,” from the Milwaukee indie band, Band of Dust, is the two-year old band’s debut single from their recommended debut album, Whispers Are Roars.
Combining fast strumming of jangly pop-driven acoustic and electric guitars, hard driving, stick-heavy percussions, harmonicas and the raspy, Tom Petty/Conor Oberst-like vocals of frontman Dustin Mayer, the unforgettable single, “Blue Flame,” is almost irresistible.
After living in the family house in upper Wisconsin following the death of his father, Mayer returned to Milwaukee with 22 songs, of which a dozen made it on the album – a stunning, deep and heartfelt album – an American sonic journey where each turn is something special and each spin is familiar yet new.
Brett Weller and The Congregation – “Running Man”
The new album, Chances, from New Orleans indie rock/acoustic folk band Brett Weller and The Congregation, is full of tracks that move and rock, taking in concepts from influences like Damien Rice, Mumford and Sons, and The Black Keys.
Appropriately coined previously as a band with a “gumbo of sounds,” Brett Weller and The Congregation’s funky, bluesy, acoustic folk gumbo springs from a fountain of musical influences of Weller and his band members, as demonstrated on the lead track, “Running Man,” from Chances.
Formed in 2014, the duo – featuring Brett Weller on acoustic guitar and vocals and Anna Weller on violin, keys, and vocals – have been working on the songs for their newly released debut album for a couple of years along with musicians Jacob Jordan, Ryan Brown, and Andrew Gordon.
Brett Weller and The Congregation on Facebook
Matthew Squires – “Debt Song”
East Texas musician Matthew Squires spent two years and his life savings to record his most recent album, the indie pop rocking Tambaleo, featuring songs like the quirky, experimental psych rock, “Shape of Your Heart,” which reminds us of The Kinks (circa 1965) mixed with some Bowie and Flaming Lips.
The track has accumulated more 120,000 plays and 1,400 likes on Soundcloud alone, in part thanks to being featured in Stereogum.
The newest song to be released as a single, “Debt Song,” carries over some of the same early Kinks-like sound and wit, complete with a strangely appealing chorus, and lo-fi elements that give Squires’ tracks more authenticity.
Not many artists can pull off genre-shifting within songs and albums as Squires has proven time and again over the years that the indie pop rock world is where he is most comfortable, as long as he allows himself – which he does – to be experimental, introspective and witty.
Throughout the album, Squires interlaces references to the Bible with Eastern philosophies. The track, “Bird Song,” touches themes of death, failure, and again, religion, singing: When we spot her/we’ll feel so very small/But the arms of grace/Which we’ll embrace/Will not be so small apparently in reference to an angel.
There are repeating themes in Squires’ music, including – it goes without saying – religion and enlightenment, but also soul searching, love, family and friends, with pop references sprinkled throughout.
Striving Artists and Woven Green
As a director of a group of artists, called Striving Artists, that engage in theatre, arts and music, writer and musician Gregory Luzitano assembled an entire group of singers and musicians to record a full cover version, you could say, of the play Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack. Here is one of the tracks from the album.
In 2006, he formed the Striving Artists Theatre Company with his sister Mary Luzitano. The album, featuring dozens of tracks, is a trip back in time for any of those who enjoy ‘hippie’ and religious soundtracks.
Based in the small town of Sterling, Virginia, husband and wife musical duo, Jim and Ashley Cash, aka, Woven Green, recently released a new album, Into Bloom, an indie rock, acoustic folk/new age release, featuring songs like the lead single,”Breaking Free.”
In November of 2009, Woven Green dropped an EP that was featured in Relix Magazine, and which helped prompt the band’s nomination for a 2009 Wammy (Washington Area Music Association) award in the pop/rock category. The Cashs’ describe their sound as ‘world rock funk acoustic.’
