Dada Life is a Swedish electro house “Blip” group. Their first record “Big Time” enjoyed play by Rex the Dog, Mylo, and Gildas & Masaya. Their first release on the Prestel record label entitled “Vote Yes” is available now and it is a veritable onslaught of hard old school house and new school synth sensibility.
MP3 – Fun Fun Fun – Dada Life (Fredo & Thang Piano Remix)
MP3 – Fun Fun Fun – Dada Life (Original)
I’m not always in the mood for folk pop, especially folk pop with a slight country tinge, but I’ve been trying to get into get into this release by a young artist Nate Nelson called “Knobs Have Turned” and tonight it seems is the magical night that it finally hit the spot. Whether its the copious amounts of reading I still have to do or my nature to become radically more emo at night, I’m really digging the gentle melodies and the southern warble of Nate Nelson’s voice.
MP3 – Hoping That You Will Stay At Home – Nate Nelson & Cortright
MP3 – 12:12 Love Song – Nate Nelson & Cortright
Red Collar is fittingly titled, as their sound implies the strain it takes to move oneself from blue collar to white collar. Their Hands Up EP explodes with the energy of quitting time on Friday afternoon. Their energetic narrative and unwaivering punk aesthetic recall those crazy nights out with your best friends that upon reflection seem almost poetic. The best aspect of their music is the endless hopefulness that it transmits. Even if those times are lost and even if they seem far away, you can still reclaim them and the best is yet to come.
MP3 – Used Guitars – Red Collar
The Commuter:
The Boys and Girls Club is the product of two musical minds, Mike McGuire and Scott Thorough. Centered in Brooklyn, the duo cranks out genre bending electro, pop, clubish type music. Here is a pleasantly chill number from them entitled “Summer in the City”.
Starcode is a band hailing from Albany, New York that has an inclination to play energetic dark pop rock songs. Upon the first few listens, you can immediately hear some Smashing Pumpkins influence both in the spacey guitar and keyboard work but also in the voice of Dave O’Connor. the songs on their latest album “Hum” are immediate, catchy, and radio friendly, if they aren’t getting radio play yet they will soon. The raw ferocity of their songs makes them a band to watch.
Crash Music Video:
Ben Godwin’s “Skin and Bone” is a unique adventure through vaudevillian acoustic tendencies and crooning baritone. Often times yielding songs that oddly compel you to sing along about things like alligators and gasoline. The album feels like the equivalent of a classic Vegas lounge lizard show only for New York City performed by the crusty curmudgeons who live there and love it.
Division Day is an ambitious band hailing from California. They fought through the ranks of CMJ in October of 2006 to get a mention in the New York Times. Their sound is pretty eclectic, ranging from radio ready ballads that are catchy and sensitive, to relentless assaults of sound. Division Day’s greatest strength is their ability to pull off variety so well, when they slow down the tempo and bring in the keyboards it works just as well as when they pull out the soaring guitars. They run a virtual gamut of textures and themes throughout their latest album “Beartrap island”, from Cure-ish moody ballads that remind me of a captain leading a ship in the winter to a far off destination to a frontiersman running through a newly discovered forest. All throughout the earnest vocals of Rohner Segnitz ground the spectacle of each song like a navigator with his eye on a multitude of destinations.
MP3 – To The Woods – Division Day
Bonus:
MP3 – Every Shining Time You Arrive – Division Day (Sunny Day Real Estate Cover)
Division Day – “Hurricane” Music Video
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Billy Harvey’s new album “Bearsick”, is an intriguing unconventional acoustic romp through unsettling and strange yet compelling soundscapes. The sound is lo-fi, while at times recalling the intimacy and bass thump of various eras of Beck and the off kilter piano of Ashes to Ashes era David Bowie. Above all though, there is real heart behind every track.
MP3 – Poisoning the Pool – Billy Harvey
Kentucky based dance rock band VHS or Beta released their new album “Bring on the Comets” on Aug 28. If I were to use just one word to describe the album it would be “ambitious”. Producer Brandon Mason(Secret Machines) helps bring about a more sweeping epic feel to “Bring on the Comets”. Gone is the slippery post-punk production, and here to stay is a monolithic pure pop production. The sweeping guitar lines and simple keyboard melodies sometimes evoke the sense of wonder that the band is going for, like on the title track “Bring on the Comets”and debut single “Can’t Stand a Single Word”, and other times the guitar gets so heavy that it feels chunky instead of funky, like on “Love in My Pocket” and “Burn it All Down”. As per usual, VHS or Beta always sound the best when they employ nimble guitar work over man machine drum and bass, like on “Fall Down Lightly” and “Time Stands Still”. It’s surprisingly satisfying to hear an acoustic guitar in the mix on occasion. Vocalist Craig Pfunder also steps up to add to the sonic agility of each song by laying down hook after hook of his Robert Smith/Simon LeBon/Dave Gahan-esque vocals. Ironically though, as the bombast of each song settles, everything comes through stronger.
MP3 – Fall Down Lightly – VHS or Beta
MP3 – Time Stands Still – VHS or Beta
Buy “Bring on the Comets”
VHS or Beta Myspace
“She Says” Live:
1. MP3 – Bang Theory – World Leader Pretend
2. MP3 – Anything You Want – Spoon
3. MP3 – Somewhere Across Forever – stellastarr*
4. MP3 – Kick Out The Chairs – Munk & James Murphy
5. MP3 – Everybody’s Leaving – Elkland
6. MP3 – Emily Kane – Art Brute
9. MP3 – Love Astronaut – Murder Mystery
10. MP3 – 55566688833 – James Figurine
11. MP3 – Misread – Kings of Convenience
12. MP3 – Grey – New Young Pony Club
14. MP3 – B.U.R.M.A. – Dirty Pretty Things
I made a mix for a curly haired collegiate cohort that I am meeting soon for coffee, I hope, and I thought to myself, this would be a good thing to post too. So I did. I hope you enjoy it.
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