Your Band of the Month
 

I did a quick skim through the forum to figure out if there was anything like this already, so if I missed it I apologize.

Anyways, I'm sure we all listen to a ton of music all the time, but at any given stretch there is usually a band or album that I can't stop coming back to. I'll continue listening to other albums by other artists, but something keeps bringing me back to this one album and only after I've memorized all the lines and hooks will I let it rest. For a while. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

So, what band/album or even song have you been totally wearing out for the month? It can be old or new. Something you just found, or something you have rediscovered after a long time of not listening. We can start of January's.

My pick for January is Asobi Seksu.
http://www.gothtronic.com/Goth/img_/...AsobiSeksu.jpghttp://www.inkoma.com/pages/news/07_...ksu-citrus.jpghttp://www.pastemagazine.com/article...seksu_hush.jpg

I have not been able to stop listening to this band. Based in New York and fronted by a pretty hot Japanese singer, their band name is slang Japanese for playful sex. I got into their album Citrus last year and gave it a few listens. I really enjoyed it and this was a band I was happy to be a fan of. Citrus was a good dreampop/shoegaze blend with a few very strong singles. The songs 'Strawberries' and 'Thursday' are truly breathtaking. Yuki's voice is very dreamy and they succeed in creating incredible atmospheric jams during their finest moments. I decided to then check out their debut. Enjoyable, but not as strong as Citrus.

Then last November along came Hush. I'm not sure why I didn't listen to it until last month. Maybe it was because even though Citrus was very good, I didn't see enough skill to think they could top it. Well, I bit the bullet, put it on, and was subsequently mind ****ed. Hush is such a sexy album. Now focusing more on their work as a whole, Hush flows seamlessly from beginning to end. Citrus had very strong individual songs, but Hush begs to be listened to all the way through, only to leave you wanting more. Shifting their focus entirely to dreampop (very few big buzz guitar moments here), the atmospheric moments they achieved on Citrus are fully realized here. The album is consistently interesting not only because of the range of textures they use, but because they refuse to be predictable. Where you think they could continue jamming with the groove they have, they change the beat only to tear you into another world. And it is done with expertise. This is one of those bands that I am proud to have discovered if only because of the level of growth I can see in them. If they can move from Citrus to an album like Hush, I can't wait to see what else they can do.




So, there you have it. The band I couldn't stop listening to for January. And honestly, it has been bleeding into February, but I'm sure I'll have something else by the end of this month.

So, let's hear it, guys. What do you have?

February - Broken Bells
 

Broken Bells
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hi87gEa0oB...ad+-+2010.jpeg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y15...rokenBells.jpg

Cool thread man. I'll have to think about this one, look through my play history and see who I've focused on the most this month.

Agree, this is a great thread. I was actually thinking of something similar to this the other night.

For me in January it was all about this instrumental hip-hop release. I wrote a review for it in my journal (page 3), so if anyone's interested in everything I have to say about it then check there, but heres the album cover:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...UL._SS500_.jpg



For a single song though...It would have to be Outlandish - Rock All Day, hands down. God knows how many times I actually heard this in entirety. Amazing song. Also discussed in my journal btw. :thumb:

At this minute in time, Steely Dan, in particular the Aja album.

I would have to say for January and into February it has been Autechre (an experimental electronic music duo from Rochdale, England). I think this is partly due to the announcement of their new album, Oversteps, for March 23. Where many people can't wait for new releases and must grab a leak as soon as it's available, I utilize that time (along with keeping myself occupied with other artists) to revisit the back-catalog of said artist. Autechre is a group I've been into since the mid-late 90s I'd say, but they're a difficult one. Each album feels like a puzzle, where the task is to build melodies out of what might on the surface sound like a cold mechanical wasteland of noise. If you put it on as background music, some albums could hurt your brain pretty quickly, while others are more ambient and soothing yet still complex. So they demand a good deal of attention, and take a while to sink in. Not to mention an individual song basis, sounds build on other sounds to eventually develop into something...or sometimes not. But regardless, they make cool noises. I probably have never played any one of their albums more than 10 times each, and that's probably pushing it, 5 may be more realistic for some. So I don't know them inside and out like I would other albums by other artists, there is just so much in each album, it truly sounds very different on each listen. So waiting for a new album, which I hear is supposedly quite different and more 'obvious', is a great time to let the rest of their albums sink in a bit more. Here are some of my favorite releases, for the uninitiated willing to take a chance:

Amber, Tri Repetae, EP7, Draft 7.30

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA240_.jpghttp://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/image....L._AA240_.gifhttp://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/image....L._AA240_.jpghttp://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/image....L._AA240_.jpg

And a few awesome tracks not from those releases:

Band of the Month for January: Tullycaft
Their music isn't complicated, it doesn't have any deep meaning, it's just fun, you can listen to it and it will put you in a good mood no matter how bad you are feeling. Their songs are full of quirky lyrics, pop culture references and humorous anecdotes about culture, their music is light, upbeat, poppy, something that can just be purely enjoyed, and that's perfect for me.

