We The Kings

 So here's a band who totally has me reminiscing on  my freshman year of high school, We the Kings.  I was a huge fan of these dudes back when I was fifteen and remember seeing them at warped tour.  They had hits that you might remember like "Check Yes, Juliet".  Now don't get me wrong, I am still a fan of this band.  I haven't been following them nearly as much, but I do remember purchasing some of their songs off their last album that came out just last year.  Now the guys are already back with their third album that came out this past July.  This new video for "Say You Like Me" just came out, but is their second single from the album.  The first one was one of my summer jams called, "Friday is Forever".  I have a feeling though that "Say You Like Me" is definitely going to be a bigger hit though.

The video is super quirky, with a video game theme.  What surprises me most about this song though is its sound.  It starts off really soft but then gets this reggae sound to it.  It also sounds a little more mainstream pop than We the King's usual alternative pop rock sound.  Travis Clark, lead singer, however still sounds like his usual self.  Descent and cute, but nothing too special.

                                                                                         My Favorite We the Kings song: 





Vocals:4.5

Ladies and Gents, I Found Me Another Guy/Girl Duo

From San Diego, this duo, Little Hurricane, calls their music "dirty blues".  Well, I couldn't think of a better genre to deem their music, it's just that.  Their album Homewrecker, came out earlier this year and it is reminiscent of early blues artists, but with a more passionate rock edge.

Unlike my other current fav duo, the Civil Wars, Little Hurricane is definitely more rock n roll.  They sing a little more grunty and a little more angry.  They've got a lot of attitude.  They also don't have as many pleasant and romantic harmonies.  Either way, with their distinct voices, harder guitar riffs, and roughness around the edges, Little Hurricane is a new band that I'm definitely going to follow.

They call themselves Tone and CC.  While I don't know why, I think this shows Little Hurricane's coolness.  They don't need real names, they let their music speak.

I heard about Little Hurricane through a website I recently found called Indie Vision Music, where they advertised that they had a free cover of "Baby It's Cold Outside" just in time for Christmas.  I'm really interested in hearing what it sounds like.  Here's the link http://www.littlehurricanemusic.com/
just go to their website and enter your email address.

Vocals: 5

Oh Land

This video caught my attention awhile back when I randomly saw it on MTVU, but I honestly didn't give it a second thought.  Then, however this artist, Oh Land, kept popping up on my YouTube sidebar.  I decided to watch the video again and  listen to more of her music, and I have to say, I might be newly obsessed.  This Danish singer's music is pretty unique in my opinion and also kind of catchy.

This video for "Sun of a Gun" is pretty mesmerizing.  I love the fashion and the whimsical scenery.  The girly romantic dresses, poofy sleeves, and intense eyeliner she wears and the pink sky behind her are really cool.  The dancing Oh Land does in the video shows off her ballet background.  She used to be a part of the Royal Danish and Royal Swedish Ballet schools, two of the oldest and most prestigious companies.

Oh Land reached some popularity earlier this year in the U.S. with performances on late night TV shows, but I haven't really seen her take off yet besides that.  I think her style and voice are completely original though, and maybe that's why she still isn't very well known.  Oh Land's voice is might not be killer, but what I like about it is that it's different.  You can hear her thick accent and wide range when she sings.  Her voice is soft and peaceful.  I really like the beginning of "Sun of a Gun" with her breathy "whoo"s where she sounds almost like a train or something.  I also enjoy the chimes and snaps throughout her song.

Since I wasn't too impressed with her voice, I decided to find out if Oh Land had real talent or if she was just another plain auto-tuned electropop artist.  I'm happy to say, this girl does have some skill.  You can hear her pipes and range in these songs, more than in her more catchy stuff.







