At Moods we are always in search of new and modern sounds for the salon. Often we are asked about the music we are playing and for this reason we have compiled a list of what presently gets the most airplay.
Songs are chosen to be interesting yet unobtrusive to our salon atmosphere. We welcome you to get a hold of these albums, as the rest of the songs are definitely worth a listen!
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What's playing?Sonically, Maus works a minimal, primitive setup: sputtering drum machines and an arsenal of 1980s-vintage synth presets undercut his lyrics just as much as those exaggerated, often grotesque vocal turns do.
Austra is the Toronto trio of vocalist/pianist/etc Katie Stelmanis, drummer Maya Postepski, and bassist Dorian Wolf, but the bulk of the band’s promo photos feature the singer by her lonesome. Even if Stelmanis wasn’t the primary songwriter, her powerful, instantly memorable voice would deserve the front-and-center attention. Some background: She joined the Canadian Children’s Opera at 10, sang for the Canadian Opera Company, and pursued a career in opera (while learning viola and piano) until she attended a punk show and joined a band. Instead of going on to focus on music in college, she wanted to “make classical music with really fucked up, distorted crazy shit on there.” Austra’s excellently dark and danceable Feel It Break feels like her proper debut. It was mixed by Damian Taylor (Björk, The Prodigy) and it feels huge.
After creating a tidal wave of media interest by initially not talking to the media, Manchester's mysterious World Unite! Lucifer Youth Foundation have chosen a typically incongruous venue to launch a short UK tour. Glittery purple streamers back the stage. A sign reminds parents to keep children quiet "while bingo is being played" Ellery Roberts's lyrics are so unintelligible he could be singing in Hungarian; his wolf-like growl is so throaty you half expect his larynx to fly into the crowd..
Lush ambiance plays a central role in Underneath the Pine, as much of the album sheds Bunwick's synth-pop roots in favor of a vastly expanded instrumental palette that includes organ, pianos, chimes, and plenty of live drumming. Bundick's skill as an arranger is especially evident in Pine's midsection: though casually paced and humid as his native South Carolina, it pulls from the French pop and krautrock obsessions of Broadcast and Stereolab, imbuing pastoral, acoustic plucks and synth drones with rhythmic purpose, and making retro chic somehow still sound futuristic.
The more you listen, the deeper and broader the songs become. (I've hit repeat about 20 times now and continue to discover new details buried in the compositions.) "Perth," swiftly bridges the ethereal For Emma and the more earthbound Bon Iver. A gust of wind, a flurry of clanging (are those wind chimes?) and a faded, echoed chorus of voices are abruptly joined by snare drums moving at a swift march. The pace quickens, the voices come to the foreground, the horns chime in, and "Perth" builds into a triumphant, celebratory crescendo. If the earlier Bon Iver record looked inward, inviting listeners to journey inside a wounded heart, "Perth" makes it clear: this is an album that aims to shout from the rooftops. The snow has thawed.
Despite being the butt of jokes because of its goofy but actually spot-on name, chillwave as an idea and a sound is here to stay. Synthesizers are in; guitar-based rock has taken a backseat to diffuse, rhythmic dance music; and the sound's key influences (broken, blissed-out electronica, hip-hop) have leached into most interesting music happening right now.
The Brooklyn boy-girl duo make their major-label debut with throwback pop songs.
Updated on August 2011 |
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