It's time to take a look at some up-and-comers, seasoned veterans, and underexposed artists who deserve more attention just because they are their lovely, creative selves. A few may not have scheduled new releases for 2011, but deserve a closer look nonetheless.
Some trends I think will be happening in 2011: psychedelic rock via Beach Boys summers; 50s clangy-jangly guitars mixed with 60s Wall of Sound vocals; irreverent noise rock channeling the Replacements by way of Ween; the return (and recognition) of socially-conscious rap, and enchanting big-voiced female vocalists shimmering under the surface of rock. And Balkan music. Let's begin, shall we?
Fractal Farm
Genre: Math Rock
I discovered Fractal Farm while trawling LastFM's psychedelic rock channels, and it was quite a happy accident. Fractal Farm are a trio from Wilmington, NC who play an intriguing blend of folk and math rock, a genre that employs unusual time signatures and often has a quiet beauty. Fractal Farm reports that they're in the studio, with an album coming out this year. If the EP is any indication, some stunning music should be the result.
www.last.fm/music/Fractal+Farm
Deerhoof
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Deerhoof are the elder statesmen of experimental noise rock, and with good cause. Putting out music since 1992, this San Fransisco outfit has never sacrificed art for commercial success, but the upcoming Deerhoof vs. Evil may be their most accessible album yet. The innovative band takes their unusual approach to the web, releasing a song a month across the continents for the past year. No doubt about it: this is going to be the Year of the Deerhoof. Album due to drop January 25th.
http://deerhoofvsevil.com/
Rat. vs. Possum
Genre: Lo-fi, Pyschedelic Pop
Melbourne based Rat vs. Possum currently open for Sleigh Bells on the Australian leg of their world tour. Daughter of Sunshine was released last year in April, but Rat. vs. Possum is a very new, largely unknown entity. On tracks such as "Binti Jua," jungle sounds intermingle with delicate beats, or collapse into polyphonic cacophony on "Pills." Their lo-fi, meandering approach seems in danger of lapsing into chaos any time, but is brought back from the brink with some tribal beats that only Australians could produce.
www.throwshapes.com.au/2010/04/22/album-review-rat-vs-possums-daughter-of-sunshine/
Mountain Man
Genre: Folk
Mountain Man are a haunting female trio from Bennington, Vermont who keep the spirit of Appalachian-style harmonizing alive in their mesmerizing vocals. The album Made the Harbor dropped last year, but Mountain Man show no signs of retreating. A sweet listen to escape the nastier troubles of the world. As an aside--I love the apartment in the video.
http://www.amazon.com/Made-Harbor-Mountain-Man/dp/B003LNENOM
Cloud Nothings
Genre: Indie Rock
Cloud Nothings is an infectious post-punk band from Cleveland, Ohio who generated some buzz in 2010 with their debut album Didn't You. Sadly, There is already a Glee tie-in. :/ (Glee being the Borg TV show that assimilates all music into one big Autotuned dance number.) Nonetheless, the stripped-down sound of Cloud Nothings is jangly peppy ear candy, and isn't so much post-punk as amped-up Buddy Holly, and we could all use more of that.
http://www.last.fm/music/Cloud+Nothings
Keepaway
Genre: Techno Grime
Brooklyn-based Keepaway lets the sunshine in. I dig this band. They go a bit heavier than the typical synth-pop rock group, but the psychedelia never strays far from the summery side of things. They show an impressive ability to mix the synth sensibility of Animal Collective (a band I never got into) with the tweaky indie rock of Modest Mouse, which earns ducats from me. The EP Baby Style was released last year; I hope to see more of the same in 2011.
http://www.myspace.com/keepaway
My Disco
Genre: Minimalist Rock, Math Rock
Young Australian rockers My Disco keep things clean and simple on the released tracks from their upcoming album Little Joy. They aren't afraid to be minimalist and hold a note in much the same way Seth McFarlane holds a long pause on Family Guy. I like that My Disco knows the power of the pause and aren't afraid to use it. When they do shred, listeners pay attention. Album drops in US on January 25th 2011.
