listening in

Backseat Pilots - In The Brightest Room

      

Four on the floor and a big swelling synth. It’s not what I would typically groove to, but apparently today is a day of pilots and new music. It sounds damn good, though.  The vocals come in with rhythmic delayed guitars, (a little reminiscent of the Edge, but he’s badass, so that’s a good thing), makes for a full but not over powering sound.  

Whoever is holding down bass is making me wish I played bass for these guys. It sounds fun, it feels fun, and I just want to dance, but not like some goddamn raver. Backseat Pilots makes me want dance with somebody.  And I have to say, they get a little experimental in their song arrangement, and I love it. Keeps the song fresh and keeps me off guard, just like any good looking woman.  So far I’m only seeing three songs from these guys. I hope I can find more and soon.

www.facebook.com/backseatpilots

Thanks to Scout The Music Promoter for turning us on to them.

Civil Pilots - Loose Ends

       

With one song up and two and half minutes before vocals, Civil Pilots doesn’t keep you waiting for nothing.  Their layering may be sparse and simple, but it’s quite elegant, and they deliver it well.  

The vocals creep up on you, dipped in edges of Thrice and Muse.  The band itself offers a plateau of sound at a slight incline. Never too much, never too little.  I love their use of keys and a single guitar. It really allows the song to breathe and room for the almost eerie vocals to take hold.  Civil Pilot’s Loose Ends feels like the start of something big. I can’t wait to hear what comes next.  

http://www.facebook.com/civilpilots

Thanks to Scout The Music Promoter for turning us on to them.

Harry and Lloyd - Wishing Well

                        

I love a band that catches me on the first song of their album or EP. Granted, some of my favorite bands are those I have to listen to a few times over, but it’s always nice to get pulled in immediately, and Harry and Lloyd did just that.

First off…awesome band name. If it’s not a reference to Dumb and Dumber I’m totally cool with it, just don’t tell me. I’d rather keep up the facade. Second, I love their use of electronic elements.  The sounds are new and refreshing. I can’t tell you how many electronic induced bands I’ve heard that just use the same popular sounds as their predecessors, but these guys are turning me on to something new. 

Harry and Lloyd really capture the idea of a song’s rise and fall. What’s interesting to me is that they manage this without blasting you with a wall of sound, but rather with an excellent orchestration of synthetic beauty and some piping vocals.  I’m definitely returning to their catalog very soon.  

www.harryandlloyd.bandcamp.com

PS

Thanks to Scout The Music Promoter for turning us on to Harry and Lloyd

Into it. Over it. - Midnight Carroll Street

                                 

Ever listened to Further Seems Forever’s The Moon Is Down? It’s an exceptional album, not without flaws, but it encapsulates music that at the time at least, was singular and awesome.  Into it. Over it’s Midnight Carroll Street reminds me of it in the best way. I’ve been listening to a few of their tracks on this soon to be Tuesday afternoon and this one has really caught my ear.  I’m in love with it.

Here’s a band I want to share a stage with.  A band that I would gladly go out of my way to see.  Hell, I think I’m gonna buy their shirt, and I’m the guy that won’t be caught dead in a band t shirt.  Is it weird or silly? Perhaps, but let it speak less of my personal taste in fashion and more of how much I dig this band.  They’re really hitting some early Chris Carabba harmonies and I’m loving every second of it.  The whole band is on point. At four minutes and seventeen seconds I would normally rate this song at being perhaps a little long, but I just find myself wishing there were a couple more minutes.  

www.facebook.com/intoitoverit

Streets of Fire - Latin

                         

Streets of Fire is making my impromptu day off really interesting.  I’m getting little bits of Adam Lazarra in the vocals, (a little Sting and Jack Johnson too), just enough to keep my interest without turning me off.  Being a big fan of Taking Back Sunday’s ‘Tell All Your Friends’, I hate rip offs, but Streets of Fire has their own brand of originality.  They definitely have a secure hold on pop edged modern rock. All the good stuff, none of the fluffy bullshit.

Streets of Fire is another example of excellent songwriting, (they’re eclectic and all over the place without being chaotic), and a singer with a voice that keeps you interested the whole way through.  Often times a bland singer can kill an awesome band: just look at Further Seems Forever’s third album, but these guys have a killer lineup. I’m loving their tones across the board. My hats off to their engineer, sounds like he/she really captured their sound.  You want to listen to Streets of Fire.

www.streetsoffiremusic.com

Cold Fronts - Strange Architecture

                       

As a rule I’m not a big fan of garage rock, or that Strokes inspired sort of pop/rock, but Cold Fronts seem to be the exception.  Their singer is very adept at pop melodies and the rest of the band really lays the foundation for some damn catchy songwriting.  It’s simple, but well put together, honest, but well thought out.  

Cold Fronts appear to embody the wholesome goodness of what garage rock could and should be, all the while riding that fine line between what’s been done and reinvention, and they do it well.  You can’t reinvent the wheel, but these fellows do a damn good job of making something worth listening to.  

www.coldfrontsmusic.bandcamp.com/

Slim Charles - Triangulate

                        

I don’t know what these guys sound like, but I love their instrumentation and the sparse gang-like vocals.  If you can judge a band from one song alone, then I want to hear the rest of their catalog.  Slim Charles presents this funky almost latin infused groove that just catches the listener, reels you in and steals you from your everyday surroundings.  

Slim Charles does a great job of keeping everything clean and beautifully orchestrated, then finally opens it up a bit towards the end, but just for second, just to see how it feels. And it feels damn good.  Triangulate makes me want to walk around my local shopping mall with an 80s boom box and let everybody else feel the magic.  Give it a try. Slim Charles is something different and unexpected.

www.slimcharles.bandcamp.com/

Young Summers (formerly Adobayondei) - Neglecting Death’s

       

Horns. Didn’t see that one coming.  I’m just starting to listen to Young Summer’s music, so I guess I’ll find out as I go.  So far I’m digging it. I’m getting some clean guitars, which I love, and some intricate dance beats thrown in at just the right time.  The horns work, really well, actually, and it’s not something I’m hearing a lot of these days, which is almost giving it a throwback feel.

I love the delay and reverb washed guitar lines they work into this song.  The vocals are pushed a little deeper in the mix than I’d like, but I still like them, I just want a little bit more.  Got a little Thom Yorke thing going on.  Their rhythm section is on point, locking up and giving me a real groove to get inside.  I feel like I need a lava lamp and a rocking chair.

http://soundcloud.com/youngsummers

www.adobayondei.bandcamp.com 

Crimson Arrow - Forever

            

Yes.  Something I wish I had written.  I can’t get enough of this track. Crimson Arrow’s Forever is one of the best songs I stumbled upon in 2011, and I think I’ll be listening to it for some time to come. Clean guitars and a beautiful voice open up this hauntingly beautiful song.  I can’t really place their influence, but it sounds so familiar. Maybe it’s just that good.

Keep an eye on these guys.

www.facebook.com/crimsonarrow

This Old Ghost - This Lifeboat is for Gold, Not People

                           

If Death Cab For Cutie married the Old 97’s, lived in a desert, combined forces and starred in several western movies, I think they might change their name to This Old Ghost.  I can’t find a damn thing wrong with this song, so I’ll just keep it on.

It’s not often you can find a band that seems to reinvent a sound or just outright invent their own, but I think these fine young folks have.  It’s like indie/folk/pop super goodness. I’m not sure if that’s what they were going for, but I’m feeling it.  Tell all your friends.

Download their EP, Island of Violent Lovers, at www.thisoldghost.bandcamp.com