AA Loves: Lily and the Parlour Tricks

Be forewarned because you may not survive Lily and the Parlour Tricks’ gorgeous sound. Like the sultry southern sirens of O Brother Where Art Thou?, they will draw you in with their gorgeous three-part harmonies and deadly sex appeal only to turn one of your friends into a frog.

Okay not really, but you get the point – their sound is dangerously seductive. Drawing on a wide range of influences, Lily and the Parlour Tricks blend raucous old timey saloon jangles with the sugary sweetness of 1950s pop, the devilish cunning of a snake oil salesman, and a bit of Motown soul to create one of the most mesmerizing sounds I’ve heard in a long time.

Watch below as they fight off the brutal rhythms of a German nightclub with their sexy sound.

Exitmusic @ Death By Audio 1-27-12

For nearly thirty minutes last Friday, Death by Audio was converted into a place of eerie worship as Exitmusic wove a ghostly spell over a packed room, leaving everyone in a nearly catatonic state of aural bliss.

Flooding the tiny smoke-filled venue with wave after wave of ethereal incantations, Exitmusic simply overwhelmed the senses. In stunned silence, the crowd hung on every one of Aleksa Palladino’s ghoulish wails in all of their morbid beauty. “Rip your eyes out tonight” she whispered dangerously on the show’s opener “The Sea” with a voice filled with yearning, desire, and anxiety.

Seemingly tranquil, each track was rife with roiling tension that lurked just below the surface waiting to explode and engulf unsuspecting listeners. Dragging the audience down into turbulent waters rife with lushly textured melodies and filling their lungs with thunderous drums, vaporous synths, and unearthly guitar lines, Exitmusic left little room for air.

Watch the chilling video for “The Sea” and “The Hours” below, and be sure to pick up their EP From Silence, which is out via Secretly Canadian.

The Sea from EXITMUSIC on Vimeo.

EXITMUSIC - "The Hours" from stereogum on Vimeo.

Troubadour Dali – Pale Glow

For a dose of blues rock with a hazy, haunting twist, check out Troubadour Dali.

I recently got a chance to catch a few tracks from their latest album and within ten seconds it was pretty apparent that this sextet from St. Louis is somethin’ mighty fierce.

Combining grinding guitars with long psycahdelic instrumental breaks and fuzzy vocals, Troubadour Dali plays like a hardcore bluesy Americana version of Yuck.

Check out the live video for “Pale Glow,” taken from their second album Let’s Make It Right.

Saskwatch – Don’t Wanna Try

Who better to carry on the torch of Motown soul than nine Aussies. Wait, what the what? I’m super cereal, Saskwatch is the real deal. Fellow Motown revivalists Alabama Shakes, which have been blowing up the innanets of late, are going to have to watch out because Saskwatch gives them a serious run for the money. 

With a voice steeped in the soul fire of Aretha and Tammi Terrell, vocalist Nkechi Anele lights up “Don’t Wanna Try” like a four-alarm fire. Riding smoothly over doo wop bass lines, funky trumpets, and bouncing pianos, Saskwatch will send you to a magical land where everyone is named Curtis, Marvin, or Etta.

Stream the hot new 7” below along with the B-side “Pushin’ Me Away” below.

  

Living Days – If You Ever

Unfurl the celebratory banners, let the trumpets blare, and put on your finest livery because Living Days is back with a brand new song.

Keeping in line with their insanely danceable EP Make Out Room, Vol. 1, “If You Ever” is an intense dark wave dance floor banger. Stephonik Youth’s hushed whispers are as sultry as ever and there are more than enough sparkly synths and shimmering beats to go around.

Have a listen below and stay tuned as it seems this Brooklyn five-piece has been busy in the studio.

  IF YOU EVER by LIVING DAYS

Stillwater Giants – Give Into Me

Say goodbye to those winter blues with Stillwater Giants and their insanely catchy “Give Into Me.”

With songs drenched in surf and sun, this Australian quartet is contagiously fun. Their addicting guitar lines, bubbling harmonies, and rollicking beats have all the charm and innocence of 60s pop -- throw in a pinch of 70s funk and you have all the ingredients for a rollicking good time.  

Check out the fun video for “Give Into Me” below and be sure to grab their fantastic self-titled debut EP.

