Martin de Thurah, the auteur behind a number of amazing videos like Fever Ray’s “When I Grow Up” and James Blake’s “Limit To Your Love” directs this ravishing, cinematic video for “The Bad In Each Me”, the best track on the Feist’s Metals. The song’s lyrics talk about human connection, good and bad, and de Thurah matches the words with a beautiful, touching video collage of tiny moments beween people. Filmed in Mexico, the cinematography is sure to be some of most gorgeous you’ll see this year. Watch above and listen to the track below.
You can always count on Merge Records to deliver the goods and they did so this week with the debut record from Hospitality, a band that plays the type of Belle & Sebastian-inspired jangly, wistful indie pop that always seems to hit the sweet spot for me. The first track on Hospitality’s self-titled debut is “Eighth Avenue” which opens with all the typical twee-signifiers, gently strummed acoustic guitar and airy vocals, but opens up to become a lush, brilliantly realized track with some quick tempo-changes and rowdy guitar noodling among the memorable melodies. Check it out below.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve delved into the world of album covers in my ongoing album art lover series, but I was inspired by the sleeve for Sharon Van Etten’s brilliant new album, Tramp (which is now streaming on NPR by the way) to explore the ever-popular face cover. They say 93% of communication is non-verbal, which perhaps explains why the face-cover has endured so long. You can usually get a good idea of the album you’re about to hear by the expression and composition of the face that you see gracing the cover.
This being one of the most common album cover conventions, there’s hundreds of covers to choose from. Thus, I limited myself to extreme close-ups of the face, basically if you can see anything below the shoulder, you’re out (Lana Del Rey need not apply). I narrowed it down to 15 of my favorites for the below mix, but you’ll find a few more if you check out the accompanying Spotify playlist. Let me know if you have any favorite face covers in the comments!
This morning’s aimless web browsing led to the discovery of Soundsupply, a bundle of 10 digital albums available for $15 for a limited time. As fans of previous bundlemethods, it’s interesting to see this approach applied to music. It’s a relatively cheap and painless way to discover something that might have otherwise flown under your radar, or maybe give something a chance you otherwise wouldn’t.
Of course, Soundsupply would not be as enticing if the albums offered weren’t so good. For one low price you get albums from Jason Schwartzman’s Coconut Records, Someone Still Loves Your Boris Yeltsin, Merrill Garbus and Patrick Gregorie’s Sister Suvi, and ukelele songstress Sophie Madeline. The video above will give you a taste of everything the bundle has to offer. It’s an appealing idea and one worthy of support, and it will be exciting to see Soundsupply’s next move. We’re already anxiously awaiting the next drop.
I missed this video when it premiered earlier this month, but it’s so excellent that I had to post it. It’s directed by Chris Milk, who’s previous works includes groundbreaking interactive videos like Arcade Fire’s “The Wilderness Downtown” and Rome’s “3 Dreams of Black“. This video, also for Danger Mouse project Rome, features a mesmerizing narrative and beautiful, fluid animation from Anthony Francisco Schepper. It’s apparently is a precursor to an upcoming film inspired by Rome’s album, which, if is anything like this stunning clip, will be one to look out for. Check out the video above and download the track (which features Jack White and Norah Jones) below.
Bear Cavalry are a genre-defying band from Gosport, England who caught my ear with their debut EP, Maple Trails. The band is stylistically all over the place, but in a good way. Coming off like a more schizophrenic Local Natives, they mix upbeat Afro-pop rhythms, intricate mathy guitars, bursts of trumpet and the occasional chanting harmonies. The melting pot of sounds keeps it interesting and matched with sunny, danceable melodies it makes for some memorable tunes like exuberant opener “Roman Summer” and the humorously-titled “Will Smith Solve’s The Rubik’s Cube”.
You think we’d all be tired of the retro 70′s-style trend in music videos by now, but as long as it keeps yielding amazing videos like this one, you won’t see me complaining. Directed by up-and-coming director Dimitri Basil, “Foreign Language” parodies 70′s TV opening credits all the way down to the ridiculous wardrobes/haircuts and hammy acting. The results are very entertaining to say the least. And yes, in case you were wondering, there is a sword training scene on a beach. The addictive disco-pop song comes courtesy of Flight Facilities, an electronic duo from Sydney, Australia. Watch above and listen to “Foreign Language” below.
One of the best indie rock bands out there, Shearwater is back with a new album. The Austin- based band, led by Jonathon Meisburg (formerly of Okkervil River) and his striking vocals, will release Animal Joy this year. It’s the band’s first album on Sub Pop and their first since completing the Island trilogy of albums: Palo Santo, Rook, The Golden Archipelago.
“You As You Were” is our newest release from the album, and it’s a phenomenal song. The track is far more exuberant and uplifting then you may have come to expect from Shearwater. The beautiful piano crescendo, driving beat, and soaring vocals bring to mind some of Jónsi‘s solo work. This track is very quickly becoming one of my favorite Shearwater songs. Download below.
February 3, 2012 
Posted by Taylor in Video 
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