Watch: You Won't - "Ten Years Old"

It's hard to imagine that pretty much the whole year went by without me being wise to You Won't existence. But after capturing my attention and my heart with two of the most dynamic CMJ sets, it seems there's definitely more to come. One of my favorite things about the Boston duo, aside from just their overabundant musical talent, was their hilarious between song banter. It's that one opportunity you have to really get to know a band/artists short of sitting them down and having an actual conversation. And that penchant for comedy is alive and well in their brand new video for "Ten Years Old" as Josh Arnoudse mimes a whole baseball game. By himself. On a completely empty field. It's equal parts of laugh-inducing hilarity, awkward quirkiness, and weirdness that's endearing as hell. Kudos, You Won't. You can stay.

Watch: Local Natives - "Breakers"

It's something I had forgotten in their around two year absence but Local Natives have this amazing talent for making you want to inhabit the worlds in the music videos. I mean, who didn't want to be part of that beach party picnic in "World News"? The video for their latest single, "Breakers", off their upcoming sophomore record Hummingbird isn't as outwardly fun as "World News" and yet there's a sort of effervesceny charm that makes you eager to be a part of it. Maybe it's the non-linear storytelling? Maybe it's the pleasant clatter of Local Natives' exuberant track? I'm not exactly sure.

The story in "Breakers" is a little hard to put together and perhaps that's because there doesn't appear to be much a story at all. Shot in reverse while alternating shots of the band at play, there's a pair of mask wearing hooligans that seem like an essential piece of the 1,000 piece puzzle Local Natives and director Jaffe Zinn have created for you. They're either dragging the body of a subdued man (the same man who's defying physics for the majority of the video) or standing menacingly to the side. There's also a spaceman walking on the side of the road and the beach where the subduing is taking place. It's enough to inspire a rather Lychian sense of "WTF!?" but somehow the potential frustration is secondary. You may not be able to construct a working narrative from the pieces given but it's all about the journey - a rather beautiful collection of images that come together to create a confusing but rather enjoyable visual spectacle.

Watch Local Natives video for "Breakers":


Local Natives sophomore album Hummingbird is out January 29th.

Listen: Buke & Gase - "General Dome"

The gifts just seem to keep on coming: After the release of new track "Hiccup" on the most recent Brassland compilation, Function Falls EP, and Sandy Benefit endeavors including the sale of the album's first real single "Hard Times", the experimental duo Buke & Gase is giving us an additional peek at their upcoming album General Dome. And it's a doozy.

The title crack bristles and crackles with a frenetic energy, while what can only be described as Buke & Gase's trademark clatter occurs just slightly out of focus. It's a full minute and a half before Arone Dyer's vocals enter and they're hardly the sweet coo you'd expect. Darker, somewhat hushed but alarmingly insistent. "General Dome" is a rallying cry, much like "Misshaping Introduction" only with the stakes raised higher. The message received right before something important's about to go down or the sender disappears forever. A track bursting at the seams with a dramatic sense of urgency, it's just the sort of thing to get you properly fiending for more.

Listen to Buke & Gase's "General Dome":

  

 Buke & Gase's sophomore album General Dome is due out January 29th on Brassland.

Midtown Dickens - Home (2012)

There's something to be said for catching one of your favorite bands as many times as you are physically able during a single tour cycle. When Bowerbirds awoke from their two year hibernation with The Clearing and a cornucopia of dates that included not one but two New York City dates, I knew exactly what I was doing. In fact, with memories of my first ever Bowerbirds show clearly in my head I was absolutely pumped for the experience to see them twice. Why? Well, sure Bowerbirds are absolutely amazing live but there's also the fact that they have absolutely stellar taste in tourmates. And that's how I found North Carolina foursome Midtown Dickens.

What drew me to Midtown Dickens wasn't just the impressive caliber of their performance but also the fact that they appeared to be having so much damn fun doing what they do. It was infectious as I was beaming ear-to-ear from set-start to set-end. With so many groups nowadays seeking to reinvigorate folk with all sorts of dramatic innovative procedures (slapping on some electronic embellishments or fusing in elements of other genres), Midtown Dickens was a breath of fresh air. Pure and simple old-timey folk whose new life comes from the passion and talent of the ones making it. Sign me up. In moments on their latest album Home, I was gently reminded of fellow folk-inspired North Carolina bands Megafaun albeit without their penchant for electro-acoustic pairings and Mandolin Orange with far less fiddle and far more shuffle.

