Is this becoming the year of selfish band names? I Break Horses bring home cooked Swedish dream pop.
Uncorked™ I Break Horses
When we listen to music, we often joke here about how it made you feel. It most cases, we don’t feel anything. In some cases we tap our toes and in the rare case we get that chill up our spine and the hair on our head tingles. I’m not a scientist, so I can’t explain why that happens, but I can say that’s a good thing. I remember the first time I heard all of my favorite bands. I Break Horses isn’t your typical dream gaze XX/XY duo. Fredrik Balck, is the instrumental guy, and Maria Lindén who handles the vocals met in 2008 under unusual circumstances: both self-professed hypochondriacs, visited the same online medical sites, discovered they shared friends as well as a passion the same music. Their tracks aren’t layered in heavy shoe gaze wall of sound, rather, they take the Washed Out route and keep the instrumentals simple. Maybe two-three layered tracks with Maria’s beautiful voice adorning the sound. They use their fear of dying as inspiration for their lyrics, focusing on the fragility of life. I will say that the first time I heard Hearts that chill ran up my spine and NO I wasn’t worried that I had some rare spinal virus…Thank you again to AZ Turk for adding them to his Top Gems of 2011
Vitals: Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden Members: Fredrik Balck, Maria Lindén Sonic Soulmates™: Washed Out, Jesus and Mary Chain, Echo Lake Trackables™:
“Hearts”
The Arizona Turk's Gems of 2011 - Top 10 Tracks, Albums and Bands
Now that the Hummingbirds are distributed to the fine bands of 2011, it’s time for us to celebrate our Excavator Picks for 2011. The Excavator is a specialist only employed by NBD. They dig and dig and dig for the best tracks and bands.
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 2011 Top Tracks. Who better than the best gem of them all Arizona Turk.
Arizona Turk’s Gems of the Year – Top 10 Tracks of 2011
10. The Men “Bataille”
9. Trophy Wife “Canopy Shade”
8. Tribes “We Were Children”
7. Para Siempre “No Way Out”
6. Summer Camp “I Want You”
5. Sports Bar “Anisa, Nah She Don’t Live Here No More”
4. S.C.U.M. “Amber Hands”
3. Tours “Tough Lately”
2. Acid Kicks “Life Dreams”
1. I Heart Sharks “Summer”
Just missed:
Miles Kane Colour Of The Trap
Chapel Club Palace
Metromony The English Riviera…I know they have been around forever
The Antlers Burst Apart …couldn’t leave it off
The Men Leave Home
Sports Bar Demo
Cinemascopes Cinemascopes EP
My favorite album of the year:
The Horrors Skying
Welcome Back:
Death in Vegas Trans-Love-Energies
Best Reissues:
1. Talk Talk Laughing Stock (VINYL)
2. Ride Nowhere – 2 disc Rhino set
3. Archers Of Loaf Icky Mettle
4. Disco Inferno The 5 EPs
5. This Mortal Coil
NewBandDay 