New Music.. Monday?: Lisa Hannigan's Parachutes

So it seems that after a week away, I have missed some pretty big news. I found out about the death of Steve Jobs a few days later than everyone else. But also, this was a pretty big week for Irish music. Lisa Hannigan, who made her name collaborating with fellow countryman Damien Rice, released her second album since the musicians drifted apart in the UK (interestingly it was released three weeks earlier in the US). The album isn't available until November 4 in Australia, however you can listen to excerpts from it on her website.

BUT

Lisa is coming to our fine country very soon (although not playing her own material) for "Way to Blue: The Songs of Nick Drake" in Sydney and Melbourne. So get your skates on, it's gonna be epic.

Well, it's bye for now. I've left you with quite a long video on the making of Parachutes, because frankly I really.. really like Lisa, so I enjoy watching/listening to her. If you don't have a spare seven minutes however, go here for a short taste of what Ms Hannigan is all about.

Enjoy.

New Music Thursday: Kate Martin's Apples

Do you like apples? Well how do you like them apples? (I apologise for the swearing at the start of the clip.. but it's a great scene from a great movie)

Good Will Hunting references aside, Kate Martin's song 'Apples' is oh so sweet. Her Unearthed profile calls it "experimental pop". I don't really agree, in my opinion it's hardly experimental, but it's definitely solid, well-made indie pop. It's the first single from Kate's second album, but that's not due to be released until February 2012, so watch this space.

Anyways enough of me talking, let's all watch a video!

Enjoy.

Kate Martin 'Apples' from Timothy Melville on Vimeo.

New Music Thursday: New videos for Big Scary and Youth Lagoon

Hey guys, just a quick one tonight. It seems that in the last few days two songs that I have previously blogged about have had videos made for them. And get ready for variety because they're entirely different at odds with each other.

First up we have the dorky, fun video for Big Scary's 'Gladiator'. Their album is out October 7.

And next, just in case that video made you feel too happy, we have the moody, brooding video for Youth Lagoon's 'Montana'. His debut album 'The Year of Hibernation' comes out in Australia tomorrow. I'm pretty excited. But if you're cheap (yet can somehow afford fast internet), you can stream a few tracks from it on Spin.

Enjoy.

Youth Lagoon - 'Montana' from Spunk Records on Vimeo.

New Music Thursday: Youth Lagoon's 'Montana'

Last night I stumbled upon this track, and I immediately knew it was worth sharing. Trevor Powers, known by the pseudonym Youth Lagoon, is a 22-year-old from Idaho, USA. During uni holidays he locked himself in a room for some time, and a collection of dreamy, ambient, melancholy, beautiful songs resulted.

'The Year of Hibernation' is a pretty powerful debut album, especially since Trevor self-produced it. It will be released in Australia on 23th September, and I'm pretty pumped to get my hands on it.

Luckily for us, Mr Powers has given a peek into what we can expect. Two tracks from the album, 'Canons' and 'July', can be downloaded for free or streamed on Soundcloud (along with 'Montana').

After being signed by Fat Possum, Youth Lagoon's ditched uni and hit the road with a band, promoting his upcoming album. Hopefully he comes to Australia soon!

Enjoy.


Montana by Youth Lagoon

Bon Iver's Holocene

Just saw this for the first time, and I need to share it. Beautiful song, beautiful landscape, beautiful concept, beautiful video! It's set in Iceland.. (wow, I need to go there sometime) and directed by Nabil Elderkin, an Aussie who's also done stuff for some other pretty big names (check out his site for music videos he's directed for Kanye West, Seal, Bruno Mars and many others).

I hope you enjoy it!

New Music Thursday: Vows

Well, have I been waiting for this one. Ever since seeing her last year I've been following Kimbra's progress. It seems she's getting pretty big now. You know you've made it when Katy Perry misspells your name in a tweet.

And (finally), her debut arrived last Friday. If I wasn't already convinced of her amazing musical talent and versatility, the album put forth a pretty convincing argument.

It begins on familiar ground, opening with her first single Settle Down, followed by Cameo Lover. Then we're introduced to the new stuff. Highlights for me include the smoky, cabaret-infused "Good Intent" (the video of which I'm sharing with you tonight), the very funky "Call Me", and the relaxed groove of "Wandering Limbs" (a duet with Melbournian Sam Lawrence that reminds me a little of Zero 7).

