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Get Weird
Okay, so I’m going to be completely honest. This post may or may not have been inspired by the fact that the band is called Us Baby Bear Bones. They’d have to go out of their way to be distinctly bad for me to NOT post this. That said, they sound similar to Au Revoir Simone but with a little more teeth. Atmospheric and just the right amount of melancholy for Sunday night listening.
Also, they’re called Us Baby Bear Bones. Did I mention that yet?
“Is that a fly in my beer?”
Music is, by its nature, derivative and often times it’s easy to ascribe influences to a particular artist. Alt-J was a band last year that seemed to skirt any kind of label, even though some didn’t think they were as groundbreaking as promised (I disagree, but whateva). SPEAK is a band from Austin, Texas that comes to deliver on the promise of innovation and a fresh sound – having told the major label scene to kick rocks and do things their own way. What happened next is a track that goes all the places you didn’t expect it to go, and works in all the ways you didn’t think it could.
If that sounds like some seriously pretentious hipster bullshit I’m not even going to argue with you there, I get it. But even on your 3rd or 4th listen to “Peaks” will leave you happily scratching your head, wondering where on earth this came from. This is a band to pay attention to.
Oh, and according to Pigeons & Planes (who broke the track), they’ve got a video game coming alongside the album this summer? Art rock, indeed.
“Ugh, god, not another press photo”
The Australians wanted to get in on the “sounds like Fleetwood Mac” party after the early success of Haim and now we have this brilliant new tune from The Preatures. In all fairness, they’ve had music on their Soundcloud account for over a year and when you hit the “sounds like Fleetwood Mac” nail as squarely on the head as they have, it cannot be denied. It may be a while before we get a full LP or an American tour date but you can get connected on their Facebook page.
Thanks to Neon Gold for the find.
Say what you will, this is a man that gives no fucks
Maybe I’ve just been living under a rock, as “Bright Whites” from Seattle born Kishi Bashi has already been featured in a Windows 8 commercial and made the NPR rounds on All Songs Considered. And deservedly so, since there have been few artists like him since Regina Spektor that combine a classical knowledge of music with a flair for the dramatic.
Though the intro segment may sound like your standard clappy chant-folk, “Bright Whites” soars into what could be described as a long lost Kinks song, with the slightest taste of Beatles chirp. Except you never saw Ray Davies doing it while rocking out on the violin.
Don’t let the adorable glasses fool you
Who doesn’t love a good breakup song? Especially when it involves thrashing guitars and angry declarations peppered with moments of clarity that repeatedly descend back into the madness. Okay, so I just described a breakup song that mirrors an actual breakup. “Bird Balloons” is an absolute gem off Lady Lamb The Beekeeper‘s first proper album, Ripley Pine. While we adore the Kate Nash’s and Tegan & Sara’s of the heartbreak-filled indie music world, it’s a treat to see an up-and-coming female artist more in the vein of Martha Wainwright. 23-year old Aly Spaltro packs a lot of firepower into her unique brand of folk rock, with more than enough looks and intensity to stand out in the singer-songwriter crowd.
