Photo credit: Douglas Garfield Yesterday, fellow Speakers in Code writer, Matt, gave us a Jam of the Day that slowly eases from winter to this relatively newfound spring weather. However, today, I bring you a JOTD that definitely doesn’t hide the fact that it’s ready to shed its winter skin and spend a little time … Read more
If I close my eyes while listening to The Strange Boys, I see them in black and white. There is absolutely none of the high-def, 3-D, THX certified sensory overload entertainment we’re becoming accustomed to. They’re on a no-frills stage – in front of an audience of screaming teenagers. Think Mic Jagger in 1964 or … Read more
So, the new LCD Soundsystem album, This Is Happening, has been streaming over at the official website for over a week now. I’ve taken advantage of the preview multiple times, and while I’ll say that it is a totally solid effort, it’s the album’s lead track to which I keep returning. “Dance Yrself Clean,” an … Read more
Photo credit: Jeremy Balderson I’ve been dying for some new matt pond PA, I have to say. Good news! After a period of time spent in isolation in Bearsville, New York (God, I hope secluded cabin-inducing epiphanies don’t quickly become a musical cliché), the band is prepped to release The Dark Leaves in March 2010 … Read more
Photo credit: Shawn Brackbill How Aloha’s “Moonless March” manages to combine ethereal lyrics of moons and stars with an existential point of view, I’ll never know. But, this track off the upcoming Home Acres album is at once hopeful (“And every sundown, we will pour a drink in celebration of this moonless march…”) and world-weary … Read more
Ahhhh, Jason Collett. We go way back. He’s a member of Toronto’s Broken Social Scene, but Collett’s most notable work is his catalog of solo efforts. The acclaimed Idols of Exile is chock full of twangy, backyard sleepers and is perhaps one of my favorite albums of…well, ever. Here’s to Being Here features two of … Read more
Ah, the art of changing one’s mind. For Brendan Benson, the ex-Raconteur, he may like to do it a little too much. But then again, if it gives us a great song, who am I to complain? Wait, did I just change my mind? Blah. “A Whole Lot Better” is the lead track on Benson’s … Read more
“I want the dream that we never had.” Matthew Ryan does the “sad bastard” songwriting thing pretty well. Ok, he does it extremely well. But you know what? The artist from Chester, Pennsylvania, can also rock, and on his latest album, Dear Lover, he takes a few electric chances that shake the surrounding trees of … Read more
Welcome to the inaugural post of Speakers in Code, named for that wonderfully ambiguous repeat lyric from Wilco’s 1999 single, “Can’t Stand It.” As much as I love venturing into new musical territory, one thing is for sure: all roads lead back to Wilco. Jason, my partner in blogging, feels the same. And so it … Read more
So, thanks to MLK, it’s probably your first day at work this week. That’s why today’s JOTD is a sweet tune, aptly titled “Sweeter Than This,” by the lovely Kate Herzig. Herzig is an artist based out of Nashville who I just came across recently, and she’s got the goods to brighten your day. Herzig’s … Read more
When your band name is Backyard Tire Fire, there better be a party going down. And usually with BTF’s music, there is a hell of a throwdown. But for today’s JOTD, I’m going to kick it back just a notch with “Everybody’s Down,” because, well, people just seem to be down these days. Not to … Read more
My introduction to Cold War Kids back in 2006 left me with visions of alcoholic fathers and creepy hospital rooms dancing in my head. I was instantly hooked on the Kids’ penchant for Gothic storytelling over soulful indie rock on Robbers & Cowards. Their follow up LP, Loyalty to Loyalty followed suit; the standout track … Read more
Jason, my blogging partner in crime, passed on this We Are Wolves song to me yesterday, knowing it would be right up my alley. I guess writing about music together for two years has paid off. He was right on the money. So, it’s pretty amazing how poignant two simple, alternating chords can be, as … Read more
I double dog dare you to not like this song. It is too damn catchy to resist, at the very least, tapping your toes, or if you’re like me, having a full blown one-woman dance party in the kitchen. It’s got a Bourbon Street feel that makes me long for next month’s Mardi Gras celebrations … Read more
What began as a just-for-fun split-45 by a couple of seasoned songwriters, quickly evolved into something that’s pretty damn exciting to hear. The Parting Gifts, whose core consists of Greg Cartwright of North Carolina’s Reigning Sound and CoCo Hames of The Ettes, have given us a little Monday mornin’ present, and it’s the kind that … Read more
