The CoachellAltDelight series will put focus on the low key Coachella
artists that we at C+A+D feel like you should know about.
Less than a week til we’re all together!

New York five-piece Freelance Whales are among my favorite new-ish bands. Formed in 2008 after connecting on Craigslist, the band is known for their unconventional creativity. They’re awesomely idiosyncratic with their synthesizers, glockenspiels and strange lyrics. Yeah, I don’t know what a glockenspiel is either. Taking the stage on Saturday, they’re a show I wouldn’t miss; they’re the kind of quirky and youthful fun that’s awesome to see live.

Freelance Whales

Freelance Whales-Starring
Freelance Whales-We Could Be Friends

The CoachellAltDelight series will put focus on the low key Coachella
artists that we at C+A+D feel like you should know about.
Less than a week till we’re all together!

Drum ‘n’ Bass greats Chase & Status revolutionized the world of electronic music when they first hit the scene in 2006, climbing the UK charts even as an electric dance duo on an indie label. They have collaborated with the likes of Kano, Plan B, Tinie Tempah and Cee-Lo Green in their most recent album No More Idols and have signed the likes of Nero to their own label. They’re set to storm the Coachella stage on day three and I’m expecting nothing but sheer greatness.

Chase & Status-Invaders Must Die
Chase & Status-Blind Faith

Plan B

Also from the UK, Ben Drew aka Plan B is a bit of a Renaissance man. His 2006 debut Who Needs Actions When You Got Words was a well-received slice of London life in hip-hop form. His most recent album The Defamation of Strickland Banks was something quite different, primarily focusing on soul. The album quickly reached the no. 1 spot in the charts. Between the production of his two albums, Drew gleaned his acting career, appearing in two films between the years 2008-2009. Plan B is also set to perform on day 3 of Coachella, which brings me to my next point….

Plan B-Stay Too Long

Chase & Status (feat. Plan B)

Plan B has done a lot of the vocals for Chase & Status; their colab single “End Credits” reached the top ten in the UK charts in 2009 and what’s more, they’ve been known to play together when they just so happen to be at the same music festival…do you see where I’m going with this? The combined energies of Chase & Status and Plan B is something I hope to experience live in my lifetime, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that it happens next Sunday. There’s absolutely no guarantee that this will happen but if it does, it could very possibly be a life-changing experience and that’s something I wouldn’t risk missing.
Chase & Status (feat. Plan B)-End Credits

Chase & Status (feat. Plan B)-Pieces

The CoachellAltDelight series will put focus on the low key Coachella
artists that we at C+A+D feel like you should know about.
Less than a week til we’re all together!

Formed in Sweden in the mid-1990s, The Radio Dept. sounds like something out of a dream…within a dream. Amidst digitalized drums and ethereal vocals, the band manages to channel the likes of The Smiths in a sort of hazy, downplayed manner. The overall energy they bring is calm–the sort of vibes you’ll want on the second day of Coachella, giving you a rest before the inevitable madness that will be day three; i.e., The Radio Dept. will give your throbbing ear drums a break but still put on a great show. If you’re looking for an awesome band with a lesser crowd, I’d suggest checking these guys out.

The Radio Dept.

The Radio Dept.-Heaven’s On Fire
The Radio Dept.-Domestic Scene

Last year, Cloud Nothings frontman Dylan Baldi released his basement scuzz debut Turning On. It was a brooding stew of lo-fi growing pains and the typical adolescent woahs of suburban life. Baldi quickly moved from the thick fog of his parents’ basement to the ever-so resourceful recording studio to deliver his self-titled sophomore album. It seems though that more than just the recording locale has changed for Baldi and what we’re left with is something that sounds like it could have been made by another artist entirely. Punchy, poppy and in your face, this album is a sugary confection of fast paced, frenetic beats that roll over like a high-speed merry-go-round. It sounds like something Nathan Williams of Wavves would make on laughing gas. It’s the sort of head bouncy pop that perfectly suits a disgustingly good mood; otherwise, its jumpy repetition has a tendency to sound like a bouncing, attention starved toddler. Like anything ultra-sweet, this is best in small servings otherwise you’ll get a headache.

