Beck - Girl YTV

30/06/15 YouTube Video

This week I wanted to post a bit of a classic song from Beck. Girl is a track from his album Guero which is coming up on its 10 year birthday in a month. I heard this song earlier today on the radio and  it reminded me of when I last heard it all those years ago and I look back with fond memories. I like the catchy elements of the lyrics and the fact that he has brought in Mexican and Country music elements to the song and make it sound fresh even in this day and age. Enjoy!

White Reaper Does It Again SCS

SoundCloud Song

Yet another exciting young band that would be great to listen to in the sunshine at a festival. This time they come from Louisville, USA. The 4 tracks below are a nice little teaser for their upcoming album to be released in a few weeks on the 17th of July. I think they share similar musical qualities with another punky band I love: Fidlar, in terms of the grungy guitar and the sometimes silly lyrics. They also manage to pack more hooks into each tune which makes for a more light hearted listen as a whole. If this is about a quarter of the album, I cant wait to hear the thing as a whole. Super pumped for more of this music.

Strand Of Oaks - NPR YTV

23/06/15 YouTube Video

NPR have pulled another brilliant session out of the bag inviting Strand Of Oaks to play for their Tiny Desk Concert feature. I watch most of the Tiny Desks that they release and there has been good ones fairly regularly but nothing has been as good as this session in a long time.

Through the session he plays 3 tracks: Goshen 97, Plymouth and JM. Starting with Goshen 97, it shows the vocal capabilities of Timothy Showalter and I was pleasantly surprised at the range he could produce. With Plymouth he moved from a Telecaster to play what looks like a Fender Telecoustic (funny little instrument) with a gorgeous effect added through a pedal that I have rarely if never heard before in such a stand alone way and I am so envious his guitar playing. JM is the 7 minute belter that closes the set and it is one of a select few tracks that doesn't have me reaching for my phone by half way through, he just has a way of keeping me captivated throughout. Extremely talented guy. Enjoy!

Wolf Alice - Freazy SCS

SoundCloud Song

To add even more buzz for their début album, Wolf Alice have released Freazy about a day ago. It is less rocky and has more of a pop element compared to the other tracks they have released so it should make for a nice mixed selection of tracks on an expectedly great first album. From their ever growing fan base on both sides of the pond, I think Wolf Alice are going to be a big big act and seeing as it is festival season they are going to rise and rise up that line up bill. Perfect sound for summer time sunshine. Hopefully their album holds up against the hype. Enjoy!

Dead Sara - Mona Lisa YTV

16/06/15 YouTube Video

This track came to me out of the blue when I was listening to KSMT radio this morning, for like 5 random minutes the vocals really caught my attention. Mona Lisa is the Dead Saras latest released single from their third album and it has edges of rockier tones but after listening to some of their previous releases, I was pleased to hear they have heavier tones and even more powerful vocals. I hope you all agree that these guys are an exciting band and I look forward to listening to their albums over and over again. Enjoy!

Montage Of Heck DOTM

Design Of The Month

I finally got around to watching Montage Of Heck yesterday which is a movie that has been on my must watch list for too long now. Alongside telling the story of Kurt Cobains life from start to end, the thing that really made impressed was the use of animation to tell certain parts of the story when video couldn't have been or wasn't used. The animator is Stefan Nadelman, an American Film Director/Animator who has been working in the industry for well over a decade now and you can tell by the quality of his art (pictured below). It had a way of expressing his life in a realistic but emotional way that was breathtaking to me.

Other parts of the movie I enjoyed were the interview clips with Kurts mother, father, step mother and ex-girlfriend. These were all people I have never heard anything from in the past and found the things they talked about really enlightening. Great movie and definitely worthy of your time.

California Wives - The Heart Always Breaks YTV

09/06/15 YouTube Video

California Wives are due to release a new EP at the end of July but they have done a cool thing and pre released all of the tracks on YouTube with the single Heavy coming with an interesting and weird music video. My favourite track of the four is second in the listings because it has more of an upbeat happiness that I think helps and is encouraged by the song being just over 2 minutes long compared to Heavys which is more than twice as long, going over 5 mins and it has more of a grave, slower, groovy kind of sound. Enjoy!

Rat Boy - Left 4 Dead SCS

SoundCloud Song

Another exciting English track from an equally exciting English band Rat Boy. They have some of the lyrical content of Jamie T but mixed up for the younger generation and they have added a punk edge with slightly dark undertones to the music. The thing that I particularly like about this band is that they sing about relatable and cultural things that I can recognise in my world where as other acts are out there sing about fantasy. Nothing wrong with either but being relatable ain't no bad thing. Enjoy!  

   

WillsEasyGuitar Building Guitar History YTV

02/06/15 YouTube Video

This week is a bit of a different kind of video. It is a vlog from WillsEasyGuitar where in part 1 he drives around and starts to talk about how he started as a guitar player and builder. I found this 2 part video really interesting because I learnt how Will mostly single handedly started a successful guitar business (Garvin Guitars) through constant improvement, original ideas and good decisions. Some of his designs aren't up my street in terms of taste and some of his opinions I don't fully agree with but I have respect for the knowledge he has in specific areas and I find most of his guitar related videos a must watch. Enjoy!