It’s safe to say that Fireflies is a bedroom pop band. Autumn Almanac, their new full-length, just solidifies the statement as it follows the path Fireflies journeyed down in Goodnight Stars, Goodnight Moon. It’s the sound Fireflies’ Lisle Mitnik favored on his EPs Strange and Butterscotch. With Autumn Almanac, however, change has occurred. The band has added a great deal more orchestration to the mix. Read More »Fireflies: Autumn Almanac
Modern forms of communication, if anything, have allowed the ability to spread awareness like wildfire. Case in point, this morning. Catching up on recent tweets, I noticed a link from Acid House Kings to a little something called Beko Records. I visited the site, downloaded all 25 current digital singles from the label, and began the task of checking them all out. Now I’m writing about it to let you know. And who knows where you’ll take it. So we begin.
Read More »Label Spotlight: Beko Records 
I’m provided enough music to warrant several new areas to highlight – it’s something I hope to expand upon this year. One item I receive on occasion is the demo track. I’ve posted a few over the years, and it’s high time I made the demo its own feature. The first art to receive Demo Reel treatment is Köln, Germany’s Blips. Read More »Blips [Demo Reel]
It’s Elephant’s are the lime in the malt liquor. They’re the smiling faces at a funeral. Their sort of punk, sort of acid-induced rock persona transitions into a far too demanding world with a substantial frenzy. It’s sort of like a jazz choir playing at CBGB’s. Their sophomore release, Gets Along, beats you over the head with a rock ‘n roll NERF baseball bat till you want to shoot up your nearest supermarket. This is one of the most deliberately entrancing discs that has come out in some time. Get ready to lose your mind. Read More »It’s Elephant’s: Gets Along [Album Review]
A favorite from last year was Sindri Már Sigfússon’s solo project Sin Fan Bous; an album titled Clangour. Prior to striking out on his own under this moniker, Sigfússon had a different solo project, one called Seabear. It evolved into something else, something larger and more complex – a seven-piece group of fellow Icelanders. Read More »Seabear: Lion Face Boy [mp3]
James Apollo‘s “No East, No West” is starts with an airy whisper. The video is a play on lighting; a swinging light bulb makes a cool effect atop Apollo and the band as they play and perform. From these minimal beginnings may not hold much weight when it comes to the vast body of folk music out there, but they sure do once the band kicks in. Without that humble introduction, the full sound wouldn’t carry the impact it does. This is pure bluesy, roots-influence folk rock. And where Apollo stands out most are when the band kicks in after the quiet, open spaces. Read More »James Apollo: No East, No West [Video]
Mixing the psychedelic pop of the 60s with a more orchestrated baroque sound, The Soft Skin is four sunny tracks by Philadelphia’s most promising pop band in quite a while. Brown Recluse began as duo Timothy Meskers and Mark Saddlemire, and ultimately grew to six individuals. Within The Soft Skin, you’ll hear the plush instrumentation, from a focus on keys and jangle guitars in opener “Rotten Tangerines” to the trumpet feature in closer “Contour And Context”. Read More »Brown Recluse: The Soft Skin [Album Review]
One never gets the impression that Erlend Oye will ever top the releases from his past, namely that from the duo Kings Of Convenience. But with each subsequent release, first under his own name and now under the moniker The Whitest Boy Alive, he always seems to deliver. And while Rules took a few listens to catch on, it is no exception. Read More »The Whitest Boy Alive: Rules [Cover Art]
Francis has been hard at work on a new album and, given a first listen to their new single, it’s easy to hear this band has made some tremendous strides forward. But first, take a step back. Their self-titled EP from 2009 was pretty solid. It allowed them to shine in a very unique manner – being a band that took Sweden into a tavern and got it so hopped up on booze that a drunken punk side began to show. It had sloppy moments, but it merely enhanced the music. “I Was Never Bored At All”, the band’s new song, is not what you’d expect from the previous description. Not at all. Read More »Francis: I Was Never Bored At All [mp3]
What an intriguing batch of pop songs Boy Genius has came up with here! Staggering is an album that jingles and jangles it’s way through rockin’ tunes that act as a wonderful sequel to their debut album Anchorage. For returning listeners, you will notice that the first note on this album picks up where their debut left off. Another genius (pun intended) idea from this crafty Brooklyn-based group. It also wasn’t such a bad idea to bring on board super-producer Mitch Easter to help them polish up their happy-go-lucky recordings. Read More »Boy Genius: Staggering [Album Review]
