There is no Dana; Only Tuunes!

2014 has ended and now we must look back. Listen to my Best of 2014 right here!

It's a Halloween Summer guys.

Neil Jarvis has returned but not without bringing a ton of new music. Click here to read my review of the new album!

New news from Modest Mouse!

The band has announced a new album! Check out all the details here!

REVIEW TIME!

Low Voltage Rangers have a new album! But is it any good? The answer is...

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT // JTF

I talk with JTF about his band and his amazing debut single, Fuchsia.

Showing posts with label Electronic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Electronic. Show all posts

Friday, August 22, 2014

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!

Friday, July 18, 2014

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.

Friday, May 9, 2014

WATCH // U Got All I'm Looking 4 by Summer Heart.

Well, the semester is over and all is calm again. Some really cool things have been happening around here, like me not failing out of school! That's always nice. Also, I have recently been elected to Music Director of WMLU, the university radio station. As music director I will be in charge of bringing some really great and unique talent to our biannual music festivals. If you live in Virginia, USA, check it out! One such talent I would love to have if he didn't live all the way in Sweden, is Summer Heart.

Below you can see the new music video for Summer Heart's new single, "U Got All I'm Looking 4". It's by the always great Jonas Börjesson, and is an auto-tuned, electro-pop jam perfect for your summer playlist. Now, I know some people will be turned off to the whole, "auto-tuned" thing, (thanks crappy rap singers for ruining that for the rest of us), but trust me when I say that it totally works. Check it out for yourself and follow Summer Heart on Facebook!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

LISTEN // Old Flame Records 2013 Sampler

There is a new Fall sampler out from Old Flame Records. It features songs from a lot of great talent including MillionYoung, Ing, Yuno, Gross Relations, and more. Currently they are selling it on their bandcamp for "Name your price" which is awesome! So all you poor college students have no excuse to not have this gem! Click the above image to listen to or download it. (and if you do listen to it, make sure it starts at number one. Unless you're a rebel like that...)

Sunday, September 1, 2013

WATCH // Check out Summer Heart's new video for "Milano" by Jonas Börjesson!


Howdy readers! Hope your day is going well. Earlier this month Summer Heart released a music video for his new single, "Milano", which came out on the 25th of June. Now, a new album was supposed to be coming out pretty soon from the Swedish chillwaver but, in a post to Facebook David Alexander (the man behind all the bleeps and bloops) said "Unfortunately my new album will be a bit delayed due to different circumstances. Therefore I am releasing this brand new song in the meantime."

I guess we will have to wait just a bit longer for the next album but at least we have another new single (i guess it's a single. Maybe like a unofficial single haha) on top of the other one, "Beat of Your Heart" which was also released in June! Watch the video for "Milano" below, made by Jonas Börjesson.

Friday, May 10, 2013

LISTEN // Hear samples of the new Crystal Fighters album Cave Rave!

A few days ago those of you on the Crystal Fighters email list received a new email. In this they had given a link to a sampler of the new album (which can be viewed above). Along with this sampler of Cave Rave there is a included, as they put it, "track by track explanation of what these tracks mean to us," which can be read below. Cave Rave is slated to be released on the 27th.

From the Crystal Fighters:

Peace + Love,
Crystal Fighters
Sebastian, Gilbert, Graham
--
Wave
The song wave is about all life on earth as one, the nature of time, and our collective place in the universe, and other realms. We believe there is far more out there than just the physical world; we are riding on that physical wave, together, but there is a deeper swell which moves all of us, and everything.

LA Calling
This is inspired both by african music legends such as King Sunny Ade and D.O. Misiani but also the spirit of Basque choir music (with their choirs of over 200 men) and of course the txalaparta (the wood blocks we play in our live show), as well as the city where we recorded Cave Rave, Los Angeles. We feel like sometimes life is like a movie, with all it’s twists and turns, heroes and villains, parties and tragedies, and where better to record our audio movie than LA? The subject matter however cryptically spans fast-moving criminal friends in London (now incarcerated - “come out of there”) to peace loving yogi-types in the Basque Hills (“Everyone gather round the world, and give thanks we’re of the world” was a toast given on our last supper in Elgoibar, Spain, where we wrote much of the album).

