posted by Loren on February 17, 2012
There is beautiful solace to be found in nature, organic development and a sense of what life in its purest form is truly like. In Japanese heritage, plants and shrubbery are manipulated into ornate designs in an effort to control something man has never been able to. When I listen to Evenings and the elusive tone within each sample, the subtle diligence of each chord, I am reminded that despite nature, there is so much brilliance in the exactitude of what we can control. The sound (and yes when you listen to the lyrically absent endeavors of Evenings this is the only syllable that comes to mind) is enticing, on the tip of your tongue until he couples another keyboard or snap or snare and you are impressed all the same. Evenings art works are just that; lacking detail or background, instrumentations boldly named and that are held close to the heart. We reminisce in the artist’s voice, the music, and create dimensions of our own led along simply by a name (Chesapeake and Babe) and the intrigue of a sound.
The elements in Evenings’ repertoire design your pallet, not guide it. When I hear “Chesapeake” I envision Nathan in Charlottesville in a dorm behind a soundboard, lost in his headphones creating metaphors and myths. In college we all seem to be wondering who we are and what we’re doing, and North Dorm for me is that expression. It is putting life together, sound-by-sound, anecdote by tribulation, and coupling them into an appreciation. Evenings hires life to run its own trajectory, and make the poetry from this empiricism dance. After all, life is just one moment standing on the shoulders of the last. Just like the sound of Evenings.
I should mention that North Dorm EP is coming up on two years old and not the most recent work to date (Lately was released this past year). Although I do enjoy the rhythm and storytelling off the latest releases, “Lo-Vélo” is awesome; I just liked these tracks a little more. “Babe” was released on North Dorm and “Chesapeake” is a single release.
Evenings – Chesapeake (Downloaded 193 times)
Evenings – Babe (Downloaded 208 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Chillwave • Instrumental • Synth • With Bleeps & Blips
(11 votes)
Loading ...posted by Loren on June 21, 2011
Jesse Kivel and Zinzi Edmunson resemble everything beautiful and brilliant about the music industry today. Each time I listen to their track “People Can Do The Most Amazing Things,” these simple words of light in an arena of darkness point towards everything right nowadays. Jesse and Zinzi are the entirety of their dream-pop project they call Kisses, based out of Los Angeles. Yet the appeal remains in that the duo are boyfriend and girlfriend, as Jesse explains on vocals what Zinzi manufactures on the keyboards. Nothing makes me smile wider than the situation Kisses presents. And it only bums me out that they played Make Music Pasadena this past weekend and I, for reasons I’d rather not share, had to miss their set in a bout of sheer ignorance.
Their dreamy 70’s summer disco anthems straddle the line between retro and new age. The acute digital trail the band has left among blogs all compare their sound to a crisper Hot Chip, which can be heard vocally, but their sound is so distinct it leaves the bands polar opposites. Released late last year, their first EP, Heart of the Nightlife, time travels to the 1950’s pool parties with “Women of the Club,” while the majority of the other tracks like “The Heart of the Nightlife” bend towards 70’s disco and pop that illicit more Travolta connotations. Kisses hit an entire retro spectrum while staying modern in their stories; the whole album is definitely worth the listen.
Kisses – People Can Do the Most Amazing Things (Downloaded 436 times)
Kisses – Women of the Club (Downloaded 395 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Chillwave • Disco • Male vocal • Retro • Shoegaze • Vintage
(16 votes) Loading ...posted by Loren on May 28, 2011
Rudimentary and foundational sounds are all a band needs these days in order to stand vintage. Much as the Local Natives and Bon Iver have this going for them, so do We Are Trees. Raw and stripped to basic form, their music condescends in its authenticity. The band hails from Virginia, a maybe indicator as to the direction of their sound and the beauty that it evokes. Somehow the South keeps its cool.
We Are Trees is primarily a duo of vocal / guitar enthusiast James Nee and percussionist Josiah Schlater who, this summer, will be touring the Beast Coast and parts of the Midwest, in hopes that these shows will expose their candid sound to broader audiences. Their dreamlike tracks follow suit with Bon Iver’s elegance in addition to their on point snares and acoustics playing in that graceful Grizzly Bear arena. The lyrical implications are too imposing, reaching out to lessons that are nonetheless self-reflexive.
Check out their tour if the music feels right, because I can’t imagine a show such as theirs being any less amazing than the record. Their second EP, Girlfriend (“Sunrise Sunset” track and vid included below), was just released this past March, fittingly in follow-up to 2010’s Boyfriend. Both EPs can be streamed at the Bandcamp link below.
We Are Trees – Sunrise Sunset (Downloaded 525 times)
We Are Trees from High/Low Film on Vimeo.
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» Meaningless labels: Chillwave • Dreamlike • Harmonic • Male vocal • Vintage
(16 votes) Loading ...posted by Leigh on May 14, 2011
This was certainly not the first time I’ve had an instant love fest with the music from a band opening for Of Montreal. As is understandably expected, one of my favorite bands opening the gateway to another (that should be opened) just feels right. Something like a secret being passed from one person to the next. Kind of a like a game of telephone, but without any of the confusion. Think on that one.
This might be (yes, it actually is) the third chillwave band Indieball has featured in a row. Why not, really, it’s Spring in many places, and Spring seems to somehow create an insatiable craving for chillwave. It just somehow complements breezes sneaking through half-open windows, the smells of the first barbecues after a long winter hiatus and the open-air hanging that is happening everywhere.
Painted Palms are collaborative music-makers Chris Prudhomme and Reese Donohue, originally from Louisiana, now calling the Bay area home. The duo released their debut EP, Canopy, on Secretly Canadian (Yeasayer, Suuns etc.) this past April. Live, they expand to a five-piece band.
“All of Us” gracefully loops through a seascape of stimulus, showing off its prettiness at every turn, with sparkly synth melting into airy bass melting into delicate vocals. You can stream the EP on Bandcamp at the link below, and hear how the entire album kind of ebbs and flows into itself. Be sure to check out my other two favorites, “Falling Asleep” and “Great White.” If you like what you hear, you can buy the album through Secretly Canadian.
Painted Palms – All of Us (Downloaded 796 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Chillwave • Electro • Male vocal • Poppy • Psychedelic
(11 votes) Loading ...This is super fantastic. I love it.
May 30th, 2011 at 11:08 am
so beautiful sound