Jan 24, 2010
22 bands my Twitter friends have begun listening to this year
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- Shirock, rock
- Matisyahu, reggae hip-hop
- Sarah Jarosz, indie americana
- Metric, indie rock
- Band of Horses, easy listening (Their term, not mine.)
- The Civil Wars, indie folk
- Telegraph Canyon, indie folk
- The Rocketboys, indie ambient rock
- The Langley Sisters, folk rock showtunes
- I Was a King, psychedelic rock
- The XX, pop
- Courtney Jaye, country rock
- Thad Cockrell, country rock
- Mumford and Sons, indie folk
- Shachah, hip-hop rock
- The Dawes, americana soul
- Paper Route, indie electronica
- Lovespirals, down-tempo electronica
- Bleu, indie powerpop
- Au Revoir Simone, indie electropop
- The Cinematic Orchestra, electronica jazz
- The Rural Alberta Advantage, indie rock
If you’re familiar with any of these, wanna describe them in the comments?
What have you started liking so far in 2010?
* * * * *
Courtney Jaye – Jenny Lewis on an island vacation.
Mumford & Sons – Guitar, bass, banjo and accordion put to very good use. Fairly traditional style, but with an attitude akin to The Frames.
Thad Cockrell – Ryan Adams sings a hymnal.
Sarah Jarosz – Fairly traditional mountain music with a wisp of jazz. Kinda like a Nickel Creek/Norah Jones combo.
I too just discovered Mumford & Sons. Love their sound!
I thought I’d share this helpful link for those interested in Mumford & Sons. My favorite mp3 blog, Fuel shares four songs from a BBC One performance.
Rather, the blog title is “Fuel Friends.”
Wow, awesome blog! Just discovered Patty Griffin has a gospel album that comes out tomorrow :)
I haven’t heard of any – sorry.
Don’t worry—I hadn’t heard of most of them either.
Oh yeah. Au Revoir Simone and Paper Route are great. To this list, I’ll add:
Andrew Peterson
Damien Jurado
Iron & Wine
I absolutely love Mumford & Sons. “Little Lion Man” is a bit vulgar in language, but otherwise the songs have gorgeous lyrics. My favorite comes from “Sigh No More”: Love it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you; it will set you free to be more like the man you were made to be.
And I took this little description from their website:
“They create a gutsy, old-time sound that marries the magic of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young with the might of Kings Of Leon, and their incredible energy draws us in quickly to their circle of songs, to the warmth of their stories, and to their magical community of misty-eyed men.”
Here’s a taste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KCg_QEHtkY
I recommended City Fires… but not City of Fire! City Fires is the electronica of Brandon Ellis over here: http://cityfires.wordpress.com/
Oops…sorry!
I got rid of the City of Fire link, but I couldn’t find a link to City Fires’ myspace page, and I couldn’t get the songs to play on his blog.
Fun fact: The Rocketboys only recently changed their name. They used to be Homer Hiccolm (intentionally spelled differently from the author) and the Rocket Boys. I have a friend who went to school with the guys out in Abilene, TX, and he introduced me to their music a few years ago.
As for how to describe them, I’ve never been very good at that. But they’re fun and good and worth a listen.
I’ve listened to Matisyahu for a few years now. His music is hmmm: Orthodox Jewish Reggae/hip hop. Lyrically great stuff, I only pray he comes to Jesus. Shirock is pretty stinkin awesome. Great lyrics. I have also started listening to Ivoryline this year. They’re dubbed emo rock, but they’re like Kutless in a way but better. Highly recommend them.
Matisyahu is a Hasidic Jewish guy who sings modern reggae songs. what else is there to say? (his most famous song has lines like “sing to my God all these songs of love and healing / want Mashiach [Messiah] now so it’s time we start revealing.”)
Metric is a Canadian indie-rock band with a female lead singer, a la Broken Social Scene or the New Pornographers, if that helps. a little dark, great beats and hooks. i’ve always really liked this song.
Matisyahu’s song “One Day” was used in a promo for the Winter Olympics. It’s fantastic!
new artists (for me) in 2010: The Mountain Goats, Laura Veirs, OK Go.
Check out Groove Steady. My niece is their vocalist. Here’s a link to their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/groovesteady. They play locally in the Twin Cities.
