Morning Parade [Fans of Keane, Coldplay, Snow Patrol, etc.]

Not so much as "indie" as I've been going, but I recently discovered this band from Essex. For those of you who like kind of the pre-packaged, adult contemporary, teen friendly sound of Coldplay and Snow Patrol with some tiltings towards more Keane type material, this is your new band. Why do I like them? Probably because I'm kind of a Keane nut and it really reminds me of their sound and I am crazy about the use of synthesizer (which I have a love affair with) in their song "Headlights." Here it is below (sounds a bit like Snow Patrol/Jimmy Eat World):




Their second song I'll showcase is more along the lines of Keane a la 'Under the Iron Sea':



You can find their album at iTunes or anywhere else you buy music. 

One of my favorite music videos right now is the little video for "The End of That" by Plants and Animals. A take-off/parody of Engelbert Humperdinck, this type of creativity shows what a smaller band can do on a low budget and with the right creative minds. The video was filmed with vintage equipment and features the lead singer acting and looking like Engelbert, complete with a cheesy backup band who push the absurdity of their appearance to the limit. The video is incredibly well acted and put together. If one didn't know better, one could mistake it for a real lip-synced cheap TV show out of the 70s.

You can buy the album from your favorite online retailer.

Hey everyone, I apologize for my absence. With finals and becoming addicted to Breaking Bad + listening and finding great new music for you guys, I didn't get a chance to update the blog.

Today's update comes from Miniature Tigers,  an indie pop band based in Brooklyn, NY that combines elements of indie rock, synthpop, and dream pop.

To me they sound like a mixture of Of Montreal's vocals laid over The Silver Seas' 70s song-writer/pop influence, filtered through the 80s via The Mystery Jets. This album has some really great tunes and should be great for a summer listen.

Here's the first song which introduced me to them which wraps all the influences into a nice tidy sandwich, with some tasty Jeff Lynne-esque guitar thrown in on the top. In fact, I'm quite certain they ripped off "What's the Drawback" by the Silver Seas which was a love letter to Jeff Lynne and ELO:




Here's one more song which I think encapsulates the album, going even more 'Of Montreal' on the vocals while adding what sounds like a Japanese influence:

You can buy their album 'Mia Pharaoh' online everywhere.

Matt & Kim, Soulja Boy + Andrew W.K. [Converse "3 Artists, One Song"]

Another Converse collaboration I've been obsessed with in the car is the "I'm a Goner" song by Matt & Kim, Soulja Boy, and Andrew W.K.

The song is dominated by Matt & Kim and Soulja Boy, while Andrew W.K. chimes in on background and one verse. One even wonders why Andrew W.K. is even on the track because he doesn't really contribute a whole bunch to it.  The lyrics aren't that great and repeat themselves incessantly: "I'm a goner, all my life I've known I'm a goner, believe me I'm a goner" [repeat 15x] but the melody is insanely catchy.

The video shows all of our subjects waking up in a morgue, having died from what can be interpreted as on-stage accidents.  Soon the rest of the morgue wakes up and a party breaks out, with dancing and tasty formaldehyde sampling. Overall the video is actually better than the song but again, the song is so catchy it doesn't really matter.

Here's the video:



You can download the track for free here

Daniels [Music Videos]

The Daniels are a two person team who make creative music videos.  Their style is characterized by dark subject matter, lens flares, slow-mo shots all the sudden sped up, explosions, crashes, physical stylized comic book type violence, quick cuts and inventive camera moves that keep the subject in focus, and a somewhat choppy frame rate. They've made videos for Manchester Orchestra, Foster the People, The Shins, and Chromeo. They even made a video of a guy stuck on an escalator. Here are some of their videos which represent their best work:










You can find the rest of their work at their site here

'Warrior' - Converse "3 Artists, 1 Song" [Mark Foster, Kimbra, DJ A-Trak]

Hello, loyal reader(s)! After a break yesterday, it's time for some new songs.

The first is a really cool song which is a collaboration by Mark Foster, Kimbra, and DJ A-Trak called 'Warrior.' The project was done for Converse and is part of the "3 Artists, 1 Song" series.  The Daniels team directed the video (I'll put up another post about them tomorrow) and really shows off their style.

A-Trak came up with the underlying beat while Mark Foster (Foster the People) came up with the rest of the material (lyrics, melody, music), with Kimbra contributing the main vocal duty internationally utilizing the power of the internet. It's got a harder edged sound than most of the Foster the People material but it suits itself great. If you're a fan of Foster the People and/or the Daniels team, you'll love this track which sounds plucked from the mid-80s:



You can download the track HERE

 I'll post another video from the series tomorrow as well!

