Participatory Thread: New Music
Posted on April 9, 2012 Posted by John Scalzi 308 Comments
I was just kvetching on Facebook about not having a whole lot of time to find new bands I could like, and then I smacked my head and went, duh, I have tens of thousands of people to recommend music to me.
So: Hey what newer bands are you listening to these days? Share a link, and explain why they work for you.
Caveat: By “newer band” I mean bands/artists who either formed or started recording in the last five years or (if you can’t manage that) who formed/started in the last decade but have only become well-known in the last two or three years.
I make this note because if I don’t at least some of you will come at me with your favorite band from when you went to high school in the 70s/80s/90s/whenever. No. I assure you if the band formed before 2003 I already know about it.
Second caveat: Mention as many bands as you like, but maybe put in one band per post, because if you put in too many links in a single post it’ll get booted into my moderation queue.
To get you started: Birdy, covering “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” by The Postal Service. Because it’s pretty. Enjoy.
Of Monsters and Men: awesome folk-rock from far away: http://youtu.be/GZ-kXZsUa_w
I love the lyrics; very well-written, and in the case of “Little Talks” I think the dialogue effect works pretty well.
KEXP, btw, is a great place to find all sorts of cool music, new and old.
Is there a limit to number of posts? Or number of musicians/groups we can alert you to, per post?
HA! I should’ve said you should go to Whatever and ask people. OK:
POLICA: sexy indie stuff. Female singer. Haunting. So far it work for all humans in the Terhune household.
IamamIwhoami: weird Swedish pop. Very good stuff. Peep the videos. They’re great on their own.
That’s all I got for now. More in the morning.
I am so old….
+1 for “Little Talks”. I also like The Lumineers: http://youtu.be/zvCBSSwgtg4
The Barr Brothers, who made an appearance on Letterman a couple of months ago. Listened to it on the road home today, so it immediately springs to mind.
SecondGenFan:
No limit but if you put too many links into a post it’ll get booted into moderation. So maybe one band per post.
One of the best bands you’ve never heard of….Civil Twilight:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/holy-weather/id496556221
First listens: Fire Escape, Move/Stay, Every Walk That I’ve Ever Taken…(although I really love the whole album. There are some really awesome gems on their debut album as well).
Greatest evolution of a band since Achtung Baby (yeah I said it).
School of Seven Bells–shoegaze and electronic/dreampop http://sviib.com/
Grimes–postmod dance music with sf-ish themes–her first album was based on Dune. http://www.grimesmusic.com/
Julia Holter — ambient meets Laurie Anderson http://juliashammasholter.com/
John Grant–wonderful vocalist, great lyricist–“Jesus Hate Faggots” (an inditment against homophobia that’s funny) and “Sigorney Weaver” are great songs. http://www.johngrantmusic.com/
Candlelight Red – http://www.candlelightred.com http://www.facebook.com/candlelightred @CandellightRed
They (the music press) call it post-grunge, but it’s more just straight-forward hard rock/metal. They hail from Williamsport, PA, and have only been recording for the last year, together for the last three or four. In the interest of disclosure, the guitarist and singer (Jeremy and Ryan, respectively) are friends of mine, and as such, I help promote them when I can.
They’ve opened for KISS (hand-picked as winners of a contest KISS was a part of along with Guitar Center), 10 Years, Egypt Central, Saving Abel, Sevendust, and are about to start a tour with Trapt tomorrow night in Wisconsin.
As for samples, I offer these, all from their debut album, “The Wreckage”
“Closer” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVoIfyVDtsA – Their debut single, currently getting lots of airplay on both terrestrial radio nationwide, as well as attention on Sirius/XM’s Octane channel. This is the official music video, which features some pretty nifty shots. Shot during the tenure of their former basist and drummer.
“She’s Got The Look” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z8v7kzPO7c – The second single from the album, and of course a cover of Roxette’s “The Look.” Not the official video, but they just recently shot it in Pittsburgh, so it should be out soon. Did well in several head-to-head contests on different radio stations across the eastern half of the US, and is starting to get decent airplay. Great cover, IMHO.
“Medicated” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWQLIh3l3rg – Not released as a single. One of their higher-energy live tunes, though. Closer to a mix of thrash and hardcore, so there’s screaming involved, just so you’re fairly warned in case that’s not your thing.
The album is available on both Amazon and iTunes. Hope you enjoy the rock.
Nice call on Birdy. Without knowing anything about your tastes, I can recommend:
THE KILLS
WHITE RABBITS
MEG MYERS
DIRTY PROJECTORS
Also, I just downloaded 7.5GB of this year’s SXSW showcasing artists for maximum sampling pleasure. Here: http://www.sxswtorrent.com/
I have accumulated upwards of 25GB of tunes from SXSW torrents over the past 6 years. Lots of dross, but enough gems to make it worth digging through.
I listen to a lot of European stuff that isn’t as well-known in the states, so I’m hoping that will make these obscure enough…
Lyriel – German folk/symphonic metal. Foeman’s Bride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kosv4HRCw1Q . The video is fan-made, but has a better quality of sound than the others I found.
I don’t know if this counts as a band, but it’s two YouTube musicians doing a fantastic cover of the Skyrim theme: http://youtu.be/BSLPH9d-jsI A male singer, and a female violinist/dancer. (She does both violin-ing! And dancing! At the same time!)
Here’s Alexander Rybak, who is pretty famous in Europe as far as I hear, but I don’t think he’s as well known stateside: http://youtu.be/daqfr6DJsGc He’s also a violinist, and he sings.
Here’s Pendulum, an Aussie band who does a bit of dupstep–but not too much, which is key. :D http://youtu.be/tEPB7uzKuh4
And to finish it off, here’s Indica, with a song from their first English album: http://youtu.be/XsNfNKPxoJc . It’s an all-female symphonic/melodic metal band.
If you have not yet listened to Girlyman, you should! They formed in the early 2000s, and their first album came out in 2004. They’ve since recorded six albums (one of which, Supernova, has just come out!), my favorite being Joyful Sign. http://girlyman.com/ Oh, and here’s their Margaret Cho-produced video for their song, “Young James Dean”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue_ia7Dikq0
Also, I might have more suggestions for you, but what genres are you into? For example, would pop or hip-hop suggestions be welcome?
Pomplamoose
Give a listen to Within Temptation. A very good symphonic metal band.
I’m kind of grooving on the Civil Wars lately. “Barton Hollow” is a really good debut album, and I say that as someone who’s not usually into country/bluegrass/blues all that much.
Three Days Grace, The Bravery, Puddle of Mudd, Alien Ant Farm, Stone Sour, Buckcherry, Breaking Benjamin. Some of those have probably been around longer than a decade, but those are the “newer” bands I could think of off the top of my head. Sadly, the state of Houston radio is such that when we’re in the car we usually listen to the ’80s stations on satellite radio.
Second Pomplamoose, but I would be remiss if I did not mention THAO WITH THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN here.
http://youtu.be/IYXOqAbJVBU
Your mind. She will be the blown.
For some excellent lyrics, both comical and dark, along with a moody, etherial sound, please check out Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys. Steamship Killers is the one to get: http://armyoftoys.bandcamp.com/
Since you mentioned the 80s goodness of M83 earlier (you should check out their ‘Saturdays = Youth’ album if you haven’t already), You might want to check out Chairlift…kind of like 80s college synth rock: http://youtu.be/98XRKr19jIE
Okee-doke. These folks started recording in 2004, so that’s 8 years instead of 5… but I wouldn’t call them “well-known” by any stretch of the imagination. They don’t even have a Wikipedia page. The band is called Afternoons in Stereo (http://www.afternoonsinstereo.com/). Here’s a sample track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4DDb48SbX8
Oh man. SJ Tucker, definitely! http://www.skinnywhitechick.com/
She’s not new, but she’s not well known enough that she should be screened out by your requirements. She is very nerdy, her voice is awesome, and she has done several concept albums based on Cat Valente’s stuff.
Also, I saw someone reading Agent to the Stars on campus today. Thought you might find that not entirely unpleasing.
i’m partial to bluegrass stuff, this is a band from my neck of the woods and, while i’m not certain how nationally popular they are, they come up on pandora on a semi-regular basis for me.
I have to give Beirut a shout-out. They’re mostly a folk band that got started in 2006 and I absolutely adore them. I don’t think they’ve made any songs that have become pop hits per se, but every album they make has at absolute minimum one or two songs you could listen to a thousand times easy.
Here’s a few songs that I think captures their style pretty well,
Vagabond
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpN2XAg2bQs
Elephant Gun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PermEZ18IXg&
and Santa Fe
There’s also Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society (http://secretsociety.typepad.com/), a jazz band whose only album to date was released in 2008. Sample track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX8PinWhyxs
Also–Bombay Bicycle Club…light and quirky alt-pop and a lot of fun. This band should not be this good and look like they just graduated junior high: http://youtu.be/oDuif301F-8
The limosines
Cause internet killed the video star…
Finally, there’s Caravan Palace (http://www.wagramlabel.com/artistes/caravan-palace), a French electroswing band who released their first album in 2008. Sample track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_zSkOpi3BE&feature=related
I do have another suggestion that I’m pretty sure you may not have heard about, but they released their first album in 2003, so I’ll refrain.
