Daniel Watters is a talented singer/songwriter out of Los Angeles that combines some classic songwriting (citing influences like The Beatles and Paul Simon) with modern indie pop. His voice reminds one strongly of Stars, but his melodies range from quaint folk to lovable twee. His sophomore LP The Next Draft came out earlier this year. Watters impressively writes, produces and arranges every bit of his music. You can download a free EP from Watters, sampling the music found in The Next Draft, right here.
Born in Hawaii, but also having lived in Singapore, Hong Kong, Arizona, and Michigan (where she currently resides), Charlene Kaye is a songwriter whose music is as eclectic as her diverse geographical identity. Classically trained in the piano but self-taught at the guitar from age 13, she was keen to incorporate classical elements into her songwriting which often features violin, cello, upright bass and piano. But her songs are just as likely to include dobro, a Wurlitzer organ or even castanets - making her style just as multifaceted as her orchestration and often difficult to categorize. Her orchestrations, often grandiose like Rufus Wainwright ("Andromeda," "Magnolia Wine"), can also be sparse and haunting ("Bonnie Parker," "Human), all tied together with her rich alto, which bears traces of Jenny Lewis, Regina Spektor and even Feist. Released in October, Things I Will Need in the Past explores notions of time as a malleable object and the idea that everything has a cyclical nature, especially the ins and outs of love. Read more here.
Where The Decemberists evoke fantastical sea voyages and epics on the scale of classic English literature, Portland city-mates The Builders and the Butchers are a whole different kind of indie folk. This is the soundtrack to Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, the sad songs of the Great Depression or the Dust Bowl, where life is hard and death is even harder. It's Southern gothic, I suppose. It's not hard to get lost in the Portland quintet's somber music, each song weaves its own tale, with storylines branching between tracks and even between albums. Their sophomore album, Salvation Is a Deep Dark Well, lands on June 16. It's a triumph of chilling melodies, heart-wrenching stories and rousing anthems. Hear it now on Future Perfect Radio.
Upcoming dance-infused group Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun have been working their way up through the Atlanta music scene. The quintet was picked by local critics as one of the best bands of 2008, lauding the band with compliments and blessings. The group capped off the year with a new EP, The Lightning Exhibit. The catchy electronica-pop found in the album have done much to bring the group further into the limelight. They're, without a doubt, one of the best emerging Atlanta artists out there.
Deastro is a busy act. Randolph Chabot is the man behind the project, an electronica producer out of Sterling Heights, Michigan. He's been releasing music under a number of guises, putting out his first album when he was 12. Deastro looks to be his big chance though. Chabot started the act after moving back to Detroit from Chicago and finding himself inspired by what he found in the city. Deastro's early recorded work attracting the attention of local critics, and Chabot soon found himself signed to Ghostly International. His debut LP on the label, Moondagger, arrives on June 23. Just recently though, Chabot released an EP online titled Grower for free online. The flood of music, not to mention the indie electronica's amazing quality, has done much to draw new fans to Deastro.
Future Perfect Radio: I've read that you first started making albums when you were 12 years old. How did you first get into music?
Randolph Chabot: My uncle bought me a guitar when I was like seven and taught me basic chords and before that I sang in choir since I was in the first grade, or something like that. My mom tells me that I was always singing and I still am. Everywhere I go I am always humming.
FPR: Your LP Moondagger arrives on June 23. What was the recording process like for that album?
Chabot: It was really fast, we laid it down in 4 days along with two B-sides that aren't released yet. We were expecting to just make an EP and a few weeks before we started recording our label asked us if we could make a full length. So we did. I was still writing lyrics up to 5 minutes before I had to lay down vocals. The studio we recorded in was (I say was because it is no more it went out of business; Billy Corgan bought the Helios board from them, I guess he has 3 now or something like that) located in the historic Capitol Park Building. The space had this eerie nostalgia about it that made us feel like we were creating something with antiquity, even though people say we make music from the future.
FPR: Everyone is now very familiar with your free EP Grower. Should we expect a similar feel in Moondagger?
Chabot: Yeah, a lot of it is pretty similar I wrote "Pyramid Builders" off of Moondagger the same time that I was starting to work on a lot of the songs from Grower.
FPR: I've seen that you drew influence for the Grower EP from human experiences in Detroit. Does Moondagger have a similar root?