You & I
This song goes everywhere at once, just like you seem to have to be these modern days, from being on a beach with a ukulele to a black magic séance with a Bolivian charango (a miniature 10-stringed instrument we picked up on our travels and used on this song) to deliriously flying above it all around the world on an aeroplane, the invention that really brought the world together. But all of this insignificant when you discover the intensity and depth of true passion and real love with somebody, “you and me, no one else, nothing else but you and I”. The song draws contrast between the hecticness of life and the purity of joy of love.

Separator
“Can we separate a body from mind and the soul?” This is the main question of the song, is there a path beyond this physical plane for our spirits, and indeed is the spirit world the “change” we are heading for when we are “gone”? There is also, however, a sense of exuberance for and duty to experience the present with full force and extreme love, “foreverlove”, here and now, and forever, way past death, if possible.

No Man
This song is a reflection on memories and all the good and bad things you may have done in your life, and the decisions you took or were taken for you to find yourself where you are today. The lyrics try to capture the feeling of experiencing new revelations for the first time, and the strange combination of emotional sadness coupled with joy you can feel when you’re old world views are left behind, and that initially lonely but ultimately liberated feeling you can feel when walking a new, steeper path.

Bridge of Bones
We wrote this in Berango, Euskadi, as a kind of sequel to the song Xtatic Truth from our first album. It is completely opposite in style to that song, but tries to imagine that “all alone” man still floating alone on the water trying to connect with love in his last moments. We have never done a song like this before and are excited to see where we can go next with new styles having taken the leap with this one.

Love Natural
This is a pure love song set in a sunny place where there positive emotions and feelings of togetherness are running high. When we play live the crowd is so important to us, and their joining us in the realm of ecstatic revelry is of great significance to us, which is why we chose to write a song like this; to celebrate natural love, the struggle but ultimate joy of life, and the sensation of living entirely in the present moment, in an eternal moment of bliss.

Are We One
This song is about the moment one realizes the potential existence of a collective consciousness which unites all beings on earth, and also other dimensions. “When we go up, are we one, are we love?” asks the age old question of what happens to our spirit once it’s current physical incarnation is deceased.

These Nights
This is a thoughtful song about the kind of purgatorial nature of life and indeed nightlife. It’s not hard for us to recollect times of extreme isolation and weariness when at a non-stop party and this song is supposed to add some kind of melancholic optimism to that scenario, culminating in liquid acoustic jungle.

Everywhere
This last song on the record is all about letting your fears about life subside and to experience life and love with the verve and naivete of a child. For much of this album we tried to imagine ourselves living outside of time to seek the essence of nature and artistic creativity without the boundaries of culture as much as possible and to write songs that could have been written at any time.

Monday, May 6, 2013

NEWS // Toro y Moi announces upcoming tour

Today Toro y Moi announced new North America tour dates to go a long with his European dates. So all you non-europeans out there (like me) get excited to see Chaz come to your town and turn up the funk! Full list of upcoming tour dates below. 

