Local Natives

Local Natives from Bowery Ballroom

from Radio Exile on July 20, 2010

Sasquatch Music Festival 2010, Day 2

Local Natives For Day 2 at the Sasquatch Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheater, I was again excited for one of the first sets of the afternoon, this time with L.A. band Local Natives. I saw them at SXSW earlier this year and was blown away. I still can’t stop listening to that record. Local Natives I made it to the Bigfoot stage just in time to watch them run through the best of Gorilla Manor, giving as equally a riveting a performance as they did down south. There is just something about this band’s sound, harmonic singing and frantic onstage energy that makes them captivating to watch. Plus, Taylor Rice really does have a kickass mustache. A member of Suckers, currently touring with Local Natives, also joined them onstage for a song. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] Local Natives – Airplanes from Gorilla Manor (2009) Avi Buffalo Tallest Man on Earth Girls Day 2 of Sasquatch was cooler with some merciful cloud cover (a neck sunburn from day one sure did remind me to lather on the SPF for day two). I felt a lot of the music I saw on Sunday fit the change in the weather, with plenty of softer sounds on all stages. I took in Jets Overhead, Tallest Man on Earth (a sweet singer/songwriter who is indeed very short of stature), Avi Buffalo, Vetiver, Girls and The Long Winters (who did rock it out for their final number with a great rendition of “Touch of Grey”). [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] Avi Buffalo – Remember Last Time from Avi Buffalo (2010) [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] The Tallest Man on Earth – Graceland (Paul Simon Cover) from King of Spain B-Side (2010) Tune-Yards Tune-Yards I was most impressed by the Tune-Yards. Merrill Garbus started off her set as a fierce tribe of one, her face streaked with white and gold paint, grasping her ukulele, one foot on the pedal of her sound machine, bringing in backup vocals and noise enough to create an invisible backing tribe. She was later joined by a guitarist and saxophonist, but the entire performance was in Garbus’ hands. She sings with strength and conviction, and adds a hell of a lot of ingenuity to accompany it. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] Tune-Yards- Sunlight from BiRd-BrAiNs (2006) Kid Cudi Kid Cudi gave a knockout performance on the main stage and had the entire outdoor arena pulsing to big hits like “Day N Nite,” as well as the new “Revolution.” [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] Kid Cudi – Pursuit Of Happiness (feat. MGMT & Ratatat) from Man On The Moon: The End Of Day (2009) Freelance Whales Freelance Whales The Dirty Projectors The Dirty Projectors The xx The xx Other notable bands were Freelance Whales (solid set from “Weathervanes,” these kids sound so fresh every time I hear that album), The Dirty Projectors (in the same vein as Freelance Whales, a big, multi-member group with a big sound to match) and The xx (like the album, the group is understated but solid live). [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] Freelance Whales- Generator ^ First Floor from Weathervanes (2010) [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] The xx – Islands (Nosaj Thing Remix) (2010) Cymbals Eat Guitars The main stage offered a blast to the past with ‘90s sensations They Might be Giants and Pavement. If you liked them in the last decade, you’d like them now, but personally, I’m still reveling in the return of ‘80s fashion and sounds and I can’t quite yet feel nostalgic for bands that really weren’t even that cool in their day. (I also caught newer group Cymbals Eat Guitars on the Bigfoot stage and thought they sounded very angst-driven ‘90s too – maybe the grunge decade is making a comeback? God, please, no.) LCD Soundsystem was one of the last bands to take the main stage. They sounded amazing, and I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to wind down an evening at the Gorge than by singing “All My Friends” together. Public Enemy Final performances of the night included Massive Attack on the main stage, Simian Mobile Disco in the Rumpus Room or Public Enemy at the Bigfoot stage. I was sitting backstage, going over my choices, when a very friendly man started asking me about my camera. With my long 70-200 mm lens on, I often get people asking if I’m taking pictures (really?) or drunk dudes asking me to take their picture, but this guy actually seemed to know what he was talking about, so we chatted for a while, he showed me some of his recent prints and took notes as I gave him some recommendations for the kind of photography he’s getting into. We exchanged cards and he introduced himself as Professor Griff. And, yes, that’s when I asked him what he was doing at Sasquatch. He told me he was there with his band, and, yes, I asked which one. “You might have heard of us,” he said, completely politely, “we’re called Public Enemy.” Public Enemy It made my choice for what band to cap off my night with pretty easy. Despite some early sound issues, Public Enemy absolutely brought the noise and had the crowd fired up even as the rain began. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] Public Enemy – Shut Em Down (Pete Rock Remix) from Shut Em Down (1991) Before I close out this post, let’s talk a little concert fashion: At this year’s Sasquatch, the trend is feathers and facepaint. And both are so prevalent you’d think it was dress code to enter the venue. I started a set on my Flickr photostream showcasing some of the best examples I saw. I also met a couple of well-coordinated groups, including the “gold group” I spotted on Saturday. Lauren Frank of Broke River, Ore. and her large group of friends all donned golden fleeces (of all kinds) to celebrate her 29th “golden birthday.” They planned to continue with a Western wear theme on Sunday and fluorescent duds on Monday. Sure does make your buddies easier to spot among 20,000-plus. But Myrosha Daley’s pals from Vancouver, British Columbia took organized group attendance to the next level. Their efforts to coordinate nearly 40 friends who took in all three days together were truly admirable. They traveled en masse, feather appendages catching the breeze and signifying their collective status. Tomorrow: Drinking, eating and sleeping at the Gorge. And I’m going to try to figure out why everyone loves Ween. For entire picture collection, click here. Erin Lodi is a freelance writer and photographer, and an Eastern Washington native, who lives in Seattle.

