The Oh Hellos are an absolutely amazing brother/sister folk band hailing from Texas. Their sound is somewhere around Mumford & Sons with a splash of The Head and The Heart. How The Oh Hellos have not completely blown up yet is simply a matter of timing. Released just last month, their debut full length album, Through the Deep, Dark Valley, is a concept album with a warm sound and beautiful lyrics. Best of all, the entire album is available over at Bandcamp on a name-your-price basis. Get it while it lasts!
Why? lives in some strange world between Beck and Mc Frontalot. Check out their newest single from Mumps Ect. called "Jonathan's Hope".
Even while taking a global soul searching journey hip-hop artist Sol still managed to find himself in the studio. This time he sends us his track from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As usual, Sol keeps it very laid back while lyrically working through his experiences abroad. Here is "Old Him", and stay tuned for more as his travels bring him home once again.
This one is for the ladies. English folk singer Rosie May released her debut ep earlier this year called Too Far To Swim, and what beautiful voice she has. Keep an eye on this one. Enjoy!
From the new "The Man with the Iron Fists" soundtrack check out "The Baddest Man Alive" featuring Wu-Tang's RZA and The Black Keys.
"Marijuana Deathsquads are comprised of multiple drummers, a slew of electronic instruments, and highly effected vocals, their live shows are a violent onslaught of improvised electronic-hardcore. They began as a side-project of Building Better Bombs, which is why all members of BBB are also in Marijuana Deathsquads. Their live shows, as well as studio recordings, feature multiple colaborations with a ton of outsourced musicians. This results in a constantly evolving experience, teeming with spontaneity and surprise."
Marijuana Deathsquads' newest effort is a silly yet hard hitting hip-hop electronic adventure. Titled Tamper.Disable.Destroy. and featuring a slew of Minnesota based artists such as P.O.S., Astronautalis, and Justin Vernon it's a must listen. Better yet, it's a free download! Enjoy!
New York based reggae-punk band Viva Mayday may sound like a Dispatch/State Radio rip-off, but is that really such a bad thing? Check out "We Will All" and "Monsters" below for good times.
Here is a new track from Ill Gates that Breaking Bad fans are sure to appreciate. The song borrows some dialogue from the popular AMC show as well as some samples from popular 90's songs.
Enjoy!!!
Here is a compilation of 16 tracks that I felt went under the radar this year
Psychedelic rockers Tame Impala not only locked down one of the better band names we've heard in a while, they also make some fine music. Stop reading this and start listening.
Somehow this one slipped between the cracks. Canadian indie-rock outfit Plants and Animals do a damn fine job with their single "Lightshow". Get to it.
We ran across this pleasant gentleman at the legendary Flora-Bama this summer. He had a nice yet typical "bar band covers" thing going on as we walked in, but it was his original content that kept us there. If you ever have the pleasure of seeing Albert Simpson live, be sure to request "Ding-Dong". Here's his making of video for "Roll Your Mind".
As summer slips away "Redeemer" is a perfect track to kick back with a cold one and watch the sun go down. This track is brought to us by the New Jersey based multi-instrumentalist Delicate Steve. Check out his newest album Positive Force over here for more good vibes.
Come on, I know you do. And you should spend it on this lovely release by Memphis' own The Sheriffs of Nottingham. Good stuff. I'm talkin the Black Keys, Anthony Hamilton, and Mississippi Allstars had a baby. Good and gritty. Listen before you buy on their bandcamp site.
I think this video has already been posted, but it is worth another one. Enjoy
I just stumbled across this amazing band over at the Bandcamp Staff picks page. This San Francisco based blues/jazz five-piece goes by the name Con Brio. Not only are their instrumentals stunning, but lead singer Xandra Corpora's vocals are some of the best I've heard in a while. What's even more amazing about Con Brio is they just as good, if not better live. I present to you "Not At All", both studio and live versions, see for yourself.
After a decade of silence, Dispatch has finally emerged from the shadows to give us their first full album since 2000's Who Are We Living For?. After reuniting last year and releasing their Dispatch EP, the energy around Chad and the gang has been very hopeful. Circles Around The Sun, although a little slow at times, is still an excellent addition to any Dispatch fan's library. With tracks like “Circles Around The Sun” and “Not Messin” its hard not to imagine that these guys still have some amazing music to put out. The whole album is available to stream via Soundcloud, if you like what you hear go by iTunes to grab Circles Around The Sun at the sale price of $6.99 (this week only).
