The lineup at Mr. Smalls on Tuesday night was a confusing one, with Here We Go Magic sandwiched between garage rockers Tokyo Police Club and grunge-punk band The Edukators. Here We Go Magic’s brand of psych rock was the stylistic opposite of the other two acts, and I was curious as to how they would handle their odd placement. Continue reading…
If you haven’t had a chance to hear Seabear, drop everything and go purchase their new LP. Aptly titled We Built A Fire, it’s the perfect album to keep you warm on a chilly night. With its lush arrangements and soothing vocals, you can’t help but be whisked away to “Seabearia” on a wave of trumpets, strings, and pianos.
Sindri Már Sigfússon is the creative force behind the Icelandic band’s beautiful melodies and heartfelt lyrics. He took some time out from mixing the new album for his solo project, Sin Fang Bous, to answer some questions for us. Continue reading…
The Young Sinclairs just released The Songs of the Young Sinclairs, and with May on the way, their 1960s-influenced indie-folk promises to be the ideal companion to your summer chillaxation.
We have three vinyl pressings of the LP cooling on the O&B windowsill, and we’re giving them away to our loyal readers for — wait for it — free. And with three copies to give away, you’d be a fool not to enter. All fools at peace with their foolishness, but who still like good, free music, can also enter. You’re practically guaranteed* a copy.
If you’re unfamiliar with the sound of The Young Sinclairs, check out “Tribe” (MP3) from The Songs of the Young Sinclairs.
To enter this contest, just comment below and include your email address in the form (your email won’t be visible to the public). The lucky winners will be chosen at random on May 10, 2010.
*Actual odds of winning rest comfortably between “you’re practically guaranteed a copy ” and 1:ten duotrigintillion.
Is Australia the new Canada? When its comes to up-and-coming young indie bands who pride themselves on intelligent lyrics and a multi-layered sound, it sure seems that way. First, I was stopped in my tracks by The Middle East, and now the next Aussie wave is Melbourne’s Oh Mercy.
They’ve gained a lot of attention lately with their album, Privileged Woes. It’s a quirky pop album with expressive vocals that draws inspiration from bands like The Velvet Underground and Dionne Warwick. That’s a large spectrum to cover, but singer Alex Gow explains it all below. Oh Mercy’s Poetic Memory is below. Continue reading…
You may have seen Ron English‘s artwork before. Remember Super Size Me, the documentary by Morgan Spurlock, in which Spurlock bravely eats nothing but McDonald’s for a month straight? The 32-year-old gained 24.5 pounds, a 13% body mass increase. His cholesterol level also rose to 230 and it took him 14 months to lose the weight and get his body back to normal. Fun stuff.
Spurlock needed a representation of what Ronald McDonald would look like if he actually ate his own food. Enter Ron English, a notorious artist known for what has been coined as Agit-Pop, but which English prefers to call POPaganda. His painting of a super-sized McDonald made its way into the film and became one of the Oscar-nominated documentary’s most resonating images. Continue reading