Pick of the Week: The Night VI

I knew about this for several weeks but was saving it, and then as usual my computer broke, and weeks turned into months.  (I’m using my mom’s laptop now). But let me tell you I’m obsessed with this song. You know the replay button on youtube? Yeah.

The Night VI hail from London, Birmingham, Bogota, Northampton, and Paris (according to their facebook page) and were founded in 2010. All six members sing, and from what I’ve heard so far, this group has a very gentle, effortless sound. Look, watch the video and meet your new favorite band.

pick of the week: of monsters and men

I have been loving Of Monsters and Men this summer. And I have the feeling it’s the kind of music that can carry over into fall and winter, too.  I put their album My Head Is An Animal on my spotify ‘summer’ playlist and hopefully I’ll soon purchase the hard copy.

Have you heard of them? listened to the music? do you like it? I want to know.

kid architect

All right Eastern Shore. You guys read all my posts right? no? ok.

well if you did, you might remember this post, where I talk up the band Kid Architect:

“The Great Pretend by Kid Architect: an amazing psychadelic rock concept album, fueled by frontman Thomas Bridgwood’s energy-filled keyboard and haunting vocals, where every song flows perfectly into the next.  Although my music knowledge is somewhat limited, I must say it is THE BEST stand alone album that I know of right now. Another plus: they are just starting to rise in popularity, so if you jump on this bandwagon now you can be a true indie kid. [Also they are local. so, support, please! kidarchitect.com]”

let’s hear what other’s are saying about this band, shall we?

from March 2011, Magazine33’s take on Kid Architect:

“…Whether you’re the kind of person who enjoys the experience of the live show, or if you prefer rocking out to albums on your own accord, Kid Architect greatly exceeds your expectations in both fields.  The band has absolutely no flawed elements except for maybe the fact that, in a more perfect world, these men would be getting paid full-time to create and progress their art together.”

Here’s part of a review DC Music Download wrote about their recent show at Jammin Java:

“Kid Architect songs deal in big ideas. On stage, Bridgwood sang of heaven, hell and eternal love over heavy drums, bright finger tapped guitar solos and the bold chords he pounded out on his keyboard. Songs from their first album The Great Pretend (released Jan ’11)  were met with cheers of recognition, and were interspersed with a few new tunes as well.”

And in case you’re not convinced, Brightest Young Things lists their recent show at the Rock and Roll Hotel in DC as a show “you should blow your $$ on.”

In short, Kid Architect is a fantastic band.  They’re my friends, sort of, but they’re also one of my favorite bands to listen to, and have been for over a year, which is saying something. Their shows are cheap- 10 to 15 dollar range- which means poor college students like me can afford to go.  And they put on the best shows.  Seriously. Those huge music festivals where you sit in the nosebleeds and can’t see the bands? Not nearly as much fun as a Kid Architect show.

Why do you need to know all this? WHAT’S THE CONNECTION??

You’re in luck, Eastern Shore! Kid Architect is coming to play a show on May 12 at Mallard’s in Onancock. here are the details:  https://www.facebook.com/events/257719577639993/

And if you get there early enough, a friend and I will be opening the show with one or two original songs and a few covers. See you all there!

pick of the week: ALL the music

I haven’t done this in a while so I’m just gonna blast you guys with all my most recent music obsessions.

this one is my end-of-finals song but I’ve been obsessed for two weeks. Demi’s got such an incredible voice, and also, wordplay. and there’s just something about this song that is just right for springtime. I listen to so much serious music and this is really fun. I sing to it with all my windows down.

Kingdom Come is off the Hunger Games soundtrack which is an incredible soundtrack to go with an incredible movie.  I love the Civil Wars and this song is gorgeous. also I’m playing it at a show next week.

oh, Gotye. It’s so cool that a song this weird is so popular. I don’t listen to the radio because I don’t know the good stations around here, so I didn’t hear this until my very cool brother put it on a playlist for me. then I listened to it about three times a day for a week. the really weird thing is I didn’t like the rest of the album at all.

I just got the album Boxer from The National. The National is my absolutely favorite band, and Boxer is great.  This song is right in the middle and it is perfect. It might be the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever heard. (although I cry pretty hard to safe and sound by taylor swift, also off the hunger games soundtrack).

 

I’m gonna try a new thing here: if you guys have music suggestions for me, post a comment! tell me what I should listen to next!

pick of the week: erland and the carnival, regina spektor

Ok. So I’ve still been mildly obsessed with last week’s pick all week, i.e. listen to it at least once every day and learn to play it on piano. But for this week, I had two songs in mind and I couldn’t choose between them.  In honor of spring break, I give you Erland and the Carnival’s “Springtime,” and because yesterday was the robotics tournament at vcu, I’ve included “Machine” by the lovely Regina Spektor.

It’s kind of cool because even though the songs have very different sounds, they’re both fairly creepy. and awesome. enjoy!