The Monolator's Faves & Tips
Todays
post is another look back at 2007 and forward to 2008, this time
through the eyes of one of LA's finest, The Monolators...
The Monolator's Best Of 2007
Bodies Of Water - Doves Circle The Sky
Originally called the faintly ludicrous Unicorn of Death (good decision on the name change people), Bodies of Water are the acceptable face of post modern hippie pop music. They're apparently heavily influenced by Os Mutantes and they sound like the The Mamas and the Papas meets a salvation army brass band" or an agnostic Polyphonic Spree .
Check out the track...
MP3 - Bodies of Water - Doves Circle The Sky
and if that takes your fancy then why not try this one too...
MP3 - Bodies of Water - I Guess I'll Forget The Sound, I Guess, I Guess
Go Visit
Bodies of Water - Myspace
If you like these then you'll love Bodies of Water...
MP3 - Os Mutantes - Ando Meio Desligado
Buy Os Mutantes 'Os Mutantes' from Amazon
MP3 - The Mamas and the Papas - California Dreaming
Buy The Mamas & the Papas 'The Mamas & the Papas Greatest Hits' from Amazon
MP3 - The Polyphonic Spree - Fragile Army Mashup
Buy The Polyphonic Spree 'Together We're Heavy' from Amazon
One Trick Pony - Box Song
Check out the track at...
One Trick Pony - Myspace
The Airborne Toxic Event - Papillon
Check the track out at...
The Airborne Toxic Event - The Airborne Toxic Event
Correatown - Green Cotton Dress
Angela
Correa is a local singer-songwriter who sometimes plays solo, sometimes
with a band. She's one of the worlds best known relative unknowns. Her
songs have been on TV shows like Grey's Anatomy and if you go see the
new John C. Reilly "Walk Hard" movie, she's the voice you
hear when Jenna Fischer sings on "Let's Duet. So grab yourself a slice
of Correa before she goes global.
Check the track out at...
Correatown - Myspace
or...
Go Try
MP3 - Correatown - Savvy Young Punks
MP3 - Correatown - Super Paper Airplanes
Lavender Diamond - Oh No
L.A. band Lavender Diamond dispense catchy and powerful hippy folk-pop that skillfully sidesteps the whispy and the fey thereby avoiding the use of diaphanous. Singer, the ultra-eccentric, Becky Stark, has been popping up in all sorts of unexpected places like Vogue Magazine. Occasionally prone to somewhat strange behaviour, which is getting the band noticed but also detracting from the music, Becky has a voice that could stop traffic and the stage presence of a charismatic evangelist. This is the closest that indie gets to a truly religious experience. Become a convert to the church of the Lavender Diamond and save your indie soul.
Check out the video...
or...
Go Try
MP3 - Lavender Diamond - You Broke My Heart
Go Visit
Lavender Diamond - Myspace
The Monolator's Tips For 2008
Rademacher - (Myspace)
Well known in L.A. for their live shows Rademacher are a hot tip for 2008. Their first full length album, 'Stunts', was produced by Aaron Espinoza (Earlimart) who has also worked with Elliot Smith, Kim Deal , and Lou Barlow . 'Stunts',
with it's catchy beats, qurky lyrics and raucous rhythms lives in it's
own underground DIY universe inhabited only by refugees from a nuclear
confrontation between Arcade Fire and Shout Out Louds.
Go Try
MP3 - Rademacher - If U Got Some Magic
MP3 - Rademacher - You're Never Gonna Hear From Me
Go View
Rademacher
If You Got Some Magic
If you like these you'll love Rademacher...
MP3 - Shout Out Louds - Very Loud
Buy Shout Out Louds 'Howl Howl Gaff Gaff' from Amazon
MP3 - Arcade Fire - Neighborhood (Power Out)
Buy Arcade Fire 'Funeral' from Amazon
Castledoor - (Myspace)
With their heaven sent soul, genius indie pop and etherial melodies pitched somewhere between Cold War Kids and Rogue Wave,
Silver Lake’s Castledoor are on the cusp of the mainstream. This is a
group of innocents abroad uncorrupted by the voracious music industry
making exhilarating music for fun. Selling out their self released EP 'Follow the Dove'
is surely a sign of things to come. Castledoor have the potential and
the opportunity to become one of those rare bands that break through
and retain their independence, their crediblity and their souls.
Go Try
MP3 - Castledoor - Fall Apart
If you like these you'll love Castledoor...
MP3 - Cold War Kids - Hang Me Out To Dry
Buy Cold War Kids 'Robbers & Cowards' from Amazon
MP3 - Rogue Wave - Publish My Love
Buy Rogue Wave 'Descended Like Vultures' from Amazon
The Airborne Toxic Event - (Myspace)
The music graveyard is littered with the remains of bands that were heralded as the new Smiths. It becomes a millstone around their necks and when their first single fails to replicate the majesty of the 'Queen is Dead' or the fragile beauty and promise of the Smiths John Peel sessions they get written off and fall into oblivion. Which is why I'm hesitant about labelling The Airborne Toxic Event, in that way but, I'm sorry guys, it just has to be said. The Airborne Toxic Event could be genuine contenders for the new Smiths crown.
It's not simply that singer Mike Jollet's vocals sound like early Morrissey, it's that their songs contain the fragile beauty of those early Peel sessions. It's that they are literary, the band is named after a novel by Don DeLillo and 'The Girl's In Their Summer Dresses' is based on a short story by Irwin Shaw. It's that their songs hint at unrequited lust with a wry sense of humour.
But don't run away with the idea that The Airborne Toxic Event are simply carbon copy karaoke Smiths. There are hints of Gene), The Buzzcocks ('Papillon'), The Wedding Present ('Does This Mean You're Moving On') and, gulp, even 'Joshua Tree' period U2 ('Sometime Around Midnight').
So can The Airborne Toxic Event buck the trend and overcome the curse of the new Smiths? It's now down to you music lovers.
Go Try
MP3 - The Airborne Toxic Event - The Girls In Their Summer Dresses
Go View
The Airborne Toxic Event
Does This Mean You're Moving On
If you like these you'll love The Airborne Toxic Event...
MP3 - The Wedding Present - This Boy Can Wait
Buy The Wedding Present 'George Best' from Amazon
MP3 - Gene - Olympian (Live)
Buy Gene 'Olympian' from Amazon
MP3 - The Buzzcocks - Orgasm Addict
Buy The Buzzcocks 'Love Bites' from Amazon
MP3 - The Smiths - Suffer Little Children
Buy The Smiths 'Hatful of Hollow' from Amazon
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