Who doesn’t love a good breakup album? Amy LaVere’s new offering, Stranger Me, is one of 2011’s best of that kind, and she’ll be performing these “see ya later” songs at Off Broadway Friday night (listen to the album at NPR here). The singer, songwriter, upright bass player, and actress (whew!) is quite the performer, … Read more
Photo by Katie Guymon Springfield, Missouri’s hometown cuties, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, are quite a prolific crew. In a few months, the band is geared to release a double album compilation called Tape Club, a collection of songs that have never previously appeared on any of SSLYBY’s records. The songs intentionally span the … Read more
Gypsy rock is a new one for me. I’m more of a lyrics guy (read: sad bastard), as you probably know, or might have guessed. But hey, music discovery never ends, so I’m happy to have been introduced to Diego’s Umbrella, who are “San Francisco’s Ambassadors of Gypsy Rock.” You’re probably wondering what that means, … Read more
M83 is the dream-pop moniker for France’s Anthony Gonzalez (that is not him in the picture), who, since 2001, has been recording lush, electronic-based tunes that blur the lines of ambient compositions, pop rock, shoegaze, and synth. On October 18th, M83 will release the project’s sixth studio album, a double disc entitled Hurry Up, We’re … Read more
Fertile ground can be found outside the heartland, folks. Just follow my gaze east, now south, yeah, that’s it. All the way down to The Port City, good ole’ Wilmington, North Carolina, where the soil is sandy, and cotton grows like those potatoes do in other places not surrounded by salt water. What’s cropping up … Read more
Nanna Øland Fabricius. That’s her real name, but she goes by Oh Land, and I’ll be honest: I’m a little smitten. Have been for months now, I just haven’t written about her. I love pop music when it’s done right, and Oh Land does just about everything right in my book. She even kicks major … Read more
The self-titled debut LP of Santa Barbara, California quintet Gardens & Villa was released in July (Secretly Canadian), and the record has been steadily growing on us all summer. The record’s first single is “Black Hills,” a grooving jam that evokes memories of some of Britt Daniel and Spoon’s earlier work, fused with a branch … Read more
Canadian duo Purity Ring have only released three singles in the year or so that they’ve been making music together, but it is easy to see why these offerings (including prior tracks “Lofticries” and “Ungirthed“) have the web abuzz and ablog with excitement over their odd brand of electro-pop. Their latest effort is “Belispeak,” a … Read more
The end of the below video is fucking awesome. Watch it. “Almost Blue” is one of those perfect Joseph Arthur songs. Poppy and sentimental at the same time, it’s immediately hummable, but also, like all of his songs, it makes you listen to every word that leaves his mouth. Melodic undertones highlight lyrics that could be … Read more
Talk about songs that surprise the hell out of you! WATERS, the new project from former Port O’Brien front man Van Pierszalowski, has revealed a brand new track, “O Holy Break of Day,” from his forthcoming album Out in the Light, and Jesus H. Christ, it freaking rules. Mixing fuzzy, pealing guitars and crashing drums … Read more
The countdown is on! LouFest is only a week and a half away, and we at Speakers in Code could not be more psyched for the second coming of a plethora of fantastic local and national musical acts, set right smack dab in our city’s biggest bragging right, Forest Park. ‘Twill be a glorious two … Read more
Goooood Lawd! This little blog cannot BELIEVE it is almost the start of September – that means the 2011 Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina is quickly approaching! Two out of the four of us just celebrated the dawning of LouFest II in Saint Louis. Now, it’s time to start doing liver calisthenics, training … Read more
It took a while for New York rockers The Postelles to release their self-titled debut album, but they’ve found ways to keep busy over the last few years. The quartet–Daniel Balk (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), David Dargahi (vocals/lead guitar), John Speyer (bass), and Billy Cadden (percussion)–has toured with Kings of Leon, Vampire Weekend, and Interpol, and … Read more
Starting Friday afternoon, we’ll be in Kanrocksas mode, live tweeting from the two-day festival in Kansas City, Kansas. Rain or shine, the inaugural event is bound to be a lot of fun, with a Ferris wheel, bungee jumps, a water slide (“SLIDErocksas”), and a hot air balloon glow presentation during the evening. And, oh yeah, … Read more
