Tag Archives: WA

Best New Bands of 2011 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD: #6 Widowspeak

15 Dec

I haven't been this in love since last week. WIdowspeak soothes my soul. So deserving of the Hummingbird

Best New Band of 2011
#6 Hummingbird Award – Widowspeak
Ahhh the Spectorian sounds of 2011 all started back in January or maybe it was the hangover from 2010. Tennis, Cloud Nothings, etc. all slammed us with the airy 60’s pop female led bands. Our favorite and our fan favorite was Widowspeak. No band got more attention on NBD this year than Widowspeak. Why? A. They’re good. B. They had a new record hit mid-year and C. Molly crushes the vocals. This three time zone trio is a treat and we hope you find them Top 10 worthy on your list.

Vitals:
Hometown: Chicago, IL or Tacoma, WA or Brooklyn, NY
Members: Molly Hamilton, Michael Stasiak, Robert Thomas
Sonic Soulmates™: Cloud Nothings, Eternal Summers, Mazzy Star
Trackables™:

“Harsh Realm”

“Puritan”

“Burnout”

Click here to listen on your iPhone or iPad
Widowspeak – “Harsh Realm”
Widowspeak – “Puritan”
Widowspeak – “Burnout”

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Original Post: Band of the Day 1.6.11

WHAT ARE THE HUMMINGBIRDS?
2011 Winners
Hummingbird Award #13: Lana Del Rey
Hummingbird Award #12: WATERS
Hummingbird Award #11: Suuns
Hummingbird Award #10: La Sera
Hummingbird Award #9: Sun Airway
Hummingbird Award #8: White Denim
Hummingbird Award #7: Dirty Beaches

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Band of the Day (8.19.11) Craft Spells

19 Aug

Spell Crafted bitch...my pants are way too tight and my 80's are on right now!


Band of the Day (8.19.11) Craft Spells

You know when you haven’t seen someone in a while and you stumble on them….forgeting their name but recognizing their face…you say “Hey Man, what’s up dude???” Well I feel that way almost daily when I hear new bands. I know you look and sound familiar but I just can’t find the name. Craft Spells reminds me of my college buddy that I saw at Peet’s coffee yesterday. What the hell is his name? Well if it’s Craft Spells it’s more like my 7th grade buddy, due to their 1983 modern new wave KROQ stylings. I liken them most to Joy Division oddly cute 18 year daughter. Or if you want to get all weird about it, how about Joy Division’s new spawn having their own child…like Seapony or Beach Fossils. Or what the hell is that band’s name again?

Vitals:
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Members:
Justin Vallesteros
Jack Smith
Peter Michel
Javier Suarez
Sonic Soulmates: Joy Division, Seapony, Beach Fossils
Trackables:
“Party Talk” – We first heard in August of last year…a year ago. The album came out in March.

“After the Moment” – Your Junior Senior moment of the day. Fucking love this song! Just so you know, my hair is plastered to my head, my jeans are way too tight and I just totally blew a speaker in my mom’s Fiero. Wait it’s not 1986.

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Band of the Day (5.23.11) Seapony

23 May

Seapony are what make music. Spector soul with a lot of dreamy spice.


Band of the Day (5.23.11) Seapony

There was a time last year where all we could talk about at NBD was the power of Tennis. The married Denver couple that sailed the high seas of the Atlantic, wrote amazing songs about inlets and seaports and then crushed it with a fantastic record. We missed that series of knock-offs, that usually follow successful indie trends. Days, months and almost a year went by before we heard a knock-off or at least a band that sounded similarly good. Seapony does the dreamy, female led 50’s pop that made 2010 a great music year. Seapony does that Phil Spector sound so well, you almost forget that you’re listening to contemporary music. The Seattle trio, give us one of our favorite tracks of 2011…so far. You’ll be getting this in your email box if you a fan on Facebook. The album releases on 5/31…pre-order it here. By the way we love them even more for their midwestern roots..Oklahoma and of course Lawrence, KS home to our Music Muse.

Vitals:
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Members: Seapony is songwriter Danny Rowland, singer Jen Weidl, and bass player Ian Brewer
Sonic Soulmates: La Sera, Tennis, Eternal Summers, Emily Haines
Trackables:
“Always” – My fave from these lads…one of our 5 for 11.

