[watch] The Wave Pictures//Little Surprise

The Wave Pictures is David Tattersall (vocals and guitar), Franic Rozycki (bass guitar) and Jonny Helm (drums) and they’ve been hard at work since 1998.  I was just introduced to this British indie trio earlier this week and it’s yet another reminder that there are a plethora of good musicians out there waiting for new listeners.  If I had to compare them to one band, The Drums always seems to come to mind.

The trio just released a new video for their latest single, Little Surprise (available now via Moshi Moshi.  The full album, Beer in the Breakers, is set to be released May 2nd).  The track is fantastic and full of the eclectic humor and folksy charm that has come to define the band and the video is a perfect interpretation of the song.  It’s shot in beautiful Paloma Spain and in a rather upbeat form of melancholy tells the story of a young couple confronting depression and thoughts of suicide.

Vocalist Dave Tattersall sheds some light on the lyrical content – “I wrote these lyrics in a bar in Munich, hungover, first thing in the morning. The lyrics describe a scene involving two people who work there having some kind of squabble. It’s terribly mysterious. One of them has “a little surprise up his sleeve”, but we never find out what it is”.

Anyways, enjoy the video below, then head on over to the band’s media page where they have a good amount of free mp3s.

p.s. If you call the UK home, the band is currently on tour there.

[watch] Lykke Li//Sadness is a Blessing

Lykke Li just released her latest video offering from her new album, Wounded Rhymes.

Directed by Tarik Saleh and featuring Stellan Skarsgård as a troubled father, Sadness is a Blessing (my favorite track from the album) is another raw and artistic video from the talented Swedish songstress.

Lykke Li – Sadness is a Blessing (Gold Panda remix)

Mid-Week Mixtape: Post-Coachella Edition

Coachella 2011 has passed and it was amazing…or at least that’s what i’ve been told.  You see, while all my friends and the music outlets I pay attention to were enjoying the abundant musical offerings, while melting in the desert, they were also constantly updating their facebook, twitters, blogs, etc. and letting everybody else know how much fun they were having.

I really wanted to go this year and there were handful of bands that I was really looking forward to experiencing live — Animal Collective, Phantogram, Duck Sauce, Crystal Castles, The New Pornographers…just to name a few.

Now I can’t complain too much.  The reason I was unable to attend Coachella was because I was in New Orleans for work, but it still stung being constantly reminded of the good times and tunes I was missing out on.  So, I decided to dedicate this weeks mixtape to the bands I wanted to see most at Coachella 2011.
(Disclaimer: I’m only including bands/artists I have never seen live, hence the absence of Arcade Fire and others)

Animal Collective – For Reverend Green
More Animal Collective.

Crystal Castles – Violent Dreams
More Crystal Castles.

Cut Copy – Lights and Music (Moullinex Remix)
More Cut Copy.  More Moullinex.

Duck Sauce – Barbra Streisand
More Duck Sauce.

The New Pornographers – Moves (video)
More New Pornographers.

Phantogram – When I’m Small (RAC Mix)
More Phantogram.  More RAC.

Robyn – Dancing On My Own (Fred Falke Remix)
More Robyn.  More Fred Falke.

The National Visits KCRW

Tune in today (4/20) at 11:15am for a live studio performance by indie rockers, The National, on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic.  They’ll be treating listeners to tracks off one of 2010’s best releases, High Violet, and more.

If you’re itching for new stuff from The National, they have two new tracks featured on some soundtracks — game soundtrack for Portal 2 (Exile Vilify) and the film soundtrack for Win Win (Think You Can Wait).  Also, be sure to check out their tour dates and catch ’em live if you can.

The National – Pretty In Pink (Psychedelic Furs cover//Daytrotter Session)

Snow & Voices//Disintegration

LA based duo, Snow & Voices, are back with the second installment of their covers project.  The first installment was released in the fall of 2010 and is a cover of So Freely from Tir Na Nog’s 1972 release A Tear and a Smile.

The second installment in the covers project is an interpretation of The Cure’s Disintegration.  In keeping with Bruni and Kranz’s ideal of a musical collective,  Disintegration was recorded with friends and collaborators Joshua Grange, drummer Steven Nistor (Daniel Lanois) and mixed by Michael Patterson (The Social Network, Beck).  I love The Cure and I really enjoy this cover version.  To be completely honest, I haven’t heard a song by Snow & Voices I haven’t enjoyed.  Definitely check out the track below, then take a moment and listen to more from Snow & Voices, you won’t be disappointed.

Snow & Voices – Disintegration

Stay tuned for more from Snow & Voices and their covers project.  They’ll continue to release new tracks one at a time, every few months, over the next year.  Plus, a vinyl release of the album is planned for the end of the year!  In the meantime, you can check out my previous posts here.

Expert Music Lover//Amateur Music Blogger