Seriously, what is up with all these bands from Sweden? They know how to infect my ear and not let go till I've listened to certain songs a good dozen times every day. Masquer is no different from the rest of the infectious synthy-alternative I've heard from Sweden in the past year. Their LP Cover My Face As The Animals Cry is dark and moody with a nice crunchy electro sound some of the other bands lack. Sometimes, you want your synthy pop to be a bit darker.
"Happiness" is the most notable song from their LP. The guitar riff and the percussion just pound you on this song. Once the synth kicks in it's all ear candy folks.
The song "Cruel Summer" reminds me of The Cardigans Gran Tourismo LP and no, not Bananarama. Just want to make that clear from the song title. Have a listen and compare the two.
"Erase/Rewind" from The Cardigans for comparison. And yup, they're from Sweden. Maybe I need to visit the country.
I've missed out in talking about bands from the past lately. Trying to right the ship once again. Today's flashback belongs to Jets To Brazil. They were around in beginning of the emo scene and were part of the disbanded Jawbreaker. And no they weren't what people categorize as emo. If you haven't heard Jawbreaker, then get on down to youtube and start listening. Anyhow, they were a moody melodic indie-band with really heart-wrenching lyrics that drove their songs. Very introspective stuff.
Perfecting Loneliness (2002) was their last LP and arguably their best. "This list is what went right, your name is written twice, we live like astronauts, our missions never crossed," were some of my favorite lyrics from the song "Perfecting Loneliness."
"Wishlist" was another favorite of mine from this LP. Blake Schwarzenbach writes greats stories through his lyrics.
Here's a classic Jawbreaker track. Hopefully everyone owns his LP because they're a must have for any music lover. "Jet Black" is one hell of a song and Dear You is one awesome LP.
And for those of you wondering what ever happened to Blake where here's your answer. This is his new band Forgetters with the song "The Night Accelerates." Love that his music still sounds so raw and personal. This is indie music, kids.
As a big fan of Jonquil, I was pretty pumped when I saw another LP from Hugo Manuel out so soon. To see how good the songs seem to be from his new LP, I was even more surprised. This time it's under the name of Chad Valley and the album is called Young Hunger. It's a bit more synthy than Jonquil's LP but still as hooky and creative as that other effort. This dude is talented and there's no doubt about it.
Young Hunger has several great cameos from other top indie artist in the synthy 80's revival scene. The most notable probably is Twin Shadow on the song "I Owe You This." It's such a great throwback to the 80's, I can't stop listening to it.
I have a feeling this album might finally get Hugo Manuel the attention he deserves. "Tell All Your Friends" is another single I found posted on YouTube from Young Hunger. The album comes out Tuesday so more than likely I will have more opportunity to hear the rest of the tracks. This stuff is great so far.
And a bonus video for you good people. Here's Chad Valley remix of the Fixer's song "Really Great World." The video showcases Japanese girls from their webcams dancing in their bedrooms. Not sure where they compiled that footage from and what music the girls are actually dancing to. All good in my book.
A it's Friday here in Los Angeles and looks to be a nice chilled 88 degrees. Gotta love fall weather. Anyhow, with the weather like this it got me in a summer mood and that led me to some Azure Blue. Azure Blue is basically the talents of Tobias Isaksson. Another Swedish electro-pop mastermind it seems. His music is new wave perfection and his album Rule Of Thirds is definitely worth your hard earned dollars.
"The Catcher In The Rye" is one hell of a summer jam made for Fall in LA. The video fits the song like a glove.
"Little Confusions" is another super catchy single from Rule Of Thirds. It reminds me a lot of OMD from the mid 80's.
Just for comparison, here's "So In Love" from OMD. Gotta love those old school videos.
Lord Huron creates the kind of sound you can't get enough of. It's sweet, sad, and filled with depth. Bands like this give music a future that's gold. There are plenty of others driving down the progress of music but then there are bands like this. Their new album Lonesome Dreams is a perfect song for a western landscape. Their first video for "Time To Run" really showcases that vision with the sound.
"Time to Run" is one catchy infectious song that immediately went to the top of my playlist. I get so caught up in the motion of the song I rarely actually listen to the words. Enjoy the western video they shot for it.