There’s this awesome album that just got nominated for a Hugo Award… ;)
(The singer has several other albums out as well!)
Man, I have liked every single thing Tokyo Police Club has ever done, and I’ve caught them live at least four times. Three of those were great shows, two were simply superb, and one of those superb shows might actually have been transcendant.
Their first EP, A Lesson in Crime manages to cram seven songs into 16 minutes, which is great if, like me, you can be mildly ADD about music. (Also: Not that much of an investment if it turns out you don’t like ’em!) Their next two releases are longer, but still quick (30 and 35 minutes). It’s all just well-produced, super-hooky, really melodic rock, with lyrics that should not make any sense but do. For starters I would check out “Citizens of Tomorrow” (which, science-fiction fans, has the benefit of being about robot masters enslaving humans on Mars) and “Juno,” or, you know, pretty much any other song by them.
Tinariwen.
Imagine Carlos Santana went to Mali and taught electric guitar to Taureg rebels. That’s not far from the truth. It’s a blend of guitar rock and Taureg musical traditions.
While I believe the band has been around for a few decades, I think they only had albums start appearing over here in 2007, so that should count.
If you haven’t heard of the Black Keys, you really should. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_426RiwST8
Its like a guitar driven rock band was teleported to the modern era. Plus, the linked music video features a guy dancing in a room to the song. For the entire thing. Which is AWESOME.
The Ting Tings.
Heartless Bastards.
I’m just going to go ahead and mention my favourite band of the last five or six years — The Hold Steady. From New York via Minnesota, they’re very familiar to a certain crowd but not at all widely known. — http://theholdsteady.net/ . The lead singer, Craig Finn, also has a solo album out now: “Clear Heart, Full Eyes”. Think old school rock, Springsteen via Dylan, often near spoken word poetry.
Mumford and Sons is pretty great too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KCg_QEHtkY&feature=relmfu
Brits with a banjo! IS NOTHING SAFE?!?!?
Wild Flag : New groove from Sleater-Kinney and Helium alumni. Not a girl band but a group of ladyrockers to be sure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J8n9R8rnB8
One more retro-sounding band: Cut Copy. They remind me of OMD (I’m talking their earlier adventurous stuff, not “If You Leave”), with a little bit of 90s Britpop thrown in. http://youtu.be/r2xovJyBo-0
I second Beirut. Very cool stuff.
+1 for School of Seven Bells
Ojos de Brujo (“Eyes of the Wizard”) are a Spanish band that have been around for about 12 years but I don’t think are well-known here. TECHARI is for me their best album. It’s like flamenco/hip-hop. http://www.youtube.com/artist/Ojos_de_Brujo
Punch Brothers do fun, crisp bluegrass: http://www.punchbrothers.com/
The Head And The Heart. Janelle Monae.
I’m mighty partial to The Civil Wars (http://thecivilwars.com/ <—Free album for download there), if you like Folkish music. Some YouTube Links: Disarm http://youtu.be/FsK0mx_NoFw ; My Father's Father http://youtu.be/QGwnFz_5xRE
You probably know about Sarah Bareilles, but do you know about her opening act – Elizabeth and the Catapult? http://youtu.be/jLAfmxC5lJI ; http://youtu.be/sXY0nd0Clkg
And, a completely ecletic choice, but I like her albums a lot – Julia Nunes: http://youtube.com/jaaaaaaa
+1 Head and the Heart. I found them on KEXP. One of my favorite songs of last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fcPfaMpSeE
Hard for me to pick one.
The first album from Scottish band Glasvegas will go down as a classic. Just about perfect confessional brit pop with a Phil Spector wall of sound production that propels the album through every song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGOCEOsBE3w
I would recommend Man Man. Been around since 2007 but they were relatively obscure till recently where there music is starting to show up in odd places. Apparently they put on an awesome show. I recommend the song ‘Dark Arts’ as a good starting point
Gotye. Recently popular. Ripped my heart out with this song about his dying dog:
Florence And The Machine: Get both their CDs, and all three EPs, but especially their latest CD, Ceremonials:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKZrZdajLzs&feature=related
http://www.billboard.com/news/florence-welch-crowdsurfs-through-children-1005543752.story#/news/florence-welch-crowdsurfs-through-children-1005543752.story
http://www.billboard.com/features/florence-the-machine-ceremonials-track-by-1005465362.story#/features/florence-the-machine-ceremonials-track-by-1005465362.story
The scary thing is that, big and bluesy as her voice is, Florence Welch says there is no reason to believe she has learned all their is about training her voice, and believes she can sing even better!
Twenty One Pilots.
House of Gold is a good song, and my son did a cool stop motion video and cover of the song –
You’ve heard of Vampire Weekend, right? Kids in Manhattan who listened to 80’s pop and a whole lot of Paul Simon growing, and it’s so very catchy. They even have a song about pretentiousness that culminates in a not-really- obscure punctuation reference.
Devotchka! There’s a quirky Russian-sounding lead singer with an accordian, a violinist, a lady who alternates between sousaphone and upright bass, and the album ends up lush and melodic.
Second the Black Keys. They also have a wonderful series of music videos, one of which stars Tricia Helfer.
Note:
I am going to sleep now, so between now and when I wake up, comments with more than three links are likely to go into the moderation queue. Don’t panic, I will release them when I wake up in the morning. But to lessen the chance of this happening, just put one band and one link per post (and then do more than one post).
Night!
Oceansize is a great band from England. Unfortunately they broke up last year, though definitely worth a listen. http://youtu.be/2S1tJa9kpH4
I forgot the link for Man Man so I will share below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS5oua88t_A
Also, if you are into Steampunk and looking for something really cool, I would recommend ‘The Cog is Dead’. I honestly think that ‘Cog’ and ‘Abney Road’ are the only bands in the genre that I can get into it.
Kolaveri Di. Recent hit from India! 52 million views on YouTube! And I’ll bet you never heard of it.
Thirding the Pomplamoose: http://www.youtube.com/user/PomplamooseMusic/featured
Also Sarah Jarosz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQrkwZlKRHo
Oh, I’m pretty certain you know Ok Go, but I want to be sure. They have a whole bunch of music videos that are one-take Rube Goldberg awesomeness or elaborate dance routines.
The Suicycles from SLc, UT! Current fave is New Manifesto https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1816112159027. The leader, Camden Chamberlain, also, masterminded Cavedoll, whose songs continues to kick my aural butt, including Mayday. http://cavedoll.bandcamp.com/track/mayday-ft-patrick-fugit
https://www.facebook.com/TheSuicycles
American Falcon, fronted by Chris La Tray, WordPress blogger, writer and musician. ROUGH MIX, their debut just out.
http://chrislatray.tumblr.com/post/14519435344/rough-mix-of-a-tune-from-american-falcon-my
The song is based on a character from the Jonah Hex comic books.
Elsie by The Horrible Crows
Sink or Swim by Gaslight Anthem – yes their later stuff is all Springsteeny, but has a more punk edge and references tom waits, Elvis Costello, Charles Dickens, etc, etc.
Big Big Love by Little Birdy (Aussie outfit) BIG female vocal and quite different to just about anyone. If you can find message to God on youtube give it a try.
My biggest musical crush I’ve had in some time is Los Campesinos. They have four records, and each has been more self-assured than the last; whether that’s a good thing is open to debate, I suppose. They manage to express the frustrations and wonder of new relationships while wrapping it in melodies that are complicated without being noticeably so. Their youth really comes through in their first record, (http://youtu.be/Tk0vQhxyR5Y), but I find it all incredibly infectious. And I’m a sucker for their lyrics. For example, the first song from their prior record starts with one of my favorite opening lines on any record — “Let’s talk about you for a minute” — a suggestion that the narrator proceeds to utterly disregard as he talks about himself for the rest of the song. (http://youtu.be/vMewAkVBFck) And even on their latest record, they still manage to hit a sweet spot between bitter and hopeful, as here: http://youtu.be/RPz00pX0kMU.
About as mixed a combination as you can get; my brother, who is a fossil supreme but also very eclectic in his tastes, is always asking for recommendations, and these are some that worked for him.
Eli “The Paperboy” Reed, who is quite young and white and from Brooklyn, and sounds like he just walked out of a Motown studio in 1966
Scary Kids Scaring Kids — another one of those alt-indie kind of bands, I just happen to like them.
The Noisettes, who sound so different from CD to CD that some people think they’re more than one band.
Apologies for earlier comma transgressions! I also want to put forward Jason Manns, a golden-throated angel with a bit more pizzazz than the usual singer/songwriter fellows. http://www.myspace.com/mannsmusic
Jon & Roy. For a starter song, check out ‘Another Noon’ or ‘Little Bit of Love’.
Full disclosure: I think they formed ten years ago in a bar in Victoria, British Columbia. If you managed to catch them in said bar, I will apologize profusely. And be very confused.
Fever Ray. It’s really creepy but catchy electronic music by one half of The Knife. Don’t let the pitch-shifted vocals on the first track fool you; the singer is mostly a Bjork-ish siren. My favorite track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F-CpE73o2M
Crooked Still — Appalachian bluegrass/Celtic
Deal of the century here. Three bands that all release their music as Pay What You Want. As a bonus? They’re all kickin’ rad.
