Jenny Lewis

November 8th, 2008 by Pete

So Jenny Lewis has been doing her thing for a while now - solo, with the Watson Twins, and with her band Rilo Kiley. She’s also a former child actor who moved on to the righteous musical path.

But it took me until last week to finally discover her.

It all started when I stumbled across the video of “Rise Up With Fists”, a song from her 2006 debut solo album ‘Rabbit Fur Coat‘ (with the Watson Twins). The video is a parody of the old C&W variety show Hee Haw, and also features Sarah Silverman. I’m not sure if it’s from Sarah’s show or if it’s a music video of its own.  But suffice it to say that I’ve watched this video about 50 times over the past week or so.

A couple days ago, I was watching it, and looked behind me to see my kindergarten age daughter transfixed as well. She now proudly states that her three favorite artists are “Gogol Bordello, Led Zeppelin, and Jenny Lewis”.  Never mind the fact she thinks Led Zeppelin is Jack Black, because “The Immigrant Song” was in ‘School of Rock’. But that’s quite a top three for a girl about to turn 5.

But back to Jenny Lewis. I love the folksy/indie/country vibe she exudes. I love her stage presence (watch her recent Letterman performance below). I love the effortlessness and clean quality of her singing voice. And face it, she’s pretty easy on the eyes too.

Here’s “Rise Up With Fists”

And here’s Jenny and her band with Elvis Costello, from last Monday’s Late Show with David Letterman. The song is “Carpetbaggers”, from her most recent album, ‘Acid Tongue‘, which came out a couple months back. This is a country-rock barnburner. I love this tune. And like I said, the presence she exudes…. Great stuff.

Me gusto Jenny Lewis!

Jenny Lewis.com | MySpace

Posted in Indie, Rock n' Folk | 1 Comment »

Take a Hike

November 2nd, 2008 by Pete

This one comes to us from Omaha’s Thunder Power. This Super Tuesday, they’ll be releasing their debut effort, ‘Love Yourself’, on Saddle Creek Records.

This one’s called “Take a Hike”, and it’s pretty damn infectious, if you ask me.

“Take a Hike” Thunder Power from Lindsay Trapnell on Vimeo.

Thunder Power’s MySpace page.

Posted in Indie, Video | No Comments »

Arriving at Fort Nightly

October 21st, 2008 by Pete

A tip o’ the hat to Last.fm’s recommendation engine, which graciously passed White Rabbits’ “Fort Nightly” through my ears last night.  There’s something exotic - nay, sexy, my friends! - about this song. Maybe it’s the multirhythmic quality that drives the song. And by multirhythmic I mean White Rabbits employ two drummers. Bang Bang!

And the piano interlude at 01:28 make me think of a smoky French ballroom, where a Scarlett Johanssen-esque figure emerges through an ornate 15 foot archway, a glass of champagne in her hand - her gaze seductively fixed on you - er - I mean me. She walks up to me, leans into my ear - her perfume intoxicating - and whispers: “That’ll be $8″.

I hand her a ten, say “Keep the change” and hand the glass to my even sexier wife. [Editor's Note: Hey, the Mrs. reads my posts. I'm not stupid, you know!!]

Photo credit: Lucy Hamblin

Great tune. Five stars. What a first impression!

White Rabbits - Fort Nightly (mp3) - from their 2007 (and latest) album Fort Nightly

Links: Official Site | MySpace

Posted in Indie | 2 Comments »

Band of Horses on Morning Becomes Eclectic

October 3rd, 2008 by Pete

Okay, yes, I am in a rather obsessive Band of Horses phase at the moment. And I feel the need to gather any embeddable BoH action and post it on my site so I can refer to it in 50 years when I’m an 88 year old geezer with a hankering to show my grandchildren one of my all time faves.

This is just over a year old, from KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic.

Posted in Indie, Rock n' Folk, band of horses | 1 Comment »

Pomegranates are good for you

September 2nd, 2008 by Kelly

I have a love/hate relationship with my city: I love to hate it and I hate to love it. One of the things I do love about this place is that, on occasion, Cincinnati can produce some pretty amazing musicians. Like one of my current favorite bands, Pomegranates.

Even though these guys are local, and play out a fair amount, I hadn’t managed to catch them live until earlier this summer when they opened for Ra Ra Riot (also amazing) at The Gypsy Hut here in Cincinnati. My first thought during their set was, “these boys are adorable!” I don’t know if that’s necessarily the image they’re going for, but it’s the truth.

Adorableness aside, they are charismatic, talented performers and have put out some incredible music. Reviews I’ve read have compared them to early Modest Mouse and Death Cab for Cutie (two bands I’ve been over for a long time, so I find that kind of funny). I was completely blown away by them and when I learned that they were one of the openers for Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s a couple of weeks ago, that was enough to get me to haul my lazy ass down to that show, despite the fact that no one would go with me (Margot was good, too).

