Jul 12, 2009
This week on Soulful Sundays, the 2008 album from All Natural – Elements Fire.
The album has great jazzy background beats and All Natural has an amazing flow and aggressiveness that really appealed to me. I hope you enjoy the album, the stream is below!
Jul 10, 2009
This week on Featured Album Fridays, the third full-length release from New York indie-rock band Stellastarr* – Civilized.
Here is the description of Stellastarr* from their Last.FM:
Stellastarr* are an American indie rock band based in New York City. The band is composed of: Shawn Christensen (vocals, rhythm guitar), Amanda Tannen (bass, vocals), Arthur Kremer (percussion, keyboards) and Michael Jurin (lead guitar, vocals).
The group formed in March 2000 from the ashes of a previous musical effort – Ghistor – formed by Shawn, Amanda, and Arthur while studying art and design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. A few years later, after a chance meeting with Michael, who had recently relocated to Brooklyn from his hometown Philadelphia, the former classmates reunited, this time with Shawn on vocals.
Stellastarr* played their first gig at the Luna Lounge on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in July 2000 and began releasing a limited series of independent/homemade CDEPs shortly after. To date, they have toured with Jane’s Addiction, The Raveonettes, Placebo, The Killers and The Subways, among others.
Stellastarr*’s second album, entitled Harmonies for the Haunted, was released in America on September 13, 2005.
It’s a solid album and I really recommend it for a listen through. Enjoy!
Jul 5, 2009
This week on Soulful Sundays, the 2008 album from Raashan Ahmad – The Push.
Fantastic album, great jazzy background beats with raw and genuine vocals. Exactly the kind of albums I love to hear after a long, tiring week. Enjoy!
Jul 3, 2009
This week on Featured Album Fridays, I’m showcasing the 2009 self-titled album from Everything All The Time – Everything All The Time.
The band is quite new and still hasn’t made it huge, but they have a great electro rock sound that I enjoy! Not to mention the smooth female vocals that are peppered throughout, which are my favourite! There is no description because of the fact that they aren’t so big yet, but here’s to hoping that changes. Enjoy!
Jun 28, 2009
This week on Soulful Sundays, from the Ample Soul Physician himself, Fat Jon’s 2008 album – Repaint Tomorrow.
I absolutely love this album, because it’s very instrumental-heavy. I discovered Fat Jon through one of the tracks he produced with Nujabes, and then I discovered some of the work he did for Samurai Champloo as well, which had a fantastic soundtrack. I hope you guys really enjoy this album, because I totally loved it. Cheers!
Jun 26, 2009
This week on Featured Album Fridays, I’m showcasing the 2009 album from The Fiery Furnaces – I’m Going Away.
Here is the description of The Fiery Furnaces from their Last.FM:
The Fiery Furnaces are an inventive and often challengingly experimental rock group from Brooklyn, New York. Originally from Oak Park, Illinois — a suburb of Chicago — they consist of the brother and sister team of Matthew Friedberger and Eleanor Friedberger, and are currently joined by Jason Loewenstein (Sebadoh), BOB D’AMICO and Michael Goodman when playing live on tour.
The Fiery Furnaces signed with the Rough Trade Records music label in 2002, and recorded their debut album in the same year.
Gallowsbird’s Bark, released in the autumn of 2003, garnered critical praise for its clever wordplay and original songwriting.
Anybody who thought they had the band pinned at that point was quickly proven wrong with the 2004 release Blueberry Boat, a rock-operatic album whose track lengths were often six minutes long or longer.
While some critics adored the album for its vast complexity, others found it all a little too overwhelming.After releasing EP in 2005 (considered a full-length album because of its 41 minute play time, but is “officially” an EP) the band then released two further albums – Rehearsing My Choir (2005), a radio-dramaesque concept album about the Friedbergers’ Greek grandmother; and Bitter Tea (2006), which is a comparably more conventional album built on still-bent song structures, but with more pop-oriented stylings.
In October 2007 the band released their fifth full-length album, Widow City.