“With You” – Tennis served well in 2011. Good solid Spector 50’s pop track

“Dreaming”

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Band of the Day (1.10.11) The Monday Mornings

10 Jan

Cleanliness is Godliness for The Monday Mornings


Band of the Day (1.10.11) The Monday Mornings

Seattle is home to our Monday morning enthrallment. The name isn’t the most inventive, but it’s their music that does the trick. The use of strings with acoustic guitars will always get my attention. It gives a slight nudge to the twangy folk…think Edward Sharpe, but it’s coupled with a Conor Obert vocal that makes it sound a lot like the Bright Eyes Casadega record. They have two LPs under their belt, a lot of touring, a lost bass player and whole lot of momentum. Their sound is familiar, but it’s also strong enough to give them their own place. They have some diversity and they can bring it down or up when necessary. Thanks to the Turk for his late night upload of The Monday Mornings!

Vitals:
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Band mates: Michael Mearns, Brett Berger, Andrew Forsman, Jim Petosa, Ian Williams, Katie Mosehauer
Sonic Soulmates: Bright Eyes, Weakerthans, Cursive, most Saddle Creekers
Must hear Traks:
“Ideas Alike” – Conor with a female counterpart make this my fave track from the album.

“Shift the Sea” – Strings accompany this pretty little tune.

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Best New Bands of 2010 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD: #15 Perfume Genius

10 Dec

Best New Bands of 2010 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD: #15 Perfume Genius

Perfume Genius, Mike Hadreas, built a huge buzz and following on NBD back in August. He was the third most listened to artists on the site and we absolutely love him.

He is a Seattle native with a soft, fragile voice backed simply by a piano and lo-fi echoes. His songs stammer in minor chords and reflect on suicide, depression and loss. The amazing thing is that through the gray, you see his ability to spray one ray of sunshine. I think you’ll find that he stands above a ton of our favorite bands and gets a well deserved Hummingbird for making us reflect and stammer a bit.

Vitals:
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Members: Mike Hadreas
Sonic Soulmates: Bon Iver, Bright Eyes and a little Kate Bush
Track of the Year:
“Learning”

Original BOD Post: 8.16.10

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

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Band of the Day (9.6.10) Broken Water

6 Sep

BOD (9.6.10) Broken Water

Holy shat these guys are fantastic. I’m not the biggest garage rock, fuzzed out, dirty guy. But if you’ve been reading NBD long enough, you’ll notice that if the band is great, they’ll get their due. Broken Water is Nirvana meets shoegaze. They’re Olympia’s finest new specimen of whir, fuzz and dirty, amplified guitars coupled with echoed vocals. They’re not some PacNoWest rip-off band. They’re inventive and super cool. Super cool in the way they weave in and out of the heavy. They use the reverb as a way to spray emotion on you, but they pull back to the clean guitars and Abigail’s vocals just in time to prevent a complete overload. It’s a great threesome organization and they are well deserving of the props. Thank you to Arizona Turk for turning me onto these guys.

Band:
They formed in 2008 and seem to be residing in several bands up in the Olympia area. SISTERS, Oly’s Congratualtions, etc.

kanako-drums/vocals
abigail-bass/vocals
jon-guitar/vocals

Hear:
“Memory” – It’s Nirvana guitar riffs, Cobain stylings, but I would compare this track most to Dinosaur Jr. F’n love it.

“Dead Light” – It’s dark and haunting, but not droney. It’s got enough grit and grime to make you feel dirty, but Abigail’s vocals clean you up to show to the parents.

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Band of the Day (8.6.10) Perfume Genius

6 Aug

BOD: (8.6.10) PERFUME GENIUS

Trembling voices always seem to catch my attention. It’s those solo guys that hole themselves up under some form of depression and write music that is so heartfelt that you can’t help but hope that this is their form of catharsis. The recent success of Bon Iver and Damon McMahon (Amen Dunes) prove that sharing your pain with a simple piano or an acoustic guitar can bring well earned blog and fan appeal. Perfume Genius, Mike Hadreas, is no exception to this rule. He is a Seattle native with a soft, fragile voice backed simply by a piano and lo-fi echoes. His songs stammer in minor chords and reflect on suicide, depression and loss. The amazing thing is that through the gray, you see his ability to spray one ray of sunshine. I don’t expect you to put this on your Summer Fun playlist, but if you want quality mood music, grab your headphones, a bottle of wine and a comfy chair, Hadreas is sure to take you on a roller coaster of emotions.

A few tracks are included below:
“Mr. Peterson” – Track about the loss of a favorite teacher to suicide.

“Learning” – A bad break-up

Watch:
“Lookout, Lookout”

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