New Great Tunes
Good music reminds me that I am alive.
That's why it is so refreshing when I discover new artists, albums, and soundscapes that captivate my imagination. It doesn't happen often. In fact, I'm still trying to work through my own catalog of music on i-Tunes. If 2012 was the year of silence, introspection, and sacred music, then 2013 is so far the year of expressive bursts of color. Although I've been wary of a fair share of electronic music, I'll say that many of my favorite artists are indebted to this style of music, and if you are at all familiar with modern studio production, it's safe to say that there isn't much music that isn't electronic in some way.
I'll summarize a few of the gems I've uncovered recently.
These guys are my favorites of the moment. Yes, Frank Ocean can fulfill the best of my R&B hopes for heartache, and JT can get me dancing with his fantastic new collection of tracks, but British rock group Foals remind me why guitars are my go-to instrument of musical passion. Expressive and creative in their churning, explosive songs, like Inhaler, we see the band open in a series of angular, frenetic riffs pitted against the falsetto of Yannis Phillipakkis and crank hard into overdrive. The song captivates at first, but doesn't take off until the drums break into a surprising drop into what I can only call supersonic space grunge. Curious? Give it a listen.
Stars put out one of my favorite albums of late, the 2004 epic Set Yourself on Fire. The entralling trade off between vocalists Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell made for some classic droning indie guitar rock. Here we find the band expanding their sound as the keyboards and synths deliver all kinds of warbly, warped goodness, which is risky given the diversity of this album. But it's a payoff. Key track: "the 400"
This pair of multi-instrumentalists from Baltimore assumes a hasty label of "Dream Pop," but charts more territory than the equivalent movement born out of the mid-90s in Europe. The music is anthemic and stadium-sized in quality, which is why they draw fair praise from such indie-music snobs as Pitchfork. Expect meditative, mid-tempo songs on a slow burn to late night imaginative ecstasy. Key track: "Lazuli"
That's why it is so refreshing when I discover new artists, albums, and soundscapes that captivate my imagination. It doesn't happen often. In fact, I'm still trying to work through my own catalog of music on i-Tunes. If 2012 was the year of silence, introspection, and sacred music, then 2013 is so far the year of expressive bursts of color. Although I've been wary of a fair share of electronic music, I'll say that many of my favorite artists are indebted to this style of music, and if you are at all familiar with modern studio production, it's safe to say that there isn't much music that isn't electronic in some way.
I'll summarize a few of the gems I've uncovered recently.
Foals - Holy Fire
Stars - the North
Stars put out one of my favorite albums of late, the 2004 epic Set Yourself on Fire. The entralling trade off between vocalists Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell made for some classic droning indie guitar rock. Here we find the band expanding their sound as the keyboards and synths deliver all kinds of warbly, warped goodness, which is risky given the diversity of this album. But it's a payoff. Key track: "the 400"
Beach House - Bloom
This pair of multi-instrumentalists from Baltimore assumes a hasty label of "Dream Pop," but charts more territory than the equivalent movement born out of the mid-90s in Europe. The music is anthemic and stadium-sized in quality, which is why they draw fair praise from such indie-music snobs as Pitchfork. Expect meditative, mid-tempo songs on a slow burn to late night imaginative ecstasy. Key track: "Lazuli"
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