The Smittens & Noah & The Whale

Its been too long, yet again i've been snowed under with all sorts and three weddings in five weeks, two family members (obviously not marrying each other) and a close friend.

I have heard so much good music of late i really don't know where to start...

Firstly with some good old pop music i guess

Noah and the Whale have been making me smile for some time, a husky voice not a million miles away from Shady Bard but a whole lot poppier, i've mostly been won over by the horn led Shape of my Heart regularly soundtracking my short drive to work and putting in a fine mood, well for a short while at least. Just lately the two preceeding tracks have been firmly routing themselves in my subconciousness, the wonderful Jocasta and the lyrically sublime 2 Atoms and One Molecule. Lovely Stuff.

And if love is just a game
Then how come it's no fun?
If love is just a game
How come I've never won?
I guess maybe it's possible I might be playing it wrong
And that's why every time I roll the dice
I always come undone

But now I look at love
Like being stabbed in the heart
You torture each other from day to day
And then one day you part
Most of the time it's misery
But there's some joy at the start
And for that, I'd say it's worth it

Website
Noah and the Whale - Shape of My Heart mp3

Source: Music For Ants



For full on Elephant Six esque pop look no further than The Smittens who have recently released a great album on the legendary Happy Happy Birthday To Me Label, bringing back memories of one of my favourite pop bands ever Fablefactory and the adorable Essex Green, no bad thing if i may say so myself.

The Smittens - The Interstate mp3

Source: False 45th

More Soon...ish

Shady Bard - From The Ground Up (Static Caravan) & Windmill - Puddle City Racing Lights (Melodic) Reviewed

Shady Bard - From The Ground Up (Static Caravan)
There's something undeniably beautiful about the work of Lawrence Becko's baritone vocals, bound to put some people off, others will just find it that bit more loveable, that bit more human, especially when you hear the wonderful lyrics set to such lovely piano based post rock, never going full on Explosions in the Sky but certainly heading that way towards the finale of the wonderous Penguins. Tracks such as Summer Came When We Were Falling Out and Fires are organic and frail almost amateur in appearance with milk bottle melodies and whistled refrains, acoustic post rock, and much lovelier for it.
The sound is wintry and beautiful yet is as warm as it is cold with enchanting lyrics such as "I think i'll take a walk in the park/ it's a cure for a broken heart" perhaps evoking slight comparisons to bands such as Low or The Tindersticks, maybe even The Twilight Sad in four albums time, less frantic and more experienced in life.
Bobby is reflective and not afraid to take & admit responsibility for past errors, humble and delightful and really nothing less than the quality you would expect from the superb Static Caravan label. These Quiet Times is angelic "I'll catch you falling, I'll catch you falling, I'll catch you falling , when you least expect" full to the brim of the kind of reassurance we all need in this paranoid world we have to cope with, Eluvium style piano's enter as the song peaks and the moment is just wonderful as the final chorus breaks in "won't you feed the birds in the winter time?"

Myspace

Website
Static Caravan

Windmill - Puddle City Racing Lights (Melodic)
At the other end of the spectrum we have Windmill, for once an artist who can justify comparisons to the Flaming Lips, Neil Young and Mercury Rev, comparisons so relentlessly handed out to anyone with a remotley falsetto vocal.
The songs again are wonderful, upbeat and also resemblent of the much missed Homescience, mixing beats with classic piano chords this album is again nothing short of brilliant. The songs are heart wrenching yet wonderfully honest.
Interestingly Static Caravan have previously released one of the album highlights, opener Tokyo Moon, do you really need any more evidence that this label is genius?

Website

Windmill - Tokyo Moon mp3

Windmill - Astmathic mp3

Sources

Music for Kids Who Can't Read Good