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Joy-My-Disco/dp/B004DTQ29W
Talib Kweli
Genre: Rap
Talib Kweli's and elder statemen of the politcal rap movement--his raps have a social conscious and a sense of place and community that he's been highlighting for two decades. Much as I appreciate Kayne's bombast, I wish he would follow the lead of someone like Talib and sing less about monsters and more about real-life hob-goblins like cyclical, endemic poverty and social injustice. Art doesn't have to have a political message, but Pitchfork, are you listening? Gutter Rainbows--out January 25th on Duck Down. Download a free track from the upcoming album at the link below.
http://rcrdlbl.com/2011/01/03/download_talib_kweli_cold_rain_prod_ski_beatz_
Ringo Deathstarr
Genre: Shoegaze pop
Ringo Deathstarr are a power pop trio out of Austin, Texas who channel Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine in all their fuzzy, distorted glory. They bring back that early 90s Curve feel that's been noticeably missing from the alt-pop scene for some time. Album Colour Trip drops Feb. 14 2011 in the UK, where they've already built quite a following. Listen to song samples at the link below.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Colour-Trip/dp/B004H59Z1Y
Zola Jesus
Genre: Gothic, Avant Industrial
Zola Jesus was a slow burner for me in 2010. Her heavy vibrato takes a bit of getting used to, but now I find her dark visions sweetly, insidiously addictive. A latter-day Diamonda Galas with a more alluring tone to her voice, Zola Jesus is actually Nika Roza Danilova, a classically-trained singer from New York City. Quicking gaining a buzz off three EP releases from last year, I expect Zola to do quite well this year and gain a large following. Given her prolific output the past two years, I'd say no new albums are needed right now, but she's already recording. Bookmark her Last.fm page if the spirit moves you.
http://www.last.fm/music/Zola+Jesus
Marina and the Diamonds
Genre: New Wave, Pop
Marina Lambrini Diamandis, of Greek and Welsh descent, is already a relatively well-known pop singer in her native England in the vein of Florence + the Machine. With her unusual vocal stylings, Marina is a quirky, talented girl with a tendency towards light pop--I would love for her to shed some of that fluff so we can hear her stunning voice more clearly. I think the challenge with Marina is to appeal to an American audience, as female British pop artists don't generally take root here. Still, I'm intrigued to see what this young pop chanteuse does in 2011, and can't deny her remarkably big voice and charisma. Touring the States though January and February.
http://www.myspace.com/marinaandthediamonds
Beruit
Genre: Indie Folk, Balkan Folk
Last but not least we have Beirut. Beirut is largely the brainchild of Santa Fe, New Mexico native Zachary Francis Condon, an inquisitive musician who spent his teen years in Eastern Europe absorbing Balkan music and brought its world-music flavor back to the States. What's notable about Beirut is its ever-expanding nonlinear musical structure, instead of merely a predictable album-tour-rest cycle. Straightforward guitars rarely feature on a Beirut track: rather, horns, mandolins, and a string section figure prominently in their work. An album is tentatively scheduled for 2011, but regardless, Beirut is a band worth exploring in the coming months no matter the time frame.
A remarkable side development of Beirut is their massive following in Brazil, and subsequent project Beirutando. From Wiki: "Inspired musicians across the country formed tribute bands in an event called "Beirutando na Praça" which translates to "Beiruting in the Square" which occurred on August 30, 2009. The event involved seven bands in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Recife, Salvador, Curitiba, and Lima performing adapted covers of Beirut songs in the streets. Beirutando groups have adapted the songs in order to connect them to Brazilian culture by changing rhythms. As well as altering the songs, different instruments have been used, such as the "cavacolele", a cavaquinho modified with nylon strings tuned to G-C-E-A (standard ukulele tuning); this instrument was thought up because of the absence of ukuleles in Brazil. Other instruments used by Beirutando bands are the cajón and the melodica."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beirut_(band)
There you have it folks. Next time round we'll be examining some unsung guitar heroes who deserve more attention. Peace out. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment