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Oh No Oh My // Walking Into You (Video)

By some accounts the band Oh No Oh My came into being way back in ’04 and have been a steady an ongoing and growing (musically successful) project ever since. However, contrary to their almost decade long existence, their top-notch second full-length release People Problems dropped with a splash in 2011. I don’t know what happened in the in-between years, but I suspect it was just the way things worked out. Do me a favor, when you listen to People Problems, do so in the quiet of solitude and let these amazing songs come to you on their own terms. And I wouldn’t say this if it wasn’t true, this is another one of those ‘must have’ albums you’ll want in your growing vinyl collection. The album leads off with “Walking Int Me” and this, for me, set up nicely a great first impression of a band I only came to know of through some totally nefarious and clandestine turn of events. More on those events, like NEVER! But I digress…

ONOM is full of surprises, and this album is filled with song after song of melodic, rich and deep sound craft. With their multiple-instrumentation, spot-on guitar work and the odds and ends of electronic shenanigans, all this whirling around Greg Barkley’s color of sunshine voice. No matter how one describes this Austin, Texas-based outfit it only comes down to three things. Good. Gooder. Goodest. Check out Oh No Oh My‘s People Problems via bandcamp after the jump, and watch the (I want problems like this) video for, “Walking Into You.” Peace. Continue reading “Oh No Oh My // Walking Into You (Video)”

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The Black Keys // Gold On The Ceiling (Video)

You don’t need me to tell you anything you don’t already know about the Black Keys. You already know Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach are the rocking-est two-piece in a long time, if eve (Sorry White Stripes and Japandroids). Now, we have some more scruffy visual proof to back up the shit-talking our ears have been spouting off about, no matter how justified they are. Watch the guys from Akron, Ohio rock-n-roll and bring the house down with their video for “Gold On The Ceiling.” Crank it LOUD! Peace. Continue reading “The Black Keys // Gold On The Ceiling (Video)”

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The Raindoggs // Was It Necessary (Ft. Larisa Montonaro)

After the sun has gone way down. Long after the gallon of Jack Daniels lies gasping and hollow on some nameless hotel room floor. Long after the stale scent of spent cigarettes and the animal odor of wrung out bodies wafts into naked memory. After the scathing accusations, the scorn and cursing. After the bar fights and public displays of disaffection, and long after the distant echo of sirens fades out of earshot along the neglected edges of town.  After she’s slapped your face. After you’ve pulled her hair. After the lover with the least amount of interest in the relationship wields their power for the very last time, and leaves a body glistening and panting, but undeniably sated and sad. So recklessly alone now, and staring into the vapory hole through which they’ve exited your life. This song will play on. And yes, with shaky fingers attempting, but failing horribly, to light that last much needed cigarette. This song will play on and endlessly on. If ever there was ever a song to ride off into the uncaring sunset to, the latest “Was It Necessary” by Austin-based The Raindoggs is it. Peace.

“Was It Necessary” Featuring Larisa Montonaro

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The Dø // Tightrope (Janelle Monáe Cover) Video

The Dø is French/Finnish experimental pop-duo Olivia Merilahti and Dan Levy. I strongly suspect they’re not be from this planet. Which would explain quite a lot. No matter their origins,  the they create music is an incredible sound treat to your ears. I reviewed this band way back when their Both Ways Open Jaws album dropped mid-November on this side of the Atlantic. I particularly loved the first single “Dust It Off” as it’s still playing on loop inside my head. However, I’m making room inside my skull for the band’s additional sweet rendition of Janelle Monáe‘s song “Tightrope,” it is gonna really tickle your fancy place. And if that doesn’t do it for you (it will), then check out The Line of Best Fit session of the song “Slippery Slope” and I think the brassy horns will blow your hair back for you, in a good way. Peace. Continue reading “The Dø // Tightrope (Janelle Monáe Cover) Video”

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the echo vamper // lover // goodbye blue skies

When I first listened to Echo Vamper I was immediately taken in by their raw, barely restrained musicality. And since my first encounter with the rock-heavy duo was also a visual one. Spent watching their frenetic “Lover” video, I was also taken in by the pizzazzy, almost burlesque theatrics of lead-vocalist Iza Mortag Freund, channeling distinctly the resurrected spirit of Ms. Janis Joplin. But as dizzying as the video is, the music most definitely isn’t. James Brook and his guitar crank out resounding Rock-a-billy punctuated by Doppler radar syncopation, interspersed with fuzzy synths and a brash brass-knuckled bass that grazes one’s earlobe like a rusty razor. It works. You can cop the bands debut EP,  It’s The Echo Vamper, on iTunes. Peace. Continue reading “the echo vamper // lover // goodbye blue skies”

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Frankie Rose – Know Me

Whatever you say about Brooklyn-based Frankie Rose one cannot deny her obvious work ethic. Having put in long shifts with both the Dum Dum Girls and Vivian Girls, and her own band cut from a similar Phil Spector-ish cloth, The Outs. But this time out the departure from her past incarnations is evident, on her latest work “Know Me,” Rose is getting her groove on and leading you to the dance floor. Right away I noticed the clear musical reference ala The Cure (that back-beat is surely “Close To Me), yet still what really draws me in is the voice of Frankie riding this mysterious dreamscape. The single, Know Me comes from her forthcoming album Interstellar, which is scheduled to drop January 17th via Slumberland Records. Now, I’m wondering whether the rest of her new album is just as danceable, I want my dance card full. Peace. Continue reading “Frankie Rose – Know Me”

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The Darlingtons – New Independent EP

If you haven’t listened to The Darlingtons‘ New Independent EP I ask that you start now. Why? It’s simple, they are good. I rate them right up there with The National, and that is saying more than a mouthful. Actually, they’re kind of a hybrid of The National and Echo & The Bunnymen. Lead-singer Kiran ‘Kiwi’ Roy has a voice both endearing and wistful. Think David Bowie spliced with Matt Berninger of The National. The music is full, with a big driving guitar sound. A sound which will scoop you up like a monster tidal wave and hold you tight. Yeah, that good. Currently, the down to earth guys from Tauton, UK are hard at work on their debut LP and touring. However, I strongly believe that 2012 is going to be their year. So, watch the skyline for their meteoric rise. Peace. Continue reading “The Darlingtons – New Independent EP”