Once upon a time a boy started a feature called The EH List. His intention - a pure one - was to highlight the music that he, his blog mates, and their friends shared on a monthly basis into one Spotify playlist. But it was not to be...
Yeah, I didn’t do one of these last month (or the month before). I meant to but LIFEHAPPENED. Anyway, I figured I’d make this installment three times as awesome. Hope you enjoy.
This is just an excellent tune by M&S that Tiff and I discussed a few months back. It’s a fantastic song about love lost and love rejected.
M&S are playing in St. Augustine in September. Just a stone's throw from The EH Team's stomping grounds but we don't have tickets...at the moment. Actually, probably forever. That thing is crazy sold out.
“Walking on a Dream”
Empire of the Sun
Turns out this awesome song has a really kooky music video, as witnessed in Tiff’s MVM from February.
“Landslide”/“Go Your Own Way”
Fleetwood Mac
Chris over at Movies and Songs 365 did a very thorough series on the music of Fleetwood Mac. Two of my faves were “Landslide” and “Go Your Own Way”. As I mentioned to Chris, the latter always makes me think of Forrest Gump.
“Hot Chip”
Shake a Fist
Mike from 20 Something Awesome shared this track back in February. I’d never heard of Hot Chip before. It’s a very catchy tune - and I haven’t even listened to it with my headphones on!
“Yamaha”
Delta Spirit
Nick shared this tune as a Music Video Monday after hearing it featured in Warm Bodies. He wasn’t crazy about the zom-com and I still haven’t seen it. Maybe I’ll give it a whirl in October.
John from The Droid You’re Looking For featured this track as part of his look at the music of the Coen Brothers. The tune is from Hatch favorite The Big Lebowski. Nick actually put this track on a CD for me a long time ago and I couldn’t believe it when he told me that Kenny Rogers did it. Still blows my mind.
While we’re on the topic of the Coen Brothers, check out the Red Band trailer for their new flick, Inside Llewyn Davis, which also looks to be brimming with tunes.
“Inhaler”/”Blue Blood”
Foals
Mike from 20 Something Awesome was kind enough to handle Music Video Monday for us one week in March. He chose the Foals track “Inhaler”. Mike had previously shared “Blue Blood” (and its awesome video) on his own site and I’ve included that here as well.
“Drift Drive”/”Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out”
The Antlers
Virtually every MVM from late February to April was chosen because the artist was set to perform at the Shaky Knees Music Fest in Atlanta (and we still weren’t issued press passes...grumble). Case in point, Pat chose these two Antlers tracks and they performed that Sunday afternoon. I was a little fuzzy at that point but I’m sure they were great. Hopefully Pat or somebody else can attest to that.
“Diane Young”
Vampire Weekend
Our last track from Mike is a catchy one from Vampire Weekend’s new album “Modern Vampires of the City”. I wanna say it’s a little different from their usual style, but, then again, I’m not familiar with their entire catalogue. In any case, it’s a fun tune.
“Don’t Break the Needle”
J. Roddy Walston and The Business
Another MVM pick by Pat, “Don’t Break the Needle” is (wait, is it about a record player or drug use...okay, the latter) a song about DRUGS. Anyway, Pat chose this track after some unmitigated praise for the band by Nick.
“The Funeral”
Band of Horses
As I mentioned in my MVM from April, I was very excited to catch Band of Horses at Shaky Knees. And I have to admit, watching the band perform in the rain surrounded by the EH team and friends is one of the highlights of my year so far.
“Elephant Gun”
Beirut
I was completely unfamiliar with Beirut until Pat brought the band to my attention with a recent MVM. Great song. You could listen to it chillin’ on the beach but it’s also a little sad.
If you
love music as much as I do, then you know that it’s been an amazing two weeks
of new releases. So amazing, I don’t think my ears have had time to fully recover
from the copious amounts of eargasms I’ve encountered over the past eleven days.I told you these days were coming so I hope
you downloaded or purchased all of this fantastic new music. If you haven’t
yet, for what it’s worth let me give you my two cents.
Band of Horses - Mirage Rock
The fourth studio album from Band of Horses is not what I
expected. The stunning harmonies are there but to my dismay, gone are the
grinding guitars, heavy drums and except for one song, even the strings. Minus
the lead single, “Knock Knock”and the
songs “Feud”, “Ego Nightmare” and a third of the song “Dumpster World”, the latest
effort from the Carolina rockers is a stripped down, acoustic heavy album that
very easily could’ve been recorded in the 70’s. It features an eclectic mix of
dusty slide guitar country rock, stoner rock and even lazy California rock on
the track, “Long Vows”, a song that kinda reminds me of, dare I say, The
Eagles. And the 70’s flashback doesn’t end there.To my surprise, even the
sound of Elton John sashays its way into the track, “Electric Music”. It sounds
a little like “Honky Cat”.
Mirage Rock is not the high energy or guitar filled rock
albums like Everything All The Time or Cease to Begin, it’s closer to Infinite Arms
without the glossy production. If you're a fan, it's definitely worth the listen and if haven't been, maybe it will encourage you to go back and take a deeper
dive into their full discography.
I give it 3.5/5 and an Open Hatch.
