Coach Bombay is the best thing out of Melbourne's indie scene this year. It's a mix between Darwin Deez and MGMT but hold's a unique flavour of it's own.
Catchy song's and poppy synth makes for a cute album to throw on for a quick pick me up.
Beamer:
Download the EP off bandcamp, it's cheap, it's about 5 dollars, and it's going to support local music! DO IT!
The Andrew Jackson Jihad are the best folk punk band out right now.
Reminiscent of The Mountain Goats (another band you really should listen to) Andrew Jackson Jihad write songs full of whit and charm about politics and love which will at times crack you up or have you in tears.
Every song of their songs has at least one of those "oh... thats a clever lyric" moment in them.
Eg. Personal Space Invader's
How can you put that stuff up your nose When you know how coke is manufactured, It's made by children for the immature, It's made by babies who've been captured.
Therefore i really recommend downloading the album's Can't Maintain and People That Eat People are the Luckiest People in the World this instant as i can only find the live versions of their songs on youtube and such. However, the live versions are still brilliant.
A Song Dedicated to the Memory of Stormy the Rabbit:
Here is Personal Space Invader:
People:
So there you go. Have a good listen to these albums, they will keep you consumed for a few weeks. I assure it!
Right Away, Great Captain is as good as indie folk gets to be honest.
So have a listen to both albums.
It will take a few listen's to completely appreciate, the melodies are subtle and yet addictive. Brilliant lyrics saturate both albums, The Bitter End and The Eventually Home.
If you need convincing, here are the three most accessible songs IMO. Look up Right Ahead, Young Sailor, Devil Dressed in Blue and Oh No, I Tried.
But you're probably lazy like me, so here are the links.
There is a massive amount of hype surrounding the indie rock/pop band Foster The People, and for once i think it is well deserved. Their songs are extremely catchy and the lyrics are both deep and clever.
Who would have thought that after cutting through the poppy chorus of Pumped up Kicks that the lyrics would reveal a story about a student going on a high school shooting spree?
"all the other kids with the pumped up kicks you'd better run, better run, outrun my gun.
all the other kids with the pumped up kicks you'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet"
Pumped up Kicks:
Definitely have a listen to the rest of their EP and a new album will be coming out shortly. This band seems to have potential. Hopefully it will fill the void of MGMT and do so without having to mimic their sound.
As a side note, i haven't posted in a few weeks mainly because i have been flat out with exams and such, but i shall be getting back into it again. Thanks for reading!
My next picks for the best of folk series are a few bands i have really been enjoying after a recent discovery.
Blind Pilot are an indie folk/ pop band originating from Portland, Oregon.
At first listen most of the songs are immediately catchy, some although being original sound familiar, almost as if you had dreamed of the hooks and progressions previously.
Admittedly, Blind Pilots album 3 Rounds and a Sound could easily fall into the trap of becoming a non-offensive album to be played in the background of a store, however there is enough distinction in some outstanding songs which pulls the album through any mediocrity.
Some of these great tracks are The Story I Heard, The Bitter End and the title track 3 Rounds and a Sound.
3 Rattles and a Sound:
The Story I Heard (very good live):
Cast Spells is my next best of folk pick. A band which has a simple and honest sound, beautiful harmonies and make full use of acoustic instrumentation. You have to give major props to artists who can sit in a little room and just make such good music. Outstanding tracks are A Badge, Letters, Water Story Hellos.
A Badge (live):
Their Ep is only $3.99 from the following website:
Cast Spells also work closely with another band named Good Old War, i highly recommend listening to them and they have a similar sound. They have made a split Ep with Cast Spells and its a really nice piece of work.
My Own Sinking Ship (live):
That's Some Dream:
You can also download it cheap from their band camp website here:
I've decided i might do a 4 part series on the best of folk out at the moment.
So if you don't like folk you should read this anyway as you probably have the wrong impression about it!
Horse Feathers:
How i have waited for a band to capture an American Colonial sound like Horse Feather's have accomplished. The album House With No Home is drenched with beautiful violins, guitar and heart wrenching boy/girl vocal harmonies.
I will do a full review of Horse Feathers at a later date because i really love their new album. Until then enjoy the following.