-Witler

Tracklist

1. Understand At All
2. Not Important
3. Should Have
4. Forget You All the Time
5. Nothing’s Wrong
6. Heartbeat
7. Rock
8. You’re Not That Good At Anything
9. Been Through
10. On the Radio
11. All the Time

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For No Reason

Listening to New Orleans indie-pop duo The Generationals’ sophomore album “Actor-Caster” is something like flipping through an old photo album, peering into a lost time. The album borrows from a variety of influences, like looking back at photos from over the decades and lamenting over the different styles of dress and hair, but without the “what were they thinking?” feel. This is pure nostalgia, almost to the point where it feels wrong listening to it from an iPod. It’s a sort of dusty, beat-heavy pop that makes the most sense coming from turntables. This, however, isn’t a record for the shelf; it’s got just enough synth and charm to remain relevant to the times.

-Witler

Tracklist

1. Ten-Twenty-Ten
2. I Promise
3. Yours Forever
4. You Say It Too
5. Goose & Gander
6. Dirty Mister Dirty
7. Black and White
8. Tell Me Now
9. Greenleaf
10. Please Be It
11. U Say It 2 (Bonus Track)

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Say For Certain

You know that feeling when you step outside and the sky is blue and the air smells like fresh-cut grass and pollen and you realize for the first time in months that summer’s on its way? That’s the best way I know how to describe the sentiment attached to Brown Recluse debut “Evening Tapestry.” It’s a delightful blend of psych-pop and 1960’s-inspired indie that could provide the perfect ambiance for a summertime road trip with the windows down and the ocean in view.

Appeals to fans of: Of Montreal, Maritime

-Witler

Tracklist

1. Hobble to Your Tomb
2. Impressions of a City Morning
3. Statue Garden
4. Summer Showers
5. Wooden Fingers
6. Beautiful Light
7. Monday Moon
8. At Last
9. Golden Sun
10. Paisley Tears
11. March to Your Tomb

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Notorious

From the ruble of yet another broken relationship (recall Stu McLamb’s The Love Language) comes the sophomore album of one-man-show, Telekinesis. A year following his debut, Telekinesis!, Michael Benjamin Lerner has dusted the dirt off his back to deliver 12 equally catchy pop jams in 12 Desperate Straight Lines. Yet the acrimony lingers.

As you’d expect from any band formed in the wake of an ugly breakup, this album like the last is heaving with bitterness and a sort of despondency that echoes through the lyrics and is ever present in tracks like “50 Ways” and “Fever Chill.” The melodies are consistently hooky and sunny in a way that ironically makes a beautiful contrast with the lyrics. “We fell in love in the summer/by the spring time we were done/is it any wonder that I didn’t run?/and though I’m out of equations to tell you what when wrong/ I can see straight through you/you turn clear in the sun” open the album and establish its territory; Lerner isn’t over it and probably won’t be for some time.

The highlights of the album are easily “Please Ask For Help,” “Dirty Thing,” and “Car Crash.” Despite lyrics embittered lyrics like “Love comes and goes/and everything flows till you feel so lonely/you still feel so broken/it’s a chemical reaction/based on attraction,” 12 Desperate Straight Lines has the same kind of worriless atmosphere as a poolside day in the ‘90s. It’s got just enough pop and fizz to catch your attention and just enough rough-edge and fuzz to keep you from going crazy.

-Witler

Tracklist

1. You Turn Clear In the Sun
2. Please Ask For Help
3. 50 Ways
4. I Cannot Love You
5. Dirty Thing
6. Car Crash
7. Palm of Your Hand
8. I Got You
9. Fever Chill
10. Country Lane
11. Patterns
12. Gotta Get It Right Now

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