Photo credit: Nashville Scene Daniel Pujol is a young up and comer in the Nashville music scene…the punk scene. Not too much is known about Mr. Pujol, other than he has played with Nashville bands such as MEEMAW and Denny and The Jets, and he has a certain mount of disdain for musical packaging. What … Read more
Photo Credit: Valerie Phillips There’s an internal struggle that pulls my musical soul apart when I hear songs like our Jam of the Day, “Rollerblades,” by Eliza Doolittle. I’m not sure what happens – I question what I’ve always known to be my musical taste. I question what my friends would think if they saw … Read more
Savoir Adore brings something entirely unique and exciting to the table with its addictive lush slant on pop – even in a scene as vibrant as the current one in Brooklyn. In the Wooded Forest, their exuberant debut album, showcases the strengths of this exciting, young band. Soaring melodies. Infectious beats. Today’s Jam of the … Read more
Photo Credit: SF Weekly Blog If you’re looking for a fresh and freaky addition to your Halloween party playlist, a track to get the hipster ghouls and goblins swaying while they sip their PBR, look no further than “Fright Night (Nevermore)” by Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. Before you even get into the tune, from the recent … Read more
Swarming guitar fuzz, bass waves, and insistent drum throbs are just a few of my favorite things on an early fall morning. And luckily they, along with some mellow-ass lyrics, are core musical components of the work of Baltimore’s Lower Dens. Sometimes known for intimate, ghost-heavy weird-fi, the band’s leader, Jana Hunter, is now writing … Read more
Following a self-imposed three year hiatus, Sunderland England’s Field Music returned in a major way earlier this year with a gluttonous new 20 track double album. And as things do when on hiatus, their sound apparently gained a few pounds while brothers and co-frontmen Peter and David Brewis took their rest. Our Jam of the … Read more
Yuck is a fledgling UK band that has been together for the really long time period of just over a year. Yeah, they’re young both in age and duration as a band, but they’ve already been picked up by red-freakin-hot Fat Possum Records and will release their debut full-length early in 2011. Not too shabby for … Read more
Nearly a year and a half in the making, Iceland’s Silje Nes‘ gently enchanting new record Opticks, while once again home-recorded, dramatically upgrades the sound from her acclaimed 2008 debut, Ames Room. Intricately constructed, warm and brimming with melodic hooks, Opticks is a record full of wonder, unfurling a series of increasingly accessible and catchy … Read more
Chicago band, California Wives, has already been compared to the likes of Joy Division and The Police. Say what? Yet, on the first single from the band’s new Affair EP, the band channels the dreamy pop landscapes of Phoenix, with juice-box fizziness. But, this isn’t copy cat stuff; California Wives also dips into shoegaze territory. And … Read more
The Saint Louis alt-country band, The Dive Poets, is set to release its debut EP, The Good and the Light, in just a couple of weeks. Opening for SIC faves Futurebirds at Cicero’s over the summer, the fivesome threw down its scrappy, foot stompin’ flare and won the crowd’s heart. Now, it’s The Dive Poets … Read more
When I think of Josh Ritter’s greatest songs, “Snow is Gone,” “Girl in the War,” and “Thin Blue Flame” immediately come to mind. I have no problem adding, “Lantern” off his latest album, So Runs the World Away, to that list. “Lantern” is one of those songs that doesn’t need a minute to warm up; … Read more
Photo credit: Graeme Flegenheimer Back in July, Sonny and the Sunsets magically appeared on my radar, courtesy of fellow SIC blogger, Matt. He wrote about “Too Young to Burn” and its ability to transport him to the west coast, the land of mild summers and easy livin’. Well, now it’s October, and I am welcoming the season … Read more
The praise has been loud and clear for singer-songwriter Michael McDermott. Author Stephen King, who knows a little about music, called him “probably the greatest undiscovered rock & roll talent of the last 20 years.” Wow, right? Well, his last album, Hey La Hey, made our “Best of 2009” list over at Glide Magazine, and, … Read more
Sometimes I’m ahead of the curve, and sometimes, I’m a very late adopter. I’ve read about people losing their shit over Yeasayer for quite some time now, and I’ve admittedly procrastinated checking out this much-hyped Brooklyn band like no other. So, last Thursday, when my daily NPR “Song of the Day” e-mail landed in my … Read more
Dawn Landes may live in Brooklyn these days, where she has built her own recording studio, but she was raised in Branson, Missouri, and Louisville, Kentucky. I mention this because when I listen to today’s JOTD, “Young Girl,” off Landes’ newest record, Sweet Heart Rodeo, I think of the Midwest like I do when I … Read more