While Midtown Dickens makes use of those utterly glorious harmonies that draw people to folk music, there's more to them to that. There's a rather prevalent upright bass which is surprisingly charming to hear. It's presence is steady and persistent and adds just the right dark coloring even to Midtown Dickens brightest tracks. At their most upbeat, Midtown Dickens recalls a legitimate hoe-down - one that you don't have to feel ashamed about attending but can just enjoy. It's not hokey, it's just toe-tapping music bustling with excited energy. That same infectious energy that exudes from the foursome on stage. And when Midtown Dickens turn contemplative, you listen. Amid the cluster of twangy guitars and banjos, rapturous harmonies, and harmonica flourishes, Midtown Dickens are telling stories deserving of eager ears. While some are just downright fun ("This Is My Home", "Crocodile Mile") and others not-so-much ("Apple Tree", "Cross My Heart"), all of them are certainly worthwhile. Home is a solid collection of songs that play smoothly from beginning to end, aided no doubt by the endearing handing off of lead vocals by Cat Edgerton and Kym Register.

You can listen to Midtown Dickens' Home in full via their Bandcamp here.

Listen: Young Dreams - "Feels Like We Only Go Bachwards" (Tame Impala Cover)

Just when I didn't think I could like Young Dreams any more stronger than I already did they prove they're not quite done impressing me and reaching previously unknown levels of devotion. The Norwegian orchestral-pop collective decided to cover label mates Tame Impala's already pretty fantastic track "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" and put their own little spin on it as well they should've including a clever bit of wordplay hinting at their orchestral flair: "Feels Like We Only Go Bachwards" was born.

After a rather similar intro, Young Dreams zig when you think they're going to zag exploding into a dreamy but still rocking take on Tame Impala's track. Tame Impala's sunny, backbeat jam becomes a slightly-quicker moving beasts with Young Dreams lovely harmonic arcs thrown in for good measure. And reminding us it's still very much a remix we're given a little afrobeat musical outro which pulls more unexpected tricks. There's a pretty awesome tail that quotes Bach. Resolution both compositional and in that "a-ha!" moment when you get the name change? Yes. Young Dreams, don't ever change. 

Listen to Young Dreams spin on Tame Impala:

Watch: North Highlands - "Fre$ca"

Well, this is a bit embarrassing. Last year, I began my love affair with Brooklyn quintet North Highlands and their debut album Wild One was a definitely favorite. Since that first concert when I met them, I've followed their comings and goings pretty closely and yet, somehow I missed that they released a brand new video about two-ish months ago. Whoops. Worse still, the video was for my one of my favorite tracks off of Wild One "Fre$ca".

The fact that I love "Fre$ca" might seem a little farfetched to anyone who loves North Highlands. It has none of the bands' established draw. The dance-able folk-inspired chamber pop is stripped entirely from it. Instead it's a sparse track that serves pretty much to highlight frontwoman Brenda Malvini's ethereal coo. And maybe that's why I like it. Because it's not really anything like the band while still feeling very much in character. While the band does it's darnedest and succeeds at placing Malvini's delicate vocals at the forefront, "Fre$ca" doesn't require the pulling of any punches performance-wise. Malvini's front and center throughout as the only real focus and it works.

The video for the track is actually a bit of stop-motion animation by Laila Lott and Alicia Millar featuring the exploits of a willy, hungry fox-like beast on a deserted volcanic island - a magical place where donuts grow from flowers and the aforementioned volcano turns out to be filled with icing. He travels around the island collecting foodstuffs from the plants, placing them in his little fanny-pack pouch at the front of his pants before he realizing none of the pastries are iced like the donut he saw and couldn't reach. Which sets forth a sequence of events that cause the volcano to blow and overrun the majority of the island with it's gooey frosting lava. It's a rather cute video with a knowing wink to the band's own donut infatuation. Just the thing to accompany the slowest track in North Highlands' rep.

Watch the video for "Fre$ca" and also, you can now pre-order North Highlands brilliant debut album on vinyl. Out officially on November 27th.

Listen: Marissa Nadler & Angel Olsen - "My Dreams Have Withered And Died" (Richard & Linda Thompson cover)

Well this certainly is an exciting twist. While Boston folk songstress Marissa Nadler has a lot of musical acquaintances, for some reason I didn't really see this one coming but I'm certainly glad it exist. Apparently Marissa Nadler is friends with Angel Olsen. Yes. I'm completely supportive of this. Because as a direct result of this the two golden-voiced ladies have teamed up together for more of Nadler's at-home lo-fi recording goodness. Taking on Richard and Linda Thompson's "Withered and Died" and the results as you very well could've guessed are nothing short of magical.