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Y La Bamba

I learned of Portland, OR band Y La Bamba late one night while scrolling through the twitter feed and saw @NekoCase tweet the following:

This was a recommendation I could not pass up. I logged onto Spotify that night and listened to their newest album Court The Storm. I was instantly captivated by singer Luzelena Mendoza’s haunting vocals, which held onto me until the album finished some 46 minutes later.

Court The Storm‘s songs are flavored with latin-inspired rhythms and melodies that work wonderfully with Mendoza’s vocals. The band’s label, Tender Loving Empire, set me up with the two songs below, opening track “Squawk” and track #2 “Bendito”. Both songs are fantastic, and a great preview to how cool this album is. I highly recommend it.

Y La Bamba – Squawk from Court The Storm (2012)

Y La Bamba – Bendito from Court The Storm (2012)

Y La Bamba

Tender Loving Empire

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Monster Rally

What do you get when you take a stack of old records and sample bits and pieces in order to create new music with a psychedelic, tropical, surf, hip hop vibe to it? The answer, my friends, is Monster Rally.

Monster Rally is the project of Ohio-resident Ted Feighan. His music has a warm, lo-fi, crackley, organic feel to it. It’s put together so nicely, it almost sounds like a full band recorded these songs directly to tape. Since 2010 Monster Rally has released quite a bit of music via his bandcamp page, and is set to release a new full length album, Beyond The Sea, on June 19. Below are just a few tastes of Monster Rally’s music for you downloading pleasure.

You can download all of Monster Rally’s releases at his bandcamp page, and preorder his new album here. Ted is also an artist, you can check out his stuff here.

Monster Rally – Jaguar from Beyond The Sea (2012)

Monster Rally – Lone Rd from Crystal Ball (2011)

Monster Rally – Siberian Girls from Deep Sea EP (2011)

Monster Rally – Maori Mai from EP (2010)

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DMA

After the dissolution of his previous band, Jookabox, Indianapolis’ own DMA (aka David “Moose” Adamson) dashed off an album of self-described “crust funk” tracks that mostly defied listening. I say “mostly” because DREM BEB (as in “Dream Babe”) yielded “Riding Holiday”, an altered state take on the classic rock highway jam that wormed its way into my ear last summer with its hypnotic beat and headstrong chorus.
Now DMA is back with a follow-up called The Boardwalk which is far more gentle and refined in its approach. Waves of warped melodies wash over dubby pulses, beats, and clicks. Every so often DMA’s deadpan vocals wander through the soundscape, soaked in reverb, serving as yet another layer of instrumentation. Kind of like listening to Orbital after taking a handful of Sudafed.
DREM BEB was released as a limited-edition cassette and it appears that The Boardwalk is only available for streaming on Bandcamp. Not the most user-friendly distribution strategy, maybe it’s all part of the mystique.

Riding Holiday from DREM BEB (2011)

http://www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com
dmanaptown.bandcamp.com

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Karen Dahlstrom

Karen Dahlstrom has been a fixture in the NYC folk scene, writing and performing with Bobtown, The Evangelines, American String Conspiracy, The Do-Overs, and The Maybelles. Last fall, she released her first solo effort, Gem State, a five-song strong EP inspired by her Idahoan upbringing. In less than 18 minutes, Karen shows her narrative range—embodying everything from a hardass war veteran to a reluctant bride—with songs so immediate and real they seem to have been there all along, waiting to be discovered. Karen’s hauntingly earnest voice brings added weight her lyrics, especially when they’re as stark as this: “The devil clapped me on the back/when I was nigh 13/Died my eyes from blue to black/and he made me hard and mean” (“Streets of Pocatello”). Though it serves her just as well in the sweet summer-ish come-on, “One More Time”.

While self-released with almost no promotion budget, the EP has cast a spell on folk journalists, bloggers, and DJs alike. So much so that she’s already managed to put together a small US tour. Of course, my chronic laziness means half her shows will have happened by the time you’re reading this (check here to see if you’ll be lucky enough to catch her live). But that’s me…don’t take your frustration out on Karen, buy her EP and she might add your town to the itinerary next time around.

