Band to Watch: The Lumineers
An artificial layer continues to spread through the musical landscape that encompasses my listening experience. The rise of the low budget DIY approach in the independent music scene has paved acres of innovation, while embracing alternate forms of musical communication. The number of musicians that use drum machines and synthesizers to substitute band members mounts. As the electronic influence rises and machines slowly chip away at the human element of music, it grows more difficult to dig up a project that roots itself deep in the dirt of traditional Americana sound. While I appreciate the new direction of independent music, I find myself trying to break the earth for its missing authenticity. Luckily for me, I have cracked my shovel on a dependable band whose roots are deep in the stratum sound.
The Lumineers hail from Denver, CO and have shown that they treat tradition with a specific respect. Their songs ring with an authentic emotion that sends chills down my neck with each play. This band embraces the feeling of vulnerability as their songs are stripped to let the voice of Wesley Shultz shine through their surface. A sense of honesty lures me in, as it feel like I am being let in on a secret with each line. Track, “Ho Hey” highlights their return to the rustic while promoting the rich vocals of Shultz. This song resonates because it perfectly pairs sound with lyrics. Shultz pleads, “I belong with you, you belong with me, my sweetheart,” displaying his confident honesty. This track hangs on an acoustic guitar, tambourine, and back up vocals. While stripped and simple, Shultz’s powerful vocals create a mountain of sound. After each listen of “Ho Hey” I reflect on not only the elevation of this song, but also the future of The Lumineers.
The Lumineers will release their first full length LP on April 3. If you like what you have heard and need to continue your Lumineers fix make sure to check out their Daytrotter session.
Live in Indianapolis:
When: Friday – May 25, 2012
Where: Radio Radio
Tickets: $10-12 via MOKB Presents (On sale beginning March 30th)
Connect with The Lumineers via Facebook | Twitter
Written by Brett McGrath
Show Announcement: Zola Jesus – Contemporary Arts Center (Cincinnati)
One week from today Zola Jesus will be performing at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. Zola Jesus is the stage name of Nika Danilova, a 22-year-old Wisconsinite with Russian heritage who released her third studio album Conatus in late 2011. A solo act that sometimes plays her live shows with a backing band, her music is a hauntingly beautiful blend of rich synths and emotional, dark vocals that combine to bring a unique listening experience that feels like a mixture of Goth, opera, and minimalistic pop music. In a conversation with Interview Magazine, Nika describes her brand of sound philosophically saying, “Everything I do is a reflection of the duality within me. Musically, I really love things that are very synthetic and unnatural. And I also like the organic and human… the intrinsic, I guess. I always try to reconcile the dichotomy between the two and make it into something that is unique.”
The show is next Monday evening (2-20-12) at the Contemporary Arts Center in downtown Cincinnati. Buy Tickets for $13. Being at the CAC, the performance should have an added artistic visual element versus your normal concert venue experience that is sure to make this a memorable evening. Below you can check out a live performance of Zola Jesus performing “Poor Animal” courtesy of Seattle’s KEXP radio. Hope to see you there Cincinnati.
Connect with Zola Jesus via Facebook | Twitter
Written by Greg Dahman
Video: Kindness “Gee Up”
I enjoy music that is shrouded in mystery and for whatever reason the majority of it seems to come from Britain. Perhaps there’s a sense of privacy that still exists in the old homeland that doesn’t here. Or maybe it’s because we’re an ocean apart and things tend to trickle slower here from there. Or perhaps is just because the Brits make damn good music and don’t care very much for the American appeal to it. I don’t know what it is, but I know when I like something I hear.
Kindness is the latest Brit act to catch my ear. Maybe a one-man band ala Porcelain Raft, maybe not at all…this is a question even the Internet can’t seem to answer. All I know for sure is that it’s the project of Adam Bainbridge, and it’s some new disco funk. A few days ago he dropped a new video for his single “Gee Up”, a short but ridiculously good track that will leave you yearning for more. The video features an extremely awkward, yet hilariously funny, two-minute ending so be sure to stick around after the song ends for subtitles, shameless plugs, and witty one liners.
The debut album from Kindness is entitled World, You Need a Change of Mind and is due out on 3-19-12 courtesy of his own label Female Energy. Enjoy the weekend friends.
Connect with Kindness via MySpace
Written by Greg Dahman
Thought on Tracks 