The Arkells

The Arkells (from Canada) are a band I discovered a while ago and I'm unsure why Hollywood hasn't been beating down their door for permission to license their songs.  They have a very strong Hall and Oates sound, if Hall and Oates were updated and had an "indie" flavor. The Arkells' music has strong production and rich melodies obviously drawn from the 80s bands they grew up listening to on the radio. Their last album is called 'Michigan Left' and is a very solid listen. One can imagine "Kiss Cam" playing over the opening credits of the latest Justin Long romantic comedy as the camera pans over the night skyline of New York and the Brooklyn Bridge. (I choose New York because it tends to have a little more romantic element than LA, in my opinion. YMMV)

Here's "Kiss Cam":

Another song that beautifully depicts the general sound or "vibe" of the album:


You can buy the album at the following sites:

Amazon
iTunes
7digital
 

An Unlikely Source to Find Great New Music

People might laugh over this, but there's one place where you can find tons of great music (if you're not online at the time): clothing stores at the mall.

Yes, that's what I said - clothing stores.  I'm talking Old Navy, Aeropostale, American Eagle, Buckle, Hot Topic, etc. I've found multiple artists through these stores walking around (even if I wasn't shopping there): Matt Costa, Dead Man's Bones (Ryan Gosling's band), Little Jackie - "Saturday", among many others.

The reason these are such hot spots for music discovery is because they don't play Top 40 radio crap. They actually use college radio stations and other independent type sources to provide the background listening for their stores. One of them even uses Berkeley's college radio station. And as everyone who's into REAL music *wink* knows, college/indie radio is where it's at. 

So next time you're out at the mall with your boyfriend or girlfriend, walk in and take a listen. See what you find. You might be surprised (I won't be though).  :)

A song that is gaining attention internationally is Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" which features Kimbra in a guest vocal spot. The song is about a break-up and has the cool twist (kind of like "Don't You Want Me" by Human League) of expressing both points of view about the incident.  The video itself is pretty weird, with Gotye and Kimbra in full body paint as if in an art exhibit.

I ran across this parody video which I'm really enjoying. The video features the original video but photo-shopped and edited to become extremely weird and bizarre. The changes they made to the actual song are really catchy and this is almost becoming my "go to" version. :)

You can check it below - (beware: May be NSFW):

It's time for another band I'm enjoying:

Holy Ghost! is a Brooklyn band that is inspired by the early 80s club scene. Perhaps best known for "I Will Come Back" and the accompanying video (which is a shot for shot remake of New Order's "Confusion"), they take a somewhat unique approach to their retro-style. They have layers of synth and have a very warm, thick, gooey sound which differs to other bands making similar music (who have colder, more sterile aesthetics). Their music is insanely catchy and accessible and should appeal to all who remember the ground breaking music being produced in the club scene (or who wish they could go back to that time period).

Their newest track is a cover of "I Wanted to Tell Her" by Ministry. It changes the song a little bit and makes it more "Holy Ghost!" than "Ministry." It has Nancy Whang of The Juan Maclean and LCD Soundsystem guesting on the vocals as well. In other words, it's not just a pointless cover but it does stay true to the spirit of the original.

Here's the song, available for download through their label (Green Label Sound) created by Pepsi/Mt. Dew:



Green Label Sound - Holy Ghost! Free Download

And just because "I Will Come Back" is a great song and it's one of my favorite videos of all time (also starring Nancy Whang), here it is for everyone to enjoy:

Introduction + Cadillac

Hello, fellow indie music fans. I started this on the advice of a good friend because of my passion for music. If you like my writing and my music recommendations, please let me know in the comments!

This blog will mainly follow "indie" music of all sorts - electronic, chill-wave, folk, mash-up, rock,  electro-pop, synth-pop, power-pop, indie-dance....any sort of music I'm feeling like sharing. (pretty much anything Post-2000.

Why "Eclectric Sounds"?

1. I have an "eclectic" taste in music
2. Electricity is used to make and listen to albums
3. I like music with electronic elements (not exclusively though)

Each day or week I'll be updating this blog, letting you know what I'm currently listening to and what I think of it. I'll be putting out recommendations and hopefully promoting all the amazing bands that come across my path. I'll be reviewing any concerts I attend, commenting on various news articles I find, and basically giving you guys my thoughts. Please feel free to respond in the comments to my thoughts.

To start off with, I've been on a bit of an 80s retro synth-pop kick recently. I love current old-school music that evokes the image of driving along the beach as the sun sets in Vice City or the cool chilled out sounds that form the backdrop of the city at night. 

Cadillac is one such band from Australia (there's tons of good music coming from down-under right now). Their music is lush, easy going, and just plain beautiful. They sound very similar to Miami Horror (no surprise, as they've remixed some of their tracks) and Cut Copy, with some funky moments a la Chromeo. One might even hear some Lionel Richie peeking through on "Make You Feel" if they listen hard enough.

You can buy the album here:

iTunes
7digital
Juno
Beatport