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I CAN BE INDIE TOO
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“Wake Up (Lily I Love You…)” – Wakey!Wakey!
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WAKEY!WAKEY!
– Member/s: Michael Grubbs & co.
– Genre: Adult Alternative/Alt-pop/Indie
– Location/Formed: Richmond, VA, USA/2007
– Album/s
“WAKE UP (LILY I LOVE YOU…)” in a NUTSHELL: Alternative rockers and fascinatingly/curiously named Wakey!Wakey! have nabbed the Indie spot on this week’s blog, even though their new hit single, “Wake Up (Lily I Love You…)” is more pop than anything else. The Michael Grubbs-fronted single is anthemic, catchy, and all-around euphonic, featuring a hard-hitting, modern pop beat and sleekly stripped back verses. The band has been on the indie-pop-rock fringe for years now, but with many of the tracks on their new album Salvation, such as our pick “Wake Up”, Wakey!Wakey! is steadily making a name for themselves, and will surely continue to gain momentum.
SOUNDSIMILAR: “Overwhelmed” – Wakey!Wakey!; “Gone To Heaven” – Ryan Star; “Thunder Clatter” – Wild Cub
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AND THE BEAT GOES ON
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IMOGEN HEAP
– Member/s: Imogen Jean Jane Heap
– Genre: Electronica/Indie-Pop/Singer-Songwriter
– Location/Formed: Havering, East London, UK/1997
– Album/s
“RUN-TIME” in a NUTSHELL: Imogen Heap never fails to astound me. Her latest album, Sparks, is due out in a few short weeks (can’t wait for my DELUXE BOX SET!!), and the most recent promotional single is “Run-Time.” The track was originally conceptualized as a running app that syncs to your GPS and varies the tempo of the song based on your pace (!), but here we get a glimpse of the non-varying album version. Fans of Imogen will most likely note that “Run-Time” is reminiscent of some of her older music, aka tracks from Speak for Yourself, as it is replete with more electronic beats and manipulations than some of her other recent releases. Dense and atmospheric, “Run-Time” has a cinematic appeal that will satisfy old listeners and intrigue new ones, and signals great – might I even say epic? – things to come from the new album!
SOUNDSIMILAR: “Headlock” – Imogen Heap; “So:Lo” – Kate Havnevik; “You Will Be Mine” – Lenka
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POP CONFESSION
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THE SCRIPT
– Member/s: Danny O’Donoghue, Mark Sheehan, Glen Power
– Genre: Alternative/Pop Rock
– Location/Formed: Dublin, Ireland/2001
– Album/s
“SUPERHEROES” in a NUTSHELL: The Script herald the arrival of their fourth studio album, No Sound Without Silence, with a new, “ultra catchy” (self-proclaimed) single “Superheroes.” Akin to previous tracks like “Hall of Fame”, “Superheroes” is piano-led, heavily percussive, and genuinely emotive, at least lyrically speaking. With an intriguing back-and-forth narrative between verses, the track is four minutes of awesome European pop prowess, and should be in contention for the radio’s favorite late-summer anthem.
SOUNDSIMILAR: “Hall of Fame (feat. Will.i.am)” – The Script; “Can’t Stop” – OneRepublic; “Learn to Love Again” – Lawson
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SWEET DREAMS (ARE MADE OF THIS)
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DANA BUOY
– Member/s: Dana Janssen
– Genre: Electronic/Indie-Pop/Experimental Alternative
– Location/Formed: Akumal, Mexico/2010
– Album/s
“PREACHER” in a NUTSHELL: The real question is: where has Dana Buoy, aka Dana Janssen, been all these years? The answer: he’s been biding his time, crafting excellent, under-the-radar indie-pop tracks, and has finally decided to unleash them on the general populace in a wash of ingenious, catchy sounds. With a distinctive style that has been carefully and craftily honed, Buoy’s new 5-song EP will blow your socks off. My favorite track of the bunch is the gloriously whimsical synthpop stunner “Preacher”, which features everything you could want in modern indietronica, including electronically drenched choruses, summery hooks, and impressively well-balanced production. Make sure to check out Dana Buoy now before he blows up (in a good way) – you won’t regret it.
