"Lucky Ones"

Sorry about the holdup. I would say it's because of finals, but it's actually because I'm lazy. This post is going to be ridiculously long. So. Have fun with that.

Number Fourteen

Spoken word is a genre that a lot of people love without knowing it.

Just hearing phrases and lines being spoken over instrumentals is at times calming, at times intense, and pretty much always interesting. The lack of melody from the lead vocalist in these songs just put all the focus on the words, which is the point, I guess. Spoken word has never really taken off and has never had a devoted fanbase like other microgenres (lowercase and grindcore being some examples) but it's been around for a really long time.

Some recent spoken word artists are pretty great too. I'm putting two of their bandcamps below, Hotel Books and Flatsound, they're both sort of downers but I've been enjoying them. They're free too, which is always nice.

Hope you like 'em.

Flatsound's bandcamp
Hotel Books' bandcamp

Favorite: Flatsound - You Said Okay
Related: I dunno.

Number Fifteen

This is the first post about a music video.

Hot Sugar is an electronic music producer, making some nice and somewhat relaxing beats as well as bringing in guest artists to rap or sing over his music. He has a few mixtapes out (THEY'RE FREE), I'll put links to them down below as well the music video referenced earlier.

This one is kind of weird. It's for the song "Erica", featuring The GTW, a singer who I hadn't heard of before this. The video is about a relationship, one that is kind of going downhill, with Hot Sugar himself playing the guy and a very special guest playing the gal. It's interesting, funny, sort of disturbing.

I hope you like this one. It's a bit of an odd choice, I know, but I've been enjoying it.

PS: "Lars and the Real Girl" has nothing on this shit.

Hot Sugar - Made Man EP
Hot Sugar - Erica (feat. The GTW) (Video)
Hot Sugar - Midi Murder EP

Favorite song: Erica
Related: Dogtanion, Riley Lake

Number Sixteen

Here's some good ol' rock music. Well, drop the "ol'"

Desaparecidos is a rock band formed in 2001, with Conor Oberst leading the group. You may recognize the name (maybe), he's been releasing solo stuff as well as music with other groups. Desaparecidos is my favorite project of his to date, with some really biting political messages and catchy as hell choruses and riffs.

Their angle is to make music that is for the people, and attacks the government and industries in general at every turn. "Backsell" is a slap in the face for the music industry while "The Underground Man" takes a more personal approach. Conor's voice, which is strained pretty heavily on some the songs, only makes their message more intense. I may not agree with everything Desaparecidos puts out but I'm loving listening to it.

That opening riff to "Backsell" though.

PS: Conor's solo project is pretty damn good too.

Desaparecidos' website
Desaparecidos - Backsell
Conor Oberst's website

Favorite song: Backsell
Related: Conor Oberst, Bright Eyes

Number Seventeen

Hardcore releases that use saxophone are hardcore releases worth mentioning.

Idylls is a band from Brisbane. They've released a demo, I believe, and some other small things and then burst onto the scene with "Prayer for Terrene". It's demonic. Honestly, it's a confusing and overwhelming hardcore and metal album. It took a while for me to actually enjoy this one. But now it's easily one of my favorite releases this year.

Just the vocals put this thing into a very strange category. They come flying in from every direction, with ghostly yells and giant screams making up most of them. The guitar tone is incredible too; it's heavy and dark one minute and impossibly bright and piercing the next. The drums are also great on this release. The mix is startlingly good. And, as mentioned earlier, they experiment with weird, weird instrumentation.

The first track, "Lied To", is kind of the best thing ever. Also for future reference, I think it's pronounced "Idols"... not sure. Makes sense though.

Idylls' bandcamp
Idylls - Lied To
Idylls - PCP Crazy

Favorite song: Lied To
Related: THE HELL, The Dillinger Escape Plan

Number Eighteen

Jim Guthrie is a cool guy.

Jim Guthrie is a multi-instrumentalist from Toronto. He's been making music for some time now, 1999, I think, but he's been getting a lot of recognition from his work on soundtracks recently. He's scored the movie "Indie Game: The Movie" as well the games "Sword and Sorcery LP" for the iPhone and "Sound Shapes" for PS3. He makes very chill and pretty moving music.

His soundtrack work is usually voiceless, letting the mix of acoustic and electronic speak for itself. But his solo work features his pretty soothing voice. His vocals are nice, really just nice to listen to. The instrumentation is great, and his back catalog is fantastic as well. The re-release of "Now, More Than Ever" is fantastic (it's also free).

I'll put links to a stream of his soundtracks as well as a few releases from his bandcamp. Hopefully you like it, it's a big shift from Idylls but still awesome to listen to.

Jim Guthrie - Sword and Sorcery LP (Full Album)
Jim Guthrie - Corporeal (Download)
Jim Guthrie - The Evangelist
Jim Guthrie - Now, More Than Ever (Download)

Favorite song: The Evangelist
Related: Fleet Foxes, Radical Face

I promised last time I wouldn't fall behind. Oh well. This time I'll only sort of promise it.