Vocals: 7.5

Dia Frampton

          War paint, forests, fires, bone drumsticks?  So this video isn't exactly realistic, nor does it make much sense.  This is the first single from The Voice contestant and half of pop-rock band Meg&Dia, Dia Frampton.  She was runner up on the show and praised for her interesting and unique voice, and Dia is on her way to making a name for herself.  However, I'm not quite sure this video was a good idea as her introduction as a solo artist.
          While the imagery in the video is whimsical and looks cool, especially with the awesome lighting and great fashion, I don't really see it as that good.  It's cute, but I find it strange that it's a metaphor of something like a Peter Pan story, where the pretty piano player takes care of her children and friends in an isolated meadow from the bad guys.  It's definitely different than anything else out right now, but it's a little corny to me.
           Not only is the video corny, but so are the lyrics.   "I can't help it, I love the broken ones, the ones who need the most patching up, the ones who have never been loved enough".  Hmmmm, while I'm sure these words are relatable to some, I think they could have been better executed into a song.  Besides the cornyness though, I do like Dia's voice.  It is definitely different.  It is soft and nasily, but in a good way.  I really hope that the rest of her album, which is due to come out next month, isn't as cheesy as this.  I really liked her music from Meg&Dia and enjoy her more simple yet jazzy style on The Voice.  Hopefully her album has at least one of these factors in it.

Vocal: 6.5

Economy - John Mark McMillan

          Economy, the new album by folk/worship artist John Mark McMillan just came out on November 1st.  Don't let the pink album cover fool you, this right here is real music.  It's full of powerful lyrics and guitar shreds, not to mention the deep almost country-sounding voice of John Mark McMillan.  I got to see this guy at Stubb's earlier this semester and he gave us a sneak peak of this album by playing some of its songs.  While I won't say that his live show is the most interesting - he was usually very stiff, also having monotonous facial expressions - he was still extremely good.  John Mark's songs on this album are definitely more rhythmic than songs on his previous ones, yet are still filled with the same rawness and artistry.       
           I love how this album goes seamlessly from uptempo to somber.  It is cohesive in every way and the songs flow perfectly into one another.  The choruses are triumphant yet simple, making you feel as though hundreds of people could be singing along to them.  This is a bit different from his previous stuff, which was a lot more simplistic in sound.  Here however, there are tons of face-melting guitar solos and heavy drum beats. 

John Mark McMillan at Stubb's in October

           While the sounds of the songs are cohesive, there is still a lot of variety in Economy.  For instance "Who is This" is very instrumentally driven, with only a few repeated lines.  Most of the other tracks however are filled with vivid and complex lyrics throughout.  Some are slower and more emotional while other contain lots of "oohs" and easy melodies. 
            John Mark McMillan's voice alone is a reason to listen to this album.  It is deep and gritty, and very enunciated.  He sometimes hits some gentle falsetto that show his disposition like in "Sins are Stones".  Other times he belts out the lyrics like in "Daylight".  "Chemicals" and "Seen in Darkness" also have a soft and simple female backing harmony that I really enjoy.



Check out his YouTube channel to see some awesome videos of him performing tracks from this album in some really cool places, called the "Takeaway show":
http://www.youtube.com/user/Johnmarkmcmillan


Vocals: 8

Deas Vail

If you haven't heard of Deas Vail, I recommend you check them out.  A good friend of mine told me about them almost a year ago.  Then, after Last.fm kept suggesting them to me since they were similar to other artists I like, I finally started paying attention.  There an amazing band from Arkansas if you're into soft indie rock sounding like Copeland, Death Cab, or Mae.  Wes Blaylock's super high tenor voice is completely whimsical and dreamy.  Backed by his wife (Daawww :D), Laura, for some simple harmonies, and their songs are truly beautiful.  While Deas Vail's harmonies are usually no more than a third above the melody, the Blaylock's still show promising talent and an original sound.  Laura actually opens the album with the intro of the song "Desire", then Wes soon joins her as they sing two pretty lines simultaneously.  This self titled album, which is actually their sixth, has a lot of different sounds.  It has some that are really soft and peaceful songs to listen to before you go to bed or some more fun and upbeat ones that have choruses for singalongs.  Besides Wes's crystal clear and precise voice hitting every note perfectly, the instrumentals of this album are also quite impressive, such as the bass intro in "Desire" and the guitar solo in "Quite Like Sirens".

