Tag Archives: Arizona Turk

Band of the Day (1.4.11) – No Joy

4 Jan

No Joy is All Joy to your ears.

Band of the Day (1.4.11) – No Joy

Ahhhh Day 2 of this new year and why not focus on walls of sound and shoegaze or as the band describes “doomgaze” pop. The Elizabeth Fraser layered vocals eerily remind you of the angelic voice rattling around inside your head. She’s alluring but disruptive, making you feel as if your safe in her arms, then she whispers those insane lyrics in your head. WOW, she may even be an Incubus…okay, I’m getting carried away, but you get the drift. Take a listen to our two favorite tracks below. After you listen…realize it’s only a duo. They did befriend Bethany of Best Coast and get a coattail ride on her label, so there is familial love here and you will be seeing their name on the SXSW/summer festival circuit.

Vitals:
Hometown: MONTREAL, CN
Members: The Montreal/L.A. duo of Laura Lloyd and Jasamine White-Gluz Kick your ass!!!!
Sonic Soulmates: My Bloody Valentine, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Gauntlet Hair, Eternal Summers
Must hear tracks:
“Maggie Says I Love You”

“Pacific Pride”

Another fine Daytrotter Session Get No Joy @Daytrotter now…Love Daytrotter see all the NBD bands on Daytrotter here
Ghost Blonde new album here

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Arizona Turks Gems of the Year – Top 10 Albums of 2010

30 Dec

The Turk Dug Up These Albums From 2010


Arizona Turks Gems of the Year – Top 10 Albums of 2010

10. Suuns – Zeroes QC
9. Crippled Black Phoenix – I, Vigillante
8. The Drums – The Drums
7. Tame Impala – Innerspeaker
6. Her Name Is Calla – The Quiet Lamb
5. Warpaint – The Fool
4. Black Ryder – Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride
3. Wild Nothing – Gemini
2. Playfellow – Carnival Off
1. Foals – Total Life Forever

Honorable Mention (not all qualify for NBD because of longevity)

Underworld – Barking
The Chemical Brothers – Further
Best Coast – Crazy For You
Dum Dum Girls – I Will Be
Whitesand Badlands – Seeding The Clouds
Beach House – Teen Dream

Best Comeback: Midway Still – Note To Self

Best Reissue: Mansun – Attack of the Grey Lantern (3CD Set)

Read our Music Excavators Picks:
Editor Gems (Albums)
Editor Gems (Songs)
Arizona Turk Gems (Albums)
Arizona Turk Gems (Songs)
Music Muse Gems (Songs)

All the Hummingbirds

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Arizona Turks Gems of the Year – Top 10 Tracks of 2010

30 Dec

AZ Turks Top 10 Tracks of the Year

Arizona Turks Gems of the Year – Top 10 Tracks of 2010
Now that the Hummingbirds are distributed to the fine bands of 2010, it’s time for us to celebrate our Excavator Picks for 2010. Who better than the best gem of them all Arizona Turk.

Arizona Turk is the king of excavating, going to shows, buying records, digging the blogs and he finds some dandy gems. Here are his picks for the 2010 Top Tracks.

10. “Noise It Makes” – My Bee’s Garden
9. “Youth” – Beach Fossils
8. “Distant Street Lights (jambic remix)” – Codes In The Clouds
7. “Lies” – Fenech-Soler
6. “Reds” – Houses
5. “Armed For Peace” – Suuns
4. “Marching Song” – Esben and the Witch
3. “Champion Sound (Alt. Version)” – Crystal Fighters
2. “50’s” – The Pomegranates
1. “Greyhounds In The Slips” – Joy Formidable

Honorable Mentions (not all qualify for NBD because of longevity)
“Always Loved A Film” – Underworld
“Embers” – The Cult
“Andalucia” – Doves
“Younger Us” – Japandroids
“Me and the Moon” – The Drums
“Real Life” – Tanlines

Read our Music Excavators Picks:
Editor Gems (Albums)
Editor Gems (Songs)
Arizona Turk Gems (Albums)
Arizona Turk Gems (Songs)
Music Muse Gems (Songs)

All the Hummingbirds

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Best New Bands of 2010 Hummingbird Award: #2 The Pomegranates

