Exclusive: George Rae (Acoustic Session)

George Rae - Briefly Past

 This session has been sitting in my youtube channel for a while, and I never really intended for it to be an acoustic session for the blog. It was just a video between friends. George is a dear friend of mine, and this video was recorded two years after we last met.

But then I decided the songs and the performances are too beautiful to not spread the word. I don't want to throw so many praises, as I don't want to seem like I'm just hyping up my own friend. I'll just let you decide on this one.

His myspace is HERE.  

Watch another video after the JUMP.

What's On The Stereo: Kidnapper Bell

 
Kidnapper Bell - Falling and Laughing by kidnapperbell

This is my fresh sound of the day. Claiming influences from Minus The Bear, Tellison and Johnny Foreigner, Kidnapper Bell definitely hits all the right notes in my book of right notes (whatever that means).

If this is the first two singles they've released, then we can be justified in expecting bigger things from them. True to their words, the two singles sound like a hybrid between Tellison and Johnny Foreigner. This is indie pop with a dash of post-punk, mixed to perfection.

These two tracks are available on pre-order HERE as a handmade physical to be released on March 7th.

Listen to one more song after the JUMP

Interview: Snævar Njáll Albertsson (Dad Rocks!, Mimas) - Big Scary Monsters, Formidable Moustaches, and Rockin' Old Men

Snævar Njáll Albertsson is the frontman for Mimas, the self-described Death Indie band from Denmark. Boasting post-rock sensibilities yet sprawling across a dizzying variation of genres, their first album 'The Worries' combined bizzare yet brilliant lyrics with  bittersweet musical dreamscapes. The second album 'Lifejackets' strayed away from the post-rock elements into math/pop/rock territory, and again exploring various genres like an indiscriminate kleptomaniac in a record store. It's a record that grins from ear to ear in the way the Cheshire Cat does; quite quirky and adorable but also slightly terrifying. He also goes under the moniker Dad Rocks!, the finger-picking, genre-bending acoustic guitarist who incorporates hip hop, dub, folk, pop and who-knows-what with the help of various accompanying instruments. His debut EP 'Digital Age' is something of a gem littered with witticisms and skilled songcraft.

This is one of the most enjoyable interviews I've done so far. I thank Snævar for kindly agreeing to be interviewed for the blog.
 
Read the interview after the JUMP

What's On The Stereo: Ute - The Gambler

This is a record that's a little bit of a 'grower' for me. At first I didn't know what to make of this genre-dodging EP, but something persisted in me. Something made me listen to it on repeat several times. And how my patience has paid off.

Listen to the EP after the JUMP

Interview with The Panic: Enigmatic Songs, Panicky Members, and Problematic Lives

Indonesian alt-rockers The Panic owe much of their sound to the likes of Radiohead and Sigur Ros, with a friend describing their sound as 'Radiohead being trapped in a forest being hunted by bears'. If I were to expand on that, I'd say something about the ambience of the woods with a pursuing malice lurking in the background, but no, I won't. I think you'll find it's not difficult to appreciate their ability to craft hauntingly beautiful, devastatingly melancholic songs that more often than not manages to bring chills down your spines.

Akis, the vocalist of The Panic have kindly agreed to do an interview for the blog.

Read the interview after the JUMP