MP3: “Breaking Free“ – Woven Green from Into Bloom
New Indie Rock Songs from doubleVee, Innocent Persona, The Sleeping Tongues, Evan Mix, Jack Kotz, Layla Frankel, Liz and the Lovelies
With summer just around the corner, the releases are coming in at a mad pace, and there are plenty of great indie and DIY tracks you’ll likely only hear on IRC. Also, thank you all for your patience as we move the site to totally SSL (secure) and while we continue to work out the kinks with some of the site’s features – all in the name of progress.
doubleVee – Norman, Oklahoma
Innocent Persona – New York, New York
The Sleeping Tongues – Brooklyn, New York
Evan Mix – Floyd’s Knob, Indiana
Jack Kotz – New York, New York
Layla Frankel – Chicago, Illinois
Liz and the Lovelies – Chicago, Illinois
Plus, Quick Picks from around the world…
[zbplayer]doubleVee – “Frucus Minus (The Flycatcher)”
Indie rock enthusiasts may remember the indie pop band The Starlight Mints who met with considerable fanfare within the sub-cultures of the indie pop movement back in the 1990s. In fact, they were one of the first bands, along with The Nixons and Chainsaw Kittens – and of course The Flaming Lips (who were OK City/Norman locals) – to put Norman, Oklahoma, solidly on the indie music map.
While The Starlight Mints may not have achieved the mainstream-style success that The Flaming Lips have enjoyed, the band made significant contributions to the indie genre. One of the Mints’ founding members, and original founder, Allan Vest, has been working on a new project called doubleVee, with his wife and fellow musician Barb Hendrickson Vest, who married in 2015.
The husband-wife duo recently released doubleVee’s wonderful debut album, The Moonlit Fables of Jack the Rider, garnering positive reviews online and in social.
The first video single from the album, “Frucus Minus (The Flycatcher),” is a quirky and entertaining video with a hypnotic bass and drum hook throughout, and a zany, melodic stomp.
“We had a blast writing this song,” says Allan Vest. “We actually had too many ideas and got carried away before settling on the arrangement and final lyrics…once we had the line ‘you’re just a flycatcher’ at the end of the chorus, we knew the direction the rest of the song was going to take. If doubleVee had a theme song, this would be it.“
Among the various interesting and fun aspects that make up the video is the incorporation of a vintage North American T-6 Texan airplane made famous in World War II and a 1969 Buick Sport Wagon 400 along with some Wes Anderson-like characters.
The duo is influenced by artists like Legendary Pink Dots, Stereolab, Ennio Morricone, The Cardiacs, Os Mutantes, Philip Glass, Harry Nilsson, Jon Brion, and Bernard Herrmann, along with countless other artists. In 2015, Allan and Barb married.
Innocent Persona – “Happy Ever After”
With driving melodic hooks, ringing guitars, booming percussions and somber lyrics, New York City indie pop rock band Innocent Persona‘s new single, “Happy Ever After,” is the latest track from the band, which was formed back in 2015 by founding member, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ittai Stern.
“I wrote it with the intention of creating a ‘fun stupid love song,'” Stern says. “I was actually influenced by Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Call Me Maybe,’ a song about a girl who mets someone and falls in love immediately.” Stern said the song’s sonics are influenced by a range of artists like Blink-182, Boys Like Girls, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Simple Plan.
“The band takes a lot of pride,” Stern says, “in our eclectic style, ranging from pop to alt-rock to EDM.” The band’s latest track is definitely more pop/rock oriented that is a perfect track for driving around on a sunny late spring afternoon.
It’s clear that the band would not be as solid as it is, and progressing with each track, if not for the other talented band members, like guitarist/saxophonist Jose Alonso; guitarist/bassist Charlie Freeman; bassist Shalom Bondar and drummer Mike Landolfi.
Not long after forming the band, Stern met with Doug Staiman, another Los Angeles producer, who was formally the front man for the Queens punk rock band The Groggers.
Together, Stern and Staiman composed “Destiny,” a 60’s-influenced song, and the anti-war themed, “Celestial” from the band’s self-titled debut EP dropped last summer. In recent months, the band’s Facebook following has been growing, now up to more than 20,000.
The Sleeping Tongues – “Waiting Room”
After success with past singles such as the romping single, “Bullet Train,” Brooklyn indie band The Sleeping Tongues‘ new track, “Waiting Room,” recently dropped and it’s a pleaser for the band’s fans, with ringing electric guitars, acoustic and Spanish guitars, plus synths peppered throughout; a Wurlitzer running the length of the track while a horn section featuring sax, trumpet, bass trombone and baritone sax jump into the mix, adding even more intrigue and brass to the song.
