Carissa’s Wierd: Die [mp3]
“Die” ultimately picked up where Songs About Leaving left off, and it adequately summed up where the band was heading… Read More »Carissa’s Wierd: Die [mp3]
Venice Is Sinking [Interview]
Take a little travel across the country from the evergreen-clad, rainy Northwest to the Southeastern United States. You may have seen these guys atop our Top 50 Albums of 2009, or caught one of the many features or reviews we’ve passed their way over the past year and a half. Today FensePost phoned up Venice Is Sinking for a rare interview; rare for us. We were pretty excited about it as, after all, we don’t do many of these. But questions were easy to conjure up for last year’s favorite. Read More »Venice Is Sinking [Interview]
Jack James: Quarter Life Crisis [Album Review]
Jack James, one of 2009’s finest debut artists, has jumped around back onto the proverbial wagon with his sophomore release, Quarter Life Crisis. This talented Scottish wordsmith brings back the signature “one man, one guitar, a thousand words” take on folk music and the ever-present sense of spirituality that comes with the genre. Though James hasn’t changed much since his debut album Lights Off, Headphones On (granted, it’s only been a year), it certainly does seem as though the spirit of his words are a bit more gloomy and a bit more personable than ever before. Read More »Jack James: Quarter Life Crisis [Album Review]
Neon Rain: To The Moon [Track]
Neon Rain brings the tone down a notch on their sophomore release, Wintersong. Here is a precious batch of melodies that send the heart right back to a place we never want to face. This Noisetrade.com break out artist has brought us something desperately special and tantalizing, straight from the darkest coffee shop of Nashville. It is soft bellowing tunes like “To The Moon” that gives us a reason to believe in a higher being. Something this simple yet wholly engaging is hard to hear without feeling the sting of zen, nirvana, and other such spiritual antiquities. Read More »Neon Rain: To The Moon [Track]
Kacey Johansing: Many Seasons [Album Review]
Every few years it seems as though an indie folk singer comes out that creates something beyond strange lamentations and disturbing psychosis through acoustic guitars and eerie piano solos. Yes, every few years there is an artist that distributes the idea to our heads that it is okay to keep it simple, with only minor complexities to cloud our minds, and still be able to make sweet and beautiful pop oriented folk music. Similar to Norah Jones stealing the show almost 10 years ago, Kacey Johansing has arrived with her debut solo album Many Seasons to be the heiress of said crown with her own special portrayal of the Bay Area’s everlasting love for the slow paced society San Francisco had once tried to create. Read More »Kacey Johansing: Many Seasons [Album Review]
CLAPS: Fold [Video]
CLAPS produce a sound that isn’t entirely new, but it’s one that is infectious and fun. Heavy, moody synths set the stage on “Fold”, the opening tune off the band’s EP New Science. Fronting that is a monotonous, emotive vocal tenor. Overall, it’s fairly minimal with programmed percussion, but the sound is real and possesses an aura of fullness and color. The band capitalizes on both these elements in their video for “Fold”, filmed by 612im. With CLAPS’ 80s new wave mod sound and the continual focus adjustments from the camera, “Fold” is enough to make the listener tipsy. It induces that pseudo-depressed, manically happy state somewhere between lucidity and being flat out drunk. It’s a good feeling: no forthcoming hangover. Read More »CLAPS: Fold [Video]
David Janes: Deathcard [Album Review]
Written by JB.
It took nearly a year to record his first proper LP (and almost twice as long to release), but Deathcard is the sweet fruit of singer/songwriter David Janes‘ tedious work. After a limited release of his Kill-a-man Sessions in early 2008, Janes spent months writing, recording, and mixing songs for the next record, only to scrap the majority of it and start anew. Backed by his live band, including Philadelphia studio-musicians Phil D’Agostino and long-time collaborator Nathan Gonzalez, as well as Rick Wise and Emily Shick, the nine songs on Deathcard represent a maturity in both sound and writing that Janes has undergone since striking it out on his own. Whereas previous songs tended to lean heavily on the more-adolescent musings of Ryan Adams contrasted by the dark-strum of 16 Horsepower, these tracks achieve an emotional gravitas akin to the material produced by Grant Lee Phillips and John Doe in their solo work. Read More »David Janes: Deathcard [Album Review]
The Burning Hotels: Austin’s Birthday [Video]
A night in an amusement park is always a memorable experience. The thrill that a few PBR’s and a belly full of elephant ears can bring is almost indescribable. It’s an event that is best left documented in the sands of time via home video camera. What can make said documentation of the evening better? How about if you threw in a nice indie pop ditty like “Austin’s Birthday” from Texas-based The Burning Hotels. Their crisp and highly effective sense of rhythm is nothing short of a perfect reincarnation of the modern post punk era that has been imitated many times before, but save for The Strokes or the now debunked Young Immortals, never quite like this. Read More »The Burning Hotels: Austin’s Birthday [Video]
Leif Vollebekk: Inland [Album Review]
Raw, naked, Leif Vollebekk lays it all out like a modern day Jeff Buckley, Elliott Smith, or better yet Nick Drake. It’s doubtful Vollebekk will succumb to the same fate; there more hope in his music, a powerful thing that pulls the listener in. Inland is packed with the sound, from the pleasant instrumentation of “Northernmost Eva Maria” to the breathtaking “Don’t Go to Klaksvik”. With a soft shuffle in the brushed percussion and a low, rumbling piano, Vollebekk pours his soul into “Klaksvik” in a way so moving it’s unnerving. You might just shed a tear. Read More »Leif Vollebekk: Inland [Album Review]
Snowglobe: A Little More Lived In [Album Review]
For over 10 years now, Snowglobe has been producing psychedelic pop music that is gentle yet wicked. If you haven’t heard of them, don’t feel bad. Their career has been one based around constant touring and creative self-expression. The seeking of fame slides itself into their prototype here and there, but in a very minor way. If you have found yourself to be a longtime fan, it’s not hard to believe since it is possible to fall in love with their music at first listen. On their fourth album, A Little More Lived In, the band has successfully consolidated a decade’s worth of experience into a brand new collection of catchy and sly pop tracks. So, there’s something for everyone. Read More »Snowglobe: A Little More Lived In [Album Review]
