REVIEW // Halloween Summer by Neil Jarvis

Happy Tuesday everyone! Are you just the bees knees about today? If not then let me try and turn that around with a new album review. 

Today we got Halloween Summer, a new album from Greater Manchester based band, Neil Jarvis, which is now a full-fledged band! Hooray for having all your bells and whistles and stuff! Halloween Summer is the follow up to the Jarvis' 2012 release, Weekends. 

Weekends was a good album but it wasn’t great. Now, don’t take that the wrong way, you should definitely still listen to Weekends (and read my review!), as it was both the debut release of Neil Jarvis and also just a good album. But as stated on the On the Grind Records page, Weekends was an experiment in sun-drenched pop and hypnagogic rock, a dreamy and hypnotic (hence the name) sub-genre of rock. As with most normal experiments there are good and bad results which is no different here.

Fast-forward to the present and now Jarvis is back with his sophomore release, Halloween Summer. This album really shows the band progressing in the right direction and learning from some of the mistakes of the previous record (or cassette tape in this case). But not all of these mistakes are corrected as there are still a couple tracks that I had a lot of trouble with. One of these tracks is definitely "Young As Me". Although it is definitely one of the more carefree sounding songs on this album it seems to not care a little too much as the vocalising and distortion of guitars seem to hinder to songs quality. This distortion was present in a couple tracks from Weekends too but luckily only really makes a reappearance in this track. 

On the flip-side Halloween Summer really shines on it's fast-paced rock tracks and its more instrumentally driven tracks. "Help", "Shred Met", "Good Years", "Shootin' the Breeze" along with many others help to make a very good album all in all. If you are at all a fan of Kurt Vile, Hibou, or even if you just like jam bands or surf rock, then you'll really love this album. Right now you can purchase Halloween Summer by Neil Jarvis on On the Grind Records for £3.00. Purchase comes with a cassette tape and digital download of the album. Below you can listen to a couple of songs off the album.

Videos

---

Read More

REVIEW // Automata by Low Voltage Rangers

Low Voltage Rangers have returned this past month with a brand new full-length, called Automata. The 10 track long LP is the band's second full-length and shows the group continuing to explore different musical techniques. A major exploration in Automata is that of fermatas and other ways of holding notes. Look no further than the very first song and you'll hear this. For the majority of the album frontman Jeremy Toltzman executes this wonderfully and adds a lot of power and punch to the tracks, but there is maybe 1 or 2 tracks where this kind of singing becomes slightly distracting to the rest of the music. So what's the verdict? Is this album worth your time and money? Let's dive in and find out.

The Good
Automata has a wealth of really great tracks in it. In fact, I would say the second half of the LP is really where the album shines. Tracks like "Around the Greenbox", "Something Beautiful", and the absolutely outstanding closer "How to Say Goodbye" are among my favorites. Want an example of when everything falls together perfectly? Listen to "Something Beautiful" and tell me it's not a beautiful song.

The Bad
Some tracks in this new LP can be forgettable, most notably the opener, "Out of Mind". Also, just like I mentioned at the top of this article, the singing has a potential to be hit or miss in Automata. I will say that at least it doesn't miss too often, but it does happen from time to time in this album. "Runaway" is a perfect example of this. This track starts out sounding pretty cool with the almost western sounding guitar in the opening, but it's really just the singing in this song that brings it down.

Conclusion
So what's the conclusion? Is it worth your time and money? The short answer is yes. Automata suffers from a couple short-comings like every album does, but this is nothing too horrible to actually ruin the enjoyment of the album as a whole. Also insanely awesome tracks like "Stealing an Angel", "Our Parade", and the wealth of outstanding tracks mentioned above in the "Good" section make it easy to ignore the rocky moments in Low Voltage Rangers sophomore album. Automata is being sold for a mere $8 over at their website: www.lowvoltagerangers.com and at their bandcamp page. If this sounds like an album you'd enjoy you should also like their Facebook page!

Read More

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT // JTF

Earlier this month, rising Chicago based musician, JTF released his debut single Fuchsia to Facebook and SoundCloud. The single is a synth-filled electronic pop track guaranteed to get you dancing, and while this might be the first release from JTF, it is not the first musical endeavor from the man behind the initials, Jonathon Freund. Assuming the majority of those who read this aren't part of the whopping 88 fans from JTF's Facebook page, I decided to reach out to him and ask him about his band and plans for the future.

