Saturday, October 26, 2013

Small Black

[Ryan Heyner (guitar, keys, vocals), Josh Kolenik (keys, vocals), Juan Pieczanski (bass, guitar), Jeff Curtin (drums/percussion]
 -Small Black is an indie band from Brooklyn, New York.
-Chillwave music
-They have released an album under Jagjaguwar, but they are signed on both the Jagjaguwar and Lovepump United Records labels.
-Participated in the Primavera Sound Festival, Foburg Music Festival, and the SXSW Music Festival.
-Played a show with STRFKR
 -The cover of Brooklyn-based Small Black's second LP, Limits of Desire, features a photo of a man and a woman embracing on either side of a ladder, completely naked, divided by its triangular arc. They're close, but they can't get any closer. It's a moving depiction of connectivity and interaction in the 21st century and it serves as a sort of source code for the record.
-Album art by Scarlett Hooft Graafland, who had a feature photo spread in the The New York Times Sunday Magazine Oct 20 this year.

Songs to listen to: No Stranger, Outskirts and Breathless



Conclusion: 

This band seems pretty wicked. Really low-key chillwave music that you can listen to when you're wide awake at 2 a.m.. It's great stuff. Another thing I really like about this group is the artist they used for their album cover.  It's very clean, earthy and colourful. I'm a big design kind of person and it's these sort of things that really catch my eye. But as for the music, it's catchy stuff!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

London Grammar

[ Left to right: Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dot Major]

-London Grammar is a British indie pop trio formed 2009 at Nottingham University
-Their music is commonly described as "a blend of ambient, ethereal and classical sounds"
-Their début EP Metal and Dust was released in February 2013 by Metal and Dust Recordings Ltd.
-Their début album 'If You Wait' was released on 9 September 2013.
-Hannah Reid and guitarist Dan Rothman met in the residence hall at the University of Nottingham
-They have played Glastonbury Festival
-They have a cover of Chris Isaak's Wicked Games

Songs to listen to: Shyer (below), their cover of Nightcall (Kavinsky) and Strong


 

Conclusion:

London Grammar's music is so calming. I love the balance of melodies and the sound of her voice. A lot of people have compared them to The xx and I can totally understand why. The sounds are repetitive (and not in an annoying way) and her voice echoes on top... it's so good. I've had the song above on repeat for the past 2 hours, no lie. They're such great fall music too. They stopped by Toronto already but I'll be sure to catch them next time!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Basia Bulat - Tall Tall Shadow

Toronto singer-songwriter Basia Bulat's third album 'Tall Tall Shadow' was released Tuesday, October 1, 2013 by Secret City Records. It was co-produced by Tim Kingsbury (a member of Arcade Fire) and Mark Lawson (a grammy awarded studio alchemist recognized for his work with Arcade Fire), and it promises her bravest work yet. Without losing the Basia Bulat that I love, she has found a way to revitalize her music and please both existing and new fans. As a super fan, I must say that I love this CD. It did take some time for it to grow on me, but now that it has, I can't stop playing it. Wires is probably my favourite song, but I also love 'Five, Four' too. It's definitely worth a listen and if you haven't heard me say it before, Basia Bulat is my favourite singer song writer! So she is a must must MUST listen. That and if you haven't heard her previous work, get on that right away. 
Songs to listen to: Wires, Five, Four, From Now On