Local Natives
Local Natives sound like a more guitar driven version of the Fleet Foxes. That is about the biggest compliment I can give them. Personally, I don't need another Fleet Foxes in my life, so maybe that is why I've tried and tried (nearly fifteen listens), but their album Gorilla Manor won't stick.
To be fair, they were pretty good live, so if you dig their music, they should be up there on your can't miss list. You'll get your harmonies, you'll get your mustaches, and you'll get pretty much every song off their only album. The setlist last time I saw them consisted of exactly that, every song on Gorilla Manor. I sure dig the use of the drum stick hitting the drum's rim, which they use extensively, so that always gets me. Hopefully they've been working on some new material by now.
Suggested Tracks:
1. Airplanes (My least favorite song, but it seems to be the favorite of the superfans, so you'll probably like it)
2. Sun Hands (My favorite song live)
3. Warning Signs (Talking Heads cover)
4. World News
5. Wide Eyes
Fitz & The Tantrums
This year's Mayor Hawthorne & The County, this old school 50's style soul band features a horn section, piano, percussion, and no guitar? They are one of the bands on the Sasquatch lineup I fell for the hardest.
A friend of mine caught them live recently and said back-up vocalist Noelle Scaggs is "Honestly Overly Talented," and spoke highly of their performance. I'm confident a couple of the songs below will convince you their music is tons of fun. They are one of my top ten can't misses.
Suggested Tracks:
1. MoneyGrabber
2. Dear Mr. President
3. Tighter (This love song is straight up Doo-Wop, and might be my overall favorite)
4. Breakin' The Chains of Love
5. Don't Gotta Work It Out
6. News 4 U
Surfer Blood
I wrote about this band a lot last year, including three paragraphs in my MusicFestNW 2010 live review. Read that here (use the control + F to find their band name, it's a rather long and boring review). They were also number 46 on my top 50 albums of 2010. Read the album review here.
Suggested Tracks:
1. Swim (I had to stop what I was listening to earlier today to play this song, I missed it so much)
2. Anchorage
3. Twin Peaks (great song live with the louder vocals)
4. Floating Vibes
5. Neighbour Riffs (instrumental)
Young The Giant
One hit wonder, the next band hitting it big you will eventually hate, or somewhere in between? After the first time I heard "My Body," I had to play it again, and again. That song has money written all over it. I don't listen to the radio, but I knew that was going to be a hit. After doing a bit of internet research, it's indeed getting heavy radio play. So there you go, you already knew more about this band than I if you frequent the frequencies.
The rest of the album is pretty tough to pin down. There are some catchy moments, a lot of cheesy pop (effective nonetheless), and a couple dull songs. Their style reminds me a lot of Maroon 5, sorry to say. I doubt I'll be revisiting the album much in the future, but I do love a good pop song, and they have a couple.
Suggested Tracks:
1. My Body
2. Strings
3. 12 Fingers
4. Apartment
5. Guns Out
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Quadros 2: Chromeo, Aloe Blacc, Gayngs, Smith Westerns
Chromeo
Chromeo is the definition of cool. You know that one friend who has family in show biz, or knows a lot of famous people, or is really good at making up stories, or is so crazy they do off the wall things? You know how for some stupid reason, you feel really cool hanging out with that person? That is what seeing Chromeo is like, you just feel cool, and not in a hipster sort of way.
A not so brief review of my introduction to Chromeo; I was at some no name awkward warehouse type venue drinking Sparks (that caffeine/alcohol horrible drink) with two wasted friends. We were closing out our tabs right when Chromeo took the stage, with one friend running out the door. My remaining buddy said, "come on, let's get out of here," but I told him I wanted to check out a song or two first. About 60 seconds later, he was puking in a trash can, but soon after, he yells, "these guys are awesome!" We were raging on the dance floor for the rest of their set. Their name was still unknown to me until six months later when I saw their album in the new release section at Everyday Music. They were easy to spot based on the album cover.
I'm glad they are playing the main stage during the day. They deserve it. They don't need, nor do they have much of a light show. There will be many main stage campers leaving the festival huge Chromeo fans, and I'm talking about the people who have never heard of them. You will be chanting along with thousands of others at the beginning of their set, I guarantee it.
Suggested Tracks:
1. Tenderoni (easily their most popular)
2. My Girl Is Calling Me A Liar (I don't care, this is my favorite, the last 35 seconds are so funny)
3. Bonafied Lovin
4. Hot Mess
5. Fancy Footwork
6. Outta Sight
7. Night By Night
Aloe Blacc
This dude sounds just like Bill Withers, especially on the song, "I Need A Dollar." Even the background lyric of "hey hey," is Bill Withers' style. So who is Bill Withers? He sang, "Lean on Me," and "Ain't No Sunshine." It's old school soul/R&B. Aloe Blacc's style is similar on his latest album Good Things, however his first album, Shine Through, is all over the place. It has the Soul/R&B aspect, but he also raps, and has tracks that would be classified as world beats or Latin music. He even sings in Spanish on a couple songs, complete with horns and bongos. It sounds like he was trying to find his style, before realizing his soulful voice is his greatest asset.
There a couple handfuls of bands/acts on the Sasquatch lineup I knew nothing about three weeks ago, and having listened to most of them since, Aloe Blacc stands out as one of my favorites. Then again, I dig soul/R&B, and Bill Withers. All the tracks listed below are on his most recent album, Good Things. This album is more of what you should expect during his Sasquatch performance, but don't be surprised if he starts rapping, or sings a song in Spanish.
