Aero Wave
Leslie Sisson is the only member of Aero Wave as far as I can tell. It's certainly not easy to find information about this band, so I could be completely wrong. Check out
the website and you'll see what I mean. Talk about cryptic! The music's great though - electronic with sweet female vocals. The combination reminds me a bit of
Mirah and her voice reminds me of Angie Hart (of Frente and
Splendid). You can
download 4 tracks from the site and see for yourself. I don't know about any release dates, but I do know that they played SXSW on the 16th and possibly are looking for a record deal. You can check out her other project
The Killing Fields. She's also apparently a member of a roller derby team and goes by the name
Rolletta Lynn. Interesting!
Louis XIV
Louis XIV is from San Diego. Their music is very glam, dirty and rock and roll. They released their debut cd on the 22nd and it's called "The Best Little Secrets Are Kept". They are comparable to The Rolling Stones, Adam Ant and The Kinks. The album is fun and silly. Their sound is surprisingly British-sounding. Check out
their official website and you can
launch their player.
Buy the cd.
Bloc Party
Sorry about posting so sporadically lately. I started a new job last week and have been so busy that I just haven't had time. To make up for it, I'll post two new bands today. The first one is Bloc Party. They're from England and are influenced by The Cure and Joy Division, among others. Their sound is indie pop in the vein of those '80s bands. Their debut record "Silent Alarm" was released on the 22nd. Check out
their official website for some information and
some MP3s.
Buy the cd.
Fiona Apple
I've been so into the new Fiona Apple record the past couple of days that I'm going to post about her today. I can't imagine that you've never heard of her, but I'll give some background anyway. Fiona's originally from New York and has been playing piano since she was 8. She's a singer/songwriter with a very mature sound. She's 27 now, but got signed to Sony at the age of 18. She released her debut "Tidal" in 1996. Shortly thereafter I saw her in concert and met her briefly even before I listened to the record. She had a pretty huge hit with "Criminal" and gained some notoriety for some things she said in reference to her newfound celebrity. "When The Pawn ..." was released in 1999 and it's even better than "Tidal" (even thought it didn't sell nearly as well). Her most recent album was completed in May of 2003 and it's called "Extraordinary Machine". It's all over the internet and the newsgroups because Sony won't release it. Read about the fan response at
Free Fiona. You can go
here to download all of the tracks. If you only get one song, get "Not About Love" because it's the best track (although they're all good). Buy "
Tidal" or "
When The Pawn ... ".
Carina Round
Carina Round is a singer/songwriter from England and has toured with David Gray and worked with Ryan Adams. Her sound is more indie rock in the vein of PJ Harvey than most of the female singer/songwriters that I listen to. Her voice is definitely the most important instrument on her only record, "The Disconnection". It was released in March of last year. If you go to
her official website, you can listen to some more tracks from the record and read a bit more about her (although the news is a bit outdated).
Buy the cd.
CocoRosie
CocoRosie is a band made up of sisters Sierra and Bianca Casady. They're definitely progressive and experimental, so if you don't like that kind of thing, you won't like their music. The debut cd, "La Maison de Mon Reve" (the House of My Dream), was released in March of last year and I think it's great. It was recorded in Paris and combines lots of different electronic sounds with super-high vocals (Billie Holiday-style) and interesting beats. You can listen to some songs at
their website.
Buy the cd.
Julieta Venegas
Julieta Venegas is a Mexican singer who currently lives in Los Angeles. I first discovered her on the "
Amores Perros" soundtrack album. It's one of my favorite movies, and I loved the score as well as the music selection for the film. She contributes "Me Van A Matar" and, if you rent the dvd, you can see the video for it. She definitely has a more contemporary pop sound and is not the typical Mexican singer/songwriter. She cites David Bowie, Prince, and Suzanne Vega as some of her influences. She's released three albums and all are great, particularly "Si".
Her website is in Spanish, but it's not hard to figure out how to download some song samples. Buy the "
Amores Perros Soundtrack", "
Aqui", "
Bueninvento", or "
Si".
Brazilian Girls
Brazilian Girls is a band that's neither made up of Brazilians (they came together in New York, but are of different nationalities), nor is the band made up entirely of girls (there is one girl in the band). The band combines many different genres and the songs are written in many different languages. Their self-titled debut came out in February of this year and it's excellent. Check out their official website for some
songs and some
live video. I saw them on Jimmy Kimmel a couple of weeks ago and they performed "Don't Stop".
Buy the cd.
Van Hunt
Van Hunt is from Atlanta and is a mix of old-time soul singers and contemporary r&b crooners. He reminds me of Prince with a dash of Sam Cooke and a bit of Maxwell. His self-titled debut was released last February and got a bit of airplay, but not enough. You can listen to clips of all of the songs at
his official website. Also, check out
videos for "Dust" and "Down Here In Hell (With You)".
Buy the cd.
Happy Birthday to my friend Toddy!!
Lori McKenna
Lori McKenna is from Boston and she's another female singer/songwriter. She's definitely got a folky, alt-country kind of vibe which I love. She kind of reminds me of
Patty Griffin (check out clips from "Flaming Red"
here), who is one of my favorites. Her third record, released in May of last year, is called "Bittertown" and it's got some great tracks. Go to
her website to download some sample songs and a featured track. Buy "
Paper Wings and Halo", "
Pieces of Me" or "
Bittertown".
Carla Werner
Carla Werner's originally from New Zealand, but spent her adult years in Australia. She's another female singer/songwriter with a beautiful voice. Her debut record "Departure" was released in July '03. It's a moody piece of work that's not meant to be listened to when you're looking for something upbeat. Check out some snippets at
her Sony page.
Her official website is in transition right now, but hopefully will have lots of interesting stuff on it soon.
Buy "Departure".
Robinella and the CC String Band
Robinella and the CC String Band is an interesting group of country musicians led by Robinella Contreras. She has a wonderful bluegrass voice that complements the musicians well. Check out some songs from their self-titled major-label release at
their official website. They're from Tennessee and have been together for several years, but the album came out in the middle of 2003. If you like a mix of genres including country/blues/bluegrass, you'll like this band.
Buy the cd.
Amos Lee
Amos Lee is a singer/songwriter from Philly with a soulful sound. His self-titled debut cd came out this week. He was on David Letterman last night and he sounded great live. He'll be on The Tonight Show on March 23rd, so watch it. Check out some songs with
his media player or visit
the official website and poke around.
Buy the album.
Keri Noble
Keri Noble's another female singer/songwriter with a beautiful voice (there's a pattern here, I know). She's from Detroit and some reviewers compare her to Sarah McLachlan. I agree with that, but she's definitely darker and sadder than Sarah. Her debut record "Fearless" was released last March. Check out
her official website for
her digital song player and a
video for "Talk To Me". Buy "
Fearless".
Kathleen Edwards
Kathleen Edwards is a singer/songwriter from Canada. Her music is very much in the alt-country vain of Whiskeytown or Neko Case. I really enjoyed her full-length debut "Failer" and her newest record "Back to Me" comes out today. I'm watching her on David Letterman right now. Check out
her official website for some news and photos. The multimedia section isn't up right now, but should be soon. Buy "
Failer" or "
Back to Me".