Bomb the Music Industry
http://www.bombthemusicindustry.com/
Ska/Punk from NY with chiptune influences. I’d suggest starting with To Leave or Die in Long Island, but the latest album, Vacation, is kind of like a punk rock Beach Boys.
Next up? Defiance, Ohio
http://defianceohio.terrorware.com/
Folk punk band from, guess where? That’s right. Indiana. I don’t get it either. Except that Defiance, Ohio sounds cool. Nice folky music with a harder edge than what the hippies were doing. Listen to The Great Depression and if you manage to get Oh Susquehanna out of your head you are a better ear worm exterminator than I am.
Finally, we have RVIVR
http://www.rumbletowne.com/rtr/rtr-releases/RTR-009
That’s the link to their first LP. Straight up pop-punk from Olympia, WA. Ignore the mullets, that’s just what they do. Even the girls. I love Seethin’, but all their stuff is good.
Since I don’t have satalite radio I like to check the alt nation FB page for their weekly alt-18 countdown list. Frequently some good stuff in there.
Some links though…
The Naked and Famous – Girls Like You Kinda poppy but done well (IMO)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHC8vuBU9rg
and my favorite geek-girl singer-songwriter:
Marian Call http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLBb58iHiRA
‘Got to fly’ is also very worth checking out
My wife and I have been enjoying Spirit Family Reunion: http://www.myspace.com/spiritfamilyreunionusa
I’ve definitely got to throw my vote in for The Civil Wars (“Tip Of My Tongue” is one of my favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-RtrpwIME0) and they’re poised to blow up huge — they’ve got a song in The Hunger Games soundtrack.
Matthew Mayfield has been in bands longer than the five-year limit, but his solo career just squeaks in under the wire. I love his song “Open Road” — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7hI542VGPs — but be warned the video is kind of a weeper.
Finally, I’ve really started to get into Halestorm. I originally looked them up because of their song “Here’s To Us” which was on Glee… but I also fell for “Familiar Taste Of Poison” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHZKPYQnsmc&ob=av2n
For especially weird moods only: That 1 Guy. His studio stuff is cool, but for a real idea of what he does, you’ve got to watch one of the live videos:
Also (less her thing, but I dig some of the Celtic/garage rock juxtaposition), Hwyl: http://www.myspace.com/hwylmusic
The War On Drugs: for me they combine the pleasures of the upbeat, jubilant bits of middle-era Springsteen with a kind of Krautrock stomp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMToQg0vSds
..and their lead singer, Kurt Vile, put out a killer solo record last year, ‘Smoke Ring For My Halo’. It’s more acoustic where War On Drugs are more electric, but still has urgency and beauty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63KB-EJKdyI
And I think this falls outside of the 10 year window, but just on general principles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CySa4LLtq-Y
Swedish folk cover of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here.
(Also, big thumbs up on Tinariwen upthread.
John, you have probably heard of Crash Kings and their single “Moutain Man,” but until you see and hear their cover of War Pigs, you have no idea how awesome a keyboard with a whammy bar can be! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhbdPQ3Yh40
Oscar And Martin, from my hometown Melbourne, Australia. I went to uni with them. They make something which obviously draws from contemporary danceable R&B, but with a sweet indie sensibility:
http://youtu.be/9s3eCuFnaZI
http://youtu.be/IjmK3TvAO9k
Certain people’s snark notwithstanding, Skrillex has done some pretty great work. I’m really impressed by his Kill Everybody, and his remix of Bad Romance gets a lot of credit from me for working with the entire piece, unlike ten million shitty DJs cutting out the heart of the song because they aren’t competent to deal with it.
Although she’s been around for more than five years, her stuff hasn’t been available in the US for longer than that:
Tina Dico, "No Time to Go to Sleep"
The Rumour Said Fire – The Balcony. Real pretty folk pop kinda music and Danish to boot :)
Saki Kaska’s “Callista”, also known as “the club music from Mass Effect 2”, is an excellent piece.
The Kills are great (and completely different from Skrillex and Saki Kaska if you hated them). I’m particularly a fan of their Cheap and Cheerful and Future Starts Slow.
Young the Giant- Cough Syrup
Van Canto. Because acoustic heavy metal rules
Matt Morris, "The Unamerican"
I recently got hooked on Chairlift, whose music I would describe as sort of a brainy ’80s synth-pop, but better. One of the songs from their first album was used for peddling ipods; their new album, “Something,” is superior in just about every respect.
http://www.chairlifted.com/
The classical ensemble Aston‘s arrangements of Lady Gaga songs are some of the most beautiful things I have ever heard in my life. The Monster Symphony is a religious experience.
My random contribution:
Queens Club “Danger Kids”
Goddamn Gallows. Gutterbilly
If you’d like something a little more, y’know, German, Rotersand’s Exterminate Annihilate Destroy is fun both for the Doctor Who samples and the exploration of terrorist cell social dynamics.
Ooh, and Girls. Their album from about 2 years ago is grand! Mashes together the sneery vibe of the young Elvis Costello, the sunshiny sleigh bells of the Beach Boys, a bit of shoegaze and a whole lot of heartbreak. does that sound bad? It’s not, it’s great:
Thank you, waaronw and michaelpulsford, for introducing me to Walter Sickert and to War on Drugs! I am loving both of these.
Katie Herzig, because she has the prettiest voice I have heard in a while, and because she mixes poppy electronic sounds with beautiful strings and percussion. Phenomenal. This song is from her 2008 album Apple Tree, but The Waking Sleep from last year is, if anything, even better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z0m5GWRaSk
Also super upvote Of Monsters and Men. Currently best album of the year for sure.
Oh, and someone mentioned Polica – they’re amazing. But I think Roma di Luna, the lead singer’s former band, might be even better. They’re a little less bluesy and a little lighter:
Have you found Amy MacDonald yet?
http://www.amymacdonald.co.uk/gb/home/
She is a singer/songwriter from Scotland, but before you roll your eyes at that, I’ll say that she has a pop vibe, and is not at all what you’re thinking when you read “singer/songwriter from Scotland” (not that there is anything wrong with the genre you’re imagining- there are some great songs there).
And, as a sneaky way to get an older artist in, I found her via my Pandora station built around Sinead Lohan, who is an Irish singer/songwriter from the 90s. I find that Irish music is like Irish beer- what they export (Guinness, U2) is pretty damn good, but what they keep at home (Beamish, Sinead Lohan) is awesome, too.
Talk to Spider Robinson. He’ll have enough recommendations to keep you busy for a year. Or more.
Some I could recommend:
Nadeah (on youtube, see cgfvJOGo6n ).
Works with a brilliant pianist, has both wonderful and awful tracks.
Die Heuwels Fantasties (Youtube ? Sure! noCC_SUqGyQ )
Electro pop from South Africa. In Afrikaans.
And of course, there’s more from Gianni and the folks of Walk off the Earth than the Somebody that I used to know cover. Own stuff and amazing looping stuff like this: youtube tJ8nkJ1_Ee0
This should do for now…
I am entirely smitten with these two young ladies :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sWRdHAM5SY&feature=relmfu
ThorntonClough
I second Of Monsters and Men! I just discovered them last week, then The Tattered Scroll mentioned them a few days later So really, that’s THREE recommendations. ;-)
I’m in an ethereal mood right now: Active Child and Swimming are both great, as is Man Without Country (they’re more like electro-ethereal). From your occasional music post, you seem to have off-beat/eclectic tastes and sometimes seem to like interesting/different vocals; you might like these.
http://activechildmusic.com
http://swimmingband.com
http://manwithoutcountry.com
Sophe Lux. Here’s some samples:
“Marie Antionette Robot 2073”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W3r276J5Pg
“Target Market”
And this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-Kkycx2Dro&feature=relmfu
Oh, and I forgot to say above: Ukuleles!
Darn, you said over three links go to moderation but that was three links. Sorry; I just put them together because they seemed to go together music-wise.
Anyway, here’s a one-off recommendation: The Puppini Sisters, characterized as “swing-punk”; their name and some of their (singing) style comes from the Andrews Sisters; try Jilted or Walk Like an Egyptian (yes, the Bangles’ song) from The Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo. I’ll feel stupid if I found this group (or any others I mention) from your blog, BTW. ;-)
http://www.thepuppinisisters.com
Pathar mentioned SJ Tucker above; I recommend the trio Tucker’s part of — Tricky Pixie. Kinda filk I suppose, which I’m not into, but OMG “Alligator in the House” is hilarious and very well done! I first heard it at Renovation, which turned me onto them. The rest of the album, “Mythcreants,” is groovy, too (they’re really beyond filk but sure, kinda ren-faire-ish).
I assure you if the band formed before 2003 I already know about it.
I’m trying not to take this as a challenge…
In fact, I’m just going straight to bed.
Last recommendation for now (all of these are ones I’ve found/bought in the last 6 months BTW and I believe all are from within the past 5 years…definition post-2003).
