Song of the Week: Irresistible

I probably came across the shoegaze band Whirr from the noise rockers Nothing, but in any case I tuned in to the former artist's radio station on Spotify and up came this song from post-metal act Deafheaven. This short instrumental comes in the front end of their 2013 sophomore release Sunbather and serves as a testament to the band's eclectic approach to songwriting and their unwillingness to be pigeon-holed into one musical genre, even as broad an umbrella term as "hard rock".

"Irresistible" by Deafheaven

Simply irresistible,

Kelvin

Song of the Week: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity

This week's pick is not from the 2010's but the 1910's! After hearing the hymn "O God Beyond All Praising" at Mass some time back, my girlfriend pointed out that the melody is actually borrowed from a movement in the middle of an orchestral suite. The Planets, Op. 32 was composed by Englishman Gustav Holst and has seven movements, one for each of the planets other than Earth in our Solar System (Pluto was not considered a planet at the time... nor now). The mood of each movement matches Holst's interpretation of the astrological / mythological character of the planet's namesake, and "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" makes me jolly every time I hear it.

"Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" by Gustav Holst

For we can only wonder,

Kelvin

Song of the Week: Hollow Body

My Spotify "Discover Weekly" playlist, where every Monday the site curates a selection of songs I'd enjoy based on my listening history, is slowly becoming an All Songs Considered playlist (it's as if my podcast history is recorded also...). One song from there that stuck with me was "Hollow Body" by Many Rooms off of their 2015 debut Hollow Body. This song was used at the beginning of a November episode of All Songs and though I didn't think much of it the first time around this time I was captivated by the slow build in this hauntingly beautiful and bittersweet folk single.

"Hollow Body" by Many Rooms

You put your breath in me,
Kelvin

Song of the Week: Fired Up

I recently came across "Fired Up" and was reminded of the KEXP Song of the Day feed and how this song was my introduction to this podcast nine months ago, making Titus Andronicus my introduction to the newest wave in modern punk. In keeping with the theme of their Shakespearian namesake, last year's The Most Lamentable Tragedy is a 90-minute and 29-song rock opera that melds the brashness of The Clash with the heart of Pulp to convey an image of the modern anarchist burning all the bridges of his past, making sure the baptismal font gets evaporated along the way.

"Fired Up" by Titus Andronicus

I call it an emerging scene,
Kelvin

Song of the Week: A Thousand Years

I'm not one to listen to pop ballads in my spare time, but some songs stand out when they're added to a playlist my girlfriend shares with me and when they are the sole slow dance at the reception of a wedding at the end of that same week. "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri is one such song, a beautifully composed ode to faithfulness. It's so good that I can (almost) ignore the fact that it's featured on the soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.

"A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri

Heart beats fast,

Kelvin

Song of the Week: You Said It

I first encountered Beverly (not to be confused with The Beverleys) on this year's Austin 100 and was instantly enchanted by "Victoria", a powerpop revival gem that served as the lead single for their upcoming album. Last Friday, the band released their sophomore record, The Blue Swell, and my favorite from the collection of jangle-dreampop tracks was "You Said It" which perfectly unites Beach Boys surf cred, Pixies fuzz and Metric crooning to form an indie masterpiece of B-side proportions.

"You Said It" by Beverly

You can't unsay it,

Kelvin

Song of the Week: I Was Home

One of the songs featured on last week's KEXP Song of the Day podcast was "I Was Home" by Sunflower Bean. Starting out seemingly harmless, the call-and-response indie punk gave way to an intense garage-psychedelia and then back again. I replayed the song again before I checked out their debut album which was released this February, Human Ceremony, and then realized that I had heard one of their songs, "Space Exploration Disaster", a couple of weeks back on an All Songs episode. All I have to say is, eat your heart out Black Keys.

"I Was Home" by Sunflower Bean

I was home and then I wasn't,

Kelvin

Song of the Week: Body on the Tracks

Feeling some SXSW nostalgia, I went in search of performances of artists I admired who I wasn't able to catch during that week. In the process, I stumbled upon the video below of a Mississippi show by Deep Sea Diver, the solo project of Jessica Dobson who had worked with the likes of Spoon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Shins. This track comes from their sophomore album Secrets, released earlier this year, whose songs brush the fringes of synthpop, shoegaze, progressive rock and post-punk revival in a way that doesn't delve headlong into any one of these genres but instead uses them as cardinal directions for a musical compass with its center in indie rock.

