Conveyor - "Mukraker" live video

Yesterday, fans of Brooklyn quartet Conveyor were gifted with a brand new song called "Mukraker" that premiered on One Thirty BPM and today, for the more visually oriented fans, the band delivered another gift in the form of a spiffy new live video. In their live acoustic video for BreakThru Radio's Hear & There Session, the foursome opens up their sound a bit with a delightfully surprising addition of a cellist and some backing vocal harmonizers that are positively stunning and the sparse banjo-laden outro is absolutely gorgeous.




I have no idea what to expect on Conveyor's upcoming full length but if this new song is anything to go off of, it's going to be amazing. Here's hoping we don't have too long to wait. "Mukraker" will be released digitally on January 2nd so make sure to go the Conveyor's Bandcamp then for a tasty new download.

Milagres - Glowing Mouth (2011)

My introduction to Brooklyn indie rock quintet Milagres is wholly due to Sam at Middle Class White Noise. While preparing to post his favorite tracks of the year late last month, Sam created an extensive playlist of tracks from the year and while familiar with several of the artists, Milagres was the first one that stuck out to me as one I had no head of before.

Milagres' sophomore album Glowing Mouth was released on a day already populated by dozens of brilliant follow ups and perhaps unsurprisingly what truly caught my ear during my first listen was a sense of familiarity. But not in a been there done that sense. No, Milagres seemed to capture little pieces of the bands I really like without actually sounding too much like them. From The Delorean-esque subdued epicness of "Fright of Thee", Wild Beasts’ artful arrangement-consciousness and falsetto on title track “Glowing Mouth”, to a folksy drawl and pastoral image painting reminiscent of Bowerbirds' Phil Moore in "Doubted" and yet, these small parts don't eclipse the originality of ideas or sounds that Milagres can rightfully call their own. Milagres’ strength is as much in its undeniably memorable little moments as in its ability to stitch tons of those moments into a whole song.

So while it may have been Milagres' similarity to other bands I liked that made me take notice, it’s their own slow-building, gently unfurling moments that made me stick around. Each track on Glowing Mouth manages to sound distinctly different from the other while at the same time containing certain transferring elements – like the intricate forays into dreaminess or stadium rock flights of fancy. Milagres, with its talents for blending many different elements essentially cement their place as one of my favorite bands – the band that transcends genre and is just plain good. The kind of band whose music you have to break out because no explanation will be compare.

Get a taste of Milagres with this live acoustic video of "Lost in the Dark" for Big Ugly Yellow Couch and if you like it, make sure to check out their latest album Glowing Mouth:

Pitstop: Teletextile

(Photo by Candace Camuglia)

Considering their similar affinity for dark textures and diverse instrumentation, it's no wonder my love for Friend Roulette brought me to Brooklyn quartet Teletextile. Though framed around the intoxicatingly sweet vocals of harpist Pamela Martinez, Tim Cronin's backing vocals, bass, and accordion, Alex Topornycky's guitar and banjo, and Allan Mednard's percussion are all part of Teletextile's artistic vision. The group stitches together layers and layers of lush tonal tapestries with an ethereal, mysterious air but grounded by earnest, sincere songwriting.

Teletextile's debut album Glass is currently only available in Europe but hopefully will see release stateside soon. You can get a taste of Teletextile's rich, dreamy indie-pop with this video for "What If I":

"What If I" by Teletextile - BTR Hear & There [ep30] from BreakThru Radio TV on Vimeo.

And while you wait for Teletextile to release music in the US, you can check out music on their Bandcamp, their European label Lili Is Pi's Soundcloud, or catch them live at the Glasslands Gallery January 5th with Conveyor, Illuminator, and Snowmine.

Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation (2011)

From the second The Year of Hibernation begins, you are griped with an unshakable feeling of pathos. Youth Lagoon's music is all about feeling. Sure there are lyrics but the majority if not all of their resonance comes from Trevor Powers' beautiful, soaring melodies and his dreamy but not fantastical textural landscapes. Powers, with his childishly sweet reverb-laden vocals, is able to inundate the listener in a sea of nostalgia effortlessly and for the complete duration of the rather short 8 song album. And yet in 8 songs, Powers is able to say so much in a surprisingly succinct way.

