Foster The People

Foster The People, an American indie pop group from LA, California. The group formed in 2009 when they met while working on separate projects. They are composed of Jacob Fink, Mark Pontius, and the leader, Mark Foster. The commonly used dessert, bananas foster, was where they got their namesake.  Foster had been struggling as an independent artist in LA, trying to make it off selling jingles to companies. After their hit song, "Pumped Up Kick," received attention in 2010, they received a record deal from Startime International. They henceforth began working on their debut album, Torches, which was released in May 2011. Their song "Pumped Up Kicks" was quickly spreading around the world, and they became known internationally for their vintage indie sound. Their second album, Supermodel, came out 2014. 

I love this band. I remember listening to them for a long time. My dad actually appreciates them, which is weird, because he prefers to stick to his Talking Heads and Grateful Dead. But there is something rather timeless about their sound. It's very hard to replicate. Foster's voice is high and floaty, and the synth waves just all in all make you want to crank the volume. My favourite song of theirs has always been the same. "Houdini". It's the perfect combination of guitar hooks and witty lyrics (which are very important to me, as mentioned in earlier posts), and just a fun tone. I highly recommend this band. Highly, highly, highly. 

Check out their music: http://www.fosterthepeople.com

Till next week! -Avery

Milo Greene

Milo Greene is a folk-pop group from Los Angeles, California. The group was originally centered around lead single and only female, Mariana Sheetz, though bandmembers share lead and background vocal tasks. They were formed in California around 2009, and the group included Sheetz, Robbie Arnett, and Andrew Heringer. The group later moved to LA and added Graham Fink and percussionist Curtis Marrero. They released their first self-titled album in 2012. They also released a single in September of 2014.

This group has a very chill, relaxed, acoustic sound. However, they keep their works original through unusual harmonies and oddly morbidly cheery tunes that make you lean in and think, "Huh!". Definitely my kind of music. They also sometimes incorporate more indie-pop influences into some of their songs, such as White Lies. They definitely cover multiple genres with their music, the ties between them being Sheetz's floaty voice and her higher range. However, some of their newer songs do seem to be leaner less acoustic and more towards the indie side. These kind of changes are not to be helped, most bands change their sound over time. Both are distinguishable from your everyday tunes, however, with the high-low harmonies. In almost every song, there's Sheetz's higher voice layered over one of the boy's lower ranges. Usually, they aren't even harmonies, just octaves. Very unusual, and it created a unique sound that is hard to find elsewhere.

Check out their website: http://www.milogreene.com/control
Music: https://soundcloud.com/milo-greene


{for week of Dec. 3}

San Fermin

San Fermin is a band from Brooklyn consisting of Nico Muhly, Allen Tate, Jess Wolfe, and Holly Laessig of the group Lucius. The group was orginally a solo project of Muhly, who had previously worked on big-name groups such as Grizzly Bear and Antony & the Johnsons. He was trained with a classical music background, which is evident in his very orchestral music. Their debut album released in 2013, which was met with praise from many indie critics. They quickly rose the charts and have just released their latest single, Parasites. The band uses alternating acoustic and pianistic melodies, as well as Muhly's deep bass voice and Laessig's high wide one to close in on that folk indie sound. Muhly's deep voice has been compared to artists like Brendan Urie of Panic! at the Disco.

I love the sound of this group. One moment they have a soft acoustic sound going and suddenly you have these outrageous harmonies like the ones in their song Crueler Kind. In some songs like Sonsick, San Fermin seems to channel almost an R&B vibe, or at least those more gospel harmonies that you can find in the genre. I love this group because they're all encompassing. They sort of do it all in one album.  I truly believe there is a song for everyone in this band. They do sort have a jolting sound, because the two lead singers sound so vastly different, so when you first listen to them, you could potentially think, "Is this the same band?" But once you settle into it, you learn to like the quirks. The whole thing is a very soothing sound.

Check out their website: http://www.sanferminband.com/#news-preview
Listen to their stuff: http://www.sanferminband.com/#music

{for week of Nov. 21}

Lucy Rose

Lucy Rose, full name Lucy Rose Parton, is from Warwickshire, England. She started out playing drums, but became dissatisfied and turned to pursue a singing career. In 2008, she met and became close to Bombay Bicycle Club frontman Jack Steadman and performed for their acoustic album Flaws in 2010. She also began collecting her own musical thoughts and attempted to gather other band members, such as former Razorlight guitarist Björn Ågren,  and continued to tour throughout 2010. In 2012 she signed to Columbia Records and released her debut album Like I Used To. She and her bandmates recorded the album in her family's nuclear bunker in the basement, and the local billage hall. The full-length release featured many of her songs she played on tour, such as "Night Bus", and "First". 

This girl's voice is one I aspire to become similar to. Her voice is so sweet, but not necesarrily innocent. Her songs are very stripped down, using mild guitar and ochestra, with emphasis on rhythm and drums, which probably comes from her involvement in drums in the past. A prime example of her extraordinary sense of rhythm is her song from her debut album, "Lines". The tempo changes probably twenty times in the song itself. There's the intro, then it abruptly shifts into the first verse, and then again into the chorus, and another totally different tempo for the bridge. The amazing part is that it's almost a trick question of sorts. Her voices carries the exact sames beats over the entire song. Each note is worth the same amount of beats the entire time. The catch: her drumming and her guitar changes. It's really interesting to listen to; that's what drew me in the first time I heard the song. Parton's amazing ear for technicalities really adds to her music. 