Sounds Like: Dawes, The Moondoggies, Hacienda, The Avett
Brothers and America
Grizzly Bear - Shields
I was so
pleasantly surprised by this album that it took my personal award for Album of
the Week, beating out both the favorite Band of Horses and The Killers. However
in saying that, of the four reviews, this one was the most difficult. I feel
like I can’t find the right words to describe this band. It’s not that they are
so much better than the hundreds of indie/alternative bands out there; it’s
just that they sound so different. It’s safe to say that Grizzly Bear probably
isn’t for everyone, but if you’re looking to be fully engulfed in blissful
harmonies, pounding percussion and dream inducing vocals, then put this album
on, press play and let yourself go.
The
three years since Veckatimest have unquestionably
been worth the wait. In my opinion,
Shields has to receive album of the year consideration. Droste and Rossen sound amazing and the
backing arrangements are spot on. It's interesting to note that there was a concerted effort to
strip away the dreamy atmosphere, but I still feel it on tracks like “Half
Gate”, “Sun In Your Eyes” and “The Hunt”. My favorites are “Sleeping Ute”, “Yet
Again” (new video below), “A Simple Answer” and “Gun Shy”. Although my album of
the year talk might be a bit premature, Shields without a doubt will pepper
quite a few short lists.
If this
is your first listen, I suggest you go back to some of their older stuff like: “Knife”,
“Little Brother”, “Shift”, the cover “He Hit Me” and Veckatimest.
I give it 4.5/5 and an Open Hatch.
Sounds Like:
Atlas Sound, Daniel Rossen, Deerhunter, Beach House and The Antlers
The Killers - Battle Born
The
Killers’ debut album, Hot Fuss, has
left such a vivid impression on me that even eight years later, I can still remember what
was going on in my life. That’s a big deal considering I’ve forgotten or
blocked out quite a bit over the years. It’s really not fair for me to bring up
Hot Fuss, but since 2004 and every
release after, I’ve been eagerly awaiting it's return. So even before the
first listen my
expectations teetered somewhere between Hot
Fuss and Sam’s Town and that’s exactly
where it landed. Maybe my expectations are too unreasonable for The Killers, but this album has
not impressed me.New listeners might
enjoy, but give me, “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine” or “All the Things I’ve Done”.
Besides
“Runaways” and “Miss Atomic Bomb”, every time they try to speed things up, it
just feels uneven and thrown together. Add that unevenness to some of the silliest lyrics and some cheesy 80’s echo sound effects and you have an album
that could’ve been so much more. A perfect
example of the uneven feel is the title track, “Battle Born”.It begins with a lone electric guitar,
backing synthesizer and cymbals that quickly rush towards a crescendo of crashing
drums. I was thinking, okay here we go and then in comes the acoustic guitar.
These let downs can be found throughout the entire album
The lead
single, “Runaways”, the MVM from earlier this week, is far and away the best track
on the album, followed closely by “Miss Atomic Bomb”. Other highlights include:
“The Way It Was”, “Here With Me” and “Be
Still”
I give
it 3/5 and an Open Hatch (only because of Runaways, Miss Atomic Bomb and Be
Still)
Sounds Like:
The Bravery, Bloc Party and Muse
Mumford & Sons - Babel
I don’t
know if it was me being shitty stubborn or just suffering from folk music
overkill, but when Mumford & Sons were everyone’s darlings, I was a little
luke warm. Sure I rocked out to their radio hit, “Little Lion Man”, loved “The
Cave” , “Roll Away Your Stone” and “White Blank Page”, but after that I
couldn’t tell you another song from their debut. It’s not that I didn’t like
them. It’s just that I could take them or leave them. I think Marcus Mumford
has a great voice and the band’s harmonies are amazing, but I could never
really commit. So with Babel, I told myself that I would sit down and listen to
it, interruption free from first song to last. No TV, no work, just the music
and maybe a beer or two. I’m glad I did, because I’ve been generously rewarded
with a very good album.
The “frantic
folk” comes out swinging with the title track “Babel”. It delivers with the familiar
growl of Mumford, the fast paced guitar and banjo chords comparable to “Roll Away Your
Stone”and one of my most favorite
lyrics from the album, “Press my nose up to the glass around your heart. I
should’ve known, I was weaker from the start. You’ll build your walls and I
will play my bloody part to tear, tear them down." Along with “Babel”, the next
three songs, “Whispers in the Dark” “I
Will Wait” and “Holland Road”, keep the controlled chaos going, but from there
the pace noticeably slows.
With the
commercial success of Sigh No More,
they were smart not to deviate too much from the formula that made them worldwide
sensations. I’ve read that they are not ashamed of making such a similar album
and usually I agree. Sometimes it’s a real head scratcher when artists start experimenting
on their sophomore albums. There is none
of that here and that’s my biggest problem with Mumford & Sons. Babel is safe, so safe that
the first two tracks sound so similar that I almost couldn’t tell when one
ended and the other began, but for those that loved Sigh No More, you will not be
left disappointed. My favorites are: “Babel”, ‘I Will Wait”, “Reminder”, “Where
Are You Now?”
I give
it 3.5/5 stars and an Open Hatch.
Sounds
Like: Dave Matthews, Of Monsters and Men, The Shins and Typhoon
I'd love to hear your thoughts about these albums, agree, disagree or just tell me I've gone Helen Keller. And if you have any new releases that need to be heard let us know. I hope your ears have had as much pleasure as mine and remember to live your soundtrack out loud.
