Oh my beard. This summer, Megafaun will be releasing a 36-minute “mini-album,” titled Heretofore, which comes on the heels of their super-acclaimed 2009 release Gather, Form & Fly. The band will be going back into the studio this fall to record their next proper full length, so this upcoming set isn’t it. According to the… Continue reading Megafaun to release new mini-album this summer
Author: Jon
[MP3] Power Animal: “Female Wrestler (Less Urban Version)”
If you show me a person who saw the picture above and wasn’t intrigued, I’ll show you a guy who doesn’t understand the finer points of brass instruments. And jean shorts. This song comes courtesy of Philadelphia-based band Power Animal, or, more accurately, the Philly-based collective Edible Onion. See, Edible Onion will be releasing a… Continue reading [MP3] Power Animal: “Female Wrestler (Less Urban Version)”
So much new The National news, you guys
Considering I know you guys don’t read any other music publication besides Knox Road, you might be asking, “Hey, Jon, what’s going on with those guys in The National?” Well, so much is going on with those guys in The National! We just haven’t covered it. So now it’s time for a supermegapost of information.… Continue reading So much new The National news, you guys
[MP3] Elephant Parade: “Grand Opening”
It’s always nice to receive lovely ditties in the ol’ Knox Road mailbag, you know? You probably don’t know because you don’t often look at said Knox Road mailbag, but let me assure you: it’s always nice. Anyway! This is a song, “Grand Opening,” by Elephant Parade, a duo who will be playing SXSW March… Continue reading [MP3] Elephant Parade: “Grand Opening”
Phenomenal Video Saturday: Wakey!Wakey! does Yeasayer
This week’s PVS was recommended to me by the incomparable Lee Levin (the one who writes for the site. THIS SITE!). It’s a very well-shot* video of KR favorites Wakey!Wakey! piling into a Brooklyn loft and covering Yeasayer’s “Ambling Alp.” The coolest thing about the video, besides the violin part that pretty much ties the… Continue reading Phenomenal Video Saturday: Wakey!Wakey! does Yeasayer
The Morning Benders are purveyors of indie-pop on Big Echo
On Talking Through Tin Cans, the band’s last proper album, The Morning Benders didn’t seem to have any grand aspirations. “Damnit Anna” was a modest acoustic romp; “Crosseyed” was a Shins-y foray into acoustic pop; “Chasing a Ghost” added some electric elements rock to the formula. But Big Echo is different. The band wants the… Continue reading The Morning Benders are purveyors of indie-pop on Big Echo
The Besnard Lakes’ Are the Roaring Night is heavy and dreamy and adequate all around
The Besnard Lakes are, in a way, everything, and their third album, Are the Roaring Night, is an illustration of this. The songs are dreamy and seem to expand outward, forever, carried by waves of atmospherics. Tracks are draped with falsetto vocals and snippets of distorted classic-rock guitar solos. Some songs build to reverb-drenched climaxes;… Continue reading The Besnard Lakes’ Are the Roaring Night is heavy and dreamy and adequate all around
In Case You Missed It: Week In Review
So guess what super-important awards show is on tonight? No, not the TVyNovelas awards, although that is super important. It’s the Oscars, silly! And this year is a really big one, because we all might have the opportunity to see The Blind Side win over, well, good movies in the Best Picture category. It’s thrilling… Continue reading In Case You Missed It: Week In Review
Phenomenal Video Saturday: Bon Iver does Okkervil River*
Don’t you just love when this happens? Back in, like, the dinosaur times (2008), Okkervil River released The Stand-Ins, and as a companion piece of sorts, had other bands cover the album’s songs. So they got Zykos for “On Tour with Zykos” and Ola Podrida for “Calling and Not Calling my Ex,” among others. Will… Continue reading Phenomenal Video Saturday: Bon Iver does Okkervil River*
Frightened Rabbit is mature and refined on The Winter of Mixed Drinks
On 2008’s The Midnight Organ Fight, Frightened Rabbit was brash and blunt. Frontman Scott Hutchison Scottish-ed forth his lyrics (there’s no other way to say it, really), which themselves weren’t particularly rays of sunshine. And, above all else, the music never got too out of control. You had your guitars, keyboards, drums, and vocals, and… Continue reading Frightened Rabbit is mature and refined on The Winter of Mixed Drinks