Hollow & Akimbo

There is something quite binding about place. I have found that if I share a similar place with another person, or musician in this case, that I end up creating a stronger interest in and/or understanding of those people or things. In considering this, I wonder if my fascination with this band is due to a similar upbringing in the Great Lakes State or to the simple fact that they rock. Did that make sense?

Hollow & Akimbo is an electronic pop duo based out of Ann Arbor, MI. Members Jonathan Visger and Brian Konicek work to create that airy elusive yet full bodied sound that their name attempts to encapsulate. Lead singer Visger offers  the introspective lyrics and open-ended song structures that he has developed in both his solo work under moniker Absofacto and in his former band  Mason Proper. This project offers Visger a chance to blend both organic and inorganic sounds/compositions equally. Together this talented duo, wrote, recorded, mixed and mastered their first EP, PsuedoScience, released back in October. Since then Hollow & Akimbo have produced a full length self-titled album that is set to release on February 11th. The first single exemplify's the aesthetic Visger and Konicek are constantly working to design. 

Subterranean Sounds reaches 10,000 views!

After a long hiatus, I hopped on Sub Sounds to create this passed due post and was pleasantly surprised to find I have just reached 10,000 views! I want to simultaneously thank all of you and apologize for the lack of content from me in the past few months!


So, let's catch up shall we?
Here's a mix of some older, some newer, some more popular, and some less popular tunes.

ChristMUST listen from SubterraneanSounds on 8tracks Radio.

Phantogram - Black Out Days
Phantogram released this track off of their recently released self-titled Ep. The Ep serves as a teaser for their upcoming album Voices due out February 18th. One listen and you'll understand why I'm so stoked for that full length.

Poliça - Vegas
A track off of Poliça's second album Shulamith, Vegas quickly became one of my favorites — highlighting the unique beats of this two drummer band.

Bombay Bicycle Club - Carry Me
Easily one of my favorite bands, Bombay Bicycle Club is set to release their 4th studio album So Long, See You Tomorrow on February 3rd. Carry Me, the first single to be released, offers a first listen to the more electronic direction the band has taken for this album. The video for the song was created in an interactive form that has been considered a piece of art in it's own right. You can play around with it yourself at carryme.tv. View a previous Sub Sounds post on BBC.

K.Flay - Starfvcker
I know, I know. I just can't stop posting about K.Flay. Take a listen to this song off her latest Ep and you will understand.  View a previous Sub Sounds post on K.Flay.

The Blow - Make It Up
The Blow released their first new album out in seven years, creatively titled The Blow, back on the first of October. It had me at this first track.

Absofacto  - Möbius Strip (Thru My Fingers)
Absofacto is the solo work of Jonathan Visger (formerly of Mason Proper). Lyrically and electronically eloquent all at once. This is one of my favorites from the Michigan native.

Hop Along - Sister Cities
Raw and unfiltered, one listen to lead singer Frances Quinlan's vocals may be all you need to get hooked to this indie trio from Philadelphia.

Rubblebucket - Save Charlie
This past summer, Rubblebucket lead singer Kalmia Traver was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Almost without hesitation Kalmia and the rest of the band decided to keep touring through the fall and even released an Ep entitled Save Charlie. The title track is a dancey one...
Kalmia has since completed her chemo and is doing well. The band looks to begin recording their sophomore album in January and February of this coming year. View a previous Sub Sounds post on Rubblebucket.

Lorde - Buzzcut Season
We all love Lorde...give it up.

Sombear - Love You In the Dark
Sombear is the solo project of Now, Now drummer Bradley Hale. While his electronic r&b style sounds nearly nothing like his dark indie rock band, Hale has found a sound of his own that is quite catchy and still a bit 'dark'.

Haim - Forever
Three jewish sisters from Southern California make up what has quickly become one of my favorite bands of 2013. While their music has been compared to bands from the past such as Fleetwood Mac and 80's and 90's pop groups alike, their sound could not have been created but in the 2010's. It's so ridiculously catchy and fun, I bet you, your mother, and your grandmother could all enjoy.

Hundred Waters

Hundred Waters is a five-piece experimental indie band from Gainsville, Florida. With inspiration coming from a wide range of genres from all over the world, the group creates a sound that is best described as art rock - an intricate weaving of vocal harmonies, keys and synths, drums, and flute and horn improvisation. In August 2012, this multi-instrumental group was the first indie act signed to Skrillex's OSWLA label.

