Song of the Day

Archive for the ‘Alternative’ Category

Huggin & Kissin by Big Black Delta

Big Black Delta’s the name, and cruising through space to electronic music’s their game. The unsigned experimental indie electronica band out of Los Angeles, aka BBD, has kept it low profile this year with only one concert listed on their official BBD website for June 29th, like 3 hours ago, or still right now! The lack of live shows is probably because they’re hard at work laying out new mind expanding riffs in the studio this year. And to show their love for fans of pulsating and mind warping sounds, they’ve released tracks off their new EP for free, get some!

If you tap into their BBD Twitter page you’ll see their recent buzz build up for the show included a tweet about a London UFO sighting and earlier today a message to a friend who couldn’t make the show, rooting him on to get some 9u$$y action. Odd timing for writing this post I think. I’m feeling blessed to have them on my Song of the Day music blog. These guys are right up my wanna-be astrophysicist video game playing alley(way).

Did I mention they’ve got a free EP for download. Please take advantage! Download Big Black Delta’s EP.

Now for the deep and heavy on this electro pop group capable of producing orchestral soundtracks. Venezuelan-born Jonathan Bates, formerly of the Los Angeles band Mellowdrone, began his solo project Big Black Delta out of the desire to create a new kind of pop music. By purposefully doing everything slightly wrong in the studio, using any instrument available, and combining it with UFO folklore, the Big Black Delta project was born. BBD’s first release BBDEP1 is available to fans as a free download on their website through topspin and BBD is putting the finishing touches on a full length LP, BBDLP.

Apart from BBD, Bates teamed up with M83 to do a remix of Daft Punk’s “Fall” off the Tron Legacy Soundtrack and was featured on and did a remix of Sonioi’s track, “Houdini”. Bates also co-produced “Mountaineer” and “Lady Killer” for the band White Sea (with Morgan Kibby of M83) and often writes and performs with them.

More on this band coming soon. Haven’t had as much time as I wanted to this weekend to post a Song of the Day, but this indie band Tigers That Talked is amazing, and so I’ll come back and do a write-up soon.

These guys have crazy energy, in your face everything, and eternally ready to rock. New Politics fist fight song about lies sold by the establishment to the people is guaranteed to either piss you off or make you cheer them on. Either way, kick as music and just the right energy mix for this week’s Song of the Day set. Personally I’m on the side of people, not the governments that convince people to bomb other people. The thing that makes it tough for many people to understand is that the media in the US is heavily filtered and restricted by the US government, we have freedom of speech but the spectrum of discussion is limited by the 4 people that own 99% of all of the media, newspapers, magazines, and TV shows we absorb.

Anyway, check these guys out on their official New Politics website and listen to their tracks on the New Politics MySpace page.

Singer Songwriter Jo Hamilton’s music is light, playful, intimate, captivating, and fully featured. Her songs are anything but standard, each one introduces a variety of styles, intros, creative harmonies, instruments, and melodies. Her voice is reminiscent of Annie Lennox and Feist but with the creativity and playfulness of Bjork. One can only appreciate the artfulness of her music video and use of non-traditional instruments.

Jo Hamilton’s debut album “Gown” features this song along with several other journeys in sound and harmony that are sure to pleasantly surprise. Perhaps Jo’s eclectic style can be attributed to her multi-cultural and always traveling up-bringing which took her around the world to places that most people would never imagine could be combined together into one lifetime.

Take a look at this short film which covers the making of her album Gown to get a better feel for who Jo is and get a deeper glimpse into her enchanting world.

Jo’s album was released under the creative audiophile record label Poseidon Records out Birminham UK.

Also find Jo on Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube.

Driving down a psychedelic road through time and space in that place where monks are while deep in meditation Himalaya releases you into their world of sound, passively enveloping you in with a warm welcome and understanding, guiding us through the realm of our minds where all things are known free and at peace.

Himalaya is the name of the musical group out of Brooklyn New York, self classified as psychedelic / rock / shoegaze, which hits the mark. Other bands share the moniker but thankfully this one has the full social media package. Here’s Himalaya on Facebook and Himalaya on Twitter. And the Himalaya MySpace page has a good playlist of their songs waiting.

