Final Project
Angie Woodson's Top Ten New Songs
"Slow Runner sound like Ben Folds stripped of his most egregious smartass tendencies and filtered through a post-Postal Service sepia-toned lens of electronic blips and gurgles and teen drama-friendly swells. Their best song, "Break Your Mama's Back," is lean, tight and catchy, and has been featured on "Grey's Anatomy." - www.salon.com
*I like the upbeat tempo of this song. It makes me want to tap my feet or get up and dance. I also enjoy the techno sounds at the beginning of each verse. What a fun song!
(This song is listed along the left side of the Salon.com webpage underneath February 15, 2006. For purchasing information click here)
"Life has gotten easier, it seems, since Belle and Sebastian's early days. To boot, since 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress, the Belle cast has indulged a more 70s-era set of influences. No worries, Belle and Sebastian retain their gleam flawlessly. A jaunty lift is still in their step, a carefree abandon that charms even as it also reaches to the 70s for the funk-meets-psychedelia. It's bright and breezy throughout (the titles tell some of the story: "Another Sunny Day" and "Funny Little Frog"), with memorably decorous, familiar bouncing rhythms marking much of the album." --Andrew Bartlett - www.amazon.com
*Initially I had to listen to this song simply because of its title. My very first impression of their sound was they were a little too pop for me. But I have to admit that the chorus is SO catchy. This is another fun song that makes you bop your head and smile.
"From their humble beginnings in the coffee shops of Sacramento, the guys in 2Me have begun building a name for themselves as a band that can charm a candlelit audience just as easily as they can rock a bar full of weekend drinkers. 2Me released their second album “Schizophrenic Love Songs” to a packed house in January 2006, and will be embarking on a national tour in June. Their unique blend of acoustic rock, blues, and folk – a style they affectionately refer to as Powerlounge – is sure to put a smile on your face and a wiggle in your hips. Enjoy!" - www.myspace.com
*This is my FAVORITE of all the songs I found. I love the bass at the beginning. I kept thinking they reminded me of another band...especially the way the lead singer sounds. Then it dawned on me, they are very reminiscent of Phish - and I'm really not a big Phish fan. However, they have less instrumental than Phish and I just think they have a great sound. I would have listed every one of their songs, but didn't think that would be very fair. I will probably buy their CD and I wish them lots of success.
"Guerrero’s previous albums - Loose Grooves and Bastard Blues, and A Little Bit of Somethin’, have both become must-have releases. Upon its release in 2000, the latter was described as "a super-horizontal, wiped-out slab of lo-fidelity instrumental rock" by The Face, with Jockey Slut claiming, "Tommy excels with his soulfully melodic, acoustic lo-fi folk fables." More recently, Tommy’s Another Late Night mix (on the Azuli label) has raised awareness, and subsequently won over more fans, with Esquire Magazine pointing out "don't worry if you haven't got a clue who Tommy Guerrero is...simply accept that he has excellent taste. This is simmering."' - www.betterpropaganda.com
*I like this song mainly for its rhythm - I think it has a great beat. I also like the muffled sound of Guerrero's voice and the melodic instrumental. Overall, a nice sounding song.
"As a piece of propaganda, James Blunt’s album Back to Bedlam does more for changing the face of the British Army than a series of television adverts ever could. Swapping a rifle for a guitar, the former cavalryman’s ballad-heavy debut is a clearly aiming to win the battle for the public’s hearts and minds. Blunt also sings with conviction about matters of the heart, and that’s the territory that most of Back to Bedlam visits, with songs of loss like "Goodbye My Lover", "So Long Jimmy" and "Billy". And throughout, the arrangements remain understated yet effective, thanks to the input of such heavyweight producers and songwriters like Linda Perry and Guy Chambers. All of which prove that there’s a lot of depth to this modern, musical hero." --Robert Burrow - www.amazon.com
* I love Blunt's falsetto voice. His music is so sweet and so sad. Very relaxing and great music to wind down to at the end of the day. His is another CD I will probably purchase.
