The Submarines

You may know them from the Apple/iTunes/iPod commercial for their song "You, Me, & The Bourgeoisie". Well they recently released a new album, Love Notes/Letter Bombs, and it is one not to be overlooked. From beginning to finish, it just excels. There is not a bad track on the entire album.

This duo, John & Blake, does a great job of bouncing vocals and lyrics off one another and intertwining them in order to tell a story in their songs. Below is the song "Ivaloo" off their recent album. After you listen to that make sure to go grab the new album and give it a listen. You won't be disappointed.

The Airborne Toxic Event

I told myself I would never post a band twice. Mainly because there is just so much music out in the world today that it would take a long time to give all of them their properly deserved credit. But then I ran across these videos in TATE's e-newsletter and knew they had to be posted. So I apologize for repeating an artist.

So there were two videos that caught my attention in this newsletter. One being an acoustic version of their newest song "Changing", and by acoustic I mean they play it on a city bus. The other is a cover and they give the explanation behind the song which you definitely need to hear. So enjoy them and share them with friends.

Bearsuit

In case the name of the band doesn't grab your attention, the music surely will. This UK indie-pop-electric punk released their latest album The Phantom Forest earlier this year. On first listen "A Train Wreck" immediately grabbed my attention. The group does a great job of mixing male and female vocals while giving themselves a unique sound.

This song has several different elements, whether it be a breakdown with clapping, its opening overture type melody or some unique barking of sorts in order to say "Wreck". Needless to say this song shows off the great diversity Bearsuit brings to the table and all in just one track, not to mention the great visuals they produced for the video. Check it out below.

The Dears

"Degeneration Street" is the latest effort from The Dears, which came out earlier this year. After a few listens to it, it seems like a solid comparison would be a more rock, less electronic version of TV On The Radio (which may also be hyperbole due to how long The Dears have been around for). At times on this record, Dears front man Murray Lightburn sounds exactly like TVOTR front man Tunde Adebimpe. That may be the reason why I tend to compare the two bands, but The Dears do hold their own.

As big as a comparison as I may have made, The Dears do achieve their own sound and establish it in the first couple tracks and let you know what you are in store for on the rest of the album. Below are a couple live tracks from their session on Seattle's KEXP.

The Civil Wars

With the dissolution of The Swell Season, it is hard to find good male and female duet groups. The Civil Wars have now thrown their hat into this ring and they accomplish it quite well. Their debut album Barton Hollow is a very strong effort and should give them instant gratification of such a debut.

The album's opening track "20 Years" is a great example of how the duet can harmonize, while "Poison & Wine" shows how the duet can exchange lines and turn a song into a conversation or an exchange of unsaid thoughts and feelings. Below is the aforementioned opening track to show how beautiful harmonies can be, so enjoy it.

Dark Was The Night

Dark Was The Night was an album a couple of years ago that featured many different indie artists. It was made to benefit the Red Hot Organization, which raises awareness of HIV and AIDS. It probably isn't unfamiliar to some, but it has lots of great unheard tracks from some of the best indie bands out there.

For instance, Yeasayer's "Tightrope" is featured on it and it may be my favorite Yeasayer track and for it to go unnoticed is kind of a let down. So I figured I'd grab a couple of the tracks off of it and put them on here. The total collection runs over two hours so you can imagine how much great music is featured on it. So if you don't already own it, go wherever you can to find it and grab it immediately. Easily the best compilation I've ran across over the last couple years.

The Weeknd

Sometimes our mind plays tricks on us while we read, or maybe I just have some mild form of dyslexia because when I read this name I always see it as The Weekend. Even though by now I know that it isn't. So no, that is not a typo above. It may be a little excursion from what is mainly posted on here, but it is equally as intriguing and fresh.

The Weeknd is Abel Tesfaye, a Tornto based R&B singer, but is more of a cross between R&B and electronica. It may seem like a strange pairing but it is pulled off so damn well. I made sure to put a few tracks down there just to give more than the usual taste. Albums like this only make it more difficult to rank albums at the end of the year. It's just different from most stuff out there today, so finding its own sound or cross-category is definitely a plus and something to make it much more memorable.