“The drums are mainly electronic and programmed,” says frontman Craig Kepen, “There are live shakers, tambourines and claps mixed with programmed Timbales…the horns were played via keyboard from Native Instruments Kontakt, with the exception of a live take of my brother playing trumpet on top. Everything was recorded with an SM57 and CAD M9 condenser microphone.”
The results speak for themselves. Over the course of time that we have been listening to the band, we have seen the advancement in their work and creativity. If you are in Brooklyn, catch a show from TST some night – they’re not the standard fare.
Evan Mix – “We’ll Listen To Something Else”
Based out of a small town in Indiana, avante garde/experimental bedroom recording artist and multi-instrumentalist Evan Mix, has dropped a number of singles over the years, and his latest, the colorful and unforgettable, “We’ll Listen To Something Else,” is quite a treat.
The track is a fascinating, multiplexed mosaic of artistic, even mathematical, instrumentation, sound effects, mixes, piano keys and dry vocals.
Mix also recently recorded the flashy, avante garde track, “Do Fun Wrong,” which reminds us a little of some early They Might Be Giants demo, if you were listening to it on acid.
And that’s just part of the allure of Mix; he doesn’t play by anyone’s rules. He could care less about – in fact mocks – commercial appeal.
Mix creates his own world and happily invites people into his playhouse of sounds to listen to his fun, sometimes tone-deaf, unconventional and truly original sounds.
MP3: “We’ll Listen To Something Else“ – Evan Mix with Jack Kotz
Layla Frankel – “Creature of Habit”
Blurring and overlapping genre lines with forays into acoustic folk, jazz, R&B, blues and soul, Chicago songwriter, vocalist and musician Layla Frankel had been writing and recording the songs for her new debut EP, Tame The Fox, for more than two years.
The EP is in some ways a musical extravaganza; the first single, “Creature of Habit,” is a upbeat pop-leaning track with a country edge; on the opening country-folk single, with it’s blues-heavy guitar, ”To Disregard,” Frankel’s vocals seem to be greatly influenced by one of her musical proteges, Bonnie Raitt. Other songs like “Tenderly” has a jazzy allure; and an nicely done acoustic cover of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.”
Frankel’s other musical influences include Sheryl Crow, Etta James, Joan Osborne, Joni Mitchell and Fleetwood Mac, and she has also opened for artists like B. Forrest, Cole Degenova, Heazza Official, and Sunny Side Up. The musicians supporting Frankel include Dave Hiltebrand (guitars, bass); Eddie Ganet (keyboards, organ); and Robert Rashid (drums, percussion).
Jack Kotz – “For The Stars (Under A Roof)”
New York City-via-North-Carolina musician Jack Kotz, who we’ve featured on IRC a number of times over the past couple of years, joins Mix at the end of the track for some vocal contributions.
His newest EP, KOTZ!, features tracks like the funky space rock of “For The Stars (Under A Roof)” and the frenetic piano game of the misleadingly-named “Acoustic Gesture #2.” That’s part of the charm of Kotz’s music – nothing is usual or unoriginal about his work.
Kotz is endlessly experimenting with eclectic recordings and has dropped two LPs and two EPs in just the past couple of years.
Liz and the Lovelies – “What You’re Told”
In the winter of 2013, Virginia native and singer/songwriter Liz Chidester set out by train for the big, windy city of Chicago. Soon after, she was making gains as a songwriter, guitarist and ukulele player, gaining recognition from outlets like NPR.
The following year, Chidester’s new band Liz and the Lovelies debuted with the release of People Pumping Pedals and the intimate EP Otter Hill in 2015. Twice she has been featured on NPR for her music.
The band’s newest release, Progress Into Simplicity, is an exploration of acoustic folk mixed with indie pop and electronic elements, drawing inspiration from musical influences like Regina Spektor, Norah Jones, Andrew Bird, Sufjan Stevens, and Father John Misty.
