Hello adventurous readers! I'm Victoria Detmering, a junior at St. Bonaventure University studying journalism/mass communication and minoring in English. I live and breathe music. Among other things, I am the music director at WSBU The BUZZ. Thank you to everyone that's reading my posts, let me know what you have to say!
kickin' new flavor in ya ear
They were originally called In, but when a venue thought their name was a typo, they decided it was time for a change. So this three-piece band from Brooklyn settled on Keepaway, and for listeners, it’s hard to stay away.
Keepaway has been on the scene for a while now, but they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Their first EP Baby Style has hit the music scene, and since they have gained comparisons to Yeasayer, Animal Collective and Surfer Blood.
Their sound is trancy, loopy, tropical and experimental with howling vocals; it sends you into a tailspin. What makes Keepaway so interesting is that all three members sing all of their songs. Each one is layered with background vocals that compliment one another in harmonies.
The first track (also considered the single), “Yellow Wings,” is filled with repetitive billowy charm that comes together in the chorus. The line that is repeated frequently throughout is, “I think I finally know what I want/I wanna be two places at once.” This immediately sticks inside your head, because who can’t relate to a state of constant yearning and indecision in a world that sometimes moves faster than we would like?
In “5 Rings,” the sound is very dreamy with constant “ooo-wee-oos,” which relaxes you into a somber state while keeping your attention throughout.
In their last track, “Evil Lady,” you hear a very surfy vibe that brings the EP to a close beautifully with sun drenched riffs, echoing the sounds of summer.
The only negative thing about Baby Style is that it’s too short! You won’t want it to end!
Baby Style is perfect for this season. Listen to it while driving around in the car, at the beach, or anywhere for that matter; just play it loud. Spread the word, because from the sound of it, Keepaway is here to stay!
Antony and the Johnsons are dismal at best, but with their fourth album, Swanlights they try to attract and show more of their heart.
This is their most diverse album yet, although it fails to delve deeper into the meaning of his songs making them less effective. The single, “Thank You For Your Love” is upbeat and it shows him trying something happier for a change, but every other song is dreary.
The instrumentals are beautiful with the violin, organ, bass, and drums all coming together and making something enchanting. Still and all, this album is really only background music to either relax you or reflect upon things.
Listening to The Fool, you feel as though
you are gliding through a sea of jelly, bob-
bing along to the dreamy, shimmering
beats that make you feel just right.
Hailing from Los Angeles, this female
quartet’s debut album is impossible to stop
listening to after the first time.
What sets Warpaint apart from the many
other fuzzed-out bands right now is that
they have control over their music. They
know how to have just the right amount
of attitude to make their sound perfectly
noisy without it being distorted.
Nathan Williams (lead singer, guitar player, and mastermind behind Wavves) has this California punk, no care air about him, but he let’s his guard down for about 40 minutes in his third album King of The Beach.
Last year Wavves was full of dramatic twists and turns from having an onstage meltdown in Spain, to canceling his tour, then his drummer quitting the band. It seemed like Wavves was just one of those groups that got too crazy before they even reached their peak. This time he did things differently. He got the late Jay Reatard’s rhythm section to be a part of his band and actually recorded his songs in a studio for the first time. Dennis Herring (producer for Modest Mouse) produced the album and exposed Williams voice a bit more than usual to hear what is really going on in his brain.
In the album he sings about love, misery, self-loathing, loneliness, being lazy, no one liking him, and smoking; the regular California lifestyle. It’ll be hard for his haters of past albums to feel the same this time around. It’s thrashy, beach punk that does not hold back.
Right from the beginning of the album you can hear the Beach Boys influenced fuzzy poppy tracks combined with Nirvana -like grunge punk. All of his songs are full of grit and this pent up anger and energy that just explodes through the speakers. “When Will You Come”, “Baseball Cards”, and “Mickey Mouse” are a bit more different. They’re more soothing and make you feel like your in a drug induced coma that gives you a break from the madness.
Songs such as “Take On The World” and “Green Eyes” he completely bashes himself. In “Take On The World” he says how much he hates himself and his writing, but still dreams of one day taking over the world. In “Green Eyes” he completely has no belief in himself saying that “my own friends hate my guts”, but in the end he doesn’t care enough to change anything. The single “Post Acid” he cries for someone to listen to him “Misery, will you comfort me in my time of need would you understand? Understand won’t you understand in my time of need would you understand?” But he later reminds you that he doesn’t want anything serious, he’s just looking to have fun.
This is not a serious album, all Williams is trying to show is that he does not give a damn what others think or say. He just wants to do his thing and rock out. That being said, angst-ridden youth will flock to this album and rejoice at finding an outlet to pour their frustrations into.
Wolfmother’s first album had worldwide
success with songs like “Woman” and “Di-
mension.”
Since then, three band members dropped
out, leaving lead singer Andrew Stockdale
to find three new members.
After the search ended, their sophomore
LP, Cosmic Egg, was created.
These Aussies still have the same kind of
sound, one almost identical to Led Zeppe-
lin, AC/DC, and Black Sabbath.
The album is full of lengthy guitar riffs es-
pecially in “Sundial” and “Pilgrim.” Stock-
dale’s howl is high and wild and is heard
throughout the album.
From the moment I arrived at Brooklyn’s
Market Hotel or, as others call it, “Har-
ket Motel,” stepped in a huge puddle and
had to walk inconspicuously into an old
Dominican speakeasy second floor loft,
I knew I was in for an adventure. Market
Hotel is a rough gem in the city that most
people don’t know about. The crowd had so
much energy that I knew this was going to
become a memorable show.
There were five bands in total that per-
formed, and each played about five songs.
First to perform was The Morning Benders
who were a great start to make you move
and feel the music. Their sound is a mix-
ture of Dr. Dog and The Spinto Band. After
their set, they were called on to the stage
for an encore and they played a cover of
Neil Young’s “Bad Fog of Loneliness.”
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of OK
Go? Is it treadmills? Well if it is, get that out of your mind! This
album is a complete change, mixing genres from synth-funk to
dream rock to even spacey psych-pop. The rhythm section is in
full groove with bassist Tim Nordwind and drummer Dan Konop-
ka. The album is loaded with pop hooks with help from Damien
Kulash’s high falsetto throughout. Their opening track “WTF?”
and “White Knuckles” clearly show Prince as one of their main in-
fluences, while “Back From Kathmandu” calls to mind the Beatles.