Check out her website: http://www.lucyrosemusic.com
Listen to/watch her music: http://www.lucyrosemusic.com/video/detail/shiver/

Au Revoir Simone

Au Revoir Simone is a Brooklyn indie pop band which features three friends who met on a bus ride to New York.  The girls, Heather D'Angelo, vocals/drum machine/keyboard; Erika Foster, (vocals/keyboard; and Annie Hart, vocals/keyboard, became fast friends and began writing songs together. The band was formed in 2003, and the name Au Revoir Simone comes from a minor hcaracter in the Tim Burton comedy Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Their first album, Verses of Comfort, was released in 2006; and their second, Bird of Music, came a year later. Their third, most acclaimed album thus far: Still Night, Still Light, boosted the trio'd profile immensly. Deciding to regroup, they took a break, but returned in 2013 with their fourth album, Move in Spectrums. 

I cannot say enough about this band. I had the miracluous opportunity to see them live in concert this past summer. To top it off, it was a live show in the gardens of Villa Aperta in Rome, Italy. In case you are unfamiliar with the place, Villa Aperta is this beautiful, massive white marble palace placed on top of a hill, and when you are in the gardens at night, you have an overview of the entirety of Roma, and it is absolutely breathtaking. Now add in great music, and you have where I hope where I will appear when I die and go to heaven. The show was fantastic. 300 people, max. I was in one of the closet rows to the stage. They had three keyboards, one for each girl, and they sang and grooved in place while furiously banging on keys. A dream come true. 

Afterwards, I got the chance to meet the ringleader, Erika. I was super, super nervous. And she came over and we had a fifteen minute conversation, like we were old friends. We talked about everything from hair to what I was doing in Rome (I live there during the summer), to hometowns, and colleges. She even complimented me on my earrings, claiming "You're only fourteen? You're so mature for your age! So pretty!" Just like that. She was one of the coolest, down-to-earth people I have met in my life. It was an expirience I will never, ever forget. Check out this group, please. 

Website: http://www.aurevoirsimone.com

{for week of 10/31}

The Preatures

The Preatures are an Austrailian rock band formed in 2010 in Sydeny. Guitarist Jack Moffitt and bassist Tom Champoion were friends in high school, and they happened upon singer Isabella Manfredi when all three attended the Austrailian Institute of Music. At first, they formed a cover band together, mainly playing Rolling Stones and other rock covers, before they got singer/guitarist Gideon Bensen and drummer Luke Davison to form the Preatures. They signed with Mercury Records in 2012, and released their first EP, Shaking Hands. The second EP, Is This How You Feel? won the prestigious Vanda & Young Prize, placing forever under the watchful eye under many new fans. Their their third album, Blue Planet Eyes, arrived this fall.

Their sound is mostly based off of clasic rock and what they call gothic soul, but in my opinion, they use much more vintage melodies than they give themselves credit for. Songs like "Is This How You Feel?" and "Cruel" especially have throwback sounds that reminisce of the 80's. Coincidentally, the Preatures are commonly compared to Haim, a band I previously touched on. Anyway, this album is pure gold in my opinion. It's very original, and the songs pretty much entirely different form one another, but they all have the specific sound you come to associate with the band after listening for awhile. They have a very unique sound. I am completely in love with the classic guitar and bass hooks that play, as well as Manfredi's low, tonal melodies. You don't often see something so fresh and original,  ever, these days. I'd reccomend this band to anyone I saw on the street, I think it's a sound that everyone can appreciate, which is a good thing.

Check out their website: http://www.thepreatures.com
Listen to their music: https://soundcloud.com/thepreatures

{for week of 10/24}

alt-J

Okay, alt-J is so well-known now that's it's almost tacky. Not that alt-J could ever be tacky. But I am in love with them, so let me have my moment, and then I'll shut up. For those who don't already know, alt-J is an English indie-rock band, which was named for the triangle that appears when pressing "Alt" and "J" on a Mac. They were formed in 2008, originally called FILMS. All four members met at Leeds University and spent two years practicing before grabbing a deal with Infectious Records in 2011. The group came into play with their singles Matilda and Fitzpleasure. The group's first full-length studio debut, An Awesome Wave, arrived in 2012, earning them several prestigious awards. The following year, they jumped into worldwide tours, before releasing This Is All Yours a couple of months ago.

It is probably impossible to not love alt-J. The flowing rhythm of "Breezeblocks", or the soft tones of "Every Other Freckle," or the hard jabs of "Left Hand Free", there is nothing that this band cannot do or accomplish. They have all their bases covered. Their first album flows perfectly into the second, and they both contain the perfect amount of rock and folk. You can practically tell the record is going to be good by the album art. The more abstract an indie cover is, the better it will turn out to be. Both of alt-J's are shapes, the second more crudely-drawn, and the first seemingly photographic. Also, if an album has intros, you know thought was put into it. You only put intros in an album if you are confident enough to add them, otherwise people will think your album more of a flop.

What more is there to say? Alt-J is a force to be reckoned with, and will continue to be.

Check out their website: http://www.altjband.com
Music: http://www.altjband.com/music/

{for week of 10/17}