There’s something inexplicably pleasant about circus-inspired instrumentalism. It worked for Panic! at the Disco and, on the second single off its 2007 debut, The Trick to Life, it more than works for indie-pop trio The Hoosiers. “Goodbye Mr. A,” a boppy commentary about real-life comic book hero Mr. A, who is both too stoic and too logical for his own good, kicks off with the delightful bounce of piano keys. The sound instantly drags up happy-go-lucky memories of funnel cakes, clowns and childhood simplicity.
A few seconds into the song, the guys quickly introduce some rollicking guitar, a swelling bass and lead singer Irwin Sparkes’ impeccable falsetto. Sparkes sings, “You had all the answers / But no human touch / If life is subtraction / Your number is up / Your love is a fraction / It’s not adding up.” With straightforward lyricism that (gasp) doesn’t revolve solely around failing relationships and unrequited love and a musical sound worthy of a charming little carnival, “Goodbye Mr. A” effectively sums up The Hoosiers’ appeal: simple and upbeat.
The Hoosiers — composed of sweater vest-wearing frontman Sparkes, bassist Martin Skarendahl and mustachioed drummer Alfonso Sharland — first formed when Sparkes and Sharland, who are both from the United Kingdom, secured soccer scholarships to a university in Indiana. While there, where the locals are commonly referred to as hoosiers, the guys gathered not only a band name but enough compelling material to record an album, which they released after returning to London and hooking up with Swedish musician Skarendahl.
The resulting debut, which eventually reached No. 1 on the UK charts, was a collection of 12 weird, infectious tracks. Standout track “Cops and Robbers” utilizes heavy synthesizers and a hodge-podge of everyday sounds that range from clashes and bangs to space ship noises.
In the end, The Hoosiers are a deliciously unique addition to a genre sadly bloated with musical clones, and the band’s sound is more lighthearted than a trip to Six Flags.
The Fray might think they know how to save a life and Jack’s Mannequin may make one helluva mix tape, but neither band brings together passionate piano arrangements, rock riffs and intelligent lyrics like rising Cincinnati-based trio Seabird.
With its captivating 2008 debut ‘Til We See the Shore, the band, which is currently on tour with Jars of Clay, blends these three instrumental and lyrical elements like a group of seasoned veterans. Rather than relying too heavily on the ivories, Seabird crafts songs that are a charming mix of musical influences.
This varied instrumentalism is only complemented by lead singer and pianist Aaron Morgan’s crooning, which traverses the line between raw and refined. The result is a sound driven by both classical chords and heavy bass.
Seabird’s first single “Rescue” is a lush and infectious track in which Morgan sings, “I’m pushing up daisies / I wish they were roses / I feel like I’m drowning / But nobody knows it.” Fittingly, ABC used the song to promote its recently cancelled show “Pushing Daisies.”
But the band’s standout tracks are “Falling For You” and “Maggie Mahoney.” While “Falling For You” successfully captures the eternally-relatable experience of longing, the latter features rapid, spoken lyrics and a retro piano waltz delightfully reminiscent of the 2006 radio reign of Panic at the Disco.
With a sound that is both distinctive and emotionally engaging, Seabird is undoubtedly ready to take flight in the world of popular piano rock.
The only things April showers seem to be bringing to Atlanta right now are gray clouds and cold winds. Although the Weather Channel appears to think this depressing gloom won’t be moving on anytime soon, you can go ahead and kick off the rubber boots right now. That’s because rising indie pop trio Plushgun has enough musical Vitamin D to make summer vacation seem only seconds away.
With sunny, synthesized beats and sweet keyboard melodies, Plushgun rose to fame out of frontman Dan Ingala’s pint-sized Brooklyn apartment. Originally a solo project, Plushgun, which Paste recently dubbed a “lush, bedroom dance pop wunderkind,” released its debut album Pins & Panzers in mid-February to rave reviews.
The album’s hit single, “Just Impolite,” showcases the band’s haunting knack for bringing together the wildly opposite emotions that often characterize real-life relationships. Barely surpassing a whisper, Ingala sings, “Are you frightened by perfection? / Is this who you are, not who you want to be?” to the beat of a sugary keyboard composition. The song is a desperate and — although lyrically denied — obsessive attempt to hold onto love, masked by a bouncy electronic sound.