"The Stranger" was one of their more popular singles from an EP released last year. There's a story behind each video that just takes you in like a short film. This is the music I imagine listening on a long drive up the coast to Oregon.
Big Black Delta are a Los Angeles based band. At leas that's what wiki says. I haven't heard much about them till I ran across their video for "Betamax." It's a song and video that would've fit well in film Blade Runner. Just the neon look and the music has a feel of an 80's sci-fi film trying to showcase modern pop. Yeah, wrap your head around that one.
"Betamax" is one jamming song and an out of date video format for those kids out there too young to remember that. VHS won the battle but then DVD won, and then Blu-ray won. I think streaming is winning now if you happened to have watched the latest South Park.
"Put The Gun On The Floor" is another spaced out jam from Big Black Delta. I'm really digging the songs I come across from this band. Hopefully more videos with two female drummers in the near future. And more lens flares please. Can't ever get too many of those.
Lapko is another good band hailing from Northern Europe. These guys sing in English and sometimes you can tell it's not really their first language. The lyrics don't always make sense or really sound that great but the lead singer and the rest of the band really sell it. They know their way around a good rock jam with a clever chorus. I know a lot of bands I've been exposing people to on this blog lean on the more mellow so it's time to bring some noise to the party. At times these guys sound like Tool and then there are other times they lean more towards Muse. They don't have the lyrical chops of either but they make up for it in energy. Lapko has been around for a while and it shows in how well they craft each song on their new LP Love.
"River Venom" is from from Love and one of their more recent videos. I really dig the guitars on this track. No clue what they're singing about but when your song jams like this who gives a rat's ass.
"Funeral And Parties" is from their album Young Desire and it really reminds me of Muse. Again, no clue what the guy is singing about. This song just rocks.
"Love Is Sick and Wrong" is the track from Love that really reminds me of Tool. The progression of the song and the final three minutes, total Tool vibe. It's a long song but well worth the listen. These guys are legit. They have a ton of music cataloging their long career on YouTube. Check them out.
It's another flashback Tuesday and time to talk about a band some might have missed in their prime. This week I wanted to give a shout out to Pela. Just like Knapsack that became The Jealous Sound, Pela is now We Are Augustine. Odd enough, their big single as We Are Augustine has had decent exposure from a major commercial.
Pela made root rock and roll from 2005 to 2009. They only released one full album, Anytown Graffiti. That album showed so much potential that it was sad for us fans when they broke up. Anyhow, I rather show than tell. Here are some of my favorite tracks from the short lived band, Pela.
"Waiting on the Stairs" is from Anytown Graffiti released in 2007. Billy McCarthy strong voice and raw emotions really defined Pela.
"Tenement Teeth" sounds a bit like U2 in my opinion. It's mainly the guitars that gives off that vibe but still the song has that U2 rock and roll sound from the late 80's. Awesome song.
"Your Desert's Not a Desert At All" is one of my favorite Pela tracks. After watching the live videos on YouTube, I'm bummed I never got to see them play live.
"Chapel Song" by We Are Augustine for all the folks that haven't heard this song yet. I'm betting you have since it's been on a major commercial. Awesome, that a band can break up, form another band, and get recognized because of a TV commercial used their song. Gotta love it.
Willow is a Belgium band with a very clean alternative rock sound. Really well crafted songs that reminds me a lot of Idlewild actually. I like bands that don't sound like they're following any current trends and aren't trying to be hipper than their audience. Their album We The Young is a a prime example of how great this year has been with indie bands from abroad. I'm tired of saying it but these Northern European bands are really really bringing the legit music.
"Sweater" is their newest single and music video. I really dig this video and projected images making an entire scene. This is really clever direction on a budget. Might be one of the best videos this year from any country.
"We Walk Alone" is my personal favorite single from this album. It has that pub sing along feeling I'm normally used to hearing the UK.
"Gold" was their first single off this album. I wanted to play "Nerve" from We The Young but that was unavailable. I hope they put that out next. Maybe they will do a U.S. tour at some point in the near future.