The lead single, “What You’re Told,” is a gypsy, waltzing-like acoustic number with fusions of mandolin, cello and percussions with a mystic accent throughout. Other band members include Alex Chidester (mandolin); Lewis Rawlinson (cello); Ivan Pyzow (trumpet, synth, keys); Mike Fletcher (bass) and Zach Finch (drums).
MP3: “What You’re Told“ – Liz and the Lovelies from Progress Into Simplicity
Liz and The Lovelies on Facebook
Quick Picks: New Indie Songs from DIY Bands Worldwide
[zbplayer]Glasgow, Scotland: “Everything (Is You)“ – Bobo and The Demeraras from Utopia Eurotica
Nashville, Tennessee: “South“ – Zach Cannella from Jephthah
Stockholm, Sweden: “Great Expectations“ – POKAL from Great Expectations
Astoria, New York: “Between The Lines“ – Amber Lamps from Plaidypuss
Skelmersdale, England: “Two Apart“ – Mosley Bar from Royalties
Cleveland, Ohio: “Say It Now“ – The Shadow Division from The Shadow Division
Berlin, Germany: “Döda flickan rädda rösten“ – Fagelle from Döda Flickan Rädda Rösten
Raven King’s Eponymous Debut LP Covers A Range of Genres from Grunge to Acoustic Pop
From the first grungy chords and raspy vocals of the opening track, “Carnival,” from Rhode Island lo-fi alt. rock band Raven King’s debut album, it’s clear right from the start they don’t plan on being just another cookie-cutter rock band.
On “Carnival,” the music has a circular and bustling chord progression, and “feels like you’re amidst the whirling energy of a traveling carnival,” says guitarist and vocalist Gerrit Curti.
The vocals are sung falsetto by drummer and vocalist, Will Boisseau and the obvious Nirvana/grunge influence, with its familiar-sounding, chunky intro, is unmistakable.
But Raven King doesn’t just incorporate grunge riffs; they mark their own territory with a style that isn’t the same old canned alternative rock that plays on college radio stations around the country.
“Our music walks a fine line between being intense and mellow,” Curti contends. “No song sounds the same; each one offers an experience unique from the others.”
The band switches gears – as promised – on their lead single, “Drool,” delivering a sunny California folk/psych rock vibe, complete with cheery and harmonic choruses and instrumentation. This song demonstrates again the band’s diverse sound.
This is true again on the hard-driving rock track, “Lost Token” – a song reflective of the “nostalgia for the halcyon days of youth,” Curti says.
“It’s really our most muscle-headed song – from the Will’s growled vocals and the grungy pumped-up riffs, to the shredding guitar solo.” It’s definitely one of the standout tracks on the album.
The final track on the album, the anti-music, “Armilla,” is hard to miss. The composition, which is probably what it is more correctly referred to, is dreamy, experimental and strange, almost like a Salvador Dali painting set to sound, and unlike anything else on the album. And yet at the same time it is one of the most captivating recordings from the album.
According to Curti, the song is based on the short story of the same name, by Italo Calvino, which is about a magical forest of pipes.
“This is another odd track,” Curti asserts. “It’s a song about plumbing, so we used actual plumling – recordings of clanking copper pipes and running water.”
It’s not the only song on the album with interesting recording techniques. The intro to “Skins,” was recorded using an “odd handmade mechanical rainstick. ”
The track, “Within Reach,” features the vocals of bassist and vocalist, AJ Bucci. As he describes it, the song is “about the futility of one’s efforts; how sometimes we want something, and while pursuing it realize it’s harder than initially perceived, and therefore, we pursue something else instead.. it’s meant to be amusing. ”
The band says that the music for the song was originally written with a “nautical theme in mind,” with the rolling rhythm of the verse reminiscent of ocean waves against the hull of a boat until a spooky and psychedelic chorus.
Raven King was mixed with the award-winning Boston producer and multi-instrumentalist Benny Grotto in his Boston area studio.
Top Ten Songs for March 2017 – Ender & Valentine, Chase Emery Davis, TGT, OFF ORBIT, Abby K, LAST GIANT, Matt Hutson, KINKY
April shot by so fast that we hardly had time to put together the Top 10 Songs for March playlist. So, since this Top 10 is late, we won’t delay anymore. These are the Top 10 Songs for March on IRC based on listeners plays, downloads and likes.