In fact, lyrics about the loss of love pop up pretty often throughout Plushgun’s instrumentally upbeat songs. In the nostalgic “A Crush to Pass the Time,” Ingala laments being confined to the friend zone. Similarly, “Let Me Kiss You (And I’ll Fade Away)” begs for one last embrace to a background of brief banjo riffs, hand claps and uplifting acoustic guitar. “Dancing in a Minefield,” on the other hand, waltzes between emotional vulnerability and political commentary, themes highlighted by swelling synthesizers.
Plushgun’s variety affords the band a Death Cab meets The Postal Service meets MGMT sound that perfectly captures the conflicting emotions of love and loss. Astronomically, summer doesn’t start until June 21 this year.
Studies show only seven percent of what we say is communicated through actual words. If that statistic was something like 77 percent, many of Coeur de Pirate’s listeners might have absolutely no idea what she’s singing about.
That’s because Coeur de Pirate, the stage name of 19-year-old Canadian singer and pianist Beatrice Martin, sings entirely in French. The Montreal-based songstress catapulted to MySpace fame in January when Quebec photographer Francois Vachon posted an adorable YouTube video of his baby playing to the bouncy piano-pop of Coeur de Pirate’s “Ensemble.” Now, the singer’s self-titled debut is fighting for the honor of Francophone Album of the Year at this year’s Juno Awards (Canada’s version of the Grammys), and the album’s mesmerizing single, “Comme des Enfants,” recently shot to the top of one of the country’s premiere radio charts, becoming the second entirely French song ever to reach No. 1.
“Comme des Enfants,” a charming composition that sounds a little like falling in love for the first time, showcases Martin’s extensive piano skill — honed from 16 years of practice — as well as her captivating, sweet voice. She softly coos, “Et il m’aime encore, et moi je t’aime un peu plus fort” (“And he loves me still, and I love you a little stronger”), but like the Hopelandic jibberish of Sigur Ros, Coeur de Pirate’s lyrics are best understood as emotive sounds supported by exquisite instrumentals.
“C’etait Salement Romantique” is similarly stunning, with Martin’s swelling choruses accompanied by strings and acoustic guitar. On “Francis,” the singer’s performance flirts with the line separating Regina Spektor and The Dresden Dolls, and her nearly spoken lyrics give the song a whimsical appeal.
Some experiences — the snap and crack of a broken heart, the weightlessness of a first kiss — know no language barrier. Lucky for us, neither does Coeur de Pirate.
She’s graced the fashion spreads of ELLE, posed for hip New York photographer Ryan McGinley, spun tracks at Big Apple hot spot Beatrice Inn and used the skills she honed at Parsons School for Design to create the cover of her soon-to-be-released EP Self-Taught Learner, out Feb. 17. She’s Lissy Trullie and she’s a tour de force in the world of up-and-coming rock ‘n’ roll.
With super-short strawberry blonde hair, mile-high cheek bones and a fashion sense based around leather jackets, bowler hats and cigarettes, Trullie looks like the lovechild of Edie Sedgwick and Bob Dylan -— and her folksy pop-rock is perfectly befitting of her runway-ready style.
The rising rocker’s debut EP boasts five original tracks and an infectious cover of Hot Chip’s “Ready for the Floor” that puts the robotic original to shame. Although anchored by basic chords and simple lyrics, Trullie’s tunes captivate with a soft and stylized new wave sound that is simultaneously fresh and vintage.
On the EP’s title track, Trullie’s voice alternates between a delicate falsetto and a raspy androgynous tone that drawls, “Are you watching me? / Am I different or am I the same? / You don’t have to say I love you too / It’s not what I want to hear from you.” Other standout songs include the upbeat opening track “Boy Boy” and the danceable “She Said.” Not found on the EP but worth the trek to her band’s Myspace is Trullie’s “You Bleed You,” a mellow, lyric-driven folk gem that croons, “I’m sick and tired, tired and sick” with enthralling vulnerability.