Sneaker Pimps

I had a total blast from the past moment this weekend when I had a conversation where Sneaker Pimps were brought up. It has been quite a while since I've listened to Becoming X in its entirety. So I decided to do that last night and man, it is just as good as when I first heard it.

It's timeless. It's just one of those albums that fit just as well now as it did when it first came out, and it may even fit better now with the way music has evolved. I'm sure most everyone has heard these tracks but I just "nostalgia'd hard" this weekend and figured I'd do the same on here. So in case you don't own it, make sure to go out and grab Sneaker Pimps' Becoming X immediately.

Karkwa

Unfortunately for this blog post, I have little to no understanding of French so the lyrics in the song are not memorable. Although, one could look up the translations. Regardless of what's lost in translation, the music still sounds beautiful. After all, one doesn't even need vocals to make great sounding music.

The vocals however do sound great with the music, it just takes a little extra effort to understand what is being said. It also adds a nice variation in a playlist, where after almost all of the tracks would be English these tracks would come along and just freshen things up. So listen to them below and don't just brush them off because they're not in English.

Flashguns

Listening to tons and tons of different artists and genres can really expose you to some great different sounds in music. But sometimes you just need that good indie rock. That is exactly what "Passions of a Different Kind" by Flashguns is. Just good indie rock.

They have also created a great music video for the song as well, following dogs on their adventure for food. Working with animals for filming is no easy task, so to create a story around them is even more daunting but pulled off extremely well. Make sure to look out for their debut LP this summer, which features this track.

Volume 100: Einar Stray

Sometimes dueling vocals can come off as cheesy or gimmicky, but when both voices are equally as powerful while being octaves apart, it can truly become a thing of beauty. Then add on some dramatic music with strings and you have yourself a quality track.

Such is the case with "Yr Heart Isn't A Heart" by Einar Stray. The male and female voices bounce back and forth and overlap each other all the while keeping their own distinct sound. With such a great track, it makes it is easy to guess that this Norwegian artist has a bright future ahead.

Volume 99: Danielle Ate The Sandwich

Sometimes a beat can capture our ears. Sometimes it can be the music, whether it be the guitar riff or the synthesizers. Or sometimes a song can be just a voice and a couple guitar strums and hold its own. The last one applies to this song, "Two Bedroom Apartment". If a song isn't going to have any other music surrounding, the voice must be powerful enough to hold the song by itself.

Fortunately for Danielle Anderson, her voice is just that. It has its own unique sound and going in and out of different ranges for the chorus proves to be a great touch and something very well done. There is definitely something special in her voice and she seems to know just the right way to showcase it.

Volume 98: April Smith and The Great Picture Show

On their page they describe themselves as "retro pop with a swing" which is exactly the feeling I got out of "Terrible Things". The beginning of this song also has some kind of burlesque vibe to it, as in the sound not the images. The swing vibe really takes over at the 1:30 mark.

It really is awesome to hear such an old fashion sound resurrected as well as they do. If it weren't for the song being more upbeat, one would think it is a track out of the 1930s or 1940s. You always have to respect an artist for taking a risk in finding their voice in such a limited sound, at least fan base wise. But April Smith & The Great Picture Show cross other genre borders to widen its appeal. Something that is very well done, and rarely achieved.

Volume 97: The Kissaway Trail

When you hear the opening notes of "New Lipstick" you'll be hooked immediately. This group from Denmark really knows how to catch a listener's ear. If you aren't clapping along to the beat five seconds in, you need to check your pulse.

What's even better than this song, is hearing them perform it live. So I have found a live session of it and posted it as well below. You also have to love the lighting and performance for a live session, as if it were a concert. Hopefully they are able to make it over to this side of the Atlantic sometime soon.


Studio Version:


Live Version: