Sunday is normally seen as the day of rest, but today's TOTD comes in the upbeat and raucous package of indie-rock songstress Misty Miller.
At just 15 year old Misty released her self-titled debut on AWAL records back in 2011, achieving significant commercial success and acclaim. In just a couple of years Misty has done some significant growing up; moving away from the ukulele inspired acoustic-pop of her debut to find a lo-fi garage rock sound on the title-track of her upcoming EP, Girlfriend.
Out on February 25th on Sony label Relentless; this promises to be an sensational EP, packed with Iggy-inspired 70's rock and roll anthems.
The tracklisting for the EP is: 1. Girlfriend 2. You Know What I Mean 3. Devil 4. Lonesome Cowboy 5. Little Drummer
Vancouver based Americana outfit The River and the Road are a band I've been keeping my eye on ever since hearing their gorgeous debut album The River and the Road back in 2012 (read my full review here)
Fresh from touring Australia, the guys have announced a six part video feature entitled 'Changing Seasons Series', which will be released over the coming months. Filmed back in their native Vancouver in the autumn of 2012, they sharing beautiful live recordings of a selection of choice tracks from their self-titled LP. The first one released today was the banjo driven, ode-to-vices, Old Ben.
Today marks the release of beautiful and bleak The Wild Country EP from Vancouver based band Wake Owl. This exceptional four-piece, led by the distinctive vocal talents of Colyn have created an EP rich in honest and raw indie folk.
Building upon this release, the band are currently touring across the US. Pairing this with their recent signing to Vagrant Records (PJ Harvey, City and Colour, The Hold Steady), this is could be the start of a band at the start of their rise to the top.
Today's TOTD comes courtesy of Danish indie-folk trio The White Album, who have unveiled the video for their gorgeous track 'Seasons End', which featured on their 'Conquistador' EP released last year.
The haunting video, filmed in a deserted theme park near Copenhagen, mirrors the song's melancholic themes with startling beauty. Though just as there is sadness, there are also moments of warmth, as the video's character shows a man wondering the park and imagining it coming to life.
The band are currently recording their debut album in a cabin outside Copenhagen; so hopefully we can expect more stripped down artistry from The White Album soon.
I heard 'Better Man Than He' for the first time a few days ago on John Kennedy's Xposure show, and was immediately taken aback by its its catchy melodic hook and refreshingly honest lyrics. After a bit of searching, I discovered it was the work of Icelandic born singer-songwriter Sivu. What followed has been several days of listening to the below track on an almost continuous loop. Though he doesn't have much of an online presence as yet I don't appear to have been the only one to have been affected by his music, with the track gaining play with DJ's on Radio 1 and 2.
The single will be officially released on February 25th with an EP to follow in May. In the meantime, just sit back and enjoy three minutes and nineteen seconds of gorgeous indie-pop.
So, 2012 wasn't the most successful of years for this blog. I was so caught up in travelling Canada and moving to London (as well as my usual excuse of just being plain lazy) that I only returned here for a handful of posts. Well, that was 2012..... this is 2013. If there's one thing I've learnt about January it is that to counteract the misery of short days, gained holiday weight, damaged livers and embarrassing Christmas parties mistakes, we take this time to put all this self-loathing to good use and state our best intentions for the year to come. So in that vein, I will do more posting in 2013.
Well, despite the fact that the blog was quiet in 2012, it certainly wasn't a quiet one for music in general; with some truly remarkable records released this year. Below I've narrowed it down to my top 30. Now, just remember, these are just my choices and I'm well aware that everyone's got their own favorites which will differ to some extent from the records I've selected here. So please, sit back, take a deep breath, and remember the important things in life before getting aggravated by anything as petty as a music list.
Anyway, I hope you find something new in here which you come to love.
