Remember when Local Natives was an indie rock band?
I certainly do. But after the delicious synthpop of Sunlit Youth, I came to peace with the fact that they’d probably never write a song like “Sun Hands” or “Breakers” again.
While I wasn’t surprised to see them to further embrace pop sensibilities, I was a bit shocked that Violet Street explored the disco-tinged soft rock of the late 70s.
Did I say shocked? I meant frickin’ delighted.
Influence is a funny thing: one person might hear an obvious influence all over a band and say, “oh, this is just a shameless ripoff.” Another might say, “no, this is incredible, it sounds just like them.”
In this case, the band is Lo Moon, the influence is Talk Talk, and I am one thousand percent the second individual.
For a little bit in the late 2000s, it seemed like “chamber pop by a classically trained female multi-instrumentalist that used to be in Sufjan Stevens’ touring band” was posed to become its own genre.
And while St. Vincent’s Annie Clark has found the most enduring success out of that crowd, I’m not sure anyone has topped My Brightest Diamond’s stunning second record.
As much as I devoured every video, track, and alternate version of Lykke Li’s early career, I didn’t give her sophomore release much attention until a few months ago. At first listen, Wounded Rhymes felt sleek and generic in comparison to the playful DIY pop of Youth Novels.
But revisiting it, I see just how off my first impression was. Continue reading
I’ve never been that attracted to conventional pop music. But when I first saw Swedish pop singer Lykke Li, I was instantly entranced.
I stumbled upon a Black Cab Session where she and two bandmates played, “I’m Good I’m Gone,” accompanied by a children’s accordion, hand percussion, and a megaphone.
I don’t know a whole lot about Hop Along. I know that they’re on Saddle Creek—home of bands like Bright Eyes and Cursive—and I know that I’ve heard their name tossed around among emo circles.
With this information, I expected a lot of heart-tugging songwriting and emotive delivery.
I did not expect it to be so damn catchy. Continue reading
There’s always been a weird sort of relationship between the independent music scene and Top 40 pop. Often, indie often derides pop for lack of artistic integrity, separating itself from the cheap tricks of pop to make serious music. But there are other times where indie tries to beat pop at its own game, shoving even more hooks and dance hooks into three minutes, which always ends up dripping with irony.
Then, there’s CHVRCHES.
It might be important to know about the Unicorns to fully appreciate Islands (pretty much the same band). But then again, it might not. While the Unicorns’ Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? was a masterpiece of childish lo-fi indie pop rife with cheap keyboards and drum machines, Return to the Sea is much grander in scope.
I had heard the hype about Animal Collective* a long time before caring about them. I had even bought the Grass EP at my local music store, but the tribal madness the group grooved to wasn’t my cup of tea.
Continue reading