Montreal six-piece Bell Orchestre is one of those bands that you just gotta respect. They do instrumental stuff, so there aren’t any stupid words to muddy up their sound. The band includes Sarah Neufeld and Richard Parry, of Arcade Fire, and the influence is super obvious. The songs take you through a dark melodious world… Continue reading Bell Orchestre
Category: Artist Profiles
Memphis
What do you get when you take Amy Millan out of Canandian troupe Stars and replace her with a guy? Answer: Memphis. That’s basically all there is to it. Memphis’ instrumentation is so similar to that of Stars that if Amy Millan’s ethereal voice wasn’t missing I wouldn’t notice the difference. For real. Memphis is… Continue reading Memphis
Sonya Kitchell
In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I am a big fan of jazzy, raspy, (see Cerys Matthews, Adele, Rachael Yamagata, etc) female singer/songwriters. Another one, Sonya Kitchell, has caught my ear in the past few months with her latest album, This Storm, released back in September. While her instrumentation and acoustic ability… Continue reading Sonya Kitchell
Alela Diane: “White As Diamonds”
Here’s a track from California musician Alela Diane’s upcoming release To Be Still. Her debut album, The Pirate’s Gospel, was released in 2006 and earned her fame everywhere but America (U.S.A., U.S.A.!!). If the new album, set to come out Feb. 17 on Rough Trade, sounds anything like the first single, “White As Diamonds,” it… Continue reading Alela Diane: “White As Diamonds”
Yule – Aaaarrrggh!!!
Yule, an artist from that favorite island of ours, New Zealand, recently sent Knox Road an email notifying us of his debut CD Aaaarrrggh!!! (now available at www.amplifier.co.nz, www.digirama.co.nz, iTunes and Real Groovy) and gave us the tracks for a listen. Yule’s music spans a wide variety of experimental sounds – kind of like a… Continue reading Yule – Aaaarrrggh!!!
Telograph
Recently introduced to me by a friend (thanks Daniela!), Telograph, a D.C. band, is an up-and-comer in the local and national arena. A rock/pop outfit, Telograph is Arash Ardalan (drums), Andy Boliek (vocals/guitar), Matt Dosberg (bass) and Matt Kenchington (guitar). It is clear from their latest self-titled digital EP that Telograph is looking to create… Continue reading Telograph
Titus Andronicus!
First of all, read this. I would not normally go to wikipedia for my source, but this article seems to sum it up quite nicely. In order to understand the band Titus Andronicus, you must first understand what it means to be Titus Andronicus. Ok. Good. Now that you understand what it means to be… Continue reading Titus Andronicus!
Jonquil
Hailing from Oxford, UK, Jonquil mixes experimental pop with folk to create a different sound on each song. “Lions”, one of the songs on their recently released (November 18) Whistle Low EP, sounds eerily similar to Shearwater (a band many of you might be more familiar with) yet “Whistle Low”, the title track off the… Continue reading Jonquil
Starfucker!
I really get Starfucker. This is because I have always wanted to hold a terribly depressing dance party in my apartment. Starfucker has managed to take that feeling and compress it into one self-titled album. There are three members of Starfucker, although I have no idea what their names are. Come to think of it,… Continue reading Starfucker!
Team Genius
8 members + inspiration = Team Genius. Allan’s World of Music introduced me to this band which has recently come out with a self-titled debut cd. They want people to get silly and dance listening to their music, with a mix of several instruments to create a kiddy, multi-layered, yet catchy effect. Drew Hermiller and… Continue reading Team Genius