Tuesday Tunes--December 13, 2016
Shaun Cordingley
This is going to be the last Tuesday Tunes of 2016 as I am going to take a couple weeks off for the Holidays to recharge a bit, and so I can spend a little bit of time going over...well...everything for our upcoming Year in Review stuff that we are going to be tackling here in the beginning of January.
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been checking out Tuesday Tunes throughout the year, and I look forward to being able to introduce and/or remind you of great indie music again in 2017.
This week again I am putting out a set of tracks that I had in my notes from earlier in the year, and for whatever reason, did not happen to include in a Tuesday Tunes, but still wanted to share with you guys anyway:
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any of these songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new and different music that we are enjoying, or re-expose them to artists they may have forgotten about.
At the top of each section, will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website, so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.
Unimpressed - My Body Sings Electric
My Body Sings Electric is an indie alt/pop rock band from Denver who have been working together since 2007, and over the past couple years have been releasing the A and B Side of an album (essentially a pair of EPs) called the Franklin Tapes. Late last year, Franklin Tapes Side A released with "Unimpressive" as the first song on the 'album', and it's a really great indie pop rock track.
What I really appreciate about My Body Sings Electric is that they take elements from their more punk/post-punk roots and fold it in to more a more "radio friendly" rock aesthetic. This is particularly noticeable (in "Unimpressive") in Ben Scarboro's drums--I have to say, it might be the drums that have me as hooked on this song as I am...they just add another layer to what is a really good song.
In the Street - Los Espinas
Australian indie-rock band Los Espinas released their debut EP this past June called The Tideand I for one really enjoyed the final song of the release "In The Street". I really like that Los Espinas has feet firmly planted in both a modern indie feeling, but with callbacks in their sound to a lot of the fun, upbeat alternative of the 1990s (try not to put on your best flannel shirt when "In The Street"'s guitar kicks in off the top).
Los Epsinas is one of those indie rock bands that I like talking about on Tuesday Tunes because their music just feels fun, and that is something that is impossible to fake, and oh-so-hard to capture. I'm looking forward to when I get more Los Espinas in my music library, because...there needs to be more.
Hurricane - Red Sleeves
Salt Lake City's Red Sleeves (not to be confused with the Munich based heavy/prog rock band The Red Sleeves...which totally tripped me up a bit this afternoon...) released their debut EP Ok this past July, which showed their continued development in creating a moody, indie pop sound, but the song I first really dug from them (which is sadly not included on Ok) is "Hurricane" which they released as a demo back in 2015.
...I have a lot of old notes...
"Hurricane" reminds me a lot of another band I talked about last year, The Front Bottoms, but with grunge elements that could also please fans of Marcy Playground. The song is that sort of melancholy 90s pop that dominated college radio (and, admittedly, my cd racks), combining soft vocals, college rock lyrics, and that kick of grungy guitar that just makes me feel all warm and nostalgic.
Downtown Waitress - Lewisland
Honestly I was going to talk about a different Lewisland song, but once I heard this live cut of "Downtown Waitress" I called an audible, as I feel like this is an excellent introduction into singer/songwriter Lewis Angelo aka Lewisland. Originally from Nigeria, but now based in Italy, Lewisland has crafted a bright, beautiful song here that is exactly what it needs to be: it's just his beautiful lyrics & vocals, combined with a summer-y feeling guitar.
Which, considering it is still around -25* Celsius here, I'll take any feeling of summer I can get.
To get a real sense of just how talented Lewisland is, and his abilities as a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter (and if you have an hour) check out his "Summer Playlist 2016", it's pretty damn spectacular.
Wheat - Wilderado
Wrapping us up for the...year...is the indie rock song "Wheat" by Wilderado, off of their EP Latigo which released in July of this year. This is one of those hazy, spotlessly produced indie rock songs that 2016 has been so good at delivering, and that would be absolutely perfect to sit outside with your friends around a fire pit, enjoying a warm evening to. It's catchy in the best, "perfect to sing along to" way, and to be perfectly honest, I am a bit surprised that "Wheat" has not been grabbed for a commercial yet.
I do suggest checking out the rest of Latigo if you enjoy "Wheat", but also suggest that you give a look to some of their new singles, especially "Talking About Love to a Cigarette", a soft, country tinged ballad.
You know what, fuck it, here:
Merry Christmas...sorry your "present" is a little melancholy....but 2016 was...yeah...
Here's the Apple Music Playlist for November 2016! Only missing a couple of tracks (and that will probably change once Anki's album comes out next week...), so it's a full, fun list this month!
Remember, if you want me to put these playlists on other services (like Spotify), let me know on Twitter (I've linked it below)
If you're looking for more Tuesday Tunes, are late to the party, or just want more theguysfrom.com in your day, here are the playlists for:
There are other (earlier) playlists available for you if you check out earlier articles or search on Apple Music itself.
As this is the last Tuesday Tunes of the month, there will be no December playlist, but chance are, I will put together one of those December/January lists that we...all...love so much (they're great...after they're made).
Next week, there should be something fun showing up on the website (say, in the Gaming section) so come on back when you get bored of Christmas Parties and travel, and see you again in the New Year!
-S (@Shauncord)