from Kata Rokker on June 02, 2010

SXSW 2010: Friday, March 19th – PART 1

Tanner: After staying with friends and grabbing lunch at the popular local diner, Magnolia Cafe on South Congress Ave, we headed for 6th street. We got a later start to the day than we wanted as it was already mid afternoon by the time we made it to the festival. Much to my surprise, we had perfect timing. GWAR on the streets of Austin As we were heading to the Pitchfork day party at Emo’s, we came across a crowd of people gathering around the uber spectacle known as GWAR. These legends of the rock world, whose costumes and stage show far overshadow their music, basically have free reign wherever they go. Lucky for me, a friend of mine happened to know one of the people helping to manage the band at the festival. So when the line to get into the Pitchfork party stretched across the street, we were ushered in the venue along with the band and their entourage before I could hardly realize what was happening. At this point I was more interested in the bands playing the party than trying to ride GWAR’s coat tails, so I positioned myself to watch the next band up, New Jersey based Memory Tapes. Memory Tapes Only recently had I discovered Memory Tapes when a friend insisted I join him at their Noisepop show at Bottom Of The Hill a few weeks prior. Though their recorded music didn’t have me clamoring to buy their album, their live show blew me away. Their music has an electronic feel, but the live drums coupled with the guitar, and vocals come together so well, it transcends anything you can find on their myspace page. Singer and brains behind the band, Dayve Hawk, is reportedly very shy and somewhat averse to crowds and attention, but when performing, this is not the case as he had the crowd here fully engaged from start to finish of their set. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] Memory Tapes – Bicycles from Seek Magic (2009) Surfer Blood Next on the outdoor stage was Florida’s Surfer Blood. They were one of bands entering SXSW with pristine timing as the buzz around this young band was reaching a fever pitch and was one of my must see bands at the festival. When I say, young, I mean young. I can’t say for certain, but I think the ink on their high school diplomas is still drying. That being said, their performance consisted of nothing but the highest level musicianship and showmanship. Sloppy and immature, they were not. In fact, they performed like a band that had been playing together for a decade. To top it off, their guitar player Thomas Fekete spiced up the show by first using a drumstick to create unique sounds with distortion and feedback with his guitar and later playing it with his teeth. I could not help but applaud his effort to pay homage to eighties glam rockers everywhere. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] Surfer Blood – Take It Easy from Astro Coast (2010) Playing next was Neon Indian, but alas, the venue was at capacity so we were unable to access the other side again to watch that performance. The double edged sword about SXSW is there are always multiple bands you want to see that is playing at the same time. In this case, it was a good thing. We headed over to Lovejoys and while waiting in the short line I saw fellow Bay Area music blogger Julie from The OCMD. We exchanged some SXSW highlights and then I headed inside. First I caught New York band Small Black who played sort of a split set, the latter half acting as Washed Out’s backing band. Next came South Carolina’s Toro Y Moi. Unfortunately the stage lighting at Lovejoys consisted of a worklamp with about a 60 watt incandescent bulb. And the stage was a loosely delineated, unelevated 10′x15′ area at the end of the room. Although this did make for an intimate and unique experience, it did not play well for photography of the bands and thus I have no photos worth sharing of these two performances. I will be seeing Toro Y Moi at Bottom Of The Hill on April 12th. Maybe I can get some better shots then. Local Natives The sun was setting, so a pit stop at Hoboken Pie for a slice of pizza was in order. Then we headed to the Galaxy Room Backyard to catch another must see act of mine, Local Natives. I had been in Austin for 48 hours and still had yet to see Shawn when I received a text from him saying “At Local Natives now”. Surprised, I looked around only to find him standing a few feet in front of me. We caught up a bit and compared photos until the band took the stage. I can only assume these guys got a thorough soundcheck, which is a rarity at SXSW, because they sounded nearly impeccable. Or maybe that this being their sixth of nine shows at Southby, they knew they had to be on point and be able to handle anything that would be thrown their way and still try to win over the crowd. It appears they did their homework and showed up well prepared. If I were dispensing grades at the festival, this band would be the teacher’s pet. Quite possibly the best performance of the week for me. They took their already great songs and injected a new life in them as any great live act should. As a finale to their set, they invited some guest musicians to join them and add percussion while the stage became a frenzy of energy, which was only contagious to the crowd watching. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] Local Natives – Airplanes from Gorilla Manor (2010) Delorean After that, I had to go catch a band I have been waiting nearly a year to see. Delorean, the Spanish electronic indie rockers have yet to complete a full US tour, and have yet to come to San Francisco. I instantly fell in love when I heard their debut EP, Ayrton Senna, last summer. So here at SXSW, I finally got to see them and was glad I did. Now I can look forward to seeing them again as they will be opening for Miike Snow at The Independent on April 15th and 16th. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] Delorean – Deli from Ayrton Senna EP (2009) Tempo No Tempo Then I was off to The Music Gym to catch an unofficial SXSW party hosted by the Bay Area music blog, Epicsauce. Just as I arrived, Tempo No Tempo was mid set and firing on all cylinders. Playing on the indoor stage, the tightly packed room filled with sweaty bodies seemed to be an appropriate setting for their syncopated, dance inducing rhythms. Despite sustaining an injury just prior to the festival and being unable to play guitar as planned, frontman Tyler McCauley didn’t skip a beat in transcribing those parts to synthesizer and maintaining the integrity and energy of their typical stage show. So much so that anyone new to the band were none the wiser, while those familiar with them regarded it as nothing short of a special performance. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] Tempo No Tempo – The Rat (Part One) from Waking Heat (2009) Wallpaper Next on the outdoor stage was the Oakland duo, Wallpaper. The singer and drummer tandem can always get a crowd gyrating and this was no exception. These guys take cues from the best R&B of the early 90’s, and then add their own touch to that throwback sound, complete with auto tuned vocals. Playing original material about weekend parties and drinking champagne, we were also treated to a cover of one of my favorite jams from 1990, Bel Biv Devoe’s Poison. This is not a group that is worth seeing only once and then checked off the list. Every performance is guaranteed a good time and party atmosphere, and when they play The Independent on May 7th, I expect nothing less. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] [mp3] Wallpaper – Gettin Drip from Doodoo Face (2009) Now it was getting late and there was still one more full day of shows ahead of me, so I decided to call it a night. And for some strange reason it was getting quite cold, something that I don’t think anybody attending SXSW was expecting. Tanner.

from Kata Rokker on March 30, 2010

Aurgasm@SXSW - Day Three

SXSW <object width="600" height="353"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vqfo8qcuFLE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vqfo8qcuFLE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="600" height="353"></embed></object> The Living Sisters When The Living Sisters hit the stage at the Paste/Vanguard/Sugar Hill party at The Belmont, there was a slight change of line-up. Inara George, who is pregnant (and expecting very soon!) couldn’t make the trip to Austin. However, girls remained a trio, with Alex Lily (of Obi Best) filling in as a “step-sister”. We missed Inara, but Alex did a phenomenal job standing in, her crystalline voice blending gorgeously with Becky Stark’s and Eleni Mandell’s. Their set included “Double Knots” as well as a sweetly sung cover of the Doris Day classic, “Que Sera, Sera”. Alex and Eleni would alternate playing guitar, which remained the only accompaniment to their voices for the set. As Becky said, “We’re The Living Sisters… and we love to live.” Well ladies, we love you too. If you missed our feature of The Living Sisters, check it out here. Also, take a listen to another track off their upcoming album, Love To Live, the stunning “How Are You Doing”: The Living Sisters - “How Are You Doing”(stream only) The Living Sisters - “Double Knots” <object width="600" height="353"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xw3omlO0vj0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Xw3omlO0vj0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="600" height="353"></embed></object> MOVITS! When Paul first broke MOVITS! on Aurgasm last year, they were unknown outside of Sweden. Luckily our readers took notice — did you hear the story of how Aurgasm managed to sell every MOVITS! cd in existence? (And apparently land them on the Colbert Report?) The guys just completed their first tour of the US earlier this year, and were at SXSW playing a handful of shows. We caught them keeping the energy up and laying down the jams on South Congress, at The Home Slice. MOVITS! already had the crowd dancing by the time Johan announced “And now the first official dance break of the day!” and the energy levels never faltered. After a song, Johan would briefly explain what the it was about, but the crowd wasn’t deterred by the language barrier and kept dancing for the whole set. Everyone may have been talking about Courtney Love and Hole’s show at Stubb’s, but the party was really happening south of the river. MOVITS! - “Swing För Hyresgästföreningen” MOVITS! - “Äppelknyckarjazz” <object width="600" height="353"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9O9h0adwIew&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9O9h0adwIew&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="600" height="353"></embed></object> Obi Best As we discovered earlier today, Alex Lily was pulling double duty at SXSW this year (strangely enough, both were Aurgasm features!). After playing as part of The Living Sisters, Alex was joined by Bram Inscore (keys) and Mike Green (drums) to play the Victorian Room at the Driskill Hotel as Obi Best. According to Alex, this was their first SXSW show as Obi Best, and they didn’t disappoint. The trio kept the energy up, playing a handful of songs from the album Capades, such as “Swedish Boy” and “It’s Because of People Like You”. Despite Mike being sick, and Bram having two broken keys, Obi Best’s upbeat electro-acoustic jams kept the crowd cheering. They also played a few new songs, “Knock on Any Door” and “Tropical Fish” for those of us lucky to be in the audience. If you haven’t, check out our feature of Obi Best from back in 2008. Obi Best - “Swedish Boy” Obi Best - “Nothing Can Come Between Us” <object width="600" height="353"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8pZkZguPAPs&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8pZkZguPAPs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="600" height="353"></embed></object> Local Natives The guys of Local Natives have had a big year since we featured them last year. Now signed to a label and with a full-length out, they’ve been keeping themselves busy with touring… constantly. Andy, Kelcey, Matt, Taylor and Ryan just finished a tour of Europe when they hit SXSW… to play nine shows. (Yes, nine.) However, by the looks of the entirely packed tent at The Galaxy Room backyard (part of the Frenchkiss/Mom+Pop Showcase) on Friday night, nine might not have been enough! Local Natives are an amazing band to see live, their energy barely restrained as they pounded, clapped and sang with a fervor. If you like these guys on CD, you need to catch them on stage! Until then, take a listen to a more low-key take of “Camera Talk” that the guys recorded for us last year: Local Natives - “Camera Talk” (Acoustic Aurgasm Exclusive) Local Natives - “Airplanes” <object width="600" height="353"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/M0c9nwgqVtU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/M0c9nwgqVtU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="600" height="353"></embed></object> April Smith and the Great Picture Show After a long wait outside, we finally made it into The Ale House, which was at full capacity (and remained full all night). We caught the tail end of April’s set, which was a great surprise. April Smith and the Great Picture Show played a boisterous and high-energy set of jazz-influenced songs that had The Ale House shaking with every stomp and clap. April and her band were a great surprise to catch in this week in Austin! Take a listen to the track “Movie Loves a Screen” below. April Smith and the Great Picture Show - “Movie Loves a Screen” <object width="600" height="353"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PsXhQfIZD2c&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PsXhQfIZD2c&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="600" height="353"></embed></object> Fanfarlo It was a tight fit on the tiny stage at The Ale House for Fanfarlo and their instruments (which included: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, mandolin, keys, bass, trumpet, clarinet, melodica, glockenspiel, and a tom). After a long set-up, Fanfarlo took the stage, and Justin Finch (bass) just exclaimed, “It’s a clusterf*ck!” — that was exactly it. However, after the chaos of arranging themselves on stage and sound-checking all their instruments, Fanfarlo proved it was worth the wait. They started off the night with “The Walls Are Coming Down” with an acoustic/acapella intro, but turned up the energy by the end of the song. Their complex instrumentations and lush melodies were a highlight of the night. Most of the band played musical chairs between the songs, switching up instruments frequently. By the end of the night, The Ale House was bursting with energy, as Fanfarlo played most of the tracks from their album, Reservoir, including “I’m A Pilot,” “Fire Escape,” and “Luna”. These guys have been a favorite of mine for a while, and are always even better live! Take a listen to “Luna” and “Harold T. Wilkins, or How To Wait For a Very Long Time” below: Fanfarlo - “Luna” Fanfarlo - “Harold T. Wilkins, or How To Wait For a Very Long Time” + Purchase/Visit