The music video created for their song thistle is an incredible stop motion video produced by Martin Allais.

These studio sessions are as aesthetically pleasing visually as they are musically:

West Ghost!

the newest mixtape from K.flay is finally here!

West Ghost finds K.flay at her very best - the most mature, refined, addictive tracks I've heard from this lady so far.

 "life is just what circumstance has given you"

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Unknown Mortal Orchestra needs a new name. After the release of their debut self-titled album in 2011 the band gained an insane amount of attention in the blogosphere — attention that has only increased with the release of their sophomore album II earlier this month. And here I am to further escalate (however insignificant) the attention. 

Frontman Ruban Nielson grew up in New Zealand but relocated to Portland, OR with his former band The Mint Chicks. After the band broke up, Nielson started writing with Portland-based producer/bassist Jake Portrait and drummer Riley Geare.

[the secret is out boys and it's time to embrace your less-than-hipster status]

I would describe their sound as a late 60's abstract rock with thick bass and refined guitar parts —a mix of Tame Impala and the Black Keys. 

(((Help me influence the increasing irrelevance of their name >> take a listen below.)))

Also, take a listen to Nielson's solo acoustic session at Oregon Public Broadcasting:

fthrsn releases Middle School Swag

fthrsn is back with his most all-encompassing release yet, and this time it's all about that Middle School Swag. Airy looped sythns laced with pop beats and even a little R&B vocals will have you reminiscing about the angsty pre-hormonal years of the past.

ON AN ON

When a couple members of the band Scattered Trees decided to make like a tree and scatter, remaining members, Nate Eiesland, Alissa Ricci, and Ryne Estwing were left with a booked studio and some space to fill. A skeleton of it's former self, the group took the opportunity to build themselves back up to something even more substantial. The result: ON AN ON. Their new sound: dark electro beats and low synths put to flight above yearning vocals and tensile echoes.

Their debut album was just released on January 29th and I honestly love every track.

/ / w a i t / / l i s t e n / /

Now, Now [revisited]

After being introduced to their music while they were on tour with the Naked and Famous last April, I spent a month straight listening to Now, Now's music on repeat.
Their sound is a sort of dark indie rock with some electronic keys layered on top to add some lightness. The perfect mix of dark and light which reflects itself in their incomparably honest and personable lyrics. I've blogged about them before but I thought I'd revisit the band as I consider them to be one of my all-time favorites.

 Here's a shot I took of lead singer Cacie Dalager during their set at Bunbury Muisc Festival in 2012.

 I listed their album Threads as my number 1 choice for the Top Albums of 2012 for the IMPACT 89fm [student radio station at Michigan State University] and I highly recommend purchasing it if you haven't already.

For now, however, I just wanted to share the bands newest video for the opening track of their album, The Pull. The video perfectly visualizes the eary memory-recalling sound of the song and sets the tone for the entire album. I thought it was beautifully well done.

Local Natives

because I just remembered how excited I am about this.

Local Native's new album Hummingbird comes out on January 29, 2013 as if to say "happy new year! > here's an earful of infinite beauty". Yup, that's how excited I am.

The band's latest single came out in October and I've been jamming to it since. They just released the official music video yesterday – in case you missed it, here's "Breakers" assuring fans that they're purely capable of following up their seemingly irreplicable first full length album with something just as inventive.

Deep Time

The framework of human existence has not heard a  sound quite like this experimental pop duo from Austin.

Photo © Kaden Shallat.

Deep Time is the creative production and ever changing personality of singer, guitarist, and organist Jennifer Moore and drummer Adam Jones. Their most recent self-titled album came out this past July on Hardly Art out of Seattle. Every song on the album offers a similarly mesmerizing beat that is almost annoyingly catchy but undeniably delightful.

// this. video. //
     

Ultraísta

sorry for the delay..
today i have a good one for you though, i promise!

Ultraísta is an indie electro pop project of producer Nigel Godrich, singer Laura Bettinson, and multi-instrumentalist Joey Waronker. The trio focuses their collaborative efforts on creating a sound that mirrors the creative potential of the conscious mind, putting emphasis on equivocal lyrics and sounds.

When choosing their name, they were looking for something that reflected their sound. Their name, Ultraísta is a reference to the early-20th century Spanish literary movement, ultraísmo which emphasized much of the same ideals they hoped would be reflected in their music.

