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Shany Kedar & Benjamin Esterlis // Comfort You (Songs By Other People)

Just let your tears run wild …

This morning I found something unexpected and absolutely gorgeous in my email inbox. Let me introduce you to Shany Kedar and Benjamin Esterlis and their sumptuous collection of heartfelt songs. Their recent release is an eclectic compilation of odes by not a few iconic musicians and songwriters that span decades. Comfort You (Songs by Other People) is presented in the low faltering last light of a vanishing sun. And like those final visages of pulsing light, these songs shimmer and glow with a soft radiance.

Shany and Benjamin have deconstructed these sonic tributes with such tenderness, and reassembled them piece by piece, using only the melted notes softened by their deep admiration for the material and the lovely heat of their burnished vocals. For me, the songs “That’s Life I Guess” made famous by Billie Holiday. “I Don’t Want You On My Mind” written by Bill Withers. And the final track “I’m A Drifter” written by Terry Callier. All of these songs are molten. But really, the entire body of work inches the temperature up, and what delicious degrees by which to work up a sweet sweat. This album just makes you want to love somebody. Or if by chance your the victim of a broken heart, these songs will provide weld and salve enough to help mend you back together again.

Check out the entire release after the jump. Plus, budgets be damned! ‘Cause with this one you can name your own price! But, even after you’ve purchased the LP, you’ll find these songs are ultimately in a word, priceless. Peace.  Continue reading “Shany Kedar & Benjamin Esterlis // Comfort You (Songs By Other People)”

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Kimbra // Settle Down (Video)

Something wonderful is happening down-under and it’s spreading like wildfire. Get ready for a hot summer and a Tsunami of above-par music from our brethren and sistren from Australia. Kimbra has a voice like melted sunshine and powered moonbeams and her song “Settle Down” just does it for me on so many levels. Take note, ’cause I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more from her. Plus, the video just kills. Kimbra’s U.S. debut album ‘VOWS’ will be released on May. However, the Settle Down EP is available now on iTunes. Peace.

Kimbra – Settle Down from Forum5 Recordings on Vimeo.

Also, check out the song “Somebody That I Used To Know” with the artist/producer Gotye. Plus, I’ve also included the vicious TheFatRat remix. I got you covered from head to toe. Enjoy.

“Somebody That I Used To Know” (TheFatRat Remix)

(Via TheFatRat)

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Joywave / / Koda Vista

There is something very familial about the Rochester, NY band Joywave in that the band is much more than the sum of it’s four core members (Daniel Armbruster, Sean Donnelly, Paul Brenner and Joseph Morinelli), and when quartet need additional help a veritable village appears and the number of counterparts can easily swell to almost a dozen members. Perhaps that is the reason the band sounds so expansive. But quotients aside this band is drawing comparisons to MGMT and Passion Pit, and although the music call fall into the super sonic ultra electro realm is also vastly different in so many ways, but alas I’ll let you be the final judge. Listening to the bands mini-album Koda Vista one hears so many influences. Instant favorites are “Who Do You Like” and “Smokestacks” but the fun doesn’t have to stop there. For an additional hit or two on the music bong, check out the band’s August 2011 7″ featuring the songs “Ridge” and “Traveling At The Speed Of Light”. On that note, listen responsively. Peace Continue reading “Joywave / / Koda Vista”

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Alcoholic Faith Mission / / Into Pieces

Alcoholic Faith Mission is a band I first began listening to a few years ago, and I’m always ready to sing, I mean, write their praises. This Danish sextet dropped their dropped their new album Ask Me This back in January and I want you to want it too. And sorry for the short notice but the band is playing at Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, MI on May 3rd. But alas, you can also cop it on Amazon too. Well, here’s hoping you enjoy this track as much as I do, and I’ll keep you posted as new material becomes available. Peace. Continue reading “Alcoholic Faith Mission / / Into Pieces”

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Athalia / / Blackrainbows (Our Sunday Best)

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia the last place (well, maybe not the last place) you’d expect to find such patently provocative soul and potently sexy music, such as Athalia creates. The track “Black Rainbows” is an aptly-titled dark beautiful affair, while “Better Things” is an outright fire starter, or candle burner. I imagine both songs will undoubtedly find their way on many music-to-make-love-to compilations. Whether you’re suspicious or merely curious, just listen, though wait until the smoke clears to thank me. And with production by such notables as Ta-ku, 3LLL, Insightful, Jazzo & Melodiesinfonie, I’m looking forward to what the future holds for this talented artist. By the way, the EP drops May 14th. Peace. Continue reading “Athalia / / Blackrainbows (Our Sunday Best)”

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KO KO / / Float

Los Angeles-based band KO KO is just brimming with a vibe that pulls double-duty; it makes you smile and dance at the same time. The bands founders, Ryan Lawhorn and brother Taylor Lawhorn proclaim their music is a product of the perpetual sunny weather found in southern California. The band’s shiny brand new bubble-wrapped melody “Float” just makes you want to skip across the sky and taste the rainbow. I’ve also included a few more tracks taken from the bands three-track single release Float. Peace. Continue reading “KO KO / / Float”

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Brothertiger / / Lovers

John Jagos is most definitely Brothertiger. And the music, well it speaks for itself. With the release of his latest LP Golden Years out now, Brothertiger is setting himself up nicely for a stellar 2012. Check out the track, “Lovers” and you’ll hear the reason for my heart-on-the sleeve enthusiasm for this Toledo, Ohio native. And if you need further inducement to fall head over heels, listen to BT‘s  cover of The Smiths old school classic “Ask” it’ll kiss you right on your sweet spot,  Hush! You know where it is. And if you’re thinking Brothertiger is new to the music scene, think again. There is a trove of music just waiting for you undivided attention over at his bandcamp, check it out. Peace.   Continue reading “Brothertiger / / Lovers”

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alt-j // breezeblocks (video) (our sunday best)

I have this to say about the Leeds, UK band Alt-J. Don’t let their debut album An Awesome Wave slip beneath your musical radar for lack of familiarity. You may have heard Alt-J’s totally (but still amazing) out of the box track, “Breezeblocks,” yet this track is only a fragment of a much larger, and conceptually complex puzzle.

Stream the entire album here at www.altjband.com. Available at Amazon and iTunes

Alt – J has so many wonderful things going on it may be difficult to put their sound into words, I’ll do my best. First, there is the unique vocals of lead singer Joe Newman, think one part hip-hop with swirls of some Romanesque bard thrown in for good measure. The music can range from the ardently, and deceptively folkish, to the bubbly sonic shock of punk fornicating with wild abandon with electro. It’s rife with so many genre flourishes and stops, starts and in-betweens. But it is exactly this which makes the band so much fun. Alt-J is simply a wondrous amalgamation of sounds; synths, guitars, and highly imaginative syncopation galore, enough to propel your backbone slipping beyond the furthest reaches of outer space. Yet, the songwriting is tight, imaginative But there is also tender songs of introspection perfect for moments of solemnness. Listen to “Tesselate,” “Matilda,”  “Ms.,” and the haunting sweetness of the track, “Bloodflood”. The latter song is like being kissed by countless scalpels and held tight by a million sutures afterwards. And then there is the hidden track, “Hand Made,” I’ll let you discover it on your own.

With the song “Breezelocks” you get a sense of the mysterious and slightly menacing, like a runaway freight train caroming off the tracks. But without a doubt it is so goddamn groovy! And although the song is filled with rolling fog and brilliant day-glo colors, it has just a bit of Nitrous oxide to keep it light, woozy and likeable. In short, it makes for fun and interesting listening. Peace.