Folk
The Tallest Man on Earth – 1904
Kristian Matsson is The Tallest Man on Earth, and he just released a new track from his upcoming album There’s No Leaving Now, which will be released June 12th. There has always been a raw and unflinching quality about Matsson’s music. What has drawn me to him in the past is his distinct vocal twang and the abstract images his lyrics manage to paint in my mind. With “1904″ he maintains this unique aesthetic, which results in the most pleasant thing you’ll hear all day.
MP3: “1904″ – The Tallest Man on Earth
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Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Mother [VIDEO]
Edward Sharpe, known at birth as Alex Ebert, has one of the most magical, timeless voices of the singers of our day. I’ll stand behind the statement, and I think you will too as you listen to “Mother.” I introduced you guys to this song a couple weeks ago, but now the band has released a video to go with the vocal recording, and it’s beautiful as well. It features motherhood at multiple stages, and its rawness matches perfectly with Ebert’s voice. After Mother’s Day yesterday, I think it’s only fair to say that if you’re able, spend some time with your mother and thank her for all she’s done for you.
To refresh your memories, here’s a bit about “Mother.” “I wanted to explain to her that taking her for granted for so much of my life was less a function of my admitted selfishness and more a function of her unwavering love for me. Her unflinching steadiness I took to be immovable fact — I took her for ‘granite,’ as the poem goes, to make my stand upon. [...] As it stands it is one of my favorite pieces of ours, and I am very grateful that it has found a place to live and give in this album,” Ebert wrote.
The Lumineers – Ho Hey [Video]
The Lumineers released the music video for their–arguably–most popular song, “Ho Hey.” Immediately my reactions were:
- Sure do look happy for the message in the lyrics
- I love the dark colors that then pop in the end with bright confetti falling from the sky
- What a beautiful, beautiful trio; making beautiful, beautiful music
Electric Guest – Mondo (Album Review)
If I had to tab one artist under the “Will Blow Up Over Summer” label, Electric Guest would be on the receiving end of my vote, no question. (Well dammit, then you’ve got Reptar). Either way, there’s no doubt both are incredibly worthy, and unfortunately my awards mean NOTHING. Anyhoo… I digress.
The Los Angeles duo comprised of Asa Tacone & Matthew Compton have succeeded in setting the bar high with their debut album Mondo. The ten song album somehow finds a way to cruise along with ease, as each song possesses a unique little something that some would call the “intangibles.” After multiple plays through the album the leading candidates for my personal favorite tracks are “Troubleman”, “Awake”, “This Head I Hold,” & “Amber” (Those would be in no particular order).
Oh, and did I mention this album was produced by the legendary Danger Mouse? You know these dude’s are good when I get this far into a review and have not dropped the legendary Danger Mouse’s name. Typically, I feel when music tends to become “produced” it loses some of that raw / natural sound that’s inherent of the band’s overall vibe. Although it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what Electric Guest’s “sound” is, it is relatively clear that they resemble a funky indie pop group tangled with a folksy almost 70′s-ish vibe. Very cool stuff if you ask me.
I’m not sure there’s anything better than coming across a young new band that manages to woo you with their sweet, simple melodies? Electric Guest manages to do just that, but before we get too stoked on them, let’s take a look at some of the highlights as well as “low-lights” from their first album.
The record leads off with a synth heavy robotic sounding track in “Holes.” They opted to not start the album with a banger, and “Holes” manages to float along leaving you curious as to what to expect next.
The next track titled “This Head I Hold,” you may have already heard. It comes right out and grabs your attention with the upbeat catchy vocals. I always have said this song would go great in that next new Apple product commercial, and who knows? With all the attention Electric Guest will be receiving in the near future, it’s certainly not a long-shot.
After “This Head I Hold,” there were a few songs I personally found to get a little squished together and do not stand out as well compared to some others, if you know what I mean? To give you an idea these tracks would be “Amber,” “The Bait” & “Waves.” Not trying to say they are not “good,” in fact they are quite unique in their own right. They just won’t be seeing as much action on my iTunes, I guess is what I’m trying to say.
Then “Troubleman” comes along at track #8. All I have to say is WOW! Very impressed at this behomoth of a track coming in just under 9 minutes. It shows some serious elements of folk music, in fact almost country sounding in a way, yet it’s intertwined with a distinct electro sound that really makes this song stand out. A definite must listen.
The funky beats and bubbly bass lines throughout this record will undoubtedly get your head noddin’ if not dancing all around the room. Many artists these days are attempting to imitate this indie pop sound, yet few manage to stand out. I highly suggest Electric Guest and everything they have to offer. Definitely a fresh breath of air from what we’ve heard lately.
