Versions by Zola Jesus makes her music even more epic and moody

The music arena currently is flooded with amazing female vocalist and bands fronted by female singers.  There are so many great ones to name so I will refrain from making a list.  Anyhow, Zola Jesus is among that list and she keeps getting better.  Her newest effort Versions just came out and it's a blissful and moody journey.  There are some new tracks and reworking of older tracks which makes me think why it's called Versions.  She basically tossed out the synths on several older songs of hers and composed them with strings.  I can't believe how much more lush and operatic it makes the entire album. 

The string section and her vocals on "Collapse" sold me from the start.  The song that appears on Versions is considerably different from what was released a year ago.  She took out a big chunk of the synths at the head of the song and used a more stripped down strings section.  I really like that change.  I couldn't find it on YouTube to post it.  Pick up the album and then see for yourself what I'm talking about. 

Her newest song to be released from Versions is "Fall Back."  This is one operatic song reminding me a lot of earlier Florence and The Machine music. I really enjoy how stripped down this song starts and really builds.  Her vocals get a nice moment to shine and suck you in before the strings really take over.  Normally, when I hear a song that's over 4 minutes, I get a little bored but her breaking up the song in acts really makes it epic. 

"Night" was released late last year on her Stridulum EP.  This video is very 80's.  I really dig it. Again, this is the old version of the song.  "Night" has a fantastic string arrangement and it's really stripped down on Versions.  I enjoy the fact that she basically did a backwards remix of her music. Instead of putting in more synths and crowding it, she put in more warm strings and stripped down the songs.  Awesome.  Pick up the new album and then compare the songs with the originals you can find on YouTube. 

 

Zola Jesus is a big time talent that's yet to get her day but it's coming.  

Delorean's Destitute Time is my song of the day

Don't know much about the band Delorean other than they're from Spain and seem to love Back To The Future. Ok, the Back To The Future comment was just a guess because of their name choice. Their new album Apar comes out in early September and they've released a few songs here and there from the album.

"Destitute Time" is the newest song released by the band for their album Apar.  They do sing in English and I would've never guessed they were from Spain.  There's a nice summer mellowness to this song that makes it a perfect fit for late August.  There's definitely an 80's feel here but with heavy layering.  If the rest of the album is like this song, then I'm definitely picking it up.  I really enjoy how this song ends.  A lot of songs fail to end on a good note but I think they nailed it on this.

Prince Avalanche soundtrack is somber and inspiring at the same time

Add Prince Avalanche to the list of films I've picked up soundtracks to without actually seeing the film.  When I noticed Explosions in The Sky on the album cover, it was a no brainer in picking it up.   David Wingo has found a way of working with some of indie music's most talented artist and creating moody and original scores.   Just like the Mud soundtrack, the music here is original and unlike most soundtracks out on the market.  Mud had southern heart and Prince Avalanche has a somber dream quality to it.  I'm still surprised this is Explosions in the Sky.  Seriously,  very little connecting their sound to this album.  Hats off to both David Wingo and Explosions for creating a new sound for themselves.

"Fires" might be the only piece of music that recalls the sound of Explosions in the Sky. It has that same drum and driving guitars similar to their work on the Friday Night Lights soundtrack.   But my personal favorite piece of music would most likely be "Join Me On My Avalanche."   There's a flashback 80's soundtrack sound to it that I really dug but with an amazing fullness.   The synths build into the drums about a minute in and wow.   This is one of my favorite pieces of original music from any soundtrack this year. 

The Polyphonic Spree put on an awesome show at the El Rey

There are certain bands that raise above their music when they perform live and The Polyphonic Spree are exactly in that category.  Their music is always uplifting and grand on albums but live it's a spectacle of visuals and sounds.  Think of the live show as a cross between a Vegas act and some sort of Texas cult.  Tim DeLaughter is a mad genius on stage with the way he works the crowd and his own band.  I'm still surprised on how they managed to cram 16 people on the small El Rey Stage.  

This tour is to support their new album Yes, It's True which was funded by Kickstarter.  If you haven't picked up the album, run out and pick it up either online or at a record store near you.  These kind of bands need your support to keep going.  Their music has a certain way of bringing happiness out of your soul.  Seriously, I can't listen to Yes, It's True and feel the aggression just melt away.   This album fuses more electronica with their sound and actually is a fun experiment by the band.  It's different from their previous work but in a good way.

"Popular By Design" was just awesome live with the lights and disco ball action on stage.  The song strongly reminds me of "Boy" by Book of Love.   Take a good listen and the bass beat thumping in with the arrangement is almost identical.  I'm curious to see if that was the influence for the song or just a happy accident.

