This is fine.
Denver, by way of Brooklyn, based band The Still Tide is led by the enigmatic front woman Anna Morsett. Though she doesn’t always do things on her own, she is the brains behind the band. That said, we are pleased today to share with you her responses to our interview questions. We hope you will enjoy her take on SXSW and what it’s like being in a traveling band. Hit the jump for interview.
Public Practice is offering up something I didn’t know I needed on this rainy Texas day; they’re bringing me back to the pop side of old school punk rock. This song has these frantic jagged riffs and odd little time signatures, driving the infectiousness up a notch as your toes go tapping furiously. The vocal delivery has a bit of a stutter to it, which matches the video’s aesthetic as well; there’s definitely bravado too, building on the promise of exuberant live shows we fully expect from the group. Their new album Gentle Grip will be out on May 15th via Wharf Cat Records.
Last year’s Swim Team EP put everyone on notice, in Austin and beyond, of the powerful force that is Christelle Bofale. She’s got this incredible voice, slightly smoky and able to stretch to the highest pitches effortlessly. This tune opens up steadily, with Bofale offering up her voice atop measured guitar notes; there’s a gentle change in the winds just at the 1:11 mark that really illustrates what a gifted songwriter Bofale is. Those winds blow further with this incredible vocal breakdown over muted guitars in the song’s last minute; you’re going to want to be sure that you stick around until the end. She’ll be performing at SXSW, so if you’re here, go ahead and pencil in a performance or two.
It’s always great to find new stuff going on in the world, and this new single below has two great things to offer: 1) it’s the first release from new Aussie label Cannery Records and 2) Brain Drugs is a new project from Mike and Pete. Who are they? I can only surmise they’re the two hay-covered gentleman in the accompanying video (the costumes took 6 people and 2 weeks to construct!). Musically, they’re offering this sort of intoxicating instrumental synth and drum work; it’s rhythmic pulses find some magical way to crawl beneath your skin as you watch the grainy 8mm footage before your eyes. The steadiness and constraint are important, neither pushing or pulling the song in one direction, just holding the line, and you! Their debut album comes out this April.
When Standard Fare called it a day, Emma Kupa moved on to from Mammoth Penguins. I’ve been a huge fan from day one, and There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win was one of my favorite LPs last year. All that said, I’ve never caught the band live, so I’m more than excited to finally get to see them at SXSW this year. We caught up with the group real quick to grab some answers to our little interview.
Oh…and if you’re so inclined…it’s tough to get bands from the UK to the US, so you can help by buying some Mammoth Penguins merch HERE.
When you drop names like the Sea Urchins and the Clean in your reference points, I promise you I’m going to listen (and I’ll be pissed if you’re lying!). So this is where I get to meet the Great Divides, the newest Australian export with an EP on the way shortly. In this tune, the band’s classic jangling sounds get balanced out by the heavy throb of the bass work; they mix in the trade of male and female vocals like only the best pop purveyors can. Seriously, I’m super into this song right now and just want you all to listen to it with me! This track appears on the group’s new Face the World, Again EP, which is being handled graciously by Spoilsport Records…out Friday!
Thanks to my on-going infatuation with Australia’s Chapter Music, I’ve had Sweet Whirl on my radar for a hot minute, but today she announces How Much Works, her debut LP…and she does so in striking fashion. I remarked last time I covered a tune from the project how powerful Esther Edquist’s voice was, and here, it sounds even more assured than a year ago; it’s bolder somehow, carrying the weight of the song as piano and atmospherics collide into one another. The sparseness of the song allows the emotion to tear through your speakers and hits you across the face. This new LP will be out on March 29th.
When listening through the entirety of Spinning Coin‘s new Hyacinth LP, I found myself gravitating towards this tune quite a bit. Sure, there’s these uplifting guitar riffs that seem poppy and jittery, but the vocals had this gruffness that sort of offered up a rough edge from the band; they splice in a sort of operatic backing vocal that breaks up the weight of the lead too, which adds the faintest hint of musical texture. It’s the sort of little details that makes the whole of the LP enduring, bridging the gaps between various genres and styles, crafting a hodgepodge of sounds that rewards time and time again. Hyacinth should be picked up from your local shoppe on Friday, or buy it from Domino!
Isn’t it exciting when you find a new band that just draws you in immediately and yearns for repeated plays? For me, it’s one of my favorite feelings and I’m always happy to share it with all of you. Today my “new band smell” comes by way of Danish group Yune, and their brand new single “Odd One Out”. This one blends some lovely bits of bedroom pop with some darker, heavier bass elements to create a truly mesmerizing single.
This song appears on the Yune debut album AGOG which is due out April 24th.
Another week, another week closer to our favorite week of the year as music fans… SXSW. We’ve still got some time to prepare, but as usual, we are going to get the previews going super early so we can fit them in prior to the festival. Today I have another interview from Brooklyn based artist James Wilson and his project known as Paisley Fields. Please hit the jump for responses.
