Summer Camp

Pretty much everything the boy and girl duo Summer Camp does tries to instill some kind of nostalgia.  All you need to do is look at their marketing photos, which have a washed out Polaroid look, or the album cover of their 2010 EP Young, which displays something like a late-1970s prom scene. This sets up their music pretty ideally, which is definitely influenced from a few decades back.  Much of the music they make contains a bass-heavy 80s touch, tinged with new wave dream elements.  Some of the stuff they make can even be referred to as chillwave (such as last year's Round the Moon).  Yet with the release of "Better Off Without You", a single from their upcoming album Welcome to Condale, it looks like they're going after the former.  Instead of a hazier dream pop, the song is carried with a driving bass-line touched off with edgier and more piercing synths.  This is also true for "Probably Right", which was released alongside "Better Off Without You" (but doesn't show up on the Condale tracklist).  Another thing I like from both songs are the gorgeous female vocals from Elizabeth Sankey, who really has seemed to grow into a fantastic singer; the dynamic formed between her soft voice and the bumping bass sounds quite fantastic.  Check out both songs below, and watch out for Welcome to Condale on November 8th.

Better Off Without You

Probably Right

TV Girl

Last year, way back when, I wrote up a post on the Californian natives TV Girl and my excitement for a forthcoming EP.  Finally, that forthcoming EP is real, and it's called Benny and the Jetts.  It's a quick 4-song, 10 minute long compilation through sunshine indie pop, a niche that TV Girl have seemed to carve out well for themselves. During the end of the summer, I found myself cruising to the new EP constantly, and now with school starting it's done a good job having me hold on to the few precious warm days we have left.  The fast paced jangle ditties just may be the remedy for the onslaught of fall and winter. TV Girl also excels in another aspect, which is putting a happy spin on troubled relationships.  "She'll love you for an instant, but how quickly she forgets" is sung in "Benny and the Jetts", "we'll meet from time to time, but we'll soon find we have nothing to say" in "Your Own Religion", and even last year's "If You Want It (You've Got It)" tells the story of a hopeless romantic involved with a girl who takes advantage of him.  You would only find this heavy emotion lyrically, as their tone is instead bubbly and joyful, in a way telling their audience to fuck it and not worry, life goes on so enjoy it.  "We'll just 'hey, I don't like it', but I guess things happen that way" is sung in "Your Own Religion" to close out the EP, which just may be their way of bringing that comfort. It's that kind of positive energy that I have grown fond of in their music.  I've posted "Benny and the Jetts" and "Lizzy Come Back to Life" from this year's EP below.  If you like what you see, you can download the whole thing over on their Facebook fo' free.

Benny and the Jetts

Lizzy Come Back to Life

Kurt Vile

Kurt Vile is a musician that everyone loves, but just may not know it yet.  The unfortunate fact is that if you go around asking people if they've heard of him, they'd probably say no (sucks for them). Yet I can also say that I have never shown Vile to someone and have them say they don't like it.  I mean it, not a single person.  This shouldn't be surprising though, as this year's Smoke Ring For My Halo is an astonishingly brilliant record, one of my favorites in a long time.  I can just see myself digging into my crate of vinyl 20 years down the road and throwing on Smoke Ring to everyone's pleasure; it's timeless and universal, playing like 1960s acoustic singer/songwriters yet attracting a present day indie following.  The music isn't too intense or dark, but it's not boring and slow either, but somehow he manages to compile dense layers of beautiful guitar picking and standout drumming alongside personal, identifiable lyrics.  So why shouldn't someone like it a decade or two from now?  The same applies to Vile's new single "The Creature", which will appear on his upcoming EP So Outta Reach, due out November 8th of this year.  The track is mellow and relaxed, playing more like a "Runner Ups" instead of the raw "Puppet To the Man" or upbeat "Jesus Fever".  If the EP is anything like Some Ring For My Halo or Square Shells before that, it should be an absolute winner.  So take a listen to "The Creature" below, and also take notice of the awesome album cover.

