The Adults

As with yesterday's post, this group also hails from New Zealand. It seems like a lot of groups are coming from the Australia/New Zealand region lately. From what I remember though, they hate being confused with one another so that may not be a fair regional lumping in their eyes.

The Adults has a lot of members from some of New Zealand's best musicians, being led by frontman Jon Toogood. Below is a live version of "One Million Ways" which is my favorite track off of their debut self titled album. The opening drum just really grabs your attention and then in come the synthesizers to give it a more epic feeling. It really is just a well mastered track.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Unknown Mortal Orchestra are a three piece group out of New Zealand. They have a great lo-fi sound to them. It gives you a feeling of some dreamy 60s music. Their self-titled debut album was released just last month and has gotten tons of buzz on indie music sites. For good reason, too.

It is a very strong first effort that makes you think that this is more like a second or third album as opposed to a debut. It opens up with a great track, "Ffunny Ffrends". No, there aren't any typos in that track title. That's below along with a live version so you can hear how the lo-fi sound translates when played live. So if you're a fan of the lo-fi sound, this band and album should be right up your alley.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - 'Ffunny Ffrends' from Bowlegs on Vimeo.

The Eclectic Moniker

Never has a band name been so fitting. Clearly I'm referencing the diversity, or should I say the "eclectic" sound of The Eclectic Moniker. On their recently released EP, A Part of Something Bigger, they show great range of musical melodies to give a varying sound to each track. The band is quite sizable, having 8 members, but after hearing their music it makes sense in order to be able to produce the sound that they do.

Below is the very beach friendly opening track "Easter Island". As the song title states, this track has a very island feel to it. You can also head over to their bandcamp website, http://theeclecticmoniker.bandcamp.com/, and listen to the other songs from the EP.

The Cinema

Usually before a post I try to find out as much about an artist as possible. Sometimes it proves to be a little more difficult than expected and with a band name like The Cinema, you can only imagine all the sifting one has to do on Google. Luckily though, their video for "Kill It" had some info on it. On their you'll see a link to their soundcloud page, http://soundcloud.com/the-cinema. So make sure to head over there after you hear the track below.

This track and the other available songs are from their upcoming album My Blood Is Full Of Airplanes. Their sound is probably best described as indie pop rock. Sometimes the "pop" label has a negative connotation but not in this case. This single, "Kill It", is a great track and has put The Cinema on my radar and is making me really look forward to the release of their album.

Patrick Wolf

The opening of today's track "The City" by Patrick Wolf sounds like the intro to a tv show. I'm not sure why but that is what keeps sticking in my head. Once the song gets into its groove you start to hear so many different instruments. On top of the drums and keys, there is a great horn section that really shines through. This song also seems to have a heavy influence from some great 80s ballads as it really gives you a nostalgic feeling.

Patrick released his latest effort, Lupercalia, last month and "The City" is the opening track off of that. Knowing that, it makes more sense that the opening of the song sounds like an intro to something. An introduction to what is to be expected from the rest of the album.

Pegasus Bridge

So I've been whistling and humming a tune all day. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. Couldn't remember any lyrics so that I could look it up. Finally about 15 minutes ago it struck me, it was "Yoko" by Pegasus Bridge. I have had it on a loop since then and am just remembering how great of a song this is. The opening synthesizer is what has been in my head all day, meanwhile I could only hum the rhythm of the lyrics because the words escaped me at the time. That was until I saw the song title in my iTunes and immediately recalled the "Yoko, said, 'Oh no.'" lyric.

So hopefully a couple of days after your listening of this, you will be humming it as well. Fortunately you'll remember what it is and won't have to go through the agony of not knowing throughout an entire day.

Seryn

Sometimes a song comes along that is just so good that you are dumbfounded that you haven't heard it before or you wish you had it heard awhile ago so that you could have been listening to it this whole time. Usually within the first 30 to 45 seconds of a song, you can tell whether or not you're going to like it. With Seryn's "We Will All Be Changed", you can tell within the first 20 seconds. It just starts off with a great folk melody and an accordion to bring in some harmonies and then the strong vocals of front-man Trenton kick in and that's when you know this song is special.

Upon first hearing this song I thought it was Fleet Foxes or The Head and The Heart because they fit that sound so well, and that is rather elite company when it comes to indie folk. Their debut album This Is Where We Are was released earlier this year and it's pretty impressive that this is their first album. They've accomplished such a mature sound in such an early stage of the band's life. This album is equally as great from start to finish.

Seryn also have a recent session on Daytrotter, so make sure to grab that in addition to This Is Where We Are for a live version of some of their tracks. Below are a studio and a live version of "We Will All Be Changed", just so you can hear that they don't lose anything in their live performances. In fact, they may even get stronger in their live sets.

Morning Teleportation

Most song titles are usually a lyric or overriding message from the lyrics abound within the song. This isn't the case with Morning Teleportation's "Banjo Disco". This song title more describes the actual sound of the song. Had they titled it something else, most people would describe the song as a banjo disco so it fits quite well. It's not very often you get both a banjo and a synthesizer in one song, but they somehow pull it off.

Morning Teleportation recently released their debut album, Expanding Anyway, on Glacier Place Recordings. They are probably best qualified as psychedelic rock but this album has so many different sounds on it that it doesn't give them the justice they deserve by narrowing it down to such a finite sound. So if this track strikes your fancy or intrigues you for more then definitely go and grab Expanding Anyway.

