A Music Blog. Once in WA, now in Plano, TX.
It’s been a few years since I fell down the rabbit hole and into an obsession with the original era of psychedelic rock. Those days found me obsessing over everything from classics like The 13th Floor Elevators and Bubble Puppy to discovering lesser known favorites like St. John Green and The Druids of Stonehenge. And…
After her release of the Sleepwalker single earlier this year, I questioned whether Angel Olsen was going through a transformation. The revealing, introspective LP Half Way Home from 2012 was about as minimal as they come. Full vocals seemed as quiet as a whisper — though they were not — and her guitar was so…
Spencer Krug returns with his next Moonface record, Julia With Blue Jeans On. Krug, as you may well be aware, has had a music career filled with diversity; if this is your introduction to Moonface, as it is mine, you may be surprised to hear Krug at his most endearing. Julia With Blue Jeans On…
Deep synth lines open “Make It Known”, contradicting lightly with a 70s rock percussion, guitar and bass. Then the vocals hit with a hint of soul. This is not your standard indie rock group; their influences span wide and far, making Foxygen one of the more unique and interesting new artists to surface of late.
“Serpents” is a complete departure from Sharon Van Etten‘s early work. Admittedly, I missed her sophomore release, Epic from 2010, but was fully entranced by her debut, 2009’s Because I Was In Love. Here, she shatters the quietude of the stripped-down acoustic guitar of that earliest album with a folk-rock piece that is utterly haunting….
The Cave Singers are back with their third LP, No Witch, an album that promises great things on the tail of two already widely renowned releases. While only two songs have graced my ears thus far, it’s clear that the Seattle band continues its steady pace of creating phenomenal tunes.
I found this Small Black video in the trove of videos on the Jagjaguar, Secretly Canadian, Dead Oceans collective Vimeo page. Small Black creates fuzzy lo-fi electronic pop in the vein of romance and various other pleasantries, and “Despicable Dogs” fits the description well. I love the dreamy nature the song takes throughout its four…
I would love to re-experience those four minutes during which I listened for the first time to “Albatross”, the new Besnard Lakes single. Filled with dreamy layers of vocals and lush, guitar-backed chorales, Olga Groreas sings to the very moment of disappearing love amidst a background of sound that evokes anything but sadness.
The Besnard Lakes seem to have taken everyone by surprise; their music blends drone-y shoegaze and prog-rock with the playfulness of lightly orchestrated indie-pop. These elements make Are The Dark Horse one of the best comprehensive albums of 2007. Songs like “Because Tonight†are instantly classic in nature—The Besnard Lakes’ ability to dictate between sophisticated…
Bon Iver (MySpace) is a play on volume. Led by Justin Vernon, the group’s music is soft and fringes on romantic, as we heard in tunes like “Flume” and “For Emma” and “Skinny Love” off For Emma, Forever Ago. But how does the follow-up to their debut LP, fit in? Blood Bank follows suit, equaling…