I have to say that as good as the music on the album is, her live show is something else entirely. There's just something about her on-stage energy and super-talented, super-tight band that is impossible to capture in the studio. And I think that's something you could be pretty proud of.

I hope you guys enjoy the video for "Good Intent". I've gotta say that I dig it a lot. If I could ever dance in anything actually resembling a "style", then this would be it. The guys in this clip definitely know how to move.

Enjoy.

P.S. If you want to listen to Kimbra's album right now, you can stream it online.

New Music Thursday: Big Scary's Gladiator

I really enjoyed watching Melbourne duo Big Scary tonight in their support slot for Liam Finn (son of Kiwi music royalty Neil Finn. His backing band also includes two other members who are children of ANZAC music royalty: his brother Elroy on drums, and playing various percussion instruments and providing backing vocals is Eliza-Jane Barnes, daughter of none other than Jimmy Barnes. But I digress...)

At the start of Big Scary's set I was reminded of another man-woman duo from California named Mates of State, however these guys quickly proved me wrong by stamping their on unique style on the evening. While Mates of State make fairly bright pop music, Big Scary seek every opportunity to rock out, despite having only two on stage. A lot of their songs contained enough dynamic and tempo changes to give you a blood nose, however they also played some that were more beautifully brooding, such as the one I'm sharing with you today.

'Gladiator' has just been released as a single for their upcoming album 'Vacation', which is due to be released early October.

Enjoy.

Gladiator by bigscary

New Music Thursday: Gotye's Making Mirrors

Ever since I saw Gotye live at Groovin' the Moo earlier this year, I have been pretty excited about the release of his third album. And this week particularly so, because tomorrow is when it is released. I honestly can't remember being this excited about an album release, ever. So to share my excitement (and give myself another chance to be self-indulgent in listening to his music), Gotye once again is the feature of New Music Thursday.

The video I'm sharing with you today is a preview of the album that Gotye released a few months ago. It gives you snippets of the songs (and hints about some potentially cool upcoming music videos) from the album. My favourite so far is a song called "State of the Art" which I had a pretty fun boogie to when he played it at Groovin' the Moo (it's the song in which he refers to the "Genie Bass" and "Diapason").

If you wanted to listen to the album now, or if you're just too cheap to buy the album, Triple J are streaming the album in full at the moment here.

Rest assured that tomorrow I'm gonna be heading to my local music store as soon as my lunch break starts.

Enjoy.

Making Mirrors - album preview from Gotye on Vimeo.

New Music Thursday: Grouplove's Tongue-Tied

OK, I'm back! I'm sorry to anyone who actually follows my blog enough to know I'm supposed to write a new post every Thursday. Alas, the last two weeks I haven't. The first week I was up in Queensland for Splendour in the Grass, and then last week I was battling an illness I probably picked up at Splendour. In fact I'm still not quite over it. Nasty stuff.

But sickness aside, Splendour in the Grass was incredible. I saw over 30 bands in three days, so I might share a song with y'all from one of those bands. Grouplove are a group of Americans who actually met in Crete of all places. Geography aside, they make some pretty cool music together.

The video I'm sharing with you is from their upcoming debut album "Never Trust a Happy Song" which is due to come out next month.

This video reminded me of the video for Coldplay's The Scientist, but with more men wearing suits and wrestling masks.

Enjoy!

New music Thursday: What is Biophilia?

Ok guys, I've got some big news for you. And you know it's gonna be big when Sir David Attenborough is involved.

But Brendan, how in what possible way could Sir Attenborough be involved in new music?

Excellent question Brendan. Let me explain. See there's this wonderfully quirky Icelandic musician named Björk. And even though she's been making music for over twenty years, she continues to innovate. Her new "album" is like nothing I've ever seen before. In fact it's not just an album. It's also an iPhone app.

What!?

Hang on. An iPhone app?

That's right. And the app ain't just the songs. It's a universe you can explore. And on this exploratory adventure you take, you are apparently going to learn a little bit about how music interacts with nature. And who better to talk about nature than Dave?

Enjoy.

björk biophilia app intro narrated by david attenborough from Björk on Vimeo.

Oh, and also, the app's free!