The story of their name should be enough to capture your attention, now take a listen.

The bands first full length LP, Ultraísta, is set to be released on October 2nd. Until then, you can stream the album in it's entirety on NPR's First Listen:

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:

Peter and Kerry

This London duo formed when Tape Club Records labelmates Kerry Leatham and Peter Lyons decided to collaborate on a six-track EP in 2011.

"Clothes, Friends, Photos EP" received quite a bit of buzz on blogs, radio stations and zines. This attention led the two to continue collaborating in an effort that would eventually produce the indie pop duo's first full length "La Trimouille" released on July 16th.

Mahogany Session:

First track off La Trimouille:

  

  

just when i thought they couldn't get better i found this cover of Amerie's "One Thing". taking me back...

Ellie Goulding

After special ordering her album Bright Lights from the UK in 2010 it was quite clear that I had become addicted to Ellie Goulding's music. The first thing that caught my attention was her voice: light and delicate but still holding a course quality around the edges; it was unlike any voice I'd heard before. Even more unique is the amount of control she has over it. The second thing? her lyrics: intricately metaphorical while remaining personable and honest. Third thing, she is an incredibly talented musician and songwriter. Plus, the girl is gorgeous.

From an acoustic folk background Ellie eventually found herself in the electronic pop genre after connecting and collaborating with electronic producers such as Starsmith who went on to help produce her debut album Lights that came out in the UK in March of 2010. After the release of her album Lights in the US in 2011, Ellie continued to tour in support of an album that was a year old back in the UK and her older fans had to await the release of her second studio album. Well, soon the wait will be over. Goulding just announced the October 9th release of her follow-up entitled Halcyon.

 

I've always appreciated the intimate quality of her stripped down acoustic sets. It's what got my attention to begin with and what continues to hold it.

Here are a few examples:

My favorite Ellie song performed mic-less:

"You can fall if you want to It's just a matter of how far. You've treasured your home town but you've forgotten where you are"

Kids These Days

my first thought: damn, kids these days are talented. my second: could i still be considered a kid?

Kids These Days is a group out of Chicago compiled of seven very unique talents that lend themselves to a sound that reaches a multi-genre audience. Their sound is a seemingly perfect mix of blues, rock, indie hip-hop, jazz and soul. I shot their set at Bunbury Music Festival this past month and was blown away! This group really has a sound like nothing I've ever heard before.

San Cisco

This West Australian indie rock band is well, awkward. In the good sense of the word?

But in all seriousness I dig their beachy vibes and playful twists on the average hooks.

listen.


watch and listen.

Daughter

I had Daughter on a playlist somewhere a few years back, I believe it was their song "Landfill". I remember finding the song stuck in my head and eventually picked up my guitar to learn it. With every new track the London trio has put out since I feel the same poetry and beautiful intimacy that captivated me back then take hold once again.

Watch the watchlistentell session of their song "Medicine" and feel it for yourself:



and the amazing sessions performance of "Youth:



you must also listen to the fore mentioned —I like this raw video of a live performance a lot because you can really hear the sentiment in her delicate voice. It's beautiful.

New Album Releases

A double dose of electronic indie pop released today: woahhh.


Passion Pit//Gossamer

Personally, I am not the biggest fan of the bands follow up album. It just seems to me that the framework is missing. Lead singer Michael Angelakos' captivatingly personal lyrics are just hidden behind sub-par sounds and his efforts to continue playing off his high pitched voice. The album is about half and half for me. But hey, I definitely think it's worth a listen.

That being said here is one of the songs that I do like:

Purity Ring//Shrines

Okay, so I already knew half the album as it is previously released songs and I've already raved about the consistency of the hits produced by this band. I can honestly say that after listening to the rest of the album I am still just as impressed with Purity Ring's ability to produce a hit every time. My favorite new track off the album:

Imagine Dragons

Fuse a little pop with some rock, electronic, and alternative sounds — that's all it takes to Imagine Dragons. I know, right? mind boggling.

To get the full experience take a listen to some tunes by the group out of Las Vegas.

The band released their latest EP Continued Silence this past Valentines Day. Since then the band has received increasing visibility after their single "It's Time" was used in the trailer for "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".

Most recently, the boys are back in the studio working on their upcoming full length entitled Night Visions due out September 4th.

New Ellie Goulding

a new Ellie track ft. Tinie Tempah...yup.

 

click the image ^ for a free download