He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister – Let’s Go (Live in the Snow)

Losing feeling in your hands has never looked so fun. In an adorable video, He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister do an acoustic version of “Let’s Go,” as they slowly freeze in the snow. Although it seems that even below freezing temperatures can do nothing to dampen their buoyant sound.

Seriously, listening to the warmth and blissful energy of their janglin river basin blues will make you forget for a brief moment that we are in the crushing depths of winter.

Check out the video below and be sure to pick up a copy of their spectacular self-titled debut EP over at bandcamp.

Anna Calvi – Wolf Like Me (Cover)

I finally got a chance to listen to Anna Calvi’s mind-blowing cover of TV On the Radio’s “Wolf Like Me" and had to share.

This sultry songstress certainly knows how to kick a song off right. Her menacing distorted guitar screams immediately pull you into a freaky David Lynch-like world. Far from the upbeat original, Calvi opts to keep things mysterious and minimal. At times, it’s just her darkly sensual vocals and the heart-like pulse of the drums.

If this track doesn't set your heart racing, there is something seriously wrong with you. Watch the live video below or head over to Soundcloud where you can also catch the rest of the B-Sides for each of her singles released so far.

Dirty Little Rebels – Bones

I don’t think I can say this any better, so I’ll let the band do all the talking.

“Dirty Little Rebels, a face melting, nipple hardening, sister corrupting, badass, boigur eating, horn throwing, mother seducing, brain polluting, kickass three piece band…”

With a description like that, it’s fairly obvious that these swaggering scoundrels' only concern is “making badass rock n roll.” Their songs reek of stale beer and sweat, that je ne sais quoi that makes a dingy basement venue the perfect place to listen to their brand of fuck off grimey garage rock that makes your ears bleed in a good way.

Listen to “Bones” below and head over to Triple J to grab your free copy.

  Dirty Little Rebels - Bones by Aesthetes Anonymous

Drunk Mums – Eventual Ghost

Not to be confused with the pornographically oriented DrunkMoms that pops up with a Google search, but equally as randy, the Drunk Mums of today’s post are five hard-charging scalliwags who make good ol’ fashion boozy blues rock.

Psychotic, brash, and unhinged – all the key elements of misspent youth and traits Drunk Mums possesses in droves. With a mean sound inspired by Junior Kimbaugh, Black Lips, and the Mummies, they mean business.

Their thrashing style is on full display on their debut EP Eventual Ghost and even more so in their music video for the title track. Watch these rapscallions spiral out of control over the jangling, intoxicated slow burner “Eventual Ghost.” 

Check out the video below and be sure to head over to bandcamp to grab their debut EP.

Solar Solar – Walking Like Children

Check out the adorable yet creepy sounds of Solar Solar.

They sound a bit like if Alice Glass of Crystal Castles turned into a ghost and you could only hear her charming voice from the great beyond and her backing band happened to be Portishead. Hmm, maybe not the best band analogy, but I think you get the point that I’m trying to make – Angela Drysdale has a killer voice that is exceptionally beautiful in its haunting crispness.

With stripped down beats, ethereal synths, and bass lines that pulse like a thumping heart, Solar Solar paints some serious dreamscapes, but unlike other dream pop bands, they come perilously close to veering off the edge into a hellish nightmare. Like Portishead, there is an underlying tension, malice, and ominous melancholy that make their tracks so captivating.

Their debut album Pilot is scheduled to drop on February 21st on Binary Entertainment, but in the meantime you can stream “Walking Like Children” below from the forthcoming album.

  

Oleksandr Hnatenko

Cheerleader – Do What You Want

The sunny lo-fi indie duo Cheerleader is back with “Do What You Want,” an amazing follow up to last year’s “New Daze.”

Donovan Rex and Max Friday of Connecticut know damn well how to churn out catchy jams and “Do What You Want” is no exception. With its whistled melody a la Peter, Bjorn, and John this track will burrow its way deep into your brain like an alien parasite – that is minus the whole brain exploding bit or the forced evil deed doing thing of course.

While we may be in the depths of winter, listening to this song certainly confuses thing a bit. With hazy vocals, a mellow acoustic guitar line, and dreamy synths, you’ll think a warm breeze was gently tousling your hair as you drive with the windows down.

