Where the food sounds good, and the music is pretty tasty too.
Yesterday (February 28th) Maya Postepski and Robert Alfons the Toronto-based duo Trust dropped their 2012 full length debut TRST. And so I thought you may like a listen. I mean, I could be so wrong because you may not like robust and darkly groovy musical fare that’ll make you move something otherwise used for sitting on. Oh, I am such the mischievous music reviewer aren’t I? Don’t answer that. You can purchase TRST on iTunes or Amazon. Peace. Continue reading “Trust // Sulk”
Propaganda aside, Kele Okereke (of Bloc Party fame) is still with Bloc Party. That being said, you can check him out doing his solo thing. His first solo effort The Boxer (2010) was met with moderate success, then Kele dropped his follow-up The Hunter (2011). Now, even if you missed all that it’s cool. Kele is still with Bloc Party, and you can still check out his newly reworked remix Ft. Lucy Taylor. I think it’s a winner, but hell what do I know. Peace. Continue reading “Kele // What Did I Do // Ft. Lucy Taylor (All The Lights Remix)”
March 20th is fast approaching for the release of the 9-song album from the band Conduits. Right now it is available as pre-order at online shop. Yes, there are two options: CD digipack or 12″ vinyl + CD wallet. I love vinyl so my decision is an easy one. What will you get? Doesn’t matter, I’m just being nosy. Peace. Continue reading “Conduits //”
The more I hear of the band TOPS the more I’m inclined to want to hear more. Check out the band’s new Jasper Baydala directed video for the song “Rings Of Saturn” which is a beautiful song with a past/present feel to it, and the home/movie/made quality of the video lends itself handsomely to that duality. After watching the video, all I have to say is, I wonder what’s in the punch? Peace. Continue reading “TOPS // Rings Of Saturn”
When watching or listening to the audio/visual projects of iamamiwhoami right away you know you’ve stumbled off the beaten path, and so far it’s a good thing. Here, in the artsy landscape of iamamiwhoami you’re constantly discovering something, if not special, then at a bare minimum interesting. Swedish singer/songwriter, and dare I say performance artist, Jonna Lee appears to have tapped into a fantastical world where reality is highly stylized and emotionally revelatory. It isn’t a hard guess to determine that many how the works are concerned about facing one’s fears and being vulnerable. And in this latest round of songs/videos we are treated to a barely clad (vulnerable) JL and she’s bringing an entire arsenal of emotion to bare. Immediately you get a sense of barely restrained trepidation, and that better days are long past and longed for. Then there is the matter of the hairy beast man thingy and it’s right out of a Jeff Soto painting. What does its presence represent? Fear? Undefined desires? Indecisiveness? I suppose the proper artsy response would be to interpret, or intuit it in whatever way you want to. And so we’ll leave it right there. Enjoy this duo of videos, and come back and visit again for the next installment of corresponding acts, the songs/videos “good worker” and “play” will be out soon. And, you we can anticipate the album Kin, which is scheduled for a June 11th release. Peace. Continue reading “iamamiwhoami // sever // drops // Video”
I cannot think of another singer/songwriter/guitarist with a more tranquil voice as that belonging to Kurt Wagner of Nashville’s perennial country band Lambchop. His vocals are at once old-timey speakeasy and by turns possess a mellow dangerous magic. On the bands 11th release Mr. M you get treated to more of what you expect from this subtle powerhouse of strings and twang. And with beautiful songs like, “If Not I’ll Just Die” and “Gone Tomorrow,” I think it’ll be hard not to want this for yourself. Also, you can stream the Mr. M album release for a limited time at Merge Records. Enjoy. Peace. Continue reading “lambchop | gone tomorrow”
Sky Barbarick & Matt Buszko make up NYC duo Noosa and they’re logging a lot of frequent flyer miles with their interstellar space traveling song, “Fear Of Love.” You can expect Noosa’s forthcoming Fear Of Love to drop this Spring so be on the look out. Peace. Continue reading “Noosa // Fear Of Love”
Toronto based quartet Azari & III have a glossy new video for their dance ready track “Reckless (With Your Love),” and that’s not all, the song R (WYL) is available on iTunes as well. What a great day this has turned out to be, right? Peace. Continue reading “Azari & III // Reckless (With Your Love) Video”
Even if Muscovite Nina Kraviz wasn’t scintillately hot would I still gravitate towards her music? Hell YES! Although she is quite the eye-candy, it her skills as a DJ/Producer/Vocalist that’ll keep you drooling on dance floors or in the comfy confines of your very own chill pad (hopefully not alone). Ms. Kraviz’s sound is a pleasant mix of bare-bones house, the old school Detroit house variety. Throw in a smidgin of R&B, add Nina’s adroit and honey dripping vocals and you got an album to be reckoned with. I know you’re feeling this, so cop it at iTunes. Peace. Continue reading “nina kraviz // ghetto kraviz”
It’s not that Justin Vernon of Bon Iver is feeling himself after his 54th Grammy Awards nomination and subsequent wins for Best Alternative Music Album and Best New Artist respectively, anything but. He still remains humble and true to his craft, and in some respects maintains, no elevates his integrity for not bowing to the pressure of the machine by not performing. His reason for shunning the stage and thus losing an opportunity to be seen by some 39.3 million viewers (Nielsen Co.)? Well, it’s simple. Justin Vernon is his own man. It is apparent Justin Vernon loves the music he creates. But it goes beyond that, he respects and cares deeply for his bandmates too. And lastly, he respects his chosen craft and his fans. Don’t me wrong, performing on a Grammy stage is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s not. But Justin Vernon didn’t want to have to jump through hoops to do it. Why go through the staid motions of a heartless collaboration not of his own choosing? And so he demurred. What Bon Iver did is laudable to say the least. And yes, there are more important things in this world than award shows, but what Mr. Vernon represented, was that you can be present at an award, and even graciously accept an award, but you don’t have to be the award show. And he didn’t. Mr. Vernon knows in his heart that the music is infinitely more important than a Grammy award. What a class act.
Now, I almost forgot I was writing about Bon Iver’s new NABIL directed video for “Towers” and it is beautifully shot and choke full with visual metaphor aplenty. And yes, it many even be channeling Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man And The Sea, but that’s a way cool thing too. Peace. Continue reading “bon iver // towers (official video)”
