Seattle – When Angel Haze leaked her own album, she certainly got attention. It was an act of defiance when Island/Republic Records pushed back the album’s release until March 2014. She wasn’t too happy about that so went all rebel on them; the label succumbed to her demands and Angel Haze’s debut full-length album, Dirty Gold,
New York – “Sometimes my heart and brain conspire / to set everything on fire / Just to stop the tyranny / of that minute hand on me.” On “Golden Wake,” Mutual Benefit ringleader Jordan Lee lays out his mission statement for the indie folk collective about as plainly as we could hope for. The
New York – Bridging the gap between folk and rock in a way that recalls the great masters of Americana, The War On Drugs need no real introduction. As it has been since the beginning with this band, their work is lyrical poetry of the most transformative sort and a speaker box for the times.
Seattle – Tim Cohen is at it again. This time, however, San Francisco’s lo-fi poster child is mixing it up a bit. With his project Magic Trick, Cohen released Rivers of Souls – an immensely emotional album, which I supposed you can probably tell from its title alone. Rivers of Souls opens with the warm invitation to “Come Inside;”
London – The west coast of Ireland isn’t necessarily synonymous with happy-go-lucky garage pop. Indeed, at this time of year, the Emerald Isle can be somewhat weather beaten. However, despite the meteorological challenges, Galway’s Dott have already garnered a reputation for being pretty damned uplifting. After forming just last year, the band has already performed
Chicago – In the spring of 2012, Arvid Öberg left his home in Lund, Sweden for a four month trip to Montreal. His experiences within the Canadian music scene prompted a series of self recorded demo tracks which he sent back to his fellow Above Orange band members in Sweden with the intention of inspiring
Seattle – British quintet Toy’s sophomore album, Join the Dots, starts off in space… deep space. Opening track, “Conductor” has that sci-fi vibe that would lead anyone to believe they’re in for an album of post-rock ballads. The exclusive dominance of this sound, however, is only a passing introduction. It does remain a constant backdrop for
New York – Based in Portland Oregon, Ages and Ages is a Pacific Northwest outfit through and through. With seven part harmonies that ascend like the redwoods, rocky beats that roll like the Pacific coastline and ruminant themes that wander like trails, Ages and Ages is inspiring like wide-open space. Their latest album, Divisionary, comes
London – Down in the depths of Boston’s independent music scene, Guerilla Toss have been causing a bit of a stir. As well as earning a reputation for some more than left-field live performances (including frequent full-nudity), the band have been putting out music on East Coast labels Feeding Tube Records and John Zorn’s Tzadik
New York – Cashmere Cat is the moniker for Magnus August Høiberg, 26-year-old Norwegian DJ and wunderkind producer. This Oslo native’s sound is soft enough to hold close but wild enough to reign as king of the concrete jungle. Høiberg has just hit us with his new single, “With Me.” This track is the first