28 Dec

It's All Yours Pomegranates, go get the Hummingbird

Best New Bands of 2010 Hummingbird Award: #2 The Pomegranates

Seriously, in November we all thought the #3 best new bands were set. The Pomegranates had a nice single hitting the college radio charts and so we profiled them. Then I spent a few weeks with the new album One Of Us and I was impressed. I spent time with them on my headphones on BART, on my car stereo, on my home stereo. Every time the shuffle pulled up one of their tracks, I stopped to check who it was. It hit me on a trip to Columbus, I listened to “Prouncer” and realized that these guys are worthy of the #1 spot for our Hummingbird Awards. What about The Radio Dept? What about Jim Jones Revue? Well The Pomegranates hit #2 and we’re confident in saying that they are that good. The album is a collection of fuzzy surf sounds, 90’s Brit Rock and early 80’s new wave. They’re Surfer Blood mixed with Blur with a dash of U2 Boy. These guys are GREAT and they are one of the Best New Bands of 2010.

Vitals:
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Band Members: Joey Cook – Vocals, Guitars/Keyboards, Isaac Karns – Vocals/Guitars/Keyboards, Jacob Merritt – Drums, Daniel Lyon – Vocals/Guitars
Sonic Soulmates: Blur, Oasis, U2, The Radio Dept. and of course Surfer Blood
Tracks of the Year:
“Prouncer”

“One of Us” – Spacey, shoe-gaze love track. Might be my fave. A little U2 bass line

Daytrotter Session: HERE

Original BOD Post: 11.4.10

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2010 Hummingbird Awards
Hummingbird Award #20: Crocodiles
Hummingbird Award #19: Miniature Tigers
Hummingbird Award #18: Gamble House
Hummingbird Award #17: Tame Impala
Hummingbird Award #16: Paper Crows
Hummingbird Award #15: Perfume Genius
Hummingbird Award #14: The Fresh & Onlys
Hummingbird Award #13: Tennis
Hummingbird Award #12: Memoryhouse
Hummingbird Award #11: Karkwa
Hummingbird Award #10: Lord Huron
Hummingbird Award #9: Sleigh Bells
Hummingbird Award #8: Crystal Fighters
Hummingbird Award #7: Efterklang
Hummingbird Award #6: Best Coast
Hummingbird Award #5: Jim Jones Revue
Hummingbird Award #4: Chapel Club
Hummingbird Award #3: The Radio Dept.
Hummingbird Award #2: The Pomegranates

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Best New Bands of 2010 Hummingbird Award: #4 Chapel Club

25 Dec

Things are looking up for Chapel Club photo by Ben Rayner

Best New Bands of 2010 Hummingbird Award: #4 The Chapel Club

Okay so this was my Christmas present for Arizona Turk. I had them at #10, but moved them up to Christmas Day as a gift to him and all of our fine fans. For the love of the baby Jesus, this band is quite good. They have the Interpol, Joy Division, mood rock down. They’re gonna be very big having just signed to A&M and they can write a great song. Really love their style, it’s new but classic sounding. Listen with pleasure…Merry Christmas

Vitals:
Hometown: London, UK
Members: Lewis Bowman, Michael Hibbert, Liam Arklie, Alex Parry, Rich Mitchell
Sonic Soulmates: Interpol, JJ72, My Vitriol, Joy Division
Tracks of the Year:
“The Shore” – It’s so darn good, you’ll listen to it twice.

Original BOD Post — 9.24.10
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2010 Hummingbird Awards
Hummingbird Award #20: Crocodiles
Hummingbird Award #19: Miniature Tigers
Hummingbird Award #18: Gamble House
Hummingbird Award #17: Tame Impala
Hummingbird Award #16: Paper Crows
Hummingbird Award #15: Perfume Genius
Hummingbird Award #14: The Fresh & Onlys
Hummingbird Award #13: Tennis
Hummingbird Award #12: Memoryhouse
Hummingbird Award #11: Karkwa
Hummingbird Award #10: Lord Huron
Hummingbird Award #9: Sleigh Bells
Hummingbird Award #8: Crystal Fighters
Hummingbird Award #7: Efterklang
Hummingbird Award #6: Best Coast
Hummingbird Award #5: Jim Jones Revue
Hummingbird Award #4: Chapel Club

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Best New Bands of 2010 Hummingbird Award: #8 Crystal Fighters

18 Dec

Best New Bands of 2010 Hummingbird Award: #8 Crystal Fighters

We fell in love with them back in the summer, and in October we profiled them. Emails and comments followed, because Crystal Fighters are probably the most inventive NEW sound of the year. Este de Navarre, Spain and their Basque blood-line inspires the eerie flavor of traditional Basque folk music with catchy energetic dance tracks with MGMT style vocals, resulting in an uplifting sound unlike any other. We really wanted to put them higher on our Hummingbird list, but you be the judge. If you haven’t heard them, well CONGRATS, because today is going to be a great day. I know we will see them in our Top 3 next year. Thank you to our Music Excavator, Arizona Turk for finding this gem.

