On the Hi-Fi

It has been all to long since I have set aside a few minutes to put together a music post and I have wanted to write one for quite a while now. There are one to many great new albums to mention here but I will do my best to pick a nice diverse selection of great new music that I have been listening to lately and hopefully some of you will find something new in the process as well. It is always really hard to decide what to post and because it has been a while since I have done one of these music features I am finding it even harder to choose. I will try and keep my descriptions short this time around to make it easier for you to read through the selections. Without further delay..

Dan Auerbach – Keep It Hid

Dan Auerbach is one half of the blues rock group The Black Keys and he has released his first solo record recently and its really really good. The Black Keys have this sort of gritty grungy vintage approach to the blues and this is along similar lines only much smoother in execution. Every song on here stands on its own which says something for a full length to be full of great songs minus the filler. It ranges from more simple acoustic blues like on the wonderful opening track, Trouble Weighs A Ton, to the more head nodding electric blues The Black Keys are known for. If you like the blues at all I highly recommend this release one of my recent favorites.

iTunes Link • Artist Site

Here We Go Magic – Self Titled

This was a more recent discovery. I don’t know to much about the band other than I really enjoy this album and I think they are quickly picking up momentum in the popularity front. Understandably so. Music like this is surprisingly trendy these days. Its a little hard to pinpoint, a little folk, a little rock, a little ambient, a little electronic.. Kind of a grab bag of Lo-Fi love that will keep you guessing. The first track is what good me hooked and is my favorite on here. Check them out and see what you think, its really good stuff.

iTunes Link • Artist Site

Calmer – Past is Present EP

This is an album I featured on my calm music blog, You Disappear, a while back. Calmer is the musical alias of Colin Palmer, a NYC musician crafting some of the most interesting jazz inspired electronic music that I have ever come across. The fusion of electronic elements and jazz is something really unique and the thick sound he has created with layers and layers of synth, drums, guitars, and other elements is really fascinating to listen to. From what I know he spent a few years working on this music and Anyone into jazz, electronic, or music that pushes boundaries of these genres should certainly check out this great EP.

iTunes Link • Artist Site

Flying Saucer Attack – Distance

I found this album through eMusic this month and have really enjoyed it. It was released back in 1994 and is a collection of singles which was released after the groups first full length album. They are a British group centered around two members who wrote and recorded most of the music. The music itself is a cross between ambient and noise pop not unlike My bloody Valentine and other such artists. The opening track called Oceans is a great ambient piece and the third track, Crystal Shade, is a wonderful noise pop song full of a thick reverb that makes it sort of dream like and is the song that originally got my attention as I was previewing songs from the album. If you are into this sort of music I highly recommend it.

iTunes Link • Labels Site

Mount Eerie – Dawn

This is another album which I featured on You Disappear and I wanted to mention it here as well simply because I love it. I have enjoyed the music of Mount Eerie aka The Microphones for some time now. The music on this album was written a few years ago and has appeared on a lot of various albums of his in different forms but they had never been recorded and collected in the way they were originally written, with a simplified approach of just acoustic guitar and singing. Its the way these songs are best heard and I find the songwriting to be really brilliant and insightful. The album is available digitally, on vinyl and within a cool looking book containing the original sketches while the music was being written. Here you will find calm music and in my opinion, wonderful songwriting.

Artist Page

Selected+Collected – eMusic Compilation

Obviously another eMusic discovery and its actually only available through eMusic. It is a collection of songs from a handful of largely unknown groups many of which have not even had one proper release yet. While the collection visits a lot of various genres it does hole a cohesive feeling to it and most of the music you will find here is the new breed of avant indie rock blending lo-fi recording and a hodgepodge of various influences to create some really wonderful unique music. It has been in heavy rotation since I have downloaded it and suggest you check it out if you are looking for a great, eclectic collection of new, up and coming artists.

Albums page on eMusic

Bon Iver – Blood Bank EP

Many of you may already be familiar with Bon Iver because I have featured him here on the site a couple of times before and because his music seems to have burst into popularity lately but I wanted to include this EP here because it certainly has been among my recent favorites. Its music for lonely moments and is hopeful in a melancholic sort of a way if that makes any sense at all. These four songs are wonderful and makes me really look forward to what he has to offer in his future releases.

iTunes Link • Artist Page

Mike Bones – What I Have Left

I found this one song randomly and it connected with me in some way and would just not let go. Its one of those songs that just feels unflinchingly honest and it shows. It is a simple approach to songwriting in some ways and its lack of any sort of hook or chorus leads you to hear the message and feeling within the song without the need for a catchy hook. Its just a good solid progression and a great song in my opinion and wanted to include it here simply because it is one of the most played songs among my recent discoveries and I wanted to share. You can hear it via the video that was made for it here.

iTunes Link • Artist Page

Beirut – March of the Zapotec & RealPeople: Holland

Beirut is a group that I have listened to for some time now and originally sort of avoided for some reason and I cant really explain why. Needless to say it took some time for it to really click in my mind. The music is full of horns and a light hearted traditional sort of an approach to its songwriting that I really love. The album is split right down the middle as it is actually two EP’s released as one full length album. The first half is all swinging horn melodies and the second half is nearly all danceable electronic with a hint of the horns that combine in a really great way that I really enjoyed hearing. As you can probably tell I really have no idea how to describe the music you will find on this album but I highly recommend you check it out simply because its a wonderful collection of songs.

iTunes Link • Artist Page
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I think I will leave it at that for this post, there were a few more albums on my list which I considered including but I think I have gone on long enough.Hopefully you discovered something new for your ears here and keep an eye out for more music suggestions as I hope to start doing more of them again but well see what happens with time. Thanks for reading and I will see you next time!