Hot Rumours presents their sound with unlimited effortlessness. Fueling the song’s sound, Run to Me, it carries the undertones of rock and roll, angst, and the spirit of authentic feelings. Hailing from Frankie Siragusa, most known for working with members of acclaimed groups such as The Decemberists, Reggie Watts, and REM, Hot Rumoursbrings the vocalist Aaron Ficchi’s sound into a genre of sophistication and the epitome of brilliant music making. Within the track, Run To Me,it carries deep metaphors as well with lyrics such as “everytime you wake up to someone else, you drive yourself alone”. While Run To Me gives us a glimpse into their debut EP, listeners will be thrilled to know that a West Coast exclusive tour will be in the works for summer, simply spreading the sound of Hot Rumoursto ears filled with anticipation.
It’s springtime in Australia, so winter’s most energetic music is going to come from that area for the next few months. First, I’ve found Fairchild, who provide power pop that is the appropriate amount of fun and drama to their lyrics. Their first single is “Arcadia,” with a funky accompanying video.
Where the toe-tapping rhythm meets drama in “Arcadia,” the rest of Fairchild’s latest EP, Sadako, follows suit. It builds into anthemic choruses, but something feels so familiar in them; I am reminded of the powerful chords on Coldplay’s Parachutes. “Outside” is nostalgic, but not for the past, for the present. It is full of emotion, as is what I find the strongest track on the EP, “Waiting For It”. The buzzing guitars and horse-trot rhythm; then the anthemic chorus comes in, meant to be whispered rather than shouted.
I also would like to share the story behind the title of their EP:
‘Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes’ was a book written by American author Eleanor Coerr and tells the story of a Japanese girl who was two years old when the devastating Hiroshima atomic bomb was dropped. She became very ill and was told of the legend if you make 1,000 paper cranes it can make you better. Feeling inspired by this story, a friend of vocalist Adam Lyons made him 1,000 paper cranes for good luck while he was at university. They hang above his bedroom, where the band recorded and produced the EP.”
I remember reading this book as a kid. I remember wanting to have those cranes hanging in my room. I picked up origami shortly after, but never with enough enthusiasm to make one thousand of anything. This was definitely a daydream I’ve had, where I would fold day and night until I had completed the task, and I would hang each one carefully from the ceiling, making sure to make them varying heights, as if they were all part of a flock mid-flight. I suppose this EP could be a sonic interpretation of that daydream, this nostalgia.
I have no doubt that Fairchild could be a crossover hit, on both mainstream and independent radio. It’s only a matter of getting people to pay attention.
Fairchild’s Sadako EP is out now. For more information, visit their website.
Jack Antonoff is no stranger to catchy music. Not many realize that the creator of 2014’s hands-down alt/rock summer anthem “Rollercoaster” is the same bespectacled musician stage-left to Nate Reuss in Fun’s 280 million views mega-hit “We Are Young.” He was also the lead singer-songwriter of the Indie staple Steel Train and has helped pen some recent tunes like “Brave” by Sara Bareilles and “Out of the Woods” by Taylor Swift. It is really no surprise that his less than a year old project Bleachers released its first album Strange Desire to immediate chart success in the summer. Now, as the weather grows colder (at least in the northeast), Bleachers is kicking butt on a nation-wide tour, and I still cannot get “I Wanna Get Better” out of my head.
Released back in February as the band’s first single, “I Wanna Get Better” is a jaunty ode to the innate human desire to get better. The song is carried by a sputtered piano riff over persistent percussion. Antonoff’s desperate whine carries verses of jumbled and creative lyrics to theatrical chorus’ where musicians literally stand on the “overpass screaming at the cars” and sing “I wanna get better.” The best part of the song is the “screaming” bridge that leads into a buzzy guitar solo that distorts on top of a whirlwind of sound. The song is brought back to reality by Green Day-like power chords and then swings right back to the catchy-as-hell chorus. Hey, we all want to get better, but this song does not have much room to grow.
Personally, I know I have to get better about posting more consistently. Life as a first-year teacher has been time consuming to say the least, and I want to take the opportunity to thank Zoe, who has done a magical job keeping the blog afloat. Stay tuned for more tunes as always!