JTF is the current solo project from Freund and comes nearly 4 years after his last musical project, SPIDER▲WEBS. Unlike his last project, which was primarily a witch-house band, JTF "is designed around [his] interest and fascination with electronic pop music [specifically] new wave and house classics from the 80's". It is his outlet to connect to this time period while also blending contemporary sounds into the mix. 

For the time being it sounds like JTF will remain a one-man-show, "I had spent 2 years living in Chicago trying to form bands around the same direction, but adding members created more variables; it became very cumbersome," which is fine. There have been many talented and successful solo acts and extra members for the sake of extra members is definitely not a necessity. As for future plans JTF is currently working on a 6 song EP as well as getting ready to move to Seattle, Washington. 

JTF's debut single Fuchsia, which can be viewed below, is out now and available on Facebook and SoundCloud, the latter of which the single can be downloaded for free. Make sure to "like" and follow JTF on both sites as this guy has got some amazing potential for the future, and you won't want to miss a thing.

Read More

REVIEW // Dunes by Gardens & Villa

Since Chris Lynch and his friends began making music in 2008, these Santa Barbara-based musicians have been experimenting with a very cool combination of electronic music. Part electro-pop, part chillwave, and part psychedelia is what make up Gardens & Villa and it is a combination bound to get anyone up and dancing, or at the very least tapping their foot and bobbing their head in their chair. Dunes is the band’s second full-length album and was released earlier this year in February. The band, currently signed to Secretly Canadian (The War on Drugs, BLK JKS, Porcelain Raft, etc), got help producing the album by Tim Goldsworthy, who has worked in the past with Cut Copy, LCD Soundsystem, and Hercules & Love Affair. 

Dunes is an overall good album. Sure, it has some snags here-and-there, but almost every album has that. It’s weird though, because where Dunes really brings home the gold is also a factor in its big flaw. All the tracks sound outstanding (minus one or two due to personal preference) by themselves. Unfortunately, when they are all put together into album format, especially the way they actually were put together, they some-what seem to lose steam half-way though. There are four really killer tracks right in the beginning rather than spaced out through the album and that leads to a rather boring and dull second half. There are a couple great tracks in the latter portion of the album but overall this is a first-half heavy album. Also can we talk about the bizarre closing track “Love Theme” for a minute here? What the? Why is this even in the album? The entire album is either soft rock or electro-pop, maybe a chillwave thrown in, but for the most part pop or rock songs. Then there’s “Love Theme” at the end being the black sheep… Whatever floats your boat G&V.

Read More

REVIEW // The new Pains of Being Pure at Heart single is simply the best.

It simply just is guys. In the beginning it really doesn't even sound like a Pains of Being Pure at Heart song, but then Kip Berman's soft and fuzzy voice comes in around 0:25 and you're in heaven. What's truly great about this song is the amount of new things present in it. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have always had some elements of pop to them but they have always tended to sway more to the dream-pop or indie rock side of things. Some might argue that they have even been shoegazy at times, but this song screams pop! It's the kind of pop that immediately brings a smile to your face and gets you dancing, if maybe only in your chair a little. You can listen to the amazing super awesome gets you pumped for spring song "Simple And Sure" below. Happy Thursday readers!

"Simple And Sure" is the first single off The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's upcoming album Days of Abandon out March 22nd!

Read More

LISTEN // New single from Cloud Nothings.

Above you can hear Cloud Nothings first single off their upcoming album Here and Nowhere Else. It's reminiscent of their earlier pop/noise rock albums with it's catchy, repetitive choruses (and honestly verses for that matter!) like "I'm not, I'm not you / You're a part me! You're a part of me!" but not at all in a bad way. The song, though a little rough around the edges, shows good potential for the upcoming album and suggests maybe another pop or noise rock release. Hopefully Dylan Baldi will throw in a couple good garage rock tracks in there for good measure too as I have fallen in love waaaay too hard with "Wasted Days". Here and Nowhere Else comes out this April 1st.

Pre-order Here and Nowhere Else here! (and nowhere else!)

Read More

LISTEN // Colours: A Compilation by On the Grind.

This past September On the Grind records released their first compilation, Colours. It features a plethora of great talent from around Manchester and Sheffield England. Some of these artists include Ratfangs, glocks, Cactus Knife, Neil Jarvis, and others. A full band list can be viewed below along with a couple previews of the compilation!

Buy Colours on On the Grind's website!

