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Get Some Scars with Lux Lisbon

25 Feb

luxlisbon

To sum up Lux Lisbon in a few words, this is music you just want to keep listening to. Lux Lisbon’s unique brand of classic rock inspired Indie power pop is electrifying, stimulating, and infectious. The 5-piece band met in Nottingham University and has been creating sprawling melodies and anthemic harmonies since its inception. With a sound like the Killers and Muse, Lux Lisbon is powerful and they are not afraid to demonstrate it.

The band is made up of Stuart Rook – Vocals, Songwriting, Piano, Synths; Charlotte Austen – Vocals, Bass; Alastair Jones – Guitar; Johnny Colgan – Drums; Rob D’Ath – Guitar, Vocals. The band saps the full sound out of all of its instruments and vocals to create a theatrical, Spector-like wall-of-sound.

The band will release an EP called Get Some Scars on March 25 of this year, and below is a sampling of the four tracks from the EP. They will be touring the UK to support the release.

“Get Some Scars” begins with neat harmonies that transition into a steady beat. The vocals are spot on; a Brandon Flowers-like croon with deeper inflections. The chorus, featuring an amalgamation of voices, hooks the listener. Heck, the entire song has that effervescent, hooky quality that encompasses good pop songs. It makes you want to hit repeat when the song ends. But before it does, pay close attention to the skillful vocal layering at around 3:30 (“when I get to the gutter). Organized, contagious, and cool.

“Bullingdon Club” is heavier. The song is certainly more Muse-like. It is an ardent, Matchbox 20-like, heavy-hitter with all the qualities of a great power rock hit: effective electric guitar, tremendous vocal, well-placed synth, fast-paced percussion, and moving bass. This is one heck of a composition.

Keep track of Lux Lisbon: Website, Facebook, Twitter

 

 

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The Wizard of Norway – Christoffer Øien

20 Feb

Christoffer Øien

What kind of music can you expect from a 25-year-old singer/songwriter from a small fishing village in Norway? Did you guess enchanting folk with a hint of haunting strings laid over an enigmatic vocal? You did? Wow, good guess!

Christoffer Øien is a true find, and in a burgeoning musical world, he represents a perspicacious musician with tremendous ability that should be recognized by a global audience. Øien’s music is expansive folk; it mixes the style of some of Joe Purdy’s slower, lugubrious pieces with a mystical Radiohead flavor. The sound is bewitching, and one wants to continue listening to the wizard of Norway.

Let’s take a listen to two songs; the first a disturbing lullaby called “Sandman.”

The song is, well, creepy. It’s creepy in a good way. Øien clearly wants to elicit the feeling of an unsettling lullaby. Øien combines drawn out strings with light keys and acoustic guitar. The music culminates in a beautiful combination of strings that soothe the listener. His lyric is imaginative, and he sings such distinct lines as “it feels like rain, tastes like wine” and “it sounds like pain, but it’s all in my mind” Eerie and oddly enticing.

“The Wizard” begins with a plucked acoustic guitar and transitions to Øien’s unmistakable vocal. The song, like “Sandman” combines several influences, and, in some parts, almost takes the form as a gloomier early Coldplay composition. I can continue to search for Øien’s style in other musicians, but it may be wise to simply describe him as refreshingly original and tell you all to listen to more of his first album, Monster.

Check out his website, Facebook

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Musical Autonomy – Atom Orr

18 Feb

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Christopher Hoffee’s journey in the enigmatic realm of music has eclipsed 20 years and shows no sign of slowing. Hoffee has played in three bands since 1990, but has achieved a level of comfort as a solo artist, Atom Orr. His most recent release, Galaxies With Long Yellow Curtains, came out last summer and features an intriguing collection of alt/rock pieces.

