singles
Vitreous Detachment by Origamibiro
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This is a couple years old, but I’ve been listening to it a lot lately. You might describe Origamibiro as electroacoustic - an oxymoron that makes sense once you give the track a listen. His work is best summed up by a recent twitter post he made: Do we make an unconscious association between the crackle of a vinyl record and the crackle of a wood fire?
MORE: Download MP3 / Origamibiro on MySpace
Hindsight by Built to Spill
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Here’s a track of the upcoming album from one of my favorite bands. Built to Spill, known for epic, spacey guitar rock brings a little country to the sound. It’s like the gray hair that’s finding a way into their beards is also weaving its way into their music.
Just got home from seeing these guys live tonight. They couldn’t be playing any better. For a band that has struggled a little with being the center of attention, a little age, a little less concern, suits them well. They’ve never seemed so comfortable. Or rocked so hard.
Push by The Redwood Plan
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The Redwood Plan is an army of robots led by a spunky punk rock grrl. Keyboard lines blast like lasers, guitars slice like spinning death blades, drums pound with the heavy steps of these monsters, screaming vocal lines declare war, and hand claps make sure you are dancing for the whole thing.
Percussion Gun by White Rabbits
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This Britt Daniel produced outfit is going to struggle with a lot of Spoon comparisons. The thundering drums and sincere vocals declare the White Rabbits’ independence from the aforementioned producer who shall not be named, while the rumbling, bassy piano octaves can’t help but make you feel like that’s the way they get by. If they’re derivative at all, it’s a loving mix of Spoon and Radiohead. And I’m going back for seconds.
MORE: Download MP3 / White Rabbits on MySpace
Work by The Get Em Mamis
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These ladies strut, thump, and roll out of Baltimore with the biting toughness and swagger that radio-friendly hip-hop pretends to have. G.E.M. got a little name recognition after being featured on HBO’s the Wire. Take a listen to their mixtape and you’ll feel like your down on the corner with the hoppers. I’m not a huge hip-hop fan, but the effortless flow and ferocity of these ladies can’t be ignored.
Bless this Mess by David Bazan
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Here’s a little ditty from Pedro the Lion frontman gone solo David Bazan. I like the folky transition. Plus, I love it when doubt-riddled religion wanders into my pop music, which this whole album is about. Enjoy.
MORE: Download MP3 / David Bazan’s Website
60 Feet Tall by The Dead Weather
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Most likely, the first reason you’ve heard about The Dead Weather is because they’re Jack White’s side project to his side project - with him on the drums. But don’t let the side-project-side-project implications get to you. With members from Queens of the Stone Age, the Raconteurs, and Allison Mosshart from The Kills on lead vocals, this band puts the dangerous rattlesnake mojo back into blues rock. Turn it up and let the dirty heaviness bury you alive.
MORE: Download MP3 / The Dead Weather Website
Led to the Sea by Jenny Owen Youngs
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Youngs is an indie-pop ingenue extraordinaire. Her voice transmits like a perfectly crafted pop star, and the record snaps with tight production, and lush arrangements. This track fakes left with a little Death Cab for Cutie, bobs and weaves like Regina Spektor, and then pummels you with a top 40 chorus that you can’t help but get behind.
Pieces by Dinosaur Jr.
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90’s college-radi0 favorites Dinosaur Jr. dropped a new album that brings back J. Mascis’ enormous waves of crashing guitars and this track is no exception. Somehow he manages to bring the crunch of Neil Young, the wail of Slash, and a sloppiness that Doug Martsch of Built to Spill copied/perfected. But there’s a jangle to the whole mess that keeps it out of an alt-rock wasteland without slipping into an insipid adult-rock lull. Just wait for the guitar solo.
MORE: Download MP3 | Dinosaur Jr. on Myspace
The River’s Higher Now by Jeff Zentner
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Here in Cleveland summer is just starting to seep in to everyday. And with summer, the best part of summer, the warm-but-chilly nights are convincing me to stay out a little later talking to my neighbors, or walking the dogs, or sitting on the steps. This is a track for the in-between times of summer: for the cool evenings, the fading lights, the warm and stormy clouds. Zentner doesn’t care about a comfortable verse-chorus pop structure, he lets the guitar, banjo and mandolin paint a landscape for his vocals to breeze through. Put this one on as your next barbeque get-together winds down after dark and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
MORE: Download MP3 | Jeff Zentner on MySpace
