Music Related News /  by E

  • I am so addicted to this remix of Say Lou Lou's "Everything We Touch" that I cannot actually get any other work done. Bravo Mickey Valen, you've ruined me for all other remixes.
  • The Stationary Set's latest video is so offhandedly weird that I would pay attention to the single without any further convincing but, with a gorgeous beat, a melody that pulls you in and leads you around, and lyrics as amazing as "but baby, I've been learning to smile, this is the year of my sign, and it's just a part of things to come" it is so very easy to fall for "Year Of My Sign". 
  • It is so hard to not love a track that just feels right, and Viola Dust's "The Big Hop" feels like everything you've ever loved about pop was given a makeover; it's completely refreshing and more than irresistible. Put on your headphones, turn it up, and lay back or just dance around to it; you really can't go wrong with this. 
  • Bleachers continues to adamantly refuse the title of 'one hit wonder' which was tossed about after the release of the sensational "I Wanna Get Better" (watch the video; it's rare that a video can actually make a track even better). "Shadow" is the sweet love song you never knew you had to hear (on repeat and turned all the way up) and "Rollercoaster" is so damn catchy it's a must-have in any summer driving playlist. 
  • "Kids Again" is so much greater than expected from a radio ready pop single and it should be a staple of your summer playlists. It's upbeat, the lyrics are adorable and, with a fun melody and persistently solid rhythm, it is impossible to not dance around to this latest single from Example. 
  • James Bay's "If You Ever Want To Be In Love" is adorable and lyrics that offer "I'll come around if you ever want to be in love, I'm not waiting, but I'm willing if you call me up, if you ever want to be in love, I'll come around" crooned out over a wonderfully steady piano and a tangy sweet guitar riff are too great to not fall for. 
  • Stargroves' music is so perfect it kind of hurts. Every part of the composition and lyrics are thoroughly thought out and put together with such care, not to mention that it's impossible to not fall for their lead track which shamelessly talks about trolls and other legendary creatures; listen to "Westfjords", featuring Abigail Breslin, now. 
  • Colbie Caillat's "Try" sought to engender women everywhere by urging girls to love themselves as they are; the song is gorgeous, with lines that are achingly honest and so very sad in their truths but, as great as it is in theory, these efforts always fall flat in practice. Honestly though, you are with yourself so much more than you will ever be with someone else; you better learn to love you an awful lot. It's hard to remember sometimes, but you are pretty awesome.
  • Mwansa's "The Kid Has Issues" is honestly so fucking fantastic that I can't stop listening to this. It feels like sinking into a comfy chair after a long day and deserves to be played, sound way up, with your headphones on and your eyes shut.
  • Everything coming out of Ireland right now is so perfect it aches to not just head over there and bask in it, and RudyTrixX's "Trippin'" offers a look at some of the best music you have to look forward to right now; alternative/techno pop from Australia is already making it's move, you need to be looking for alternative indie folk pop from Ireland now. 
  • Alisha Zalkin's "Fearless" music video is adorably fantastic; watch it because it's cheesily great and a beautiful song that feels like you've heard it all before (in a good, message-from-your-older-sibling way) pulls these short messages from all of these gorgeous people together perfectly.
  • Kimberly Anne's music video for "Liar" is just as hypnotic and amazing as the track itself; words cannot adequately express how much I love everything coming from this artist right now. Check out "Hard As Hello" and pre-order the Liar EP now.
  • Cathedrals released their third single, "Want My Love", and those sultry vocals mix so eloquently with a bass that throbs in your chest and a rhythm that shows amazing restraint, in the best way.
  • Sticky Fingers' "Just For You" shouldn't sound so great amongst all of summer's pop anthems, but the track is so cool and refreshing, with just enough of a hypnotic lull, that it sucks you in immediately and demands to be heard. 
  • Buffalo Sunn's music video for their single "By Your Side" is still so time-trippily great that you need to see it if you have not already fallen for the band's sweet indie beach sound (again, I would like to reiterate that you need to start falling for Irish bands now).

Check these out, stop by tomorrow for more great music to fall in love with, and check out Hudson Taylor's recently re-released "Battles" from their newly released Battles EP.

Rollercoaster /  by E

Jack Antonoff's announcement of his solo project, Bleachers, came about after the release of the first single "I Wanna Get Better" and, with the premiere of a track that fantastic, it was easy to label the band as a one hit wonder, but his latest tracks, with their prominent rhythms and melodies so addictive they're impossible to ignore, are just as great.

Bleachers is your favorite angsty punk rock band from high school, all grown up. The lyrics read just as desperately as you love, but with an eloquent and honest wording that only comes about with age; the compositions are mature, with melodies that throw in just enough twists to keep it fun and lighthearted while a rhythm keeps it steady and grounded, all without drowning out the vocals with their exuberance.

The airy intro is met with a solid guitar riff and persistent rhythm while a wandering riff maintains a lighthearted presence in the background throughout the track and lyrics which read "now I'm running and I can't stop anywhere I go, I think about it every day and that I can't let go, man I'm never the same, we were shotgun lovers, I was a shotgun running away" are too great to not get caught up in. The track's eagerness to leave lyrics up to the listener's interpretation takes it back to the wonderfully great origins of 'alternative' while the rhythm insists on throwing in just enough of a pop feel that there's no way you cannot become addicted.

Bleachers is the band you've always loved, just updated to match the times, so pre-order Strange Desire and listen to the three readily available singles.

"Rollercoaster" Bleachers

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Try /  by E

Colbie Caillat released her new EP, Gypsy Heart Side A, in anticipation of her forthcoming fourth full-length album, Gypsy Heart, due for release later in 2014, and the lead track is achingly stunning.

"Try" (available for free on iTunes now) features Caillat's signature soft guitar and crooning vocals which build in accordance with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds gorgeous piano melody.

Lyrics which seek to engender women everywhere sweetly beg "you don't have to try so hard" in between verses which question "get your sexy on, don't be shy girl, take it off, this is what you want, to belong, so they like you, do you like you?" and "wait a second, why should you care what they think of you, when you're all alone, by yourself, do you like you?". 

The track closes out with Caillat's acoustic guitar and soft vocals stating "look into your mirror at yourself, don't you like you, 'cause I like you" and the softly sung assurance is sweet enough to hook any long time fan. 

Get Caillat's new EP on iTunes now and listen to the gorgeous single below. 

"Try" Colbie Caillat

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