Vitals:
Members: Sebastian, Gilbert, Graham, Mimi, Laure
Hometown: Navarre, Spain
Sonic Soulmates: MGMT Gogol Bordello, Traditional Basque sounds
Tracks of the Year:
“Swallow” – This is the raddest track of all.

“Xtatic”

“Follow” –

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Band Site – Hear the full album streamed here!

2010 Hummingbird Awards
Hummingbird Award #20: Crocodiles
Hummingbird Award #19: Miniature Tigers
Hummingbird Award #18: Gamble House
Hummingbird Award #17: Tame Impala
Hummingbird Award #16: Paper Crows
Hummingbird Award #15: Perfume Genius
Hummingbird Award #14: The Fresh & Onlys
Hummingbird Award #13: Tennis
Hummingbird Award #12: Memoryhouse
Hummingbird Award #11: Karkwa
Hummingbird Award #10: Lord Huron
Hummingbird Award #9: Sleigh Bells
Hummingbird Award #8: Crystal Fighters

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THE HUMMINGBIRDS (The 20 Best New Bands of 2010)

5 Dec

You Want One of These

First of all let me thank you! This is the First Annual Hummingbird Awards and we owe it to you. This has been an amazing year for us here at NBD. We profiled over 200 bands, bands have thanked us and you fans have been supportive of us. So to close out this year, we going to count ’em down. It’s time, we’ve taken the last week to study our picks. We’ve found a few things..

1. You fans love your bands
2. Canada is producing some amazing music in 2010
3. Sweden and the Nordics are producing even better music (I’ll leave it to you to defend your music)
4. The Pet Sound was hot in early 2010, but it’s been replaced by….
5. XX/XY duos – WOW there a ton of female/male duos this year.
6. Singer songwriters will be all over our top 10
7. Arizona Turk has a lot to say about the list
8. We don’t give the award to bands that have already made it…we reward the ones who need it.
9. Our favorite band of the year is a shocker
10. Hummingbirds are amazing birds…Your Band Wants To Win a Hummingbird!

A Hummingbird is the most prestigious award a new band can receive. Hands down, if you win one, your life will never be the same.

2010 WINNERS

2010 Hummingbird Awards
Hummingbird Award #20: Crocodiles
Hummingbird Award #19: Miniature Tigers
Hummingbird Award #18: Gamble House
Hummingbird Award #17: Tame Impala
Hummingbird Award #16: Paper Crows
Hummingbird Award #15: Perfume Genius
Hummingbird Award #14: The Fresh & Onlys
Hummingbird Award #13: Tennis
Hummingbird Award #12: Memoryhouse
Hummingbird Award #11: Karkwa
Hummingbird Award #10: Lord Huron
Hummingbird Award #9: Sleigh Bells
Hummingbird Award #8: Crystal Fighters
Hummingbird Award #7: Efterklang
Hummingbird Award #6: Best Coast
Hummingbird Award #5: Jim Jones Revue
Hummingbird Award #4: Chapel Club
Hummingbird Award #3: The Radio Dept.
Hummingbird Award #2: The Pomegranates
Hummingbird Award #1: The Tallest Man On Earth

Read our Music Excavators Picks:
Editor Gems (Albums)
Editor Gems (Songs)
Arizona Turk Gems (Albums)
Arizona Turk Gems (Songs)
Music Muse Gems (Songs)

All the Hummingbirds

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Band of the Day (11.22.10) Memoryhouse

22 Nov

BOD (11.22.10) Memoryhouse

With the success of Florence and The Machine, there will be a slew of new female led, drama queens hitting the scene. Unfortunately, every single one will be compared to the “Oh I wish I was Siouxsie Sioux” vocals standards. I think our team at NBD has profiled at least 60 bands that I would consider far more inventive and stylish to that of Florence. Today is definitely one of those days.

