Year: 2006 I recently started having a Silversun Pickups kick, probably spurred on by the release of their newest album, an album I haven’t even listened to yet. This is probably my favorite track of of Carnavas.
Sep 062009
Aug 302009
Year: 2009 Owl City seems to be the up-and-coming synth-pop group that’s filling the shoes that the Postal Service left empty after Gibbard and Dntel left to pursue their own projects, if Amazon.com sales is to be any indication. The lyrics leave something to be desired compared to Gibbard’s, and the synth and vocals don’t mesh as well as Postal Service, but it is a refreshing listen.
Aug 232009
Origin/Composer: from the BBC Sessions Year: 2008 The first 15 seconds of this version of the song is captivating. It’s so rare that a single a cappella melody winds through such a breathtaking and unique path, but this version of this song is like the musical equivalent of watching a hummingbird trace out intricate patterns in the air.
Aug 162009
Year: 1988 I went to the Sonic Youth concert at Fox Theater 2 weeks ago, and this song stood out as one of those that sounded good on the record, but incredible live. On stage, there was just a much larger room for dynamic variation, and the buildup that occurs in this song.
Aug 092009
Year: 2009 Like M83. A little less atmosphere. A little more melody. Mostly very danceable, very catchy, and very well produced.
Aug 022009
Year: 1998 A seriously creepy song, but yet so entrancing and hypnotic. From their self-titled album, Visual Audio Sensory Theater.
Jul 122009
Year: 2008 This is the version from their first LP, “The Rhumb Line,” but a longer version also appears on their “Ra Ra Riot EP.” I saw them last night opening before Andrew Bird, and they made me more excited than I have been for a long time. The band members obviously know each other very well and have this casual, but intense bond the entire time, and are all so absorbed in the music the entire time. And the electric violin and cello (!) were incredible, adding this sonorous layer to the whole band’s sound. They will transport you away.
Jun 282009
Year: 2004 I don’t even remember how I found these guys. I think it was just my surfing the web sites of labels I like, and then clicking through to lots of different sites. These guys are good and offer some great fun music. They have a pop-rock/singer-songwriter feel, but with a more tropical feel, and even a bit of a funk influence.
Jun 072009
Year: 2008 Lush.
May 312009
Year: 2008 From their album “Intimacy.” I went to the Bloc Party a few weeks ago, and realized how hopelessly far behind I was on their music. There I was, thinking every other song would be from Silent Alarm, or one of the few singles I’d heard from their two latest albums, “Intimacy,” and “A Weekend in the City,” when most of their songs were from one of those two. And they were good. Bloc Party has this uncanny ability to use electronica elements, but keep the raw energy of their music alive with Kele’s soulful vocals and Matt Tong’s spirited drumming.