Been listening to this track for about 10 days now and i take the time to listen to it several times a day. so it was time to share this. Grimes is slowly getting bigger and bigger, doing shows with Lykke Li and Austra. There is some relation with these other 2 fine acts, but Grimes definately has her own style. It's a nice Saturday-track; it's a little dreamy, a little danceable, but overall just a great chilled tune to slowly get into that weekend-vibe.
The above set of 5 tracks is a raw, yet very good impression of Jhameel's album "The Human Connection", which he released earlier this year. The only non-album track here is Shut Up, the other 4 are on the album that is extremely well worth hearing. A few relations that come to mind when hearing this album is Prince is his best years, and title track The Human Condition even had me thinking of Michael Jackson, not the least of artist to be related with.. This is a great combination of raw-funk and more sensitive tracks, that show a different side of Jhameel, a side not uncovered in this teaser-set.
As said, these 5 songs are only representing Jhameel's more funky side, but when you get the album (which you can download on a "whatever-you-can-spare"-bases), you'll find out there's more to him than meets the eye right away in the 1st track. This track was a little disappointing when i 1st heard it, as i was expecting to be blasting more crazy uptempo shit, but after hearing it a few times it actually is as good as the more danceable tracks on the album, just good in a different way. Jhameel turns out to be a very diverse character, listening to the interesting lyrics only makes this a more impressive 2nd album from the youngster. This album is on heavy-rotation over @pluginbaby.nl and will probably be for a very long time, not sure if i can call it a potential "best album of the year" yet, but the fact i'm considering it does mean something, right..?
On another blog i stumbled upon a little review on this 4-track EP by Megan Bonnell and it was a bit of a negative writing. It stated that Megan Bonnell's EP was not 'different' enough to make her stand out compared to other female singer-songwriters. An opinion i do not share at all. After all the girls-with-guitars i've heard passing by over the months, it's very refreshing to hear something a bit more powerfull. Piano-driven tracks that give her amazing voice all the time to shine, with Lake Superior being the absolute highlight of this EP.
I can relate to the mentioned review on some level, as title track Maps is not very special, but it's certainly not a bad song. It's a decent ballad that has nothing wrong with it. All together, with 2 absolutely stunning tracks & 2 plain beautiful songs on a 4-track EP i think Megan Bonnell has released a fantastic ep with this one.
A little bit of a special Monday Morning Kick-Off for me, cuz i have the week off. No getting myself ready for another week at the office, but just relaxing the Monday morning away with cleaning the kitchen (it's a dirty job, but somebody... etc. etc.) and some nice music. This track by Hunting Foxes is a good way to start the week with, no matter if you're going to (or already arrived at) work or if you're celebrating the good life, like i am. They've just released their 2nd EP, which has the brilliant title "You Might Not Like Us But Your Girlfriend Does" and it has more songs like Dance Again, Baby. if you like it, be sure to give the entire EP a spin. For now, have a good week (i know i will)!
Again i fall for the "girl-with-guitar", but just like before Josie Little just writes incredible beautiful songs. Little Dark Heart is my favourite, but there's a lot more good songs on her soundcloud. Got my candles, got my drink, got my music. all that's missing is my pretty girlfriend, but 3 out of 4 ain't bad.
These Branches are a punkish band from New Jersey and they've just released their new EP "The Payoff", of which this track Purist is by far the best. The other 3 tracks are pretty standard punktracks, things you'd expect from a young and new band, trying out new things for themselves (not a clue if this is correct, they might be a group of 70+ females), but Purist is different. There's more movement throughout the song rhythm-wise and this makes it extremely hard to sit still (i'm playing my air-guitar to shreds here).. for me, the big difference in quality between these songs makes me not buy this album (would love to get this 1 track though). but this band definately has skills, if they will get the time to learn and evolve, hopefully one day they will release an album that has the brilliance of Purist.
I love teasers, especially if they are so promising that they leave you wanting more. These 3 tracks get several spins a day here @pluginbabynl; they are different, exciting and contain a certain thrill. It sounds vague, but that's how it is. All 3 tracks make me more curious about the entire record, a little more everytime i hear 'em. Is it December yet!?
Great 1st track from Australian band Cub Scouts. This 1st single has been released just last week and i've only 1st heard it a few hours ago, but we've been doing a lot of things together since we've met. it has that great 'who-cares-lets-dance'-vibe to it and that is exactly what it has me doing all evening. now i will stop typing and dance once more before i'll force myself to bed.. (although once more while brushing my teeth won't hurt, right..?).
Monday Morning Kick-Off this week with a fun video and good track by Brite Futures. The video is so full of silly references that the music is a little bit set to the 2nd plan, bu if you listen without looking at the video you'll hear a cool Monday morning-track. Have a good week!
Technically, this album will be released in 2 days, but the great thing about Bandcamp is that you can already hear the album and purchase it through their system. So October 18 is only the physical release date of ‘Tape Club’. A collection of 26 (!!) songs that Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin have written in the 10 years they’ve been making music together. If anything, this collection shows that this band is capable of using a lot of different styles in their music. Listening to 10 years of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin is like listening to 50 years of music history. Although the 60s and 70s are probably most referenced in their music, the 80s and more clearly the 90s are unmistakenly there. Since the new millenium music has donated a lot of it’s time on looking back it only makes sense that a band that’s been around for 10 years combines all the good stuff from the past.
Because it’s good stuff they’re combining. This collection takes a few spins to get used to, as it is clearly a collection of different songs from different moments in their evolution. As to where a whole album usually is more in sync with itself. But the great power here is that huge range of sounds they offer. They could probably not make a better introduction for themselves as a band as they have done with 'Tape Club'. Another highlight for 2011, one of many, but one of the brightest ones..!
Lou Canon has made one of the finest albums of the year. i bought this album right away via her bandcamp-page after the last note of the final song faded out. And I continue to listen to it again and again several times a day (hence the silence on the blog over the last 2 days..). The great thing about this album is the variety in the songs. Lou Canon has crafted a serie of 10 songs in which she displays a talent to work with several types of songs. She can be very sweet and soft (to find your bed, my girls), but also very up-tempo, making a song like a little party you want to attend to (heart of, close to me).
Besides the fine tunes Lou Canon and her partner-in-crime Hayden crafted for this debut-album, it’s that variety that makes this album something special from start to finish. I’m undoubtfully a sucker for (pretty) girls with guitars and the beautiful, usually sweet, soft tunes they create. These singer-songwriters can usually produce a good, sometimes great, dreamy EP with a few good tracks and pretty vocals.. A whole album is something different though, because 10 dreamy songs have a good chance of becoming boring or just mellow background music. Lou Canon dodges that bullet on this album by gearing up from time to time.
This is best enjoyed any time of the day; I woke up with this album, read the paper in the morning to it, cooked my diner singing along & at the moment I’m reading a book, while drinking a cold beer with Lou Canon singing. I’m pretty sure I will fall asleep to her voice tonight aswell, just like last night. Great album. Good job Lou!
