Tag Archives: Pop

The Dunwells are Doing Just Fine

3 Oct

The Dunwells

Every band goes through a point early in their career when they must make a decision on whether or not their music is worth being pursued. It’s a dreaded decision.

That point in the Dunwells’ young career came when the well ran dry and they were without consistent shows. A fortuitous UK tour, an invite to perform at the Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis (which they took advantage of and flew in across the pond for despite their lack of funds), and the subsequent winning of the ‘break-out band’ title at the conference, turned around the favor of the British folk band, and since then, dare I say, they are doing quite well.

The Dunwells are one of the more intriguing bands I have profiled in a while. They display an authentic brand of organic Americana (despite their Leeds roots) and their powerful harmonies trump folk contemporaries like Mumford and Sons. The band also demonstrates a keen interest in creating variety in their music. Acoustic ballads much akin to Justin Nozuka or even Eric Hutchinson are followed by toe-tapping, riff-smashing Tom Petty-like songs. If I have one criticism with several folk bands today, it is with their lack of variety. The Dunwells crush that convention and then let their skillful harmonies do the rest of the talking.

The band was formed by Joseph and David Dunwell, two brothers and former solo performers, in October of 2009. They recruited friends and local musicians to complete their band, eventually ending up with a lineup that consisted of them, Jonny Lamb (drums), David Hanson (lead guitar), and Jonny Lamb’s cousin Rob Clayton (bass). They released their debut single (“Elizabeth” – below) in 2010 and it achieved moderate chart success. Eventually, they were recognized for all the skills mentioned above. It just so happened it came by way of former Cutting Crew keyboardist Tony Moore, who spotted the band and invited them to the folk festival in the United States which then led to them being signed by Austin, Texas-based label, Traffic Records.

The Dunwells released their sweet debut Blind Sighted Faith on February 14, 2012. They are now making their rounds touring, and recently were showcased on the Jay Leno Show (their television debut) in August of this year.

This is a great sample of why I am so high on this band. This is one of those acoustic ballads I mentioned before. At first listen, I was blown away by the Backstreet Boys harmonies. Seriously, they are that smooth. But do you know what’s scary? There are no effects added to this piece. This is purely acoustic. They are naturally this talented. The song itself is soothing and constructed well. The vocal interplay later in the song is fresh and skillful. It is actually difficult to not like this song.

And then BOOM. You are hit square in the face by a song that you could swear is by another band (until you hear the harmonies). The blues-saturated, powerful folk/rock song features instrumental breakdowns, vocal repetition, and a damn effect-driven electric guitar solo. It is an example of a band that knows hard work, exasperation, and, well, good music. No, great music. The inter-connectedness and fortitude supporting the band is refreshing, and I am excited to hear more from them in the future. This is most certainly a band to watch.

Find out more about the band by following their Facebook or Twitter. You can also check out their website

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You Need Various Hands to Throw A Party

13 Aug

Note: Bands of Summer Part II is up and running. Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to go through my backlog of new bands that are on my list for features. Get ready to learn about some hot new bands, and become a music hipster – know cool before they were cool!

Various Hand’s debut EP guarentees you that This Party Will Be Fun, and if you are into fast-paced, inventive pop/rock similar to Maroon Five you will have a good time at Jeff Nations’ party. Nations, the lead vocalist and instrumentalist – he plays and sings everything, released this energetic debut in November of 2011, and it has since launched the band in rotation on 300+ college radio stations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Nations has signed licenses with 14 TV networks including MTV, VH1 and Discovery for possible placement in those networks’ programs.

The EP plays quickly, each song a mover devoted to get you up on your feet and singing along. It’s upbeat, anthemic quality is heavy on basic chord progressions and rapid drum beats, simple but refreshing. It’s a bouncy, fun, uncomplicated, and concise release.

“Blame It On The Night” combines a scratchy guitar riff with a foot-tapping rhythm and loyal bass line.

Check out more:

– Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter

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It All Sounds the Same – Pop Imitation

30 Jul

Only three chords to go

Are you one of those people who think all of the songs on the Top 20 sound alike? Well, you may just be right. A team of Spanish researchers explored the extensive Columbia-born Million Song Dataset, a consolidation of one million songs of the last 50-or-so years into data bits, and found that music today has gotten louder and blander. Such plangent pablum can do a real doozy on your ears and your faith in the progression of music.