More evidence that these two know what they’re doing: “Do What You Want” was released as part of Turntable Kitchen’s killer Pairings Box series. In a stroke of genius, each month with the Pairings Box, you’ll be sent a hand-number vinyl, a digital mixtape, and recipes and ingredients for a fantastic meal. What a phantasmagoric orgy of wonderfulness!

Before you get too excited and rush off to order your own Pairings Box, check out the track below, where it’s also available to download. Meanwhile, if you haven’t already listened to “New Daze,” then head over to Bandcamp where you can grab a free copy.

  

Chalk and Numbers – He Knew

I originally came across Chalk and Numbers via their recently released Christmas jingle, but since I’m not a huge fan of Christmas jingles, I skipped straight to their kick ass EP He Knew.

While you might groan at the thought of another throwback 60s band, I assure you Brooklyn-based Chalk and Numbers does in fact kick a lot of ass. Well, not so much kick ass as make you want to hold hands with your girlfriend and skip through a sunny field full of frolicking puppies – but man do they do that like straight gangstas.

With catchy psychedelic organs, an adorable voice reminiscent of Zooey Deschanel, and all the good girl innocence of Sandy Olsen, Andrew Pierce and Sable Yong do not mess around when it comes to making sugary sweet indie pop gems that more than live up to their self-proclaimed influences of The Beach Boys and Dusty Springfield.

Stream the EP below or head over to bandcamp to grab your free copy.

Paul

I’ve always liked John better, but photos like this do make me pause to consider.

Via

Eugene McGuinness - Thunderbolt

Check out “Thunderbolt,” the latest single from Eugene McGuinness’s forthcoming album.

With his last single “Lion,” McGuinness has quickly become one of my favorite artists and “Thunderbolt” is every bit as energetic, sleek, and eclectic as "Lion."

In a magnificent showcase of his vocal acrobatics, McGuinness rides nimbly over the chaotic din of teetering guitars, Beck-esque Odelay-era hallucinogenic beats, and a brass line that sounds like a cross between zany Roger Rabbit film noir and Sean Connery Bond films.

Stream the track below or head over to his Facebook page where you can trade a “like” for a free download.

Nick Maggio Is Killin It

Nick Maggio, one of my favorite photographers, is killin it as usual -- this time for Lamb & Flag's launch campaign.

I suppose he sums up the concept pretty well: "'We're gonna be shooting in Malibu for three days, sleeping in an Airstream, and just having fun.' When a company sends you a concept like this one, you say yes."

To see the rest head over to A Time To Get. 

AA Loves - Filthy Boy

With two band members going by the name of Morrissey, these saucy south Londoners more than live up to their namesake.

Putting a riotously hilarious spin on tragedy, Filthy Boy details with lucid clarity humanity’s worst transgressions primarily in regards to the opposite sex. Dark, yet with a massive dose of cheeky irony, this lot will have you rolling on the floor despite the gloomy subject matter.

For instance, on “Waiting On the Doorstep” in a deep a deep baritone reminiscent of Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand they croon, “You’re looking pretty through the window magnificently kneeling between those men/I can’t help but think your lips are so soft as you get up off your knees and wipe your chin.”

Stream “Waiting On the Doorstep” along with a few other choice selections, or head over to their bandcamp to score some free downloads.

AA Loves – King Krule

Evidence the world is cruel place – the fact that Archie Marshall, the seventeen year old behind King Krule (formerly Zoo Kid), is far more talented than you will ever be at a far younger age.

Evidence God exists – the fact that Archie Marshall makes insanely good jams like “Out Getting Ribs” that punch you in the chest and leave you emotionally winded. Oh God, the mind shattering conundrum!

Just listening to him discuss his influences makes me want to bury my head in shame. 

“A lot of the guitar lines are influenced by New York No Wave, but the chords are always influenced by Chet Baker songs. And Django Reinhardt! My favorite guitarist. Then there’s a few MCs that are actually quite good, like Leaf Dog. Also I’m quite fond of Josef K too.”

I mean what frickin seventeen year old talks like that! He didn’t even mention the heavy doses of Gil Scott-Heron, Nujabes, and The Roots oozing from his tracks.

Watch “Out Getting Ribs” and “The Noose of Jah City,” and then think about what the fuck you’re doing with your life and where all that time went.