CoachellAltDelight brings attention to special artists that will be featured in Indio come April.
Some we love. Some we just discovered. All essential.
Click here for more from this series.
10/17 Days

At first glance, BADBADNOTGOOD is one of the more curious placements on the lineup. The Canadian trio has made its name in avant-garde jazz jamming. Delve a little deeper, and it comes to light that their off-kilter beat work has also earned them features alongside stars in the hip-hop and R&B scene. Catch them Saturday for what is looking to be one of the most unique sets of the weekend. Expect some guest features.

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Shame (BADBADNOTGOOD Remix)

Daniel Caesar – Paradise (ft. BADBADNOTGOOD & Sean Leon)

Little Simz x BadBadNotGood – Our Conversations

CoachellAltDelight brings attention to special artists that will be featured in Indio come April.
Some we love. Some we just discovered. All essential.
Click here for more from this series.
50/57 Days

With two EPs, one LP, and several high-brow festivals under her belt, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Meg Myers has proven her prowess in alternative rock and stands as a warning beacon to the repercussions of being vulnerable to love and lust. While one’d expect romanticised lyricism to maintain mellow pacings, Meg Myers would rather throw that notion out the door for in-your-face gritty rock. That’s not to say she doesn’t have range; tracks like ‘In the Morning’ and it’s eerie lull seep through the soul just as powerfully.

Be sure to catch her early Sunday to start your weekend’s close off on a proper mosh.

Meg Myers – Desire

Meg Myers – Lemon Eyes

Meg Myers – I Really Want You to Hate Me

Meg Myers – The Morning After

Meg Myers – Go

Yannick Ilunga [alias: Petite Noir] has dubbed his sound ‘Noir Wave’. Sweeping vocals on top of tribal rhythms and modernized electronics tied to restless lyricism makes for some very mixed emotions. Since 2012, he’s been turning heads with his apprehensive new-wave meets African aesthetic. So much so that he caught the ear of Yasiin Bey [alias: Mos Def].

He just released The King Of Anxiety and it is a testament to the sentiment.

Petite Noir – Shadows

Petite Noir – Chess

Petite Noir – Till We Ghosts ft. Yasiin Bey

Warwickshire’s Lucy Rose is rejuvenating. Providing backup vocals for Bombay Bicycle Club, she’s been working on her own solo stuff that will no doubt get her much deserved recognition in the upcoming year. Her acoustic-pop jams and delicately beautiful and soothing, weaving in an out of several simple layers like a breeze through a garden. It ought to be served with tea. She has described her music as “therapy” and I personally couldn’t think of a better way to describe it.

Middle of the Bed
Red Face
Scar

Nearly everyone in the English speaking world can recall being told at some point or another to “never judge a book by its cover” or that “it’s what’s on the inside that counts,” and while there certainly are exceptions to these mantras, London-based quartet-but-sometimes-quintet Yuck certainly is not. Beneath the surrealist and somewhat grotesque album art of the band’s self-titled debut is an absolute gem of an album.

Based in London, Hiroshima and New Jersey, the album itself is as eclectic as the band members. “Yuck” ranges from 1990’s-esque indie pop jams, with buoyant and breezy tracks like “Sunday” and “Georgia,” to lo-fi ethereal acoustics like “Stutter” and “Suicide Policeman.”

The emotion behind the songs vary as well, with the youthful declaration of freewill in “Sunday” saying “I’ve got a choice now, I’ve got a voice now” to the distorted repetition of “Should I fit in?” in lo-fi crush “Rubber.” While the album offers a broad range of sound and style, it is consistent in its retro appeal, meanwhile avoiding sounding like just-another-indie-throwback band.

Despite their age (backup vocalist Ilana is still in high school and frontman Daniel is 20), they’ve clearly developed their own unique sound. And their pure talent is evident—“Yuck” was recorded on a Dictaphone in guitarist Max Bloom’s home. With so much promise, Yuck is likely to generate a lot of hype over the next few months, and deservedly so. It will be exciting to see what the future holds for them.

-Witler

Tracklist

1. Get Away
2. The Wall
3. Shook Down
4. Holing Out
5. Suicide Policeman
6. Georgia
7. Suck
8. Stutter
9. Operation
10. Sunday
11. Rose Gives A Lily
12. Rubber

It seems like yesterday that Julian Casablancas first stepped onto the scene, straggly hair and denim jacket, forever changing the music scene with the Strokes’ first (and flawless) album Is This It? That was August 2001, and somehow in a vacuum of time we have found ourselves on the cusp of 2011.

A decade has passed and we have yet to experience an album with the same degree of musical brilliance and unintentional awesome-ness since “Is This It?” blew out our speakers for the first time. However, music has never been quite the same. The past few years have opened the door of anything-goes, allowing for musical experimentation that defines our generation with bands like Passion Pit, Grizzly Bear, Yeasayer and Animal Collective.

2010, however, hasn’t necessarily been trademarked by the new-ageness (no that’s not a word) that you might have expected when music underwent such a swift revolution in the past decade. Rather, 2010 burst to the scene a slew of throwback bands that seem to fumble to recall the lost memories of our preceding generations, attempting to replicate sounds of the ‘60’s, ‘70s and most profoundly—the ‘80s. Lo-fi synth bands likes Wavves and Neon Indian dominated the scene—Wavves with its sophomore album King of The Beach and Neon Indian with its debut Psychic Chasms.

The indie world shared in the guilty pleasure of folk bands such as Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ Up From Below and Delta Spirit’s History From Below. I don’t know exactly what it is that lies “below” that drives these bands but whatever it is….it’s working.

I could continue writing about the past 365 days worth of music, but in that case I might as well write book. Instead of testing your attention spans, I’ve listed my top ten most played tracks from the year. These tracks and the bands that bestowed them speak for themselves. Enjoy.

-Witler

Top 10 Indie/Alternative Tracks of 2010

10. Post Acid —Wavves
9. Don’t Cry—Deerhunter
8. Madder Red—Yeasayer
7. Boy—Ra Ra Riot
6. Everlasting Light—The Black Keys
5. Laredo—Band of Horses
4. 40 Day Dream—Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
3. Floating Vibes—Surfer Blood
2. Excuses—The Morning Benders
1. Bambi—Tokyo Police Club