Bands featured in Colours: A Compilation by On the Grind
The Bell Peppers
Ratfangs
Toucans
Hitodama
Neil Jarvis
Cactus Knife
Glocks
Death Masks

Read More

ALBUM REVIEW // Songs for Imaginative People by Darwin Deez

Songs for Imaginative People, the second full-length album from New York based musician Darwin Deez, is like a bottle of wine; it gets better and better with time or in this case play-throughs. It is an album that to some might be a little rough at first but instantly begins to grow on you if given the chance.

Definitely one of the most playful and, as the album suggests, imaginative albums I have heard in recent years. Every single song is creative in it's lyrics and for the most part this a very well done album. Some parts I wished were different but there was nothing that I really hated. It has a rocky start with songs like Moonlit and No Love but the rest of this album is great fun, especially the second half.

You are thrown right into the action with the opening track (800) HUMAN. It's almost as if Darwin is trying to sell you on his new album, something I have never experienced from the actual artist. Usually it's a reviewer (like me) or your friends that try to persuade you into either buying or not buying an album. Now granted the song isn't actually about you buying his new album but it still feels like it's been designed this way. (800) HUMAN is what I was referring to earlier with the wine thing. At first listen I wasn't too pleased at all with side A (songs 1-5). After a couple listens though, this song along with the next one You Can't Be My Girl and the fifth track, Good to Lose started to really grow on me. But the album really shines on the second half especially with songs like Alice, Redshift, and my favorite track Chelsea's Hotel. These tracks really show how Darwin Deez is progressing as a band since their last release. I just wish the first half sounded more like these. Listen to the album below and tell me what you think!

(800) HUMAN - Darwin Deez

Redshift - Darwin Deez

Chelsea's Hotel

Read More

SINGLE REVIEW // The Bilinda Butchers release a new single called The Lovers' Suicide!

Are you guys excited or what? Long-time favorite The Bilinda Butchers have released a new single off their upcoming album The Lovers' Suicide! by the same name and as I've said in the past, it sports a new sound for the San-Fran duo. 

Judging from this track, The Lovers' Suicide! is looking like it's going to be a pleasant surprise. Like a normal BB track that drank too much coffee, "The Lovers' Suicide" is a fast-paced drum and synth driven marvel of what two people can create. It's a change in sound from previous releases like goodbyes and regret, love, guilt, dreams but not a complete one if we can trust what we hear in the second half of their album preview video. Take a listen below and tell me what you think. If you're new to The Bilinda Butchers check one of my favorites here called "Boyfriend".

Read More

ALBUM REVIEW // MillionYoung puts the chill back in chillwave with his new LP Variable.

There hasn't been an album where I have genuinely loved every track in a long long time. Then, MillionYoung released Variable on Tuesday and reminded me that this is still possible to do. With every play-through I find something new that I love about it.  Variable is the Florida native's second full-length album and continues to support my theory that 2013 is the year of change...at least in bands. 

Where other bands might have failed in improving their sound, MillionYoung succeeds. This new album puts the "chill" back in chillwave and all one has to do is listen to tracks like "Lovin" or "Reciprocal" to hear this. Variable isn't a drastic change from previous releases but it is a change nonetheless. Songs in here sound more "dance-able" and remind me of bands like Toro y Moi. Not that the older songs weren't, I mean you how can you not dance a little to "Cynthia" or "On-On" (the list keeps going), but these new songs ooze a certain electro-jazz feel that is new to the band. 

If you haven't bought Variable yet you get it on iTunes, Amazon, and many other places. Listen to the album below and tell me what you think! 

Read More

ALBUM REVIEW // Heartthrob by Tegan And Sara

Tegan And Sara released their newest album Heartthrob not too long ago and it has been met with split reviews. From what I've seen listeners are either in love with it or hate it, some calling it their worst release to date. I wouldn't go that far as I found a lot of songs in Heartthrob to be quite enjoyable but, in the end I would have to say that I am disappointed in the direction Tegan And Sara have gone in this newest release.

Heartthrob is the band's seventh full-length album and their most accessible at that. It is tailored for a wider audience then most of their other releases and has what some would call a "top 40" sound to it. Is this bad though? Well, it depends on your personal taste in music. If you are someone who listens to a lot of indie music because you don't like what mainstream music sounds like (for whatever reason, let's not "soap-box" here) then you might be unimpressed with this album. In the end though it's not some horrible icky "mainstream" thing. In the end it's just an indie electro-pop album which honestly, actually has some really good songs on it. Songs like "Closer", "Goodbye Goodbye", and "Drove Me Wild" are all very catchy and very entertaining songs which are definitely worth a listen. What do you do think?

Read More

Single Review // I Can't Look After You by Temple Songs

Happy end of the world readers! Are you dead yet? If you're not, awesome! I'm not dead yet either, which is why I'm typing this right now.

So yesterday afternoon, the band Temple Songs released new music to their bandcamp page. Their newest release is a single called I Can't Look After You. It features two new songs from the psychedelic group called I Can't Look After You and I Just Saw Sonny.

The Good

Today's review will be a very simple and very short one mainly due to the fact that it is a review of a single rather than a long LP or EP. Temple Songs continue to have a slightly different sound in each release they put out. I Can't Look After You is a more abrasive and jumpy surf-pop single than their last full-length album, 15 Bygones was. It's opening track, the one the single is named after, is a great track with a classic very lo-fi surf-pop feel to it. It also it very similar in style to their EP Luxury Lice. Their track Sunspot Dandyline, in style and in it's general atmosphere, is a less lo-fi and abrasive version of I Can't Look After You. These two songs, I Can't Look After You and I Just Saw Sonny, give the listener a feel of being live at a concert held somewhere local and relaxed like a bar or a pub. A great find for any rock lover.

The Bad

I Can't Look After You is not without flaws though. At first listen the track I Just Saw Sonny is an interesting find, and it is debatable whether the good kind. While the music accompanying the vocals is nice and well played through-out the track, the vocals sheer harshness and intensity is surprising and possibly unwanted to unsuspecting ears. After a few listens both songs grew on my deeply and while I still am I little unsure about the second track off this new single, it is definitely worth the download and the addition to one's personal library. 

I Can't Look After You can be downloaded for free on Temple Songs's Bandcamp page. Below you can listen to the first track off the single and download the full single to your computer. Hope you enjoy it and thank's for reading. 

Read More

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!).

Read More

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

Read More

Album Review // Lonerism by Tame Impala

Australian psychedelic-rock band, Tame Impala, released their newest album to the public earlier this month. It's the band's second full-length album and is called Lonerism.

If you've ever listened to Tame Impala before then you know what psychedelic-rock is. Psych-rock, also sometimes known as acid-rock, is this groovy sub-genre of rock that features long instrument solos and a lot of reverb and editing. 

An example of Psych/Acid Rock from Tame Impala's first album...
Jeremy's Storm by Tame Impala

Just like Jack Tatum of Wild Nothing, lead singer Kevin Parker is a master at masking sad lyrics in happy guitar chords, drums, and reverb. Next time you're listening to "Mind Mischief" or "Why Wont They Talk to Me" look up the lyrics. Actually with "Why Wont They Talk to Me" it's pretty easy to understand the majority of what he's singing so just listen. They are in no way happy songs but they sound great!

Make sure to add this album to your list of Must Buy albums, especially if you were a fan of their last album. Lonerism is great! Below you can listen to three songs off the album or stream the entire album for free from Spotify.

Thanks for reading!

Apocalypse Dreams by Tame Impala Feels Like We Only Go Backwards by Tame Impala

Elephant by Tame Impala

Read More

Album Review: Shut Down the Streets by A.C. Newman

Earlier this week A.C. Newman released his newest album, entitled Shut Down the Streets, to the public. This is the band's third album to be released since their debut album, entitled The Slow Wonder, back in the summer of 2004.

Stops to reminisce about 2004... Ahh the good old days. Back when my life was just as boring and uneventful as it is now...memories...

Shut Down the Streets is a nice break from all the chillwave, dream-pop, and psychedelic rock music I listen to and if you're like me and you don't normally listen to "folky" singer-songwriter music then it probably will be for you too. The album definitely has a folk sound to it but it is also almost sounds like this nice folk sound is getting mixed with an electronic sound in some parts. Luckily, Carl Newman does this superbly and it sounds great but it is an interesting thing to hear mixed together.

A good example of this is "Do Your Own Time" and also the first song, "I'm Not Talking". These songs actually ended up being two of my favorites off the album. "Do Your Own Time" is an especially good song. I love the chorus in it and think the constant transitions into new and different sounds in this one song is done perfectly. It's risky to be incorporating so many different sounds into one song but Newman definitely shows his talent and experience in both song composition and album organization in this newest album.