"Body on the Tracks" by Deep Sea Diver

I carry you from one day to the next,

Kelvin

7QT: An Extended Respite

I recently turned in my final assignment of the semester and so I get to enjoy a bit of a longer break than normal before my coursework resumes in the summer. Thankful for the opportunity to catch a deep breath, I celebrated in my own little way by replaying some new songs (new to me, at least) that I've grown fond of in the past couple of months. Below is a snapshot of my trip down memory lane.

1. School of Seven Bells

I first heard of School of Seven Bells on the All Songs Considered show following the Paris bombings of last November. I enjoyed their style of atmospheric dream pop but kept them shelved until their latest album, SVIIB, dropped this February. When I heard their opening cut, whose music video was released just a week ago, I was instantly hooked and simultaneously disheartened at the fact that this would be their last release given the loss of instrumentalist Benjamin Curtis to cancer in 2013.

"Ablaze" by School of Seven Bells

Song of the Week: Visions

This week I started checking out some of Spotify's public playlists and was pleasantly surprised by the expertly curated mixes in "Deep Dark Indie", "Epic Wall of Sound" and "Young Punks". From the latter I discovered the following song by The Beverleys off of their 2015 debut Brutal, which I have been replaying in my head since I first heard it.

"Visions" by The Beverleys

Saw my friends and my enemies,

Kelvin

Song of the Week: Car Radio

I was quick to brush off Twenty One Pilots after hearing their hit single "Tear in My Heart" everywhere I went. I'm very suspicious of any song with a catchy hook that the general public enjoys and plays constantly, so I tend to disregard artists who write these songs as pandering to masses and having little creative value. Well, I was proven only half right.

After reading enough blogs (here, here and here) and having enough friends vouch for them I gave them a try and as I started listening I was struck not only by the seriousness with which the Columbus duo crafted the music and lyrics of their non-single tracks but also by the way they subtly layer these same themes into the songs that people mindlessly sing to. Through an aggressive and masterful melding of rap, rock, reggae and pop, TØP tackle topics as grave as suicide, maturation, identity and existential affirmation. In trying so hard "to make people think" and get their message out to as many individuals as possible, they become the most reluctant pop act I've ever known.

I've listened to three albums by Twenty One Pilots and connected very much to 2013's Vessel. Below is one of my favorite cuts from this record.

"Car Radio" by Twenty One Pilots

Sometimes quiet is violent,
Kelvin

SXSW x 100 x 5

In just 8 days I'll be hopping onto a plane heading to Texas with the goal of encountering as many new sounds as my ears can handle at SXSW! I've heard the name of this music festival thrown around for a couple of years but it wasn't until I listened to the NPR Music coverage last March that I was sold on the experience. Apart from the updates during the week of the event, one of the most helpful tools that NPR provided listeners for discovering new artists was a playlist titled the Austin 100, where 100 of the best promotional recordings are hand-picked for the downloading pleasure of eager fans.

Technically, there is a stipulation that the ZIP file of songs can only be downloaded within a month of distribution, but things on the Internet have a tendency to linger for a while. So with some intense Googling and crafty URL text swaps I was able to find links to several Austin 100's from yesteryear. So below I've shared links to these locations and showcased some songs that stood out to me while listening to the mix.

2016 Austin 100
Song List
Download ZIP [832MB]

I'm beyond eager for the opportunity of seeing at SXSW bands that I've gotten to know over the past couple of months like Beach Slang ("Bad Art and Weirdo Ideas") and the past couple of days like Wagakki Band ("Akatsukino Ito"), but most of all I'm excited for the chance at seeing firsthand the performances of international musicians like Ninet Tayeb from Tel Aviv whose fifth album is slated to be released this year.

"Child" by Ninet Tayeb

Song of the Week: Caricias

I first heard of Carrie Rodriguez a couple of weeks back from Alt.Latino showcasing a song from her upcoming album, Lola. Said album dropped two Fridays ago and it is a very heart-on-the-sleeve portrayal of the struggles of love, family, identity and acculturation that comes with being a Hispanic immigrant to the US communicated through a poignant melding of Texan americana and Mexican ranchera.