Jack & White – they’re kind of alt-country-pop I guess. Not my usual but very groovy and mellow-but-upbeat to listen to.
http://jackandwhite.com
Whoops, forgot to link to Tricky Pixie in my previous comment:
http://www.trickypixie.com
Now to explore all the other recommendations….
Sorry, last comment I swear — I forgot to mention these two: SafetySuit and Carolina Liar, which I kinda think of as alt-pop.
http://www.safetysuitmusic.com
http://www.carolinaliar.com
Unknown Lyric
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG0bFgGVLXY
Two albums available and a new one on the way
Minuet – indie rock band from NZ.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3g-L4K5ksw
Tadpole – Hard rock band, also from NZ :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr5K4ENwAJ0
Enjoy!
I just heard Lissie’s cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way on the radio the other day, and I just love it. She sounds a bit like Stevie Nicks, I originally wondered if Nicks had released a solo version. Lissie is an American folk rock artist and Paste Magazine’s #1 best new solo artist of 2010.
Super Duper. Local LA band — http://www.superduperband.com. Funk with literary lyrics.
Ima chime end with more folksy stuff.
My favorite being a little band from my home state: The Pine Hill Haints. They refer to their music as Alabama Ghost Country, and I find that a very fitting description. Very nice stripped down sound. Washtub bass, drummer just plays a snare drum with brushes. Singer plays guitar and his wife plays the washboard. Everyone in the band plays multiple instruments, so there’s mandolin, fiddle and banjo here and there. This might be the best quality recording of them on the youtubes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ0IzKp1jxw
for a really good violin track : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG5OxAsoPVI
And this is a quick 3 song set (6 min) from a show in Mobile http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUPAxkjiFJo
They have a pretty good following in the south east. Don’t know bout outside of it though. They are a really great band though, for anyone into the current surge of interest if folk/rock.
My newest musical craze — one that I suspect will be with me for a long time — is an indie-rock band with blues roots-rock vocals, out of Tennessee, called The Features. I actually came to them when the following song, How It Starts, was recently featured in the new commercial for the 2013 Ford Mustang.The commercial I refer to has the cars paint jobs morphing into different , cool looks, as the cars drive down the street. And the sound is just a hypnotic blend of lead guitar, hard-driving rhythm section, (drums and bass guitar,) and shimmering keyboards!
I think my Pine Hill Haints one go caught up in moderation. Oh well, besides them though there’s been some other really nice English stuff besides Mumford and Sons in the last while. My favorites Being Laura Marling and Johnny Flynn. They come from the same group of talent as the Mumford lads. (Mumford and Sons were Laura’s backing band on her first album, like she also sung back up for Noah and the Whale on their first one.) Flynn does some stage acting and the like too. My favorite videos from them: Laura http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR-AOZfLh7w
and a beautiful live recording from her first album. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCmY6I74k1M
Johhny Flynn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou2M5VSNvjo
And another Laura live with Mumford video I love too much to leave out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT2Qu6ct2ak&feature=relmfu
A wonderful band you may not know yet is The Parlotones, from South Africa .. they’ve been touring worldwide the last couple of years, on their way to the USA in May, so don’t miss them!!
http://www.myspace.com/theparlotones
http://www.theparlotones.net/
My favourite song (and video) of theirs is “Stars fall down” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY8u8JCIfuc
British folk-rock “Dry the River” who have been described as Mumford and Sons meets Radiohead. Debut album has just been released.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5g-DeG0MJc and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR3Dv74htec&feature=relmfu
Do you know about English-singing bands that formed before 2003 in Norway? Try Midnight Choir, alt-country outfit – no longer active but you have the advantage of discovering an awesome contemporary band with a decent back catalog to wade through. They were produced by Chris Eckman of Seattle-based The Walkabouts, also much better known in Europe than in America. Their Amsterdam Stranded album is a good place to start.
You should try a turntable.fm room for Scalzites to play music for each other.
Give Katzenjammer a go, they’re a Norwegian band who’ve released two albums to date: “Le Pop” and “A Kiss Before You Go”. I think it’s great music to play along with using your ukelele!
I can’t stop listening to This Empty Northern Hemisphere by Gregory Alan Isakov.
“It’s impossible to know Isakov and not want to shout his name from the mountaintops…This Empty Northern Hemisphere is an artistic masterwork…” —The Denver Post
Example track: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rO_FTaWGxBc
Artist webite: http://gregoryalanisakov.com/music
Within the last 5 years? Well, I’ve only been aware of these for the last two years, I hope that counts:
Esperanza Spalding “Radio Music Society” it has an old soul groove with a jazz twist; Esperanza is a fantastic composer, player and singer.
Fitz & the Tantrums “Picking Up the Pieces” great small-combo R&B, with fantastic male and female vox
The Bo-Keys “Got to Get back!” Memphis soul
The Like “Release Me” power-pop in go-go boots
Imelda May “Love Tattoo/Mayhem” ; they are good enough to back Jeff Beck in a tribute to Les Paul, and then tour the world with him, 50’s rock and torch songs
Spinnerette “Spinerette” Brody Dalle from the Distillers put out an album produced by Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, sonically lush, sometimes brutally loud, great album.
Something different, the Speakeasies Swing Band. Sample (with interesting dancing zombies in the video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc5_S7z5RJk&feature=share
I don’t listen to much new music, but I heard a band called Mumford and Sons on NPR as I was driving to the airport a couple of years ago. I immediately bought and downloaded their album to my phone so I could listen to it on the trip, and thanked Hedy Lamar (and others) for inventing the technology that allowed me to do so.
Mumford and Sons was also recommended by Brando April 9, 2012 at 10:42 pm, so I tip my hat in that direction.
Kate Bush and Leonard Cohen have recently released new albums, by the way.
I like Woodhands. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eLfpqxremM
I also like Hank III. Here he sounds a lot like his grandfather. I never paid any attention to II. This is a nice juxtaposition with Johnny Cash while giving a sample of how much he can (but not always) sound like Hank I. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKRUsEH_ll4&feature=related
Not recent in NZ but there is a small New Zealand band which I love called The Feelers which I think everyone ought to know about. I hear that New Zealand’s third best folk duo also once opened for them.
Check out and enjoy from the other side of the world:
Astronaut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_m8UWc9nco&ob=av2e
Venus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OfWFhD8FXE&ob=av2n
Arm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwxKF-oRkpo
Stand Up:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efVfykZF6xE
As Good As It Gets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi8AHUwgcMo&ob=av2n
The Fear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaNqaaeBb9k&ob=av2e
Australian folk-rockers Boy & Bear, here covering Crowded House: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJwjKL2dxXo
Susanna (of the Magical Orchestra) Wallumrod with harpist Giovanna Pessi, doing wonderful things to Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake and Henry Purcell on If Grief Could Wait http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9RkoLkLOBA
I’m also sort of fond of Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLSxlCY_l8c
Two Door Cinema Club – Irish – infectious frenetic fun. http://twodoorcinemaclub.com/. Song to try “I Can Talk”
Imaginary Cities – Canadian – alt/folk/pop. http://www.facebook.com/IMAGINARYCITIES. Song to try “Hummingbird”
Local Natives – LA – alt. http://www.thelocalnatives.com/. Song to try “Wide Eyes” .
I’ll add my thumbs up for the “The Black Keys” and “The Civil Wars”.
Pearl and the Beard
I suspect they’re new; I only encountered them yesterday via a friend’s post on Google+ and haven’t done any checking into them yet. I’ve only heard the couple of songs they play in the first 10 minutes of the video below, but I liked them enough to share!
I think I should suggest Rodrigo y Gabriela: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENBX_v1Po1Y&feature=related
Read about them on Wikipedia. I tend to think of them as flamenco goes batshit but that would be too narrow for them. Take the time to listen to their version of “Stairway to Heaven.”
My new favourite band are The Destroyers – how can you not love a fifteen-piece folk band with songs about being buried alive and immortal mice? http://thedestroyers.co.uk/
Last one for now (I’m at work and should be, you know, working). I’m going to push the envelope (time-wise) with John Jorgenson. Gypsy jazz is still alive as long as he’s still playing guitar. Not Django but maybe as close as possible (I don’t mean that as a challenge but if anyone wanted to name names of other more likely candidates, I’d be happy to find out more). There are probably better videos but it’s pretty good and if it’s in memory of Danny Gatton it’s alright with me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIdbcaI6PTY
(First recording, I think, was ’93 so I got in with the decade exception clause; I’ve only been listening to him for the past two years or so and I don’t think he’s generally well-known but not positive).
Oops. My bad math. On John Jorgenson 1993 was more like 20 years ago. Age-related math mistake.
Well, it seems like it was only ten years ago… Man, I’m old.
Rebecca Loebe (http://rebeccaloebe.com/) has been touring for a while, but came to a minor bit of national prominence when she made it to the battle rounds on the first season of The Voice. She’s ridiculously talented, and sings about love, bees, and zombies with the best of them.
Since I pooched that one up I’ll mention Wrinkle Neck Mules from Richmond. You can look for them on YouTube but I think most of the videos of them sound like crap. Tray samples from somewhere like Amazon and don’t forget to listen to “Liza.” Dark, dark country though not all of their songs are like that. In fact here’s the link for Amazon and the Liza EP. It includes their cover of Mickey Newbury’s “Why You Been Gone So Long.” http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QZVTSG/ref=sr_1_album_8_rd?ie=UTF8&child=B000QOKO4C&qid=1334057402&sr=1-8
If you google “why you been gone so long,” you’ll see a lot of other interesting people seem to have covered the song as well.