Just by the look of it, The Kickback is just getting started as evidenced by their advanced songwriting, addictive rhythmic syncopation, and killer vocals. Because a band this good, has these types of humble beginnings for only so long. There’s a time limit on this thing folks, so get in there and get your autographs and front row live show spots while you still can.

These guys, out of South Dakota living in Chicago just released their 2nd EP last year “Great Self Love”, which was preceeded only by their 1st EP “Alliteration, Etc…”. You’ll find their new songs worth setting to repeat via their Official MySpace playlist. I wouldn’t so much classify them as an indie rock band because of their style, which has more of a lazy salsa bar kind ring, spicy and well timed. Although they do classify themselves as Indie, so I’m not that far off, but then they list “Showtunes”, which I’m a little confused about. Maybe the band can email me and expand my mind on that genre. Maybe it means, “The ease with which each song can be inserted into the soundtrack of most films.”, I do not know sir.

Maybe if you like The Kickback on Facebook and comment on their page they’ll tell you all about it.

This playful tune comes from a band that got its humble start in the form of a mix tape for a girl. The band, Throw Me A Statue grew from 2005-2007 on a local Seattle DIY record label Baskerville Hill with a friendly local following of friends attending shows which grew and started getting press. In 2007 the group got picked up by another record label out of Indiana Secretly Canadian and re-released their album in February of 2008 which has led to good reviews and an international tour.

I’ll just copy the rest of their story directly from the space age font on their Official Throw Me The Statue bio page.

In the beginning of 2009 the band began work on the follow-up LP and headed into the studio for the first time. With Phil Ek (The Shins, Built to Spill, Band of Horses) on board as co-producer, the group consisting of Reitherman, Aaron Goldman, Charlie Smith and Jarred Grimes sought to enlarge the scope of TMTS’ lo-fi bedroom pop. The resulting full length record entitled Creaturesque will be released in the US and Europe by Secretly Canadian on August 4th, and soon thereafter in Aus/NZ by PopFrenzy and in Japan by MerryGate Records.

After reading the lyrics for this song and watching the music video a few times I feel like I just had a fruit wonderful smoothie rich in love-sick adolescent hormones and high-school memories, it’s healthy for the body but the sugar high leaves my thoughts a little fuzzy. I can’t quite put my finger on a proper clinical analysis of the whole affair but I found a line here in my notes that seems to sum it all up, “I love this song, stop thinking, just enjoy it”. I guess when you’ve got a Lolita on your brain there’s not much thinking required.

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Maybe I should just call them Quinn. A Band Called Quinn is from Glasgow Scotland and probably uses the moniker “A Band Called Quinn” instead of just going by “Quinn” so that people don’t mistake them for something else. They’ve already made huge waves in the UK and have had their music featured in several shows and have already amassed some encouraging accolades.

Be sure to also listen to their songs DIY and The Glimmer Song, more of their songs can be found on the A Band Called Quinn MySpace Page and on Facebook.

I enjoy this song and really appreciate the beginning and end of it, but somewhere in the middle I just get distracted by the confusing cuts between the nurse standing over an injured guy on a bed and the drunken vampwolf stumbling through the woods. I appreciate the musical-like interludes in the song and the bohemian feel it all has to me. Watching this video is a little like watching a scene from the TV series True Blood in which the supernatural is just a normal everyday part of the lives of the characters and having to give up your own body parts. Sacrificing yourself literally to the stomach of your partner in a melancholy and tragic way brings me chills, it’s kind of sweet and super morbid, but that’s why I love it.

Photographs by Hotter LAter

This alternative indie band has been around since at least 2009, and has just released a new EP. You can hear all their tracks on their SoundCloud page. Hotter Later (or Hotter LAter) appears to be the brainchild of Sturgis Adams from Los Angeles, California. Their sound is a casual mix of synth, well harmonized vocals, and steady drum guitar rhythms. The tone reminds me of the honest humility of Guster but with bigger rocks falling from the sky.

I believe I came found Hotter LAter on Twitter and after listening to this track decided to share the love on Song of the Day here. Although there isn’t much information about these guys online yet. Last.fm and BandCamp would be my next recommendations for them.