Monthly Archives: May 2014
Emma Ruth Rundle – Some Heavy Ocean
Some Heavy Ocean is the debut solo album from Emma Ruth Rundle, frontwoman of the bands Marriages and The Nocturnes, and the guitarist of Red Sparowes. This album focuses more on vocals than her other projects. A mix of post-rock, shoegaze and folk that is very atmospheric, dark and beautiful with soft vocals and layers […]
Midnight Faces – The Fire is Gone
Midnight Faces are a duo consisting of singer Philip Stancil and composer Matthew Doty (the latter formerly of the band Saxon Shores). On their sophomore album The Fire is Gone they play a style of 80’s influenced pop rock with drum machines, keyboards and The Cure-style guitar. Stancil provides strong vocals that could adapt to […]
Sundog – Space Criminal
Sundog is a one man band who plays multiple instruments and performs with live loops. The vocals are very similar to Citizen Cope, but the music mixes a whole bunch of genres together. One moment, you have the ukulele-pop of opening track “Truth”, followed by the funky jazz of “Something Better”. “Superstitions” will get people […]
Naive Thieves – Vamanos
Naive Thieves are a band out of California who have released their debut full-length Vamonos They play a style of guitar pop that sounds like a mix of The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys with a little bit of Vampire Weekend. While their style is not very original, their music is fun and some of their […]
The Valery Trails – Buffalo Speedway
The Valery Trails are a band out of Houston, TX who play a style of rock that sounds like it came from the 90’s (or a band who became popular in the early 90’s and are still putting out music today). Their new album Buffalo Speedway was recorded in Australia, where two of the members, […]
Hayley Reardon – Wayfindings EP
Hayley Reardon is a 17 year old folk singer/songwriter from Boston who has been writing and performing since the age of 11. Her new EP Wayfindings is a collection of songs that show a lot growth from her previous albums. The production is fairly simple and allow her lyrics to be the main focus. Her […]
Patricia Morehead–Brass Rail Blues
Mostly slow, ethereal and abstract works for voice, piano, and other instruments, either duet or small group. Spare compositions. Interesting!
Saxophone Conversations
A delightful collection of works either transcribed or written for sax duet, some with piano. All modern works. Play!
Kimekai-Coral Dreams
Debut album from Croatian artist Kimekai is an album titled Coral Dreams. Described by his label, Hush Hush, as “Psychedelic Pop with woozy, absorbing synths and lively, skipping percussion, Kimekai further enhances his tropical-tinged sonic palette with evocative guitar lines, shimmery melodies, and his own gauzy vocals.” The album is dreamy yet upbeat and hopefully […]
Claude VonStroke-Urban Animals RMXD
Claude VonStroke is back, this time with a remix album of his album Urban Animal. VonStroke hand-picked the remixing artists some of which are: Justin Martin, Photek, Justin Jay and Jimmy Edgar to name a few. The music is still rooted in the chunky, funky Bay Area House but with variations that include straight up […]
BABES //EP (HARVEST)
DREAM-POP L.A. QUINTET. MALE/SULTRY FEMALE VOCALS & HARMONIES, CATCHY & SWEET WITH 50’S/60’S VINTAGE SOUND. PLAY: 1, 2, 3, 4 RIYL: TENNIS, BEACH HOUSE, PURE BATHING CULTURE
THE CAPSULES // THE LONG GOODBYE (SAINT MARIE)
5TH ALBUM OF LUSH DREAMY ELECTRONIC POP W/ SWEET FEMALE VOCALS, PULSATING TEXTURES, HARMONIES & HAZY GUITARS. PLAY: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 RIYL: FEAR OF MEN, PHANTOGRAM, THE CRANBERRIES, BOARDWALK
POPSTRANGERS // FORTUNA (CARPARK)
NEW ZEALAND TRIO 2ND ALBUM. TRADING IN THEIR GRUNGE REVIVALISM FOR PSYCH-LEANING 60’S POP W/ BOUYANT HOOKS, ATONAL GUITARS, INFECTIOUS CHORUSES. PLAY: 1, 4, 5, 7, 10 RIYL: DIGNAN PORCH, CHEATAHS, UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA
Walter Martin – We’re All Young Together (Family Jukebox)