30. The Tallest Man on Earth – There’s No Leaving Now
29. Great Lake Swimmers – New Wild Everywhere
28. Ben Gibbard – Former Lives
27. Lucy Rose – Like I Used To
26. Mumford and Sons – Babel
25. Band of Horses – Mirage Rock
24. Of Monsters and Men – My Head is an Animal
23. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
22. The Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten
21. The Wooden Sky – Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun
20. The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter
19. Bob Dylan – Tempest
18. The Shins – Port of Morrow
17. Andrew Bird – Break it Yourself
16. The Lumineers – The Lumineers
15. Admiral Fallow – Tree Bursts in Snow
14. Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball
13. Tall Ships – Everything Touching
12. Meursault - Something For The Weakened
11. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
10. Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth
9. The River and the Road – The River and the Road
8. Bro. Stephen – Baptist Girls
7. Michael Kiwanuka – Home Again
6. Shearwater – Animal Joy
5. Lone Wolf – The Lovers
The Lovers is the album that nearly never was. Following a split with former label Bella Union, Marshall aka Lone Wolf put his future in the hand of his fans with a crowd funding platform, and they were in turn rewarded with one of the finest albums of the year. Genre spanning, innovative and incredibly well constructed. Read my full review here:
Much like its name suggests, Rise Ye Sunken Ships rose out of choppy waters (or in reality, internal turmoil and breakdown of former band Pela). Deciding to overcome these struggles, We Are Augustines crafted an album of gut wrenching honesty, whilst staying true to their Brooklyn rock routes. They are also the winners of my favourite live show of 2012 with their incredibly energetic and buoyant performance at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in October.
One of the first hype bands of 2012 and for once the hype was right on the money. The two sisters from Sweden produced an album of pure, ethereal folk music. In tracks like The Lion’s Roar, Emmylou, In the Hearts of Men, Blue and King of the World, First Aid Kit created music which is absolutely timeless in its composition. I was clearly not alone in my opinions either, with the The Lion’s Roar receiving critical acclaim from The Guardian, The BBC and Pitchfork.
Dry the River gained a sizable reputation in 2011 for their stand out live shows, so this London-based five-piece had a lot to live up to with their debut album Shallow Bed. Well, live up to it they did. Demonstrating their incredible, atmospheric blend of Folk Rock the band absolutely raised the bar of what was expected from this already saturated genre. Rounded off with intricate musicianship and Liddle’s soaring dulcet tones, Shallow Bed was one of those albums which had me gripped from start to finish.
I remember the first time I heard ‘Breezeblocks’ on BBC 6 music, I was blown away with its inventive sound and off-kilter rhythm. I scrabbled frantically to make a note of the band name.... Alt-J. Well, I was to hearing a lot more of them before the year was out. Regardless of the inevitable hipster backlash which followed their rise to prominence and Mercury Prize win, Alt-J were the best band to emerge in 2012, and in An Awesome Wave they produced what is without doubt one of the finest debut albums in recent years. Truly unique and inventive.
My mum is the director of music at a local school where I live in the UK. Every year there is one assignment that she does with her classes which grabs the attention of the rest of our (very music orientated) family; 'Which artists from the last ten years will be around in fifty years.' The children (normally with some fairly blatant help from their parents) have to make a compelling case for their chosen artist and then the rest of the class vote to decide if they agree. True democracy in action eh?
Obviously there are a number of vague criteria involved here, which I will address now. First, 'from the last ten years' - Does this mean that you can include artists who have been around for a long time, but have still been releasing albums in the last ten years? I am going to say no; otherwise the likes of Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young could all be included, who have all already been around for the best part of 50 years. I think I would define, 'being from the last ten years' as, being an artists that has come to prominence in the last ten years. Still a little vague, but I'm looking for a musical debate here, not a definite answer. Next, what does it mean to 'be around in fifty years'? Is Cliff Richard still 'around' now? These are difficult questions to answer. Technically he has had a number of albums in the last ten years, is still widely recognised by the general public and could easily sell out large scale gigs. "To be around" in this sense is to generally be a name known by a considerable amount of the general public. Therefore I'd say that although these are not his years of prominence, he is still 'around'.
Image courtesy of www.gawker.com
Foo Fighters
I think it's pretty widely established that Dave Grohl is god. I also think that there would be little debate in the fact that Nirvana will still be around in 50 years. The reasoning for this is two-fold: They fore-fronted a dramatic shift in popular music, and, due to the iconic nature and death of their lead singer.