SOUNDSIMILAR: “So Lucky” – Dana Buoy; “Burn Out” – Denny White; “Symphonies” – Dan Black
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OLD RELIABLE
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“Room For Happiness (feat. Skylar Grey) (Kaskade’s ICE Mix)” – Kaskade
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KASKADE
– Member/s: Ryan Raddon
– Genre: EDM/House/Progressive House/Electro House
– Location/Formed: Chicago, Illinois, USA/1989
– Album/s
“ROOM FOR HAPPINESS (FEAT. SKYLAR GREY) (KASKADE’S ICE MIX)” in a NUTSHELL: Kaskade, in many ways, is like a precursor to Zedd – both are extremely talented classical musicians/composers who tried their hands at being DJs/producers, and became insanely popular forthwith. What’s specifically awesome about them, and what is showcased on Kaskade’s stripped back version of “Room for Happiness”, is their ability to reinvent their popular club tracks as hauntingly personal and classically-fueled acoustic tracks. Skylar Grey’s ethereal voice is perfectly suited for this strings-led re-imagining, which is as gorgeous as it is spooky, and never fails to be an inspiring listen.
SOUNDSIMILAR: “Llove (feat. Haley) (Kaskade’s ICE Mix)” – Kaskade; “Ticking Time Bomb” – Skylar Grey; “Spectrum (feat. Matthew Koma) (Acoustic)” – Zedd
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SINGER/SONGWRITER
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BEAR’S DEN
– Member/s: Andrew Davie, Kev Jones, Joey Haynes
– Genre: Folk/Acoustic/Indie Folk/Singer-Songwriter
– Location/Formed: London, UK/2012
– Album/s
“ELYSIUM” in a NUTSHELL: Most of the hype revolving around “Elysium” has to do with the controversial music video, but as this is a music blog at heart, I’ll just focus on the nuts and bolts of the song itself. We last heard Bear’s Den singing about one type of love on “Agape”, but now the scope is slightly different, focusing instead on that transition between childhood and adulthood which involves carving out an identity in the midst of a whole host of changes and challenges. As the track is lyrically quite personal, the accompanying production is, out of necessity, softer than on previous releases, full of shimmering plucked guitar lines and a hauntingly powerful brass melody. “Elysium” builds and builds for three minutes, climaxing in a wondrous swirl of vocal harmonies, vivacious instrumental lines, and a rousing beat, all of which contribute to this being one of my favorite singer-songwriter tracks featured on the blog in quite some time.
SOUNDSIMILAR: “Agape” – Bear’s Den; “Tiderays” – Volcano Choir; “Let It Go” – Fossil Collective
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PICK OF THE WEEK
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FINK
– Member/s: Fin Greenall, Tim Thornton, Guy Whittaker
– Genre: Singer-Songwriter/Alternative Pop Rock
– Location/Formed: Bristol, England/1993
– Album/s
“LOOKING TOO CLOSELY” in a NUTSHELL: Every musician has his or her own way of conveying emotion in a song. For some, it involves vocal lines dripping with feeling and meaning; for others, such as Fink, emotionally poignant messages are communicated through the juxtaposition between heavy lyrics and a relaxed, almost casual delivery. “Looking Too Closely” is an acutely powerful song in many ways, but that emotional energy is thrown into stark relief by the almost dispassionate way in which Greenall sings. Much like the previous track on this playlist, “Looking Too Closely” starts off as a stripped back, subtly urgent acoustic song, but quickly realizes its full musical potential and morphs into a raw and epic single, replete with what feels like barely-veiled aggression and a hypnotic sort of passion. Climactic finales provide an epilogue to the song, which leaves you, dear listener, with only one option – press the repeat button and let the beauty that is “Looking Too Closely” wash over you once again.
SOUNDSIMILAR: “This Is the Thing” – Fink; “Thicket” – Phillip Phillips; “First Fires (feat. Grey Reverend)” – Bonobo
Thanks for READLISTENING!
Want to listen to all of these songs at once? Check out my YouTube Playlist for this SoundWave!
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