Natasha Khan, aka Bat for Lashes, has been compared mostly to Bjork for her magical, dangerous atmospheres. Her voice is also comparable to the more accessible side of Bjork’s vocals.
Khan got a huge bump back in January when Thom Yorke listed her track “Horse and I” in his iTunes Celebrity Playlist. Yorke wrote, “natasha khan of bat for lashes ain’t scared. i love the harpsichord and the sexual ghost voices and bowed saws. this song seems to come from the world of grimm’s fairytales, and i feel like a wolf.” “Horse and I” can be heard here.
Miniature Tigers is a locally based Los Angeles band, fronted by Charlie Brand. His songs remind me of the more playful, poppy side of The White Stripes and Grandaddy. Check out “The Wolf” and “White Magic” streaming on his myspace and see if you don’t find yourself singing along by the end. “Dino Damage” is a fun My Morning Jacket-esque toe-tapper, and “Logan’s Bread” is an addicting example of musical minimalism.
Update: Charlie posted this bulletin on myspace – “We’re playing tonight @ the silverlake lounge in los angeles. We are playing with The Spinto Band. We go on right at 9, don’t be late. It’s 21+ FREE!”
Be sure to check out the video for another great Miniature Tigers song that’s not streaming on myspace, “Viking Hearts”:
RF & Lili De La Mora’s new album Eleven Continents is what happens when you lay out in the backyard, close your eyes, a cloud floats by, picks you up, and you don’t care where it’s taking you. RF is Ryan Francesconi, known previously for his electronic work, and Lili De La Mora is also known for singing in the band The Year Zero (from Long Beach, CA).
The heavenly harp arpeggios are performed by, you guessed it, Joanna Newsom. Come to think of it, this is a perfect album for people who like Newsom’s music, but can’t deal with her vocals (I love her singing, personally). The singing duties here are gracefully handled by De La Mora and guest vocalist Fabiola Sanchez from Familiar Trees. If you enjoy Azure Ray, Cocteau Twins or Vashti Bunyan, this is for you. On their myspace you should hit up “Through the Trees,” the title track, and any other song of theirs.
Sexton Blake is the recording name of Portland musician Josh Hodges. I’ve been addicted to his new album Plays the Hits! for the past few weeks, ever since he got plugged on the Forkcast. The entire album consists of cover versions of some classic radio hits, but imagine Elliott Smith and Grandaddy collaborating on them and that’s the sound of this record.
My favorite tracks on the album are his versions of “Rush Rush” by Paula Abdul and “Young Turks” by Rod Stewart. Currently on his myspace you can stream his versions of “Hungry Heart” by The Boss and “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes, which are both excellent.
I know many of you may be weary of concept albums like this, and shrug them off as novelty or gimmicky, but please give this a listen. It really transcends the novelty aspect and constantly entertains with pleasant surprises.
You can purchase Plays the Hits!here, where you can also hear a short sample of every track on the album.
The album tracklist:
01. “Hungry Heart” by Bruce Springsteen
02. “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes
03. “Young Turks” by Rod Stewart
04. “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All” by Air Supply
05. “I Need Love” by LL Cool J
06. “The Logical Song” by Supertramp
07. “Oh L’Amour” by Erasure
08. “Girl You Know It’s True” by Milli Vanilli
09. “Rush Rush” by Paula Abdul
10. “Daniel” by Elton John
11. “Evil Woman” by Electric Light Orchestra
12. “Life In A Northern Town” by Dream Academy
13. “Human Nature” by Michael Jackson
Easter egg – Check out “Lolita” by Throw Me The Statue via the Forkcast.
I’m really enjoying the new songs by Marmoset, a fuzzy-spazz-folk band from Indianapolis. Their new album is Florist Fired, their first new release in five years. Fronted by song writer, singer and bassist Jorma Whittaker, their sound is a mix of Pavement, Velvet Underground and The Byrds.
They are streaming four excellent songs on their myspace right now. Check out the cool stroll of “Missing Man,” the fuzzy bliss of “Florist Fired,” the enchanting spell of “Soft Evenings,” and the addicting toe-tapper “Eyes Are Looking.”
You can purchase Florist Firedhere. Easter egg for reading this far: Secretly Canadian has put together a collection of Marmoset’s greatest hits, and is letting you download it for free here. Lucky you.
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ALSO
This isn’t technically music-related, but Patton Oswalt has a free in-store performance at Amoeba in Hollywood tonight at 7pm. His new album Werewolves and Lollipops is just hysterical. His rant about George Lucas is worth the album price alone.
The album comes with a DVD of Oswalt performing live, here’s a taste:
Easter egg 2: Watch the hilarious new Kanye video here.