The Creature

Dumbo Gets Mad

Since the release of Elephants At the Door earlier this year, I've been quite surprised about how little buzz Dumbo Gets Mad has received.  After first hearing about them when I was abroad, I haven't seen anything about them since.  As the band's debut LP, I was very impressed to see the band take such daring steps in their music, and I thought more people would've noticed. Elephants is a very psychedelic and experimental voyage, taking direct influence from the trip-enhancing music of the '60s and applying modern twists.  It's extremely creative and fresh, which I also figured would help the release garner more attention.  Moreover, they're able to touch on a wide variety of tones, from the sun-soaked summer anthems of "Plumy Tale" and "Electric Prawn" to the drum-driven chill track "Marmelade Kids", as well as a mix of both in "You Make You Feel", which features a fantastic horn section that seemingly jumps out of nowhere.  I've posted a few songs below for you to check out, so if you like 'em be sure to hit them up on MySpace.  You can also Like them on Facebook.

Plumy Tale

Marmelade Kids

Jens Lekman

Well hello there webscape!  It's been quite a while since my last post, but with summer winding down and study abroad long gone, it's time to get back into the routine of posting.

Earlier this summer, I finally listened to the 2007 Night Falls Over Kortedala by Jens Lekman, an album I've been wanting to listen to for months. And for the last quarter of the summer, Kortedala grew on me quickly and soon found itself on repeat.  My timing couldn't have been much better, because shortly after my listening party it was announced that Lekman would be coming out with an EP called An Argument With Myself this year after being silent for about 4 years.  The accompanying self-titled single, "An Argument With Myself", was released with the news.  The song didn't disappoint at all, sticking to a lot of the same elements that Lekman has used prior.  His wordplay is creative and fun; and like usual he tells some kind of off beat story (A Postcard To Nina for example) backed with grandiose and catchy chamber pop.  You can check it out below, and keep an eye out for the EP comin' to the United States on September 20th.

An Argument With Myself

Work Drugs

The self-described smooth-fi dream pop group Work Drugs just dropped their new song on me the other day.  The duo has seriously become one of my favorite hidden gems in the music world, as their smooth and laid-back riffs and vocals seem to help me drift away in a haze.  It's winter now, but I can only imagine what this will sound like cruising the streets during the summer.  I am hoping it's something similar to what their artwork tries to convey; walking the warm June streets, sun setting, with good company....and palm trees.  Check out their new single "Rad Racer" below, if you've liked any of their previous stuff then definitely hop on this tune.  They offer it for free download too, so what's not to love?

 Rad Racer

I apologize for the lack of posts lately.  Studying abroad has proven to be very busy and I have very little time to update the blog.  I am doing my best, I promise!  In the meantime, hope you guys dig this jam.

Toro Y Moi

Chaz Bundick of Toro Y Moi and Les Sins has easily become one of my favorite artists in recent months; and he keeps on impressing me more and more.  My love for his music all started with his 2010 album Causers Of This, and while I enjoyed it thoroughly, I found a majority of the album to be bit too glitchy for my liking...at times a bit messy and overdone.  Moreover, I found it to lack diversity as a whole.  So far from what I've heard of Underneath the Pine, it seems as though his music has advanced immensely.  He has cleaned up his music and refined his style, experimenting with new funk riffs and catchy bass lines that appeal to a larger audience while still managing to establish his distinct Toro Y Moi character.  The new songs aren't overproduced either, instead being remarkably simpler, yet still show a certain deepness and care into each little part of the track.  The result is something smooth and also fetching; a beat you can dance to or chill to.  If he continues on a path of such flexibility in his new album, I am sure the result will be out of this world.  It's definitely up there with my most anticipated releases.  If you haven't heard it yet, I've posted the song "Still Sound" below, which is his first single released from the new Underneath the Pine.  I've also posted a "Still Sound" remix sent to me by Knight Stalker today, which is a quicker and even more upbeat version of the song.  Finally, I've posted "New Beat", his second single from Underneath the Pine, which was released yesterday.  Hope ya'll like the new stuff, and get pumped for February 22nd when his new album drops!!


Still Sound


Still Sound (Knight Stalker Remix)

New Beat

If you wanna check out more stuff Knight Stalker, you can check out their Bandcamp or MySpace.