Hooray for a ** rocking ** children’s album! Walter Martin (frontman of The Walkmen) pops out a kid and realizes that most children’s music drives parents bonkers. He gets his friends and bandmates together and makes We’re All Young Together. This album is simple, splendid, delightful. Heart lifting, feet catching. Innocent but mischievous, romantic but […]
The Black Keys – Turn Blue (Nonesuch)
Dan Auerbach is unstoppable. Rocking fun with some psychedelic turns, but holding down the trademark Black Keys’ blues-rock-strum-down. Patrick Carney holds down the beat like the madman he is. A very strong CD, with some upbeat ditties for flipping-your-eggs-in-the-pan, other songs set for dreaming-of-rolling-the-windows-down-in-your-car. Not as playful or as tenacious as other recent albums. Mature, […]
EELS – The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett (EWorks Records)
More confessionary, sad-ballad storytelling from the Eels. Orchestral rises with otherwise simple instrumentation. Lyrics are one man’s lullaby letters to everyone he meets. Try: 12 (Mistakes of My Youth), 5 (A Swallow in the Sun), 6 (Where I’m From), 4 (Agatha Chang), 2 (Parallels), 1 (Where I’m At) FCC 7 RIYL: Micah P Hinson, Bill […]
Hundred Waters – The Moon Rang Like A Bell
Second album from Gainsville-based quartet. They dub their sound as “Folktronica” and The Moon Rang Like A Bell is a blend of sexy ethereal female vocals with electro-magic harmonies and cavernous beats. Has a haunting, rolling, echoey chamber feeling. Soundtrack for a gondolier rowing through a magnetic canal on the way to see a falling […]
ERGO PHIZMIZ //THE PEACOCK (CARE IN THE COMMUNITY)
British sonic explorer, experimentalist and srongwriter, Ergo Phizmiz’s music jumps freely between pop, pranksterism, mutant-electro and just about everything in-between. Described by The Wire magazine as a “one man movement”, and by BBC Radio 3 as “one of the most inventive composers around.” Weird Psych-pop w/vintage, warped organs, doubled & harmonic reverb vocals and birds. […]
YANN TIERSEN // INFINITY (MUTE)
EERIE ORCHESTRAL-POP. AMBIENT W/ LAYERS OF TEXTURE & NOISE. MINIMAL W/ BELLS, STRINGS TO DIGITAL PROCESSING. PLAY: 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10 RIYL: OLAFUR ARNALDS
HERZOG //BOYS (EXIT STENCIL)
GARAGEY POWER-POP. NO-NONSENSE ROCK W/ CATCHY HOOKS, ENERGETIC CHORUSES & IMMEDIACY. PLAY: 1, 3, 5, 6 FCC: 2, 9, 13 RIYL: CLOUD NOTHINGS, JAPANDROIDS
PUJOL //KLUDGE (SADDLE CREEK)
HEAVY ROCK & PUNK W/ GLITTERY GUITAR LICKS, BATTLING LAYERS, HARMONIC BACK-UP VOCALS, CRASHING GLASS. SHORT & FAST SONGS. PLAY: 2, 3, 4, 5 RIYL: KING TUFF, SWEARIN, NATURAL CHILD
THE SHILOHS // SELF-TITLED (LIGHT ORGAN)
HARMONY-LACED FOLK-POP. PSYCH-TINGED, BREEZY CUTS W/MELLOW INSTRUMENTALS, SINCERE LYRICS, NOISY SIX-STRING FREAK-OUTS AND A PIANO BALLAD PLAY: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10 RIYL: REAL ESTATE, FRESH & ONLYS, WOODS, FLEET FOXES
EX-CULT //MIDNIGHT PASSENGER (GONER RECORDS)
Garagey Psych-punk w. buzz-saw guitars, krautrock rhythms, sneering vocals, sleazy motel room soundtrack. play: 1, 2, 3, 6, 8 FCC: 9 RIYL: CHEAP TIME, TY SEGALL
owen pallett // in conflict (domino)
Owen Pallet, formerly Final Fantasy and touring member of Arcade Fire. Singer-songwriter chamber-pop / swirls of strings & percussion, synth beats & electronics. play: 1, 2, 3, 4, 11 RIYL: FINAL FANTASY, SISYPHUS, KISHI BASHI
ANTH: Africa – A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand (Paris DJs Soundsystem)
Full title is “A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand: Tropical Grooves & Afrofunk International Vol. 5.” Yes, the fifth CD in this series in just 18 months. It seems every top Afrobeat & Afro-funk band in the world must compete to be included in this label’s compilations. So not surprisingly, this CD is crammed […]
![Benny Sings - Young Hearts [Stones Throw]](https://wruv.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/wruv-logo-300-1.png?w=40){kind=logo}
WRUV Reviews 