gigi

genre: indie-pop, showtunes
artist: Gigi
album: The Hundredth Time b/w Some Second Best
tracks: The Hundredth Time, Some Second Best
label: K Records

According to the band's myspace, over forty artists collaborated on the original release from which these two tracks have been selected (average that number over fifteen tracks, and you get about three guest artists per track! That's almost as many guests as your modern day, run-of-the mill rap single. Just saying). A quick listen will fill your eardrums with a symphony of sounds that surely requires all of those guest artists. On their debut album (Maintenent), Gigi aimed to replicate 50's & 60's classic pop by utilizing some recently acquired vintage plate reverbs, and a full collection of strings, brass, and harmonies. What's more interesting is the fact that the singers and musicians (yes, all of them at once) crammed themselves into the studio to run through the songs "just a couple of times" before recording-- and there was no re-recording. Consequently, the tracks have retained the qualities that let us know music is still made by real people (i.e., an occasional missed cue...although... I certainly didn't hear any).

Bottom line: If you're in the mood for some tight harmonies and perfectly timed crescendos, Gigi is what needs to be coming through your speakers. The lyrics in both tracks carry an element of wistfulness, but the drumline and brass section forces your lips to curl upward and elicits an overall hopeful sentiment. Gigi has certainly succeeded in transporting me back to the 50's... what's this thing I'm typing on?!

perseus noble

genre: alternative rock, "electro psychwave"
artist: perseus noble
album: perseus noble
featured tracks: walk by, shift your eyes
label: galapagos4
street date: 6/15/10

These four musicians met by chance after a lunar eclipse in 1992 and formed a "musical system to reconcile the miscalculations of modern science." They share a unique philosophy and a quirky personality that materializes to a funky and fulfilling sound. Perseus noble is currently based out of Chicago, but truly discovered their sound under the sweltering sun of the New Mexico desert.

Shift your eyes is a soft, sweet symphony of gentle percussion and loving lyrics. It ends too quickly-- which may be the point, as the lyrics clearly indicate a yearning for something lost.

Walk by carries a similar tender undertone of affection and desire that makes you want to fall madly in love with someone for the sole purpose of truly understanding what they're singing about... and once again ends too quickly.

Stream now. Fall in love immediately.

more macro than miracle

genre: alternative, alternative folk
artist: the witch and the robot
album: on safari
featured tracks: a crocodile song, giant's graves
label: ATIC records


The witch and the robot hails to us from the lake district in the UK (don't know where that is? GoogleMaps indicates it's in the middle of nowheresville) and their sound is "hypnotic, funky fresh." Plain and simple. The bassline in giant's graves sucks you in with it's quirky Jonn Paul Jones-esque rapture... then the percussion starts and you just can't help but tap your feet with the beat. Enter vocals, and with them comes a full-fledged addiction that is best remedied by...well...listening to the rest of the album.

It's a stellar combination of lyrical complexity (St. Thomas Aquinas has his own song), solid rhythmic guitar, entrancing hooks & riffs, and Gogol bordello like percussion. In a word: entrancing.

STREAM NOW at myspace

Jeremy Jay

genre: pop/alternative

artist: jeremy jay

album: splash
track(s): just dial my number; this is our time
street date: may 25th 2010
label: k records


The reviews have him pegged perfectly. He's cute, romantic, sweet, a dreamer, a deep thinker. Jeremy matches his poetic thoughts with upbeat riffs and subtle but emphatic drumming to create a symphony of awesome that might remind listeners of Bloc Party, Elefant, or the Arcade Fire. Listening to this album is kind of like drinking Sangria on a hot day-- it just works.

stream the featured tracks on the myspace
like him on facebook
check out his youtube channel

The Frail

Genre: awesome. electro-alt-rock.
Artist: The Frail
Album: The Firefly
Tracks: Firefly, Count On This
Street Date: May 11th, 2010
Label: Granville Records

Once again, San Francisco delivers a collection of artists that have produced an album you just want to play on repeat, forever. Upon first listen, I got a hint of Fall Out Boy (just a TINY hint, I promise) and a whole lot of unique. With each repetition, I hear more depth and complexity; each song has it's own special roller coaster ride that takes you on an adventure through your subconscious. If you think I'm talking psycho-babble now, just listen to the album and you'll understand. It's mellow, it's fun, it's soft, it's loud, it's deep... it's a series of contradictions wrapped up in perfection that could ONLY emerge from the beautiful San Francisco. So lets hear it for the home team boys and girls-- they've certainly won my heart.

Sign over yours by heading to the myspace and streaming shamelessly. Better yet: buy the album.

Dad and Son Get Together to Form Arranged Marriage

Genre: Alternative
Artist: Arranged Marriage
Album: Dearly Beloved
Featured tracks: Sit Alone, What My Dreams Convey
Label: Suburban Sprawl Music
Street date: April 20th, 2010

Much like any Arranged Marriage, this band was somewhat bounded by force. The Father-Son duo, brought together by nature and their avid love of music, is not the typical campout music you may expect from a Dad and Son, but rather an eclectic indie mix of old and new influences taken from both their lives, and their timing couldn't be any better. With many new bands taking strides from those before them (particularly the sixties and seventies - see the Right Ons), these guys come together to give you the real deal.



Producing themselves in a home studio using pro-tools, their songs capture influences like Elliott Smith, and even Scott's (son) roots of Post Punk. Check it out on the podcast to get a better feel.

Dissapears

Genre: alt-rock, post-punk, minimalist, noise-pop
Artist: Disappears
Album: Lux
Featured Tracks: Magics, Marigold
Street Date: April 12th 2010
Label: Kranky

This Chicago-based quartet knows how to get you addicted. This is their first album with Kranky (though they self-produced two singles and a limited release live album), and I plan to pop it in my CD player every time I need to properly hype myself up for an adventuresome night on the town. The riffs are enthusiastic, the basslines make you want to jump around, the drums encourage you to "dance like no one's watching." The vocals make you feel young again (okay, I'm not THAT old but this album seriously reminds me of that one time I crowd surfed during the anti-flag set at my first Warped Tour... when the only thing that mattered was how much fun I could pack into one epic day). Existentialism aside, this album is awesome and you should be buying it right now. Or at least check it out on the MYSPACE. Your life will be better after. Promise.