Written by Fense
I want to say I’ve heard about The Western States Motel, but I cannot recall with any certainty whether that’s true or not. If I have heard of them prior to receiving their Painted Birds Flying In The Orange Mirror Sun EP in the mail, I can say that I haven’t heard their music before. But, listening to “Stampede” now through my headphones, it’s immediately apparent that I like what I’m hearing. Read More »Western States Motel [Feature Band]
Written by Fense
Lo-fi indie pop with a sweet nature often gets labeled as twee, or at least sounding like twee. And that’s the first thing that comes to mind when listening to The Stowaways, whose style of indie pop features jangle-y guitars and a sweetness in the vocals. Read More »The Stowaways [Feature Band]
Written by Fense
It wasn’t all that long ago that I first listened to and subsequently covered The Republic Tigers. Their video for “Buildings And Mountains” caught my eye — and my ears — and I was hooked. Looking back, it seems so close, but so much has happened since August 8, the day that feature went live. I feel like the “Buildings And Mountains” title is an adequate analogy for my current situation. Humor me… Read More »The Republic Tigers [Feature Band]
Written by Fense
Ramona Córdova (MySpace) is a folk artist. But he’s a very nontraditional one. Like my recent post on DZR:P, Ramona tends to favor the falsetto voice, but unlike DZR:P, he tends to not only be in-tune, but he comes off sounding somewhat similar to Visit, the Asian opera singer from this year’s season of Bravo’s Top Design. Read More »Ramona Córdova [Feature Band]
Written by Fense
I thought I had them all figured out. Each Hardly Art release since their inception as a label has seen artists that dabble — albeit barely at times — in some form of folk. Sure, it may be obscure, as in the case of Le Loup, but it’s always there. Enter Pretty And Nice (MySpace) with their recent release, Get Young. Read More »Pretty And Nice [Feature Band]
Written by Fense
Listening to Lithops for the first time, I had the distinct feeling I was watching someone play a video game. It took me back to the days of the original Nintendo. But not the game console, the games themselves. The music is much too advanced for such a system. Read More »Lithops [Feature Band]
Written by Fense
Each time a new band appears on Labrador Records, I take note. The latest to join the collective is Pallers, an electronic duo out of Stockholm. Pallers follows the current trend of Labrador; with several of their recent releases, the label has been moving away from indie pop and into electronica. Read More »Pallers [Feature Band]
Written by Fense
Mark Mathis is definitely a folk artist, as represented in the twangy (what sounds like a) mouth harp in We Both Was Young opener “Sharecropper Takes A Colored Wife†and dual banjos in “Prenupâ€. Read More »Mark Mathis [Feature Band]
Au Revoir Simone seems to have created a slew of impersonators. Recently Hearts Of Palm UK released an album that blended multiple-part harmonies and an emphasis on keyboards. What I’ve heard of that release, I’ve enjoyed. The same can be said for the recent release by Chop Chop, called Screens.
Read More »Chop Chop [Feature Band]
Written by Fense
Not too long ago–more specifically, earlier this year–I wrote that The Explorers Club release Freedom Wind could have been the record The Beach Boys released after Pet Sounds. While that statement is a bit of a stretch, as few titles can live up to the Pet Sounds name, all the press on The Bellfuries seem to dub Palmyra with a similar, Beach Boys-y label.
Read More »The Bellfuries [Feature Band]