Suggested Tracks:
1. Femme Fatale (it is unlike me to place a remake of a classic as the top track, but he makes this version of the Velvet Underground classic his own).
2. I Need A Dollar
3. Life So Hard (he sounds like Curtis Mayfield at the beginning of this song).
4. Hey Brother (sounds like a song straight out of a Shaft movie).
5. You Make Me Smile
Gayngs
Relayted, their debut album, was my 50th favorite album of 2010. Read my opinions on the band and that album here. It is important to point out there are 20+ musicians who contributed to that album, and one is Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. Who knows how many of those musicians will be at Sasquatch? It was really hard to come up with a list of top songs, because the album is so diverse in styles, which should be expected with so many contributing musicians.
Suggested Tracks:
1. Cry (another remake, but the original is obscure)
2. No Sweat
3. Gaudy Side of Town
4. Spanish Platinum
Smith Westerns
Listening to their self-titled debut didn't exactly having me calling home. It's sloppy, European type rock with a decent dose of punk. They recently released Dye It Blonde, which is getting great reviews by seemingly everyone. The album isn't quiet worth the critic acclaim it is getting, in my opinion, but it is MUCH sharper than their debut. Their slightly high pitched fuzzy guitar sound appearing on most of their newer songs is a tribute to their developing sound. I could pick that guitar sound out of a lineup.
Suggested Tracks:
1. Dye The World (easily my favorite)
2. Smile (catchy chorus)
3. Weekend
4. Only One (probably their most Beatles sounding tune)
Other favorite songs, other recommendations, other live experiences, post them in the comments section.
.
Chromeo is the definition of cool. You know that one friend who has family in show biz, or knows a lot of famous people, or is really good at making up stories, or is so crazy they do off the wall things? You know how for some stupid reason, you feel really cool hanging out with that person? That is what seeing Chromeo is like, you just feel cool, and not in a hipster sort of way.
A not so brief review of my introduction to Chromeo; I was at some no name awkward warehouse type venue drinking Sparks (that caffeine/alcohol horrible drink) with two wasted friends. We were closing out our tabs right when Chromeo took the stage, with one friend running out the door. My remaining buddy said, "come on, let's get out of here," but I told him I wanted to check out a song or two first. About 60 seconds later, he was puking in a trash can, but soon after, he yells, "these guys are awesome!" We were raging on the dance floor for the rest of their set. Their name was still unknown to me until six months later when I saw their album in the new release section at Everyday Music. They were easy to spot based on the album cover.
I'm glad they are playing the main stage during the day. They deserve it. They don't need, nor do they have much of a light show. There will be many main stage campers leaving the festival huge Chromeo fans, and I'm talking about the people who have never heard of them. You will be chanting along with thousands of others at the beginning of their set, I guarantee it.
Suggested Tracks:
1. Tenderoni (easily their most popular)
2. My Girl Is Calling Me A Liar (I don't care, this is my favorite, the last 35 seconds are so funny)
3. Bonafied Lovin
4. Hot Mess
5. Fancy Footwork
6. Outta Sight
7. Night By Night
Aloe Blacc
This dude sounds just like Bill Withers, especially on the song, "I Need A Dollar." Even the background lyric of "hey hey," is Bill Withers' style. So who is Bill Withers? He sang, "Lean on Me," and "Ain't No Sunshine." It's old school soul/R&B. Aloe Blacc's style is similar on his latest album Good Things, however his first album, Shine Through, is all over the place. It has the Soul/R&B aspect, but he also raps, and has tracks that would be classified as world beats or Latin music. He even sings in Spanish on a couple songs, complete with horns and bongos. It sounds like he was trying to find his style, before realizing his soulful voice is his greatest asset.
There a couple handfuls of bands/acts on the Sasquatch lineup I knew nothing about three weeks ago, and having listened to most of them since, Aloe Blacc stands out as one of my favorites. Then again, I dig soul/R&B, and Bill Withers. All the tracks listed below are on his most recent album, Good Things. This album is more of what you should expect during his Sasquatch performance, but don't be surprised if he starts rapping, or sings a song in Spanish.
Suggested Tracks:
1. Femme Fatale (it is unlike me to place a remake of a classic as the top track, but he makes this version of the Velvet Underground classic his own).
2. I Need A Dollar
3. Life So Hard (he sounds like Curtis Mayfield at the beginning of this song).
4. Hey Brother (sounds like a song straight out of a Shaft movie).
5. You Make Me Smile
Gayngs
Relayted, their debut album, was my 50th favorite album of 2010. Read my opinions on the band and that album here. It is important to point out there are 20+ musicians who contributed to that album, and one is Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. Who knows how many of those musicians will be at Sasquatch? It was really hard to come up with a list of top songs, because the album is so diverse in styles, which should be expected with so many contributing musicians.
Suggested Tracks:
1. Cry (another remake, but the original is obscure)
2. No Sweat
3. Gaudy Side of Town
4. Spanish Platinum
Smith Westerns
Listening to their self-titled debut didn't exactly having me calling home. It's sloppy, European type rock with a decent dose of punk. They recently released Dye It Blonde, which is getting great reviews by seemingly everyone. The album isn't quiet worth the critic acclaim it is getting, in my opinion, but it is MUCH sharper than their debut. Their slightly high pitched fuzzy guitar sound appearing on most of their newer songs is a tribute to their developing sound. I could pick that guitar sound out of a lineup.
Suggested Tracks:
1. Dye The World (easily my favorite)
2. Smile (catchy chorus)
3. Weekend
4. Only One (probably their most Beatles sounding tune)
Other favorite songs, other recommendations, other live experiences, post them in the comments section.
.
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