Twin sisters Tegan and Sara have made the best album I’ve heard this year so far, The Con. It’s powerful, sexy, confident, catchy and heartbreaking. And this is coming from someone who was not a fan of theirs before.
I know I already blogged about them before, but I felt this album deserved another push because of its official release today. Also, Amoeba in Hollywood is lucky enough to have them performing in the store at 6pm today (check Amoeba’s website for webcast details). I am THERE. They currently have a lot of tour dates posted, so please check their website and see them!
On their myspace you can currently stream four of their new amazing songs: the title track, “Back In Your Head,” “Hop A Plane” and “Nineteen.” My personal favorite is the title track right now, but my favorite song from this album seems to change daily.
A few days ago I listened to their previous album So Jealous and I can see why it didn’t really take off; it had a teen-bopper bubble-gum quality to several of the songs. The Con is clearly their arrival album. Welcome, ladies!
Keep your eye out for a special edition of the album that comes with a DVD, consistly mostly of EPK-style footage of recording sessions. You can see the chapter dedicated to the title track here:
Alaska in Winter is the new project fronted by Beirut frontman Brandon Bethancourt. He masterfully mixes organic instruments like piano and trumpet with a dose of electronic manipulation. If you think mixing Múm, Air and Sufjan Stevens is a good idea, play “Close Your Eyes” on their myspace here. Play “Your Red Dress” next. These two songs have been in heavy rotation for me the past week.
You can purchase their new album Dance Party in the Balkanshere.
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ALSO
Show reminder! Please be sure to hit up tonight’s show at Spaceland, mentioned earlier here. Yo, it’s a FREE show too.
One of the freshest new bands you will hear this year is Mezzanine Owls, and we are lucky to have them based locally in Los Angeles. They combine an irresistible shoegazey guitar with dynamic vocals that embrace the songs in an organic way.
You can’t go wrong with their solid hit “Lightbulb” streaming on their myspace. Be sure to hear a different side of the band on “Coyote” with its sad country guitar wail. “We Don’t” builds to an Arcade Fire-style singalong epiphany. And don’t overlook the precious “Counting Backwards”! The album was recorded by Andy LeMaster, who is known for recording Bright Eyes, Now It’s Overhead and Azure Ray.
Mezzanine Owls are part of an amazing lineup at Spaceland this coming Monday, 23 July 2007, which reminds us once again how lucky we are to live in Los Angeles! Both Mezzanine Owls and The Coral Sea are opening for Eskimohunter that night. It will be quite a treat to see all three bands in one night, and the show is FREE. Oh yes Los Angeles, sometimes, you can have your cake and eat it too.
You can purchase the Mezzanine Owls album Slingshot Echoeshere.
Is that the soundtrack to Knight Rider? Miami Vice? Weird Science??? Uh, well, it probably used to be, but now it’s the 80’s-throwback synth-dance project Kavinsky by Vincent Belorgay from Paris.
The song “Wayfarer” was my driving song for several months this year. You really do believe yr in a Ferrari chasing a cocaine cowboy in a speedboat when yr blasting this tune.
The other tunes streaming on his myspace now are all hits as well, especially “Testarossa Autodrive.” Here’s the video for it:
Want to know what a bunch of sugar-coated lollipops sound like being poured in your ear? Play “Heart Made of Sound” by The Softlightes.
The Softlightes, from San Diego, California, is the latest project from Ron Fountenberry, whom many of you will remember fronted the band The Incredible Moses Leroy. Fans of Leroy will instantly absorb The Softlightes, who continue where Leroy left off with their new album Say No! to Being Cool. Say Yes! to Being Happy. They wear their heart on their sleeve, their songs are unashamedly sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, and they enjoy every skip to the ice cream truck. “Heart Made of Sound” may have come out last winter, but it’s a perfect song for this summer.
You must see the amazing video for “Heart Made of Sound” painstakingly made by Kris Moye:
From the American Cinematheque website:
LED ZEPPELIN LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL, 1970, Contemporary, 108 min. Peter Whitehead shot this rarity in color when the band performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall in January 1970 – just after the release of Led Zeppelin’s second album, and it’s the finest example of the band’s early days at full-throttle. No flashy camera-tricks – just pure Zeppelin. “Whole Lotta Love”, “Communication Breakdown”, “I Can’t Quit You Baby” and a 15-minute version of “Dazed and Confused”! The film has never been screened theatrically in Los Angeles. This will be a great night for Zeppelin fans! With the Egyptian’s 60 foot widescreen – and the 60-surround speakers pumping out 30,000 watts – prepare for a Whole Lotta Zep!