Chabot: Yes, although Grower has more direct influences then Moondagger does, because I moved to Detroit right after we finished recording Moondagger. I really like how Carl Sandburg made the everyday bigger, that is the way I right music too. Me and my friend Matt were talking the other night about our obsession with Legos as kids and how our neighborhood here in Detroit resonates with that part of us. This interest in the microcosm of human relationships and our continued state of wonder and discovery that makes us want to take it apart and rebuild it so we can hopefully understand better.
FPR: Favorite bands of the moment?
Chabot: So many good bands right now, Ariel Pink, Women, Benny Stoofy (local band), Prussia (local Detroit band as well), Animal Collective, Mahjongg, Gang Gang Dance, M83, Deerhunter, Dirty Projectors, Skeletons, Lucky Dragons, High Places, Grizzly Bear, Dan Deacon, Wilderness, Wavves, Holy Shit, John Maus, Steve Reich, Nico Muhly, Grouper, Icy Demons, White Rainbow. I love how much music is being made these days! Cheer!!!
It's now well-known that Boston's hit electronica act Passion Pit began as Michael Angelakos' present for his girlfriend on Valentine's Day. Chunk of Change, the band's first EP, was that gift. As you might expect, the EP went from a private gift between lovers to falling into the hands of Frenchkiss label execs and artists like Death Cab for Cutie.
Passion Pit, now a full-fledged band, toured with the latter and signed with the former. Here in 2009, Passion Pit released their first full-length Manners on May 19. It's a spectacular album, filled with melodic pop deliciousness. At the heart of the album are dark lyrics, but it'll take the most focused of listeners to pick up on the somberness beneath the layers of sunny electronica and falsetto vocals. You'll find whatever you're looking for in Manners, it's an album that adapts to the listener. Try it out for yourself on Future Perfect Radio, where it's playing in full.
In case you missed that last line, I'll repeat myself: Passion Pit's Mannersis playing IN FULL on Future Perfect Radio. Every song. Cause every song deserves your full attention. Launch any of the channels below to hear the album.
Try If You Like: The Postal Service, Frankmusik, Datarock
Double Dagger is a punk band from Baltimore who use the deceptively simple instrumentation of bass, drums and vocals to create a cacophonous wall of sound that is as aggressive and noisy as it is articulate and undeniably melodic. The group released their third full-length, More on May 5. It's the first for the band on Thrill Jockey, and their closest attempt yet at capturing their ferocious live sound and explosive energy. If they haven't quite hit their stride yet, you can't really blame them—they're busy guys after all. Drummer Denny Bown tours with Dan Deacon's 15-piece band, while bassist Bruce Willen and vocalist Nolen Strals are graphic designers who created Thrill Jockey's "Records Toreism" Record Store Day exclusive LP cover.
It's one of those underground-to-mainstream stories so commonly (but not often enough) found in the indie music world. Anathallo began in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan with Matt Joynt at the helm in 2000. Six years passed, with many EPs and line-up changes passing, before the group's debut full-length Floating World – a concept album based on a Japanese fairy tale – was released. In the nick of time, while the group was taking residence in a Chicago church, the group landed a line-up slot at Coachella for 2007. The rest is history (what a cliche). Anathallo (which means "blooming again" in Greek) released their second LP Canopy Glow in late 2008.
The members of Akron/Family keep a pretty low profile, letting their music speak for itself—which is pretty admirable really. The quartet all come from different corners of the country but ended up together (now listed in Williamsport, PA) to create "freak folk" under the moniker Akron/Family. Playing music that mashes up traditional pop music with some of the new lo-fi folk rock that's been making its way onto "Best of" lists of late (hello Fleet Foxes), the group has released four albums thus far, with their fifth coming out May 5. Set 'em Wild, Set 'em Free on Dead Oceans is a melodic collection of tracks that are smoother than some of their freak folk peers' work. Akron/Family's music, like the members, don't demand your attention—rather, it creeps into the background and sits there, happily becoming the soundtrack of your life.
Try If You Like: Fleet Foxes, Langhorne Slim, Yeasayer
Author: Michael
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at:Wednesday, May 06, 2009
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Category : Future Perfect Picks
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Lightning Love is an organic group to say the least. The Michigan group grew out an effort between Leah and Aaron Diehl, with guitarist Ben Collins eventually signing on. The trio have been playing together since fall of 2007. Their full-length, November Birthday, took a while to record—with Collins eventually acting as producer (see Future Perfect Radio's interview with Aaron Diehl below). The group's music is haunting. Leah's vocals are unique, similar to that found in Let's Go Sailing or even Lykke Li. While the lyrical subject matter ranges into the dark and depressing, the overall feeling of the music never gets gloomy—there's always a shining ray of sunshine.(Thanks to Twitter user @christinajacobs for turning us on to Lightning Love! Got a favorite band you'd like us to feature on Future Perfect Radio? Tell us on Twitter @fpradio)
Try If You Like: The Submarines, Let's Go Sailing, Lykke Li
Interview with Lightning Love drummer Aaron Diehl)
Future Perfect Radio: How/when did Lightning Love start?
