Wye Oak

The way I see it, Wye Oak are the most underestimated indie duo on the scene right now. Five albums down and I've hardly seen their names at any festivals, any tours, anything. I only just discovered them a few months ago with the help of my boyfriend, and with how incredible their newest album is, I can hardly see how.

The joined forces of Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner make up the only members of the group, miraculously playing multiple instruments all at once for their live performances and sounding just like their recordings, if not better. The fifth album, Shriek, more electronic than the previous albums, comes across bold, clean and ethereal, with Jenn's vocals ranging octaves and forming into beautiful melodies that hover over dark, sometimes heavy beats. You go from the sweet, melodic title track instantly into "The Tower" which rages a bass line that continues throughout the song. The transition isn't jarring, however, just enough to push it into the heaviest song on the album, "Glory," that hints electronica riffs enviable of Julian Casablancas.

If I had one criticism for the album, it would be that the lyrics are so muffled you can hardly understand them, and this is only a bad thing to me because I really like to sing along with it and I feel like an idiot singing basically made up words and vowels. (It's actually a really nice effect, it gives the melodies much more attention, although, if you read the lyrics they are as beautiful as the music underneath them.)

Wye Oak's song "Civilian," (from the album of the same name) put them on the map appearing in shows like The Walking Dead and the movie Safety Not Guaranteed (a personal favorite of mine and one that I need to go watch now because I didn't realize they had a song in it until I started writing this post).  With a heavy folk influence, it's different than anything they released in Shriek, but still paves the way into what the album becomes. It's the band's masterpiece thus far and it needs to be heard. And that's why I'm writing a blog post about it, so my millions of readers will see and listen! (Insert silly emoji face here, because, well, maybe someday.) But in all seriousness, give this record a spin, it might be my favorite of 2014. (Julian and the Voidz doesn't count because he's always a trump card. It's the same as me not even counting the Harry Potter movies in my favorites. Am I getting off topic? I'll talk about Julian next time.) Moral of the story, listen to Wye Oak, all of their albums, not just Shriek, and then yell it off the mountain tops and tell all your friends too, because this band needs to blow up.

"This morning, I woke up on the floor thinking I had never dreamed before."

Songs my boyfriend showed me:
Before
Shriek
Glory
Sick Talk
Logic of Color

Civilian

This is a video of them performing for KEXP radio station. It features them playing a full set, and you get to see Andy play drums and keys at the same time. WHAT?!

Belle and Sebastian

While Belle and Sebastian have only been in my life a short while, (I've known about them a long time, of course, the sheer number of their albums overwhelmed me until I had a tad more pocket change) their newest album, Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance, has struck a chord with me like none of the others have. Maybe it's because I'm a fan of upbeat and clean albums. I like raw sound, their old albums have a charm of their own of course, but there is something about a certain level of production that my ears are fond of. Or maybe because the album has almost a 1960's vibe that makes me want to solve mysteries (don't know why) and dress like Twiggy. 

Yet, the album takes on many more genre's. There is the straight up disco jam "Enter Sylvia Plath" alongside the song "The Party Line," which sounds like it should be played at night clubs (or the night club that is my commute at least), whilst "The Everlasting Muse" sounds like a cross between "The Girl From Ipanema" and an Irish (they're Scottish) drinking song. (It's awesome, trust me.) The album has a dream-like theme that hangs over it, none of the lyrics really make that much sense, but the music takes over and they don't have to. The tones are soft and a bit muffled, especially on tracks like "The Cat With The Cream." I think I completely lost myself the first time I heard that song, which wasn't good because I needed to be paying attention to my GPS. 

The sheer amount of instrumentation is clear on this album, the use of strings make some songs sound more like a symphony than a pop song, and it's clear that Belle and Sebastian aren't going anywhere anytime soon. With this and the new movie musical God Help The Girl written by the leader of Belle and Sebastian, Stuart Murdoch, they're proving why they're the biggest little indie group around. 

"A subtle gift to modern rock, she says be popular, play pop, and you will win my love."

Songs to solve mysteries to:

The Party Line

The Power of Three

The Cat With The Cream

The Everlasting Muse

Play For Today

Today (This Army's For Peace)

Catfish and the Bottlemen

(PS: Sorry for the shoddy camera work. CATB finishing "Kathleen" at The Firebird in St. Louis)



So...

It's been awhile! Sorry gang! A lot has changed in this past year, including my move to St. Louis, getting settled in and doing some soul searching. And a lot has happened musically while I was away. One of the things I love about St. Louis is how available shows are. Amazing artists come through all the time and my modest paycheck can't quite keep up with them. 

But a few months ago, a friend recommended I check out Catfish and the Bottlemen. Their name sounded familiar, I believe I had seen them on the line-up for Governor's Ball (which was absolutely fantastic and too long of a tale for this post) but I had never heard them. Hailing from a small town in Wales their EP "Kathleen and the Other Three" hooked me in from the first listen. It made me nostalgic for my high school days of listening to obscure indie Brit-pop like The Kooks and The Answering Machine, a more mature-harder sound, but all that British finesse and slang I love so much. (I may or may not have started interjecting the word "deffo" into my everyday vocabulary, sans their song "Pacifier.")

Their LP, The Balcony, implemented all four songs from the EP and rounded out the album with catchy riffs and profanities, even slowing down a notch in the middle to find the soft acoustic treasure  that is "Hourglass," amongst all the ruckus. When I found out they were coming to The Firebird, I bought tickets immediately.

After grabbing a shirt, a free packet that the merch girl was handing out (there were condoms inside) and dancing like a fool to the music they were playing in between sets (apparently no one there knew Earth Wind & Fire's, "September" because we were literally the only ones getting down) the lights went down and the four lads from Llandudno took the stage.

The show was small, but lacked neither intensity, nor performance. The entire crowd knew every word a little to the astonishment of the lead Van McCann who could utter almost nothing but thanks to us. They played only an hour, but with high energy, and with a feeling that they were really enjoying themselves in this little bar near downtown St. Louis, where everybody knew their name.

They finished the set much like their album, with the wailing "Tyrants." A personal favorite of mine and one that did not disappoint live. After Van hung his guitar from the rafters, the band walked off and through the crowd, no doubt to go sell out another venue. They've completely taken England by storm and aren't far behind on the US horizon. With album two confirmed to be on the way, I would jump on this band before only the yard seats are available.

Catchy tracks you should catch:
Homesick
Kathleen
Cocoon
Pacifier
Rango
Tyrants