Midnight Musing: The Civil Wars

The Civil Wars is folk/americana duo consisting of John Paul White and Joy Williams.  Joy's voice slightly reminds me of Alison Krauss.  They met a couple of years ago and they recorded their second show at Eddie's Attic and gave it away as a free digital album.  They met with immediate success as their music was played on the radio and people couldn't get enough of it.  Their first full length album, Barton Hollow was released at the beginning of this month.

After I downloaded their album from itunes I couldn't get enough of their rich harmonies and folksy melodies.  They are quite a bit different from the tunes I usually listen to but they are incredible singer/songwriters with a beautiful sound.

This song is their title track from an EP they put out and is also on their full-length album.

Love & Peace.

PM: Choir of Young Believers

To deviate from my recent obsession with electronic music, I want to share a song by a wonderful band called the Choir of Young Believers, or COYB for acronym lovers. The group hails from Denmark and is the creation of Jannis Noya Makrigiannis. The band has been a great success in Denamrk over the past 3 or 4 years, and has recently come to gain recognition in the United States after visiting SXSW in 2009 and signing with an American label Ghostly International. The recipe for COYB seems to be a mixture of Bon Iver, Mumford and Sons, and a touch of Sufjan Stevens. Therefore, they have a very tasteful sound and you can understand why I love them and why you will as well.

The song I have chosen is called "Action/Reaction" from the album "This is for the White in your Eyes." I really love the feel of this song, it has a great beat, interesting lyrics, and it is the kind of song that gives me the chills. I love it. As should you.

Stir the pot, bring it to a boil.

Midnight Musing: Grouplove

As I often do, I was on youtube looking at music videos and I stumbled upon a group called grouplove.  At first I thought I had come across a polygamist band but when I clicked on one of their videos I was proven very wrong.

Their story began with Hannah, the only female in the band, going to a concert late one night with some friends.  She watched Christian up on stage and said that he was the most passionate singer she had ever seen.  They hung out that night and then a week later she was invited to Greece for an art residency.  She texted Christian immediately and asked if he wanted to go.  There they met 3 other men who quickly became part of their ragtag family.  After her residency they all moved to LA and made a record.

Here is their single Colours.  When I first watched it I was awestruck.  I couldn't stop listening!  It makes me want to run around with paint on my face.

Peace.

Premium Musics: Phantogram

In the spirit of Valentine's Day I wanted to write about the band I am in love with right now. Phantogram is from New York and consists of the duo Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter.  Their music has been described as "street beat, psych pop" and I would have to agree. The remind me of the XX, but with a twist of hip-hop, and a bit more synthesizing. They also have a bit of an 80's feel which makes me love them even more, cause we all know that I'm a sucker for the 80's.

This song is called "Mouth Full of Diamonds" and it comes from the album "Eyelid Movies" released almost exactly 1 year ago today. While this song is my favorite on the album, there are at least 5 more songs that I love, so I recommend the entire album to anyone who likes this song. As a side note, I may or may not be in love with Sarah Barthel...her voice...anyway, hope you like.

I love you...will you be my Valentine?

Premium Musics: Broken Bells

I've been loving this band for the past year, so I thought I would share a song so you all can see how wonderful my past year has been. And it's all thanks to Mr. Alex Reese, so give him a poke and say thanks for me (and for you if you like it.)

It is called "The High Road" by the Broken Bells.

The Broken Bells is a band comprised of James Mercer, the lead vocalist of the Shins, and Danger Mouse, a musician/producer who formed Gnarles Barkley with Cee-Lo. They released their self titled album in March of 2010 and have received some decent amounts of exposure and success over the last year. So much, in fact, that they have already begun plans on a follow-up album.

I am no expert at describing music, so I will refrain. Instead, what I will tell you is that if you like the Shins or Modest Mouse then there is about a 99% chance you will like the Broken Bells. Also, the lyrics are simply amazing! I just love it! So listen to the music and let the beauty of it fill your soul. 

May your hammer be mighty!

Premium Musics: Mark Ronson and the Business Intl.

For starters, it's Jo Olsen's birthday, so tell him how much you love him, and if you don't know him, well then, give him a poke on facebook!

With that said, I play video games and I'm not ashamed to say it (well maybe a little bit). In the present case, while playing FIFA 2011 (thanks again to Joe Jeppson) I discovered Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. The front man of the band is Mark Ronson, he hails from the UK and along with being a guitarist and DJ he is also a big-time producer. His music feels similar to Peter, Bjorn, and John but with a touch of Kid Cudi or Ratatat. The music has some pretty sweet beats with an electronic feel and adds quality lyrics from a variety of different voices and musicians (e.g. Q-Tip, Boy George, MNDR, Kyle Falconer, etc.)

"Bang Bang Bang" features Q-Tip

"Record Collection." features Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran) and Wiley. Also note that it is featured on FIFA 2011 and tipped me off to the band.

May your future estates be full of fee simple absolutes.

ps - I may have written this during my legal analysis, research, and writing class (laraw for short)...oops.

Midnight Musing: Two Door Cinema Club

So I had heard of this band before but never really looked into their music until now.  They are a three piece electropop band from Northern Ireland.  They formed in 2007 and signed with the French label Kitsune Music.  They released their first full length album in March of 2010 entitled Tourist History.   They have also come out with a smattering of singles that are excellent as well.  Most of their stuff is pretty peppy and has great bass and percussion (although they don't have a full-time drummer in the band).  I really liked their version of What You Know that they performed on Jimmy Fallon just last month.  

Turn out the lights, turn on this song and dance.

Premium Musics: S. Carey

I stumbled across a great musician a few weeks ago and Jo's latest post about Iron & Wine's new album reminded me of it. Sean Carey, who is the man behind the music of S.Carey, is an amazing musician that excels in the realm of percussion and vocals. He is a native of Wisconsin, studied classical percussion at the University of Wisconsin, and is a lover of jazz percussion. There is great likelihood that you have never heard of him, but there is a pretty good chance you have heard him. This is due to the fact that he joined the band Bon Iver near the the time of its creation and performed as the drummer and backup vocals. So if you've heard Bon Iver, you've heard Sean Carey.

His debut album, All We Grow, was began in 2008 during hiatuses while on tour with Bon Iver. It was released in August of 2010, and was the result of experimentation rather than an intent to create a solo album. The song I chose is titled "In the Dirt" and I love it due to the interesting use/combo of instruments, but mostly for the piano and his vocals, but also mostly cause it's just great. The rest of the album is pretty solid as well and it reminds me of my favorite parts of Bon Iver, but with a touch of electronic in some songs and more instrumental in others.With that said, this song is powerful and amazing, so enjoy.

Don't drink and drive.