With a boyish charm that radiates in both her music and her Fashion Week-worthy style, Trullie might just be the hippest chick to come out of New York since Lady Liberty — not that she’s ever actually left the Harbor or strummed a Fender with quite the same pizzazz.
I tend to look at shows as once-in-a-lifetime events, so when one of my favorite bands brought its New York indie-funk to the Drunken Unicorn on Sunday night, I wasn’t going to miss it. Despite having a meeting at 8:00 the next morning, I braved the deafeningly loud and suffocatingly smoky underground lair of the Drunken Unicorn with only one desire: to watch former Playlisters The Virgins strut their stuff to the sound of “One Week of Danger.” Little did I know that I was going to walk out of there with a newfound respect for sweet-voiced singer-songwriters.
With only her guitar and her iPod, opening act Anya Marina magically compelled a visibly bored crowd to sing, laugh and dance to her raspy, childlike coos – all while admittedly dazed by a sore throat and a Percocet.
The platinum-haired California native, who is featured in the current issue of SPIN, is more than just your typical triple-threat. With a resume that includes acting, comedy and being a radio show host, Marina is more than just a chick sitting on a stool, strumming a guitar and whining about inconsiderate ex-boyfriends. Instead, her live performances are rife with witty rants and hilarious side-stories about the wheat-grass shake lifestyle of the West Coast.
But don’t get me wrong, the girl’s got talent. The slow, breathy title track from her 2005 full-length debut Miss Halfway was featured on the second “Grey’s Anatomy” soundtrack and her songs have been used on the show since season one. Her newly released sophomore album, Slow and Steady Seduction: Phase II, features playful, raspy tracks like “Vertigo” and “Move You.”
Marina has done it all, but with light, breathy lyrics about relationships gone wrong (and right), she proves that “songstress extraordinaire” should be at the top of her list of talents – and that maybe a once-in-a-lifetime show is a couple shows too few.
To put it simply, I am not a fan of the French language. Sure, it sounds pretty beautiful coming from a poet, but when your third grade teacher forces your class to memorize the French names for 50 different animals, you start to realize how not-so-pretty it can be. Needless to say, it’s been a love-hate sort of thing ever since.
But then I accidentally stumbled upon Yelle. An up-and-coming French songstress with a knack for sugary electro-pop, Yelle gained international recognition after spitting out a provocative jab at a chauvinistic French hip-hop artist on MySpace. Yelle quickly signed with a major record label and the playful track became “Je Veux Te Voir,” the hit single off her debut album Pop-Up, which was released digitally last year.
Like a candy shop for your ears, Yelle’s songs are simultaneously sweet and sassy and range from addictively bubble gum to sophisticatedly hip. With claps and whistles and an electronic beat that takes a back seat to Yelle’s flirty vocals, “Ce Jeu” could easily accompany an advertisement for French Barbie. On the other hand, “Les Femmes” is a smart arrangement of mostly spoken lyrics that evokes images of upper-class debutantes and cultured socialites.
But Yelle’s standout track is “Je Veux Te Voir.” The track kicks off with a heavily synthesized beat and in-your-face vocals that are, like all of Yelle’s lyrics, entirely in French. With or without the language barrier, the song is undeniably seductive and is just as well-suited for a Fashion Week catwalk as a night out on the town.
Despite years of adamant distaste and a floundering grasp of the French language that is now limited to the chorus of Moulin Rouge’s “Lady Marmalade,” Yelle never fails to remind me why French is considered one of the world’s most eloquent languages. Whether I ever pick up another French dictionary is a different story.
To this day, I have no idea what the lyrics to my favorite Crystal Castles song are. There are, of course, ways around this (i.e. that all-knowing Google search bar), but there’s something infinitely captivating about having no idea what lead singer Alice Glass is screeching, cooing and gasping over instrumentalist Ethan Kath’s playful electronic beats.