Memoryhouse is so good, she actually gave me chills the first time I listened. I love The xx for one reason, it’s that simple solo guitar that intros Romy Madley Croft’s vocals. I find that so alluring and it really draws the emotion of the vocals. Memoryhouse is Guelph, Ontario’s Evan Abeele, classically trained and Denise Nouvion’s photographic mind, melded together to form a soulful Beach House/My Bloody Valentine. They don’t conjure sadness, but rather a sense of passion. They make me want to create. Their simple electronic drum beats never seem Yacht-like, or campy, they are better than The xx and I think you’ll find their music a great accompaniment to the blustery winter weather. Denise’s voice will warm your heart as your bearing the snowy winter doldrums. I think we’ll add them to the mainstage of our Inukshuk Festival

Hear:
“Sleep Patterns” – Simple guitars, electronic drum beats and Denise’s beautiful vocals.

“To The Lighthouse” – My favorite song off the EP and I really think it will make our 2010 Top 10…lovely tracks.

Memoryhouse “To the Lighthouse”

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Band of the Day (11.8.10) Lakes

8 Nov

BOD (11.8.10) Lakes

Lakes of San Luis Obispo are great. The new record “The Agreement” is nothing more than a good old fashioned love record. Sometimes I get exhausted listening to music that drains my emotions. I need a feel good record and Lake’s completely delivered. Today I’ll call this band cool, but I promise they will get so big, we will all look back on this post and say “Remember when Lakes was a cool Indie band from San Luis Obispo?” Or maybe not. The record is strong with several “playlist” love tracks that your girlfriend will surely appreciate. The lyrics are clever and the music is good. I think you’ll all agree that what makes a GOOD band is great songwriting and a set of pipes. Where Lakes excel is where most local bands fall flat on their face. Seth Roberts can sing and the tracks are great. Take a listen.

Hear:
“Loose Fix” – Not the pop driven single but a good The Alarm type track. Who didn’t love The Alarm!?!

“Broadlyn” – The single…again, this band will be MASSIVE, so enjoy their Indie status now. This track is poppy….

“The Heart is an Anchor” – A little DCFC sounding.

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Lakes Band Site

Band:
Seth Roberts
Jeremy Wells
Justin Sears
Jacob Wick
Matthew Covington

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Band of the Day (11.4.10) Pomegranates

4 Nov

BOD (11.4.10) Pomegranates

Fuzzy surf rock is the best description I have for our band of the day, Pomegranates. Cincinnati, Ohio is home to this fab four, not a huge coastal city, so the surf is only because the other self-proclaimed non-surfers Surfer Blood sound very similar to the Poms. The best part of the Poms is that as you dig deeper into their new album One of Us, you start to hear a deep brit-rock influence. Maybe a little Blur, the searing guitar riffs of early Oasis and even a tab bit of Boy U2 bass lines. They remind me a lot of our early 2010 fan fave The Radio Dept. Not as synthy, more guitars but very similar track structure with again…more guitars. Great guitar work on this record. Thank you Arizona Turk and glad to hear the baby is home safe.

Hear:
“Prouncer”

“One of Us” – Spacey, shoe-gaze love track. Might be my fave. A little U2 bass line

The boys did another Daytrotter session…haven’t been to Daytrotter yet? Why? Well go now

Band:
Joey Cook: Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
Isaac Karns: Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
Jacob Merritt: Drums
Daniel Lyon:Vocals, Guitars

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Band of the Day (10.28.10) The Duke And The King

28 Oct

BOD: (10.28.10) The Duke and The King

I love 60’s and 70’s classic Americana rock. I’m a kid of the 80’s and my parents loved music. Sitting in the back of my mom’s Vega listening to America, The Band, Bread and even a little CSN are memories that will live on forever. When a band comes along and recaptures that sound, not in a carbon copy way, but in a modern upgrade of that classic Americana driven folk, you need to acknowledge it. It might not be your thing, but for any child of a baby boomer, it’s part of your DNA. I can say that the Pet Sound is a modernization of the sound, but it misses the harmonies of two or even three lead singers. Fleet Foxes and Panda Bear do the old Boston, Black Sabbath self-harmonizing. Ozzy did it best in Sabbath, singing with himself. That’s some good music, but it’s the CSN, multiple leads harmonizing about love, loss, drugs, the road, that do it for me.

