Weekend Playlist – April 8, 2011

Start your weekend off right with a selection of music from artists featured this week on BestNewBands.com

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“The Fear” – Lovett
Laurel Kathleen chatted with Ben Lovett over the weekend about his upcoming tour and his recently-released debut album, Highway Collection. Here’s some of their conversation:

LK: How do you feel now that the album’s officially finished? Are you anxious to make another one?
BL: Albums are like tattoos: it takes you a long time to get a first one, but then you walk out the door knowing what you want to do for the next one. I’m excited that this record is something that I made, not something I’m in a constant state of making. It seems like you spend more time in the process in the process that it’s really satisfying to say ‘I made this”. I will say that I don’t feel like I did this on my own. It required the tremendous effort of others to not let me give up on it, and help me find my way. A lot of times I had to reach out for some perspective, there were plenty of times when I lost sight of what I was getting at. A lot of these songs are puzzles that I had to put together in reverse. There’s a lot of people involved in the album itself. There are 100 kids on “The Fear“, and 40 or 50 musicians involved total. Very few are on more than one song, it’s a total variety of ideas and musicians and because of that, it allows me to celebrate it easier. It’s more natural to go “this song is awesome”. Some of it is truly a wonder to me, because I didn’t want to record an album of me playing ten different instruments. What was exiting was collaborating with other people and getting them to play the parts. There are things I’m less likely to let myself do, whether it’s a drum fill or a piano lick here and there.

Read the rest of Laurel’s interview here.

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“Blackeye” – Love Inks
In this week’s BackStory installment, the Texas act shares the story behind this song.

“blackeye is a simple song. it was the band’s first song, and it utilizes the theory that every instrument and person will be essential to the sound, i.e. if they are missing from the equation then the song is not possible to be played. there’s really only a bass guitar, guitar and vocal (we later added a drum machine). so, it’s a simple song which means you can look at it in two ways: one, there’s no depth, it’s brainless, meaningless bullshit and the other, which i prefer, that it’s more difficult to say a lot with very little and when you pull it off it can be more graceful.

“the listener can choose what they want. some people have to talk and talk to get their point across (kind of like what i’m doing right now), and some people think and mull it over forever, and you may see them as quiet weirdos, but when they do speak they use exact wording and express themselves directly. my aunt told me she got this song stuck in her head the other day and that the next time she saw me she was going to give me a blackeye for it.”

Check out the rest of Love Ink’s post here.

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“Sing For Our Fellowman” – Tyler Fortier
Monica Christoffels reviewed the Eugene, Oregon artist’s second album of 2011 (with one more on the way!), Fear of the Unknown.

Monica wrote, “Few musicians render me speechless, awestruck and inspired all at once, but Tyler Fortier recently managed to do it with his latest album, Fear Of The Unknown. Yes, I review music all the time and listen to artists of all genres and calibres, but Fortier… he’s different. In Fear Of The Unknown, Tyler Fortier strikes a chord – not on his guitar or with his voice (though he’s extremely capable of succeeding at both), but with his resonating message of fellowship and unity in a time of economic, cultural and political instability. He answers those existential questions we ask ourselves almost every day: Who am I? What role do I play in this world? Where do I fit in? Fortier puts those worries to rest with songs that’ll make you laugh, cry, and above all, feel alive.

“Though I tend to favor all of his uptempo tracks, ‘Sing For Our Fellowman’ actually made me cry – out of happiness, of course. The spirit of community and togetherness really shines through, undoubtedly in part because of the chorus of voicing joining on the track but also because of the inspirational message of the lyrics, some of which I’ll include here:

Now the borderlines are full of 100,000 hungry men
Waiting for a prophet to prophesize the end
Now the borderlines are full, full of regret
Let’s get to the light, there’s no waking up dead

Then a man turned around and that man said to me….

We must sing, we must sing, sing for our life
Sing for the morning and sing for our love
We must sing, we must sing, we must sing to survive
Sing for the lonely, and sing for our fellowman
We must”

Read the rest of Monica’s review here.

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“Passion Seekers” – Little Tybee
Claire Gallagher reviewed the band’s latest album, Humorous To Bees, and even scored “Passion Seekers” as a free download for BestNewBands.com readers!

Claire wrote, “Little Tybee, an eight-piece band from Atlanta, Georgia, is, in fact, the very definition of eclectic. There are a wide range of influences in their sound, including hints of Latin, classical, folk, and rock. Basically, I could listen to this music with my Mom (favorite artist: Aretha Franklin), my Dad (favorite artist: Frank Sinatra), my boyfriend (favorite artist: Nine Inch Nails), and my brother (favorite artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers), and everyone would enjoy it immensely. The band is truly genre-defying:

“‘Little Tybee is a group that is really hard to put your finger on stylistically, and that’s the way we like it.’ - FILTER (via papergardenrecords.com)

“The album as a whole is peaceful, intricate, and delightful. It is light and upbeat, but rich with layering sounds and complexity. This is a perfect album for one of those rare and beautiful quiet, sunny days.”

Read the rest of Claire’s review, and get your free download of Little Tybee’s “Passion Seekers,” here.

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“DNA” – The Kills
Kristina Villarini reviewed Blood Pressures, the latest album from the heartracing duo.