The Blood Brothers

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/...d+Brothers.jpg

I have two. :o
First one is Can.


Future Days has been put on nightly. It's ambient in a very strange way.

The second is fun.


Aim and Ignite has been put on almost daily, but for the opposite reason as Can. It's one of the most melody-packed and upbeat albums I own.

Zun Zun Egui


Saw this lot support The Ex & Brass Unbound (Mats Gustaffson, Wolter Weirbos, Ken Vandermark and Rick Paci) a couple of weeks back and they were mesmerising. They only have a two track single released in 2008 and a three track EP released late last year to their name at the moment.

This album is great. Music By Cavelight is a bit more up my alley, but The Music Scene is still pretty stellar.

I got Amber based on your recommendation. It is a little hard to get into, but I think the talent these guys have is slowly starting to creep into my brain. I think I will check the other albums you mentioned here if they are so varied. I love it when an electronic artist can release albums with distinct personalities. So many artists can release album after album of electronic music that I really can't even pick apart.

Well I think to the uninitiated, their albums may sound the same to an extent, with a few exceptions that are obviously a different vibe. I would suggest you either get Draft 7.30 or Quaristice next. Draft because I think it's their best, and Quaristice because the songs are much shorter than normal for them and it's almost like a sketchbook of ideas. A bit off-putting to long-time fans but there are a lot of great ideas within that are easier for newcomers to wrap their heads around.

taylor swift
 

taylor swift is pretty and she has a awesome voice

eeewww eeewww eeewww eeewww


NOOOOOOO






anyway, Burzum for me

I'm confused.

Sorry, but I have to plug these guys again:

Sufer Blood - Astro Coast

http://professorkeanbean.files.wordp...stro-coast.jpg

^There's really not too many things on earth that are cooler than that short chime bit at :30 seconds or so, right before the chorus starts. Freaking love that part. :love:

That sounds pretty good V&F. I need to get on that.

bands I have been liking this Month.
 

Currently I have been listening to a lot of My Morning Jacket this month, kick ass band, especially the early recording album Sandworm Cometh. Another cool band I just saw and was digging on after getting a copy of their EP is The Modern Conspiracy. They really remind me of Kings of Leon, but a little bit more toned down.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-o0thgjeLG...r+-+Act+II.jpg

I've been enjoying a lot of The Dear Hunter this month; they blend a lot of cool schlock together, from post-hardcore bursts of energy to Talking Heads funkiness to early Queen-like guitar heroics to friggen' vaudeville of all things...

In other words, very amazing stuff.

http://cache.thephoenix.com/secure/u...s-oldphoto.jpg

The Swirlies

Hands down, these guys have been my band for the past month. I was looking up old 90's college guitar rock and found a few great bands, but then I heard the Swirlies. I listened to a random song on Youtube and was impressed enough to check out one of their albums. Based purely on the cover, I got They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons. I had no idea what I was in for. The whole album flows one song after the next...it is impossible to skip through. There was also so much variety that I was never bored...once.

At the end of listening to that album, I did something I hadn't done in a long long while. I played it again. Yep, one play through was just not enough...I had to hear that album again. I have no clue why these guys didn't get more recognition. I am slowly making my way through their discography, but I want to pay the proper attention to each album so I am nowhere near through it all.

Just take a listen to these songs and know that they do absolutely no justice to the album as a whole (despite their greatness):

I downloaded that album the other day as someone (you?) posted a link to their site where you could download it free. Haven't listened, but the clips on Amazon sounded promising.

My band of the month for February...Heavenly, not the French metal band, the British twee pop band.

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/v...al_Castles.png
A friend turned me onto the crystal castles. I've been listening to a lot of stuff off of there debut.

The Ocean
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...5/theocean.jpg

Endlessly fluid, creative, artistic, and generally heavy as fuck. Truly deserving of the title "collective", their 2007 release, Precambrian, features over 20 musicians with the addition of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Check it.

I'm gonna go with Arms & Sleepers

http://headsupboston.files.wordpress...pg?w=450&h=337

http://www.iconsofpunk.com/Profiles/...ailureBand.jpg

Undoubtedly my band of the month has been Failure. Little known alt.rock band that had the misfortune to release their music at the height of Nirvana/ Smashing Pumpkins/ Bush/ Stone Temple Pilots so they largely went unheard. Certainly is a shame because their sound was so similar to the popular bands mentioned above, yet had its own defining feature to it, something that I don't think a lot of unknown bands had back in the '90's. It is so easy to chuck them in with the legions of wannabe Nirvana bands from the '90's, but by doing so you miss out on such an amazing blend of fuzzy stoner-esque rock, college alt. rock, and hints of Blue Album Weezer styled song writing. Since everyone seems to be reveling in the nostalgia of the '90's lately then this is a band you need to check out if you're unfamiliar with them.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...st_Edition.jpg

Kenny Rogers on LSD would in any other situation be a disturbing predicament, not so in this case.

Good call there...do it peeps. :thumb:

I'm loving the stuff people are posting here...I had a feeling this thread would be a good idea I'm glad it has picked up. I need to spend some more time looking into all these guys a bit more.