Tag: Music

Interview with The Blue Van’s Steffen Westmark

Coming off their latest album, Man Up, Denmark’s The Blue Van have been touring and promoting their music to make a mark in the U.S. After winning Knox Road’s coveted Most Promising Band at Siren 2009 award, frontman Steffen Westmark answered my burning questions about breaking the U.S. scene, going nuts onstage and escaping the Danish… Continue reading Interview with The Blue Van’s Steffen Westmark

Doby Watson’s first “proper” record drops August 4

Folksy shmolksy two days in a row from me. That’s right, I’m going slowcore on your asses. I think the humidity is drawing me to a bit of a stall, evoking a need for such comforting music. Doby Watson, from Kansas, fits the bill perfectly, as fragile acoustics dominate – including guitar, tenor guitar, slide… Continue reading Doby Watson’s first “proper” record drops August 4

Arran Arctic

Arran Arctic is Arran Southall from The U.K., frequently accompanied by various other guests for backing instruments and vocals. Southall describes himself as an introvert – which is all but obvious from his intimately dazzling, understated music. He sings, records, programs, produces and plays acoustic/electric guitar, violin, pedal organ, accordion, concertina, harpsichord, recorder, tin whistle,… Continue reading Arran Arctic

Flight of the Conchords is still freaky, not Australian

New Zealand’s fourth most popular folk-parody duo, Flight of the Conchords, have just released the art and track list for their second album, I Told you I was Freaky, which is set to come out October 20. It’s made up predominately of songs from the second season of the show, which is pretty much expected.… Continue reading Flight of the Conchords is still freaky, not Australian

[Keep an eye on…] Collider

San Fransisco’s Collider released their debut album Down In Saturines at the beginning of the year and have since been working on promotion for their garagey pop style of music. To get a feel for how they like to describe themselves and their sound, check out their influences section on MySpace: Named after large particle… Continue reading [Keep an eye on…] Collider

Bear Hands @ Siren

Bear Hands was a pleasant surprise – musically. On stage they were nothing special, but certainly sounded nice. They were kind of funny to look at, as the lead guitarist, who actually added the necessary atmosphere to fill out the sound and bring together some of the dreamy, ambient parts of the songs, was soooo… Continue reading Bear Hands @ Siren

[MP3] New Yo La Tengo: “Here To Fall”

The highly anticipated twelfth full-length album, Popular Songs, from New Jersey’s own Yo La Tengo is due out September 8, but that’s not stopping tracks from being thrown to the masses by their label, Matador. The second released single, “Here To Fall,” is the opener to the album and it’s pretty solid. Alongside “Periodically Double… Continue reading [MP3] New Yo La Tengo: “Here To Fall”

Grand Duchy @ Siren

Frank Black is easily one of the most influential musicians of the last two decades. From directly influencing grunge (see Kurt Cobain) to setting the stage for the 90s alternative scene and making music many new musicians today grew up spinning, he’s had a hand in making alternative and indie music what is today. On… Continue reading Grand Duchy @ Siren

Future of the Left @ Siren

Raging forth from the stage like the Kraken from the sea (1981’s Clash of the Titans anyone?) was the furious sound of Future of the Left. Playing by far the most angst-ridden set all day, the three boys from Wales delivered tight, crunching guitar rock made complete with roaring screams and head thrashing (the latter… Continue reading Future of the Left @ Siren