from aurgasm on March 21, 2010

Video Hook-Up: Local Natives – “Airplanes”

Airplanes<object width="425px" height="360px"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="movie" value="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=102501078,t=1,mt=video"/><embed src="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=102501078,t=1,mt=video" width="425" height="360" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed></object>Local Natives | MySpace Music Videos Local Natives [MySpace] are one of the best bands coming out of the LA area. Many great rock and metal acts have called this place home, so it is really still mind-blowing that such a talented crew call Hollywood their base of operations. This is the official video for “Airplanes” from the band’s debut, Gorilla Manor. The record is out now in the UK via Infectious Records and comes to the States via Frenchkiss (in my top two favorite labels now!) on February 16th. Check out some music “after the jump” [mp3] Local Natives – “Airplanes” [mp3]

from Radio Exile on January 28, 2010

the songs of 2009

So here we are, my favourite songs of the year. What be they? How sound them? All is revealed.I think what strikes me about the music of the last twelve months is the blizzard of originality. An awful lot of new sounds were made. It's a little like the melting-pot at the centre of western music worked very well this year, because a lot of these songs have influences that are wide and disparate. Is this list, taken as a whole, better than that of 2008? I think it just might be. But only just.The artwork is what Dublin looked like during the winter of 2009, or what it would have looked like if that winter had an iTunes library like mine. Dublin is a city that looks its best in the cold, I think. Christmas lights suit it.I hope you enjoy the list. Thanks to everyone who's read the blog this past year.46. The Bruce Peninsula - Inside, Outside<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/insideoutside.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>That was the day someone had stolen my violin. I spat and raged, and paced and pounded, and cursed and spilt whiskey, and threw glasses and bottles. Outside the wind roared, and the rain lashed, threatening our windows. Someone was singing with my voice, and clapping time with my hands, so I started singing something, the first thing that fell from my tongue, and clapping as loudly as I could, and I shouted somethin's goin' on in the backyard!! and after a while, I got over it.45. Phoenix - Lisztomania<object width="305" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RrbGpvOulec&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RrbGpvOulec&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="305" height="25"></embed></object>In some weird way, this song sounds like going into a club where you go in and lose yourself in the song and in movement, and look down to see that the dance floor is dancing too.44. Blue Roses - I Am Leaving<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/iamleaving.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>Those guitars at the start: reeds swaying in a field. Everything else: this girl's memories of a place that she can't bring with her.43. Beat Radio - Sleepwalking<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/beatradiosleepwalking.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>So one day, you're playing guitar, trying to make sounds like thunder and rainfall and birdsong all at once, when your amplifier suddenly explodes, falls over, and keeps exploding. The temptation here would be to stop playing, and go look for an adult of some sort, but no! Instead you play on, using the explosions as rhythm, a kick drum beat that propels you on to make this whole mess into a gorgeous song, built on the one thing you're sure of - that this, this racket, this is just another way to have fun.42. Jay-Z + Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind<object width="305" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0UjsXo9l6I8&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0UjsXo9l6I8&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="305" height="25"></embed></object>Most of this song sounds like wandering around between buildings and people, and not getting much done, sort of waiting for something to happen - but then that chorus hits, or hits back, a reaction to any sort of inactivity, at anyone who's not smiling, or at least hoping. That chorus is something special.41. Sleep Thieves - City Lights<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/citylights.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>In the early hours of the morning we left the party, and started walking, and we walked all day. By the time we got back to our hometown, a shut-eyed little suburb out on the outskirts of the city, we noticed that things had changed. People were standing around, everybody we knew, or their parents, moving in lines, working in groups, working on buildings. It was like old footage of rubble women rebuilding cities after the war, but now they were fixing everything that had seemed to have gone wrong, removing the cracks in windows, polishing the signs in bus shelters, cleaning streets, replacing racist graffiti with smiley faces. We walked past them all, trying to take it in, but the long night had left us with heavy eyes, and we were ushered to bed. By the time we woke, the town was shadowed by the light of the moon.40. Tale of Tales - For All Times<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/foralltime.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This is a Sunday evening spent wandering around an empty home. A delicate guitar line is picked out like rain hitting the windows, leaving you content to be inside from the cold. His voice, heavy and rough at first, mellows its way into the song till it gets to the warmth at the heart of it. This feels like spending the day at home with the one you love, like any other day, but completely aware of just how lucky you are to be there.39. Efterklang - Modern Drift<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/moderndrift.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This is Efterklang at their best, meaning: thrills, space, sounds that come up to you and sing in your ear. It's a fine song, and it's so so easy to get carried away listening to it. You want other people to be there too, you want it to be one of those moments where great crowds of people are flooding through streets, and for once, they're not searching for happiness, but bringing it with them, sweeping up all they see, everyone around the next corner wondering what the noise is, those at the last corner trying to keep up with the frenzy.38. Sunset Rubdown - Idiot Heart<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/idiotheart.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>Ouch. That hurt. Let's do it again.37. Sufjan Stevens - You Are The Blood<object width="305" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ma-l-2izB_s&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ma-l-2izB_s&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="305" height="25"></embed></object>I won't say too much about this, what with it being a cover and all, and with Sufjan being capable of better things. But wow. Imagine making a song like that.36. Why? - This Blackest Purse<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/thisblackestpurse.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song is good for those days when it feels like everything was better when you were too young to understand it. When you get nostalgic and remember the joy of getting up early on Saturday mornings. Sugar on your cereal. Waterfights and remote controls. And best of all, warm summers. This song is all about getting rain when you'd planned for sunshine. It's also ridiculously good.35. tUnE-yArDs - SunlightI see this song as being a little like living in a rundown shack, putting on some music, and the frantic drumbeats seem to be like the shafts of sun peering in the holes in the roof. In a good way, obviously.34. Nils Frahm - Ambre<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/ambre.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song was recorded in the Grunewaldkirche in Berlin. It is nothing but piano and empty space. It is dark and quiet, and going into a dark and quiet church is something neither my family or I have done for some time, but we are doing it again now, both fearful and sceptical. It's always too quiet for me, too full of statues of people who are only half-there. But I like the sound of this. It's like sitting up high, by a blue stained-glass window somewhere, and staying very still. Like staying still and quiet enough, so that I am only half-there too.33. The Holy Roman Army - Stagger Gently Home<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/staggergentlyhome.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song is imbued with city nightlife. Not the drunken pub-crawling, but the lonely wandering after the last club has shut its doors, looking up at dawn stretching the night out of the sky, and streetlights still lit, keeping watch and taking care. Not drunk enough to be senseless, but enough to feel the outer world creeping in.32. Sharon van Etten - Much More Than That<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/muchmorethanthat.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The love here is real, and honest, and it's not likely to give up. This song sounds like something a girl might leave on your voicemail, drawing you in, winning you over.31. Thao Nguyan - Know Better Learn Faster<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/thaoknow.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>A woman sits in her car, holding steady, instruments in the back, driving away from the one she loves, not knowing when they'll meet again. She passes landmarks, mountains, hotels, and eventually she pulls in by the side of the road and lays down on the passenger side to sleep. She dreams that it's morning, the flickering sunlight wakes her, and she sees her car is moving, shifting gear, turning. She's sleepy, she thinks it's her instruments, taking control, and bringing her back to the one she loves, the source of all her songs and words. When she wakes up, she plays her violin, and it sounds like the one in this song.30. El Perro Del Mar - Change of HeartThis song breaks hearts, just for the way it gets across, quite clearly, that they can't be changed to suit anyone else. It's just as well it's inescapably gorgeous, or I'd have a hard time listening to it.29. David Deporis - Emancipation<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/emancipation.