I am loving The Welcome Wagon!
http://www.myspace.com/welcometothewelcomewagon
Sarah Jarosz also does a killer version of “Come On Up to House”, which is pretty much what got me listening to her.
I like Matisyahu…
I love HEM. “Half Acre” and “Is this the Part Where You Let Go” are my favorites. Not California and Fathers Waltz are close behind.
Peter Wolf Crier, far and away my favorite new Minneapolis band.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKYLDedIxAg
Redcast! My good friend’s little bros… you can read a review here.
Roman Candle is brilliant! I can’t recommend them highly enough.
You must, must, must get their most recent album release, “Oh Tall Tree In The Ear”. It’s the best album I’ve heard in ages.
http://www.romancandlemusic.com/music/albums
I just came across Band of Skulls, and I’m a bit smitten with their song “Patterns.” I’d definitely describe them as “rock.”
I have really been enjoying the Shelly Moore Band. She has a lot of original stuff but I have been enjoying her renditions of hymns. They tend not to be the often covered ones and have a pretty mellow feel. Its only Jan 24th though, give me time. I will find more.
My sister just introduced me to Weaver at the Loom over Christmas, and I have been listening to them obsessively! The sound is pretty ambient/indie/melodic. It somewhat reminds me of Explosions in the Sky, but with vocals. They’ve only released one 5 track EP, but it’s great.
Apparently they are from Minneapolis. Maybe they are popular over there, but this west coast girl had never heard of them. :)
Telegraph Canyon – Their music is often described as “Americana” and their sound is compared to bands like My Morning Jacket, Wilco, and a southern version of Fleet Foxes. Their 2009 release “The Tide and the Current” was named album of the year by Dallas Observer, Dallas Morning News, DFW.com, and Real Roots (Netherlands).
The Rocketboys – Earnest indie rock with strong pop songwriting sensibilities. Beautiful songs.
The Langley Sisters – Strange, updated version of nostalgic girl groups with lush harmonies. Check out “It’s Strange to be In Love” on their MySpace page. They are from the UK and have no US record deal at this point, although they have a 7″ vinyl release that just came out on Velvet Blue Music.
I Was A King – Norwegian power pop band for fans of Guided by Voices or Apples in Stereo.
The xx – UK band that features mostly slow, “chill out” pop songs with themes usually related to sex. Certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but one of the more interesting new bands of 2009.
Thanks, David—very helpful!
Metric is one of my favorite bands, and Au Revoir Simone is pretty good…
I feel like Seattle band Band of Horses is a classic (80′s) rock throw-back to The Smiths, The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen. If you like that kind of thing, they’re all pretty good.
I have been listening to Sarah Jarosz this past weekend (I love me some Amazon Mp3 Deal of the Day!) and I am very impressed. She sounds much like Nickel Creek, but perhaps with a sound that’s more southern Folk in addition to the New Blue Grass. I was especially delighted at her cover of The Decemberist’s “Shankill Butchers” (twisted as the song is!)
I have listened to The Civil Wars a bit, but nothing really stood out to me in that initial listen.
I’ve also been very impressed with Matisyahu. His sound is awesome, clear and crisp and energetic.
Thanks for this post – I’ve been listening to Metric b/c of it. They have a synth-pop sound as well as lots of guitar; could serve on the soundtrack of a WB show. Not too lyrically profound but fun to listen to. :)
the xx are an awesome minimalist pop group–they alternate vocals between a male and female voice. very solid debut record.
also, check out Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. they are a throwback to a 70s hippy music free-for-all. very happy, trippy, and interesting.
monsters of folk
and everyone on the Avett Brothers Pandora station.
Band of Horses is what southern rock should be. The lead vocalists voice is haunting and beautiful. A great mix of slight southern twang vocally and melodic guitar rock. Great all the way around.
Matisyahu – what’s not to love? A rabbinical rapper, sweet. Reminds me of De La Soul or P.M. Dawn from the ’90s. Some rap, some singing. All accessible.
I’ve just discovered Orlando Gibbons – composer, not band.
Hymnes and Songs album, especially Song 46, “Thine For Ever,” and “Thy Way Not Mine.”
I’m just 400 years overdue in finding him.