This video has been out since June, and is one of their more fun songs.  It's really nostalgic, reminding you of summers of your youth.  Plus it's totes adorbs.

                                                                                


Vocals: 8.5
Album: 7

JJ Heller - Deeper

 

          This new album by JJ Heller came out last month and I'm pretty in love with it.  Her music is acoustic Ingrid Michaelson-esque.  Heller has an awesome voice accompanied many times only by her acoustic guitar.  Some of my favorites from the album are "Control" and "No Fight Left" when you need some relatable emotion, and "When I'm With You" and "Boat Song" if you're into romantic cuteness.  

           JJ Heller's voice is so sweet and clear and in songs like "Red Against Your Black", jazzy with a little more attitude.  It is simplistic, yet definitely unique.  In fact, this is said to be her best album yet vocally.  Also on some of the songs you can hear a soft male harmony in the background.  

          Overall Deeper by JJ Heller is full of beautiful work that makes you want to go lay on a grassy knoll in the middle of a flowery meadow.  It's full of all different emotions from sheer happiness, being in love, anguish, to spiritual optimism.  There's something for any mood you might be in.

"No Fight Left"                                                             

Vocals: 7
Album: 7

Consistency Might Be Key

          I stumbled upon this song today while on iTunes.  It's their free single of the week so I though, what the heck might as well download it.  I've never been a huge fan of Angels and Airwaves, but I do like their music.  Except for one little thing - their songs all sound the same.  While the lyrics are all pretty good, they seem to be about the same topics.  The instrumentals are also always similar.  Very epic. 
          It's no surprise that this song doesn't disappoint in that aspect.  The chorus sounds just like one from another one of their songs...though I can't think of which one.  Frontman, Tom DeLonge also still sounds the same.  His Angels and Airwaves voice, contrary to his Blink 182 voice, is displayed here as usual.  Not that his voice is bad, I do actually like it.  However, his overexcentuation of the words does sometimes get annoying.  Regardless, I'm pretty sure he purposely makes it sound that way in order to give them this distinct sound.  I mean, there's no way they just sound like this by accident.         
          Angels and Airwaves definitely have the consistency factor down.  Maybe Tom Delonge was just too tired to come up with anything else, since he also just released a new Blink album a couple of months ago.  One thing that this band does have going for them is that, at least when you hear one of their songs for the first time, there's no doubting who they are.  Hmmm well, maybe that might be a good thing, but maybe not.  I guess it just depends on what you prefer.

Vocal: 5

Florence and the Machine

     Florence and the Machine just came out with a new album yesterday, called Ceremonials, but I've been addicted to this song "Shake it Out" for sometime now since they first started playing it on SiriusXM's AltNation.  This video came out almost a month ago, and it really depicts the Florence Welch's sort of cool, bizarre elegance.  I love the shiny clothes and fancy rooms where it takes place.  Not to mention the awkward spinning and dancing, masks, and kooky cinematography of this video.
      At the moment, this is one of my favorite driving jams.  It's constantly on in my car.  I think the reason why I like it is because of it's unique sound from other stuff out right now.  I love Florence's sweet yet powerful voice, her many trills, and her wide range.  What's also cool about this song is how it reminds me of 80's pop music, which I'm also a big fan of, especially the backing vocals on the chorus.  The sound of the line "Shake it out, shake it out, oh woah" is definitely something reminiscent of an old Cyndi Lauper, Stevie Nicks, or the Eurythmics tune.  Even with this, Florence still seems very original.
     Retro is a big trend right now, but most artists are turning to the 70s or 90s.  Also, I don't think that very many artists have voices that match their retro persona.  Florence on the other hand, has a voice that is classic.  It appeals to both the older crowd and the young and hip as well.

Vocals: 8.5