The Shins - Girl on the Wing

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The Drums - Best Friend

I have posted this song before but I just recently saw the music video and...well...when you see it you'll know why I had to post it. My favorite dance of his starts at 1:08. "Best Friend" is definitely one of my all-time favorites of The Drums with it's up-beat and happy sound coupled with it's morbid and sad lyrics. 

As a bit of an update I want to tell you guys that Final Exam Week is starting at my university so please know and understand that this stressful time might have an impact on the quantity of posts I make. Unless I'm REALLY exhausted it shouldn't have an effect on the quality of posts though. 

Also, don't forget that my first mixtape will be released this Saturday. Songs for the End of the World is a "best of 2012" mix that will feature music from Millionyoung, Wild Nothing, Animal Collective, Passion Pit, Grizzly Bear, Matt & Kim, and much more!

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Apache Kid - Goodbye GOTE

Happy Thursday everyone! For those of you in America, how are those Thanksgiving plans coming along? Me? I'm just staying home with my family for it. My break from school started on Tuesday so I've been relaxing/working/blogging. So pretty much the daily routine but at home...

Anyway, do you all know that amazing feeling you get when you find an old band you once listened to randomly while web-surfing? Well I experienced it again today when I was looking into a band that was recommended to me a couple weeks ago. The band isn't this one but it kind of is. This is Apache Kid, not to be confused with Apache Beat which is what I almost type every time I type their name. Apache Kid is a lo-fi indie rock band from Connecticut that recently changed their name to Peace Museum, the band that I was checking out.

If you like this and their other songs and wish they had more than 2 demos out then make sure you check out their new thing at Peace Museum. They've definitely returned to a special place in my heart! Links below

Get this album here: http://apachekid.bandcamp.com/album/apache-kid-demos
Like them on Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Apache-Kid/

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NEWS // The Bilinda Butchers release music video for Boyfriend.

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Gauntlet Hair - Mop It Up

Well it's Monday again and that sucks but just because you're back to working doesn't mean you can't enjoy some great tunes! Well....I mean if you work somewhere where you're not allowed to listen to music while you work then I guess actually it does mean you can't....so...

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NEWS // Christopher Owens announces first North American tour!

Christoper Owens, former lead singer for Girls, will be hitting the road this coming year for his first ever solo North American tour. The first show starts on the release date for his new and anticipated album Lysandre in Chicago, January 15. Below you can find the rest of the tour dates and where to buy tickets.




Buy tickets here: http://christopherowens.frontgatetickets.com/

January 15     Chicago, IL               Lincoln Hall
January 16    Ferndale, MI              Magic Bag
January 18    Toronto, ON              The Mod Club
January 19    Montreal,  QC            Cabaret Du Mile-End
January 21    New York, NY             Bowery Ballroom
January 22    New York, NY             Bowery Ballroom
January 25    Boston, MA                Paradise Rock Club
January 26    Philadelphia, PA        Union Transfer
January 27    Washington, DC        9:30 Club

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NEWS // Beach House releases music video for Wild.

A random YouTuber said it perfectly. As Jonathan Clarke explained it, it's "Being wild. That's all it is. Being animals, chasing, fighting, loving. Feeling emotions. That's all there is to it."

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Album Review // Weekends by Neil Jarvis

Today I'm going to show you something new. This new thing is Neil Jarvis. To be more specific, this new thing is this Greater Manchester based musician's new album Weekends. 

Weekends was released on November 12th to On the Grind Records. If you want to buy this album Click Here to be taken to Neil Jarvis' On the Grind page. Below I will be doing a new assessment where I talk about the good and bad parts of the album. Enjoy!

The Good

Neil Jarvis' new album is a great escape from all the electronic music I've been listening to. Especially now after I just finished my review for Crystal Castles' newest album. You guys have no idea how long these review take. Weekends is an album about summertime and relaxation. It oozes happiness! Jarvis' sound is really interesting too. It's a mix between really chill surf-rock and groovy psychedelic rock. 

I wasn't able to find the song "Figure It Out" online but if you buy the album make sure you listen to that track. It is probably my favorite song in the entire album. If you have ever listened to Temple Songs and like them, especially in their Luxury Lice EP, then you will instantly fall in love with this song too. 

Even though "Figure It Out" is one of the few sad songs with it's lyrics like "I know you are going to hate me, but we'll figure it out" it masks that sadness and uncertainty perfectly in the groovy chords that all surf-rock is known for. Jarvis' skills in song composition are quite similar to that of Jack Tatum of Wild Nothing and Kevin Parker of Tame Impala in this regard. At the bottom of this review you can listen to a couple of my favorite songs off Weekends except of course for "Figure It Out". Make sure to buy the album to hear that gem!

The Bad

There are really only two things I did not like in Weekends, and to be honest, they aren't that bad. The first is the occasional distortion on guitar. A prime example of this is in the song "Every Night". It starts out pretty good but then it just sounds as if someone pulled the needle away from a vinyl that was playing and it freaked out for a second or two. Like I stated earlier this interruption doesn't stay for long. In fact if it didn't happen at all I'd like "Every Night" because it's a good track despite the distortion. 

Lastly, like I've said in the past before if you don't mix up your songs the listener might get bored. This doesn't just happen in Neil Jarvis' album but also in albums by The Drums. After about 5 or 6 songs you just want to listen to something else. But Jarvis does a pretty good job keeping this from happening in the beginning. 

