These New Zealanders have been rocking since 1979 and show no signs of slowing down. They release Mister Pop (Merge Records) on September 8th and you can download two tracks from the album over at RCRD LBL. Give them a listen below and get excited for an entire album full of sharply written pop jangles.
The XX came across my radar after filtering through the MBV blog crew (Fluxblog, Catbirdseat, Chromewaves, Said the Gramophone, Large Hearted Boy). This site almost makes me wonder why I even have a blog.
But I guess if it were up to The XX and for the whole new age of musical acts, if smaller blogs like mine on the outer ring of the giant blogosphere don’t pick these things up and share then it puts a crack in their momentum. So, I guess I’ll continue to do my part.
The XX are young high school friends, as told by Mike over at Obscure Sound. They’re not afraid to admit their admiration for the pop world (Rhianna, Aaliyah, etc.) and aren’t afraid to inject those pop influences into their music.
“Crystalized” stands out as a key track. It starts out slow and quite with a feeling that it could explode at any minute. When this particular song does explode, it’s still just a simple guitar riff that doesn’t over power the vocals or the foundation instruments (drums / bass). It stays subtle and mellow throughout, keeping the explosion to a minor threat to the ears of the listener.
Their first full length album, 2.0, is due out on October 20th on XL Records but it’s currently available through Young Turks in the U.K.
Download & Listen to “Crystalized”
Purchase 2.0 (U.K. Only on emusic)
You have to be wary of supergroups. From the Traveling Wilburys (George Harrison, Tom Petty, Roy Orbinson, Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne) to The Highwaymen (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson) to Velvet Revolver (yikes), you never know what you’re going to get. It could either be amazing energy or it could be too much energy, too much star power or too much ego for one room to handle.
Monsters of Folk started when Conor Oberst (better known as lead singer of Bright Eyes) and his cohort in Bright Eyes, Mike Mogis, joined up with Jim James of My Morning Jacket and M. Ward on a tour where they sat in with each other on a number of occasions. Each one talented in their own right and plan to keep the “freewheelin” vibe going by switching up instruments both on the album and during their fall tour which was just announced.
They released a single, “Say Please”, which you can run over and grab right now for free on their website (www.monstersoffolk.com). Not sure if there is anything specific that you need to type in to the form to get the mp3, but I put in “please” and that seemed to do the trick.
The song begins with Conor and M. Ward trading off vocal duties leading into a big chorus with everyone chiming in, “hold out your hand – hold out your hand – darling (conor only) – hold out your hand – say please (conor only)”. Nothing crazy to report about the song itself. A pretty standard tune (verse, chorus, verse, bridge, verse, chorus, etc.). I have yet to hear the rest of the album but this very well could be a supergroup whose only purpose is to ellicit joy in the artists for jamming together and to raise money for local non-profits. They parterned with Air Traffic Control, a group that helps the musical community with philanthropic and social change efforts, and are donating $1 for every ticket sold on the tour to local non-profits. I’m assuming that by local they mean all the cities that they’re visiting this fall.
They’re coming to Boston on November 3rd at The Orpheum. Check out the rest of the tour on their website.
What a freaky day in icon world. Not only does every boys fantasy girl pass away after a long stand fighting cancer but the freaking KING OF POP dies! I don’t want to over shadow Farrah Fawcett because once again, she was and probably will remain to be every young male’s fantasy girl, but when you go on the same day as someone like Michael Jackson who not only defined one generation but multiple and brought together soul and pop music to create what has been hailed as the greatest cross over album in the histroy of recorded music, Thriller. Well, there’ s not much more I have to say.
There’s no question that my obsession with music was partly due to the “man in the mirror”. I’m not ashamed to say that I stood in front of the TV when Thriller came on trying to memorize the dance moves with my sisters.
Here’s a little playlist of some, and I stress some, of my favorite MJ tunes. Enjoy.
Danny Saber is a veteran of the music industry and currently resides in L.A. where he’s had his hands in several types of music from pop artists such as Madonna, rock legends Bowie or the Rolling Stones and even metal such as Ozzy and Marilyn Manson. Danny’s also a well respected DJ in the L.A. scene.
So I’m excited that a good friend who recently got back into making music was tapped on the shoulder to be included on Danny’s latest compilation, Saber Bytes, which is out now and can be found on Amazon.com.
Their song, “Fountain Girl”, was selected to be the third song on the album. They go by Zanderdanz and have been tearing it up at the Mercury Lounge for the past few months on a regular basis and don’t even have an official album! They’re working on some new music now and the drummer from the Mars Volta has been providing some drum fills for the recordings.
Their sound is reminiscent of shoegazer, indie legends Jesus and Mary Chain as well as the Cure but with an electronic flare so in no way is their music meant to be stared at – it’s meant to make you move. “Fountain Girl” is a great showcase song and I’m pumped cause I know kids are going to pick up on it’s catchy melody and groovy vibe. Give it a whirl over on their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/zanderdanz