Considering that she’s almost entirely unintelligible for the majority of Crystal Castle’s songs, Glass is much more of a sound maker than a singer. While occasional tidbits like “you shrug it off” are recognizable throughout “Alice Practice,” the song that landed the band a record deal after it was accidentally recorded and distributed on MySpace, the majority of Glass’s vocals resemble the simple sounds of a babbling six-month-old.
It’s that babbling that separates Crystal Castles from other electronica bands. The duo’s synthesized sound, which often resembles the chaotic soundtrack of an oldschool arcade game, is simultaneously dark, poppy and danceable but it’s Glass’s vocals that transform the songs from a series of beeps and swirls to a layered arrangement that borders on genius. The lack of clarity in her lyrics takes the focus away from the words themselves and lets the overall effect of each song speak for itself. “Untrust Us” and “Courtship Dating” stand out on the band’s self-titled debut as whirlwind musical adventures in a world where everything is pixelated and bleeds neon pink and green.
One of these days I might just give in to curiosity and look up exactly what it is Glass is singing about, but until then I’m going to keep singing, “Bah ooh wah oh ooh ooh.”
What do Harvard University, British socialite Peaches Geldof and the Lincoln Memorial have in common?
Retro rock duo Chester French, that’s what. Both of its members, D.A. Wallach and Maxwell Drummey, attended Harvard; Drummey recently married Geldof in a Las Vegas chapel after dating her for only a week; and the guys named themselves after the artist who sculpted Lincoln’s marble features in Washington, D.C.
Chester French, who turned down offers from Kanye West and Jermaine Dupri in order to sign with Pharrell Williams’ label Star Trak, is like a time machine for your ears. The guys draw on the sounds of artists like Motown, The Beatles, Johnny Cash and Outkast to create songs that are familiar yet fresh, old school yet futuristic.
In its synthesized single “She Loves Everybody,” the band blends the best sounds of the 1960s with contemporary lyrics. Likewise, “People” conjures up images of the Beach Boys and 1950s style drive-ins, but mixes in lyrics that would be more appropriate in an Urban Dictionary definition. Wallach sings, “Now every time I see a dime / I ask myself if she is the one, the one / Or is she just another shortie / with a fatty cake inside of that bun, that bun.” (Yeah, I don’t know what that means either.)
But the band’s genre bending doesn’t end with old timey rock ‘n’ roll. “Beneath the Veil” injects hip-hop sensibility into a classic country melody to create a song worthy of a modern Johnny Cash, while “Neal” blends hip-hop with swing music.
With a whole new decade right around the corner, it’s about time a band stepped up to define what the next generation of music is going to sound like. With one guitar riff in the past and the other in the future, Chester French might just be that band.
Ruth, named for the band’s lead singer Dustin Ruth, is a powerful Washington-based quartet whose message-driven lyrics, although religious by nature, easily relate to a much broader audience. On the band’s 2007 debut, Secondhand Dreaming, Ruth contemplates life and its emotional intricacies with upbeat, inspiring lyrics and a layered sound that employs instruments ranging from keyboards and acoustic guitars to violins and harmonicas.
The dreamy part-ballad, part-anthem “Mr. Turner” perfectly embodies the band’s lyrical and instrumental complexity. The song begins with soothing vocals and a timely theme as Dustin Ruth quietly sings, “There is something inside of us all / That’s wondering where we’re gonna go / When all the lights are turned down low / Lately the news is weighing me down.” This nearly a cappella intro quickly gives way to a guitar-driven chorus woven with violin that drives the rest of the song.
“Back to the Five,” from the band’s sophomore effort Anorak, which will be released later this month, follows in the falsetto footsteps of “Mr. Turner.” The song showcases Dustin Ruth’s vocals with emotive lyrics like, “I’m headed home / I’m just trying to find my way back to the five / Got a lot on my mind / I’m gonna figure it out.” Like Ruth’s earlier songs, “Back to the Five” relies on a layered sound that eloquently blends rock, folk and pop that creates a fitting background for the band’s message.
Ruth doesn’t have much to say about sex, chocolate or baseball, but you might find that the meaning of life can be just as interesting.
Editors at The Emory Wheel, Emory University's student newspaper, sound off on their favorite albums and artists of the moment. You can find more info here.