The full album is rumoured to come out sometime in September, with two singles already released: Crystalline last month, and Cosmogony two days ago. Check them out! The video for Crystalline will premiere on July 26. Get excited!

New Music Thursday: Simple ain't always stupid

I came across this video from Kiwi Indie-rockers The Naked and Famous courtesy of rage, and was pretty impressed. Anyone who's ever used a beat-maker on their computer or iPhone will know where I'm coming from.

Anyways I thought I'd share the video with you. It's a pretty basic concept, but they've done a great job with it!

The Naked and Famous are currently touring in the USA and Europe, but will be in Australia in September for the Parklife Music Festivals that are happening around the country.

Enjoy!

The Naked And Famous - Girls Like You from The Naked And Famous on Vimeo.

New Music Thursday!

Hrmm it's been a long time since my last post, and I really don't have any excuse. I'm just lazy.

In a bid to make my blog somewhat regular, I'm gonna endeavour to at the very least post a music video every Thursday (but hopefully I'll have other posts too).

So the first post is of Gotye's new single "Somebody That I Used To Know", which is very cool. The album is set to be released August 19, and I can't wait. This guy is a genius, something that was proven to me when I was lucky enough to see him at Groovin' the Moo Canberra, and I should be seeing him again pretty soon at Splendour in the Grass.

Another awesome thing about the song is it's featuring Kimbra, who's also playing at Splendour.

Oh and Gotye's album "Like Drawing Blood" only just missed out on a top 10 placing in Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time. I was rockin' out to it this morning as the Js played the album in full. Awkward seated dancing ensued.

Anyways enough rambling from me. Enjoy your video, you crazy kids.

Gotye- Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)- official film clip from Gotye on Vimeo.

Sister Act

Hey guys, you should check out my mate's blog on new Australian music. There's some very cool stuff on it, including my first ever post on it! It's a review of Seeker Lover Keeper's album.

via Dingo Stole My Lady.

Seeker Lover Keeper’s self-titled album may not be as adventurous as any one of these three ladies going it alone, but this doesn’t make it any less powerful. It sounds as if Holly, Sarah and Sally have found a really comfortable dynamic together, creating a sisterly feel.

This sister-like relationship is demonstrated throughout the album by the sense of sharing and equality. Of the 12 tracks, Sarah, Sally and Holly have written four each, often with the one who penned the song singing backing vocals while one of the other girls taking the lead. The girls sing about love and relationships, with songs such as “Even Though I’m A Woman” and “Bring Me Back” standing out. Sarah Blasko emerges as the natural leader of the group, as she seems to sing the most often.

This is extremely good quality music and song-writing. I think Sally, Holly and Sarah have found a good place, where they compliment, inspire and push each other. This album deserves it’s place in the ARIA’s top three, and the only Australian Album currently in the top 10.

“This is my song
This is my home
This is where I belong.”
Sally Seltmann – If The Night Is Dark

Beautiful Ladies

Quite possibly the best three lady singer-songwriters in Australia have joined forces, and with their powers combined, it's Captain Planet! Well, no Captain, but it's a band called Seeker Lover Keeper,and consists of Holly Throsby, Sally Seltman and Sarah Blasko. Now I may be a little biased, as people close to me are well aware of my unconditional love for Ms Throsby, but there is no denying the beauty of the music that results when these girls write music together.

If you'd like a taste, go here to check out the videos for three of the tracks from their self-titled album, which comes out on the 3rd of June. The videos feature some familiar Aussie actors mouthing the words. Very interesting seeing the voice of a young lady emerging from the mouth of a middle-aged man, heh heh.

If you want more than a taste, you can grab the whole pie at triple j. They're featuring the album this week on the wireless, and streaming the album in full on the web.

Holly, Sarah and Sally begin touring nationally soon, including an appearance in July at Splendour in the Grass. They will be joined on tour with Jim White of the Dirty Three on drums, and David Symes on bass. Try not to miss them.

Look out

I saw Kimbra last year when she was supporting Little Red and Sparkadia in Canberra. She is one of the classier support acts I've had the pleasure of seeing, in fact along with her very talented band, this little lady blew me away. I am super-stoked that I'm seeing her again at Splendour in the Grass.

Here's a little taste of what she's capable of, covering a Nina Simone classic.

Kimbra - "Plain Gold Ring" (Live at Sing Sing Studios) from Forum5 Recordings on Vimeo.