Shoe-gaze duo the band in Heaven is a blissfully distorted pop concoction. What sets them apart is the unique contrast they create—they manage to be severe yet sweet at the same time. Listening to their demo, you are sucked into a homespun dream sequence though not in such a way that it blurs together as many bands of the dream-pop genre tend to.
Each song, though equally confusing and aimless, manages to stand on its own as a sort of individual trance. The hauntingly vivid kind you remember and want to write down. Suppressed amongst dizzying repetition and reverb, the vocals have a sort of calming effect, like they’re letting you in on a secret. In this way they manage to command attention. You want to know what they have to say next, even if what they actually are saying doesn’t make sense.
They strike a nice balance between lo-fi fuzz and guitar distortion. Though at times their presence is vaguely reminiscent of the Velvet Underground traveling in time to cover ‘80s pop essentials such as the Cranberries, they’ve really managed to create something distinctive. Each song has something special to offer. Even their covers (of the Cranberries and Q Lazzarus) present something successfully reinvented. The band in Heaven could very well be influential in the movement to revive the shoe-gaze genre.
I’ve managed to squeeze the Naked and Famous’s “Serenade” onto just about every playlist I’ve made in the last month. And I make a lot of playlists. To be honest, I’m kind of in love with it. A breezy retro-pop jam this song perfectly suits just about any summertime activity. It wasn’t released with their debut “Passive Me, Aggressive You” and I’m pretty sure it hasn’t been released in the US but that shouldn’t be an excuse not to download it. It’s got a nifty video to go with it, check it out.
It’s summer so basically that means that I am committed to two things: Keeping up with the Kardashians and digging for choonz. Just kidding about that first thing. Music being an obsession of mine, in the summer time I often find myself spending hours scouring the internet for new bands/artists/one-hit wonders. I stumbled across this song yesterday. By now, Canadian natives Arcade Fire ought to be a trusted household name. Despite post-Grammy-victory haters, they continue to do what they do best: make awesome music. They recently released two new singles as a sort of extension to The Suburbs and they’re both pretty good. I’ve linked Culture War below. Check it out.
Music Video-Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
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Summer 2009, Sheffield quartet Arctic Monkeys released their third album, Humbug. Edgy, despondent and surrealistically philosophical it was largely ill received as it took a sharp turn from the poppy, streetwise and mostly observational Brit rock sound they’d established with their first two albums. Two years later it is evident that they made it out of their existential funk, stronger and catchier than ever with the recent release of their fourth LP, Suck It and See.
A sparkling culmination of the sounds they’ve developed over the years, this is could quite possibly be their magnum opus. The album flawlessly combines the cheeky pop and drop-heavy beats of their first two albums with the instrumental and vocal maturity of Humbug. The lyrics, though equally abstract as those of Humbug, manage to be more relatable and thus more enjoyable. Frontman Alex Turner seems to have emerged from the philosophical haze that inspired lyrics such as “My propeller won’t spin and I can’t get it started on my own” and is willing now to bestow his newfound wisdom.
Their maturity is evident in each track. The album beings with the mystically romantic “She’s Thunderstorms” and rolls over to the hook of the album, “Black Treacle.” Songs like “Brick By Brick,” “Library Pictures,” and “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair” are reminiscent of Humbug meanwhile integrating the head banging drops of Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not and Favourite Worst Nightmare. The standouts of the album are “Black Treacle,” “Piledriver Waltz” and the album’s perfectly suited closer “That’s Where You’re Wrong.”
Perhaps the best representation of the album as a whole is its namesake track, a leisurely and smooth jam with some of Turner’s best lyrics yet: “I poured my aching heart into a pop song/I couldn’t get the hang of poetry/that’s not a skirt girl, that’s a sawn-off shotgun/and I can only hope you’ve got it aimed at me.”
Arctic Monkeys have grown up and moved on from the youthful conundrums and nightlife that inspired the albums the world fell in love with years ago. But they haven’t forgotten where they came from. They’re older, wiser and they’ve found their niche. Even if you were disappointed by Humbug, give this a listen or two. It’s not nearly as much of an acquired taste as the last and it just might provide redemption.