Aaron Diehl: Lightning Love was officially formed in the spring of 2007. Leah and I played a mixtures of both of our songs, accompanied by a boombox/drum machine. The first (and only) show went terrible, due to the boombox breaking on stage. Ben Collins was later recruited onto guitar, I moved to drums, and we began playing strictly Leah's songs in the fall of 2007. This is Lightning Love as everyone knows it.
FPR: Where do you draw your influences from?
AD: Leah draws influences from lots of different sources, from Blur to The Smashing Pumpkins. We all just play to, and influence, each other.
FPR: What was the record process like for November Birthday?
AD: The recording process for November Birthday was a long one. There are about 5 different versions of the album floating around in various studios in Ann Arbor. When nobody could get the sound we wanted, we decided to self-produce it - Ben is actually a sound engineering student at the University of Michigan. Mixing sessions were long and stressful, but...
Annie Clark was a musical veteran before starting up as her own act under the monkier St. Vincent. She played for the Polyphonic Spree, was a member of Sufjan Stevens' touring band and was part of Glenn Branca's 100 Guitar Orchestra. Now she's on her own though, crafting indie pop that's a mash up of Feist and Joan as Police Woman—that is, sensual, romantic tunes that haven't completely given themselves up to pop riffs and aren't afraid to get downright depressing. She released the critically acclaimed Marry Me in 2007 and is now following it up with Actor, another solid and heart-warming effort that hits shelves through 4AD on May 5.
Try If You Like: Feist, Joan As Policewoman, Rosie Thomas
Author: Michael
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at:Thursday, April 30, 2009
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Category : Future Perfect Picks
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It's interesting how different vocals sound when they're sung in a language you can't understand. Suddenly the voice itself becomes a more important instrument. It must convey all the emotion or meaning of a song through tone and pitch—the foreign listener no longer has the mere words to rely on. Such is the experience when listening to Canada's French-speaking (and singing) noise rock act Malajube. The blend of harsh guitars and French language would be interesting enough to warrant popularity for the group, but they also throw in catchy hook after hook as if they were a dime a dozen. Their 2006 LP Trompe-l'Oeil won the group numerous awards in Canada and critical acclaim. Now they're back with Labyrinthes, out March 31 on Dare to Care Records.
Try If You Like: Super Furry Animals, Mew, The Delgados
Author: Michael
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at:Thursday, April 23, 2009
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Category : Future Perfect Picks
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It's hard to concentrate when listening to Great Northern. The Los Angeles' group's dreamy rock is so easy to get lost in. The lush melodies and soaring riffs are daydream fodder. The group won tons of acclaim for their debut album Trading Twilight for Daylight and the hit single "Home." Their follow-up EP Sleepy Eepee failed to make the same impression (at least to me). But the west-coast duo is back with an album that is sure to pick up just as much critical acclaim as their debut: Remind Me Where the Light Is lands April 28 on Eenie Meenie and can be heard here on Future Perfect Radio.
Try If You Like: The Arcade Fire, Earlimart, Morning After Girls
Author: Michael
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at:Wednesday, April 22, 2009
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Category : Future Perfect Picks
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Just imagine what the world would be like if New York's Yeah Yeah Yeahs had stuck with their original name, when Karen O and Nicolas Zinner were playing folk-like rock under the moniker Unitard. Chilling. Lucky for us the group switched names and genres. They've been playing together since 2000, developing and polishing their sleek garage rock sound over the course of nine years and three full-length records. Their third LP, It's Blitz! hit record stands (or rather, online store websites) on March 10. In it, the group strips away some of the more oppressive guitar sounds to reveal a sleek, savvy synth-led melodies. Check it out on Future Perfect Radio.