05-27 George, WA - Sasquatch! Music Festival
05-30 Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia
05-31 Vilnius, Lithuania - Loftas Festival
06-02 Dublin, Ireland  - Forbidden Fruit Festival
06-03 Paris, France - Cabaret Sauvage
06-04 London, England - KOKO 
06-05 Brighton, England - Concorde 2
06-06 Bristol, England - Thekla
06-07 Birmingham, England - Academy 2
06-08 Glasgow, Scotland - The Arches
06-09 Manchester, England - Parklife Weekender
07-11-13 Mariaville, NY - Camp Bisco
07-12-14 Louisville, KY - Forecastle Festival
07-15 Millvale, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre 
07-16 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop 
07-17 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick 
07-21 Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Music Festival
07-23 Honolulu, HI - The Republik
08-03 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre 
09-07-08 St. Louis, MO - LouFest
10-08 Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom 
10-15 Nashville, TN - Exit In 
10-16 Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre 
10-17 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club 
10-18 Columbia, SC - Columbia Museum of Art 
10-19 Charleston, SC - Music Farm 
10-25 Boston, MA - House of Blues 
10-26 Montreal, Quebec - SAT 
10-27 Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix Concert Theatre 
11-01 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom 
11-02 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
11-04 Omaha, NE - Waiting Room 
11-07 Aspen, CO - Belly Up 
11-10 Vancouver, British Columbia - Vogue Theatre 

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

NEWS // Active Child releases new single.


Posts have been pretty infrequent these days and I'm sorry about that dudes and dudettes. It's that bi-annual time of the year again when I am completely swamped with work and tests. I'll still do my best to keep you all update on news around the indie music world though. Reviews will be a rare sight however, at least until May when school lets out.

Anyway, Active Child released a new song yesterday on his SoundCloud entitled Evening Ceremony. I personally love Active Child but he's one of those bands that I have to be in the mood for to really enjoy. At first listen this track felt a little slow, but I'm actually really enjoying it now. It picks up a lot the further you get into it. I especially like all the layering. Check it out below!

Friday, March 8, 2013

NEWS // Small Black releases new single.


I gotta say... I'm not that impressed. It just sounds really lack-luster and unexciting which is not like Small Black. I've been a big fan of theirs since their self titled EP a few years back but, I'm just not thrilled at all by this single and really hope the album wont sound like this.

Now this is partly due to me just not wanting Small Black to stop making chillwave, but not entirely. Even if you ignore what they normally sound like and just listen to this with "fresh ears" it still isn't able to deliver like it should. Although the music might be well done, the vocals sound lifeless and apathetic. I'm not completely giving up hope on this album but we'll see. Maybe they'll surprise me and it'll be fantastic...despite this song.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

LISTEN // Smith Westerns - Varsity

The wait is nearly over Smith Westerns fans. The indie rock band released a new song off their upcoming album Soft Will recently. The new track, which is named Varsity, is a upbeat and almost electronic tune and will be part of the new album, set to be out on June 11 to Mom + Pop. Check the single out below and tell me what you think, I really dig it and am excited to hear the rest of the album.

Varsity - Smith Westerns

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

NEWS // Crystal Fighters release artwork for upcoming album.

Yesterday Crystal Fighters released the album cover of their upcoming album Cave Rave to their Facebook page. Cave Rave will be the Electronic/House band's third full-length and will be released this May. Listen to a preview track from Cave Rave below and get excited!


Friday, February 15, 2013

NEWS // The Postal Service release new single.


A Tattered Line of String is the newest single from The Postal Service off their upcoming 10th anniversary  re-release of 2003's Give Up. Scheduled to be released this March, Give Up will include all the original songs fully remastered along with two new songs and covers by The Shins and Iron & Wine.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

EP REVIEW // Hypnagogia by LAKE R▲DIO

Caden is at it again. This last Friday the chicago based witch-house artist released a new EP which keeps up the relatively new tradition of giving releases technical names that start with H. Hypnagogia is his newest release and is a currently free (who knows for how long) 6-track EP on his Bandcamp page.

This newest release is almost an experimentation of new ideas especially with the last track, Bleeding Thumb.  It seems that a lot of artists are experimenting with different genres these days. Tegan And Sara put out an electropop album, The Bilinda Butchers will be doing the same soon (although not completely electropop), and now LAKE R▲DIO. Now, don't let that confuse you, there isn't a single electropop song in Hypnogogia if that's what you were thinking. In fact for the most part, this EP is a pretty standard LR release, so fear not old fans.

