Keeping It Fresh

Today  have music for you by the Irish singer known as Hozier. This is the only song I am going to be talking about today because it is that incredible. I have not heard a song like this that has so much depth, so many intertwining layers. There is so much meaning and complexity to this song and it has been such a very long time since a song like this has been released. This song is one of the best songs I have heard this year. Hozier has a voice unlike anything I have ever heard. To be quite honest, I think he sounds even more incredible live. This song has so many wonderfully dark things happening in it and I can't help but really feel the tone of this song when listening to it. Hozier has this very distinct voice that is capable of pulling different sounds out. This song drips with passion and is immersed in the being that Hozier is. His voice is this rich baritone that is so full of soul and he oozes this beautiful huskiness when he sings. He also has this remarkable smoky soun...

Today I have music for you by a punk band out of New Jersey called The Gaslight Anthem. These guys headlined at Austin City Limits which fits in so well with this week of ACL. In particuar, this song has a really sick vibe to it. There are elements of different kinds of rockers and rock bands in this song. I can hear subtle hints of a Springsteen-esque sound as well as a little bit of The Killers. Now this could also be the way the vocals sound. The vocals in this song have this nice gritty and rough sound to them which makes this song have a little bit more of a wild sound to it. I am actually a huge fan of a voice like this. Usually voices like this don't make it into the spotlight which is a total and complete shame because it is very unique. The Gaslight Anthem is another one of those bands that really draws from old school rock and takes that older style to mold it into their own sound. However, because The Gaslight Anthem does draw a lot from Bruce Springsteen, there is more ...

Today's song is by an Australian DJ called tyDi. He started out as a drummer, but then switched to being a DJ so his songs has pretty great drum beats as well. This song has good energy and great vocals! This song is more subdued than usual dance music but it still has a bumping beat! This song is one of those club songs that are more chill and sound more like things you would hear in a European club setting. This is one of those songs that can be used for different situations, like driving in the rain or getting ready to go out. It is one of those chilled out electronic songs but it still has that energetic nature to it. The vocals in this song fit very well with the tone and both the vocals and instrumentals mold the tone of this song. This song does not necessarily have a happy or sad tone to it, but rather more of a state of mind. This is one of those songs that can take you out of the world and reel you back in at the same time. When you imagine those certain club scenes in mo...

Today I have music by another performer at Austin City Limits. This song is by a band known as Night Terrors of 1927. These guys are a really cool group because they have a nice off kilter sound to it. It has that dreamy attitude of Passion Pit, but it also has this great catchy feel to it and has this nice pop-synth sound as well. Honestly, this band is what a very indie Passion Pit would sound like, but it is also a very distinct sound. This song is one of those that really gets you to that chill state of mind and being. The title of this song may seem like a downer, but this song is actually pretty far from it. What is really cool about this song is that they weave male and female harmonies together very well. For a band this new, I am supremely impressed by the ability to create such complimenting harmonies. There are a lot of indie and synth elements that are meshed together in this song as well and I was very intrigued and eventually entranced by the sounds in this song. There is...

Today I have music for you by a small scale band performing at ACL called Spoon. This band actually formed and started up in Austin (holla!) and I have to say that it is very different compared to a lot of the other live music groups we hear in Austin. This is their newest single after being together since 1993. Spoon has definitely experienced an evolution in their music and I really like where that evolution has them at today. Spoon has this ambient sound and synth oriented feel to it. This song in particular is definitely relying on the synth and keyboards to make the beats you hear. There is a kick drum involved for sure, but, there is also this really cool aspect of having a synth style beat as well. One of the things that makes this song so cool is the use of the harp in the music. It is not very often that we hear harps in music at all, but this song has a really beautiful harp solo and the harp serves almost as a harmonizing melody for the song. It is kind of weird because this...

Today is day two of the Austin City Limits week. This song today is by the every phenomenal Sam Smith. This is a guy who really knows how to sing and I love how he has the ability to make things sound so passionate and vulnerable at the same time. I think one of the greatest assets Sam Smith has is the ability to be that vulnerable so we really feel what he is singing to us and trying to get us to understand. He has this unique quality of being able to sound very R&B which is a fantastic combination. This song actually does carry some of that soul with it which is simple beautiful. Sam Smith has a voice that is really unlike any other and I find him to be akin to Ed Sheeran. At least when it comes to the influence of genre. I think with this song we get to see the very romantic side of Sam Smith and the fact that he is pretty much a hopeless romantic. But part of me finds that really sweet in total honesty. Coupled with Sam Smith's lovely voice is a beautiful acoustic guitar ar...

Today's song is by the German house/electronic group, Mondotek. They got really popular in France too, so maybe some of you have heard of them. This group has really dancy songs and fast paced beats which really gets the adrenaline pumping.The music video for this song is also really cool because the dancing they do in the video is pretty sweet. This band is kind of awesome because it transcends across France and Germany. It is a little bit harder to find German electronic groups so this was quite the surprise. This song has a really good beat even though it is pretty repetitive. There is always just a slight variation to the beat which makes it both the same and different. This song doesn't use synth as much but uses more programmed music. For an electronic group, this is pretty different because usually they always have some sort of synth element to it. The vocals are very much like older Daft Punk songs in the fact that they don't really have that full human sound. It is...