John Mayer ‘Shadow Days’

We may not be able to have live John Mayer at the moment, but we do at least have something to chew on for a while with his latest single ‘Shadow Days’ (rumored to be written about his break-up with Jennifer Aniston).

Not only is it great to get ahold of another heart-felt John Mayer ballad, but it really seems the 34-year-old singer/song-writer is continuing to grow into his own skin. As arguably one of the best guitarists of our generation it feels much for natural for Mayer to take a blues/country direction that his earlier, though still lovable, works such as “Your Body is A Wonderland.” A denim clad John Mayer wanders about the countryside in the ‘Shadow Days’ music video and you know what? The man looks truly happy and comfortable in his own skin. Good for you John Mayer, good for you.

Regina Spektor ‘All the Row Boats’

Less than one month until the new Regina Spektor album drops! If you stop reading now to excitedly preorder the album on Amazon I can’t blame you. Or kitschy sweetheart is truly a covetable find and is a testament that our mainstream audience is still interested in something besides the same generic Kesha and Katy Perry athems.

Regina’s given us a sneak peek with her single ‘All the Row Boats.’ The first fifteen seconds are quite the shock, it seems that our sweet Regina has traded in her piano for some hard synth and death metal-like drums. However, the sound soon evens out, and we settle back into the sounds of the good ole Regina, but still with a bit more kick. ‘All the Row Boats’ is an ekphrastic find in which masterpieces in an art museum doesn’t come alive as much as try too, but can’t because of their glass and gold encasings. Is this a metaphor for celebrities constantly being on display and failing to live a life outside of the limelight? Perhaps. Give it a listen and decide for yourself.

Of Montreal ‘Spiteful Intervention’

Two days ago our favorite vaudeville inspired band, Of Montreal, released a quite intriguing music video for the single ‘Spiteful Intervention.’ Just as we thought things were starting to settle down after their February release of Paralytic Stalks, leave it to Of Montreal to get things riled up once again.

The video to ‘Spiteful Intervention’ is quite a piece of work, literally. Perhaps inspired by the slow motion shots of paint on a drum head, here a painted face, splits, spits, and pulses about as the paint strokes come alive. This enigmatic face feels constructed very much in the style of a Chagall circus painting, but with a black background that proves permeable and of an unknown depth, no 3-D glasses are needed to view this modern replica. Kick back and see were art and music collide: no inspiration necessary, Of Montreal brings plenty to this plate.

Anais Mitchell ‘Coming Down’

Well, it’s pretty hard to stay under the radar when someone like Bon Iver gives you a shout out on air and starts covering the single from your latest album. Things have to be looking pretty good for American singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell, who released Young Man in America just this year.

When you first here Anais sing, you’ll know why she seems to be a magnet for folk awards. Her voice has a beautiful kind of innocence just like our beloved Joni Mitchell. It’s angelic, child-like with its wispy stylings, and feels so full of pure awe you want to sink down into a chair as it unfolds before you. It’s no surprise that Bon Iver was captivated by what he heard in Anais and wanted to take it with him on the road, no one can’t say her music doesn’t have substance. What’s so great about it is instrumentally it’s very sparse: there’s minimal effects on voice, piano, and guitar. Not many musicians can pull of creating such a big, sweeping effect with such a simple arrangement, but Anais sure seems to have done just that.

 

Black Mountain ‘Mary Lou’

All the way from Vancouver, Black Mountain’s latest album, Year Zero, is here. For their fourth full-length album, these guys still keep it fairly loose and unstructured with their noise/surf rock styles. A bit like The Flaming Lips, a bit like Sonic Youth, the sound isn’t sloppy per say, it’s unhinged and not concerned for a second about turning out a catchy anthem to top the pop billboards.

‘Mary Lou’ is a perfect example. The single starts with a forty-five second intro of ambient guitar noise and chanting. Add another forty-five seconds with the drum kicked in, then the guitars really start wailing in the distorted surf rock sound you can’t help but latch onto. As for the rest of the track: think six more minutes of riffing on the lyrics “Hello, hello, what you gonna do?,” some good extended guitar solos, and of course a solid bang bang track from the drums. Think that simple formula won’t keep you intrigued for the next seven and a half minutes? I dare you, try it.

Gotye ‘Somebody That I Use to Know’

 

How a band gets their sound to become viral is a bit of a curious formula. For Gotye it was fun plunks of synth, 80′s inspired vocals, and a hell of a catchy chorus. The found sounds of Walter De Backer, aka Gotye, has gotten over 100 M hits on his single ‘Someone That I Use to Know.’

‘Someone That I Use to Know’ is a main stream hit, but the sound isn’t what’s covering the rest of the billboards. De Backer   plays the pop card, but makes the game more about bringing art rock mainstream than anything else. The lyrics are filled with paradoxes that point towards the complexities of love rather than the usual croonings about hating your ex: “Now and then I think of when we were together / Like when you said you said you felt so happy you could die / Told myself that you were right for me / But felt so lonely in your company.” Add in a music video where Walter De Backer literally becomes an artwork himself, and you have something that holds its own both on the charts and off.

 

Birdy ‘Shelter’

She’s here. And oh yeah, she’s 15. Her debut album is a cover album, which usually doesn’t garner much interest, but this girl has set a precedent. She’s not another teeny-bopper who became famous by everyone thinking her youtube video is cute. This girl can really, and I do mean really, play the piano and sing. Her arrangements are so striking you run the risk of loving her version more than the original.

What’s more to her credit is she doesn’t use gimmicks, her tracks are rather raw. Birdy’s bare voice over the piano are the meat of her sound. Sure, some vocal reverb and orchestra fills make an appearance, but sparingly. This brit is a bonafide songbird. If she can translate her success her into her own songwriting as she gets older we may have another Adele on our hands. Take a listen to her version of XX ‘Shelter.’