posted by Loren on March 31, 2012
At the drop of a name, I can become a memory. A scent or a touch away from leaping the boundaries of time and settling among its past. What if the same was true of our futures and what we will become? Oregon Bike Trails deservedly occupies this space among time as the thing willing to extract life’s finest moments or simply create it for you. Zach Yudin is a singular, one-man one-show act that transplants 60’s influenced, sample based, reverb drowned products into your eardrums and nestles the love for the cycle of life within your hands. Trends die and reappear just as the sound of Zach Yudin inspires the mind to think of 60’s soothing life jams and balanced attacks of acoustic with percussion sung for concert halls and old Fords. Happiness is not a dying fad, but a lost aspiration.
The basis of the music is catchy, pop-influenced rock that makes the sour turn sweet. The folk-pop acoustics, cymbals, and everything nice compliment the woo’s and vocal nonsense far too well. Shifting sounds and tethered effects increase your desire for more until your song is over and your finger is retreating to press play. Although I appreciate the average collective of band members working at a sound it is hard to ignore the brilliant allure in the funneled, reverbed imperfections of Oregon Bike Trails.
In an interview with the blog YouAin’tNoPicasso, Zach explains the origins of the band’s somewhat obscure name and the goal of the album: to recreate Summer trips with his family to Oregon through stories that, though 3 to 4 minutes long, are pregnant with deeper metaphors. Drenched in a drifting mix of lo-fi nostalgia and rhythmic guitar riffs and samples, OBT holds your hand and walks you through the sunshine. OBT makes beachy, surf pop-rock with serious subtext. Give it a listen and think of your beach days if you can remember. Or just access yourself and create new time capsules alongside Zach Yudin.
Oregon Bike Trails – Cayucas (Downloaded 137 times)
Oregon Bike Trails – High School Lover (Downloaded 136 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Lo-Fi • Male vocal • Poppy
(9 votes)
Loading ...posted by Jessica on March 16, 2012
Oh to be young, talented, British, and infinitely cool – the sibling trio Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis deliver on so many levels. With a dynamic sound that channels blues, swing, R&B, jazz, Hawaiian, rock, and country, they seize the exuberance of another era. If you’re interested in sparking some fire in your step and some snap in your shimmy, jam to their sophomore album Smoking in Heaven.
The multi-instrumental Durham siblings can play pretty much anything, including piano, harmonica, lap steel, banjo, ukulele, accordion, double bass, glockenspiel, xylophone, and trombone. Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis hop from instrument to instrument mid-piece and take turns on lead vocals. Gigging together since they were kids (Kitty was still in single digits!), the North London sibs even invite their parents to back them onstage.
The vintage charm of Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis extends beyond their spirited sound and superb personal style to the recording process. Their albums are produced in the family’s home studio using legacy equipment like ribbon microphones, analog tape, and absolutely no computers. Give “I’m Going Back,” a listen, check out the “Don’t Make A Fool Out of Me” video, and enjoy the energy and authenticity of this captivating family band.
Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis – Im Going Back (Downloaded 222 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Bluesy • Danceable • Jazzy • Lo-Fi • Male vocal • Vintage
(9 votes) Loading ...posted by Jessica on August 28, 2011
Best Coast at Lollapalooza 2011. Photo by Jessica Mlinaric.
Post-Lollapalooza: Best Coast (Don’t miss our previous post from earlier this year here.)
Warm summer days interrupted by thunderous downpours, wading through murky pools only to be greeted by a rainbow; this describes the teenage emotional atmosphere as well as the weather at this year’s Lollapalooza. With lyrics that capture the youthful anticipation, elation, and angst of relationships, I imagine Best Coast would have been my high school soundtrack – let’s be honest it still is. The beauty of Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno’s music is its sunny simplicity, recalling the beach blanket buoyancy of sixties surf pop tempered by lo-fi indie rock.
Storm clouds darkened the sky as the California group took the stage at Lollapalooza, assaulting the audience with a fierce downpour one song into the set. There was scarcely any cover from the pelting torrent, and some poncho swathed festival-goers scurried under trees while others dove headfirst into quickly forming mud bogs. The scene was a surreal contrast to Cosentino’s beachy melodies, but Best Coast was not dampened, playing with intensity that added a harder edge to their doo-wop. Shortly after their set, a rainbow leapt across a newly cloudless sky and the sun won in the battle for Lolla, ushered in no doubt by the memorable maneuvering of Best Coast.
Earlier this month, Best Coast released short and extended versions of the music video for the track “Our Deal,” off of 2010′s Crazy for You. Directed by Drew Barrymore for MTV’s Supervideo series, the video features a West Side Story-like teen gang rivalry, with star-crossed lovers, sharply-dressed indie kids, cameos, and breakdance fighting. Check it out below.
Facebook || Myspace || Official site
Best Coast – Our Deal (Downloaded 673 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Female vocal • Harmonic • Lo-Fi • Poppy • Retro • Video • Vintage
(15 votes) Loading ...[...] Read the rest of my review and get MP3s at Indieball.com. [...]
Thanks for using the time and effort to write something so interesting.
posted by Leigh on June 30, 2011
{Summer is here (for some of us). Check out what Indieball was listening to around this time last year. I’ll help you out with some Coltrane Motion, originally posted June 21, 2010. Here is your second chance.}
A friend recently turned me onto a duo from Chicaco, Illinois called Coltrane Motion. Having listened to them happily at length before going to a recent show in New York, I was surprised to discover the venue nearly empty as we arrived. The band started, and slowly the space filled up some, but never to the capacity commensurate with what this band deserved.
Coltrane. You will find no jazz here. Motion. Delivered, both in the music (their second full-length June 2010 release appropriately titled Hello Ambition!) and in their live performance. The music, provided here via the tracks “I Forgot There Was a War On” and “Please Call It a Comeback,” speak to you for themselves, but your Coltrane Motion experience will not be complete until you stand in front of them and watch helplessly as the live madness unfolds before your eyes and ears. Coltrane Motion stands out, performing their music flawlessly while simultaneously executing perfect jumps, twitching and knocking their knees and giving the ballerinas a run for their money with their relevés.
Coltrane Motion. They get into your skin and stay there for days to come.
Coltrane Motion – I Forgot There Was a War On (Downloaded 1424 times)
Coltrane Motion – Please Call It A Comeback (Downloaded 503 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Lo-Fi • Male vocal • Poppy
(20 votes) Loading ...Grade A stuff. I’m in your debt.
March 27th, 2012 at 9:06 am
[...] the rest of my review and get MP3s at Indieball. Share this:ShareFacebookTwitterStumbleUponEmailPrintLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. [...]