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The way he sings this song, right from the start, is like he's beside you. It's something you understand immediately, like some familiar feeling, like hiding inside your favourite warm jacket, pulling the softened sleeves long over your fingers, digging your chin into your collar for warmth. That's all this song tries to be, something to keep us warm, something to take the edge off the cold, showing you the kind of comfort that comes from other people.28. St. Vincent - The Strangers<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/thestrangers.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song is like all those Disney cartoons we watched as kids, but all grown up, Alice going back to Wonderland as an adult. Annie Clark uses the same lazy winding tunes that my kid self loved, and wraps them around her earnest lyrics, and instrumental uneasiness. It works on me, and I remember that an adult is just a grown-up child, and I sit listening to this song again and again, loving it.27. Burywood - Things Which Give Us Pause<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/thingswhichgiveuspause.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>I had a dream about this song. I dreamt that way back when, whenever our heads evolved the need for sleep, things went differently, and what wakes us up no longer did - in fact, it did the opposite. I dreamt that falling asleep was a struggle, a feat of concentration, and the ideal circumstances for it were loud noises and violent movement. Like the start of this song. People would listen to this with big headphones, trying to get a bit of shut-eye, this fleet of guitars cresting waves of colour. Couples would scream at each other until they fell over onto the bed, energy expended, and they would have dreams of each other's laughing faces, because people look funny when they make loud noises. Slumber would be well-earned, not something to be staved off, but to be cherished. And people would love those who brought them to sleep as gently and lovingly as possible.26. Local Natives - Airplanes<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/airplanes.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>There's something world-conquering about this song, in the momentous stomping of the drums, and the simple strings, the direct and honest delivery of sweetly sad lyrics. It's some narrator standing in a room, fingers kicking and tapping across a gently turning globe, dotting different locations and memories: I loved you, here, here and here. It's the entire stretch of a love affair, holding it at both ends like a piece of jewellery, some handmade necklace filled with more love in its length of string, and flat-worn chunk of wood, than in any pearl. It's where things stop and start, showing that there's nothing separating the points where he ends, and she begins.25. Bibio - Fire Ant<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/fireant.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>Hearing someone make music this inventive, irreverent and playful makes me want to go back in time with an iPod and tell someone: this is what music sounds like in the future. And in some weird, disconnected way, I'd be proud.24. Deradoorian - You Carry The Deed<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/youcarrythedeed.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>I have a thing about abandoned buildings. Everywhere I go, I gaze at them as though I can't stop taking them in, and can't help but imagine the last person leaving, locking the door of what was once their business, or their home, or their factory.I'll always enjoy living in an old building with scratched paint, a battered wooden stairwell, and a dangerous stairs winding down to a dank and dark cellar. It would become my home quicker than a space on the shelf of a bright new apartment block.Buildings like these have seen people come and go. The hard-working inhabitants or workers, they loved the place once, and had to leave it to nothing, leave it abandoned to nature, or vandals, or steady, unnoticed decay. You can see it easily, the desertion, the neglect, the hurt.23. Mixylodian - Fairly Well<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/fairlywell.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song can't be listened to once, it doesn't work that way: you need to get familiar with it, let it in, until it stays on your mind. That tapping at the start, it's like your mind turning on, starting up, running your life again. These things will come back after you've forgotten the song's name, or where you heard it. And after that it only gets better, when you finally come back to it and decide that maybe it's right for you after all.22. Super Extra Bonus Party - Comets {feat. Heathers}<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/comets.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>As soon as this song kicks off, you know that it's one of those rare and surprising instances where everything seems to go together perfectly. Between the lunar guitar lines and the insistent vocals telling us to close our eyes, the entire mood of this thing is like being out on a summer night, at some vantage point over a city that once felt new and strange, but suddenly feels like it's yours. It feels like your home, where your friends are. And though it's starting to grow cold, you'd rather stay, because you like seeing it like this, everything at once, not as big and distant as you'd once thought. You only ever feel this for places you come to love.21. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/home.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>There's nothing like the yelp of someone in love.20. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Don't Haunt This Place<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/donthauntthisplace.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song sounds to me like being boxed in to some old home. The drums are the noisiest thing, thin and stocky, like walls that are so close you're always leaning against them. The keys are soft and warm, laid with the vocals, soft and almost conversational, the people kept close to you. The violin groans along gently like the old brass water pipes that keep the place heated. Everything is near and close, a family of things bumping off one another, gathering speed to crash at the chorus, finally overflowing and shouting about the things that aren't right, the things that just aren't there.19. Golden Holy - Sons of Dreams<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/sonsofdreams.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>If you want a band to get really excited over, if you want a band that lays their guitar squalls down over the drums, then chants wordless whoops over them, with claps, accordion and strings thrown in, then this, dear reader, is that band. This song in particular makes you want to get up and run immediately to some special place, or some special person, to start doing the kind of things that send your heart leaping to your mouth, to get a glimpse of what you've planned for it. It really is that gorgeous.18. Harlem Shakes - Winter Water<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/winterwater.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>In the future, musical boxes will sound like this. The little enamel case on your grandmother's dresser, the one you claimed for yourself and brought to your messy home, that little box will click open to this song, and perfect little animatronic figures with little voices and little guitars will follow you about the house in a line - banging drums and singing a chorus as you get ready to join the day that waits outside the front door. They stand there, half watching you busy yourself with your spider-black mascara, half calling out from their tiny mouths for your attention. You put your hair up, and let it down again, and you almost forget they are there huddled behind you like mice, calling at you around corners, till they follow you as you open the door, and you feel the music change. You can feel them throw every bit of cheeriness into the song that they can muster, but they're not hiding their sadness at seeing you go.17. The Luyas - Spherical Mattress<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/sphericalmattress.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>If you've had one of those dreams, you'll know the feeling. A night when unexpected emotional intensity gets into your head, from God Knows Where. Walking around, with everything tinted and changed, same skin but a different life, holding hands, or carrying the weight. It could be some new love or just the memory of it, but it's enough to leave you disjointed and half-grieving when you awake. You walk around trying to figure out how something you didn't even mean to imagine could have left this gaping hole in your chest, and this tight hold on your heart, and all you can do is wait for it to fade away as the day goes on, like a bruise healing, or the way the creases in your pillow-case have vanished by night time.16. Dappled Cities - Apart<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/apart.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>If you were putting on a show for a friend, this would be the song at the very end, that you play while everything in the story is happily resolved. This is what it sounds like, letting unhappiness fall behind you like a leaf, and moving on. Getting out of an unhappy bed and going out in the world, enjoying it while the sun shines. Getting on a plane in the depths of winter and getting out where it's sunny. Little acts like that, the kind of things that make a good person.15. The Middle East - Blood<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/blood.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The way it builds up and descends at the end, it's like wandering around a cold, wintry city, waiting to sit down with someone at the end of it all. Like doing your Christmas shopping, investing yourself in the promised joy of it all, the great times when almost everyone you know agrees to be happy by convention, and it actually works. I can't tell if those are kids shouting at the end, or if I just think they are, because they sound so sure and so content. This song is an instant good mood.14. O Emperor - Po<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/po.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song starts off all woozy and understated, maybe a little drunk. Guitar strings are plucked like lights dancing around shadows, and the vocals shift and seethe around the lyrics, detailing the story of Po, and it's not long before you begin to feel like you're seated in the corner of some dimly lit pub watching someone stalk around, growing more and more interested by the second. It's testament to the band's abilities as musicians that they manage to keep the song this dark, and yet hike the tension as slowly as possible. It's done expertly, and it's almost reminiscent of The National, the way everything seems in line, down to the finest detail.13. Twin Sister - I Want A House<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/iwantahouse.