I think you’ll want to give this album a try. So, turn this one up and cheers to warm weather! Enjoy, my friends.
Album Rating: 7.5 / 10
Tape Tuesday: This is Country
My life has recently changed. I have taken a liking to country, and it truly has changed my life. I’m not exactly sure how it happened–maybe from kids playing it at school, maybe from my sister playing it at home, but one day I just couldn’t stop listening to it and it’s been in heavy rotation ever since.
A lot of people hate country–trust me, I understand that. I couldn’t listen to it until about a week and a half ago, and I couldn’t understand what anyone saw in it. Now I’ve completely flip flopped. When people tell me they can’t listen to country now, it makes no sense to me.
Anyway, these are my favorite country songs right now, the songs that got me into country in the first place.
By all means, PLEASE help me grow my country collection. Let me know in the comments what else I should be listening to!
Josh Kelley – Georgia Clay
Benjy Davis Project – Mississippi
Jason Aldean – Dirt Road Anthem
Punch Brothers – This Girl
Jason Aldean – Church Pew or Barstool
Joe Nichols – Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off
Kenny Chesney – You and Tequila (feat. Grace Potter)
Zac Brown Band – Chicken Fried
Zac Brown Band – Different Kind of Fine
Old Crow Medicine Show – Wagon Wheel
Download “This is Country”
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Dream Big
[Introducing] She’s a Keeper – Live at Midwestern
A friend of mine just introduced me to the folk rock band She’s a Keeper, and I’m really excited about them.
They’ve got a sound very reminiscent to Mumford & Sons, but they have a little more country twang in their tunes. They describe themselves as “Americana pop from the middle of the map,” and that explanation is pretty much on point.
I’m posting both the SoundCloud stream of their newest release, Live at Midwestern, and also a video to “Stupid Heart,” which appears on the live release.
I’ve been on a Kings of Leon binge recently and this music works perfectly with it, in a strange kind of way.
I suggest listening to Live at Midwestern once through without repeating or skipping any songs, just soaking in the music, listening to the nuances of the banjo, violin, cello, and other various stringed instruments. They’ve got something unique and great and I’m excited to hear more out of them.
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Dream Big
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Mandolin Orange – Clover Tune [Video]
One of my favorite folk bands, Mandolin Orange, has just put out a new video for their song “Clover Tune.” It’s a beautifully directed and produced video that shows multiple views of the adorable duo (at times backed by other instrumentalists), ranging from a cozy in-home studio to a larger stage.
Words from the band:
“The style and feeling of the song were heavily inspired by Townes Van Zandt, but he is not necessarily the protagonist. The video was filmed in two locations in our hometown, UNC’s Memorial Hall and the Southern Rail in Carrboro. We used a live take of this song from the Memorial Hall shoot, which includes bandmates Jeff Crawford (bass) and James Wallace (electric piano), instead of using the studio recording from Hard Hearted Stranger.”
Video Credits:
Director – Gabriel Nelson
Producer – Anson Burtch
Hit the jump for upcoming tour dates.
Continue reading “Mandolin Orange – Clover Tune [Video]” »
Patrick Watson Announces Tour Dates, Releases ‘Into Giants’
Patrick Watson is one of my favorite artists I’ve discovered throughout my tenure as a music blogger. When I heard he had a new song out, I immediately jumped on the opportunity to listen. Just as I expected, it’s beautiful, it’s sweet, and it showcases the absolutely stunning voice of Patrick Watson. And the guitar picking toward the end of the song? Makes my heart melt a bit.
Good news for us! Patrick is releasing an album, Adventures in Your Own Backyard, on May 1 (woo! my birthday!) on Domino in the US. He and his band will be playing a headlining performance at SXSW and will be playing on select dates with Andrew Bird in May.
From the press release itself:
Adventures in Your Own Backyard is an attempt by Watson and his band to simplify their sights, and make music a bit more close to home in every sense of the phrase. The album was made at home, almost entirely in Watson’s apartment in Montreal, after a grueling five-year run that saw Patrick tour the world in support of two critically-acclaimed and successful albums, including the Polaris award-winning Close To Paradise. During this time, Patrick also contributed to Ma Fleur, the 2007 album from The Cinematic Orchestra, co-writing and singing on a sizeable portion of the record. In spite of the relatively spartan settings in which to record, as opposed to his previous efforts which were sprawling recordings in both geography and arrangements, Adventures… is equally as ambitious as Watson’s past albums, though permeated with a greater sense of patience and confidence.
Hit the jump for a full list of tour dates.