I really must be going. Workworkwork…
1993! Sheesh! Ow, my brain cells hurt!
Japandroids (http://japandroids.com/) although the David Prowse in the band is not the David Prowse in the Darth Vader suit.
I ran into the Finnish alt-rock group Poets of the Fall for the irst time a few weeks ago. Here’s
Can You Hear Me?
and
Canrnival of Rust.
Evocative, emotional, fantasy-touched.
Check out the debut album of This Winter Room at http://www.thiswinterroom.com
Singer/songwriter/indie. Not signed.
Also B-Film Extras “This One Year” at http://www.tunes.com/theb-filmextras/thisoneyear
Dum Dum Girls and Parts & Labor:
Will also cosign for the School of Seven Bells enthusiasts.
http://www.myspace.com/dumdumgirls
http://partsandlabor.net/
I suggest Grayceon, a 3 man proggy postrock/metal group fronted by a female cellist/singer. Absolutely amazing.
I don’t know if anyone’s mentioned them yet, but I’ve recently found First Aid Kit. Here’s them covering a Fleet Foxes song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMrqBldlqzA
This is a great thread; I now have a long list of new music to try.
I haven’t seen Shearwater mentioned yet. They’re my favorite folk-and-rock fusion band. I particularly recommend the albums Palo Santo (Extended Version) and The Golden Archipelago, and they’ve got a new one out which I haven’t heard yet but WILL SOON. :)
Their website is shearwatermusic.com.
Math the Band has been my favorite for a few years. Imagine my surprise when I spotted an elderly man wearing the signed band tee that had gone missing after one laundry day.
http://www.maththeband.com/math/
I just dropped about 12 links into moderation… Kill that one and I’ll break it up.
One of the early comments mentioned Thaoh. Well, last year she teamed up with another musician, Mirah, to produce Thao & Mirah. Different styles, different voices creating fascinating songs ranging from wispy alt-country to kitchen sink electronica productions to funk to junkyard somethingorother. My favorite album from last year. Rubies and Rocks is my favorite.
Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside. Jangly rockabilly. Start with Write me a letter.
Jared Mees and the Grown Children. There’s a slight resemblance to Cake — due to the trumpet and the lead singer’s phrasing. Otherwise, many of the songs have a certain density as they run through a number of changes (timing / emotional) in 4-5 minutes. W.W.J.B.D. is a great “life on tour” song: you’re not dying, your soul just can’t keep up with the van.
Deep Schrott. The world’s first bass saxophone quartet. Also German. They hooked me with their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Oh Well
I’ll second Fitz & The Tantrums and add We Were Promised Jetpacks. They got my attention b/c of their name, but I love their sound as well — totally different from F&tT, very noisy.
Mr. Gnome. A sonically dense guitar and drum duo from Cleveland. Current favorite for blasting through the headphones and drowning out the background office noises. Or pegging 11 while driving down the highway.
Cate Le Bon. Welsh singer I can barely understand, I just like how she sounds. Basic rock.
Madeline. If you like Neko Case, you’ll probably like this. I like her voice better than Neko’s.
From England, there’s Willy Moon who’s put out three fascinating videos and is supposedly recording an album. Either he’s actually popped up from out of nowhere or it’s a really well done attempt to guerilla market a total studio production. Check out I wanna be your man.
Hands Upon Black Earth.
http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/hube-hube/lofi_play
And you can listen to them legally for free!
Artemis
http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/artemis-gravity/lofi_play
Also free!
“Beat Under control”
Jazz/dub intense electro funk
http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/beatunder-intro/lofi_play
Anais Mitchell has a fantastic new album out. If you want to read my review of of it, it’s over here. I also vote for Wild Flag and Girlyman as bands to check out.
“Insomnia”
Industrial Acid House
http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/processor-insomnia/lofi_play
I’m From Barcelona… Great Swedish Pop sounds….
“Brad Sucks”
Brilliantly sardonic indie rock
http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/bradsucks-dontknow/lofi_play
“Lizzi”
Groovy downtempo rock
http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/lizzi-love/
Still get shivers listening to her…
Jonathan Elias’s Prayer Cycle was released in 1999, but he’s very recently released Prayer Cycle: Path to Zero, both of which are very very good ambient/choral pieces that repay close listening very well but also work very nicely for background listening.
I’ve been loving Blind Pilot right now; http://www.blindpilot.com/. Also really like Gary Clarke Jr; http://www.garyclarkjr.com/
@Brett: speaking of great Swedish pop sounds: I’ve recommended the enormously talented Norwegian/Swedish Ane Brun on a prior music thread but I more recently discovered Frida Hyvönen with Dirty Dancing
One of my favourite discoveries in recent months has been Other Lives with standout tracks like Tamer Animals
This isn’t a recommendation for any particular group, but I started listening to Greg McVicar’s Undercurrents show when WEMU picked up the feed for their overnight programming. It’s an extremely eclectic mix of Rock, Folk, Blues, Reggae, Dub, Electronica, HipHop, World and Roots music, Native American and whatever takes his fancy. You can find it at http://www.undercurrentsradio.net . The site has playlists and links to stations that stream his show.
He has introduced me to a lot of groups, several of whom have already been mentioned in this thread.
The Two Man Gentleman Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm46bdSRSag
My love for you is like the square root of two!
Spanish indie band Parade (Antonio Galvañ), whose albums are full of sci-fi references.
For example, EL DOLOR DEL ESPACIO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idZmCVuHFXI
ERES UN ROBOT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_Uk0g7O0mI
Or NIÑO ZOMBI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPm1rc18OPU
Although I like his non-sf-nal songs, too, like NO MÁS ROCANROl.
My favourite newish band is The Joy Formidable from Wales:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JanCxVOxLvI&feature=fvwrel
…mostly because they sound like the kind of post-punk band that could have appeared any time in the past 20 years.
Those Darlins’ are new(ish) and cool. I discovered them because they were opening for The Old 97’s (the Old 97’s have been around a looooong time, but they are one of the best live shows around).
“Be You Bro” by Those Darlins’
losthighwayrecords.com
Enjoy…..
Black Joe Lewis
Honey Honey
Hayes Carll
Ryan Bingham and the dead horses
Oh, also, Anna Calvi’s self-titled album is really engaging:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KVVCHeHKXM
Jimi Hendrix + PJ Harvey + David Lynch.
Nobody’s mentioned fun. yet? How tragic! They’re amazing. Indie pop/rock, formed in 2008, just became more well known extremely recently for their song We Are Young. You can stream their first album here for free.
My fave from the past 5 years is the first Fleet Foxes album (self titled). Great lyrics, melody and performance. A little like CS&N brought into the new millenium. Their second album (Helplessness Blues) is also great, but not quite as good as the first.
I’ve often talked to friends about the fact that there have been few if any “excellent” albums produced post 2000. Even friends in their 20’s agree that they can name half a dozen outstanding albums from before 2000, but would have trouble noting more than one or two since.
I’ll second Vamprie Weekend. Also: The Kooks (mostly for this lovely single).
+1 for Crooked Still, The Joy Formidable and fun.
Here’s a link to my last guide to new music, I should single out Bleu, Butterfly Boucher, Jonathan Coulton, Butch Walker and Dawes.
Guster has been around long enough to be excluded by your rules, but they seem to have been mostly a regional thing in the Northeast, so maybe they’d be new to you. They certainly were to me.
Awesome folkie friends of mine from Newfoundland who were nominated for a Juno this year: http://theonce.ca/site/
Another folk-ish group, The Wailin Jennys: http://www.thewailinjennys.com/
Battles: http://bttls.com/
I can’t imagine you haven’t heard of Arcade Fire, but just in case: http://www.arcadefire.com/
I forgot one!
Amelia Curran, who is technically folk but has a lovely diversity in her sound: http://www.ameliacurran.com/
Gomez – even though they have been around since the mid 90s I think. Still trying to figure out how I missed them until now.
Also, Noah and the Whale – they remind me of the Waterboys
Wow, given the huge amount of coverage they’ve been getting on NPR, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times as well as all the music blogs and indie rock radio, I’m amazed that no one has mentioned the Alabama Shakes yet. Truly amazing young band out of Athens, Alabama that despite all the apparently overheated hype is *well* worth checking out. Lead singer/guitarist/bandleader Brittany Howard has a raw, stunning, powerful voice and her band plays tight, usually short rock ‘n’ roll songs with strong flavors of soul, r&b, and the blues. Their album actually comes out today, officially (last week on iTunes), and they’re doing a ton of live dates and promotion around the country to support it, including an appearance on Leterman on Thursday.
Here’s their first official video, for the song “Hold On” but you can find a bunch of other good videos on YouTube, and full live sets on Archive.org and elsewhere. My favorite new band in a long time, and one that’s heading for the big time fast.
If you ever liked Creed, even a little, I humbly suggest checking out Alter Bridge (http://www.alterbridge.com)–which is basically Creed with a different lead singer and (to my mind) much better songwriting.