Kristina wrote, “Which flavor of The Kills do you prefer? That’s what is going to determine whether or not your Blood Pressures are raised this week, and if you like the feeling. Do you like the ‘kick dirt on your shoes, bluesy attitude’ of Allison Mosshart (also of Jack White’s The Dead Weather) and Jamie Hince, or their early brand of young, blistering pop? The time apart doesn’t seem to have affected their growth; in fact it’s us who benefit.

Blood Pressures is the fourth studio album from the duo, and it’s not without some deviation to the blues or pop formula. Their ‘original’ sound: minced up guitars over Mosshart’s vocals is still in play, and Mosshart’s pipes are stronger than ever on songs like ‘The Heart is a Beating Drum.’ She also shows us a softer side on ‘The Last Goodbye.’ Meanwhile, Jamie Hince contributed more than just killer guitar riff as he takes lead vocals on a psychedelic tune called ‘Wild Charms.’”

Read the rest of Kristina’s review here.

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The Dodos by Maxwell Monty

“Don’t Stop” – The Dodos
Collin Elwyn caught The Dodos, along with Reading Rainbow, at their Portland show on Tuesday.

Collin wrote, “Tuesday night’s Reading Rainbow & The Dodos show at the Doug Fir Lounge jumped out the the gate, with opener Reading Rainbow taking the stage at exactly their assigned time of 9:15. The boy-girl garage pop duo got to it straight off, drummer Sarah Everton pounding away while hitting peppy and exacting vocal harmonies with guitarist Rob Garcia. … The two often faced each other, as Everton played in the standing position on a sort of make-shift kit of her own design. Her enthusiastic percussion style ensured that the focus stayed on her for much of the show, sharing the spotlight whenever Garcia chipped into create the band’s signature harmonies. … Though the band’s sound could often be likened to the sort of bouncy-fun indie pop of someone like Matt and Kim, Reading Rainbow managed to occasionally stray from their normative sound, visiting surf rock and slow-burning rock jams in turn.

“The Dodos arrived on stage just under a half hour after Reading Rainbow had left, the floor filling up all the while. With Drummer Logan Kroeber placed front and center, the trio (The Dodos have an extra guitarist for live dates) launched into,”Good,” a surprise opening number. Likely knowing what the audience had expected, they followed with, “Black Night,” the first single off of their newest album, “No Color.” The tune was pounding and intense, Kroeber absolutely wailing away on the drums from first moment to last, bandmate Meric Long doubled-over, furiously strumming away at his guitar. The band continued on in this fashion, boisterously grinding through their set without ever so much as picking up the acoustic guitar that they had once made their name on. Upon occasion, this made some of Long’s more complicated guitar pickings indecipherable, but it upped the group’s rock and roll vibe twice over.”

Read the rest of Collin’s review here.

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“No Silver” – Chris Bathgate
Daniel Kohn reviewed the Ann Arbor crooner’s fourth album, Salt Year.

Daniel wrote, “…the darkness of this album is a refreshing dose of raw honesty where he bares his soul for the world to hear, and for that, has a record that is universally relatable. The album starts off the dark ‘Eliza (Hue).’ The song is very brooding, with heavy blues riffs layered with a haunting string section and a piano. You can feel in the intensity of where the album is headed after this one track. Bathgate’s vocals sound crisp and the singer stays well within himself and the song to allow for the music to be the star of this track. On instrument-driven tracks, sometimes a singer can overcompensate but Bathgate does a terrific job letting the music guide you and letting it tell more of a story than his lyrics can on this particular tune.

“Next up is ‘No Silver,’ that continues with the folky path, which the foundation was laid for on the opening track. This tune combines elements of folk (big surprise), Americana and alt-rock, the sound that made Mumford & Sons popular. This slice of Americana-roots music is a well-written song. Like the rest of the songs on the record, the lyrical theme of darkness and alienation that comes across so beautiful that you don’t know what hit you due to Bathgate’s intense, acidic lyrics.”

Read the rest of Daniel’s review here.

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“Ignite” – The Raveonettes
Kristina Villarini reviewed the Denmark band’s latest album, Raven In The Grave.

Kristina wrote, “Clocking in at around 35 minutes, this is a fast-paced but slow-burning experience. The Raveonettes seem to have cut all of the fat, but they didn’t lose their style in the process. The result is a more challenging work that crosses some of the genres they’ve already visited in the past: 60’s rock and ethereal pop. So, yes, there is a slight makeover on their fifth album, and I approve. ‘Recharge and Revolt’ is the perfect introduction to the adventure you’re embarking on. Every song is just layer upon layer of feeling and you need to prepare for that.

“With all of that said, this is not a dance record, and that’s alright with me. This is a pensive record. ‘Ignite’ is a tune that captures the essence of what The Raveonettes do so well: simple sounds within the bigger picture. ‘Apparitions’ is another gothic soundbite, enveloping you on your journey. It just sets up shop in your cerebral cortex and then bursts forth with energy.

“The Raveonettes aren’t trying to rain on your parade with ‘moody’ music, but they are stretching their legs a bit. Maybe they’re even distancing themselves, after all, there are quite a few boy/girl combinations putting out music these days. When Sune Rose Wagner and Sharon Foo whisper, listen. Their voices carry a message and whether you hear the torment of a thousand painful deaths or you see the sunrise through your curtains, is up to you.”

Read the rest of Kristina’s review here.