In the end I would say buy this album if you like lo-fi surf rock and psychedelic music. It's a good album despite it's tiny issues and honestly those just boil down to personal preference. Neil Jarvis has a lot of potential and I will always be a fan of any surf rock artist out there. Right now Weekends is being sold for a mere £3.00 which is just under $5 for the Americans reading (like me!).

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Album Review // (III) by Crystal Castles

The wait is over and Crystal Castles' newest album is finally here. They continue their tradition of extremely creative album names with this newest album too. They named this one Crystal Castles... again. Most people call this one (III) just like they called their last album (II) though.

(III) is the third album from the experimental electronic duo and came out 5 days earlier than expected on November 7. It's a very dark album. This is first and foremost apparent in the song titles; "Plague", "Wrath of God", "Pale Flesh", "Sad Eyes", "Violent Youth", and "Child I Will Hurt You". This darkness permeates throughout the entirety of (III) from the song names, to the lyrics, to the general feel in the songs, to even the album artwork.

The cover art to (III) is strikingly resemblant of La Pietà by Michelangelo Buonarroti. La Pietà is a renaissance sculpture that features the mother of "Christ" holding her son's lifeless body in her arms after his crucifixion. The album artwork to (III) is similar in that it shows a shrouded figure, possibly a woman, cradling a shirtless man in their arms. This man looks just as lifeless as "Christ" does and is slumped towards the figure's body, his head being held against the person's chest.

There is a lot of pain and anger in (III). This can be seen in multiple songs like "Plague", "Kerosene", and others. "Plague" is the first track off the album and is just as dark as it's name would suggest. It without a doubt deals with child exploitation with lyrics like "infants in infantry" and "Virgin cells to penetrate, too premature to permeate".  "Kerosene" is more about trying to achieve perfection and purity with lyrics like "I can clean impurity, wash away with kerosene" and how she brings up cleaning, rinsing, bandaging, and protecting.

If you are listening to (III) right now you know just as well as I do that the album has a certain sound. That's why it was so interesting to hear "Child I Will Hurt You" because it is nothing like the other songs on the album. This track is a gentle and soft song despite it's name and it even touches on elements of dream-pop with it's ethereal/dream-like atmosphere. Although I don't think Crystal Castles will start making dream-pop anytime soon I do think they are starting to move away from the more abrasive songs they have made in the past like "Doe Deer" and "Alice Practice". (III) is a lot more "put together" and definitely not as aggressive as their first self-titled album. In the end though, what it boils down to is personal preference and what you like to hear in electronic music.

Crystal Castles - Plague by Crystal Castles

Crystal Castles - Wrath Of God by Crystal Castles

Crystal Castles - AFFECTION by Crystal Castles

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FIDLAR - I Just Wanna Die

Happy Friday everyone! Lets start the weekend off great with some groovy surf-rock. FIDLAR, which stands for Fuck it dog, life's a risk, is a surf rock/garage rock band from Los Angeles, CA. They're pretty swell and they always make really awesome music videos like this one. Usually though, someone isn't getting rescued from a building engulfed in flames. Hope they're OK! Have a great weekend readers.

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SleepSpeak - Winterbone Pt. 2 & 3

What's crackin' everybody. It's Thursday and I just finished reading some bullshit stories from my English Literature class. Tip to all the aspiring (or even current) writers out there: The whole "let me write a story where literally nothing happens" thing might sound like a good idea but it is anything but. In fact it is the exact opposite. 

Anyway it's been one of those days. No, not one of those days, I mean one of those "nothing is getting released, nothing is really happening" days so I ventured to Reddit to find us all some rad new talent and boy did I find us something good.

This is SleepSpeak and they are a four-man indie rock group from Mississippi. This Tuesday they released a 5 song-long demo. It's pretty sweet and has nice variation throughout it. This does make their overall genre harder to place though. Even in the song I have selected for you guys to hear there is kind of two different genres happening. In the beginning, what I'm assuming is part 2 of Winterbone, there's more of an acoustic rock or indie rock sound but as it progresses into part 3, the sound changes giving it an almost math-rock feel. Listen to the album-artless-track below and check out the full demo on their Bandcamp page. Also, their Facebook page could use more likes so if you really dig their thing, like em!

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NEWS // Animal Collective to release new single

So good news for any Animal Collective fans out there, the collective's newest single is almost out! The new single Applesauce will be out next Tuesday, November 13, and will feature the song Applesauce from their latest album Centipede Hz and a new song entitled Crimson which can be heard above. 

Pre-orders have already started so make sure you snag your copy of this awesome new release before it's too late!

Pre-order here: http://acus.dominorecordco.com/

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loudboys - The Biggest Piece

If you like this song, make sure you swing by the post he made to reddit and tell him!

Also, check out the rest of his songs on this Soundcloud page: http://soundcloud.com/loudboys

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Absalom Absalom - Moon-Catcher

Happy 50% off candy day! Today I'm showing you Absalom Absalom a band so good they had to type their name twice! Absalom Absalom is a math-rock band from Kentucky which means they are the first band from Kentucky I have ever listened to that is not country. Currently they have two EPs and a single out on Bandcamp and they plan to release a full-length album in December. 

If you like Absalom Absalom make sure you download their songs from there Bandcamp page: absalomabsalom.bandcamp.com

Also, don't forget to like them on Facebook and tell them how awesome they are!

www.facebook.com/absalommusic

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