Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download “1 2 3 Apple Tree” | Herman Dune just wants to tell you pretty little stories, so it’s no surprise that singer David-Ivar Herman Dune often races himself, half-speaking, half-singing in an adorable accent; making the substitution of “said” or “thought” with the word “like” (as in, “I’m like, the sooner the better”) and other colloquial uses an absolute treat. The charm probably comes from a feeling that even though David refers to himself in the third person while quoting someone else talking to him in a song, the perspective of the storyteller/observer seems to be the reverse of Alice in Wonderland. He has broadened his view of the big beautiful world found in small marvels of stories to such an extent that he himself shrinks, and we don’t mind at all.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Once the gentle rain subsided on Sunday evening, the sun brought a warm glow to Central Park’s Summer Stage. It remained there until sunset, making it possible for a continuously growing throng of Yael Naim fans to stream in without having to battle nature in addition to long lines. Paris-born Israeli songstress Yael was a yellow fruit bursting with gems of tunes birthed at her tiny apartment, some sung in French, others in Hebrew and English. She played with a band of four, including drummer David Donatien who was credited as her musical partner; a bassist, and a fellow on accordion who at one point impressively raced his fingers on the piano; Yael switched between a guitar, a ukulele and the piano.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download “Oceanic” by Imaad Wasif | After listening to Jeff Buckley’s Grace and Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk hundreds of times, you realize the dead does not grow old; it will let you indulge in its immortality that comes from having died, but it will not give you continuation, it will not give you a whiff of the present, and it will not get into deeper crevices with you. So the throne I would’ve sat Buckely on, had he continued to live, I’ve assigned to Imaad Wasif. He with his Two Part Beast promises to fill the void. I hope he lives up to my expectations when he is in town:
July 17 Brooklyn, NY Shangri-La
July 18 New York NY Cake Shop
ps. Jeff lives on another throne, but that one’s reserved for the dead.
These are the corresponding “spirit animals” of the members of The Grates— singer Patience is a seal, drummer Alana is a tadpole, and guitarist John is a grizzly bear, as I have just learnt from the special biography essay posted on the band’s website. I love the song “Burn Bridges” that is now out in video form. The album ‘Teeth Lost Hearts Won’ is coming out on August 2 in Australia. Until then, Fast Louder has Ben Lee interview the band, the band has a blog, and the blog has production photos and more.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download “Do You Love Me?”| The band hit a large deer in Montana and broke their van, definitely missing their Seattle show tonight, and possibly missing others. So they’ve asked if you can help with some of the fixing costs involved. Listen to the song and decide if you need them like they need you, and donate if you do.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download “Wheelpusher” by Anni Rossi | Everyone seems to love the Ting Tings, but it’s opener Anni Rossi I’ve my eyes on while the two acts are in town for a date at Bowery Ballroom and Southpaw this week - though unfortunately for latecomers like me, both shows are sold out. Regina Spektor and Joanna Newsom comparisons are afloat, and to the extent that these comparisons are useful, they are true for violist/singer/songwriter Rossi, if only owing to the tradition of a stringed instrument (when the arrangement is viola-based), the temperament of some songs I’ve heard so far, and a singing style that can be considered whimsical. The degree of similarities are insignificant, however, but the description on Rossi’s myspace applies: “Great music for Family and Friends! Gather around the table.”
