posted by Leigh on February 9, 2011
COUNTDOWN TO SXSW: RADICAL FACE
{SXSW is only about a month away. Whether or not you will be joining me in Austin, TX in March, the Countdown to SXSW series should hopefully get you excited about the fantastic artists who will be performing this year. And maybe convince you to come.}
Slowly rising up up up above the trees, it’s Radical Face. Radical Face, project of the one Ben Cooper, hailing from the sunny state of Florida. With two albums under his belt (although one not technically under the Radical Face moniker), Cooper foreshadows the dawn of the 2011 Family Tree trilogy with last year’s Touch the Sky digital-only EP release. If I hadn’t already been swooned by 2007’s Ghost, Radical Face still may have vacuumed me in this time around by the mere mention of the word Trilogy. Oh Radical Face.
“Doorways” immediately conjured up visions of me, you, anyone really, running passionately through a long dark chamber, possibly fleeing something perilous, or possibly desperately seeking a time-sensitive secret of sorts. “Doorways” conjured up this vision even before I watched the video (provided below) . . . you’ll see that children blazing through a fantastical forest works just fine as well for vaporous crescendos, airy harmonies and fairy-tale like lyrics. Touch the Sky also includes a version of Ghost’s “Welcome Home,” which, if you missed it, is here for you now.
Here’s to SXSW. Here’s to Radical Face. Here’s to trilogies, fairy tales and Florida.
Radical Face – Doorways (Downloaded 1425 times)
Radical Face – Welcome Home (Downloaded 926 times)
» To download, right-click title & “save as”
» Love/Like/Hate it? Please rate it.
» Meaningless labels: Anthemic • Film • Harmonic • Male vocal • Orchestral
(19 votes)
Loading ...posted by Alex on January 5, 2011
Is Girls all grown up? Girls’ November-released album, Broken Dreams Club, digs deep. San Francisco’s Christopher Owens and Chet JR White fill Broken Dreams Club with songs of loneliness, heartbreak, and struggles with drugs. Their 2009 debut release, Album, mostly consisted of upbeat, catchy, and pop-like songs. The two albums are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum.
“Heartbreaker” is a perfect driving song; you know, a song where you and your friends chat and drive alongside a beach or something, while the song plays quietly in the background. Yet, when you listen carefully to the words, they are troubling. Owens is dealing with growing older and claims that he always knew his lover would break his heart. Overall, Broken Dreams Club is an excellent record, but I truly hope they cheer up a little. I offer my condolences.
Girls – Heartbreaker (Downloaded 1149 times)
» To download, right-click title & “save as”
» Love/Like/Hate it? Please rate it.
» Meaningless labels: Anthemic • Dark • Film • Male vocal
(11 votes) Loading ...Great choice Alex. Really like this tune.
Too bad nothing is downloadable anymore… Hoping that it’s just a mistake…
The track should still be downloadable . . . I just tried from my computer and it’s working for me . . . What kind of issue are you experiencing?
I was able to download as well. Works on my end.
posted by Jessica on December 14, 2010
A few weeks ago, I received the unfortunate news that my clumsiness had landed me in a shoulder cast for the next twelve weeks. What really worried me was not being able to rock out at the Two Door Cinema Club show a few hours later, which I had been eagerly awaiting for months. No freshly cast chicken wing was going to stop me from finally catching this teenage trio.
Hailing from Northern Ireland, Two Door Cinema Club boasts a repertoire of catchy anthems that get stuck in your head, and it’s a good thing. Raucous yet with restraint, these boisterous schoolboys know how to throw an indie-electro pop dance party. “What You Know” is the first single off their debut Tourist History, released last spring. It’s typical of their buoyant pop-meets-edgy alt style, “alteronica” as they describe it. Check out “Cigarettes in the Theatre” as well.
Their live show is exhilarating. Infectious and undeniable, Two Door Cinema Club owned the crowd. While forty-somethings bopped along on the wall with me, a slew of teens started their version of a pit. Two Door Cinema Club exudes a genuineness that seems unassuming until they unleash a palpable energy. Their show was a bit percussion-heavy for a group with no formal drummer, and things can start sounding repetitive if you catch their playlist in the wrong shuffle order. However, they play with a subtlety and sophistication I found really impressive. I enjoyed the new selections that the band played, which took their up-tempo indie formula to a grittier place. I’m expecting Two Door Cinema Club to appear all over next summer’s festival lineups. They’re an exciting young band to follow and I can’t wait to see how they evolve.
Two Door Cinema Club – What You Know (Downloaded 1920 times)
Two Door Cinema Club -Cigarettes in the Theatre (Downloaded 947 times)
» To download, right-click title & “save as”
» Love/Like/Hate it? Please rate it.
» Meaningless labels: Anthemic • Catchy • Male vocal
(37 votes) Loading ...[...] one of my friends who i talk alot about on this here little blog JM, wrote a little post for indie ball. in case you still have not checked out jm’s blog get your bum over there or consider your [...]
[...] Hailing from Northern Ireland, Two Door Cinema Club boasts a repertoire of catchy anthems that get stuck in your head, and it’s a good thing. Raucous yet with restraint, these boisterous schoolboys know how to throw an indie-electro pop dance party. “What You Know” is the first single off their debut Tourist History, released last spring. It’s typical of their buoyant pop-meets-edgy alt style, “alteronica” as they describe it. Read my full Two Door Cinema Club writeup here. [...]
posted by Patrick on November 24, 2010
New Mexico doesn’t lend itself to pithy reviews. They are not about nuance or inflection, subtlety or atmospherics. Instead, the band is all high decibels, pounding guitars, and driving drums. Like Green Day before they got old and clean, New Mexico combines punk spirit and singalong lyrics. We could write more, but in this case description only takes you so far. Crank the volume to 11, press play, and try your best to sit perfectly still. If you make it to the chorus without tapping anything, I’ll be impressed.
New Mexico – Abused and Amused (Downloaded 735 times)
New Mexico – Chosen Ones (Downloaded 367 times)
» To download, right-click title & “save as”
» Love/Like/Hate it? Please rate it.
» Meaningless labels: Anthemic • Catchy • Driven • Male vocal • Punk
(15 votes) Loading ...All of these articles have saved me a lot of headaches.
It’s about time someone wrote about this.
February 9th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
Nice!! “Welcome Home” is one of the most beautiful, moving songs I’ve ever heard. Glad to hear Cooper is still doing this project.