Archive for the ‘Pop/Rock’ Category

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS

Artist: We Were Promised JetPacksWe were promised Jetpacks

Hails from: Glasgow, Scotland

Musical Style: Indie Rock, Pop/Rock, Alternative

For Fans of: Oasis, Interpol, Teenage Fanclub

It's Thunder And It's Lightning

Why You Should Check Them Out:

The next proud member of a burgeoning brood of Scottish indie rock bands, We Were Promised Jetpacks is riding high off the release of their debut full-length. The band will be spending most of 2010 bringing their heartfelt tales of love and loss across Europe, the US, and beyond.

Background Check:

Is it the weather? The single malt scotch? The haggis? Whatever the inspiration, Scotland has produced some darn good bands this millennium–Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad leading the bunch. Now we can add We Were Promised Jetpacks to the canon, after the 2009 release of their highly-acclaimed debut, These Four Walls [Fat Cat].

The band—vocalist and guitarist Adam Thompson, guitarist Michael Palmer, bassist Sean Smith and Darren Lackie on drums–formed as school boys in Edinburgh. The young men entered—and won, unsurprisingly—their high school battle of the bands before migrating to Glasgow to ply their wares and join an already vibrant scene. Like country- and label-mates Frightened Rabbit, WWPJ don’t do anything to obscure their Scottish accents. Quite the contrary: the band emphasizes their native tongue’s rolls and angles, using a pronounced vocal delivery as another weapon in their arsenal.

These Four Walls, the culmination of years of rock-and-toil (the band started up in earnest back in 2003), features driving rhythms, emotive guitars, and even a little glockenspiel, all anchored by rock-solid drums. The tunes vacillate between energetic rockers and dreary—but not too dour—downers, all filled with shimmering cymbals and insistent jangle. The album feels like a release for the band, and a catharsis for the listener.

Where you can find them in cyberspace:

MySpace

Wikipedia

On Tour:

JamBase

Posted in Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Pop/Rock | No Comments »

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Rupa and the April Fishes

Rupa and the April FishesArtist: Rupa and the April Fishes

Hails from: San Francisco, CA

Musical Style: Punk, Folk, Pop

For Fans of: Manu Chao, Beirut, Julieta Venegas

Why you should check them out:
Whether they sing in French, Spanish or English, this multicultural band writes and performs songs that are universally appealing. They draw from many different world sounds, from gypsy punk, American folk, French cabaret, or pop. But this isn’t a hodgepodge of messy influences; the band carefully infuses all these sounds together to make coherent music that reflects the richness of our globalized world.
Background Check:
Rupa Marya is the singer, songwriter and guitar player leading this 5-piece band. She has the type of upbringing that justifies the eclectic sound she’s created in her music. She was born to Indian parents and raised in the U.S., France and India. She admits that it was very confusing as a child to experience such a wide range of cultures and try to make sense of them, and in many ways the songs she writes now is a way to express and digest those experiences.
Rupa also leads something of a double life; she is a doctor of internal medicine by day and a rock star by night. So far she has been able to juggle these two demanding roles; however her music career has been taking off in the last few months so it may only be a matter of time before she is make her living recording and touring. She is currently on tour, so be sure to catch her in all of her multicultural glory.
Where you can find them in Cyberspace:
On Tour:

Posted in Folk, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Pop/Rock, Post Punk, Punk Rock | No Comments »

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Say Hi

Say HiArtist: Say Hi

Hails From: Seattle, WA

Musical Style: Pop, Rock, Indie

For Fans of: Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie, Grandaddy

Why you should check them out:

With a whispered rapport and a three chord catharsis, Say Hi can talk about anything, from doomed relationships to spaceships with wistful ease and head nodding persuasion. Frontman Eric Elbogen crafts impeccable indie pop with a sly smile and intimate wit appropriate for any situation.

Background Check:

Say Hi is Eric Elbogen, the energetic and pop culture obsessed songwriter who has helmed the project since 2002. Originally out of Brooklyn, NY and previously known as Say Hi to Your Mom, Elbogen began recording at home, self recording his lush and straightforward indie rock in the vein of the more accessible side of the Pixies. Elbogen’s albums are almost entirely self produced and played, with the multi-talented musician taking up nearly all the parts on any given track. Elbogen began his own recording label to release his homespun creations, Euphobia Records, in 2005 giving home to his ever revolving songs about vampires and Star Trek, most notably 2006’s Impeccable Blahs, which referenced Buffy and other Joss Whedon creatures.

With a moniker shortening (Your Mom just wasn’t that aesthetic anymore) and cross country relocation in 2008, Elbogen landed in Seattle and on Barsuk Records, a perfect fit in the indie rock label’s catalog. In March 2009, Say Hi released Oohs and Aahs, the most hook laden album of Elbogen’s career. Understated and enthusiastic, the record signals a culmination of Say Hi’s previous efforts into a rather flawless concoction of pop and indie rock. Melodic and moody at times, the album is one of Elbogen’s most charming and disarming works to date.

Where you can find them in cyberspace:

MySpace

ilikesayhi.com

Wikipedia

On Tour:

JamBase

Posted in Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Pop/Rock | No Comments »

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