The Head and the Heart – Lost In My Mind by subpop
Some folk-rock goodness for the weekend. High Five!
The Head and the Heart – Lost In My Mind by subpop
Some folk-rock goodness for the weekend. High Five!
A brand new song Mumford and Sons played at the launch of the Railroad Revival Tour. THE CONCERT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! I will definitely be watching Mumford and Sons when they release their next album!
Also, catch this awesome encore:
Mumford and Sons, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros jam to the song “Wagon Wheel”. This is getting me so pumped for the concert tonight in Oakland!!
Freelance Whales – Girl U Want (Devo Cover) by 1FTP
New Freelance Whales!!! Kinda…it’s a cover. But still yay! High Five!
Mumford and Sons debut is more than extraordinary, it’s legendary. They have thought-provoking lyrics, excellent musicianship, and genius composition work. They do all of this and sound so very original at the same time. It’s not popular to construct songs that have smart lyrics and play in a hymn-like structure. But, Mumford and Sons do it. And they do it so well.
There are so many reasons why Mumford and Sons just stands out from the crowd. You could talk about the fact that they use a double bass as opposed to a regular electric bass. Or you could talk about the extremely complex strumming rhythms that Mumford plays and the fact that he is able to sing excellently over it. Or you could talk about the profoundly deep, poetic, visually-striking lyrics they have:
For every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt
And my head told my heart let love grow
But my heart told my head, this time no
This time no
- Winter Winds
Look over your head and be still
The sky above shoots to kill
Rain down, rain dow
On me.I will hold on.
I will hold on.
I will hold on hold.
-Thistle & Weeds
You can also told about the wonderfully constructed builds that they employ in songs like “Thistle & Weeds”, “Little Lion Man”, “Dust Bowl Man”. The list goes on and on.
The point is that this is not just an album that tops my list in 2010, but also breaks into my list of top ten albums of all time. It is so very refreshing to hear an album that doesn’t treat you mindlessly with music, but challenges you and pushes you to think. To think about the lyrics they sing, to think about musically why they construct and progress the way they do, and to just quite-frankly enjoy the songs on so many levels.
I forsee this album to be on repeat for quite some time.
Favorite songs from the album
All of them, but will put some embedded links later.
What can I really say about this album? I’ve had it for over 6 months and to this moment I still listen to tracks from the album. I was instantly in love with this band the moment I first heard them. They were the postal service meets folk album I’ve always been waiting for. Unlike many of the artists on this list, I have actually seen them perform live as well. I can tell you that they have a great live presence and are on their way to doing bigger things in their music career. You can tell that they love the music they play and they switch instruments every song like it was no big deal.
By far, maybe even more so that my top album pick of 2010, this is probably the most catchy album I’ve heard in 2010. I want to sing along to every track I hear in the album, even though I may not keep up with the speedy singing in “Hannah”. I’m excited to what new material Freelance Whales will bring to us in 2011.
Favorite songs from the album
Freelance Whales – Generator First Floor by al_debaran
Local Natives is probably one of my most exciting new band discoveries in the year 2010. The band consists of high school friends Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, Ryan Hahn, Andy Hamm, and Matt Frazier. A couple things set Local Natives as a band apart from the rest of the bands out of there. First, the band composes and executes great harmonies in all of their tracks. Most of the time the harmonies are in three parts and it results in such an interesting sound. Second, the band’s drummer Matt Frazier is spaztastic to say the least. He has wild drum parts where it is least expected. The drum beats are complex and interesting — he provides way more tone to the drum than the usual band too. The drums almost sound like a choppy electronic experiment sometimes, but the drums are all real and live (at least thats what I think). Lastly, Local Natives has a great blend of genre/musical influences. Some tracks sound like a smooth, downbeat soul song with the rock/alternative touch. Others are an odd mix of Folk and Alternative. Whatever the case, it grabs my attention and I always enjoy the unexpected genre benders. Gorilla Manor is an amazing accomplishment of a debut album, and judging by critical reception, this band can expect big things.
Favorite songs from the album
World News by Local Natives
Wintersleep – Weighty Ghost by Sonic Entertainment Group
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy this awesome pop-folk song and eat lots of Turkey. High Five!
Wintersleep – Weighty Ghost by Sonic Entertainment Group
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy this awesome pop-folk song and eat lots of Turkey. High Five!
Freelance Whales – Enzymes by Ledjam311
Watching Freelance Whales perform tonight! Can’t wait! High Five!