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>Every time I try to write a poemI worry about the number of words in each lineand it occupies meuntil I see them weighed down like shelvingcrowded with half empty glasses and half read books.Every time I write a poemit is like decorating a new bedroomand moving into a new apartment.I wonder what little corner-hidden mistakeI will allow to remain this year.I try and flatten it into what I wantand cut out the bloatbut some words are already worn ina loaf blooming out of its tin while baking.Six months from nowwe may look at each otherover four feet of silenceand agree that we missteppedhoping to walk backwards togetheruntil we find something familiar.This is the same feeling.But so far this poem seems to be going well.12. Cortney Tidwell - So We Sing<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/sowesing.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This is one of those songs that starts with such a rush of bewildering happiness, it makes you want to run out the door in joy. It's sunny and warm and ecstatic, and listening to it the first time is a little like watching someone beautiful having fun. There's such perfection in every minute of it, the layered guitars swaying together like the folds of a dress, the vocals that jump about like words leaping between people's mouths, that you think this song could do something. If you took it outside, and sang it loudly, with everyone around you listening, you could make the sun come out, you could make the sky blue, you could make summer get here early.11. Burial/Four Tet - Moth<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/moth.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song is for dancing, but also for flowing drunkenly down a street, walking beneath the streetlights of East Berlin, looming like soldiers, spilling yellow onto the street, oil and light mixing by the footpath. You look ahead and see young men crouched by a wall, writing something indecipherable. You look up and see a single red light blotting above everything in the distance, and the buildings around you stand tall and crowded, a city falling into itself. You stumble on the cobbles, and notice the beat in this song, hidden in some basement club. You want to dance with someone, but you've been alone all night.10. Bell Orchestre & Elizabeth Powell - Lazy Love {live}<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/lazylove.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The beauty embedded and ingrained in every line of this song is oddly familiar. It's like something completely aware and accepting of its circumstances, its limited life, its inevitable defeat by it. But until then this love is supreme, standing firm and proud, like a statue by the ocean, lashed by wind and rain, but pointing out to sea nonetheless. That's the love here, a heart that doesn't quit for a second. And fuck, just listen to that chorus.This might not technically be of this year, but I only found it this summer, and I'm such a fool for love songs like this that I'm willing to overlook 'Elephant', which may be the best thing Bell Orchestre have ever done on their own.9. Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move<object width="305" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YMPF6lpM0XM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YMPF6lpM0XM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="305" height="25"></embed></object>The sun came up, quickly at first, then slowly, travelling towards me as I walked on, amongst damp and glistening blades of grass, and insects heading homewards, dropping their heads into the sticky earth, and then, in a good mood, and remembering I was writing all this, I made all the flowers around me bloom in vivid and gaudy colours, like drips from some melted rainbow, surprised by my morning sun.I headed away from the dying night behind me, and taken up with a sudden love and ecstatic joy, I began to run and leap and fly in little bounds, and the birds wheeled in the sky and clouds formed and dissolved sadly, and the sun burned fiercely for me, and in the distant greatness the few stars that remained exploded or didn't and every molecule of my being hummed with some content smile, and happiness bloomed out of everything! And I wanted to take that exclamation mark I just created, and place it as a cloud in the sky for all the country to see, and I did. Or maybe I just listened to this beautiful, beautiful song a few times, and let my mind wander.8. Cathy Davey - Little Red<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/littlered.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The glorious melody that takes off a minute into this song is like an answer to a distress call, but not one of panic, or worry. It's like some small consolation, a reassurance, a you-are-not-alone. It takes this song, unassuming in its jaunty little rhythm and two-chord switch, and rises above it, turning the scene inside your head from a worrisome little bedroom song into something more epic, and expansive, a landscape of valleys and the echos that flow between them, a landscape big enough to fit such a call. More and more voices rise up light like kites, or heavy like balloons, until everyone knows that everyone knows they are not alone.7. Animal Collective - My Girls<object width="305" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zol2MJf6XNE&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zol2MJf6XNE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="305" height="25"></embed></object>There is a moment here - 1.27 in - when the song starts up like someone has lit a fuse. After that it becomes something incredible, the sound of beautiful melodies battling in space, and even though that's paired with a simple declaration of a father's love for his family, it seems to fit perfectly. To the moon and back.6. Villagers - Pieces<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/pieces.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>You may think, at first, that this song is a bit of a meandering old-timer, repeating itself. But you'll wake up one morning, and it'll be there with you. You'll go about your day, and every little tap you make will be the snare here, starting a beat and bringing you along. You'll hear that hook floating around in the background everywhere you go, and you'll put the song on repeat until you know it off by heart, and it will keep you warm.5. A Classic Education - Best Regards<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/bestregards.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>What's that? Yes, I've taken this test many times, and it was the best thing I ever did. One more question, and yes of course I will answer a few for you. If you could go back and do something differently, would you?Sorry - just a minute please, the question's not finished. If you could go back and do something differently, would you - would you spend more time with your mother? Would you have spent more time on that poetry, would you have gone walking in the hills near your family home? Would you have kissed that girl who was too shy to tell you how she felt? Would you have made sure you never ever said I love you without meaning it?I can see that this question has upset you. It is a rather long one... But not to worry, we have the perfect way to fix that sadness that rests on your face. Here, listen to this song. It has the answers - not necessarily the ones you want now, but something to help you find them. Apart from that, don't forget that it's summer. It's your time of the year, the sun is here warming the ground beneath your feet. And remember: you can never say no to a girl in a summer dress. I think that's what the song is really about, actually.4. The Antlers - TwoIf, like me, you've found yourself staring out your bedroom windows lately wondering how to make sense of such massive accumulations of snow, and such unrelenting cold, here's a song to help. This is what it would sound like if the snow talked back, and showed you all the fun to be had, finger-numbing cold or not. It's -17°C outside, but my friends tell me about the best hill for sledding, and where the best snow is to build big snowmen. That's what this song reminds me of: a little like if snow came with instructions for use. This is how music helps us make sense of new things that seem big and overbearing, snow, or love or other weird natural phenomena like that.3. Auld Lang Syne - Red Feather<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/redfeather.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>'Red Feather' is both achingly sad and glowingly beautiful. It's sung by Timmy Gallogly, from whom (unlike Timothy Dick, the band's main vocalist) I had heard little before this record. It's simply astonishing, the kind of gentle epitaph to a faded relationship that just gets into you to become the tear in your eye, the lump in your throat, the pounding in your chest. It's got some of my favourite lines of the year:"Phoenix can pick herself up off the floor / that don't mean she's rising againGo on red feather, fly off out the door / I can never make you happy again"It's not easy to listen to.2. Final Fantasy - The Great Elsewhere (FM4)<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/thegreatelsewherefm4.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The now-released album version is better, but for most of the year I was in thrall to this live version, loving it for its energy, its devotion to every single beat, the precision it gives to getting everything right. And the song itself is perfect, note for note.1. DM Stith - Braid of Voices<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/braidofvoices.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The finest song on the finest album of the year. It starts, gentle and lonely, a three chord movement, like a musical figure falling into bed from exhaustion - but from here it goes many places. A sinister cavern of noise, a sad moment in a familiar place, a grim realisation. There are refrains that bring us to think of ourselves honestly and without fear, the blue light, the home town. And it ends with the singer bringing himself to the fore, addressing himself by name and suddenly pulling the listener in close, in a shock, making sure they can see what's been going on before their eyes.---That's that. I know 46 is an arbitrary number, and I could probably have stretched it to 50, but I didn't feel like stretching it. I hope you like the artwork; you can compare them with the originals here if you like. Again, thanks for reading!