Try If You Like: The White Stripes, Carolina Liar, Peaches
Los Angeles' Silversun Pickups have found sucecss through a musical formula that combines The Smashing Pumpkins' brand of alternative rock (not to mention Corgan's vocals, as SSPU vocalist Brian Aubert's voice is pretty high) blended with touches of lush swirling guitars, reminiscent of shoegaze and My Bloody Valentine. The result is explosive tracks, as well as laid-back efforts, that include the spiraling instrumentals found in post-rock but without losing pop likability. The comparisons with The Smashing Pumpkins are even more exaggerated in the group's new album Swoon, which hit shelves April 14. Guitar riffs and melodies seem taken straight out of Siamese Dream. Hear both Silversun Pickups' new album, and their 2006 debut Carnavas, here onFuture Perfect Radio.
Try If You Like: The Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine, Caribou
Author: Michael
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at:Thursday, April 09, 2009
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Category : Future Perfect Picks
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Garage rockers The Ettes combine noisy melodies with sensual vocals from singer and guitarist Lindsay "Coco" Hames. Maria "Poni" Silver on drums and bassist Jeremy "Jerm" Cohen round out the trio's lineup. The group formed in 2004, made a move from New York to Los Angeles and released their first album Shake the Dust in 2006 on label Sympathy for the Record Industry. They followed their debut up with Look at Life Again Soon last year. On April 7th the band will be releasing a new EP, Danger Is. Fans of The Vivian Girls should find a kindred spirit in The Ettes.
Try If You Like: The Vivian Girls, The Fondas, The Stooges
Author: Michael
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at:Tuesday, April 07, 2009
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Category : Future Perfect Picks
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A great tragedy occured on New Year's Eve, 2008. Dirty on Purpose disbanded. Just because this shoegaze-fusion group from Brooklyn disbanded though, doesn't mean we shouldn't honor the memory of the awesome albums and tracks they released. Their sole full-length, Hallelujah Sirens, came out in 2006 filled with lush guitars that blended My Bloody Valentine and The Smashing Pumpkins much in the same way Silversun Pickups is doing now. After the LP, the group put out a series of free singles on RCRD LBL, before finally shutting down operations at the end of '08. The members can be found in their side-projects (though now sole-projects, I suppose), so all we can do is hope for some new material that harkens back to what Dirty on Purpose accomplished.
Try if You Like: Silversun Pickups, The Smashing Pumpkins, Caribou
Cincinnati's Pomegranates are an art-pop group (what does that even mean?) that play rough and catchy tracks similiar to the French Kicks. Just a year after releasing their debut LP Everything Is Alive, the quartet is gearing up to drop their sophomore effort. Come Outside! is available April 14 through Lujo Records. The album was mixed by TJ Lipple of Aloha (MGMT, Headlights, Minus Story), so you know it's good in spite of it's odd "concept album" claims (something about a time traveler). Whatever the case, Pomegranates play good music, you like good music, so you should give them a listen.
Try If You Like: Talking Heads, Brian Eno, French Kicks
Is, in fact, Ghostwood's debut EP solely about Pokemon? Their eponymous 2007 EP features haunting dream-pop hits like “Red Version” and “Blue Version,” which any child of the late '90s could tell you refer to the first Pokemon Nintendo Game Boy games. Indeed, Ghostwood singer/songwriter has stated that “Red Version” is about the Pokemon Trading Card Game (“I'll trade you the best one for keeps / You're playing too fast just to win”)—but the rest of the EP is not. For someone who spent too much of his childhood on Pokemon cards, this makes Ghostwood a gold mine. All collectable Japanese monsters aside, the Sydeny quintet is a treasure find for their lush, borderline shoegaze tracks alone. They've toured with Silversun Pickups, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Red Riders and Maximo Park, which gives you a good idea of the type of bands and genres they run with. The group is working on a few new singles, but a full-length can't come soon enough.
Author: Michael
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at:Tuesday, March 24, 2009
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Category : Future Perfect Picks
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Those Dancing DaysSweden's Those Dancing Days formed in 2005, producing such sunny twee-pop indie rock that the world couldn't but take notice. After an explosion of blog attention, the group was signed to V2 for their debut self-titled EP in 2007. Their first full-length, In Our Space Hero Suits, followed in 2008 through Wichita. The all-female act is similar to Tilly and the Wall, with happy hand-claps and a slightly punkish attitude.
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Daniel Watters is a talented singer/songwriter out of Los Angeles that combines some classic songwriting (citing influences like The Beatles and Paul Simon) with modern indie pop. His voice reminds one strongly of Stars, but his melodies range from quaint folk to lovable twee. His sophomore LP The Next Draft came out earlier this year. Watters impressively writes, produces and arranges every bit of his music. You can download a free EP from Watters, sampling the music found in The Next Draft, right here.
Those Dancing Days