Listening To (Bat For Lashes, The Besnard Lakes, Rilo Kiley, Frightened Rabbit, Fanfarlo, The White Stripes)

Just a quick round up of what I am listening to these days.

1)     Bat For Lashes (Two Suns)

Apparently the band is one woman show like Nine Inch Nails. My first reaction was, Tori Amos! But upon further listening there are big differences. I mean, she is definitely influenced by Kate Bush and Tori Amos but her music is more expansive and paints a larger & more complex picture even though her lyrics are not comprehensible to the casual listener like me. Anyway, a must if you are in a melancholy mood.

Update : Just found out a “crucial” song is missing from the album I downloaded from emusic.com. Hmmm, I wonder why emusic.com did that?

2)     The Besnard Lakes (The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night)

The soundscapes from a myriad of instruments, the vocals, the lyrics all paint an astounding picture in my mind. I am very impressed with the band. And as per Spin, this is not even their best effort! Wow! The songs take a little while to get going but, boy, is the wait worth it. It would be interesting to see the band do a show. I mean the swelling music and the power cords should play well with the crowd. I have to say that listening to Besnard Lakes reminded me of SlowDive and alternatively My Bloody Valentine quite a bit. Shoegazing in the 10s? I thought that trend was long over?

3)     Rilo Kiley (The Execution Of All Things)

OK, I know I am late to the party of Rilo Kiley but better late than never! Excellent album from start finish. I like it when bands mix different genres and make something pleasing and yet disturbing at the same time. The lyrics of most of the songs are pretty dark but they are encased in pop notes with hooks that keep your feet tapping that is until you realise what Lewis is singing! Definitely a better listen than their earlier album Takeoffs and Landing. Now looking forward to listen to their next two albums.

4)     Frightened Rabbit (The Winter Of Mixed Drinks)

Eternally grateful to Will (www.willsband.net) for introducing this band to me last year. Loved their second album (Midnight Organ Fight) and this new album is again powerful stuff from the Scots. Will, Barrett and Chris have done a great job describing the album (willsband.net/index.php?post_id=596910) and I will only add that the overall tone of the album is upbeat and pulsating in stark contrast to their earlier effort. Love it!

5)     Fanfarlo (Reservoir)

Got a recommendation from Allison regarding this band and, man, it has really grown on me in the last few days. Melodious yet powerful; soothing yet enough cacophony to keep things interesting. The music paints a beautiful picture in the mind and that keeps me coming back to the album for more. Although the vocals remind me too much of Beirut but I am willing to overlook that aspect for the music. It would be interesting to see what they come up with next!

6)     The White Stripes

I know, I know they have not released anything for a while but I just saw the movie “Great White Northern Lights” and the sleeping White Stripes giant me has woken up again!! I missed their show when they were here during their tour and now am cursing myself for missing it. Amazing, amazing live performances. Jack going crazy on guitar around the stage and Meg thumping away at the drums producing foot stomping music. Or they would be just sitting and creating a beautiful sound from just two instruments at a time. Next they come around, I will definitely catch them live.

Here are some of my favourite tracks from each albums (minus White Stripes). It`s totally legit so don`t hesitate. Hope you like them :)

http://8tracks.com/agsharma/april-madness