"Caricias" by Carrie Rodriguez

Las quiero más que tus palabras,

Kelvin

Song of the Week: Tibetan Pop Stars

I was so enamored by last week's discovery of Basement that I wanted to hear more of artists like them and discovered Hop Along. With a very eclectic and idiosyncratic approach to freak folk, the band's 2012's Get Disowned delivers an unparalleled listening experience that melds the pronounced hard-and-soft dynamics of the Pixes ("Gigantic"), the layered sonicality of Dinosaur Jr. ("Feel the Pain") and the accentuated vocal intonations of Fall Out Boy ("The (After) Life of the Party").

"Tibetan Pop Stars" by Hop Along

My love is average / I obey an average law,
Kelvin

7QT: New Year Discoveries

I've heard so much good music in just the past day that I couldn't boil it down to one song for the week. So I'm upgrading to a "7 Quick Takes" this week to showcase the awesome bands and albums that I've come across since the start of the year. A good chuck of this list are 2016 releases, but a few are simply albums from the past year that have flown under my radar.

1. Audrey Assad - Inheritance [12 February 2016]

It is with great joy that I announce today's (Friday's) official release of the fruit of Audrey Assad's hymns project, Inheritance! Since I helped support her through PledgeMusic way back when, I was able to get an advance download of the songs two weeks ago. Because she is covering various hymns for different types of worship the album is not as thematic as her other independent releases, but that does not take any bit away from the beauty of the songs and the reverence with which they were approached.

"Even Unto Death" by Audrey Assad

Song of the Week: Un Si Y Un No

Ironically enough, I caught a nasty cold following the blessing of the throats for the Feast of St. Blaise. During the long hours of recovery I was able to listen to a CD loaned to me by a good friend of mine, 2011's Tu Es Christus which is a compilation of speeches by Pope St. John Paul II coupled with the backdrop of sacred chant and world music. It seemed a perfect and timely prayer companion at a point where I would have rather sulked in my own debility.

"Un Si Y Un No" by Pope St. John Paul II

Es muy sencilla,
Kelvin

Song of the Week: Lost Weekend

While listening to PAWS radio I rediscovered this dance punk single from the very eclectic and very erratic 2013 record Blowout by the So So Glos. With a style reminiscent of Generation X, it serves as a perfect addition to a long head-nodding weekend playlist.

"Lost Weekend" by The So So Glos

When the work week's through,
Kelvin

Song of the Week: Lone Star

In honor of the 500,000+ individuals taking part in the March for Life (amidst the most intense blizzard in a while), the theme of the following song revolves around the consequences many would rather ignore from the ugly reality of abortion. With spare instrumentation and straight-forward, no-nonsense lyrics, The Front Bottoms depict a fictional account of a young couple coping with the aftermath of their decision in this track from their 2013 folk punk album, Talon of the Hawk.

"Lone Star" by The Front Bottoms

Not just preparing for nightmares,
Kelvin

Song of the Week: I'm Not Part of Me

It was suggested by Spotify that I listen to Ugly by Screaming Females (probably because of my interest in Titus Andronicus) and I was going to post something from that album (most likely the song that's featured in Rocksmith 2014) until I tuned in to the Screaming Females radio station and came across the following song by Cloud Nothings. When I heard this lead single from 2014's Here and Nowhere Else I was struck with a peculiar feeling of nostalgia, as if I was transported back to my teenage years and listening for the upteenth time to Taking Back Sunday, Green Day and other pop-punk heart-on-your-sleeve sing-alongs.

"I'm Not Part of Me" by Cloud Nothings

Leave it all to memory,
Kelvin

Song of the Week: Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go To The Party

Happy (Almost) New Year!

After attending five separate Christmas gatherings among family and friends this year I'm pretty much partied out. So although the FOMO was hard to shake off entirely, it was an overall easy decision to turn down the 3+ New Year's Eve celebrations I was invited to in lieu of a quiet night with my immediate family and some good books. That's why I saw the following song by Courtney Barnett, from her debut LP Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit released April of this year, as an apt alternative to Auld Lang Syne (apart from being one of my favorites from the record).

"Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go To The Party (Live)" by Courtney Barnett

Definitely maybe,
Kelvin