Stand out track is Curs of Weed's:
The Weepies
What a great band! Simple and to the point with lovely boy girl harmonies, The Weepies have produced some really catchy pop/folk songs. Have a listen to:
Ok. So i only stumbled across them by accident. I was listening to a joint cover by them and Neutral Milk Hotel and was absolutely blown away by the song writing.
Really you have to have a listen this band! The song Glue off the Album Are You Sleepy? is extremely good both lyrically, musically and the chorus builds to a point where i get shivers when i hear it.
"And I will scream, she hears me I will tell myself she loves me And all the lies and fears Will stick to me like glue"
Here is the Original:
Neutral Milk Hotel/The Gerbils Cover:
The Rest of the album is in a similar lo-fi folk style. If you are into Neutral Milk Hotel then you will absolutely love this band.
It's amazing how after so many years a band like The Zombies can still sound so fresh. It's as if each song was created and recorded yesterday, the only hint of it being from the 60's is the period three part harmony's.
If you haven't ever heard of The Zombies or have and simply can't be bothered buying all their music than their greatest hits album is the way to go.
As a rule i HATE greatest hits albums, however i really think The Zombies Greatest Hits has actually been handled with a little care and love and it actually meshes well as an album.
Lead singer Colin Blunstone's voice is so crisp and smooth, and The Zombies really excel at their melodic beach sound. It's worth at least having a listen to the following two songs.
I saw this film clip a few months ago and thought it was great. It is was made by the band Hollerado for their new song Americanarama. Not the greatest song i've come past by any means but its listenable and the film clip is actually so rad.
Major props for actually being able to rhyme Philadelphia into a song.
Yellow Ostrich is a band you can easily fall in love with. Described as bedroom-folk, Yellow Ostrich certainly has a raw sound despite many of the tracks being overlayed with various pre-recorded harmonies and loops.
The best way to describe Yellow Ostrich is perhaps a toned down lo-fi Darwin Deez. The new album The Mistress was produced entirely in the lead singer Alex Schaaf's closet.
Despite being little claustrophobic at times due to the use of Alex’s compressed vocals and subtle static throughout the album, The Mistress really delivers some lovely simple folk songs that will get easily stuck in your head for many days.
Stand out tracks are Hold On and Whale
Whale:
Also have a listen to the track Bread from their EP Fade Cave. It is really beautiful. Both the Album and EP are free if you click on the band camp link. Or if you really like their music you can pay whatever you feel is worthy!
Good folk music can sometimes be hard to come by. The Woods however are great. Their new EP titled EP Logue is both richly recorded and contemplative. Even a little experimental.
The EP only consists of five small songs, however each song deserves to be listened to.
The best part is that the EP is free. Click below to download!
The Maccabees are both as underrated as you can be, and as good as indie rock gets. Just like the band got their name by randomly selecting a word out of the bible, i found about these guys during a random conversation with my friend Callum.
The album "Colour It In" is filled to the absolute brim with catchy riffs and melodies. It's one of those albums you can just press play and tap your foot to the whole way through.
Freelance Whales are a band i never thought i would like. I don't know why, maybe it was the fact that their debut album Weathervanes was too well produced and highly polished for my liking. Maybe it was a hesitation at the use of synth effects on the album or it could have been because i just didn't like the "post emo" label attached to the band.
Either way, after listening to the album from start to finish i realised that Weathervanes was probably the most underrated album of 2010. It's more indie pop then post-emo, however i can see the resemblance to the original emo bands of the 90's and 00's. Perhaps the best way to describe them is Postal Service goes Folk.
A strange but intriguing blend of folk and synth instruments combine to make a compelling album. The harmonies are superb and so are the lyrics. The hooks in this album will grab from the moment you hear them and grow every listen after. Have a listen to these two tracks, but its really worth listening to the album through.
If you like indie pop songs with great hooks then Freelance Whales will do it for you.
This band really is for the painfully alone. Simple electric piano riffs and programmed drum loops, backed by the Owen Ashworth's, pained, often gruff vocals can leave you feeling a little depressed. But then again sometimes you need to.
