Sunday, December 16, 2012

Total Crush: Sin Fang

I've had a little crush on Sin Fang since I saw him fronting Sea Bear back in 2010.  I was already liking his solo stuff… and I'm even enjoying his new Pojke stuff!  But alas, another Sin Fang album is coming on Feb. 19th, called Flowers. Check out the newest track, a video & many more details below…

A great performance from KEXP.

Sindri Már Sigfússon aka Sin Fang and Icelandic collective Seabear's founder and mastermind, has released the first single 'Young Boys' off his third solo album, Flowers, recorded & produced by Alex Somers (Sígur Rós, Jónsi) and set for release on February 19th on Morr Music.

Following his Half Dreams EP this year, Flowers is an album that opens with a lot of collective chanting, a sense of deep rootedness, togetherness, unity, and shared experience: "We were young boys, smoking in the woods, I showed you how," are the first words Sindri Már Sigfússon aka Sin Fang scatters across the less-beaten tracks, only to leapfrog across the lawn and switch on the stage lights for his own take of stadium pop. A song like "What's Wrong With Your Eyes" would indeed be fit for a stadium setting - it's so massive, so outspokenly pop, when the beat meets layered vocals and the piano comes in just at the right moments. "I was thinking a lot about pre-teenage and teenage feelings," he explains. "The exaggerated feelings and dramatic thoughts that most teenagers go through: Love and rejection, the constant ups and downs...I thought Flowers was a good name for that theme as they are used both for sad and happy occasions."

SinFang1 byingibjo3080rgbirgisdottir

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Hey Rosetta! goes to Graceland

I'm posting this to spite my roommate, who thinks Graceland is shit.  Pftt.  The cuteness contained in this video doesn't hurt.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Video Tuesday

First off, spend some time with this Isaac Delusion video for Transistors.  Incredibly well done (and a good song).  Next up is one of my recent favorites, Yellow Ostrich with their video for Ghost.  Finally, we have a new video from another recent fav, Friends with Va Fan Gor Du. 

Bonus this week is a fun little video by Django Django from Australia for Life's a Beach.

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals (12/5/12)

Prompted by some friends to see Grace Potter, I was glad I went.  I'll admit I was initially turned off a bit by the "hot rock chick" look, but the more I checked her out, the more respect I have for her.  I had some pretty high hopes for this show, and the first thing I thought was - Wow, it's been a long time since I've been to a "classic" rock show."  Seriously.  I see a lot of rock and roll, but very few that take me back to Stones-era.  I wish it could have been that good, but it wasn't bad.  She knew how to rock a stage.

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals (12/5/12)

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals (12/5/12)

In other words…

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals create night sweats in a high-energy, high-quality gig (review) | cleveland.com

"It’s too bad Grace Potter is such a shy, retiring thing. If she could just come out of her shell a TINY bit, a sold-out show like the one Wednesday night at the Cleveland House of Blues might be more fun. OK, it’s not even possible to WRITE that with a straight face. Potter and her band – guitarists Scott Tournet and Benny Yurco, bassist Michael Libramento and drummer Matt Burr – are bundles of joyous energy, ripping through almost two dozen songs in a frenetic set that last more than two hours."

(Continued... Grace Potter and the Nocturnals create night sweats in a high-energy, high-quality gig (review) | cleveland.com)

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Tomorrow: of Montreal @ Beachland Ballroom

I won't be going to see of Montreal tomorrow at the Beachland Ballroom ($18 / 8:30pm), even though I'd probably like it better than the last time I saw them at the House of Blues. However, I do think these guys are pretty spectacular. Check out their new, trippy & NSFW video below.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Perfume Genius @ La Blogotheque

I'm so glad this didn't get lost in my shuffle.  I couldn't imagine a better match for La Blogotheque than Perfume Genius.  Bump this up to HD, go full screen, sit back and soak it in.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Video Tuesday

Going upbeat this week!  Chad Valley's Tell All Your Friends is a slick pop song worth a listen.  Next up is some new Tegan & Sara with a playful video for Closer.  Finally is Tanlines trying to show you they're Not the Same.

This weeks bonus belongs to A.C. Newman and his creepy video for I'm Not Talking.

Tomorrow: Grace Potter & the Nocturnals @ House of Blues

(SOLD OUT) The recent push behind Grace Potter & the Nocturnals music has been so strong that I never really looked into these guys.  I sometimes think that if a band is doing really well, I'll just focus my interest and exploration elsewhere.  I'm glad I got pulled back around to Grace Potter by joining some friends to see her at the House of Blues tomorrow night.  

If you're already somewhat familiar with her, I would highly suggest her new album (The Lion, The Beast, The Beat) over her previous one - though she's got plenty of others.  It seems as if she's true a veteran (already), and one who's been largely independent and paying her dues.  Check out her newest video for Never Go Back.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Eternal Summers (12/1/12)

I'll admit, Eternal Summers haven't been on my short-list of must listen music lately, but the more I listened to their newest album, Correct Behavior, the more I liked them (again).  I got there in time to catch a few songs of Chomp, which includes some of the guys from Cloud Nothings.  Good stuff, as you'd expect.

Chomp (12/1/12)

By this time, I was regretting having already eaten dinner (those dogs looked so good).  I settled for another pint of Laguinitas IPA and settled in for a great Eternal Summers set (and the volume in the venue was manageable!).  They definitely had an alternative 80's throwback sound in their live set, though this wasn't the best clip to capture…

Here's a better song to judge them by:

You Kill by Eternal Summers on Grooveshark

Eternal Summers (12/1/12)

Eternal Summers (12/1/12)

The Stray Birds (11/30/12)

One of the (many) promotional emails I get alerted me to this show and while I'm grateful for the flag, I'm reminded that I need to pay better attention to these shows at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  This is now my second show there and both have been superb (the first was the Zoe Muth show). I can't think of a better way to spend a Fall Friday evening than with The Stray Birds at Happy Days Lodge.  As you can probably tell from the photos below, they're folk/bluegrass.  And while I've always enjoyed this genre, few bands catch me as quickly as these guys have.

While i'll admit that I was first smitten with Maya's Gillian Welch-like vocals, the whole band stepped in with equal parts charm.  I also loved their harmonies, and the intimacy that having only one microphone on stage provides.  In this space, the sound was crystal clear and it just rang through you.  And as you can also see from the pictures, there were a plethora of instruments kept the whole sound fresh.

The Stray Birds (11/29/12)

The Stray Birds (11/29/12)

The Stray Birds (11/29/12)

They have some stunning songs from their newest self-titled album, particularly the first two tracks, Dream in Blue and 25 to Life.  Unfortunately I didn't capture either of these, but My Brother's Hill is quite good.