Kimbra, a Soulful Kiwi

When I first heard the soulful/indie voice of Hamilton, New Zealand's Kimbra, it was where most people (at least here in the States) were introduced to her, amazingly complementing Gotye's magical (and possibly catchiest song ever) Somebody That I Used To Know. 




If you haven't heard this one yet, take a listen: Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know

Although I'm really digging what Gotye is doing, I was more intrigued by the young woman singing next to him (and no it wasn't because she was nakedin the video, that was just part of it).

Kimbra is hard to classify, Spotify calls he a "soulful vocalist with a bend towards jazzy R&B and indie-rock influenced dance music."Phew! Biut I agree. I couldn't decide if she reminded me of Robyn, Feist, Lily Allen, or Duffy. However you classify her, she's good. And I think she has the potential to get huge, especially as the aforementioned Gotye song blows up.

Here's a selection of Kimbra songs to get you started.

Kimbra – Settle Down

Cameo Lover

Good Intent

and finally, Two Way Street (Live)'

From Reykjavik with Love - Of Monsters and Men

The first time I heard Of Monsters and Men, I was walking our dogs through a local park and the song Little Talks (see below) came on and hit me like a shot of Brennivín. What ensued was not necessarily a jig, a line dance, or a grapevine, but something in between the three. I received a cold look from my dogs a warm feeling in my heart, like that of a friendly Reykjavik fire in February. This Icelandic indie folk band is about to blow up here in the states and you better jump on this bandwagon before they Mumford on you. I wanted to feature Of Monsters and Men as a Tastiest of 2011 band, but their album doesn't drop here for another month or so. In the mean time, here some of my favorites from the band thus far. I Cannot wait for the full LP.


All of these songs were recorded in a hostel in Reykjavik, which makes them way cooler.  
First off, here's the song that made me dance in the first place, Little Talks Of Monsters And Men – Little Talks
Download this song for free from the band...     
"I don't like walking around this old and empty house.
So hold my hand, I'll walk with you my dear"

Six Weeks Of Monsters And Men – Six Weeks

and Love, Love, Love Of Monsters And Men – Love Love Love

Illuminated by the Lumineers

I decided to dedicate this first official post of twenty-twelve to my wife. Every time I come to her enthusiastically with a "Baby, you've got to listen to this new band I found!", she always listens intently and enthusiastically gives me legitimate feedback, even when she has an anatomy test on the horizon. Early this week, the tables were turned. I received a text from her that read as follows: "Babe, do you know the Lumineers, they're out of Denver? You should put them on your blog!" #bestwifeever.
So my answer was no, I hadn't heard of The Lumineers out of Denver. But after listening to them all week, I'm grateful for this discovery. This is a folky and fun band, with heaps of talent and a definite dark side. 


The Lumineers are not on Spotify yet but they do have an amazing live session that can be downloaded for free on Daytrotter. However, their live recordings on YouTube are fun, intimate, and makes me greatly anticipate a live viewing of this great band in Northern Colorado. 


Here's Ho Hey. The audio isn't amazing in this version but I absolutely love the context and atmosphere of this video. My favorite quote heard in the background of this song "watch those beers, I bet they're full."

Dead Sea

Flowers in Your Hair

Be in my eye, Be in my heart, Be in my eye, eyeyeye, Be in my heart

Tastiest of 2011 - All The Rest

So being that we're about a week into 2012, I've decided to do one final post about my favorite music from the past year. I wanted to include many of these artists as individual posts but the time has come to move on. So, without further ado, let's bring the final Tastiest of 2011 pizza out of the oven and have a few slices.


First up Wilco, from their album  The Whole Love, here's the epic seven minute track , Art of Almost. Wilco – Art Of Almost. Check it out on Letterman.

Although I didn't love Brett Dennen's 2011 release Loverboy, I did really enjoy some of the songs. Brett is one of the most fun, positive, and happy musicians out there and everything you see in his videos resembles what you see in his live shows. Plus, he's lost a lot of weight since I met him a few years back (see photo below).  

Brett Dennen – Comeback Kid (That's My Dog)

Alright, time to change it up. Here's Jay Z and Kanye West (and oh yeah, the man, Otis Redding) with Otis from Watch the Throne Jay Z – Otis

Sounds so soulful, don't you agree?

Let's M83 it. Here's Midnight City from the album Hurry Up We're Dreaming. M83 – Midnight City

Everything Connor Oberest and Bright Eyes does is gold and the album The People's Key was no exception. I chose the song Jejune songs because I love how much Connor sounds like Paul Simon in Kodachrome when he sings  "into the green of the radar."

