I know saying this is probably a bit clichéd, but deal with it; look up “cool” in the dictionary and you’ll find yourself with a photo of Royal Headache staring back at ya. Same goes for “indie”, “underground”, and “don’t give a fuck”.
Honestly, this four piece are the biggest band crush i’ve had since my ear drums met The Black Keys back in 2005. Speaking of which….Royal Headache, in spite of their relative non-existence in the mainstream Australian music scene, have somehow managed to snavvle the supporting slot on Dan and Pats sold out Australian tour this year. That’s gotta give a proverbial middle finger to the record label vampires.
Just have a listen. It’s a beautiful thing, really.
The story of how Alabama Shakes came to be is an endearing one, stretching back to their high school days, jamming roots and rock in singer Brittany Howard’s garage. The music has a very soulful roots vibe combined with the Janis Joplin lungs of Howard. Though starting out playing covers gigs the band began slowly injecting originals into their playlist. Then following a write up on Justin Gage’s music bible blog Aquarium Drunkard everything just blew up for the Shakes.
The band recently scored the honour of supporting Jack White on his upcoming North American tour and so, coinciding with the release of their debut album Boys & Girls, it seems they’re gonna be too busy to see sweet home Alabama for quite a some time.
……this time utilising the ethereal sounds of Julia Stone’s first solo single Let’s Forget All The Things That We Say. Tank’s re-modelling of the track hasn’t detracted from the beautiful feeling of the vocals. In fact, in this listeners opinion, having stripped back the surrounding instrumentals and adding a more simple selection of sounds seems to match Stone’s vocals in a more complimentary manner.
You can listen to Oliver Tanks remix and download it for free here:
There’s not a lot I know about Dillon. But one thing’s for sure, her music has got me completely mesmerised. The faultless imperfection of her voice (yes I am aware of that contradiction) brings to mind the similar stylings of CocoRosie and Lykke Li.
Dominique Dillon de Byington didn’t sit down in front of a piano until the age of 18, but after discovering her natural talents moved on to writing and experimenting with electronic music.
After carefully compiling a selection of her favourite and most personally relevant pieces, Dillon released her debut album This Silence Kills on the palindromic date of 11/11/11.
This video is a raw unedited clip taken from Dillon’s personal youtube channel. It is a cover of Dallas Green’s melancholic track Bring Me Your Love. This one’s sure to tug the strings of hearts.
The Reborn Identity aka Gavin Burrell, is a self proclaimed “audio and video mashup merchant” from Manchester, UK.
What started out as a hobby for Burrell, has since developed into a full-blown obsession, with some of his more popular “mashups” going viral across social media sites all over the world.
The Reborn Identity’s website includes wildly unexpected mixes from Journey & Bon Iver to Cut Copy & Madonna. Although some of the attempts come across as a little all over the place or out of sync, Burrell manages to pull it off the majority of the time. See what you think http://www.rebornidentity.com/
This video is a “mashup” of Lana Del Rey’s breakthrough hit Video Games, and The Smiths timeless track This Charming Man.
The Growlers are a “beach goth” five piece from Long Beach, California, and are the object of my current obsession. Taking influence from the Beach Boys and 60’s rock, and adding some psychadelia and lo-fi distortion, their music has an almost unfathomably cool vibe. This track is Her Command from their 2010 album Hot Tropics. The boys are currently working with Dan Auerbach, of Black Keys fame, on their third LP to be released later this year.
One of my oldest friends Mr Daniel Duque-Perez, former guitarist of the now defunct Chaingang, has a new musical project in the form of The Griswalds. Biases aside their track Mississippi is a catchy one indeed. Triple J have been plugging the new single all week, but if you missed out on hearing it over the radio waves check it out here:
In this day and age a music video going viral can lead to superstardom, regardless of the standard of the actual music. Ok Go have perfected the art of creating viral-worthy, unique music videos. This clip is their latest offering. If you haven’t yet witnessed the boys previous productions check them out here:
Well isn’t this just spectacular!? Bon Iver (or “Bonny Bear” according to a handful of ignorant Grammy viewers) jamming with The Roots on Jimmy Fallon. What I would give to have been in the audience that night. Absolutely mind blowingly beautiful!
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