Sunday 19 May
 
 
CD reviews

Various artists — Never Give Up: Celebrating 10 Years of The Postal Service

Few indie bands have had the impact on current music that The Postal Service has. Even fewer have done so with only one album.
05/15/2013 | Comments 0

Big Worm — Bench All-Stars

Fans of the comedy classic Friday may recognize the name Big Worm, but the Big Worm behind Bench All-Stars is rooted not in South Central L.A., but on the streets of Oklahoma City.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Code 22 — Going Soft: The Acoustic Album!

The guys of Oklahoma City’s Code 22 seem like a likable group of fellas. Their latest release, Going Soft: The Acoustic Album!, is likable enough as well — so likable that on first listen, I took its clean, acoustic sound and clear, unstressed vocals as an alternative praise-and-worship band.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Eureeka — Polysynthetic Fields

It’s always refreshing to hear music that embraces its own eccentricity, yet presents it in an accessible and meek fashion. Eureeka — the Norman-based duo of Jordan Vargas and Devin Wahl — has tapped into this rarified air on its self-released EP, Polysynthetic Fields.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Tom Skinner — Tom Skinner

Sincerity is nearly dead in songwriting. The image of the earnest singer with eyes tightly shut and a crack in his voice as he plunges to emotional depths has become a joke.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

MP-Free Vol. 4: The energizer


It keeps going and going and going ...

By Stephen Carradini January 27th, 2011
EmilyArin

Heard you liked those MP3s. Good! We’ve got — you guessed it — more, and two days’ worth on top of that. That is, if nothing new comes in, which it always does.

Our goal? System overload: more good music than you can handle. Here we go.

1.    “Breadcrumb Trail” — Buried Beds. Adventurous, charming pop music with swooning strings, jaunty piano, energetic drums and beautiful female vocals.

2.    “When You Knew Me When” — Emily Arin. You know how Jenny Lewis is cute in every way (musically, aesthetically, lyrically)? So is Emily Arin, only, like, more.

3.    "Breakneck Speed" / "Something Good Can Work" —Tokyo Police Club. The excellent “Breakneck Speed” off last year’s brilliant “Champ” gets mashed up with “Something Good Can Work” by Two Door Cinema Club, whom I don’t know enough about, in this infectious party jam.

4.    “Away Frm U” — Oberhofer. You can download Oberhofer’s enthusiastic, bizarre and uniquely life-affirming pop almost everywhere that matters musically (Pitchfork, Stereogum, Daytrotter, Altered Zones, Yours Truly, RCRD LBL). File in the “Everyone will be listening to him in 2012” category.

5.    “Not Enough” — Stacy Clark. A solid female-fronted piano singer/songwriter tune which grabbed my attention because every free download (up to number 1,000) donates a dollar to To Write Love on Her Arms, which is an incredible organization that fights against self-destructive actions.

6.    “Baby Don’t You Cry” — Fergus and Geronimo. I dislike trashy garage rock as a general rule, but the best stuff breaks through the junky haze, as this memorable track does.

+stephen

photo Emily Arin

 
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