I am definitely a lyrics person and CFTPA is lyrically excellent band. They are matter of fact and powerful, each song as interesting as the next. A few songs are less then a minute long, for example "The Only Way to Cry" yet have a very simple truth to them.
a man goes to the movies & buys every seat in the house he cries alone in the darkness until the end credits roll he says i know it seems extravagant but have you ever tried man it's the only way to cry
The stand out song from the album Etiquette is "I love you Creedence" and the chorus pretty much sums the song up.
and this September I'll be 26 years old & El's still the only one besides my dad who's ever said I love you Creedence
I don't understand how a band like Sleep Decade isn't more popular then it is. The Ambient/Pop band from Geelong have some really interesting tracks and a very unique sound.
I only heard of them through my wonderful friend Karah who grew up in the same area as them. Even so, the only way i could listen to their music was either through their myspace page or Cd's sold at the band's gigs.
Luck for us, all that has changed as you can now download Sleep Decades "Spilt Ink - EP" off iTunes for a cool $6.76. If your only going to buy one or two songs have a listen to Colour Between the Lines and Mexico on my Front Porch. The whole EP is good, and cheap. Lash out and support local music!
Big Scary is a band with a lot of potential. I first heard their songs at the start of last year but never investigated further. However i was pleasantly surprised after seeing them support the Hungry Kids of Hungary gig.
The band consists of only two people (much alike the Flight of the Conchords but cooler). Tom (he) and Jo (she). Tom the lead singer, plays guitar and piano while Jo plays drums. Their music ranges from the upbeat indie rock "Apple Song" which will get you singing the chorus over and over, to the poppy "Falling Away".
I find that Tom's vocals are reminiscent of Buckley's. Although not as refined in range, his tone is very similar especially in songs such as Hey Somebody. I highly recommend you get to a Big Scary gig, you wont be disappointed.
The Apple Song:
Falling Away:
Big Scary. More then just a good band name. Download them now!
So after hearing so much plagiarised music i have decided to do a sporadic 6-part (or more) series on artists you should delete from your iPod in defiance. We all learned that plagiarism is not o.k in elementary school, yet why are bands able to get away with it when we can't? So i am taking a stand and busting bands which i think ripped other hard working artists! Starting with...
Augie March - One Crowded Hour.
I know, I like(d) their music but there is no denying some amount of plagiarism. Now it's not only the fact that they have ripped off a song, but the fact that they stole it from the music villain of the nineties, Natalie Imbruglia. Embarrasing? Yes.
I don't think i could sleep tonight if i didn't make my first music post about Neutral Milk Hotel. I love this band more than you can imagine. If you have never heard of them, first read this brief history and then please go and buy their album as soon as you can. You really need them on your iPod.
Neutral Milk Hotel was formed by lead singer and guitarist Jeff Mangum in the early 90's. They made one EP and two albums. The most interesting thing about NMH is that despite growing success the band broke up in 1999 never performing again. The cause for the breakup is thought to be due to Jeff Mangum's disenchantment with touring and the music press. Later on he also suffered a nervous breakdown.
"In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" was the bands second album and was released to critical acclaim. To this day it is still regarded as one of the best albums amongst indie circles. The album is fascinating from start to finish and is largely inspired by the story of Anne Frank.
Here is the most appealing song on the record (King of Carrot Flowers Part 1, 2 & 3) but each song, despite the eclectic and often overpowering sound, grows on you on each listen and never gets old.
Have a listen to Oh Comely and Two Headed Boy Part 1 and 2 as well if the above link captures your ear! Possibly the greatest thing about NMH is that many songs were never studio recorded, instead captured live at impromptu performances at friends birthday parties or radio shows. There aren't many other band's in existence which have been as influential in the indie music scene today. We can only hope that one day Jeff tours and records again!
If you hate Kesha, Coldplay or any other mainstream music which makes you want to gnash your teeth into powder then this is the blog for you. If you want to hit every kid who says that he loves this new indie band called Kings of Leon then this is the blog for you. If you sometimes feel like saying "Hey! Listen to this, Indie Kid!" then you have found the right place. This blog will contain my opinions on the best and worst new and old music i find or rediscover. I like my music. I hope you do too. Enjoy.
