Tag Archives: Weekend

Best New Bands of 2012 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD #8: CLASS ACTRESS

18 Dec
Class Actress is one of our favorite artists of 2012. #8 Hummingbird

Class Actress is one of our favorite artists of 2012. #8 Hummingbird

Best New Bands of 2012 HUMMINGBIRD AWARD #8: CLASS ACTRESS

The original post was way back in January of 2012. We loved her 80’s simplicity similar to that of early OMD, Madonna or even Human League, and the electroclash is better than we’ve heard recently. Her sound sits in the Twin Sister, Chairlift, Grimes arena of modern music and we have yet to turn her off, it’s been 11 months. Back in 2011 we were obsessed with EMA for the same reason, catchy riffs, electronic odes to the 80’s and a sultry pleasant voice that brought the mood up a notch. Her record was technically a 2011 release, but it came out late, it hurt her positioning on our Top 12 Hummingbird List, but hell she is #8. Listen and love.

Vitals:
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY via Philadelphia, PA
Members: Elizabeth Harper
Sonic Soulmates™: Twin Sister, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, Chairlift, OMD, Grimes, Madonna
Trackables™ from her new LP Rapproacher
“Weekend”
“Keep You”
“Need to Know”

Follow Class Actress:

Facebook
Tumblr
official
Twitter

Hummingbird Awards – ALL YOUR BEST NEW BANDS FROM 2010, 2011 and 2012:
Hummingbird Awards 2012
#12 Rose Elinor Dougall
#11 Fear of Men
#10 The Weeknd
#9 Nude Beach
#8 Class Actress
Hummingbird Awards 2011
Hummingbird Awards 2010

UNCORKED™ – Band of the Day (1.17.12) CLASS ACTRESS

17 Jan

Class Actress sheds light on what can be good in 2012.


Uncorked™ Class Actress

I’m a sucker for female leads. I’m also a sucker for minimalist electronic music. The stuff you can create on your kid’s toys…all said, simple beats and unlayered tracks may replace the cluttered underwater gargle we’ve been dealing with over the past two years. Class Actress is one stellar example of the mid-80’s Kate Bush led Depeche Mode tribute sound. Elizabeth Harper is the muse that leads Class Actress, having been at electronic music since 2009, she drafted the help of producers Mark Richardson and Scott Rosenthal. They created what is today one of our favorite late ’11 and early ’12 faves. Where Chairlift bores and drones, Class Actress soars. Her new record Rapprocher was released late 2011 it good and her following is growing fast. Elizabeth is Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells without the anger, she’s what makes music great these days. Here’s to a new age of female leads in 2012.

Vitals:
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY via Philadelphia, PA
Members: Elizabeth Harper
Sonic Soulmates™: Twin Sister, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, Chairlift
Trackables™:
“Weekend”

“Keep You”

Follow:
Facebook
Spotify

Band of the Day (1.19.11) Smith Westerns *****

19 Jan

Smith Westerns bring 70's dream rock Bowie style with a great new record


Band of the Day (1.19.11) Smith Westerns *****

Together as a group since 2007. These Chicago boys, all under the age of 21, have a big label deal, two LPs and the momentum of downhill big rig with no brakes. They’re rock poppy like Girls or The Soft Pack, even a little Supergrass in em. They have 70’s melodic guitars and synth rock coupled with the breathy vocals of Bowie. T-Rex would be proud of these boys. I love the new record and I can pretty much guarantee that this will be the year of SMITH WESTERNS. Hands down. The record is good enough to catapult them over any other record that’s been released this year. If they get the right festival schedule then, you’ll definitely see this record selling through-out the summer. Dye it Blonde was released earlier this month and the tracks are GREAT…and when we say GREAT in all caps, WE MEAN IT. Hear two of them below. I haven’t smiled this much since I first heard the Tallest Man on Earth record. Time to buy some tickets, get a t-shirt and claim this band as your favorite. By the way, if you don’t do it quickly, you’ll be hating them in a few months when you see them in he iPad 2.0 commercial.

Vitals:
Hometown: Chicago, IL, USA, that’s two days in a row. See The Ponys…is there a new scene in Chitown?
Members: Cullen Omori, Cameron Omori, Max Kakacek, Colby Hewitt
Sonic Soulmates: T-Rex, Bowie, The Soft Pack, Wavves, Kiss (Ace guitars), Supergrass, Girls
Label: Fat Possum
Must Hear Tracks:
“End of the Night” – 70’s dream rock Bowie style. Supergrass style and now Smith Western style.

“Weekend” – This was the single released back in October of 2010. It’s quite good.

Hear the NPR Stream as HERE

Follow:
MySpace
Facebook
Twitter