January 2011
11 posts
Space
The Sets Band
“Space” by The Sets Band
Being away from home has made me nostalgic and appreciative of everything Singaporean (especially talkingcock.com).
But this 4-man band from the sunny little island doesn’t need my nationalistic bias to pique my interest. When I first heard the track, I didn’t even know they were Singaporean. Canadian was my first guess.
Soaring guitar lines dramatize and explore the space in the song about, well, space; space in relationships and the disjoint from yourself and from the one you love. Subtle bass notes and lo-fi vocals with tonnes of reverb and echo play the perfect foil to the Explosions-esque strings-pedal distortion alliance.
But I do have one gripe about the song. There’s all this brewing resentment, neglect and desperation but no release. I just wish that all the tension built up to something bigger at the end.
But nonetheless, I enjoyed the seemingly organically crafted low key drone, and from writing this, I have already listened to the track 7 times and I’m definitely liking it more and more.
A successful SoundCloud submission. Keep ‘em coming folks!
(Image via Facebook)
Fire To The Ground [ft. Matt Berninger]
The Forms
“Fire to the Ground” by The Forms ft. Matt Berninger
Matt Berninger hams it up for The Form’s latest offering - off their upcoming Derealization EP - with the usual melancholy in his baritone replaced with an upbeat optimism and a successful exploration of the high end of his vocal range.
But despite the epic guest vocals, this song’s highlight is 100% the uptempo iPod commercial-ish music. Cellos, violins, little plucking and general cheer all make you wanna play fetch with a furry puppy.
“Fire to the Ground” is actually a remake of the older Forms song “Redgun”. Stereogum has both your tracks for download here.
(image via Stereogum)
Play
Undertow (small)
Warpaint
2010’s best songs - #2: “Undertow” by Warpaint
The lead single off their debut LP The Fool is seductive but cunning: “What the matter?/ You hurt yourself/ Opened your eyes and there was someone else/ Now I’ve got you in the undertow”. The layered vocals lull and comfort when the message is of fight and resolve.
The released the edit earlier on in 2010. That was pretty good, but this album version really ups the ante, with a longer, more powerful bridge.
(image via austintownhall)
