Mo' Tunes

I came home from work this morning with the Skids... unfortunately I don't mean the band of the same name (into the valley anyone???) I've been chillin' as best I can and thought I'd mention some more tunes that have been keeping my mind occupied.

First off we have Half the perfect world by Madeleine Peyroux - it has a latenight and warm jazz sensibility... with a real romantic edge. The guitar and piano combination is just gorgeous. Its pretty trad at times for jazz... doesn't get to obtuse... its within the box but nicely within the box. Worth checking out for a nice evening in with someone very special.

Picked up a copy of Neon Bible by Arcade Fire to find out what all the kids were talking about... well actually only Ally... but he's cool and I wanna be him. Its dark and orchestral... with some great beats and a real feel about it. I'm getting it... although some of the lyrics aren't really on point for me... but I am assured I'll get them. They are like the anti-ELO... and that's actually a complement.

Next up is a band who have never released a record :: The Bays :: Its easier for them to explain their thing...

What drives this band is a need to communicate with their audience in a way not possible with traditional live bands. There are no ‘songs’ as such to perform, there’s no album to promote, there are no commercial imperatives at play. The Bays only perform live, they never rehearse, they don’t have a set-list and they couldn’t ever do the same performance twice. It’s all about the moment – an experience or an event that exists between the band and the audience for one time only.

Luckily some of their sets have been recorded for folk to check out... They are a big draw at festivals and the like... and I hope to catch them up north sometime. Fab electronica... intelligent and daring... real headphone music!

I think Frerk by My First Trumpet is possibly one of the best netlabel releases I have heard in a long, long time... Truly beautiful electronica... graceful beats... live instrumentation... soulful... serene and yet glitchy... Here's a snippet of the blurb for more detail ::

Kevin "ClickClickDecker" Hamann is showing a slightly different side of his musical life. As "My first trumpet" he is enjoying a new freedom, not known from his many other projects. Quite hard to put into a certain genre, the album FRERK combines a couple of modern styles, all under the melody tree.

FRERK is a bedroom- and first trial production, never losing its beauty for melodic moments.

Melodic folktronica... beautiful! Another top-of-class release from the amazing Aerotone netlabel.

Lastly, the seasonal playlist from Refinery29 is superfab. A great collection of bleeding-edge alt.rock and beats... from some fine musicians including Rihanna, Justice, Interpol, Hot Chip and the fab up-and-coming St.Vincent. All for free... Nice. Bit of a nightmare to download - all numbered differently... but worth it when brought together in iTunes.

Check them all out... Well worth it.

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Now playing: Bluebridge Quartet - Spektrum
via FoxyTunes