The Soil and the Sun

The Soil and the Sun is a very talented band from the beautiful Great Lakes State. Their style is a blend of strings, keys, drums and elegant vocals — a gorgeous natural sound that is rich in complexity without sounding too complex (you know?). If you enjoy indie rock with lavish instrumentation this band is one that you ought to take a listen to.

The band's 3rd studio album "What Wonder is this Universe!" just came out on August 20th.
Listen to it in it's entirety and then buy it (because I guarantee you'll want to) here!

Recently the band performed an outstanding audiotree session. Check it out:

Of Monsters and Men

Been meaning to blog about these guys for a while; Of Monsters and Men is a six piece indie folk pop band all the way from Iceland. Their debut album My Head is An Animal released in the US on April 3rd, 2012 is nearly flawless. The cohesive blend of lead singers Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Raggi Þórhallsson soft voices gently lie across a stitching of acoustic threads that build up to create a more complex rock sound. The clarity of their vibrant lyrics and chants are sure to have you singing along.

Maybe you have already heard their first single "Little Talks", here's their performance of it on KEXP radio:

I 'love love love' this song:

 

Perhaps my favorite tune on the album is "Lakehouse"

Elle King

Elle King is a 22-year-old indie acoustic folk singer who carries the soul of an 85-year-old man. That may seem like an odd statement to make of this bleach blonde blued eyed leather-jacket wearing badass type, but just one listen to her song "No One Can Save You" and you will fully understand the metaphor. King's lyrics scream an honesty that is only championed by her scratchy yet feminine voice. Every song I've heard by this girl seems uncomfortably personable, captivating my soul in the same way performing them seems to captivate her own.

 

King's song "Good to Be A Man" casts a dim light on King's background, growing up as a rebellious teen in New York City, her relationship with her comedian/actor father, and the lessons she learned along the way.