For those not familiar with "Boy" by Book of Love, here's the song in full.  Takes me back to my childhood and the 80's new wave scene.  You have to admit, there's a strong similarity here in the beat.  This song still holds up by the way.

Get Yes, It's True and more importantly go and see this band live.  Tim was able to get everyone at the El Rey to sit during the last song before jumping up and down for a nice headbanging session. Yes, everyone at the El Rey including security guards obliged him on his wish and it was fantastic to see.  That picture below is actually everyone sitting on the ground and Tim sitting in the middle of the crowd covering Nirvana's "Lithium." 

Glasvegas song "If" reminds me of what U2 once sounded like

Glasvegas are weeks away from dropping their newest album "Later...When the TV Turns to Static" on September 3rd. They recently put out the single "If" to give us a taste of what we will be hearing on the forthcoming album and I'm fully sold.  This song seems to be influenced by U2 from the Boy era.  And actually, they bring to mind another great Scottish band Idlewild.   The fact that they have William Shatner in the video and have yet to hit even a 100,000 views is shocking. Is it me or does the lead singer James Allan look really similar to the late and great Joe Strummer.  

I'm sure I've posted this video by Idlewild before but hey, it's never a bad idea to post it again when comparing sounds. Here's "A Modern Way Of Letting Go" by Idlewild.  One of the more under appreciated bands from early 2000 that never had much impact in America. But hey, we have Fall Out Boy. Sweet!

And I couldn't mention Joe Strummer and post something from his post Clash era.  We miss you Joe.  You left us way too early.  His birthday is on the 21st.  "Tony Adams" always sounded like a missing Clash song to me and it's a great way to remember the Strummer collection.  His music in the 90's and early 2000's prior to his death is really overlooked.  Last year, the labels put out remastered versions of his albums and also a nice compilation set by Hellcat Records.  Either way, dust off some Clash albums or Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros and crank it up in the honor of Joe.

Travis is back with Where You Stand and deliver their most complete album

Travis to me will always be the band from across the pond that came before the Coldplay wave and really didn't get half the credit they should have.  Anyhow, they've come back after a 5 year break with what may be their best album yet.  Yes, Where You Stand is surprisingly good and possibly a more complete experience than their previous works.   The Man Who was the album to beat for me and this one might have just done that.  Maybe that's the reason why I like it so much. It really is a lot like The Man Who in it's texture and full sound.

One of my favorite songs from the new album is "The Big Screen."  It's so moody and rich, you can't help but get swept up with it's emotion.  In my opinion, an album is only as good at it's quiet moments and Travis are simply great in their quiet moments on this album.  They've chosen to release their more pop friendly tracks for the singles like "Where You Stand" and "Moving" but you really have to hear the entire album to see how rich this album really is in it's depth.  "Reminder" brings back the sound of Simon and Garfunkel and then there's "Warning Sign" that comes really close to the sound of Ocean Colour Scene.

"Where You Stand" was the first single released from the new album with the same title.   Honestly, it might be my least favorite song on the album and that's saying a lot because it's actually solid.  I think the pop nature of it might be a bit much for my ears but that's why I urge any fan of the band's previous works to actually listen to the rest of the album.

With the release of the new Travis album, I felt a bit nostalgic for their first album Good Feeling and the first song of theirs I caught on MTV way back when.  Yeah, when MTV played videos.  This is still my favorite Travis song.  "All I Want To Do Is Rock" and that's all you need to know.  Enough said, Travis.  I'd be satisfied with that on my tombstone. Just saying. Good way to start your Monday.

Elysium's soundtrack is the summer's most exciting score

I thought the Man of Steel score would be the one to beat this summer but I was mistaken.  Ryan Amon really brings it with the Elysium score.  The action just breaks through your speakers and bum rushes your senses.  It actually reminds me of Hans Zimmer's work on the Batman films.  There's a sense of urgency with each track that I thought was missing from other summer scores like Pacific Rim(which I love as a film).  The Pacific Rim soundtrack unlike Elysium was repetitive and rather dull going against the fantastic direction by Guillermo del Toro. 

Two of my favorite pieces from the score of Elysium are the songs "Fire and Water" and "New Heaven, New Earth."  The way he arranges the strings in these pieces, wow.  Seriously, just makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand. When I think epic soundscape, I think of a sound like this.  

I wanted to see the film prior to hearing the score but now I'm even more interested. Yeah, I'm obviously going about this all backwards.  Elysium is definitely worth adding to your collection if you like a bombastic epic score to listen to while you read or write.  I know I do and this is already getting a lot of plays.  Remember the name Ryan Amon, he has a bright future ahead of him.  Here's a piece he put out on the web a few years ago and probably one of the reasons Neil Blomkamp hand picked Amon to score Elysium.