"...the songs here reflect a resilient yet fading sense of hope. Most of them are short, stripped-down to their bare acoustic necessities and brimming with familiar themes of resignation, or a love just out of reach. "I'm getting tired of being denied, of things getting in my way, and if I'm quiet, that's 'cause there's nothing left to say," Gray sings on "Red Moon," his raspy-voiced cadence crying out over rough, indelicate guitar chords. Part of what makes Gray's musical voice so interesting is the way these words come out, vowels and consonants all chewed up and spit out, direct and deliberate, yet expressed with a cavalier matter-of-factness. It makes his work seem personal and individual, even when the sentiments he expresses are unabashedly accessible and universal."--Matthew Cooke - www.amazon.com
* I have been a long time fan of David Gray. This song highlights his unique voice and as the review says, it is very bare. This is a great way to focus on Gray's melodies while keeping the music simple.
Sepia Toned by 3 am Drift
Sepia Toned by 3 am Drift(3 am Drift will be releasing their first CD at the end of February 2006)
"Good Day World, we are 3am Drift. 3am Drift is a band consisting of Brandon Eastlack and Ryan La Motte. The band is roughly 3 years old now and booming. From Brandon's soothing and pure voice, to Ryan's eclectic and melodic guitar, 3am Drift has it all." - 3am Drift - www.myspace.com
*This is another song that is very relaxing to me. The melody of the chorus and the way the lead singer's voice carries it is just beautiful. The instruments and voice blend very nicely into a sweet, sad song.
"The subtle shades of Caitlin Cary's rich alto find an engaging match in the yearning strains of Thad Cockrell's reedy tenor. As solo artists within the closely-knit Carolina alt-country community, the two have harmonized together before, but this album-length collaboration finds them writing most of the material together and trading vocals on each song. Mainly, however, these duets extend the classic country tradition, the musical conversations between a man and a woman about what went wrong and how to try to make it right. Though Cary has proven herself a stellar harmony singer from her formative years in Whiskeytown through her recent work as one of Tres Chicas, here she shows the vocal artistry to command the spotlight and the generosity of spirit to share it." --Don McLeese - www.amazon.com
*I love the earthy sound of Cary's voice and the country beat of the song. This one reminds me of being little and listening to country music with my Dad. The song is just folksy enough without too much country twang.
"If the art of the female singer-songwriter revolves around coffee-table soliloquies then Eye to the Telescope--the debut album from Edinburgh-born chanteuse/guitarist KT Tunstall--is a pleasing mediation between the traditional demands of brooding egocentricity (espresso) and frothy commerciality (cappuccino). KT Tunstall has star quality. However, Tunstall isn't entirely convinced by the compromise ("I'm struggling to cater for the space I'm meant to fill" she sings) and "Miniature Disasters"--one of several strong numbers showcasing her aptitude for wrapping up pop tunes in either folky bluesiness or ponderous jazz--catalogues her desires for unfettered self-expression. The opening cut "Other Side Of The World" might sound like Dido without the giftwrapped grief (she's none too flattered with the comparisons) but Eye to the Telescope is spiritually closer to Carole King and Elvis Costello than Katie Melua. And that's no bad thing." --Kevin Maidment - www.amazon.com
*This song borders on pop at the beginning and the echo is a little annoying to me. But Turistall makes up for it with her guitar strumming and grainy voice. She needs to lose the voice track and just sing. Her voice is strong enough to carry the song alone.
"This could be mistaken for big dumb-ass rock, if it wasn't for the airiness, the s p a c e, between the instruments, the tasty playing of Joel Plaskett on guitar, and his clear voice. He sounds like he loves to sing and if I could (sing that is), I would want to sing this too. No, there's nothing new here, just straight up blues-based rock that can, if you let it, get you singing as well. He's kind of like an oversized, decaffeinatted, more mellow, Ted Leo... Leo without the bite and punk roots." Alan Williamson - www.betterpropaganda.com
*What first attracted me to this song was the guitar at the beginning. The classic rock sound and Plaskett's druggy vibrato make for a great sound. This is a good one to blare in the car on a sunny day.
posted by Angie Woodson @ 11:48 AM
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