from the torture garden on January 13, 2010

This Week In LA: Lady GaGa, Local Natives, + Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Local Natives Play at The Echo Dec. 22nd w/ Voxhaul Broadcast & ChiefThe holidays are upon us and most of you are probably off to the 4 corners of the world to be home for the holidays. I myself will be heading home to Salt Lake City for a few days of quality fam time. If you're in LA for the holidays there is still plenty to see and do. Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour is pulling into town for the next 3 days, Local Natives will play at The Echo on Tuesday (Our show of the week) and lots of local shows if you're in the mood to check out some new music.TICKET GIVEAWAY!What would the holidays be without a little gift giving! We're giving away a pair of tickets each for St. Vincent @ The El Rey Theatre Feb. 9th and The Black Lips at The El Rey w/ No Bunny Jan 23rd. To enter: Send an e-mail with your full name subject line: ST. VINCENT TICKETS or BLACK LIPS TICKETS to tonightinla@rockinsider.com. Winners will be chosen at random by Dec. 31st, 2009!Next week plenty of New Years Eve action! I personally will be playing at Spaceland with The Monolators, The Henry Clay People, Le Switch, and Aushua. If you live on the east side this should be your place to be New Years Eve! RIP Brittany MurphyDid we forget any shows? Feel free to send us an email to tonightinla@rockinsider.com.xoxo JAX - ROCK INSIDERAKA THE MANAGEMENT LA RECORD Presents LOCAL NATIVESw/ Voxhaul Broadcast, ChiefAt The Echo Tues. Dec. 22nd, 20098PM | $5 Adv/$10DOS | All Ages [BUY TICKETS]Get A Free Ticket To The Show when you pick up Local Natives 7" Single at Origami Vinyl in Echo Park MONDAY DEC. 21ST, 2009 Manimal Vinyl Residency w/ Moonrats, VOICEsVOICEs, Sister Crayon, Corridor @ The Echo - FREE (21Yrs+)THE MONSTER BALL TOUR W/Lady GaGa @ Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live Benefit Show w/60-Watt Kid, Avi Buffalo, Fort Wife @ Dipiazzas Long Beach - $7 All Ages - Sean Carnage Presents Nicole Kidman, Kevin Greenspon, Snowsuit, No Babies @ Pehrspace- New Music Mondays w/ David Scott Stone, Moment Trigger, Jeremy Drake @ Echo Curio - $5 All Ages- Kristen Toedtman, Brendan Hines, Brandon Mayer and Hidden Powers, Sally Jaye @ Bootleg Theatre- Miso, Maile Misajon, Jill and Haven, Shevy Smith, Roothub @ Hotel Cafe- Mere Mortals, Helen Stellar, Healamonster and Tarsier @ Spaceland- Red Tide, Links, Samuel Stewart, Chasing Kings @ Silverlake Lounge - FREE (21Yrs+)- Frank Fairfield @ The Mint- Robin Thicke @ Club Nokia- Steel Panther @ House OF Blues Sunset- ON TV: Silversun Pickups on The Tonight Show w/ Conan O Brien TUESDAY DEC. 22ND, 2009 Local Natives, Voxhaul Broadcast, Chief @ The Echo - Purchase the band's single at Origami and get in for FREE. - $10 (All Ages)THE MONSTER BALL TOUR W/Lady GaGa @ Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live- Kid Cudi @ Club Nokia- Metal Rouge, Sleepwalkers Local, The Faraday Trippers, Headlight, Lowlight Situations, Queen Victoria, Justin McInteer @ Echo Curio - $5 All Ages- Mark Ballas, Sydney Wayser, Ryan Blakely Smith @ Hotel Cafe- Killbirds, Kid Theodore @ Silverlake Lounge- Leopold and His Fiction, Magic Mirror, Ojos Rojos @ Spaceland- Dim Mak Holiday Party @ Conespace - Free All Night w/ RSVP- Vtech and Plug Research Present Plug Research 2010 Bilal, Exile & Dj Day Feat Blu, Milosh, Om'mas Keith, Shafiq Husayn, DJ Sets by Deadelus, J.Rocc, Kutmah @ The Echoplex- Mississippi Man, Plague Vendor, Charles Mansion @ The Prospector, Long Beach (21 Yrs+) WEDNESDAY DEC. 23RD, 2009 THE MONSTER BALL TOUR W/Lady GaGa @ Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live - Spaceland on Ice w/ Swords of Fatima, New Rome Quartet @ Pershing Square- A Smooth Jazz Christmas w/ Dave Koz, David Benoit, Peter White, Rick Braun and Brenda Russell @ Gibson Amphitheatre- Clowns and Fetuses, Grex @ Echo Curio - $5 All Ages THURSDAY DEC. 24TH, 2009 Santa Claus w/ The 8 Prancing Reindeer feat. Rudolph @ Your House - 12AM All Ages - FREE! MERRY CHRISTMAS!! FRIDAY DEC. 25TH, 2009 Druzzi (The Rapture) DJ Set w/ Blake Miller, The Villains and Keith 2.0 @ AvalonMERRY CHRISTMAS!! SATURDAY DEC. 26TH, 2009 Salt N' Pepa @ Club Nokia - Wampire, Asss, Bob Bellerue, Animal Style @ Echo Curio - $5 All Ages- Electric Christmas w/ Paparazzi, Breakdown, Joaquin, Royal Rich, WE A.R.E.,Elektrolux, Empire, Saint @ Glasshouse Pomona - $15 All Ages SUNDAY DEC. 27TH, 2009 100 Monkeys @ The Roxy- Afternoon Brother, Hollow Man, Totally Serious @ Echo Curio - $5 All Ages- Downtown Women's Center Benefit w/ The Outskirts, Las Sangronas Y El Cabron, Toy Attica, Augustia, The Potential Lunatics @ The Smell- WAR w/ The Family Stone Band @ The Grove Anaheim- Part Time Punks @ The Echo- Neil Hamburger @ Spaceland Right Click and Select "Save As"To Download.Dios - Puttin It DownLocal Natives - AirplanesVOICEsVOICEs - Flulyk Visions Chief - Stealing60-Watt Kid - Take The Pain Out Of Your Chest

from Rock Insider on December 21, 2009

Sunday MP3 Roundup, 12.06.09

Here are the tracks discussed this past week. The Mumlers – Tangled Up With You Volcano Choir – Island, IS Shout Out Louds – Walls Langhorne Slim – Say Yes Langhorne Slim – I Love You, But Goodbye The Deep Dark Woods – Sweet Maggie The Deep Dark Woods – The Banks Of The Leopold Canal (HearYa Live Session) The Deep Dark Woods – Ballad Of Frank Dupree (HearYa Live Session) Local Natives – Stranger Things Local Natives – Airplane J Tillman – Though I Have Wronged You

from HearYa: An Indie Music Blog on December 06, 2009

Local Natives sign to Frenchkiss Records, announce debut album.

We had the pleasure of meeting the guys from Local Natives down at SxSW last year. They couldn’t have been any nicer and we’re happy to announce that they are releasing their debut on Feb. 16 courtesy of Frenchkiss Records. Along with Chief’s debut, this is my most eagerly anticipated debut of 2010. Local Natives – Stranger Things Local Natives – Airplane Video: The Local Natives – Airplanes (live on BBC Radio) <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="480" height="295" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QuljnrCfBNw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"/><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QuljnrCfBNw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

from HearYa: An Indie Music Blog on December 04, 2009

Sunday MP3 Roundup, 10.18.09

Here are the tracks we discussed this past week. First, from our live session with The Low Anthem: Exclusive: The Low Anthem – Ticket Taker Exclusive: The Low Anthem – Charlie Darwin Exclusive: The Low Anthem – This God Damn House Exclusive: The Low Anthem – Cigarettes and Whiskey Download The Low Anthem Live Session as a zip file. And the rest… Port O’Brien – My Will Is Good Port O’Brien – Sour Milk/Sour Water Langhorne Slim – I Love You, But Goodbye Red Cortez – Fell On the Floor Red Cortez – Seasick Brigade (Demo) White Rabbits – Percussion Gun Middle Distance Runner – The Fury Local Natives – Stranger Things Local Natives – Airplanes As always on the site, just right click to download (PC users).

from HearYa: An Indie Music Blog on October 18, 2009

Local Natives release Stranger Things from Gorilla Manor [new mp3]