The strongest track on here has to be the heavily layered and warped track Please, but the majority of Hypnogogia is good. Along with that, other good songs are the opening track Ghost Translator, and the re-release of Community College after it's first appearance in last year's anthology, Hypoxia. Overall I would say I enjoyed listening to this EP but, there are a couple songs I could never really get into like YR LOVE, and Opal Eyes. I will admit that my dislike for YR LOVE is mostly due to my dislike of the song he's sampling in it but as for Opal Eyes, there just wasn't really anything that caught my attention. I felt the beginning dragged on for a bit too long but after that first minute and 30 seconds the song gets a lot better.

Lastly, the final track off this EP is an interesting one. Bleeding Thumb is the least electronic of all the songs and features a new sound from Caden. This song while a nice and relaxing break from the normal music released by LAKE R▲DIO feels incomplete, or if not "incomplete" then at least interrupted due to it's abrupt end at 1:41. This song could and would be a lot better with just a simple adjustment of when the song ends. All things considered Hypnogogia is yet another great release from LAKE R▲DIO. What do you think?

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

NEWS // MillionYoung releases new album Variable.

Happy Tuesday readers! And man, is it a happy Tuesday or what? Not only did we just today get a new album from long-time TBAM favorite MillionYoung, but today also marks the release of Darwin Deez's new album Songs For Imaginative People! MillionYoung's newest album, Variable,  is the Florida native's second full-length album and features 10 completely new songs, two of which can be heard below. Make sure you head over to Amazon or Old Flame Records to buy this album and then check back here later for my review. 


Millionyoung - Lovin by Old Flame Records

Monday, February 11, 2013

NEWS // Strange Talk release their debut album Cast Away.

I know, I know, I along with a lot of people were upset that Tegan And Sara released an electropop album but that doesn't mean I don't like electropop. In fact, one of my favorite electropop artists, Strange Talk, has just released their debut album a couple of days ago. Cast Away is the Australian band's newest release and first full-length album. This 11 track album is currently available on iTunes and other online music retailers as-well as in stores. A full review will be coming soon but for now listen to the first two tracks off of Cast Away below. Happy Monday readers!


Cast Away by Strange Talk

Falling In Love by Strange Talk

Friday, February 8, 2013

SINGLE REVIEW // Hit Me Up Again by Summer Heart


It's Friday and you're surfing the web for some good chillwave to tide you over until MillionYoung releases Variable on Tuesday. While searching you stumble across a band called Summer Heart. Cool name and nice artwork, but is the music good? This genre of music isn't for everyone and takes skill. You don't just wake up one morning and make chillwave. Well, I guess you could, but the quality of said music would be questionable.

Hit Me Up Again is the newest release from Summer Heart and features two songs, the self titled track Hit Me Up Again and one other track titled Stockholm. This is a must buy for anyone who loves or even likes chillwave. In fact, remember that friend that you wanted to show some chillwave to? Well forget showing them that old Washed Out album, this is where it's at. Both Hit Me Up Again and Stockholm deliver and are well worth their price. Stockholm, a more classic chillwave track, has to be my favorite of the two though. The beat, the lyrics, all the layering, it reminds me why I listen to electronic music. What do you think?

Friday, December 28, 2012

John Maus - Believer

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Lalić - Deep Tide Dear Ride Dead High

Below is a song from a band called Lalić. Lalić is a solo project by Mladen Lalić Milinković and he currently has a plethora of releases out. This song, called Deep Tide Dear Ride Dead High, is from his album Untitled Self Defence Mechanism, which was released earlier this year. If you like this make sure you go to his bandcamp page and check out all of his other releases including his newer stuff!

Bandcamp page for Lalić
http://lalic.bandcamp.com/

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Crystal Castles - Baptism (Indyans Edit)



Friday, December 14, 2012

Craft Spells - After the Moment


Happy Friday readers! I hope your week has been great and I hope your weekend will be even better! Here's my little contribution to your epic weekend. It's After the Moment by Craft Spells, one of my favorite if not my most favorite songs by them. Enjoy!