Continue reading “Patrick Watson Announces Tour Dates, Releases ‘Into Giants’” »
Baobab – Spring Forward
It’s only been a couple of months since I moved out of Durham, but since then, apparently a new band has sprung up out of nowhere and is very quickly gaining traction amongst music bloggers internationally. I just heard about Baobab today and it was in passing; I nearly passed up on the opportunity to press play, but once I read that they were from Durham, I committed myself to listening to a couple of their songs. Minutes later, I was hooked.
MP3: “Music for a Movie” – Baobab
MP3: “Spring Forward” – Baobab
Their sound is unique, decorated with electronic sounds mixed with acoustic-sounding guitars, all iced with beautiful layered vocals that feel like silk sheets on freshly made bed. It’s beautiful and captivating all at the same time. At times it sounds orchestral and operatic, and other times it sounds as though it was influenced by tribal rituals. How many times are you actually able to say that about one song? To answer my own question: hardly ever.
MP3: “Apples in April” – Baobab
[via Knox Road]
Bon Iver Live at AIR Studios
If you ever doubted the natural talent of Justin Vernon, or all of Bon Iver for that matter, stop now and watch this video. Justin Vernon and Bon Iver’s Sean Carey got in a studio with little more than two grand pianos and some microphones to create this beautiful version of some of their songs from the latest album, some from the Blood Bank EP, and another take of the stunning cover of Bonnie Raitt’s I Can’t Make You Love Me. My heart melts at the moment when Justin starts belting out the chorus of I Can’t Make You Love Me.
Being that I’m a huge sucker for pianos, I am absolutely love-stricken at the sight of this video. Thank you, Justin and Sean. And a thank you to 4AD and Jagjaguwar for putting this together.
Also a thank you to Disco Naivete for making this downloadable. Download a .zip file of this recording here.
And if you knew some of those people who watched The Grammys this year and wondered afterwards who ‘Bonny Bear’ was, show them this video. Guarantee you they’ll never ask that silly question again.
Arjun’s Edit: Also, show them this video, and they’ll be scared of Bonny Bear forever.
3 Folk EPs For Your Upcoming Week
Outside it’s raining. Inside I have some hot chocolate, a blanket (too embarrassed to admit that it’s actually a Snuggie), and this music. It’s a Sunday, and I’m not quite ready to start a new week. If you’re dealing with the same sorry predicament, this post is for you. Below is some relaxing folk music that will warm your soul and help you deal with the turmoils of the upcoming week. That’s the idea at least.
Because some days here at Sunset in the Rearview all we want is some softer folk music.
1. Wake! Owl – Wild Country
This EP is a collection of 5 really catchy, well-executed folk songs. Each one follows a flawless, four step formula: begin with the strumming of a guitar, then add some soft singing to it, then burst into infectious harmonies, and then quietly close by fading out into nothingness. I honestly think I could listen to this all day and not grow tired of it. These songs are meant for a rainy Sunday.
2. The Oh Hello’s – The Oh Hello’s
The Oh Hello’s create a similarly relaxed atmosphere. I don’t know how to describe it, but their music just sounds like home: cozy, warm, reliable. Also, I’m a sucker for male-female vocal pairings. Like Stars–that’s my shit. But I digress. Listen to and download the four tracks below and try not to square dance (?) during the second and fourth tracks.
3. Milo Greene – The Hello Sessions
Milo Greene is going to be a big deal; the only question is when. In The Hello Sessions, they created four powerful folk songs that sit in a realm of simplicity and perfect execution. If anything just listen to that moment before the chorus sets in on “Silent Way” when one of the four lead singers sighs, “When we are older can I still come over?” That’s the moment I knew this was a special band.
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5 Beautiful Songs For Your Wednesday
Valentine’s Day is over, so those of us without official Valentine’s dates can quit our moping and continue falling in love with some beautiful new (some of them are new, anyway) songs. Male or female, there’s no denying the beauty in some of these songs. It’s also the middle of the work week. Maybe some of us are in need of a boost to push us through. Here it is.
Also, I’d just like to mention that “Plastic” by Midnight Lion has been one of my favorite songs of the past few months? I’ve been contemplating how to release it to you guys, and this seems like the perfect method of release. The build of the song, and the explosion when they hit the chorus toward the end of the song is one of the more orgasmic sections of a song that I’ve heard in a long time.
Today’s 5 Songs:
- “Plastic” – Midnight Lion
- “You Got A Lot To Learn” – CA Smith
- “Sa Sa Samoa” (ft. Julianna Barwick) – Korallreven
- “Brooklyn With Your Highest Wall” – Denison Witmer
- “Little Talks” – Of Monsters and Men
oh it’s good to be home/ stood barefoot in my own little portion of the river/ and i’ll take you with me/ if that’s alright
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