The Sheepdogs. Last year, they won a contest to be on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. They’ve got a pretty laid back, retro-ish sound, sounding kind of like the Guess Who’s cousins. They’re pretty fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdq3ZzK-jtI – The Sheepdogs “Who”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_5q0n2mDR8 – The Sheepdogs “I Don’t Know”
Ill Scarlet with tracks like One-A, Nothing Special, Heaters
http://www.illscarlett.com/
You must listen to the Avett Brothers immediately!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6-FYAxHbsc&w=560&h=315%5D
Baahh can’t believe I forgot Alabama Shakes! Thanks Nate.
Nth-ing The Head and the Heart and Of Monsters and Men
Lately, I’ve also really been into The Airborne Toxic Event, which has an awful name, but awesome strings (standup bass!, viola!) and Walk the Moon whose lyrics are absurdly catchy.
Cage the Elephant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v27TRan1SBI
Yuck – best 90’s alt-indie rock to come out last year
http://youtu.be/ZpIVFDFXxdE
Come to think of it, just listen to the NPR Tiny Desk Concert Playlist
Porcupine Tree. They’re not exactly a new band but they’re hardly well known either, even now. At least, not in the US outside of progressive rock circles. I supose if they had a breakthrough album, stateside, it was 2007’s Fear of a Blank Planet. PT is often compared to Pink Floyd, but I think that’s somewhat misleading. The main thing they share in common with Floyd are the lush, multilayered soundscapes that can really give audiophile sound systems a good workout. Otherwise, they don’t sound too much alike, at least not to me.
My Ashes – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh9K_QrdIaQ&feature=related
I’m not sure anyone will reach this far down, but I felt compelled to throw a band in the mix. I downloaded their album based solely on their name: Trampled By Turtles.
The opening of the song “Wait So Long” took me right back to Firefly and I was hooked.
I’m throwing another one out there for everyone. Josh Ritter has been around for a little while (about ten years) but his song “Another New World” absolutely floored me.
Monster Truck_ The Brown album EP. Good old fashioned rock n’ roll. Out of Hamilton Ontario, Canada.
The Airborne Toxic Event is a White Noise reference, I think. The po-mo book, not the movie. Rather enjoyable for po-mo stuff.
Oh, yes. Avett Brothers.
Ballad of Love and Hate (still chokes me up)
Kick Drum Heart
The XX http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L73OLaG4_kA
I love, love, love this band so much. It helped me through learning for some pretty hard tests and is simply beautiful
Novembre http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0iJZyG6zzc
They aren’t always that soft, but their LP “Materia” is mostly like this
I don’t know if anyone else has suggested her yet, but I’m really into Kimbra right now. Here’s a particularly cool song/video.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XjNlpe7hII I find her entirely awesome.
I’ll throw in a plus-one for the Airborne Toxic Event, even while admitting that, for years, I’d assumed it was a Buffy reference until I read Delillo and realized that Xander was quoting it.
Since the Avett Brothers have already been mentioned, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops are already getting pretty well known, I’ll throw one more NC band out: American Aquarium.
They’re fun on CD, but when you see ’em live, you WILL feel that kickdrum in your chest and love the impact.
There’s a Canadian performer named Royal Wood that I can highly recommend. He has two albums out now, soon to be followed by a third. He has a real subdued tone without being depressing. In terms of individual songs, I’d recommend “Get On Top of Your Love” and “Lady in White.” Also, he does a cover of “Pumped Up Kicks” that is incredible. You can listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzLEEEpFoDE
I have been grooving to a few of the bands from this “kids” album lately: http://www.dofunstuff.net/
Specifically Rabbit!, Radical Face and RickoLus. I’d love to get my hands on more Steve Foxbury
music but he hasn’t released anything official. I’ll post more links to the individual bands in separate posts, but “Do Fun Stuff” is a great album on its own.
Rabbit!: http://www.myspace.com/saverabbit/music/songs?filter=featured
Radical Face: My favorite song by him so far: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8a4iiOnzsc&context=C4e5a8d4ADvjVQa1PpcFOGN_9_othgKCrSCTe7lziIGTm97m3P3Cw=
Official site: http://www.radicalface.com/
RickoLus official page: http://iamrickolus.tumblr.com/
Band Imagine Dragons
Songs It’s Time, Demons, Radioactive
A link to It’s Time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d712Th-4y0Q
No two songs sound the same or even similar.
Awolnation – go find the official video for “Not Your Fault” because it’s quite possibly one of the most fun music videos ever, and certainly since the heyday of MTV, like, back when it was FOR music.
There’s lots of good stuff to be found in the … eh, I guess we can call it alt rock genre these days.
I stopped being lazy and went and found the link to the video for “Not Your Fault”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm9-yVdxbSs
And I’ll take this moment to include a random secondary plug for Florence and the Machine :-)
Here’s one of my favorites: Bonnie and the Beard
http://bonnieandthebeard.com/music/
You can listen to the songs on their last album.
Jeffery Straker. A bunch of his songs are available to listen to for free at his website, plus there are some videos on YouTube.
Oops! Here’s a link for a video:
http://bonnieandthebeard.com/music/
Freelance Whales http://www.myspace.com/freelancewhales
Hope have gotten to here. Currently the best Denver based band right now.
Danielle ate the Sandwich
http://www.danielleatethesandwich.net/
YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/daniellesmagic
AWESOMENESS!!!!
Another vote for Girlyman. http://ww.girlyman.com
And she plays the Ukulele
Dan Mangan hhttp://www.danmanganmusic.com/
video for “Sold” http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kZ-ltVoVS2E
retribution gospel choir: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf-r7aRBRHI
Gotye, featuring Kimbra (so you get to hear his music, and be introduced to her voice!)
“Somebody That I Used to Know” A song with both sides of a break-up – it’s an awesome song. His music is good, and all his videos are quite interesting, too. I watched Youtube interviews where he talks about some of his artistic choices. He is very popular in Australia, and getting to be in Europe. He’ll be on Saturday Night Live this weekend, too. (yes, I’ve become a fan)
electric wire hustle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgVp6QZuIpM
Here’s two acts that are pretty new. The first, Dead Sara, is a guitar driven, female fronted indie rock band from Southern California that just came out with their (fantastic) debut album today:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dead-sara/id514151707
And the next, just to be different, is a French Canadian “grungy bluegrass” band called Canailles, who’s second album also just came out today (their first came out last year, I believe):
http://canailles.bandcamp.com/
Both new, engaging, and completely different styles!
John – WYSO (91.3), the Yellow Springs, Ohio NPR station has the World Cafe on afternoons from 1-3 pm. The host, David Dye, features lots of new bands. WYSO also has a program called Excursions from 10-1 that plays a variety of music you won’t hear on commercial stations and includes a lot of new music. Check it out.
daniel fred and julie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iolgt7Jr9U4
I forgot about The Tallest Man on Earth! He had one of my favorite albums from 2010 and there’s a new one coming out in June, I think. A lot of reviewers made comparisons to Dylan, while I heard more Richard Thompson in his lyrics and guitar playing.
wye oak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVaeAu_noFM
open mike eagle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkB9LoaSIn8
rhye: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0xE5iL2mjE (nsfw video – nudity and sexing)
first aid kit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl5FdvRR4pQ
liz green: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY-g-4WyRn4&feature=BFa&list=PL4727AD13233FE829&lf=results_video
Thanks to whomever rec’d The Lumineers and Pearl and the Beard…new stuffs! :)
Dirty River Boys, rockin Texas country band, they are phenomenal live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgFPUI_4rVo or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbEJyA0I3sc
We Were Promised Jetpacks, Scottish rock band, Quiet Little Voices is my fav song of theirs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5ZhBAylbN4
Someone mentioned Abney Road and steampunk. I think they meant Abney Park. They formed outside of your timeframe, but they went steampunk in 2006. They were good before, if you liked industrial bands, but they are even better now. This is one of my favorites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtAAEJSayMI
Another of my favorites, formed in 2007, is Asteroids Galaxy Tour. You’ve heard them, even if you don’t realize it. They were on a Heineken Commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5h-LAvQDCQ
This last one is kind of hit or miss. The good songs are really good. The bad ones, well… It’s Fol Chen, they’ve only been active the past couple of years.
Have Gun Will Travel
( if Neil Young grew up in America in the ’90s.)
http://youtu.be/9mx4WRKMHkY
http://www.hgwtmusic.com/
sigh, I can’t win for losing…
Since someone already beat me to the Carolina Chocolate Drops, how about the Cleverlys?
They are both hilarious and extremely skilled. Not everyone can pull off a bluegrass remix of “All the Single Ladies”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW8F_kWueLs
The Ettes. 60s-style girl group punk.
Crown of Age is a good place to start.
Ohyeah? How familiar are you with the work of Grandaddy, from Modesto, CA, active 1992-2006?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9jot0u80LM&
I see. Fine, fine. How about Iron & Wine, Dripping Springs, TX, 2002-current?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc8hXJTki3U
..The Notwist, Weilheim, Germany, 1989-current?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhgxr47tAMs&
..yeah, I got nothin’. God, I must be getting old.