When you combine the mastery of soul folk from the Felice Brothers and one of George Clinton’s P. Funk All-Stars, you get The Duke and The King. This new elixir of the classic CSN/70’s soul rock sound come from the Catskills and are driven by SIMONE FELICE, BOBBY BIRD, SIMI STONE and NOWELL HASKINS. The Duke and The King have serious fame ahead of them. The tracks are a combination of The Band’s spirit with a layer of soul vibe. It’s a great album and one that will last a lifetime on my shelf. It’s worth a physical LP purchase.

The year is shaping up quite nicely. Let us know who you think should be the New.Band of the Year! I think The Duke and The King deserve some accolades. Comments start now!

Hear: Three very Diverse tracks from the bands new LP Long Live The Duke and The King
“Children of the Sun” – Classic re-invention of late 60’s folk

download —> The Duke & The King – “Children Of The Sun”

“Have You Seen It” – A little Magic Numbersish and a little America/Bread….LOVE THIS TRACK!!!!

download —-> The Duke & The King – “Have You Seen It”

“No Easy Way Out” – You’ll love her after you hear this track

The Duke & The King – “No Easy Way Out”

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Band of the Day (10.26.10) Now, Now (Now, Now Every Children)

26 Oct

Band of the Day (10.26.10) Now, Now (Now, Now Every Children)

Pleasant female voices over eerie synth/guitar noises make for great music. See Emily Haines, xx, Best Coast, etc. etc. etc. I even like when the guitar player, here it’s Brad Hale, decides to rip into some nice electronic riff. Now, Now formerly Now, Now Every Children (NNEC) is a trio of midwestern lads who have an affection for music a little bit more north of Minneapolis. When I first heard them, I would have placed them in Toronto with the Arts & Crafts label, maybe between Stars and The Dears. Cacie Dalager’s lead vocals enthrall me, she sounds like a meeker, more helpless version of Emily Haines. I want to see her live with an acoustic guitar, no effects at a tiny bar in Tennessee. I think she’d shine without the noise, which to me, makes a great singer. With three EPs, one LP and a whole host of tracks, the band has refined its sound since 2003. The new self-titled EP is nice, it may attempt to be too much, see the appropriately named track “Giants” to hear their attempt at expansiveness. I like them when they’re less expansive and they stick to the trio of sound. Have a listen and be sure to follow them, they will be big.

Band:
Cacie Dalager (vocals, guitar, keyboard); Bradley Hale (drums, backing vocals); Jess Abbott (guitar, vocals); Britty Hale (keyboard) and Christine Sako (bass)

Hear:
“Jesus Camp” – Shows where their headed, now where they’ve been. Stick with this sound and they’ll be HUGER THAN HUGE

Download — Now, Now – “Jesus Camp”

“Roommates” – Stars like play on words lyrics

Download — Now, Now -“Roommates”

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Band of the Day (10.25.10) Bad Books

25 Oct

Band of the Day (10.25.10) Bad Books

I heard Bad Books this weekend. Their self-titled album Bad Books is raucous, fun, inventive but familiar at the same time. I hear a little Grandaddy with a bit of folk Alt-Country. I like to call it Electro-Folk. The band is an amalgamation of several others. As quoted from their Facebook: “Bad Books was never an intended nor calculated side project of Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull. Though the two musicians have collaborated and performed together on tour and within the Favorite Gentlemen community of artists for years now, the genesis of Bad Books came from a simple idea to fill space and time off the road by collaborating on a small batch of songs together at the top of the year.” Their keep ourselves busy project brings great songwriting that is both fluid and cerebral, with tracks named “The Easy & The Old Maid.” Their hometowns of Atlanta, Brooklyn and Fort Myers are all felt in their music. The Southern folk, the Park Slope shoe-gaze and the Fort Myers Florida retiree chill. I feel the Grandaddy, love the Gomez vibe and definitely sense someone in the band is as obsessed with My Morning Jacket as we are.

Band:
Kevin Devine, Andy Hull, Robert McDowell, Chris Freeman, Jonathan Corley, and Ben Homola

Hear:
“You Wouldn’t Have To Ask”

Download —> Bad Books “You Wouldn’t Have To Ask”

“How This All Ends”

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