https://vimeo.com/121248988 February was a massive month for music that included a lot of heavy hitters dropping full lengths as well...
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This was my first Feist album and it was an exceptional piece of art; full of raw emotion, minimalist production, and her incredibly layered voice. It was a surreal listen that left me floating through the ether and it's one of my favorites of the year thus far.
If the Beatles were the spokesmen of their generation, then Imagine Dragons are fast becoming the voice of a new one. They are the front men to a new sound and style that hits you with its rhythm-driven edge, but their appeal and message goes deeper than that.
A trippy techno vibe greets listeners like the flickering screen of a fractured computer monitor. This song is what it sounds like to straddle the threshold of an ancient Buddhist temple and the edge of The Matrix.
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I'm not sure if WhoMadeWho was aided by any psychedelics in the creation of Through The Walls but he managed to craft one atmospheric, contemplative, trippy musical journey, and I can dig it.
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Lionlimb's "Tape Recorder" is a neat and extremely interesting, albeit challenging, album to experience. It's likely to be quite unlike anything you've ever listened to - shimmering with nuanced note choices and a delicate balance of melancholy.
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Wye Oak's latest feels decidedly more accessible than say "Civilian", but in reality their compositions are as dense and layered as ever, but the new synth and rhythm additions make their sound so much more expansive. And it's the interplay between the bright expansive backdrop and the highly introspective lyrics, sung through her still incredibly beautiful airy vocals, that make this such a fulfilling listen.
At 30 years old, Anderson East is just getting started and without question will be one to watch in the coming years. East is currently on tour with his full band and Jade Bird with summer dates throughout the Midwest. Regardless of the type of music you think you like, East’s energy has something for everyone and is a performer you can’t afford to miss. Check out our full gallery of shots from the night.
Simply put, recordings of the songs can’t do the live performance justice. FRENSHIP has to be experienced in person! They’re currently on their US Tour through June 5th and should not be missed! Check out our full gallery of shots from the night.
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'Morning World' is an incredibly eclectic mix of grunge ballads and bangers that evokes both nostalgia and hope for a better grunge future.
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"No Sleep No Sleep" is not only groovy, but groovy that’s masterfully wrapped in a unique musical sheath of a few very different types of genres.
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"Distant Wells" is the quintessence of Historian’s eponymous album and their sound altogether – experimental, spacey, dark, and yet, strangely peaceful.
Voids was the first album I've heard from Minus The Bear and it was all very solid indie rock with some great guitar work that seamlessly blended their various elements to create some really compelling music.
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Offering doesn't quite reach the heights of their debut and the music is noticeably brighter, shedding some of their darker undertones for a more generic pop album, but I'll be damned if it isn't catchy music all the same.
Akira Rabelais - a composer/software developer/project manager(?) who exudes mystery and tongue-in-cheek-references in everything he does, makes you walk through forked paths, all inspired by one of his favorite writers, Jorge Louis Borges.
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While Django Django's previous efforts felt a bit more artsy in intention, the experimentation on Marble Skies feels done with the sole purpose of creating something fun. And it is fun, it's a lighthearted, head nodding romp full of brilliant melodies and earworm hooks. It's almost impossible not to be pulled into their joyous orbit.
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Sonically and melodically The Wombat's latest album is a beautiful record who's bubbling upbeatness is infectious which creates an interesting dynamic between it's content full of heartbreak and a bad love. This may not be one of the deepest nor thought provoking rock albums I've heard in recent memory but it's certainly one of the most enjoyable. And sometimes that's what it's all about.
Once in a while I’m pleasantly surprised by an evening that is so intimately tied together that you can’t divorce the performances from each other. Performances that demand to be addressed as a whole rather than cut into distinct pieces. Gordi and S. Carey put on one such performance to a sold-out crowd at DC9 Nightclub in Washington, D.C. Check out the full gallery of photos from their amazing sets here.
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Thirty Seconds to Mars try their hand at a politically charged record but they ultimately come up well short of saying or adding anything worthwhile to the conversation. It's essentially an album that's full of vapid buzz words/phrases set to painfully generic electro-infused pop rock. It's not a "terrible" album but it's not a particularly compelling one either.
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Lord Huron's latest is a beautiful nighttime blend that's at times cinematic in nature - with the best way of describing it is as psychedelic sci-fi folk western. They may not be as commercially or critically recognized as say a Bon Iver, but they're quietly putting together an impressive discography and Vide Noir is further evidence that they're one of the most interesting acts in folk.
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Florence + The Machine try to strip things back for a more intimate listening experience. So there are more ballads and the production tries to be more subtle, but there's really only so much you can do to hold down a voice as powerful as Welch's.
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"Familiar Bell" carries everything we love about Historian - subtle melancholy and spacey melodies that take you to a different, ethereal state of mind.
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"Away" by Historian is the musical version of the word “away”, but in a palpably off-beat, darker context. A perfect song for a vampire film.
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Historian’s "Quiet" is a striking anthem of melancholy - a beautiful, melodic sheath under which sadness quietly simmers and grows.
