Great pop music offers hooks that present melody alongside an inviting story sans the cliché, and New Zealand’s Kimbra has been able to dish out these essential goods. In sharp contrast with the repetitive and watered down tunes charting from tragedies such as Ke$ha here in the States, Kimbra’s refreshingly catchy, bright songs (along with […]
Pavement fans may still be wishing for another reunion tour but Stephen Malkmus is happily touring with the Jicks in support of their latest album “Mirror Traffic.” Although he’ll always be praised for his underrated days in the acclaimed ’90s band, the nonchalance and cleverness embedded in Malkmus’ mind has only gotten sharper. Songs such […]
Hey, retro rockers, Nick Waterhouse’s Wayback Machine works better than yours does. Waterhouse is a the Huntington Beach-reared, San Francisco-educated 25-year-old whose early songs make time stand still – or at least, that period of time in the late 1950s and early ’60s when soul and sweat and sweetness seemed to congeal on every […]
The music video for M83‘s lead single “Midnight City” has arrived just in time for the release of Anthony Gonzalez’s double-disc album “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming” (out today via Mute), and we had a hunch that the dream theme shed a light that is more supernatural than ethereal. As a record that revolves around how […]
Bay-Area songwriter Garrett Pierce has quite the talent for placing the universal beside the personal. In fact, his lyrics sometimes blur, if not destroy, the line that separates us from everyone else. The title track off his EP “Everybody Breaks” showcases this best as he sings the lyrics “Everybody breaks without knowing quite why.” Day-to-day […]
L.A. electro-pop duo Camila Grey and Leisha Hailey, aka Uh Huh Her, returns with a follow-up to their debut album “Common Reaction,” and based on their new official lead single the new record is worth the three-year long wait. Although we previously got a taste of the album with “Black and Blue,” the new track […]
Forget about those underlying dark lyrics when there’s a keyboard riff that makes you want to dance. This is exactly the case in Saint Motel’s latest music video, or at least halfway through it. A dancing couple who calls themselves “Puzzle Pieces” (which is also the name of the song we premiered) gets ready for […]
Gotye may not be a familiar name in the States yet but the Australian multi-instrumental musician and songwriter has been nominated for seven ARIA awards just for his latest record “Making Mirrors” alone, and has even knocked Adele off the charts this summer. Wouter “Wally” De Backer, who performs under the moniker Gotye, has always […]
Although there are many musicians who think their bedroom is as good as a studio these days, music that is initially arranged on a personal computer doesn’t necessarily lack depth. Australia’s Guineafowl has set out to destroy this common assumption of laptop shallowness through his band’s debut EP “Hello Anxiety” out now on Dangerbird Records. […]
Wild Beasts‘ third studio album “Smother” shimmers and bounces from every angle of light as Hayden Thorpe’s countertenor dips and glides in heavy yet powerfully cathartic arrangements. As they get prepare to release their new single, “Reach a Bit Further,” which will be pressed on Nov. 14 on limited edition vinyl, they offer one of […]