Great indie band, this is the first time I’m posting with this kind of sound (That I can recall!) so I’m excited to share it. As usual, the stream is below, so enjoy!
Jun 21, 2009
This week on Soulful Sundays, I am showcasing a great album from Count Bass D release in 2008 – Robbed Without a Pistol.
It’s a very instrumental-heavy album, and it has been a fantastic album to jam out to on a relaxing Saturday afternoon. I definitely hope you guys enjoy it, the stream is below!
Jun 19, 2009
This week on Featured Album Fridays, a great Canadian band from Milton, Ontario with a fantastic offering. The album is The Most Serene Republic’s 2009 album – …And the Ever Expanding Universe.
Here is the description of The Most Serene Republic from their Last.FM:
The Most Serene Republic is a Canadian indie rock band formed in Milton, Ontario, by band members Adrian Jewett, Ryan Lenssen, and Nick Greaves, who had all left school to pursue more artistic ventures. The band takes its name from the sobriquet of formerly independent Venice under the Doges, which was regarded as “The Most Serene Republic of Venice.”
The Most Serene Republic released its debut album, Underwater Cinematographer, in 2005 on the Arts & Crafts label. They are the first band on the A&C label that isn’t related in one way or another to Broken Social Scene (though Ryan and Adrian perform sometimes in their live shows). They later released a tour EP in spring/summer of 2006, titled Phages, capturing more of the sweep of their live performances.
Originally formed in mid-2003 as a duo (Lenssen and Jewett) known as Thee Oneironauts (O-nye-rawn-nauts). The pair would quickly record and self-release an EP entitled Night of the Lawnchairs on Lenssen’s GROK Studios imprint. The Oneironauts grew to trio status with the addition of Greaves on keyboard and guitar.
Their live shows are known for being extremely entertaining, and intense with dancing, and cramming so many sounds to overload the senses.
Awesome album, the stream is below, check it out! Enjoy.
Jun 14, 2009
This week on Soulful Sundays, I’m showcasing a great concept album from Funky DL – The 4th Quarter.
I really like this album because of the concept. Funky DL serves up four different styles of songs: soul, new age, jazz, and authentic, in four different sections of his album. I feel that it works out very well, and I hope you think so too. Enjoy!
Jun 12, 2009
This week on Featured Album Fridays, a little beat of an off-beat album, but a great album nonetheless, Starlight Mints and their 2009 album – Change Remains.
Here is the description of Starlight Mints from their Last.FM:
Starlight Mints are a group of beautiful pop mutants: four oddballs whose love for archetypal pop music and AM radio has provided a rock-solid foundation for a whole bunch of inspired weirdness. Allan Vest (vocals/guitar), Marian Love Nunez (keyboards), Javier Gonzales (bass), and Andy Nunez (drums) began jamming together in the ’90s, giving birth to their own funky brand of heavily instrumental, surrealistically worded pop sound. Maybe you could call it bubblegum psych. It all adds up to something very grand: one marvelous piece of orchestrated, catchy surrealism after another, in the form of 2006’s drowaton. The band has released two previous albums, the dream that stuff was made of (2000), and built on squares (2003), combining classic string arrangements, cheeky boyish vocals, and a feel good vibe to bring a glossy, fresh sound to indie rock.
The Starlight Mints is an indie pop band from Norman, Oklahoma. This quirky quintet is nationally renowned on the indie scene for their creative juxtaposition of classical and pop elements in their music. The band was formed in the ’90s and has varied in size between 5-7 members.
The current quartet consists of:
- Allan Vest (vocals, guitar)
- Andy Nunez (drums)
- Marian Love Nunez (keyboard)
- Javier Gonzales (bass).Two previous members contributed to their sound on violin and cello. After releasing The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of in 2000 through the label See Thru Broadcasting, and Built on Squares in 2003 through Pias America. Similar bands include the Flaming Lips (who hail from the same area of Oklahoma), the Mayflies USA, the French Kicks and The Unicorns.
Pop mutants indeed! Hope you enjoy the album as much as I do, the stream is below!