First Aid Kit // Emmylou (on KCRW)

Harmonies are deal makers so you'll have to excuse me while I bathe my ears in First Aid Kit's sweet harmonies. You should do it too.



...and then I find this. Lykke Li + First Aid Kit. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am's. 

Joel P West : Shoulder Seasons

When not playing for The Tree Ring, frontman Joel P West plays solo. He just released Shoulder Seasons and you can stream it on bandcamp for free OR you can buy it for $5 and support an artist.
Joel said this about this album: "I recorded some new songs at home and am releasing them today because they were written in the spirit of family and thankfulness, hope they find you well."
You want to get it now don't you? I'm also going to go ahead and say that his music sounds earthy, outdoorsy, and kind of majestic. 

Artist Appreciation : Adele

I think it goes without saying - Adele is one of the most talented female singers to grace us. And she's only 22. She is a vocal powerhouse. She sings with grace and boldness.  She's sassy and passionate. I first fell in love with her voice when my cousin showed me a hip-hop dance video. They danced to "Daydreamer" from her album 19. Earlier this year, she released 21 and has blown the charts with her record sales. Everyone wants to remix her, do a cover or her, put her songs on their shows; they just want to shower her music on themselves. Her life's experiences is what makes her audience so drawn to her. They're relatable.
Adele, when you heal, come back to the US to tour. Pretty please.


This is a clip of her performing 'Make You Feel My Love' from her upcoming concert film: "Live at the Royal Albert Hall"

Yellow Ostrich // Mary

This video is blurring the lines of reality for me and I like it. I didn't expect to see the transitions that were in this video. I think something that makes Yellow Ostrich unique is the drum sounds and Alex Schaaf's voice. I want to say that his voice sounds hollow but full at the same time? One of my favorite tracks is 'Fog'. You have to listen to know what I'm talking about- or find a better description for me to use. Get their EP on bandcamp for a 'name your price' deal.Yellow Ostrich's full-length album The Mistress is out now. 

Lykke Li & Bon Iver // Dance Dance Dance

I realize how you must think I live under a rock for not discovering this 2009 video sooner. But here's what I'm going to say: Shouldn't the point be that I did? If you're coming up from the rock you live under, join me and watch this video with Lykke Li and Bon Iver. It's carefree, fun, and whimsical. 

Geographer // Verona (Basement Sessions)

During the Treasure Island Music Festival, this San Franciscan band played their track called "Verona" in a warehouse brought to you by AllSaints Spitalfields, a UK-based clothing company.
It's nice when you see a synth-pop-electronic-dominant band play something acoustic. Check our their album, Animal Shapes, it only has 6 tracks but it'll make you put it on repeat. Plus, who doesn't love a cello?

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 : Recap

Finally emerging from the dust, I'm recapping my first experience at this gusty, dusty festival held at Auditorium Shores. After attending, I realize that the first thing you should bring is not your sunscreen but your bandana. It was definitely different from Austin City Limits - no grass, smaller venue, no big screens. But I loved my time at FFF fest, I liked the intimacy of the stages; the fact that you could stand in the back and the music would still sound great.

Here are my experiences through pictures on Saturday:

My friend and I ended up right smack in the middle of the crowd at M83. Even though I wish that we weren't in the No Man's Land area, they were as epic sounding live as they are in their albums. Swaying commenced as they played "We Own the Sky" while mild maniacal dancing came when they played "Midnight City".

The silhouette on the Blue Stage is Childish Gambino. We kind of ran into his performance by accident when roaming around the venue. Thinking that we had missed him already, turns out we didn't. So what happened? I got really gangster. It's lame but you should have seen me. I think this is the first rap show I've been to. And I loved it. He was great but I'll always remember him as Troy from NBC's show Community.

Lykke Li. Oh. my. She was fantastic. Standing in the back made it even better because I let loose and danced  like she would in her music videos. I even pretended I was a backup dancer/singer. This was probably my favorite performance because I still can't get over it.

Then the Austin-native band Spoon came to perform ending Saturday night perfectly. This was my second time seeing them and they did not fail to amaze me again. Classic is an adjective I would use to describe this band. They played a lot of old songs in addition to their newest album, Transference. I'm glad I got to see them again before they took a real hiatus. I love Austin, TX.

This was definitely an experience I won't forget and I have to thank my friend Hannah for inviting me to join her and Nada from Friends With Both Arms for providing us tickets. Nada writes a great music blog, check her out if you're looking for a music adventure. She is seriously my music s-hero.

Until next time Fun Fun Fun fest.

Florence + The Machine : Ceremonials

Let me just say it: I love it. A lot.
Florence Welch, you are a power house of vocals. Since the announcement of this sophomore album, there has been lots of anticipation and quite a bit of expectations. Now there are some naysayers saying that she has steered away from her first album Lungs but she mentioned in an interview that Lungs was more of a scrapbook of her sounds and Ceremonials is more concentrated on the tone of songs like 'Cosmic Love' and 'Blinding'. I like that she chose to be more focused and thought out, I also thought it was clever that she used scrapbook to describe Lungs because that is exactly what it was with songs; varying from the aggressive 'Kiss With A Fist' to the more haunting 'Blinding'. Ceremonials will present different feelings depending on who you are she also mentioned in an interview. What is it to me? I think it's haunting, gospel-like, heavenly, heavy, and intense. One of my favorite songs is 'Never Let Me Go'.
She recently performed 'No Light, No Light' on 'Later With Jools Holland', take a look. Buy her album on amazonmp3 or iTunes.