Tracklist
1. She’s Thunderstorms
2. Black Treacle
3. Brick By Brick
4. The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
5. Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
6. Library Pictures
7. All My Own Stunts
8. Reckless Serenade
9. Piledriver Waltz
10. Love is a Laserquest
11. Suck It and See
12. That’s Where You’re Wrong
Music Video-Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
If there’s one thing that Canada’s got right it’s indie music. Probably to make up for musical terrorists of early 2000 like Nickelback and Simple Plan. And Justin Bei—forget it. Near the top of my essentials list (forget the fact they’re Canadian) are Tokyo Police Club and Born Ruffians; both bands released (awesome) albums last year. As much as I obsessed over those albums for some reason I never heard their colab. To be honest, I never imagined I’d hear the two together. It just sounded too good to be true. A few weeks ago when I was revisiting Champ I stumbled across this song. I wish I’d known about it earlier. It’ll make up for the fact that I just reminded you of Nickelback.
Denmark’s Jannis Noya Makrigiannis is the brainchild behind Choir of Young Believers–an experimental blend of orchestral reverb and indie-pop. His album, This Is For the Whites in Your Eyes, is a cathedral of sound, with choral echoes bouncing off high ceilings. Yet he manages to create this sound without seeming preachy or grandiloquent. There’s something humbly supernatural about it. Other-worldly, though appealing in a Fleet-Foxes-on-vicodin kind of way. The entire album is like a holy confession and generally blurs together. It does however shine when it strays from its norm in songs like “Action/Reaction” and “She walks.” Essentially, the songs worth knowing are linked below. Peace be with you.
Denmark’s Jannis Noya Makrigiannis is the brainchild behind Choir of Young Believers–an experimental blend of orchestral reverb and indie-pop. His album, This Is For the Whites in Your Eyes, is a cathedral of sound, with choral echoes bouncing off high ceilings. Yet he manages to create this sound without seeming preachy or grandiloquent. There’s something humbly supernatural about it. Other-worldly, though appealing in a Fleet-Foxes-on-vicodin kind of way. The entire album is like a holy confession and generally blurs together. It does however shine when it strays from its norm in songs like “Action/Reaction” and “She walks.” Essentially, the songs worth knowing are linked below. Peace be with you.
Standing alone, James Mercer of The Shins and Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse are two names that are difficult to argue with in the music world. With two distinct sounds of their own it shouldn’t come as a huge shock that together they are an absolute powerhouse. Only a year after the release of their self-titled debut as Broken Bells, the duo has recently released an EP. Meyrin Fields is a futuristic landscape, a mechanical and dark aberration from the 1960s-infused indie pop we’re used to hearing from both artists separately. The EP shares the gloom and new-wave feel of the LP, though with less of a post-apocalyptic feel. Rather, it’s brimming with a sort of artificial intelligence. It’s the musical manifestation of a world run by shimmering robots, unnatural and dominant with the kinda vibes reminiscent of something Spoon would deliver if they lived a thousand years in the future. Science fiction as it is, it still maintains a classic rock quality that puts it in the same class as The Black Keys and Wolf Parade.
Standing alone, James Mercer of The Shins and Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse are two names that are difficult to argue with in the music world. With two distinct sounds of their own it shouldn’t come as a huge shock that together they are an absolute powerhouse. Only a year after the release of their self-titled debut as Broken Bells, the duo has recently released an EP. Meyrin Fields is a futuristic landscape, a mechanical and dark aberration from the 1960s-infused indie pop we’re used to hearing from both artists separately. The EP shares the gloom and new-wave feel of the LP, though with less of a post-apocalyptic feel. Rather, it’s brimming with a sort of artificial intelligence. It’s the musical manifestation of a world run by shimmering robots, unnatural and dominant with the kinda vibes reminiscent of something Spoon would deliver if they lived a thousand years in the future. Science fiction as it is, it still maintains a classic rock quality that puts it in the same class as The Black Keys and Wolf Parade.