Back at SxSW ‘08, I had the pleasure of meeting the boys from Local Natives when they dropped by The HearYa party to say hello. I made my through the streets of Austin the next day to catch their set at The San Jose and it was worth every ounce of hassle it took to get there. The California natives have built tremendous buzz after SxSW and other live shows and definitely have the benefit of momentum. They are releasing their debut album, Gorilla Manor, on 11/2. They are also going to be kicking off a big tour across the States starting at CMJ on 10/22. After that they’ll be doing some dates with White Rabbits and Edward Sharpe. As for our little corner of the world, they will be at the new Lincoln Hall on 11/27 with Edward Sharpe and Fool’s Gold. See you there after you sample them below. Local Natives – Stranger Things Previously posted: Local Natives – Airplanes

from HearYa: An Indie Music Blog on October 16, 2009

Nialler9 Weekly Chart

Remember those times when you picked up a music magazine or a weekly music paper and read a playlist of what that publication’s writers were playing in the office that week? Here is my nod to that staple. No great fanfare, just ten of the best song around right now I’ve been playing lots of. This week: Australia’s The Middle East take flight, Classixx remixes Mayer Hawthorne, a track from a Michael Jackson tribute compilation, a tune from the best band I’ve seen this week (so far), another solid Aeroplane remix, another Fever Ray rework and a Swedish guy called Ramsey. The Middle East – Blood Mayer Hawthorne –Green Eyed Love (Classixx remix) <script src="http://www.rcrdlbl.com/widgets/track.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script type="text/javascript">_RLT.render('4b15f39a30f8879e9144d31881dd000b');</script> Toro Y Moi – Human Nature (Michael Jackson cover) – Download CHUM ONAH – An MJ tribute album Willie Isz – The Grussle (LV remix) Au Revoir Simone – Another Likely Story (Aeroplane remix) Pivot – Colorado – Warp Recreated Local Natives – Airplanes Eric Ramsey – Cut Set Fever Ray – When I Grow Up (Bassnectar remix) Foals – Hummer Related PostsLex Records MP3 Goodies – Willie Isz, Boom Bip, The Horrors, Heartbreak, DOOMWin a pair of camping tickets to Oxegen 2009!Podcast #23 – Solid Gold / Ariel Pink / Fever Ray & moreLocal Natives @ Academy 2, DublinA Twittertape to beat the Monday bluesMP3: The Middle East – BloodPivot cover Grizzly Bear for Warp 20Neon Indian remixes Au Revoir Simone

from nialler9 on October 01, 2009

Local Natives @ Academy 2, Dublin

I’ve been going to a lot less gigs this year than the massive amounts I’d been to in the last couple of years. It went from two a week on average to once a fortnight, easily. I don’t know whether it’s the recession or other things like work etc but I’ve definitely been going to less, ironically though I now live closer to the action than ever before. So it was nice to be out for a gig on a Tuesday night once again, where expectation was palpable in the dark of the downstairs basement of the Academy. The last nine months or so have clearly been a whirlwind for LA’s Local Natives. From creating a buzz at SXSW to signing with Infectious Records a few weeks ago after some heavy label interest, they find themselves with less than 24 hours in Dublin to sample the Guinness before flying to York to join the NME Radar tour and playing to a crowd who are willing to give them their ears for an hour. It’s not a hard decision to make after all. Local Natives’ songs are imbued with lots and lots of harmonies, sun-kissed instrumentation, extra percussion and a controlled kick that makes each of the five members on-stage energy a gratifying thing to experience. For their ten-song set, it was the most well-known numbers that were received greatly – ‘Airplane’ (see video), opener ‘World News’ and closing song ‘Sun Hands’ which was bolstered by a riff-heavy balls to the wall ending but the others had plenty to write home about too. Comparisons could be drawn to Fleet Foxes but this band just seem more full of life and varied than the bearded wonders Pecknold, Tillman and co. The album comes out on October 30th here. You’ll be seeing these guys again. <object width="480" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kNJ0OAHi15s&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kNJ0OAHi15s&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="344"></embed></object> MP3: Local Natives – Airplane

from nialler9 on September 30, 2009

A Twittertape to beat the Monday blues

This morning on Twitter, I asked people to submit their song to a mixtape to the theme: Songs to beat the Monday blues? Here are 22 songs handpicked to cheer you up on any given Monday. One of the bands picked, Local Natives play The Academy 2, Dublin tomorrow night. WE SHOULD ALL GO. I’ve a feeling it’s going it be amazing. New Order – Blue Monday [@GavinFeeney & @colmbracken] <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/xayl1&related=0" width="450" height="21"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/xayl1&related=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param></object> Local Natives – Airplane [@domBrog] The Flirtations – Nothing But a Heartache [@Jessieluvaction] Nathan Fake – Basic Mountain [@Swyh] The Eels – I Like Birds [@brenstrong] <object width="450" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uh6Qla-OQ-M&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uh6Qla-OQ-M&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="25"></embed></object> Kings Of Convenience – Boat Behind [@CormacMoylan] <object width="420" height="255"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/df2K91QSqJE&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/df2K91QSqJE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="420" height="255"></embed></object> A+ – Enjoy Yourself [Magooo] Wolf Gang – Pieces of You (Baby Monster Mix) [@Jessieluvaction] Speech Debelle – Spinnin’ [@noisysonny] <object width="420" height="380"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/58Bd8d8DSDo&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/58Bd8d8DSDo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="420" height="280"></embed></object> Minnie Ripperton – Les Fleurs [@lennyantonelli ] Esser – Leaving Town (live on 6Music) [@TheMiseducation] Minaars – Busy Hands [@Tenacioustim] Lovage – Pitstop [@ManuelTheWaiter] <object width="425" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2bLFJIKtdcI&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2bLFJIKtdcI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="25"></embed></object> Fire Island Feat. Loleatta Holloway – Shout To The Top [@D_e_v] <object width="425" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yTQ9uSgrVn0&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yTQ9uSgrVn0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="25"></embed></object> Lacrosse – We Are Kids [@lennyantonelli ] <object width="420" height="255"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RjepM1O6Rnw&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RjepM1O6Rnw&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="420" height="255"></embed></object> Weezer – Holiday [@eomac] Phoenix – Lisztomania [@anclove ] <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qtRQsCgYmtc&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qtRQsCgYmtc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Chromeo – Night By Night [@Gavin_E] Why? and Themselves – Canada [@Heskinc] Port O’ Brien – I Woke Up Today [@Johnmfinn] The Fiery Furnaces – Tropical Iceland [@@Karlusss] Jeniferever – Alvik [@DrownedinSound] <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6ygJFvFxzzQ&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6ygJFvFxzzQ&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Related Posts Twitter mixtape – A song for Summer Why?’s Web TV series New Chromeo – Night by Night Video: Why? live in Paris Reeeemix: Moderat and Speech Debelle Nialler9 Weekly Chart Why? – The Blackest Purse Two Door Cinema Club – Something Good Can Work

from nialler9 on September 28, 2009

indie folk // harmonic folk pop Silverlake’s Local Natives have been making their way around the blogs lately, and understandably so. The quintet’s unique brand of indie folk highlights their tight vocal harmonies without sacrificing on rolling guitars, keys and percussion or sharp lyrics. Their laid-back and layered folk is a perfect way to wind down the rest of summer — a warm, blooming cocoon of sound. The boys were kind enough to take some time from their hectic schedule to lay down this exclusive acoustic version of “Camera Talk” for us. Soothing and gorgeous vocal melodies meets sparse folk. Local Natives - Camera Talk (Acoustic Aurgasm Exclusive) Local Natives - Airplanes + Purchase/Visit

from aurgasm on September 01, 2009

Local Natives

Los Angeles, CAI love everything about Local Natives and can't wait to hear more from these guys!"Airplanes"Local Natives on MySpaceLocal Natives on The Hype Machine

from 5 Acts on August 29, 2009

Local Natives :: August Residency, Spaceland

Monday night begins Local Natives month-long weekly residency at Spaceland. It is free - AD presents along with Filter. The band is back in L.A. after near-constant touring post-SXSW; most recently supporting Of Montreal in the UK and taking part in our friend Daytrotter’s inaugural barnstormer series last week. Kickoff night, the band is supported [...]

from An Aquarium Drunkard on August 01, 2009

Local Natives Spaceland Residency Begins Next Monday!