As the researchers told Reuters, “In particular, we obtained numerical indicators that the diversity of transitions between note combinations — roughly speaking, chords plus melodies — have consistently diminished in the last 50 years.”

You see, the problem is not so much the lack of creativity in music, but the minimal desire for anything different. I refuse to condemn the music industry for putting out the same junk over and over again, because that is the music making them money. If we as a collective music listening public demanded more create tuneage, we would get it. But that is long gone. Mainstream has turned away from anything different. To have a hit song today that will repeat on the radio around 15 times an hour, you need a simple, singable, loud song.

What caused this gradual “dumbing down” of pop music? I’m not sure. But sometime after around the early 70s, the mainstream stuff just started get worse and worse as a whole. Yes, there are always outliers. Even some well-written, creative pieces today slip through the seemingly impenetrable wall of uncreative song production and hit the charts. I will say, though, it is happening less and less.

All this talk about music copy cat syndrome got me in the mood for a little basic chord theory. It’s been a longstanding joke among guitarists that an individual can learn just four chords on the guitar and impress members of the opposite sex with sweet renditions of hundreds of songs. When we talk about that, the chord progression we are discussing is the insanely catchy I-IV-vi-IV progression, one of the oldest tricks in guitar book. The chords in this progression change by key but some popular examples are C – G – Am – F and D – A – Bm – G, the latter of which is used in the video I am about to show you below.

This is Axis of Awesome, an Australian comedy/music trio, that, in their song “Four Chords,” sample more than 40 songs that follow the same basic chord progression. “Four Chords” is an excellent example of what we discussed above. And, the singer looks a bit like Jack Black.

Go try it out for yourself. Turn on the popular music station in your area and see if you can pick out the basic chords being used. Because, let’s be honest, it may be the ones used in the video above. Oh, and don’t forget to turn it up. There you have it. The formula to create a great pop song. Add in a lyric about love, parties or loving to party, and you are set.

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Kesha and Rihanna: The Debate Continues

19 Mar

Hey everyone,

Happy friggin’ Friday! Couldn’t have come sooner, I think.

Any who, I’d like to tip my hat to Rihanna this week…her latest single Rude Boy topped the Billboard chart at #1, making her the first female in the US to have six singles landing the top spot since 2000. Overall, I really dig Ri’s newest album, Rated R. I think it’s a great improvement and departure from her previous body of work, which was mostly generic sounding stuff straight out of the pop factory.

Ah yes, but between the Chris Brown fiasco and legal troubles with her personal trainer,  Rihanna is well acquainted with controversy. The last question being over the originality of the music video  for Rude Boy.

Rude Boy is a stand out amongst Ri’s others, complete with colorful collages of eye-popping graphics and animal prints. Also, the men she seems to be wooing look like they were cast straight from the shuffleboard deck of a cruise ship. If you somehow get bored just watch the singer frantically pretend to know how to play the drums; it’s a joy for all of the senses.

Nonetheless, there have been murmurings that Rihanna’s video may have borrowed a bit too much from MIA, an artist known for her gritty and over the top graphic art.

Here’s MIA’s video for the single Boyz…

No matter the similarities, last time I checked there was no set trademark on a style of expression… but I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

The second order of business came to me during midterms week.  You know, midterms week? That time of year when I sit rigidly in my little booth at the library, drooling at the wall and listening to blatantly bad music to stay conscious? And I’m talking really bad music folks, old school too. Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, N’sync and many others I’m too embarrassed to mention.

Most recently the artist Ke$ha joined the ranks on my delightfully bad music play list. Her album Animal was all the buzz this year, as her single Tik Tok penetrated clubs and mini-malls everywhere.

As I engaged in my self-deprecation of cramming and musical enjoyment, I managed to shed some of my Ke$ha related shame. Sure, lyrics such as “I dont really care where you live at, just turn around boy and let me hit that” probably don’t make much of a contribution to the greater culture.

But what I like about Ke$ha is that she’s honest about who she is, and what kind of music she puts out. She isn’t trying to be something she’s not and she puts forth no false advertising over the dubious quality of her work.  The equivalent of sugary junk food, her songs are meant for pure, albeit trashy, fun. Nevertheless, too much junk food can be bad for your diet, so Maybe Ke$ha should be just played at the club or gym–not on the car radio when my mother is present.

So is Ke$ha all in good fun, or a real step down for the music industry?

Heres Ke$ha’s latest single, Blah Blah Blah

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