Ask anyone who operates a music blog about the experience, and they will tell you it’s a taxing and tedious job. There are the obvious job hazards like carpel tunnel syndrome, dry and irritated eyes, and headphone headaches. It’s hard goddamn work. But the real, and secret danger in music blogging is opening an email, … Read more
On the second to last song of Old Lights’ set, which opened day two of LouFest, Beth Bombara broke a string on lead singer David Beeman’s guitar. It wasn’t the first problem the band had with their guitars throughout their well-received set — there were tuning problems as well. Those were the only issues, however, … Read more
I ainʼt living in the dark no more it’s not a promise, Iʼm just gonna call it Yeah, I remember hearing about Justin Vernon of Bon Iver for the first time. A friend had emailed me with the subject line, “I told you to be patient.” The message? A link to his MySpace page (of … Read more
Photo by Katie Guymon Tonight, we’re proud to welcome Jill Andrews and her band to Off Broadway, a show we’ve been thinking about for months, pretty much ever since her appearance at Twangfest last June. We’ve written plenty about Jill on Speakers in Code (you can read our full interview with her here), but really, … Read more
Photo by Danny Cinch I love Bruce Springsteen. And I’m not going to lie – at one time I thought I loathed him. Growing up a product of the MTV generation, I had him tagged as a dude who had some hits I kind of knew from the ’70s, but for me, he was the … Read more
“Bring it on/ Bring on the weekend…” I always write my weekly Jam of the Day on Wednesdays. And, not gonna lie, sometimes it’s really hard to resist the tunnel vision temptation of gearing my selection toward my inevitable Hump Day Blues. But, with today’s JOTD, Class Actress’ “Weekend,” a synthy anthem hopelessly devoted to … Read more
I’m big on the idea of doubt Yeah, I’m big on the idea of doubt Now this is what I really love from Cowboy Junkies. When they turn it up and give us dirty rock and blues, sort of like a mix between Open and Whites Off Earth Now!!. I like it when Margo Timmins … Read more
Peter Wolf Crier | Image courtesy of Jagjaguwar The Radio Cure provides you a smattering of great tracks (all at once!) to cure you of your radio blues. Burn ’em on a mix CD, and there you have it. Peter Wolf Crier – Settling It Off A down tempo footstomper (is that an oxymoron?), “Settling … Read more
Give one listen to our Jam of the Day, “Carburetor,” by Brooklyn’s The Sweet Ones, and you’ll totally understand why they have dubbed their unique sound “Junk Rock.” That’s not to say it sounds bad, or messy, or even like they’re particularly smelly – but it does sound like a DIY, fend-for-yourself, experimental mash-up of … Read more
And I’d rather argue with you than to be right all by myself ‘Cause I can’t have a fight all by myself No, I can’t have a fight all by myself He was an asshole. He was a douchebag. Those are his words, not mine. Well, sort of. I think there has come a time … Read more
I’m guessing we’ve all seen that episode of Friends where Phoebe and Rachel go running for the first time together, and hilarity ensues as Phoebe begins running much like a small child in a field of daises. Well, I’m pretty sure I caught myself doing something similar yesterday while listening to a running mix I … Read more
Cymbals Eat Guitars released its debut album Why There Are Mountains in 2009, receiving a response that far exceeded the expectations of most. Two years have gone by since that early hype cycle began, and a lot has changed in those twenty-four months, including more than half of the original lineup that recorded that first LP. … Read more
Photo: Dan Monick Last month at Kanrocksas, we were greeted by Doomtree, a group of rappers from Minneapolis who knew exactly how to put on an afternoon show. It didn’t take them but a couple songs to get out into the crowd to whoop it up with a few hundred people enjoying their set, which … Read more
God, dontcha just love it when you hear an incredible song for the first time the old fashioned way? You know, on the radio? I know, I know, it so rarely happens these days (if it ever happens), but luckily for me, I live in Saint Louis, home of the best damn independent radio station that … Read more
Photo by Justin Vernon “Margaritas and sleeping pills.” Holy awesome, is it great to hear Kathleen Edwards’ voice again. I am beyond excited to see her on Sunday at The Pageant, where she’ll be opening for Bon Iver. “Change the Sheets,” which I’m hoping she’ll play this weekend, is taken from her upcoming album, Voyageur, … Read more
Raise your hand if you have an affinity for old-school Nintendo. More than likely that took care of the the dudes in the crowd. Now – raise your hand if you like music that makes you want to shake your ass. That’s exactly what I thought. You ladies are are so predictable. Now you may … Read more