Kish Bashi's new single "Song For The Sold" is one of the summer's best songs

It's strange how Kishi Bashi hasn't blown up bigger than some of the other artist that came out last year like The Lumineers.  I guess everything goes in cycles and right now the masses are willing to listen to more folk-rock.  Pound for pound there's not many artist more inventive and inspiring than Kishi Bashi.  It's odd to thank advertisers for using music from artist like Kishi Bashi or the masses would be clueless about their existence. Reminds me of the film Demolition Man but in reverse. If you haven't seen the film, in the future the music that is popular is the songs from past commercial jingles. 

Anyhow, let's talk about his new single "Song For The Sold" that has yet to catch on it seems.  Not only is the song inspiring and colorful in it's imagination but so is the video.  I think he's only getting better as a lyricist and his compositions are becoming tighter and more refined.  This is on my shortlist of songs for the summer of 2013.  I guess we will have to wait till this song gets used in a commercial or film before it becomes popular with the masses.

There's also a second single that's slipped through the cracks called "Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!" created for a Japanese commercial.  You see what I'm saying about commercial jingles becoming our songs for the future.  Who knew Demolition Man was so in touch with our future?

Here's the advertisement he originally wrote the above song for. Kishi mentions the song was initially written to be 30 seconds.   That's one epic 30 seconds of music he initially wrote for the advertisement.

London Grammar's newest single "Strong" raises the expectations for their LP

London Grammar does a fantastic job of creating sweeping epic songs with one hell of an emotional vocalist delivering the chilling lyrics.  I listened to their song "Wasting My Young Years" way too many times to count.  They have that kind of appeal that remind me a lot of MS MR and Florence and The Machine.  They might be right behind Chvrches as one of 2013 breakout artists.

"Strong" is their newest single and video. Their first full length album is coming out early September from what I hear and I will be picking up that up on the day of release.  Hannah Reid seriously brings her game on this song. Her vocals here really compare to Florence.  And the composition of the song by band is intimate yet epic.  Yeah, I've been trying to wrap my head around how that makes me feel both large and small at the same time.

"Wasting My Young Years" gets my vote for one of the best songs of 2013.  They actually do a great job of capturing the soundscape with the music video.  The song just like the video is haunting and visceral. You really have to watch and listen to the song multiple times before it really sinks in.  The piano begins the song and then closes it out with subtle beauty while Hannah sings, "Don't leave me hanging on."  It's not the happiest relationship song.

Mud Film Soundtrack wonderfully mixes southern soul and grit

I have yet to see the film Mud by director Jeff Nichols who happens to be Lucero's own Ben Nichols brother.   Being great artists seems to run in the family.  I like Jeff's previous films and I'm sure Mud won't disappoint.   The film is finally out on DVD and I actually picked up the film soundtrack when it came out originally.  When I noticed there were tracks with Lucero and composer David Wingo together,  I couldn't wait to hear what they had put together.  And no, I don't normally pick up music to films I have yet to see.

The album as a whole is a great moody mix of quiet moments mixed with southern soul.  Wingo has a great way of evoking emotions with a very stripped down compositions on this soundtrack.  His work with Lucero on tracks like "Ending" are probably my favorite moments from this album.  I really dig the twang in the sound.

Dirty Three also make a contribution to the Mud Soundtrack by bringing in a great reserved southern sound.  They really put together one epic piece of composition with the song "Alice Wading."  What a fantastic piece of music.  I love the build and the chaos that really takes over around 5 minutes in with the violin strings.  It reminds me of something I would imagine hearing in the Hans Zimmer Batman soundtracks if they were set in Georgia.

And there's a new Lucero instrumental song on this album I really love called "Snakebite."  Takes me back to when Ben and the boys used to just jam with guitars and drums with no other instruments to overwhelm the work.  This is the gritty southern rock I've been waiting for these guys to return to.  This soundtrack gets a solid.

Vendetta Red's "Close To Me" is my weekend song

Vendetta Red have been away a while but they seem to be around in the background somehow. Maybe poised to make a come back of sorts.  Can you make a comeback when you weren't that popular to begin with?

 I was really into those Sparta, ATDI and bands like Vendetta Red back in the early 2000's.  I hate the term "emo" because honestly those bands don't fill that mold. Anyhow, Vendetta Red sort of came and went much like most of their peers.  They had some solid albums but maybe not the exposure of some of the other bands back then.  That type of music was still fighting against bands like Staind and Disturbed to get heard by the harder edged rock fans.

It's time to dust off the Vendetta Red's catalog and really give them a second listen.  Overlooked but damn good music.  "Close to Me" just got a video by the band and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. Really dig the angst and honesty in it's delivery. We've all been there.  Turn it up and crank this music.  He does drop the "F" bomb so maybe don't crank it with kids around.