Here is a video of Phosphorescent performing "At Death, A Proclamation" off their 2007 release Pride. This live version features a nice jam at the end that isn't featured on the album version. Since I like this live version much more, you can download it below along with a track off the new Phosphorescent album titled Here's To Taking It Easy, which is due out May 11.
Phosphorescent- At Death, A Proclamation (Live) [Download]
Phosphorescent- It's Hard To Be Humble (When You're From Alabama) [Download]
Power Animal is not just a band, more like a group of "outside the box" musical phenoms. Power Animal doesn't follow the traditional guitar, drums, vocals blueprint we are so used to, instead they create intricate landscapes using: xylophone, violin, cello, melodica, keyboard, whistles, various brass instruments.... just about anything they can get their hands on really. There are a lot of things going on in Power Animal's music, and it is composed very well considering the band basically started out as the solo work of high school drop out Keith Hampson. Yes, you will read or hear something along these lines a lot as Power Animal continues grow, "Power Animal is the work of Keith Hampson, who at the age of sixteen dropped out of high school and began recording what is now known as People Songs." Sure this is an interesting fact, but not the key information you need to know about Power Animal.
However one thing you should know is how spectacular their live shows are. I got to see them last night at Little Hamilton Collective, and their set was unbelievable. First off, Little Hamilton Collective is about as underground as it gets in Nashville. It's a non-profit warehouse space for local artist and self coined "free thinkers" that is located in South Nashville near Belmont, and a very short walk away from Purple Heys (for those of you who enjoy that kind of thing). So, Little Hamilton Collective is a very small venue, that housed maybe forty people for this show. I kinda felt like I was watching this show in my friends basement, and the poorly shot picture I took from my phone supports this thought. As for Power Animal and their performance, well as I said before it was spectacular. Now I was a little nervous at the start of the set when one of their sound boards went haywire and made or horrible piercing sound at the crescendo of their second song which caused them to stop playing completely while they fixed everything, but soon they picked up right where they left off (literally) and the rest of the show was perfect. The band played in perfect harmony and rhythm even during the songs with odd time signatures. The best thing about Power Animal is their instrumental diversity. At one point two of the band members were sitting indian style across from each other on the floor playing xylophones in front of the crowd, kind of like a dueling banjos thing going on, but a thousand times cooler cause it was dueling xylophones. Simply, Power Animal is a group of very talented artist making very interesting music.
Power Animal is one of the greatest bands I've heard this year, and truly a breath of fresh air in what can sometimes be a bland indie genre. I highly recommend this band, and if all possible check them out live. Below there is a "music video" for "Copernicus" and a download of the song "Dear My Body I'm Not that Body, Dear Keith Hampson I'm Not Your Name. You Are A Shaky Boat With A Curse Upon It, But I Need You To Get To The Other Side Of The Lake" Yes this is the title of the song, and totally worth its length.
Here is one of the videos from the homemade dvd the band gave out to supporters of the band last night. If you actually do what is directed to do in the beginning of this video, then you might trip pretty hardcore. (as I did when I got home from the show) I suggest that you check it out for that reason, and because "Copernicus" is a great song.
So this afternoon I was planning on doing a post about a spectacular band called Power Animal, but after a few minutes into the writing of this post I noticed something very disheartening. Dropbox (the server who host all of my mp3's) has suspended my account because there's to much traffic from people downloading my mp3's, and now that means all of the mp3's on this blog no longer work. So here I am, basically "Up a shit creek", as some of my southern patrons might say. I mean I had a feeling that this would happen one day, but I was too lazy to find another server, and now I'm paying for it. Now I begin the search for another server and the long process of transferring all of the current files to the new server.
Also to all of you who feel my pain and want to help me out feel free to send me and email for recommendations for a new file host, preferably a free one since I am a poor college student. Anyways, bear with me while I get all this shit sorted out. Sorry for the inconvenience.
The Tallest Man On Earth- The Wild Hunt (April 13)
Kristian Matsson is one of the best folk singers around. His ferocious vocals have made him one the most unique voices since Dylan. On this track he sits at the piano and tears into your soul with a heavenly sound.
Broken Social Scene- Forgiveness Rock Record (May 4)
There are always a few butterfly's when one of my favorite bands releases a new album. I'm always afraid that they will release a terrible record and make me hate them, but this song helps kills those feelings.
The solo album from Sigur Ros frontman Jónsi is just around the corner and luckily Jónsi has been teasing us with live performances every once and a while. The latest was his performance on BBC radio 1 today where he played "Go Do" and believe it or not a cover of "Time To Pretend" by MGMT. I have a very good feeling that this album is gonna be amazing.
I've been on a little bit of a folk kick lately, listening to the obvious folk artist like Dylan and Cohen, but also exploring the strong lineup of current folk artist including: The Tallest Man On Earth, The Cave Singers, The Low Anthem, and Freelance Whales (who intensified my folk kick after an astounding show at The End last week). But the latest addition to my folk library hails from Iceland, and has easily found a home in my heart.
Seabear is from Iceland, but they don't sound what you would expect a band from Iceland to sound like, i.e. Sigur Ros, mum, OlafurArnalds. Actually they sound like they come from the hills of East Tennessee and North Carolina, but with a hint of Ambient sound that you would recognize from Icelandic music. All the vocals are in English, so you don't have to worry what "E sigh O" means, which sounds really good but I wonder how different Seabear would sound with native lyrics.
Overall Seabear is a folk gem that is under the radar of most, but worth every ones time.
Here are two bands that have sparked a flame in my heart. First, The Middle East soothe me with folk charm and breathtaking harmony. They deliver luscious acoustic melodies that are hard to top; blend that with great vocal harmonies, and you've got a great band on the rise. Then, following Emeril Lagasse's motto, Young Jesus "kicks it up a notch!" These Chicago natives have rock in their blood, but their sound is not as plain as the genre has become. A fairly new band, with their first ep recently being released(which is also free by the way), they have a sound that will be making waves on the indie scene pretty soon.
Hope you like them, and hopefully I'll be able to stay on top of things and bring you some reviews for all these great albums that are set to release in the next couple of months. Enjoy your March Madness friends.
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