Local Natives (Los Angeles, CA) Photo by Ben Hoste [MP3] Local Natives - Airplanes ***You can also download "Sun Hands" for free when you sign up for the band's mailing list below! We here at Rock Insider have been huge fans of Local Natives for - gosh...EVER. Back when the band was still called Cavil At Rest we featured them numerous times and even as far back as 2005 these guys were playing nights we threw at The Key Club (YES, The Key Club).Local Natives will set up shop at Spaceland every Monday night in August. It's sure to be a sold out, claustrophobic, sweaty good time - if you can get in. The band has been blowing up across the pond - securing a spot on NME's Rader Tour in the UK, opening for Peter, Bjorn & John in Paris, and is rumored to be latching down a record deal over there very soon.Catch video of their BBC1 Radio Session below and be sure to see them in August!SPACELAND RESIDENCYAug 3rd, 2009We Barbarians, The Union Line, and The Outline (21+)Aug 10th, 2009w/ Rademacher, Red Cortez, and Swim Party (21+)Aug 17th, 2009w/ The Lonely H, Voxhaul Broadcast, and Soko (21+)Aug 24th, 2009w/ The Waking Sleep, The Parson Redheads, and Desert Islands (21+)<object height="295" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QuljnrCfBNw&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QuljnrCfBNw&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="295" width="480"></embed></object><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" id="TSWidget5506" data="http://cdn.topspin.net/widgets/email2/swf/TSEmailMediaWidget.swf?timestamp=1248972045" bgcolor="#000000" height="250" width="300"> <param value="always" name="allowScriptAccess"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"> <param name="quality" value="high"> <param name="movie" value="http://cdn.topspin.net/widgets/email2/swf/TSEmailMediaWidget.swf?timestamp=1248972045"> <param name="flashvars" value="pid=PDWI75QL&widget_id=http://cdn.topspin.net/api/v1/artist/234/email_for_media/5506?timestamp=1248972045&theme=black"></object>

from Rock Insider on July 31, 2009

The Run Down - June 7, 2009

Tonight in DC you wouldn’t want to miss The Hold Steady with Right On Dynamite at the 9:30 Club. If you did hopefully it’s because you were at the Black Cat checking out Local Natives and Blind Pilot. Or maybe you’ll be at the Velvet Lounge watching Thunders, Caustic Casanova, and Seamonsters perform. Up north in Philly The Black Hollies with Mondo Topless and Midnight Beat play Johnny Brenda’s while Grandchildren take on the Dock Street Brewery. Also the legendary PJ Harvey and John Parish play the Trocadero. Enjoy! mp3: Local Natives - Airplanes mp3: Thunders - Letter To The Priest Photo of Local Natives

from Pasta Primavera on June 07, 2009

my body for the sky

{via}<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/airplanes.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>Local Natives - AirplanesThere's something world-conquering about this song, in the momentous stomping of the drums, and the simple strings, the direct and honest delivery of sweetly sad lyrics. It's some narrator standing in a room, fingers kicking and tapping across a gently turning globe, dotting different locations and memories: I loved you, here, here and here. It's the entire stretch of a love affair, holding it at both ends like a piece of jewellery, some handmade necklace filled with more love in its length of string, and flat-worn chunk of wood, than in any pearl. It's where things stop and start, showing that there's nothing separating the points where he ends, and she begins.Local Natives are a bit new, and rather good. This song sounds like Cold War Kids taking Fleet Foxes' emotional tinge and wrapping themselves in it like a flag, all the better to make you listen. Find out more on their MySpace.

from the torture garden on May 26, 2009

How In The World Did I Miss Local Natives at SX?

How in the world did I miss Local Natives at SX? Well, for starters I didn't know about them. I guess that would do it. These Silver Lakesters conjour up the spirits of 70's singersongwriterism with infectious style and harmonies. I for one am anticipating hearing their forthcoming full length.Local Natives session from DaytrotterAirplanes - Local NativesWorld News - Local NativesHere the kids cover Simon & Garfunkel's "Cecilia"<object height="295" width="430"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XdnjfxXpr7g&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XdnjfxXpr7g&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="295" width="430"></embed></object>

from Some Velvet Blog on March 24, 2009

More Music Monday #44, Tuesday Edition (c/o SXSW)

Micachu and the Shapes were one of my favorite performances of SXSW last year, led by 21 year-old Mica Levi, who is essentially a musical prodigy (she builds her own instruments and has composed for the London Philharmonic). Being a prodigy, you would think her music would be hoity-toity obscure indie music which is amazing but not even remotely accessible, yet Micachu (with her band, The Shapes), play some of the catchiest experimental indie-pop you could imagine. It's the kind of music which I've grown into the past few years - music that redefines what you would expect pop to be. They were signed to Rough Trade recently and release their debut album Jewellery in April. Download audio file (Micachu%20-%20Golden%20Phone.mp3) Micachu and the Shapes - Golden Phone As opposed to the Micachu above this post, I didn't see Local Natives play once at SXSW. They played quite a few shows around town and my schedule was so hectic that I didn't get to see a single one of them, unfortunately. I did see them a month or so ago, at the tail end of their Silverlake Lounge residency, where they played to an unbelievably packed house. They have all the right parts to a great band, and while there is still some work to be done, it's clear that talent is there. Their Simon and Garfunkel cover below confirms it, and their original material is pretty good too; as much as you know I love my futuristic pop music, electro remixes and crazy haunting experimental batshit crazy jams, sometimes having a solid indie rock band is just what you need to take the edge off. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XdnjfxXpr7g&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XdnjfxXpr7g&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Download audio file (Local%20Natives%20-%20Airplanes.mp3) Local Natives - Airplanes

from Hate Something Beautiful on March 24, 2009

Local Natives

This is what it takes to snap out of the uninspired stupor I’ve been in of late. LA-based five-piece, Local Natives, have just let slip another track from their upcoming debut album, Gorilla Manor. Combining elegant three-part harmonies with clever rollicking percussion and some almost cripplingly-good melodies, this unsigned instrument-swapping folk-pop outfit should expect a very warm response at this year’s SXSW, just as we should expect brilliant things from their full-length LP, set to be released within the next few months. Local Natives - World News Local Natives - Airplanes - bec

from Electrorash on March 12, 2009

The Local Natives Map Out a Busy SXSW, have a Record ready to go

The Local Natives ::: Photo by Benjamin Hoste Many bands attend SXSW with the hope of maybe possibly catching the ear of someone who might be able to introduce them to a new audience or a bigger audience or any audience at all. Some bands make the festival simply one of many stops of the Southwest leg of a spring tour. Some bands get to play a cushy record label showcase. For most bands whether or not the new success that they’re looking for will find them is completely up to luck. The bands who hustle though, the bands who leave as little up to chance as possible and make the most out of the internet, those bands might really get something though. One such band is The Local Natives, an unsigned Silverlake, CA five-piece crafting thick pop on the order of What Made Milwaukee Famous and our own Hey Marseilles, who’ve been riding a wave of momentum in the last little while with an invitation for a February residency at the Silverlake Lounge. Just last week the band had their song “Airplanes” featured in an episode the NBC sitcom “Chuck,” and now on this here blog, they’ve given us the opportunity to feature that song along with of one their other new songs from a new yet to be released record titled Gorilla Manor. MP3: “Airplanes” by the Local Natives from Gorilla Manor Stream: “Stranger Things” by the Local Natives from Gorilla Manor <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.soundonthesound.com/devblog/wp-content/plugins/audio-player/audio-player.js"></script> <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.soundonthesound.com/devblog/wp-content/plugins/audio-player/player.swf" id="audioplayer45" height="24" width="290"><param name="movie" value="http://www.soundonthesound.com/devblog/wp-content/plugins/audio-player/player.swf"/><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=45&soundFile=http://www.soundonthesound.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/strangerthings.mp3"/><param name="quality" value="high"/><param name="menu" value="false"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/></object> Using whatever tools they have at their disposal to promote their band, including writing their own blog, keeping up on facebook, and maintaining an active twitter The Local Natives are doing their best to make sure they’re easy to find on the vast interwebs AND out in the meatspace as well. In the spirit of the fest where it’s expected that you’ll be half-inebriated all of the time, for their SXSW poster the band has provided a map for any potential fans who might need a little help navigating the streets of Austin to find a SXSW show in the wee hours of the morning. If you’ve got a badge, the late night official showcase that these guys are in along with Elvis Perkins and Grizzly Bear at the Central Presbyterian Church will be that can’t miss event. For the badge-less, the band will be playing a number of free showcases throughout the week as we can see all pretty close to the main action on 6th Street. “So easy a drunk music blogger can find it” was the idea I think. Bruce over at Hypebot would be proud. The band tells me they plan to be in Seattle around late April, but have no date yet to announce. We’ll keep you updated.

from Sound On The Sound on March 11, 2009

New Music: Local Natives

California’s Local Natives might have a redundant name, but they play music that more than makes up for it. They’ve been compared to Arcade Fire and Fleet Foxes, so that might tell you something. I personally hear the Fleet influence dangling around in there more, except Local Natives have more of a bustling city sound than those soft smooth Foxes do. All in all they play dramatic indie pop folkish rockish music with a lot of energy and charisma which makes them hard not to enjoy. 2009 will see a release of their debut album Gorilla Manor (which eludes to their place of residence). Keep an eye out for ‘em! mp3: Local Natives - Airplanes

from Pasta Primavera on February 01, 2009

Local Natives - Airplanes

First discovered by Pasta Primavera on February 01, 2009

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