The Acorn
Canadian Indie Rock
Restoration – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzC_iXCiU1M
Barnaby Bright – http://www.barnabybright.com/
The Jezabels! Australian girl-fronted alt/indie band; recorded their first EP in 2009, and their first full-length album in 2011. I got turned on to them via a Danny MacAskill video. Unadorned song clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4seYhgaETQ
I recommend Rubblebucket, especially this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t2-rJo5bdw
Why (you ask), it is just so delightfully weird and catchy!!!
Zee Avi
Doh, sorry, forgot a link. Zee Avi’s a 23 year old singer-songwriter from Borneo.
http://zeeavi.com/home/
Foxy Shazam. They opened for The Darkness this year and were *fantastic*; I was an instant fan. They’ve apparently been around since 2004 but I think they’ve only recently come into their own.
How about Freelance Whales
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZPvp-HRRYQ
I’m not going to try the whole genre game because well, I’m bad at that.
Anais Mitchell- great folk
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=video&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CDcQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dw9zhaqp4l7k&ei=ALeET4vNHMLLtgfl-_jxBw&usg=AFQjCNFUKsCoOAuXsczcbJeN3MecuVGKdQ
Lord Huron- dreamy pop
http://www.lordhuron.com/
Oops- that was David Wax Museum- also cool. The Anais Mitchell was here: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=video&cd=3&ved=0CD8QtwIwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pastemagazine.com%2Fblogs%2Fav%2F2011%2F03%2Fpaste-at-sxsw-video-seryn.html&ei=77iET7mhL4rgtgeU17HeCQ&usg=AFQjCNF0wmaKDrVfxNomkJ1JMoP7BjjE4Q
Aaack! The wrong URLs are pasting! That was Seryn- also fabulous.
HERE is Anais Mitchell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmwtQXRRiWg
At the risk of sounding too (insert 2010 equivalent of bubblegum) I really like Owl City, which is basically a guy who puts together music in his basement. He does good imagery, somewhat abuses the autotuner, and made it utterly without sucking up to the big labels. At least initially.
I also like Modest Mouse when they aren’t making unnecessary dissonance.
D. M. Domini already took my best suggestion of Pendulum, even though they fall at the far end of your date requirements (formed in 2002, though I think not so popular until more recently).
D. M. Domini already linked to “Watercolour,” which is quite possibly their best song, but I also really like “Witchcraft,” so here a link to that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogMNV33AhCY
Trying to post something The Scalz-meister might like instead of whatever my fav stuff is ATM. Probably going to fail anyways.
1) Blood Red Shoes. Their new album is very cool, their other albums are a bit on the angry side, but also very cool. Might need to go to 7 Digital to get them as they aren’t in iTunes US.
2) The Kinetiks (http://thekinetiks.bandcamp.com/ ). Local band that is fun to listen to. Especially their more recent 2 albums.
Also I second Rodrigo y Gabriela. Very good listen. Now to go back and closely peruse the comment thread…
The video may make you urk but the song is great…
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – «Round and Round»
http://youtu.be/arrUQV8huUw
Deathmøle, a fictional post-metal band from the creator of the webcomic Questionable Content.
http://deathmole.bandcamp.com/track/volley-fire
The Pack A.D. from Vancouver https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KnpM8k86Po
Also for your consideration: Drakkar Sauna (http://itunes.apple.com/au/artist/drakkar-sauna/id73149189 )
I have yet to see any mention of this girl outside of Australia.
Owl Eyes singing “Pumped Up Kicks”
Oooh, I forgot about the banjolele…
‘Chap-Hop History’ by Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer
http://youtu.be/6t28COxEp2k
and, no, he’s not a novelty act.
Dum Dum Girls
It only takes one night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1wefQm533s
Bhang Bhang, I’m a Burnout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp1UsLG77ic
I:Scintilla (Industrial Metal)
Swimmers Can Drown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_1g1N4ilQM
Ammunition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0nnN3o2QjI
I will have to go with Trampled by Turtles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjdkc14-zwQ
and Pert Near Sandstone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rrr2E3HrRfI
The Duke Spirit
Send a Little Love Token: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0svwdY4Bkfc
Lassoo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrwtxW1h76I
Brother & Bones: http://www.myspace.com/brotherandbones
(I am loving these links!)
I think this guy is a bit dated but I seem to see his video all over the interweebs these days:
and Dessa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7KmfxVFomY&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL1A35580697FAD916
Also, try Gaucho Gypsy Jazz, http://www.gauchojazz.com/
Diamond Rings! Fun, indie, Canadian pop.
http://youtu.be/4cAqwco49m4
Also, Soul Track Mind from Austin. A fantastic band, and a great live show, usually with dancers about too.
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Well, my 1st few thoughts are taken, but I’ll 2nd (3rd, etc.) Florence & the Machine, Airborne Toxic Event, and Young the Giant.
How about some Ray LaMontagne?
2nd suggestion. Spend some time listening to Radio Paradise. I hear a lot of really good stuff there, by artists I haven’t heard before, e.g. Neko Case.
Sconding THE JEZABELS – one of the best Aussie bands in many a year, up there with GOTYE for song writing, and beating him with amazing melodies.
Also AMANDA PALMER, but you of course know all about her though dunno if you’re much of a fan.
KIM BOEKBINDER whom I found through AFP as well as THE JANE AUSTEN ARGUMENT.
Beats Antique http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6apdulliTZY&feature=related cause if you get this far, it’ll probably take a hot belly dancer to get your attention.
Or perhaps a cellist in a corset. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG2MSfa-pCM&feature=related Rasputina
Since Mumford & Sons has already been mentioned several times, how about Ludo? I could listen to “Love Me Dead” over and over and over: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XH3oMNKApI
Pretty much any song on the “You’re Awful, I Love You” Album is awesome.
These are great choices. My recommendation, Grouplove.
Not to self promote but our site, BestNewBands.com, was created specifically for people who don’t have “a whole lot of time to find new bands”.
Beachcomber’s Windowsill by Stornoway.
Liam Finn is a chip off the old block.
Boy & Bear
Last year also saw the boom of a Spanish ukelele-playing very young woman, Cristina Quesada, who sings in English.
Her teeny bop hit “Pineapple Princess”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfTLtCypBw4
Also her cover of Let’s Get Together http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_qmMdzvgDM
Was going to chime in and recommend Mumford and Suns (you know you just can’t sing a depressing song when you’re playing the banjo) and Bombay Bicycle Club, but see that I’m late to the party. Oh, well, I’ll just +1 them.
I liked Metric at Bluesfest in Ottawa . Check out the album Fantasies
Busby Marou – an Australian duo you may have heard on the compilation “He will have his way” covering Better Be Home Soon. This is one of their better songs “Underlying Message” with some very nice Ukelele work http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnEB3gqxRnw&feature=fvsr
If you have the time follow that with their song “Biding my Time”.
For those mentioning Gotye we did tell Mr Scalzi about him in his 7th of Jan post on falling Ukeleles!
I’ve been enjoying the hell out of Deer Tick lately – alty-Americana/rogue-country kind of stuff. Great lyrics and solid guitar work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBGLLvdjvbk&feature=relmfu
Frank Turner. Oh my god, Frank Turner. I heard him as an opener for Dropkick Murphys last month and I can’t stop listening. “England Keep My Bones” is an amazing album, start to finish.
Matt Alber, a former member of Chanticleer and now a singer/songwriter living in Washington http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTvJdpkdLiw
Sunday Driver, a multicultural steampunk group from the UK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWcuHqsh7Wg&list=UUEcu0BwiQHmrQNEynrAqA0g&index=23&feature=plcp
This seems like something you’d like:
http://haleybonar.com/
Interestingly enough, the writer Patrick Rothfuss posted his new music recommendation not long after this post: http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2012/04/sharing-is-caring-garfunkel-and-oats/
(haven’t tried them, just noting the coincidence :)
My own recommendation would be Paris Combo. I discovered them in ’06, so I’ll pretend that counts (I think they’re a couple of years older than that in reality).
Gotta plug local heroes and all around great musicians Al Scorch / Country Soul Ensemble.
http://www.alscorch.com/
In the Folk/Punk vein, one of my faves is Andrew Jackson Jihad. Fantastic band.
http://andrewjacksonjihad.com/
A bit more “rock N roll” is Screaming Females. Awesome 3 piece (that I’m very excited to have tickets to tomorrow night here in Chicago!)
http://screamingfemales.com/
Links to listenable stuff can be found on all 3 sites btw.
Magic Silver White, again from Melbourne, Australia: http://soundcloud.com/magicsilverwhite/over-under
She draws from,and synthesises, a few things: the ‘motorik’ end of the krautrock spectrum, ’60s Italian pop, and a love of epic synth pop. She does this brilliantly, in my humble opinion.
(I studied with her, too, in RMIT’s Sound Art course. She was one of the bright lights.)
