NIKKO.
ok. Nikko are from Brisbane and do some pretty interesting guitar-based heavy bluesy stuff…throw in a bit of shoegaze as well.
The guys have just released a double A-side 7″ (You can stream both tracks below and purchase the thing here).
The first track we’ve got below starts off a little slow and you kinda think, “is this it?” Then that big distortion kicks in and makes you appreciate the change in colour. And you also get a bit of a dose of violin
Second track, Smoke Alarms is kinda lovely. It did take me a while to get into these tracks, I gotta be honest. The meandering feel and some of the vocals put me off a little at first, but then after a few more listens, you can hear some solid songwriting abilities and some pretty decent musical chops. It might take a few listens, but the end is, I reckon, worth it.
LOWTIDE
Lowtide. It seems as though these guys are getting a heap of hype…and deservedly so it would seem. It’s shoegaze goodness – think the softer parts of My Bloody Valentine with some of that prefect pop/dream pop like The Radio Dept or Beach House.
What’s better than this is the fact that they’re local dudes. Who would have thought Melbourne could produce such great great musos?!!
The guys are also in the midst of recording their debut…but we gotta wait till 2012 for that one.
You can check out two of their tracks just below.
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awwww….how cute. look at all these pandas…
Panda Riot make that kind of life affirming music that sounds very sweet, especially just after you’ve submitted a piece of assessment for uni.
Panda Riot are in fact a fourpiece out of Chicago, and apart from being a little life affirming, they make some really nice shoe-gazy pop music. The guys have an EP out entitled Far and Near which you can grab via their website. There’s also a cover of M.I.A.’s Paper Planes they did on radio. You can check out that below as well as two of my faves from their EP Julie In Time and Streetlights and You and Me.
no faults.
Every once in a while you hear something that genuinely makes you excited. The past day and a half I’ve had that moment. I’ve been listening to a band called Letting Up Despite Great Faults. So, now, i’m bloody pleased to share these guys with you.
I think the reason why i’m so excited is that they have a pretty fresh sound. Some would call it chill-wave or dream wave or whatever you want to call it. And yeah, for sure, there’s definitely those elements. But I think they’ve got a bit of a folk kinda influence. And the songs are those sorts or songs that i’m not afraid to call ‘perfect’.
They put out a self-titled debut LP late last year, and although i’m only getting onto them now, i’m soo glad i have.
The track In Steps received a fair bit of love from Pitchfork, as well as a whole heap of other blogs out there. And, well, it’s worth it.
They’ve also got a few remixes out there too, the best (and that was a hard decision to make!) being their remix of Tape Deck Mountain’s track On My Honor.
They’re both below…and I definitely recommend getting the album (iTunes)
Letting Up Despite Great Faults – In Steps
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Tape Deck Mountain – On My Honor (Letting Up Despite Great Faults Remix)
