FIVE SONGS TO DOWNLOAD THIS MONTH

By Sean Kayden

Chad Valley – “Tell All Your Friends” - Lush melodies buried within a tropical heaven,  “Tell All Your Friends” is one of eleven gems you’ll find on Chad Valley’s debut record, “Young Hunger” due out on Oct 30^th, 2012. What very well could be the future of R&B, one-man show Hugo Manuel delivers a vibrant listening experience that trickles with sentimentality and glittering arrangements.  Soaked with tender electronic beats and an 80s vibrancy, “Tell All Your Friends” is the ideal fall song—soft and mellow, but just enough haze to get you lost in the music without ever wanting it to end.

Letting Up Despite Great Faults – “Take My Jacket, Pauline” - Unite the fuzziness of shoegaze and the tranquility of indie dream-pop and you’ll have, “Take My Jacket, Pauline,” the new song off the album “Untogether.” The sleepy but sweet sound of the foursome band is pure euphoria for the ears. Once again, we have a band taking bits and pieces from 80s British pop and 90s alternative rock to craft their own distinct resonance. For fans of M83 and The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Letting Up Despite Great Faults navigates through the depths of daydreaming and ultimately reaches one’s own emotional core with their reflective lyrics and swirling melodies.  “Untogether,” the self-released sophomore LP was released just a few weeks ago. Be sure to seek this one out, people.

Peace – “Your Hand In Mind” - While this band is too influenced by an 80s sound, it’s by a different breed of groups than the first two bands on this list. More in vein of Joy Division and Gang of Four, Peace is a four-piece post-punk group that hails from the British Columbia. With the accessible pop-induced tune, “Your Hand In Mind,” the band channels The Smiths more so than other influences. However, don’t take the band for carbon copies. They bring a certain edge and new flavor to the scene that is quite lacking. Furthermore, their second LP, “The World Is Too Much With Us,” oscillates between a razor-sharp punk rock existence that dabbles with dark and ominous tones to a largely less intruding sound that makes the listener at hand never put off by the atmosphere, but also never expecting anything ordinarily dull.

Tamaryn – “Afterlight” - Girl/guy dream-pop duos are flooding the indie scene, but that doesn’t mean they’re all alike or equally as good. Tamaryn (which is the name of the female vocalist hailing from New Zealand) and her collaborator Rex John Shelverton combine the likes of shoegaze and psychedelic. While the most notable similarity draws from their influencers like Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, however, the most contemporary band they share a common sound with is Beach House (another female/male twosome). “Afterlight,” which comes directly from the band’s second album, “Tender New Signs” is a slow, utterly beautiful showcase of haunting vocals and a rich, fully layered sound with a hypnotic array of churning guitars. Tamaryn has the true ability to pull you in deep and even an easier time keeping you there.

Lord Huron – “Lonesome Dreams” – Right from the get go, there is this jovial, optimistic sound that plays when you first start listening to this track. When the lyrics kick in, you notice they’re a bit on the reflective side. They describe an adventure with no destination in sight because we’ve all learned by now it’s about the journey, anyhow. Lord Huron hones in on folk-pop aesthetics but messes around with it enough to develop a truly unique style to call their own. “Lonesome Dreams” shares the name of the band’s debut LP and after two low profile EPs, Lord Huron has burst onto the scene with a majestic, entirely enchanting introduction full length record. As for the song I’ve mentioned here, it will please any fans of Fleet Foxes and My Morning Jacket, but newcomers should feel free to enter the arena as well. Ultimately, you too will become enthralled with the band’s western resonance, their vivid storytelling and that supreme feeling of conquering anything that may be standing in your way while listening to each and every song of theirs.

Published by Mountain Views News on October 27th, 2012
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