Trevor Powers may be young but possesses a talent for emotionally evocative arrangements that's startlingly mature. Each song gently blossoming into it's predetermined main point skillfully and. Powers lyrics may be a bit confessional and yet, there's none of the urge of eye-rolling that accompanies that. Even without being able to hear Powers' words, the very feel of them arrests you. The Year of Hibernation is an album unlike any I've encountered before: Where the instrumental plays an overwhelming larger part than the words and influence every other aspect with stunning ease; where what exactly is being said is secondary to how it's being said and what it in turn is saying to you;  an album that must be felt, in order to be properly understood and enjoyed. The Year of Hibernation is no doubt a future favorite that show a young master at work; a work of exceeding beauty and skill.

Get a peek of Youth Lagoon's charmingly evocative sound with the video for "Montana":

Youth Lagoon - Montana from Tyler T Williams on Vimeo.

Pitstop: The War on Drugs

December is the time of year for year-end track lists, artist lists, albums lists, and virtually anything you can think of to bring the year in music to a close. But if you're anything like me, you might've spent the year focused on the all the things you actually knew you liked or loved to check out absolutely everything. This time of year, I've written best of lists but I've also been reading them to figure out notable things I've no doubt missed. Philadelphia's The War on Drugs, the indie rock brainchild of Adam Granduciel, is most certainly one of those things.

On sophomore record Slave Ambient, The War on Drugs take splashes of The Cave Singers' catchy folk rock (harmonica included), combine them with Real Estate's easy listening jangle, and cement it all with a slight electronic fuzz the keeps it all interesting as Granduciel's adds in hearty folk drawl amid the driving drums and upbeat guitars.  There's lead ins and peaks and troughs and all the stuff necessary for a thoroughly engaging album experience. But album-ender "Black Water Falls" might very well be the album's best track. It rambles on, almost completely out of the electronic haze that fills much of the album's tracks and yet, doesn't jump the shark.

Get a taste of The War on Drugs with the video for their song "Baby Missiles":

The War on Drugs "Baby Missiles" from Secretly Jag on Vimeo.

Listen: Sondre Lerche - "Countdown" (Beyonce cover)

In what has become one of my favorite holiday traditions, Norwegian wunderkind Sonder Lerche is offering up another cover as a gift this Christmas, Beyonce's "Countdown". One of my favorite artists of all time covering one of my favorite songs of the year? Yes, please. This cover takes it's place alongside past contenders Animal Collective's "Bluish", Owen Pallet's "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt", and from way back when Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You". But this one trumps all of those, easily. Sure Lerche's made some gender-specific changes but otherwise the songs stays pretty much intact. It's an interesting solo acoustic take on Beyonce's dizzyingly giddy love song.

 Sondre Lerche - Countdown (Beyonce Cover) by All Around Sound Blog

Daniel Hart - "How Can Love Be Wrong" video

Remember back in September when I posted about former St. Vincent musician Daniel Hart's solo record The Orientalist? No? Well violinist/multi-instrumentalist Daniel Hart released his solo debut earlier this year inspired by his adventures in India and the whole thing is just grand. But this post isn't about that. Well not directly anyway. Sometime since then Daniel Hart and actress/comedienne Charlyne Yi teamed up to make a music video for "How Can Love Be Wrong". The video might very well be the most epically adorable thing you've seen all year. There's a boy adventurer searching for his elephant, the aforementioned elephant made out of tons of material and operated by two people, and a dastardly moustachioed  villain. The plot is pretty straightforward: The boy is looking for his lost elephant who happens to have been elephant-napped by the dastard. They have a sword fight on the beach and peace is eventually restored. But color me impressed: the video features some stunningly brilliant cinematography and as simple as the plot is, it's cute and all kinds of awesome.

Enjoy the video for Daniel Hart's "How Can Love Be Wrong":

Daniel Hart - "How Can Love Be Wrong" from charlyne yi on Vimeo.