R.F. Maston sent me an email a while back, asked me to check out his stuff and then sent me an album. Now first of all, that’s just about as Indie as an artist can get and the personal touch of an email tells me that this guy is pretty down to earth. I’ve had The Future on repeat since I got it. Something about the vibe I get from his mellowed-out indie folk reminds me of the Juno soundtrack, but I find R.F. Maston’s music more lasting and more interesting.
The Future is R.F. Maston’s debut album and I’m hoping that he’ll tour to support his release. I would love to see how he pulls off a live show because he plays all of the instruments on the album himself. I guess some people are just disgustingly talented like that.
The Trapper Schoepp (pronounced “Shep”) Band on Shepizzle.com… it just has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? I suppose it’s only fitting that I share this indie folk rockin’ band from Wisconsin’s music with you.
These guys have nailed an indie folk sound that is genuine and fun. The vocals are good and the melodies are fun and mostly upbeat. Others have compared the Trapper Schoepp Band’s sound to that of Wilco, but I don’t know if I would go that far…
I wasn’t even going to mention that these kids are still in high school, lest your prejudice stand in the way of you enjoying the music, but now that you have had a listen, it makes them that much more impressive, don’t you think?
These guys sent me their album a while back and I took too long to get the review up, so they will be the first band to be published via our submissions page. Check it!
Hi, my name is Matt. I play guitar, keyboard and sing in the Austin, TX indie rock band Built By Snow.
I love your site and I just wanted to tell you about our new animated music video. In the video we are space ship pilots in an 8-bit nintendo game! The princess gets kidnapped at the beginning and we’ve got to go rescue her… It’s mega-rad. I have personally done all of the special effects work, and it was just completed last week.
Here’s “Underneath” from Noise:
Also, here’s the link for the download of our debut album “Noise”:
Sea Wolf (a.k.a. Alex Church) is currently in heavy rotation on my playlist. I know that I have found a good band when my wife asks, “Who was that?” after each song on the album. I think that she thinks it’s Sea Wolf each time, but she’s just not sure.
Sea Wolf was my pick for best new artist of 2007. These guys are making some of the best new Indie music out there, a fusion of rock, folk, and melancholy blues that I just can’t get enough of.
Sea Wolf’s sound is versatile enough to be fresh and unique song after song, while Church’s vocals weave the common thread throughout each album. The band released their first full-length album in 2007 called Leaves In The River and I highly recommend it.
Favorite songs include “You’re A Wolf”, “Black Leaf Falls”, “Black Dirt”, and a song for your Valentine’s Day playlist - “The Garden That You Planted”. If you like Sea Wolf, try: The National, The Great Northern, Okkervil River, and Beirut.
Here’s the music video for “You’re A Wolf” from Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low.
Portugal. The Man is absolutely worthy of mention on this or any other Indie music blog.
These guys are from Alaska and I was curious to know whether or not any other bands I know of are from Alaska. A quick query on Google for list of bands from Alaska took me to www.alaskasbestbands.com and sadly, Portugal. The Man did not make the list, (Jack Johnson’s Quartet did make the list and no, it’s not that Jack Johnson.)
These guys have been able to reinvent their sound over and over again. Waiter: You Vultures! (2006) was a conglomerate of electronic and rock elements with a progressive twist. The bands frequent use of drum machines and other synthesized sounds were a trademark of that album. Church Mouth, Portugal’s latest release is much more traditional rock, with an almost Black Crowes-esque southern rock feel to it. The band cites Dirty Sweet and The Butchers and the Builders as influences.
I haven’t seen these guys live but I hear that their shows are pretty mind-blowing. Now how about some music?
So if you have been paying attention to my Last.fm profile, you would have seen this post coming. Every once in a while, I get on a Sigur Rós kick and I just let myself get lost in their music for a few days.
Hailing from the nordic northlands of Iceland, Sigur Ros is no stranger to international success. The band has released several solid albums including ( ), Takk…, and most recently, Hvarf-Heim. Their music contains elments of ambient sound, shoegaze, and rock. Many of the songs are very epic both in feel and in length. The vocals are sung in a made up language loosely based on Icelandic that leaves the lyrics to the listener’s imagination, though the music does enough to convey the intended emotion. Also worthy of note is that guitarist Jón Þór Birgisson is one of only a select few who often plays his guitar with a cello bow in true Jimmy Page fashion!
If you like Sigur Ros, try: Mogwai, Radiohead, The Album Leaf, Broken Social Scene, Efterklang
Sigur Ros’ music videos are truly works of art. I chose this one because of how well the video complements the feel of the music. This is “Glosoli” from Takk…
Tobias Fröberg is awesome. Honestly, I don’t know much about this guy other than that he is an Indie folk singer/songwriter from Sweden who has toured with Jose Gonzalez and that his music is a really worthwhile.
As I sit here listening to him, I really can’t figure out why Tobias Froberg isn’t more of a household name among Indie music lovers the world over. His melodies are fun (the kind that usually get you to sing along before you even know the words) and his vocals are moody. His songs are mostly, if not all, based on his acoustic guitar. If you think folk and you just won’t be disappointed.
I think the thing that I like most about Mr. Froberg’s music is his versatility. When he wants to be happy and upbeat, as in “When The Night Turns Cold” he does it convincingly and when he wants to be all sappy and lovey dovey, he does it with the best of them.
Froberg has released two albums, For Elisabeth Wherever You Are and Somewhere in the City. Somewhere in the City is an impressive release, one of those very complete and well-constructed albums that you can listen to all the way through over and over. Have a listen and see for yourself.
I sit here listening to a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Antony and the Johnsons and I feel calmed by the hauntingly beautiful voice of Antony Hegarty. I’ve been a fan of these guys for a while and I must say that they are one of the few bands to cover this song that actually do it justice (in my humble opinion anyway).
Hegarty was born in the U.K. and moved to the U.S. as a teen. His voice is truly one-of-a-kind and I like it a lot. There aren’t many singers out there that can pack as much emotion into their voice as Antony can. Have a listen and see for yourself!
The band has released 2 albums, Antony and the Johnsons and I Am A Bird Now with a release entitled The Crying Light due out autumn 2008.
Favorite songs include “Fistful of Love“, “Hope There’s Someone“, and “Cripple and the Starfish”. If you like Antony and the Johnsons, try: Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Bjork, and Rufus Wainwright.
Here’s a live video of Antony and the Johnsons playing “Fistful of Love”. I like the studio version of this song better because the horns give it that big band type of feel, but this is pretty rad too. Enjoy!
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