Other Lives

One album I forgot to mention the other day in the comments section was Other Lives' Tamer Animals. It really is a fantastic album from start to finish, it grabs you in their sound early on and never really lets you go until it's over. Even when it's over you're hoping that there is some hidden track two or three minutes later just to give you more. So obviously a few re-listens are due right after you finish the album.

Their similar artists map reads like a who's a who of the best indie artists in the scene today. While comparing artists and bands are always fun, Other Lives truly bring their own sound. Some tribal drumming and the use of the rim of the drums give your fingers something to tap with while really forcing you to get into the music. Then there are strings, horns, insanely perfect harmonies and the list of musical positives just goes on and on. So below are a couple tracks off of Tamer Animals just to give a small sample of its greatness.

The Ladybug Transistor

Keeping with the Summer music feeling, today brings us "Clutching Stems" by The Ladybug Transistor. Even the band name gives you an outdoors feeling so you can't really go wrong with that. This is the title track from their latest album Clutching Stems.

It is quite amazing that this group has been able to make consistently good music for the last 15 or so years.It seems like with all these ways of getting your music out now that there are more bands than ever and in order to stick around for such a long time, you know that they have to have some talent and a memorable sound. Such a feat should not go unnoticed nor unappreciated.

This also marks the first album since band mate San Fadyl passed away in 2007. With such a somber event, it's nice to see the band work through it and overcome it while releasing new material. Take the lyrics to the song below as you want but it's hard to overlook such a monumental moment not having some kind of influence in such a passion driven medium.

I'm From Barcelona

I recently put together an Indie Summertime Playlist, checking in at 73 songs and about 4 1/2 hours. One song on that playlist that always sticks out to me and makes me want to play it over and over is I'm From Barcelona's "Always Spring".

Now I realize the song talks about Spring as opposed to Summer but it just has the vibe of a warm weather song so it seems to fit in the middle of the hot summer when you're out and driving around. It also feels like an Apple commercial type song, so needless to say it's a song that shouldn't be missed and make sure to play it over and over this summer.

Best Albums of 2011 So Far

Since we are just a tad way beyond the halfway point of 2011, I figured it would be a good idea just to give a list of the 10 best albums thus far. It was pretty hard to narrow it down to 10 because there have been so many albums released already this year. The ones below are worth owning multiple times over.

There are other note-worthy albums in the comments section below. Some of which may be added at the end of the year because some albums may be better on a second or third listening or maybe my tastes will have changed.

Regardless, here are what I consider the 10 best albums so far this year (in alphabetical order):

Airborne Toxic Event - All At Once

The Antlers - Burst Apart

Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

 

The Decemberists - The King Is Dead

Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean

 

James Blake - James Blake

Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light

  

Tyler, The Creator - Goblin

  

WU LYF - Go Tell Fire To The Mountain

Album Review: Manchester Orchestra's Simple Math

I know I never do album reviews until the end of the year but this album needs one. Since establishing my new rule regarding a re-posting of a band, I figured I'd take the time today to discuss Manchester Orchestra's latest feat, Simple Math. When I listen to a new album, I usually give it one solid run through with no distractions just to see what or how many tracks grab my attention. After that, I'll go back through and listen to it again while pulling up the lyrics for all the songs.

 

After doing those multiple listenings I feel like I finally have enough familiarity to judge an album and in doing so I've figured that it's going to be very hard for any album in 2011 to beat out Simple Math as my favorite. First of all, the entire album has a more mature Manchester sound and even more well produced than their previous efforts, which are also some of my favorite albums of all time.

With a more mature and better produced sound, the only other thing to factor in are lyrics. Andy Hull has quickly become one of the best songwriters of this generation. It's not until you sit down and read the lyrics to every song that you see how personal and surreal the stories being told in these songs are. And maybe some of the stories are fabricated or extended but to give such intimate details and feelings makes me feel like they can't be fabricated and that there is a solid foundation of truth found in these stories.

The title track, "Simple Math", asks a lot of questions of life and living and it's music video personifies those words by showing the things a crash victim thinks about as he is rolling to what appears to be his imminent death. It is a track that simply goes beyond music and storytelling and something that can get a listener or viewer to think about these very questions it asks in its lyrics. It is also one of the best made videos I have seen in some time so it is a must watch and Simple Math is a must own for anyone regardless of musical tastes.


Simple Math - 9.5/10

Steven Drozd & Maynard James Keenan

I've always been kind of in-between on liking and disliking covers. When they are good, they can be amazing but sometimes it can be the same exact thing and just fall flat. The former applies to this version of "Rocket Man" by Steven Drozd and Maynard James Keenan.

Part of the genius in this rendition is the addition of the computer blip sound, which just makes it feel like an astronaut is floating around. The cover is a mix of an electronic song and some acoustic guitar. It really ends up feeling like a futuristic version of Elton John's original.

Ben Folds & Nick Hornby

Being in the heat and humidity most of the year takes away from a true feeling of varying seasons. Music, however, can truly sound seasonal. The song "From Above" by Ben Folds & Nick Hornby is one of those songs that just feels like a summer jam.

So while the sun is beating down and the temperatures are rising, it may be time to kick back and just let the music sooth your mood. And this song will do just that, not to mention how great the music video is with its animation. It truly is a great medium when used in this way.