aden - hey 19

so, don't get "aden" confused with that shitty band "aiden". they are absolutely nothing alike. aden was formed at the university of chicago in 1995. they are a cutesy folk/indie band. they aren't incredibly well known, though i think more bands need to sound like this. this album the perfect thing to listen to while riding your bike or sitting out by the pool or walking along the beach. again, a summer album. they also have these little electronic parts in their songs. the third song "country bar in the city" has this cute part at 1:21. the more i listen to it, the more i can totally tell that it's a chicago band. i really like the song "(rock me now) rockulator". their tunes are playful and will make you bob your head to the rhythm. the lyrics are witty and smart and this is the type of album that you would want to have on vinyl, it would spin so well (but i have yet to find it!). anyway, roll yr windows down and tap yr foot and enjoy the summer!

listen to it

hood - cold house

i think what i love most about this album is how organic it sounds. though many of these beats are electronic, there is something very minimal about it. the soft vocals covering electronic shifts and a developing drum beat. hood is an experimental band from leeds that started in 1990. this album was released in 2001. i guess they can be compared to bands like mogwai or boards of canada. their music is pretty ambient sounding with lots of glitches in it. this is their fifth album, which is the most well-known album of theirs. as of right now, they do not have any plans to release anything.

listen to it

the secret stars - self-titled

so this is geoff farina from karate. he co-founded this in 1993 with jodi buonanno, and it's pretty sweet cause they have that whole guy-girl duo singing thing going on. it's really minimal music, but really pretty at the same time. most of their songs are acoustic. i was driving down this really pretty road the other night and it was foggy and the air was super humid and getting chilly, and my friend put this album on and started singing along and everything could not have been more perfect. really. just listen to this album.

listen to it

surfer blood - astrocoast

this is definitely my favorite album of 2010 so far. every song is a total jam, their hooks rule and the reverb kills me every time. seems like they're just a bunch of fun dudes from florida. they put out "swim" in 2009 and it got a lot of praise from pitchfork etc (#37/100 on the best songs of 2009), though honestly it might be one of my least favorite songs on the album. i'm partial to "take it easy" cause the the little guitar riffs in that song are so catchy. also "twin peaks" is a great song, mostly because of the first 5 seconds of the song. also, the last song on the album "catholic pagans" is such a jam for riding your bike or enjoying the sunshine. needless to say, this is a total summer album. when ross showed me this band i couldn't stop playing this album for a few months. he describes them as "the singer of animal collective playing with pavement covering beach boys songs" and i'd have to say that's a great description of their song. surf rock 2010.

listen to it

track star - lion destroyed the whole world

all that i can really listen to lately is 90s alt, and track star is a pop-ish indie band from the 90s in california. they were together for 10 years, put out two full lengths and a few singles. i guess they toured with the promise ring and modest mouse, so that's pretty rad. i wouldn't say they sound like either one of those bands though. they're a bit slower, but they have some sweet guitar riffs stuck in their songs, not to mention every song is incredibly catchy. this is their second album and it was released in 2002.

listen to it

buy it

grouper - dragging a dead dear up a hill

this is my first post in a long time, gosh. but i've decided that it is summer and now that i have more free time on my hands i should probably try to update this at the very least once a week, cause i mean... what else do i have to do?

so anyway, grouper. i found out about this project maybe a few days ago and it is perfect for late nights and long drive through the woods with the windows of your car down and a light fog covering the streetlights. it's a solo project of this girl liz harris from portland, oregon. some of these songs have this eerie feel to them while she lightly strums her guitar and sings real soft over it. the second song on this album "heavy water/i'd rather be sleeping" is so quiet and dreamy sounding. as a whole, this album is pretty hazy sounding, but i don't think she overdoes it. this was her third album, released in 2008. this album is pretty, but not pretentious. it's sleepy, but not asleep. and pitchfork gave it an 8.2, so it must be pretty good (hardy har harrrrrrr....) (....but really, it's good!).

listen to it

last.fm

buy it