One More Time from Gem State EP (2011)

karendahlstrom.com

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Estrogen Highs

I’m short. I’ve been short all of my life, so I’m pretty used to it. But, I would be lying if I said I’ve never dreamt of being taller. I’m not asking for anything extreme like 7 foot, just average, 6 foot would be perfectly acceptable. When I heard Estrogen Highs’ new single “I Wanna Be Tall”, the chorus really hit home with me. It simply states, “I wanna be tall like you”. It’s a great punk rock song that starts out slow with a warm glow of feedback and lonely guitar before it kicks into full assault of fuzzy guitar and pounding drums. Check it out below along with another track from their new album, Irrelevant Future, out now on Trouble In Mind.

Estrogen Highs – I Wanna Be Tall from Irrelevant Future (2012)

Estrogen Highs – Grass of Leaves from Irrelevant Future (2012)

Trouble In Mind

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Luke Roberts

Nashville native Luke Roberts released his sophomore album, The Iron Gates At Throop And Newport, with Thrill Jockey a little over a month ago. It’s a warm, stripped-down, folk record with most of the songs featuring only Roberts and his guitar. However, on “His Song” provided below, Roberts employs the use of drums, and some electric guitar which adds even more warm goodness. Enjoy.

Luke Roberts – His Song from The Iron Gates At Throop And Newport (2012)

Thrill Jockey

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Washed Out

Let me first reiterate that this site has never been about being first. There’s just too much music and too many critics out there playing that game. We share what we love when we find it, or in this case, when we get around to it. Forgive me for waiting so long to get this out to you. I deserve a sound beating. I’ll take it from Washed Out. It’s a pleasure to be pummeled by Washed Out’s gentle rhythms and epic synth-scapes.

Also known as Ernest Green, Washed Out creates soundtracks for sunsets. He uses a wide, soft-focus brush and paints with generous strokes of hazy vocals and undulating echoes of blisstronic. This album messes with your head—you get swept up into some sort of time warp, making every present moment feel like a past memory. A couple lines from a poem by Geoffrey Hill seem to capture this mood I’m reaching for here, “What paradises and watering-places! / What hurts appeased by the sea’s handsomeness!”

On tour now!

From Within and Without (Sub Pop 2011)
Eyes Be Closed [MP3]
Amor Fati [MP3]

From Life of Leisure (Mexican Summer 2009)
You’ll See It [MP3]
Feel It All Around [MP3]

subpop.com
washedout.net

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Hollows

Hollows, a quintet (four ladies and one gentleman) out of Chicago, just released their second album Vulture with Trouble In Mind. Their musical style utilizes multiple vocal harmony layers that when mixed with jangly guitars and driving drum beats creates a killer garage pop groove. Trouble In Mind was kind enough to share a couple songs with us. Give them a try below then run out to your favorite local record store and buy this.

Hollows – V Is For Vulture from Vulture (2012)

Hollows – Golden Chain from Vulture (2012)

Hollows

Trouble In Mind

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M. Ward

M. Ward is releasing his new album, A Wasteland Companion, with Merge on April 10. The album was recorded with 18 musicians from bands like Oakley Hall, Devotchka, Sonic Youth, and Dr. Dog to name a few. Ms. Deschanel sings on a couple of tracks as well. Merge was gracious enough to send us the song “Primitive Girl” from the forthcoming album to share with you. “Primitive Girl” is in classic M. Ward form, although it’s a piano driven track with his guitar skills taking a back seat. The song moves along quickly, finishing well before you want it to. I guarantee at least two repeats. Check it out below, and make sure you get out to your favorite record store on April 10 to get yourself a copy.

M. Ward – Primitive Girl from A Wasteland Companion (2012)

M. Ward

Merge

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La Sera

La Sera is the side project of Vivian Girls’ bass player Katy Goodman. Sees The Light, her second album on Hardly Art, has a great in your face pop/rock feel to it which I really enjoy. She recorded this album with the help of Rob Barbato (The Fall, Darker My Love) who lent his guitar and production skills to the recording. The result is a great pop record, full of what great pop records are made of, songs about breakups and heartbreak. Enjoy.

La Sera – Please Be My Third Eye from Sees The Light (2012)

La Sera – Break My Heart from Sees The Light (2012)

Hardly Art