Mittwoch, 26. Februar 2014

The Wild Young Hearts - California Dreams: Let california dreaming begin with blithe, brisk and bracing 'feel good' surf rock



'I want you to move to California for yourself, I want you to find whatever your heart needs, I want you to move to California for yourself, but not for me'. - Delta Spirit


Freitag, 21. Februar 2014

Puppet Rebellion - 'No Means Yes': no puppets on a string, authentic and straightforward music makers, keen and rebellious music making



Music has its own voice. One that speaks up, stirrs and fascinates with intensity, one that moves and lingers on with smooth vibrancy. It unleashes a narration, one of growth and change, personally experienced or depicted somewhere else, one of cherished memories, sentimental, lyrical, cordial moments of life, now and then, of history, made and recalled. Either whispered or heralded, it is able to bestow a glimpse of alien, yet not unfamiliar stories on you - as long as its echo lasts - and makes you embrace tales told, evokes empathy and understanding for what messages are conveyed. It's indeed the music's voice that bears the message of a song, it's the sound though that transports and makes it audible, accessible to the listener as the instrumentation and vocals equally make demands, call for the listener's best attention and lure him in once he has been attracted by the tonal dimensions unfolding, the lyrical contents revealing themselves. It's a balanced, interveawing yet accentuated interaction between both the music's voice, id est lyrics and message, and its sound, id est instrumentation and vocal performance. Whilst each instrumental layer contributes to create an inviting atmosphere for the message to be heard, the vocals carry it out, they make the audience believe the words sung, allow them to welcome the melodies that envelop and support the compositional subtext. Eventually the point is reached when the audience opens up, trusts what the vocalist is content to share, as it is charmed by his degree of emotional involvement, taken in by his honest, though to a certain extent imaginative approach to music. His music.


Montag, 3. Februar 2014

Caves. One band. One EP. One word: invigorating.



Tracklist: 01. Oh Amy - 02. Swim - 03. Newark
                                     
There is this one question most bands and musicians have trouble to answer, even though it's an essential one, one that defines and outlines their music, that puts their being as musicians in concrete terms. What music do you embrace? Simple as that. Yet to narrow down one's genre, or to give an insight in what music, which artists have influenced the forming and progress of bands is difficult, tricky. Most musicians don't claim only one genre to be theirs, they have come up with a more or less clever combination of some, draw inspiration of many, interpret music at times more, at times less inspiringly. You need to be content with an evasive, not exactly satisfying answer as plenty bands won't specify their sound in greater detail to you, unless you follow up on it. Dare to ask, to dig deeper and you might eventually be 'enlightened'. You might eventually be given an answer, but will you be more in the know of a band's sound afterwards? That's another the question. Especially since 'indie' as reply is fast at hand. Indie rock. Indie pop. Indie (sub)genre xy. However, indie is no genre. Neither is this attempt to label one's sound claryfying at all. As much as indie suits to qualify an ethos, an attitude, a situation musicians embody and find themselves in, being their own producers, managers and promoters, it doesn't to determine one's colour of sound, one's musical direction. You see deciding on one's sound, may it be its tendency, disposition, may it be its 'definition', is not that easy, as pronouncing it might 'bind' to a specific genre, a specific arrangement of songs, might raise certain expectations both the musicians and the listeners develop. In the end it's a fine line between defining and confining.


CAVES [f.l.t.r.:] Jon Huntley (bass guitar), Andy Pink (vocals/rhythm guitar),
Dan Carney (vocals/lead guitar), Daniel Walsh (percussion)