Get to Know: Creaky Boards
Creaky Boards creates catchy vaudeville pop and argues with Coldplay. What else do you want?
New York is considered to be one of the hippest states in the US, and for good reason. From trendy stores and restaurants to a consistently creative atmosphere, it seems like the state is unstoppable. The band Creaky Boards embodies that same determined spirit of their state. Creaky Boards began in 2004 within the New York antifolk scene and evolved into the melodic, sanguine act that they are today. The band has gone through many transformations in line-up and sound, but Andrew Hoepfner has always been the rock within Creaky Boards...
Posted by Amy Dittmeier on Aug 12, 2008 @ 11:06 am
New Music from Mason Proper
The album is out in September, and HEAVE gives you a first listen.
Mason Proper may have gone through the most name changes than any other band. Now on their third (and probably last) name, Mason Proper is set to release their second full length on Dovecote Records. Their first release, There Is A Moth In Your Chest, garnered some critical success, not to mention some pretty nice album art done by Grandaddy drummer Aaron Burtch.
Their upcoming second album, Olly Oxen Free, was somewhat produced by super producer Chris Coady. Coady has done work with TV on the Radio, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and others. I say somewhat because Coady had such a busy schedule that he was in and out of the production, leaving front man Jonathan Visgr to do most of the recording and producing.
Mason Proper is far from just an indie pop outlet. They focus on angular sounding guitars that deliver a far more unique, almost reminiscent to their friends (and cover artists) Grandaddy. Take a listen to "Lock and Key" below.
Posted by Wes Soltis on Aug 11, 2008 @ 11:06 am
The Break Up Mixtape
Heart ache to heart ache follows each track
Love hurts and love scars, and yes, love is surely a battlefield, but no amount of corny lyricism can help when you truly get your heart broken. You feel numb, like you can't lift your head, can't move and can't fathom how you will ever function in life anymore without that person that you loved so much. I can never find the words to fully express how painful it can be when ending a relationship of any kind, but thankfully that is what music is around for...
Posted by Lisa White on Aug 08, 2008 @ 7:00 am
New Music From Thomas Function
The Celebration! never ends
Instantly infectious melodies, buttery fat organ sounds, tambourine infused beats and from Alabama of all places? Thomas Function should have the world at their feet very soon with debut album Celebration!. Beaming with the confidence of a junkie troubadour with nothing to lose, lead singer Joshua Macero channels the spirits of Jonathan Richmond and Richard Hell. The band backs him with the energetic minimalism of kiwi rockers The Clean, but with an intensity seldom seen since the “hey days” of Violent Femmes and The Pixies.
Celebration! does not let up. From honkey-tonkers to speed freaked-out rockers, Thomas Function blend all the aspects of what a new band can get themselves into while in the garage. When listening, you really can visualize the group hacking it out in the Alabama heat giving each other unabashed looks of approval and high fives. There's nothing throwback here at all. The song writing is far too strong to make a jaded comparison.
"Can't Say No" plays like a kid bouncing in one those inflatable back yard party contraptions. The Hammond organs are as sweet as sunshine playing against this powerful yet simple little masterpiece.
Posted by Joe Roth on Aug 07, 2008 @ 7:00 am
Get to Know: NOBOT
Music that sounds like a robot will never get old.
Electronic music is all the rage now. How it became hip is a completely different story, but now you can't go into your local record shop without seeing the debut album of some new indie electronica band. Most of the bands out there should not be touching a laptop and synthesizer, but there are some newer acts that deserve to blaze into futuristic music. In Minnesota, that band is NOBOT. NOBOT grew out of the Minnesota electronic womb in 2006 as a three-piece act...
Posted by Amy Dittmeier on Aug 05, 2008 @ 7:30 am