Bright Eyes – Jejune Stars 

Mac Miller is a 19 year old rapper out of Pittsburgh and this song Knock, Knock was the official soundtrack to our summer party. Mac Miller – Knock Knock Plus the Philadelphia Flyers have adopted the song as their victory anthem, awesome!. 

My "Most Theatrical" award goes to Fun. and their song We Are Young. Fun. – We Are Young - feat. Janelle Monáe

The Civil Wars, my favorite duet of 2011! Here's Poison and Wine from the album Barton Hallow. The Civil Wars – Poison & Wine

Ok, to change it up completely, here's Denver's finest electronic rock band. This was also my wife's favorite pop song of  2011. Here's Breathe Carolina with Blackout Breathe Carolina – Blackout.***Video is a bit racy, might not be safe for work, but that all depends on where you work.***   

Finally, Dispatch. One of my favorite bands of all time reunited this summer and I was lucky enough to see them play one of their first shows of their reunion tour at Red Rocks this past summer. The band released an EP this year and and just hearing new music from the band for the first time in 8 years pretty much made my summer just by itself. Here's Broken American filmed in Steamboat Springs, CO! Dispatch – Broken American 

Alright, that does it for 2011! Sorry to all the Adele (I do like Adele) fans but it's time for me to move on. There was heaps of great music in 2011 and I couldn't recognize it all, but I hope my list has given you a solid overview of my musical tastes. Thank you 2011, you were Bad Ass!     

Tastiest of 2011 - The Decemberists

So I know that 2011 is behind us and at this point I should probably be moving away from the past year of music, but I have just a couple more bands and pieces of music I'd like to recognize from the past year before I fully embrace music in the final year of human existence.

The King is Dead by The Decemberists was the only new piece of vinyl I purchased in 2011, and was well worth it. The combination of Colin Meloy, Gillian Welch, and a barn in Oregon can only be truly appreciated when heard on a turntable (although the digital copy that came with the LP has probably had more plays). However, this album had many critics this year. I heard multiple Decemberists purists complain about the band "changing it up too much, (selling out dare I say)" and going from their more traditional seven minute rock-opera sounds to three minute catchy tunes. The other critique I heard over and over was "this was the best REM album in 20 years!" This argument is hard to refute and here is a conspiracy video that plays Down By The Water and One I Love back to back:

With all that being said, the album has some major REM influences BECAUSE Peter Buck plays on three of the songs. I truly believe The King is Dead doesn't ripoff REM, but pays homage to the band and successfully integrates one of the founding members. Ok, enough of me defending the album. Let's listen to some music.

My favorite song on the album is still the first, Don't Carry It All. Every time I hear it, I flash back to my needle dropping onto the album for the first time and hearing Colin, drums, and a harmonica shake the windows of my house. Sorry I couldn't find a better video for this one. The Decemberists – Don't Carry It All

     

Next, This Is Why We Fight The Decemberists – This Is Why We Fight

Calamity Song The Decemberists – Calamity Song...

And finally, June Hymn. 

This song has a bit of meaning for me based on my Summer Solstice wedding anniversary. Every time I hear this song, my heart goes there.  

Here's a hymn to welcome in the day
Heralding a summer's early sway
And all the bulbs all coming in
To begin

Tastiest of 2011 - tUnE-yArDs

The first time I head tUnE-yArDs, my wife and I were negotiating the tight hairpin turns of Berthoud Pass, returning from a ski weekend in Winter Park, CO. Our friend Julie had given us a couple of CDs for the drive back to the front range and she prefaced the tUnE-yArDs disc with a "be open-mined about this one." And without question, you do need an open mind to enjoy Merill Garbus and her ever-growing band. But if you do open yourself up to them, you'll be happy you did. Merill Garbus is one of the most innovative, talented, fun, and strange musicians I've heard in years, and my ears happily eat up everything she does. Garbus creates drum loops before adding in her ukulele and powerful voice along with bass and saxophone from other members of the band. The result is cool beyond words. 


Here's the most popular song from the w h o k i l l album, Bizness Tune-Yards – Bizness

Also from w h o k i l l, Ganster. Tune-Yards – Gangsta
Bang Bang Oi!

Finally, here's the NPR Tiny Desk Concert from Merill Garbus and crew. What I love so much about this is how well it showcases the tUnE-yArDs music creation process. Awesome!