Archive for 2010
Hopefully the name Dog Is Dead is from a movie. If it’s a quote that lives within a special part of the band’s heart and has emotional significance then it’s potentially excusable. This blog should be called ‘Good Bands, Bad Names’. Every post seems to feature my initial apology for the bands name followed by my endorsement of their songs. If you’ve got a good thing going though, right? guys?
Dog Is Dead have a saxophonist! None of us thought we’d see the sax coming back in to popular music for a quite a while yet. I won’t mind if this is a one off. It’s used well though. The two tracks that I’ll stream (Two! Gift upon gift!) have pretty obvious sax melodies which work in tandem with keyboard to give them a smooth sound. Above all that though, the gang vocals make for some cool crescendos.
You may remember that in the last paragraph I promised two songs. I’m here, hat in hand, letting you know that I’m sorry, there’s just one. It’s great though. To hear a second song (and a third even!), visit their myspace. Bonus: The Zoo is a free download from The Culture of Me.
Dog Is Dead – The Zoo
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The new single Young will be out on September 20th through Your Childhood Records
This is my second “review” of Valar’s We Have A Home Among the Trees EP. I write twice because I’ve somehow contrived to delete the last and because the EP has grown on me like a fungus. A wonderful fungus. Here is the EP streamed in full. Listen to Wolf I playing as you read on.
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Buy this EP. It costs AUD$10. That’s just under £6! That’s nothing. I challenge you to think of 7 whole numbers smaller than 6. It can’t be done! That’s the sort of value we’re talking about here. It’s barely £1 per track. 1 is the smallest whole number there is! I know!!
With or without my clever numberwork this EP will sell itself. The falsetto can’t help but draw attention. It soars between guitar effects like an eagle through ravines. But it’s wilder than an eagle. It’s a tiger. A haunting, post-rock tiger. Like them on facebook to find out when their next show will be.
A great man once told me that a great lyricist will write what they know. For example:
If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Forget what we’re told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that’s bursting into life
When I hear these lyrics from Snow Patrol I don’t feel like they’ve been months or years in the making. They were probably knocked out over ten minutes in front of a keyboard. They’re just so broad and wishy washy. By contrast, Jens Lekman sings about beautifully discrete situations. They’re so specific that it’s near impossible that they’re not based on the real experiences of our friend Jens. He has a new song out (it’s been three years Jens, how about a new album big guy?). The melody and the lyrics are worthy of high praise.
Jens Lekman – The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love
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Stylistically distant from my last post, this track is the theme from the 3rd trailer for the blockbuster Inception (which was excellent). If I were in a band that played hardcore and I were headlining a show I would walk out to this theme. Actually, I’d enjoy it if this track played any time I arrived at a party. Obviously I’d no longer be able to bring vodka cruisers as my beverage of choice, it wouldn’t fit my vibe.
Zack Hemsey has never done feature film soundtracks before so for a first bite at the cherry this ‘goes alright’. He’s even set up a band camp to publicise this track. I would use my normal player but the band camp player always has the highest quality sound. Turn your volume up before listening.
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The Blue Mountains are not just a hotspot for Christian engagements and budding teenage photographers, they’re also home to some swell musicians. Some of those musicians are in a band called March of the Real Fly. We may never know what they could do with a decent budget and quality gear. What we do know though, is that with a $50 recording program and $2 mics they can make some pretty, simple (not to be confused with pretty simple) tunes. Here’s one such.
March of the Real Fly – Morning Man
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I find the production endearing but I’ve always had a crush on lo-fi recording. If you want to download their live EP or the Morning Man single (for free) then click this link. For a little more info scope out their myspace.
Artists you need to know rn
| 1. 1300 |  |
316 |
| 2. Voidhood | |
259 | 3. jamesjamesjames | |
186 | 4. Zan | |
174 |
| 5. Sesame Girl | |
147 |