Aesop Rock has done it again with his new album, Skelethon. Check out this masterfully done video for "Cycles to Gehenna".
I'm back! And I am going to use this opportunity to comment on the state of music as of today, and how it has excelled just this year alone. Save your groans, this will be short and sweet.
We all now know that music has increasingly involved digital influence and guidance. Long gone are the days when you just use instruments to record an album. Heck, half the time you don't even need a band. With the right technology, you can add "bells, whistles, boops, beeps, etc" anywhere you want. This can be disastrous (I'm looking at you excessive dub step), but this can also be beautiful if tweaked just right. Just because it doesn't involve a traditional instrument, doesn't mean it is not real music. And then there was Purity Ring. (Sidenote: if you just google Purity Ring, you may not get their band page immediately, think about it).
I listened to their album Shrines streaming free on NPR. And then I had a day or two until the band popped up back in my head, to the point where I wanted to listen them again, and so I listened again, and then again, and again, and you get the point. There is something about their clean back beats accompanied by the spacey and delightful vocals that makes your ears ache for more. Hear for yourself. And let me know.
Post-rock five piece The End Of The Ocean released a nice Ep a few weeks back called In Excelis. With school finally coming back in session, some solid instrumental tracks are needed for studying purposes. I couldn't think of a better way to start out the fall semester than with this amazing track. Give "On Floating" a listen below, and be sure to hit up The End Of The Ocean's Bandcamp page to get more where that came from.
In preparation of his upcoming album, Conner Youngblood has dropped yet another super slick single. Check out "The Warpath" off Sketches pt. 2 due out later this month, and don't forget to grab the free download from the Soundcolud player.
Trampled by Turtles and the Squidbillies have teamed up for the music video for "Walt Whitman" off TBT's newest album Stars and Satellites. Check it Out!
John Butler has decided to re-release "Ocean" as both a live video and a free mp3. The new recording is still the beautiful instrumental track it has always been even as it has matured over the past decade plus. Here's what John Butler himself had to say about this amazing piece of music:
"OCEAN is a very interesting aspect of my life. It is part of my DNA. It conveys all things I can’t put into words.
Life, loss, love, spirit. As I evolve so too does ‘Ocean’. The song was first recorded as part of my first album/cassette,
“Searching For Heritage“, which I sold when I busked, then for my first self-titled studio album 12 years ago – “John Butler (1998)”.
The song has been watched online incredibly over 25 million times in
various formats, nearly always live, be it from MusicMax Sessions or
from one of the many festivals I have had the pleasure to play. I’d like
to thank you for your continued support over all these years; it means
so much to me. I would like to thank you by offering this first studio
recording of ‘Ocean’ in over a decade as a free download.
I recorded it in my favourite studio, The Compound here in Fremantle Western Australia, a studio you helped me build.
This marks just another fleeting moment in a career that is very much ongoing.
I look forward to bringing you many new songs and albums into the future and continuing this amazing journey with you ALL.
"Instrumental band, Glorie, was formed in Memphis in the spring of 2009 by former Satyrs
frontman, Jason Paxton, after an eight year hiatus from playing music.
The other members of Glorie (Jonathan Kirkscey, Rob Brimhall, Andy
Saunders, and Jeff Hulett) come from diverse musical backgrounds and
have performed with an impressive array of artists such as Cat Power, Jay Reatard, The Bloodthirsty Lovers, Snowglobe, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and Al Green.
The band started as a desire to create more substantive, engaging instrumental music with a strong focus on melody. Their
music blends acoustic, electric, and electronic sounds and draws
inspiration from many genres including rock and instrumental hip- hop.
Texturally, the instrumentation is diverse including layers of strings,
synthesizer, guitar, piano, and vibraphone creating an entrancing thick
wall of sound with a cinematic quality."
Glorie's debut album is an amazing journey of beautiful driving instrumentals. I highly recommend. Head over to their Bandcamp page to grab Glorie, and if you like what you hear be sure to donate to help them get the next album going here.
Acoustic Syndicate may not have the best vocals in the game, but these guys can write a damn good song. The lyrics in "King for a Day" are just perfect. Check out this exclusive backstage performance from Music on the Mountaintop.
As part of Absolute Vodka's artist series an entire commercial break on Comedy Central's The Daily Show the other night was dedicated to Little Dragon's newest single "Sunshine". Not only is Yukimi Nagano an amazing artist with a beautiful voice, but she ain't too bad on the eyes either. Enjoy.
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