Sophia Brous, trained as a jazz singer but with fingers in many pies, has a newish band just called Brous. She has a classic-pop approach to melody and harmony – I think of people like Bacharach, Nancy Sinatra, Lee Hazlewood – but transforms it in a modern-sounding way. There’s a strong Morricone influence in there too. Epic! Singalong goodness!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7SXhRTswXQ
A few people have mentioned Gotye. Tim Shiel, who plays in his touring band, produces his own music under the name Faux Pas. He makes quite brilliant electronic pop, which manages to be both haunting and a good-time singalong: http://soundcloud.com/iamfauxpas/sets/faux-pas/
(His blog is always entertaining too. Check out ‘which 90s sitcom character would you hire to manage your indie band’: http://www.iamfauxpas.com/2012/04/which-90s-sitcom-character/
Oh: and: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention experimental folk-pop duo Children Of The Wave. They build up these wonderful soundscapes by layering field recordings and obscure instruments from around the world, then bust out singalong choruses over the top. Their album ‘Carapace’ from about two years ago is a delight (especially the single, ‘Something Good’), and they have a new one out soon too.
I think you’d like Jesca Hoop: Lyrics are great, music is interesting and unexpected yet still sounds like music, and she has a fantastic voice. Plus, I think her best song might have been inspired by having writer’s block. Here’s “Seed of Wonder” for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA_wyqNatxg
Probably haven’t run into Yeasayer yet, either. Here’s “2080”. I have no idea why this song hasn’t been overplayed on the radio yet. It’s phenomenal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2A_Juv213s
Other groups that are probably more well-known that are well worth listening to: Dar Williams (particularly “The Ocean”; she’s probably the best lyricist working today), Nickel Creek (tragically broken up, but transcendent when they were together; check out Sean Watkins’ “Let It Fall” and yeah, pretty much everything else they’ve ever done), and Sarah Slean (you absolutely must hear “John 23rd” before you die).
Many of my suggestions have already been made (Girlyman, Mumford and Sons, Black Keys, Florence and the Machine, Young the Giant, Breaking Benjamin, Gotye). For a nice hard edge, I’d add Seether, especially “Tonight”, “Country Song”, and a surprisingly moving yet rocking version of “Careless Whisper”. It took me a while to realize that I was a fan – I kept hearing their songs on the radio and thinking, “Hey, I like that.” It just took a little while for that to add up to “so I guess this means I’m a Seether fan.” Perhaps the name put me off.
Again for the harder edge, I’d strongly suggest Rise Against’s “Savior” and Stone Sour’s “Say You’ll Haunt Me”.
Finally, Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now”.
Scars On 45
My wife made me spend 2 hours finding every YouTube clip of these guys when she first heard them a couple of months ago.
“Hearts On Fire” http://youtu.be/TXndFmaZkwQ
“Give Me Something” http://youtu.be/-bU3noqvozw
Seconding Esperanza Spaulding. “Radio Music Society” is great, as are her earlier discs. Also, anyone who takes the Best Newbie Grammy from Justin Bieber should be a hero to us all.
In the same vein, Robert Glasper just released a new album of nu-soul filtered through a killer jazz trio.
Turns out that by the time I got here, pretty much all I have is +1s… Both “The Naked And Famous” and “Joy Formidible” push the same buttons for me as “The Yeah-Yeah-Yeahs”, which I know John already likes. “Young the Giant” and “Seether” are not very similar but I like them both, and neither is a one-note wonder. “Awolnation” you are not likely to get confused with anyone else. Hmm – would “Paramore” be cheating? They’re less than a decade old, but had their moment of fame in 2008 or so.
First Aid Kit—just discovered them myself and can’t listen to anything else.
Nervosas: http://nervosas.bandcamp.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GhtZt2HYkM
Great lyrics, great sound, kind of a growly singer with an electronic backbeat.
The recent albums from Macy Gray and Joan Osborne – both cover albums – offer some fresh takes on older music, so although they violate your rule, I will still reocmmend these.
For new music, I wanted to add We Landed on the Moon! with a song called Ships in Parts, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
Sorry I don’t have any links handy to these.
Also, Amadou and Mariam. Here’s “Coulibaly” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frRM6NzB5vw and here’s “Politic Amagni” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT-V6xXaqWI
I use kunc.org to find new music.. the playlists are at
http://kunc.org/programs/kunc-music
No streaming option unfortunately, but can listen at kunc.org while it broadcasts, each weekday 9am to 12 Mountain time (I just love living in Mountain Time).
Love this thread – already found lots of new stuff.
I second the recommendation for Amy Macdonald. Only her debut album is available on iTunes, but she has a second album out in the UK and a third one coming this year. Her debut album is one of the best albums I know – every song is outstanding.
Another UK singer/songwriter that I don’t think anyone has mentioned is Laura Marling. Wonderful lyrics and musicianship (though unfortunately she’s terrible live). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA3w6p96Ff8&feature=related
Lindsey Stirling. Because if combining dubstep and violin weren’t cool enough she can dance too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHjpOzsQ9YI&feature=relmfu
And her videos are amazing and she does a lot of fun geeky things as well.
I’m getting to this very late, but here are some folks that haven’t been mentioned yet:
Cloud Cult is more than five years old, but their 2010 record “Light Chasers” is a big departure — it’s an almost ’70s-style concept album, mixing SFnal concepts with more introspective stuff, and it’s hugely wonderful and inspiring.
Here’s the video for “The Exploding People” — http://youtu.be/FUsjoe-sHhE
Bess Rogers is a great NYC singer/songwriter with a new record, “Out of the Ocean” — there’s a “Video ” (the single cover with music behind it) for the song “Anchor” — http://youtu.be/ElTOMoWdv_Y.
And a couple more:
Laura Stevenson and the Cans — another female bandleader with a conventionally pretty voice, though she has some unexpected power behind it. This is “The Healthy One” — http://youtu.be/GMt5XqcqSBY.
And, to go very different, Le Butcherettes are another band with a female leader, but they’re much punkier and nastier. This is “Henry Don’t Got Love” — http://youtu.be/rE2MECap2TU.
Two more to finish up:
First, in the all-important genre of surprisingly young white guys willing to make fools of themselves for no good reason, there’s the very catchy “Nervous” by Pikachunes: http://youtu.be/bBzksVwM8d0.
And the great Mieka Pauley has a new record, “The Science of Making Choices,” coming out any time now. I couldn’t find good videos of the two great songs I know from it so far — “Wreck” and “Never F*ck a Woman That You Don’t Love” — so here’s “All the Same Mistakes,” from her first record (which is still less than 5 years old and so is on topic) — http://youtu.be/WWerKgdMpBw.
@ DG Lewis:
Can’t sing a depressing song while playing a banjo? Hah! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSarZ7g1F-g
The last time I saw one of these posts, I regretted not suggesting my favourite Canadian Indie Techno-without-computers bands. They are:
Holy Fuck (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhaRkWfaq10, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfDwMbtBgfU)
Shout Out Out Out Out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcBxZg_Nshg)
I’m not sure if they meet the five year rule, though.
Also: Small Black (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_llci-C7hc) and Washed Out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arfauoVF6aM)
Also also: thirding AWOLNATION.
I adore Mumford and Sons, and the 14 year old likes them too. Their harmonies can make hairs rise on the back of my neck, and their lyrics are thinky (“The Cave” is based on freakin’ PLATO!).
Gotye reminds me of early 80’s Peter Gabriel.
Michael Frante (best known for Say Hey!) does the best music that makes me want to dance or clean house.
Since you were never a 12-year-old girl, you probably won’t get the squee out of One Direction that I did when I saw them on SNL. Their lyrics are sweet, their singing ranges from OK to good, their dance moves aren’t TOO machine-like and the , and when I WAS 12, I would have hidden my love for a band like them like a dark scandal. But they’re likeable and talented. I think that Zayn Malik, the one with the pompadour, might get Justin Timberlake levels of famous someday, he stands out.
In other I’m-too-old-for-this news, Taylor Swift’s music is growing up, I’m thinking she might be a force with which to be reckoned someday. The fact that when and interviewer asked her if she was a virgin, she replied “When you talk about virginity and sex publicly, people just automatically picture you naked.” That’s one of the best comebacks to sexism (who asks young men if they’ve had sex?) I’ve heard in a while. And her contribution to the Hunger Games soundtrack (backed by a band who has other tracks, co-written by T-Bone Burnett!) “Safe and Sound” is achingly lovely.
You might like Rupa & teh April Fishes
Sorry, typo, meant to say Rupa & the April Fishes fun even if you aren’t a polyglot.
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[img]http://i34.tinypic.com/156zoz5.png[/img]
Artista: VA
Titulo del Album: Carlos Jean, Combustion Soundtrack
Año: 2013
Genero: Dance
Calidad: Mp3 a 256 Kbps
Tamaño: 101 Mb
Tracklist:
01. Moving Up (feat. Aqeel)
02. I’m Not Driven
03. Prisioners (feat. Ferrara & DJ Nano)
04. Hungry Games (feat. Electric Nana)
05. I’ll Never Let You Go (feat. Aqeel)
06. So Young (feat. Electric Nana)
07. Wasting Your Life (feat. David van Bylen)
08. Fire Up (feat. Electric Nana)
09. Someone (feat. Electric Nana)
10. Time
11. High
12. Last Lap
13. My End
14. The Jewellery
Download/Descargar: http://uploaded.net/file/bzq4ly08/carjean2013-DFK.rar
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