Saints of Valory traverse a wide range of international influences and this is quite apt because the band’s music has rapidly disseminated to an eager international audience that has been consuming its upbeat alternative rock since the release of its incipient EP The Bright Lights in November 2010. Formed in Brazil in 2008, Saints of Valory is the product of a childhood friendship between Gavin Jasper (lead vocals/bass) and Godfrey Thomson (guitar/vocals), who pair awesome names with serious musical talent. Gerard Labou, a French drummer, was brought in by Thomson, and, craving a space to rehearse, the band of three contacted a well-travelled friend named Stephen Buckle, the band’s current keyboardist/vocalist, who had a small studio in his home in Texas, and relocated the operation to the Lone Star state.
After the release of its second EP in 2012, the band was recognized by Billboard as one of the Top Unsigned Artists in 2012, and it was quickly snatched up by Atlantic Records, where it released its label debut, Possibilities, last summer. The music has spread like wildfire. As I write this post, the band is currently touring the U.S. with Eric Hutchinson (coming to NY on May 19 at Irving Plaza), and it should come to no surprise that it is gaining new fans everywhere it goes. Good music is good music, and people recognize it quickly. Saints of Valory plays excellent tunes, and if you don’t believe me click play on the embedded videos below.
“Kids” begins with a drowned guitar and heavy percussion that saturate the listener in a full array of sound immediately. The vocal carries over the instrumental effortlessly. It is strong and matches the instrumental like macaroni goes with cheese. A full-bodied harmony introduces a neat riff. The rhythm calls out to bands like Airborne Toxic Event and Imagine Dragons. Saints of Valory’s harmony, though, is unique. It is almost choral – kind of like Bastille but less chanty – and it just bursts into a killer sing-along style that the listener cannot help but get into.
“Long Time Coming” has a cool, American Authors feel. The rhythm is infectious. This is perhaps the strongest component of Saints of Valory’s music – the rhythm. It’s toe-tapping, head-nodding, get on your feet and join the chorus, type of music. It is no surprise that the band has garnered a large collection of diverse music fans. The music is fun, exciting, and effervescent. It is just excellent alternative rock, and I cannot wait to witness the successful progression and growth of this band. You can track it to by visiting the band’s pages.
There are many reasons to like Airborne Toxic Event. As I have written in the past, the band plays an infectious alt/rock style that pulls influences from the 80s and mixes these influences with theatrical vocals and riffs. This amalgamation creates an intriguing aura of orchestral sound that echoes and pulses.
The music is also “smart” rock. It’s a neoteric genre. Let’s be honest; a lot of music today is, well, nescient – intellectually dumbed down for an audience that just wants to hear a consistent beat. That is not to say that the producers and creators of the music are unintelligent – they are simply playing to what will make money. But Airborne Toxic Event is different. The band is made up of uber-talented musicians who understand how to mix “smart” rock with infectious rhythms.
I initially became interested in the band because of lead vocalist Mikel Jollett. Jollett, a fiction and freelance writer, began seriously writing songs after a string of moribund events in his life. He named the band after a tremendous section of my favorite Don DeLillo book “White Noise.” The life-altering events that engendered the band’s creation are similar to “The Airborne Toxic Event” portrayed in DeLillo’s masterpiece. Thus, as a writer, Jollett’s lyrics are laden with symbolism and passion.
The Airborne Toxic Event, fresh off the release of its new album Such Hot Blood, will join a large Summerstage crowd in Central Park (5th Avenue and 72nd Street entrance) on June 18. Best of all – the concert is FREE. Yes, free as in no money. The band will be joined by The Calder Quartet, a LA-based string quartet, who have been called “outstanding” and “superb” by the New York Times. So, yeah, free Airborne Toxic Event show with The Calder Quartet in Central Park – you should probably come.
“The Fifth Day” is one of my favorite songs off of the new album. The song features one of my favorite Airborne Toxic Event elements. The music is almost subtle. While you can drown in the elaborate instrumentals and production, the music progressively rises and falls like waves before ultimately crescendoing. In this case, the music perfectly matches the melancholic lyric.
The Music Court 