Got word of this chilled-out EP from the recently formed UK ambient act Warm Waves from Jheri over at Get Off the Coast. Each track is engrossed in ethereal guitar sounds reminiscent of the slow-tempo, more melodic Explosions in the Sky stuff. No doubt the stand-out track for me is the opener “Summer Daydream” which is a spot-on auditory depiction of the title. Shimmering, echo-laced guitar effortlessly floats around, tethered only by softly strummed chords every other measure, creating a picture perfect sonic description of all those naps at the park/beach/porch that you’ve no doubt have taken on those warm August afternoons.
For the time being, you can download the entire album from Warm Waves’s bandcamp page or, if you just want a sample, check out “Summer Daydream” below:
Love the idea behind this video for “Liquid Crystals” by the Denver indie-rock band Vitamins. Unlike most archival music vids you see on the web these days where the song comes first and footage is plucked out of a digital library and paired with the music, “Liquid Crystals” is actually a score composed by the band for Jean Painleve’s 1930’s short film of the same name. Now I’ve seen a couple of these “bands provide the soundtrack to an old obscure movie” things live here in Portland recently, however, none are as polished as this seven-minute arrangement — with the music matching perfectly to the visuals of the film up to the “syncing of the strings whenever liquid flows” as noted by one commenter.
Check out the video above and head on over to the band’s myspace page to listen in on some more of their great stuff (really dig “Sequined Dress”).
Really blown away by these two tracks sent to me by Julian from the Montreal band Cherry Chapstick and evidently I’m not the only one. It seems like the lip-smacking group is the latest in a string of Canadian artists that have found the sweet spot of texture and complexity using electronic elements without going overboard with it. I think their genre tag of “2 Synths 2 Hearts” is a near perfect description of their sound, with the only improvement to the phrase I can think of is the insertion of “Interwoven” at the end.
Although I was initially attracted to their reworkings of the Silly Kisser’s track “Precious Necklace (Be Good to Me)”, it’s their original song “The Line” that really won me over. The track starts with a slow swell of the melody along with what one would describe as electro-sea gulls squalking in the background, giving the impression that you’re on the boardwalk watching the early morning waves crash into the shore. The sweet sounding vocals enter at the thirty second mark with “The line / The light of day / It’s time / We go our own way” that are sung so loosely as not to detract from the chill vibe of the song. The bridge at the midpoint of the song abruptly cuts to pulsating synth notes, highlighting the drawn out whole-note syllables of the lyrics, before switching back to the original style, slowly fading at the end. A perfect soundtrack for any ocean outing you might find yourself on this summer.
But don’t take my word for it, check out the songs below for yourself. Also, head on over to their myspace page to listen to some more of their stellar tunes.
Now on their third appellation, with Pearl Harbor and Pearl Harbour (the British spelling) being the other two, sisters Piper and Skylar Kaplan have just released, via bandcamp, a four track EP under the moniker Puro Instinct. Although the name might be different, the music is still the same: fifteen minutes of fuzzed-out beach bliss that the sisters are known for.
Although lost is the hiss and distortion from the lo-fi recording process that made Calistonia Dreamin’ so endearing (all songs are clearer than “Lost @ Sea” — the most polished track from that album), the S/T EP possesses enough vocal haze to satisfy the early adopters while not straying too far into noise euphoria to turn away “Luv Goon” fans. It’s a great compromise between the two styles and serves as my favorite record the duo has put out to date.
You can stream the entire record at the group’s bandcamp page (or purchase it for a measly $5). Check out the standout track “California Shakedown” — which was originally on their Wish You Were Here CD-R from a while back — below:
I’ve been sitting on the Swedish group Korallreven for a while and a Ghostape remix of their splendid track “The Truest Faith” was enough to jolt me out of my slumber and finally post about them. Composed of the duo Daniel Tjäder and Marcus Joons (the former is also of Radio Dept. fame), Korallreven is just another drop in the already overflowing cup of blissfully sweet pop music that the Scandinavian country is known for. For the remix, Ghostape does what he does best: loop the song’s harmonious elements and cake over it with sonorous tribal percussion.
You can check out the video for the original track as well as an mp3 for the remix (via: GvB). Also included is the B-side to their recently released Acephale 7” which, from both an aesthetic and sonic perspective, is a must-have record.
Sorry guys for the sparsity of posts as of late. I’m right in the thick of things in securing a new job, so once everything pans out in the coming days I’ll be back to posting some great new tunes. Until then, feel free to browse the archives and discover some past gems you might have overlooked!
The Danish orchestral band Efterklang has been putting together a number of cool remix swaps with some fellow Copenhagen groups. So far, they’ve debuted two such exchanges on their website, with Efterklang tackling Oh No Ono’s “Icicles” and Turboweekend’s “Sweet Jezebel”, with their own “Modern Drift” and “Full Moon” getting the reverse treatment. You can check out my two favorite tracks below and hear the complete exchanges here.
Two great recordings from two of my favorite indie-rock bands popped up on the web this week. Not to encroach on another blog’s turf, but the first track is a cover of Holly Miranda’s seafaring song “Waves” by the Brooklyn trio, and NPR favorite, The Antlers. The audio quality isn’t stellar, but the beauty is certainly still there.
The second song is a live cut of “Meridian” that Shearwater posted on their website a couple of days ago. Recorded at Lincoln Hall in Chicago this past April, Jonathan Meiburg & Co. show that there is really little difference between studio and live sessions with their music. Amazing!
The Whitehaus Family, a Massachusetts collective (yes, another one), has put out an exceptional compilation highlighting folk and experimental electro-psychedelic acts the label is known for. Already home to buzzworthy bands Truman Peyote and Prince Rama, Whitehaus also has its share of unknown gems that shine brighly on this 27-track double LP.
Two of these such acts, and my personal favorites from the record, are the jungle beats of Many Mansions and the dark Mountain Man-esque a cappella rounds of Anna Rochinski — both of which you can check out below. You can stream the entire compilation as well as order the double LP in physical or digital format (the later costing you only $5) at the collective’s bandcamp page. And while you’re at it, head on over to their online store to see if any other titles deserve attention from your wallet.
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