The organization of the songs in any album is crucial. No one wants people to get bored when listening to their album and if you don't mix up the songs and break up the upbeat and slow songs this could happen. Although this wouldn't necessarily make a bad album it just would have the potential to bore people after a while like me! Luckily A.C. Newman does a good job breaking up these and not once was I waiting for a song to end due to boredom.

Make sure you buy this album the next time you're shopping for new music. You wont regret it!

Encyclopedia of Classic Takedowns - A.C. Newman
I'm Not Talking - A.C. Newman

Read More

Album Review: Shields by Grizzly Bear

So Grizzly Bear is finally out with a new album! This newest album is called Shields and is currently out everywhere by now. Spotify was doing something weird earlier today but below you can listen the the album in it's entirety (with the usual ads here and there). 

Shields is a good album. As a person who "likes but isn't the hugest fan of folk music" I would definitely say this is one of my favorite folk albums. Grizzly Bear always does a great job organizing their songs in albums and more importantly, does a great job mixing folk and psychedelia in their songs. The way I think of it is if you were to mesh Tame Impala with Fleet Foxes, you would get something like Grizzly Bear.

Overall I'd say Shields was a pretty successful album. The first two songs were great, especially the ending in "Speak in Rounds" when the horns came in. And there was the generic indie rock / indie folk songs too like "Yet Again" but that's fine! You need those every once in a while. I will admit though, not all the songs were great. Some seemed to drag on a bit but overall the album was great. One of my favorites was definitely "gun-shy". It's not as catchy of a song as "Yet Again" is but the beat and general feel to it is really nice.

Read More

EP Review: goodbyes by the bilinda butchers

Everyone, guess what! the bilinda butchers have finally come out with new music! Yeah, I'm really excited too! Let's jam-out together while I tell you stuff!

goodbyes is the second EP from San Francisco based dream-pop band, the bilinda butchers. This newest EP features the same dreamy droned-out vocals and electronic beats that their debut EP regret, love, guilt, dreams had with a new almost post-rock sound in the last song, "little leaf".  

If you dig this EP as much as I do please support the bilinda butchers by paying for the EP. Right now their Bandcamp page is doing a "Name Your Price" for it so anything really would help! Even just a dollar!

If you're really cool then head over to their record label DiscAu and grab a limited edition colored vinyl! Enjoy your day everyone!

Buy vinyls here: http://discau.com/artists/the-belinda-butchers/

Read More

Album Review: Centipede Hz by Animal Collective

Well guys, it's finally here. If you have no idea what I'm talking about I feel oh so very sorry for you because everyone should know what Animal Collective is. They are by far one of my favorite bands ever. If you aren't really a very adventurous music listener then Animal Collective probably isn't the band for you but, to those who like to listen to incredibly weird and cool stuff, you now have another great album to add to your library.

Centipede Hz is the ninth album from avant-garde group Animal Collective. It also is the first album since their 2007 album Strawberry Jam to feature all four of the original band members.

Centipede Hz is a very active and fast paced album. It jumps all over the place and for good reason. This reason being first and foremost, who wants to listen to the same thing for 11 songs? But also does this because part of the inspiration behind Centipede Hz is the sound of the static and white-noise you can hear when trying to tune into a radio station. This sound is present in a lot of the songs especially in the beginning of "Applesauce" and "Today's Supernatural".

Over all I really liked and enjoyed listening to Centipede Hz and would recommend it to anyone you isn't scared to try out something different. It is by no means normal music but that is what makes Animal Collective such an awesome group. You can check out a few songs from Centipede Hz below. Thanks for reading!

Read More

Album Review: Nocturne by Wild Nothing

The many different covers for Nocturne

So it is finally here! The newest album by the always great dream-pop group, Wild Nothing. This newest album is called Nocturne and it is the band's second album and this album has a lot of variation in it. There isn't just one single kind of sound to Nocturne, which is a good thing. So many times I have found myself bored halfway through an album because all of the songs sound the same. Bands like The Drums and Sigur Rós often do this to me. Not that their bad bands, in fact they're some of my favorites, it's only that their songs can get repetitive after a while.

You can tell just by listening that variation and this sense of inescapable change was a big theme in the making of Nocturne. There are slow, dreamy songs like "Through the Grass", but there are also the faster, more indie-pop tunes like, "Only Heather". My favorite song at the moment is probably, "Shadow". The instrumentation within this album is also very diverse and is persistent throughout the entire album. This all makes for a really well put together sound and composition. 

Read More