January « 2011 « Knox Road

Sunbeam

Don’t you just love it when a bunch of friends and loved ones come together as a band? The chemistry is already there, they know each other’s tendencies, now they just get to jam together. So. Beautiful. Sigh.

Sunbeam is a six-piece baroque pop band out of Portland, Oregon, started by husband and […]

Abby

[Abby’s Road] Kicking It Old School

And then there were three. In my language class, that is. I’ve enrolled myself in what one calls an “Intensive German Class.” M-F, 9am-1pm for 2 months. Intense indeed. It started with four students, including myself. Now, three days in, only GiGi, Jose and I remain. Keep in mind that I haven’t been […]

Lee

[MP3] Hey Sholay: “Dreamboat”

Oh man. This is EXACTLY the kind of tune I needed to finish off a freezing cold / snow-laden week in NYC. Bouncy; peppy; totally infectious. It makes me smile.

Hey Sholay – “Dreamboat” [MP3]

Hey Sholay is a new five-piece band from Sheffield, UK and their providing music on the internet is […]

Lee

Lia Ices casts her spell on Grown Unknown

I hadn’t heard much of Lia Ices, if anything at all, until I heard “Grown Unknown,” the teaser track off her similarly-titled album. Immediately captivated by the simple combination of Ices’ echoing vocals and sparse instruments, including my favorite – hand claps, I began to wonder: were we getting another Glasser here? It […]

Abby

Fujiya & Miyagi leave the listener waiting for something new on Ventriloquizzing

Hoping for a less monotonous record compared to 2008’s Lightbulbs from a group who dazzle a live audience, Ventriloquizzing is a typically synth-heavy offering with songs that, just when one thinks they will go to “that place” and crescendo–DO SOMETHING–go nowhere. Sigh.

Laden with whispery vocals throughout, it’s difficult to distinguish one track […]

Jamie

Deerhoof challenge fans and foes alike on Deerhoof vs. Evil

This album should have been titled Deerhoof vs. Preconceived Notions of Music. Over the last decade, Deerhoof has been the lovable band known best by cutesy frontwoman Satomi Matsuzaki and their ever-evolving, always odd sound. Since 2002’s Reveille, the band hasn’t made a bad or even mediocre record. They have continued to shock, […]

Jesse

Destroyer romps through the ’80s with Kaputt

Did you ever notice that the longer you sit in the waiting room at the doctor’s office the more appealing those smooth soft-rock sounds become? You know perfectly well that this music is not what you want to hear, it really gets under your skin, but what can you do? You try and […]

Tom

Iron & Wine venture into unexpected territory on Kiss Each Other Clean

Honestly, I hadn’t listened to Iron & Wine much in the past five years. 2004’s Our Endless Numbered Days–and even moreso non-album tracks “No Moon” and “Sinning Hands”–was my “fall asleep” music in my first year of grad school. But I hadn’t paid much attention to Sam Beam’s latest work, so I expected more gentle […]

Lee

Duchess Leo

Another Saturday post, another “Saturday” song. Nothing big, nothing chaotic, everything peaceful. Not to say there’s no complexity here, because there is, but it’s soothing complexity (…work with me here). Regardless, let “Bloom” usher in the rest of your weekend.

Duchess Leo – “Bloom” [MP3]

Specifics:

Artist: Duchess Leo (New York) Album: Golden […]