Atom Orr demonstrates an engaging pre-Indie style that focuses on captivating melodies and creative lyric. His maturity shines through the pieces, and the diversity of his music is refreshing; he strikes a pleasant combination between the Josh Joplin Group and REM. The music though remains fresh, a testament to Hoffee’s ability to take elements from the current musical climate and meld them into his own music; a collective autonomy – one born from perspicacious musicality and capability.

“Dive” is my favorite track from the album. It begins with subdued keys and percussion behind Hoffee’s gritty but dulcet voice. The space-like synth in the chorus helps the piece swoon well, and the strings create an ethereal aura that plays to the songs melodic efficacy. Simply, it is one damn enjoyable song, and you should check it, and Atom Orr, out!

Learn more about Atom Orr at the website.

Skinny Lister Rolls Over Roseland

10 Feb
Skinny Lister at Roseland Ballroom in NYC

Skinny Lister at Roseland Ballroom in NYC

Before the epic snowstorm barreled into New York City like an out-of-control freight train, there was the reckless musical freight train of Skinny Lister. Performing last weekend at Roseland Ballroom in support of Flogging Molly’s Green 17 tour, Skinny Lister succeeding in doing what every opening act tries to do; they enlivened the crowd. Enlivened is too calm a word. Skinny Lister vivified the crowd. They galvanized the crowd. They downright shocked most of the crowd. As Lister’s set proceeded, more and more people found their way to the immense wooden floor, not because Flogging Molly was soon to be playing, but because the band on stage was embarking on the radical quest of taking the roof off the venue.

Roseland Ballroom is a homey, multi-purpose venue in NYC’s Theatre District. It’s a spacious venue with a roomy dance floor and two elevated VIP areas (one main-floor, one mezzanine) that hang to the sides of the main dance floor. The Roseland consistently gives off the oversized wooden lodge feel, and sound is effectively reverberated. Not like that would be a problem for Skinny Lister.

As you might have read in my initial review of Skinny Lister (Read Here), the band’s music is “bubbly and brainy, smart and sassy, powerful and…well…powerful!” When performing live, as I can now attest to, you need to quadruple the above praise, especially the powerful mention. Skinny Lister packs a punch. The band combines classic English folk songs with a modern folk flare, and they do this with infectious ardor that draws crowds in. Halfway through the band’s set, the whole of the crowd was dancing jigs and shouting with the band in a communal alcohol-aided throb. It was truly a sight to see. Plus, in unprecedented fashion, the upright bassist did a stage dive and crowd surfed WITH his monstrous upright bass. The kicker was he didn’t stop playing.

That’s the kind of show Skinny Lister put on. Energetic. Fun. Incredibly satisfying. It is no wonder why Skinny Lister has become masters of the road. More people should go out and see this exciting folk band. And, with news that they will be taking part in Coachella this year, it is safe to say more and more people are excited about this English band. Below are a few videos I shot at the show. Enjoy!

Camera2 Just About Made It

31 Jan

Cool video Thursday! Camera2, a Brooklyn-based electronic-Indie collaboration, released their first album in 2012 and embarked on a project to film a video for each song – a rather daunting task. The videos all center around a precocious nine-year-old boy, who, in “Just About Made It” (above), puts on his kleptomaniac hat and leads a foot-chase all culminating in…what, you thought I’d tell you before you watched the video?

Let’s give some credit to the song, as well. It’s a percussion-driven, electro-driven piece with a hybrid 80s sound. Camera2 combines these elements with multifarious instrumentation that drench the track with pleasant sound. And make sure to stick around to the end not only because of the video’s conclusion but also the creative transformation of the song.

Camera2 is Producer-songwriter-vocalist – Andy Chase (Tahiti 80/Juliana Hatfield/Smashing Pumpkins), Guitarist – Michael Jurin (Stellastarr), Bassist – Aric Gillis (Teenage Kick) and Drummer – Mike Williams (Teddybears).

“Just About Made It” is the first single from Camera2’s debut EP, and the creative video was directed by Josh Stoddard.

Check out more from Camera2 at their website, and connect with them at Facebook and Twitter

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