No. 1 – Ender & Valentine – “Howl”
Brooklyn, musical duo Ender & Valentine, scored the No.1 track for March with the single, “Howl,” a sparkling, upbeat, inspiring and irresistible bedroom dance pop track.
No. 2 – Chase Emery Davis – “Little Locked Up”
The London musician Chase Emery Davis is a British/American songwriter, vocalist and composer whose new album, Waiting For Her, offers the heartbreaking, genre-bending single, “Little Locked Up,” which listeners made the No. 2 track for March.
Chase blends indie rock, pop and soul genres into lush, emotive songs about love and hope, highlighting his accomplished, haunting and powerful baritone vocals.
No. 3 – The Gods Themselves – “Cool”
The Seattle genre-blending trio The Gods Themselves have been producing edgy tracks that incorporate swaggering, punk-influenced guitar riffs and wha-wha pedals, sexy grooves and disco-wave beats on tracks like the No. 3 song for March, “Cool.”
No. 4 – OFF ORBIT – “Lil B”
Founded by brothers Moises (vocals, bass, keys, harmonica) and Marcos Jimenez (lead guitar), Miami band OFF ORBIT craft bluesy psych, funk and rock mixed with hypnotizing percussions, key jams and blazing guitars on the uptempo, funky, groove-heavy track “Lil B,” the No. 4 song for March.
No. 5 – LAST GIANT – “Living in Photographs”
The Portland band LAST GIANT dropped its sophomore album recently, featuring what they describe as “an inwardly-drawn collection of 11 electrifying tracks.”
A fusion of deep and nuanced 1970’s rock arena verve and prog rock embellishments on notable tracks like, “Living In Photographs,” demonstrates a tighter, more uniformed sound on the No. 5 song for March.
No. 6 – Abby K – “Heart Shaped Rock”
Another Seattle artist, Abby K, who draws influences from her Kentucky roots, but she is not country, not folk nor pop, as she likes to point out. Most notably is Abby’s wonderful songwriting, vocals and instrumentation on her new release – her sophomore album, Heart-Shaped Rock, features standout songs like the title track, which Abby K explains is a song about a journey and “not merely a new path” while “having the courage to follow it and pursue it.”
No. 7 – Matt Hutson – “Pop Music of the Future”
With a love for bands like Big Star and early 1990’s alternative rock and pop, Columbus, Indiana songwriter musician Matt Hutson produces jangly and riff-heavy guitar-drive rock and songs like the mellow, more folksy track, “Pop Music From The Future,” from his sophomore album, TV Star, which scored at No. 7.
“I wrote it late at night, burning the midnight oil. I was thinking of how people seem to crave the next and greatest thing, and worship whomever delivers it,” he says. “I’m also kind of scorning social media and how consumed with it my generation seems to be. The song has a genuine emotion, but there are a few jabs hidden in there.”
No. 8 – Mac DeMarco – “This Old Dog”
During the past few years, the name of Brooklyn-via-Canada singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mac DeMarco, keeps popping up as a musical influence for other artists and bands from around the world that we feature on IRC.
Mixing lo-fi sounds, out-of-tune acoustic guitars, rudimentary percussions, groovy, driving folk-rock like rhythms with Sonic Youth and Lou Reed influences on his new single, “This Old Dog” – the title track from DeMarco’s fifth release.
No. 9 – KINKY – “Te Vas”
The Monterrey, Mexico five-member alt. rock band, Kinky, which initially made a splash in the United States nearly two decades ago with their second single release, “Mas,” have released a pair a new singles in the past year, including the newest Latin-dance and electro-driven “Te Vas,” and the more experimental and world music-leaning, “Desaparecer.”
No. 10 – Jeff Beadle – “Gone Before Sunrise”
Canadian folk singer/songwriter Jeff Beadle is the every man’s basement recording artist. After a day of working on cleaning pools for the rich, Beadle shifts gears and writes deeply emotive songs with lyrics of love, loss and longing like the wonderful single, “Gone Before Sunset,” coming in at No. 10.