In this installment, I present 3 songs you should listen to, 2 local artists to look out for, and 1 song you should probably try to forget about.
3:
The biggest band on the list (and the best come back news I have heard in a while) is the triumphant return of one of my favorite groups, Counting Crows. From Mr. Jones to pretty much anything they put out, I am there and always pleased. Not to mention, Adam Duritz started my obsession with dread on white guys (and Laaaaaaaaawd, do I still want to have dreads some day as well).
I didn't choose the awkward life, it chose me.
Well, the guys are back with a new album called Somewhere Under Wonderland. The first single released didn't get much play here, but the second single "Scarecrow" is blowing up and it is pure magic. This song brings carefully crafted music together with lyrics that are stirring and whimsical and perfect. (I am starting to fan girl here). The video is the first in a series and embodies the very American rock feel of the track. And it doesn't star the band (I missed the dreads, #nolies), which is very abnormal but extremely refreshing.
Dig it and want to listen to more? Try on: Round Here, Mr. Jones, A Long December, The Ghost in You, or Hanginaround. Want to feel moved after listening to a song? Queue up Colorblind. Simple lyrics but the delivery is overwhelming.
A lesser known but rad band to look out for is Walk the Moon. Sometimes described as "indie pop-art" this band is a 4 man set up full of multitasking musicians that create a fun sound to groove to. Definitely inde in genre, it is clear that there are some New Wave influences here which is probably why I dig them as much as I do. The first single to drop off their second studio album Talking is Hard is "Shut Up and Dance." The lyrics are sweet and catchy, making the already very dancey music last in your head long after the song is over--But not in that terrible way that makes you want a lobotomy.
Last on the list of things you should be listening to is Sheppard. This Australian indie pop band started out as a brother and sister duo but expanded (and added another sister to the mix as well) a few years ago. They dropped their first studio album Bombs Away in July and their first single "Geronimo" was released in February in Australia where is reached number one. It is now out in the US and I am hoping it makes a big splash here. Heavy on repetition and rhyme, the lyrics are quick to commit to memory making it a great song for the mid-day work slump. The almost haunting quality of the faded out female voice singing the phrase "bombs away" adds a little depth to the pure indie pop formula of the song.
2.
I am a big supporter of local artists, regardless of the media they work with. Massachusetts, and the North East in general, have put out many fantastic artists including some phenominal musicians. I am going to focus on two today, One gaining a lot of radio play with multiple songs that have been used on TV and one I happened to stumble upon at the Topsfield Fair.
Will Dailey is a Boston based artist that has 6 or 7 albums under his belt and has steadily had his music featured on TV shows since 2006. Will has a rich voice that pairs well with his retro sound. The finished product lays at the nexus of vintage rock, roots, and pop. His current radio hit, "Sunken Ship," is off of his latest album National Throat and the song is a finalist in the 2013 International Songwriting Competion.
The second band in this category is Gretchen and The Pickpockets. The Husband and I venture to teh Topsfield Fair every year with some of our friends, and while this year's group attendance was low we had a fabulous time with the Beautiful Amazon, the Leatherman, and the Wee Amazon. We stopped for some noms, because what is a trip to the fair without delicious fair food, and the men found us seating right by the stage this band was jamming on. Serendipitous.
Gretchen and The Pickpockets hail from New Hampshire but play shows all around New England (and beyond). A simple set up of 2 guitars, a bass, drums, back up vocals by the guys with lead vocals by Gretchen, and a little trumpet-they work together so well to create a sound as unexpected as it is lovely. The set we heard was covers. Gretchen has a smokey, bluesy, soulful quality to her voice that helps transform the songs they are covering to a point that it feels like you are rediscovering them. I haven't heard the cover I have posted below... but I am a sucker for covers of Lorde's "Royals." I hope its as good as their set was. JK... I can't find it to upload. So an Imagine Dragons cover will have to do.
1.
And that brings us to the less awesome segment: a song you should try to forget about. I say try because it is SO GODDAMNED CATCHY and it is EVERYWHERE.
Also hailing from Massachusetts is Meghan Trainor. Her song "All About That Bass" blew up the charts in a blink of an eye. Its dancey, and catchy... and the message isn't completely terrible. Her skinny bitches dig, is followed by "no, I'm just playing" which can seem like a half-hearted way of trying not to alienate the skinnier listeners. No one needs to put down another to lift someone else up, even in jest. I am pretty ok with most of the song. Yay, self-love! Yay, acceptance! Yay, body positivity! Yay, calling out magazines' impossible beauty standards! BUT REMEMBER, BOYS LIKE MORE BOOTY TO HOLD ON TO AT NIGHT. AND THEY LIKE IT WHEN YOU HAVE BOOM BOOM/ALL THE RIGHT JUNK IN THE RIGHT PLACES.
*sigh*
Really? Your mama told you that it's ok to be larger because boys like more booty to hold on to?
LIES.
The video is adorably...pink. And Ms. Trainor is adorable. But the truly best part of the video if the gentleman with the sweater around his shoulders gettin' down like he is Jimmy Junior Pesto (#allriiiiiiiiiiiiiight). What could have been a truly empowering song ends up sending mixed messages about body acceptance.
