Category Archives: Indies, Up n’ comers & Unknowns

Stuff you probably won’t hear on the radio.

Friday Awesomeness: Shearwater, “Animal Life”

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My good buddy and top Atlanta music blogger, Allison from RadioPotato, was visiting Charlotte and was keen to visit The Evening Muse, my absolute favorite venue in town.  It didn’t matter who was playing, she said, so off we went to see Shearwater – a band I knew nothing about. But hey, they’re from Austin, they have to be promising, right?

This is a band of musical dudes. Originally started a few years ago by two members of the critically acclaimed indie band Okkervil River, and now fronted by one of those fellas, Jonathan Meiburg, the band has an interesting mix of operatic vocals, soothing melodies, strategically used on stage mixing, and a driving rhythms. I adored Danny (Reisch?  I’m not sure if this is right) who was playing drums for them – insanely fantastic – but apparently, he is filling in for their full-time drummer on this tour and on this newest record.  And Lucas Oswald, the little guy that could play everything – guitar, keys, drums, mixing board…flat out fabulous, and obviously just a little talented.

As a gal who loves a happy pop song, this was definitely outside my box, but I found myself really digging some of their tunes.  “Animal Life,” off their new album Animal Joy, is unbelievably catchy and it’s been stuck in my head for the last two days…so it’s definitely worthy of Friday Awesomeness.  So worthy, in fact, that I’m posting it 5.5 hours before Friday.  It’s that good!

I encourage you to check out their other tunes, especially the song “Breaking the Yearlings” a dark, cacophonous, pounding ditty full of metaphor.  A writer’s dream, really, which might be why I like it so much.

More on Shearwater:  Web | Facebook | Twitter | Animal Joy on iTunes or Amazon

Friday Awesomeness: Imagine Dragons, “On Top of the World”

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Imagine Dragons - Continued Silence EP Artwork

Deliriously infectious new music from Imagine Dragons.

Me and my family have had a really crappy couple of weeks.  I definitely need a positive boost of energy right now…and luckily, my favorite little Vegas/Provo, UT band, Imagine Dragons, has it for me. This sizzling five-piece is just so smokin’ hot…their sound is alternately hypnotic and infectious, and more addictive than a bag of M&Ms.  Last Tuesday, they released a six-song EP, Continued Silence, that is absolutely break-out material.  This band is going to be a household name very soon, especially after they showcase at SXSW next month.

While “It’s Time,” clearly the single, is a carryover from their last effort, the five other songs are new.  I’m loving “Radioactive,” but am utterly OBSESSED with “On Top of the World.”  I played it 23 times on my drive back to NC from NJ the other day, and that is not an exaggeration.  It is full of snaps, claps and whistles and is “pure gold,” as Stephen, keyboardist for Saints of Valory, summed up nicely.  It is perfectly awesome and perfectly appropriate for a 70+ degree day in Charlotte.

This is only a 1.5 minute snippet that’s available on SoundCloud…but I highly recommend picking up the entire Continued Silence EP at Amazon or iTunes.

More Imagine Dragons: Website | Facebook | Twitter

The New Music Drought Is Over

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Is it just me, or is spring in the air?

I’m sitting in New Jersey right now, looking outside at a beautiful sunny day, and the weather folks are promising temperatures in the 50s today. Winter is definitely in the rearview mirror…And I could not be happier!  Bring on sunshine!  Bring on 80 degrees!

Meteorologists are the only one with bright forecasts these days.  Seems like there’s beaucoup de new music on the horizon in my world.  Lots of my old and new favorites are putting out new music this spring.  Because I love ‘em, I’m just going to make a short list here of the new music that’s come out recently or that IS coming out soon… So go pre-order and get your hands on some hot new stuff for spring!

Unmasked: Quiet Hounds Reveal Themselves

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Unmasked!

Quiet Hounds will unmask themselves this month in Atlanta!

So for those of you that have been following the progression of Atlanta’s mysterious rock band, Quiet Hounds, big things are coming….

The Hounds will be revealing themselves in an unveiling/live show in Atlanta on Saturday, February 25th at the just-as mysteriously named The Goat Farm Arts Center.  Super excited!  I’m dying to find out who the guys are (okay, I might have gotten a hint or two, but they’re still a mystery to me!).

To get everyone excited, the guys are giving away a really cool prize…a chance to get into Quiet Hounds events FREE for life.  All you’ve got to do is visit their Facebook page and pick a mask from their photos and use it in your profile photo for the month of February (I’m partial to the Loud Hound and Poetic Hound, but you can pick from Drum Hound, Bass Hound, and Evil Hound, too).

Don’t forget, you can still pick up the Hounds debut EP (which was my numero uno EP last year, in case you missed it) for free on their website.  Don’t know how long that is going to last, so get it now while you can.  And, from the pictures that have been floating around on the band’s Instagram, it seems like there might be a limited edition hard copy of the EP in existence soon…

Check out all the details on the unmasking event at the links below…

Event Details: http://www.quiethounds.com/onthefarm.html
RSVP on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/201020776661274/
Watch a Video: http://vimeo.com/36062612

More Quiet Hounds:  Website | Facebook | Twitter

Friday Awesomeness: Sons & Lovers “Set My Heart”

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In the “new bands that excite me” category, I was introduced to Sons & Lovers, a little UK upstart, by the ever-on-target Andy Knox over at musicforthosewholisten.  Information on Sons & Lovers is a little hard to find… they’ve got a Twitter and a Facebook, but no website to speak of.  Their Facebook seems to hint at the fact that they are in the studio… And you can bet I’m going to be waiting with bated breath for some more music from them!

Can’t get enough of this song right now – that guitar just gets in my head and I want to keep playing it over and over.  Go pick it up for free over at Neon Gold Beat Company.

More Sons & Lovers:  Facebook | Twitter