Foo Fighters may not have caused the same shift in musical genres that Grohl's previous band did had, however, there is little debate over the fact that they've been one of the biggest bands in the world for the past ten years. What they lack in innovation, they more than make up for by consistently producing superb rock music for the masses. Their last four albums (which have all been over the last ten years) peaked in the US billboard album charts at positions: 3, 2, 3, 1 respectively and in tracks such as 'All My Life', 'Learn To Fly', 'Monkey Wrench', 'Everlong', 'Times Like These' and 'The Pretender', they have rock anthems that can stand the test of time.
'All night long I dream of the day,
When it comes around and it's taken away.'
Image courtesy of lgos.org
Laura Marling
Now, I love Laura Marling. I think she is one of the most incredible and enigmatic talents of our generation. To be just 21 years old and to have accomplished all that she has at that age is the work of a true prodigy.
I can understand why some of you may now be shaking your heads in disagreement, I really can. Perhaps she isn't currently well enough known to justify her position here, but I am marking this one down purely to talent and potential. She has certainly increased her profile in the last year, with A Creature I Don't Know getting to number 4 in the UK album charts as well as winning 'Best British Female' at the 2011 Brit Awards.
I'm not saying that she's ever necessarily going to be the biggest artist in the world, the slightly inaccessible nature to her music means that she's unlikely to ever reach a truly mainstream audience; however, I feel that she can settle into a similar popular niche market as past artists such as Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell. She will be well known by music experts, journalists, and those with a strong passion for music for 50 years and beyond.
'But give me to a rambling man,
let it always be know that I was who I am.'
Image courtesy of worldtourdates.info
Coldplay
This might be a controversial one........ Where to start with Coldplay. I've always found it strange that a band that writes such inoffensive music can cause so much disdain from so many people. Regardless of that mass of people, there are still a huge number of people that love the band, and this is illustrated by the fact that they have sold over 50 millions records worldwide over their fifteen year career.
Much like I mentioned previously with the Foo Fighters, it is not necessarily that they have been particularly innovative, but more that they have been the top of a radio friendly version of their genre. I think that there is little doubt that tracks such as `Yellow`, `The Scientist` and `Fix You' will go down as some of the defining classics of our generation. Despite the guitar based 'Post Brit Pop' sound and image which defined them throughout their first 3 albums, they have since managed to avoid pigeon-holing themselves with Viva La Vida's orchestral twist and Mylo Xyloto's brush with electronica. This ability to adapt and innovate while staying true to their own sound looks likely to keep Coldplay as one of our generations most important bands for many decades to come.
'Tears stream down your face,
when you lose something you cannot replace'
Image courtesy of Amazon.com
The Libertines
Sometimes a band's non-music exploits over-shadow their musical ones. The Libertines came almost out of nowhere. In a post-Brit Pop era where music seemed to be in a bit of a stagnant spell, this British four-piece came along and changed everything. Their rough-around-the-edges music and unique style was a breath of fresh air at a time when it was desperately needed.
Although they managed only two albums in a career littered with drugs, scandals and internal conflicts, they were two of the finest albums of the decade, receiving widespread critical acclaim. In Pete Doherty, The Libertines have something special. Unfortunately for the man himself, his problems with drugs, relationships and other band member conflicts have led to him being labeled as a tortured genius. Sometimes regardless of a band's music (although in this case it was very good), bands and artists are remembered for reasons beyond this; In Pete Doherty they have a man who will be remembered for as a cult iconic figure of our generation.
'Cornered the boy kicked out at the world,
The world kicked back a lot fuckin' harder now.'
Image courtesy of fanpix.net
Jack White
At 36 years old, Jack White has managed to cram more music into his relatively short career than most people manage in a lifetime (or more likely, several). Best know for his exceptional 14 year career as half of the garage-rock duo The White Stripes, he has also done considerable work in bands forming bands The Racounters and The Dead Weather.
Alongside his solo projects he has also collaborated with artists such as The Rolling Stone and Bob Dylan; co-writing the latest Bond soundtrack and a driving forward a growing acting career. He has been named within the '100 Greatest Living Guitarists' and last year was named 'Nashville Music City Ambassador' by Mayor Karl Dean.
Everything Black touches turns to gold; receiving unanimous acclaim for his inventive and innovative musical style, breaking and blending musical barriers. It seems that he will be woven into the fabric of alternative music for many years to come.........................Also that riff on 'Seven Nation Army' is dope.......
'Everyone knows about it,
From the Queen of England to the hounds of hell.'