You can find pretty much everything you might want to know about them on their MySpace, their blog or on their label’s site (incidentally, they are labelmates with two of my favorite Chicago bands, Baby Teeth and All City Affairs). They are touring quite a bit this month, including dates with Ra Ra Riot, French Kicks, Headlights and stops at the Monolith Festival and the Midpoint Music Festival (which I have to miss because I’ll be at a conference for work…grrr!), so you should check them out if they’re coming to a city near you. Besides recommending you buy their stuff, I also suggest you download their woxy.com Lounge Acts (they have two).

Pomegranates - Whom/Who (mp3)

Pomegranates - We Could’ve Escaped, But No One Was Interested (mp3)

Posted in Indie, Rock | 2 Comments »

Conor Oberst’s Sausalito

August 30th, 2008 by Pete

With his new album, Conor Oberst is right back to the rootsy vibe he had going with Bright Eyes’ great album ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning‘. Conor recorded the album in Tepoztlán, Mexico (a town outside of Mexico City).

It’s this tune that suits my taste like hand to glove. It restores my faith in the man after watching his - umm - sub par job of sitting in with the Boss on “Thunder Road” early this year. All is forgiven.

we should move to Sausalito
living’s easy on a house boat
let the ocean rock us back and forth to sleep

in the morning with the sunrise
look in the water see the blue sky
as if heaven has been laid there at our feet

Conor Oberst - Sausalito (mp3)

Buy Conor’s brand new self-titled album: Conor Oberst

Oberst Linkage: Official Site | MySpace

Posted in Indie, Roots Rock | 1 Comment »

First Listen: Tea Leaf Green

July 23rd, 2008 by Michael

Recalling shades of perennial Ickmusic faves Band of Horses, Tom Petty, and Wilco, Bay Area band Tea Leaf Green landed in the inbox for a first listen of the first single from their new release Raise Up the Tent. Vivid and funky, the tune evokes the scents and sounds of summer. Produced by David Lowery (Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven, Counting Crows), if this is any indication of what’s on the rest of the record I can’t wait to hear it.

In the meantime check out the single with me.

Tea Leaf Green - Red Ribbons (MP3)

Buy Raise Up the Tent: Amazon | iTunes

Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace

The Tea Leaf Green is currently spreading the love across the country and the tour dates are after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Indie, Rock | 4 Comments »

Missed the Boat!

July 23rd, 2008 by Pete

Hearing a song like this makes me think I should own a lot more Modest Mouse. “Missed the Boat” is just a great song. And that’s James Mercer from the Shins providing the background vocals.

I’d post the Mp3, but this is Sony/BMG, and it’s Modest Mouse’s latest album. The internet police suspended my site a few weeks back, so I give you the YouTube video. Paranoid? A tad.

Sorry co-workers - our evil corporate web site blocker will ensure we don’t enjoy this quality tune from our office chairs.

Vid…

And hear the full track streamin’ on Last.fm.

ModestMouse.com

Posted in Indie, Video | 2 Comments »

Northern Exposure: Tagaq

July 15th, 2008 by Michael

Bizarre, diverse, expansive, extraordinary, sensual and provocative, the sophomore release Auk/Blood from Canadian artist Tagaq brings to mind a flurry of metaphors that all lead to the summation of a single word; Unique. As an experience I can only liken it to the first time I heard Sigur Rós or Dead Can Dance, stylistically this is profoundly and utterly unlike anything that I’ve ever heard before. There is a familiar quality in the textures, organic and primal and yet this is far from familiar. Dynamic to the point where you sometimes have to strain to discern the whisper, and intense to the point of rapture (go ahead and try not to get completely lost in the seduction of “Hunger”), Auk/Blood leaves no corner of the subconscious unturned.

Tagaq is vocalist/Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq Gillis, together primarily with violinist Jesse Zubot and featuring guest vocals from Mike Patton, rapper Buck 65 and beat box artist Shamik Bilgi. Auk/Blood is due to be released July 29^th - until then, check out the track “Fire ~ Ikuma (feat. Mike Patton)” and let us know your thoughts.

Sorry for the file mix up, but it should all be better now!

Tagaq - Fire ~ Ikuma (feat. Mike Patton) (MP3)

Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace

Posted in Indie, World | 2 Comments »

Levi Goes *Pop*

June 18th, 2008 by Gonzo

I was recently implored to check out Pop Levi, whose music was described to me as “Bowie meets Prince.” Ummm…sign me up!

Only a year after his first full length, The Return to Form Black Magick Party, Liverpool’s own Levi Pop is set to release a follow up this summer, titled Never Never Love. Surprisingly, the Bowie meets Prince descriptor is somewhat accurate, although there’s a good helping of electro pop thrown in as well. It also reminded me a bit of what I’ve heard from Alan Wilkis.

I’ve listened to the album a few times now, and continue to enjoy it more with each listen, particularly the dance-oriented tracks. Here are two of my favorites:

Pop Levi - “Wannamama”

And the video for the title track, Never Never Love:

Never Never Love is slated for a July 15 release, but it appears that it will only be available as an import for now. But keep an eye out - I’m sure a US release (digital or physical) will follow.

Levi Pop (MySpace)

Posted in BritPop, Funk, Indie, Pop, Rock, Video | 2 Comments »