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™:
2011 is shaping up to be the year of second records. Or at least the “Next” record for many of our NBD favorites. Seriously, I think this new age of releasing EPs has helped turn these bands into better album makers. These records are great! Seriously better than we expected. Just download the new Girls record and you’ll hear for yourself. That’s right, albums from our favorite “Already Profiled” bands. Below find the links to these artists and the link to their new records. And yes they are in order of our favorite. Support the bands and their plans! If you click through to a Facebook link, it’s only because we featured those artists on our FB page before we launched the blog.
1. Widowspeak – The new album is here and it’s VERY VERY good. The two tracks on their profile are included on their self-titled record.
“Puritan” – If haven’t been listening then are you okay? Because everyone’s talking about Widowspeak. Buy Now
2. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost is so good, I think I’ve listened to it about 1000 times. The bad is maturing and you can hear it in their sound.
“Vomit” – Heard this once and I’ve been listening to it on repeat for months. I hate repeat, but I don’t hate this track. Buy now
3. Yuck – Yuck S/TEverybody has them on their list now. It’s cool. At least we can say we profiled them over 18 months ago. Love these guys because they bring back what I loved so much about The Smashing Pumpkins, dual overlayed guitars and the Sonic Youth obsession. These Canadians may be the lone leftovers of last year’s obsession with the maple leaf. Great band!
“Georgia” – Wow. 90’s rock. Sonic Youth meets The Pumpkins meets Screaming Trees meets flannels and boots. Buy now
4. Balam Acab – Wander/Wonder – Alec Koone has been our obsession for some time and this full length is so worth the vinyl.
“Oh Why” – Haunting for your October chill. Just a great track. Buy now
5. Cults – Cults S/T – These tracks ended up in our inbox about 16 months ago. They were sly and anonymous, but everyone seemed to get the same mail. We called around and everyone said the same thing “Did you hear that track” we were all in shock, and we wanted more. Well we got a record and it is just as good. So good.
6. Washed Out – Within and Without – Chill summer music, perfect for the beach or a romp under the sheets. So shows the album cover. We loved him back in 2010 and 2011 has been a break-out year for him.
“Amor Fati” – Spacey dreamy track from one of our favorite digs. Buy now
7. Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine – I’ve spent the better part of 35 years focusing on music and what I like. My tastes are my tastes, but I’ve never been more moved when I heard TYM for the first time. Now he’s three LPs and a few EPs in and his maturity is showing.
8. Nurses – New album Dracula is so friggin good. The Muse and I saw this Portland trio open live at the haunted Brookdale lodge in Santa Cruz for last years NBD #1 artist Tallest Man on Earth. The track is below and it’s good!
“Fever Dreams” – Hard to describe this track. Just listen Buy now
9. Real Estate – Days Really one of our favorite finds from 2009 that carried over to 2010 and has stayed with us. The album comes out next week, but we know it will be great.
“Green Aisles” – Can you see the excitement. Well you can at least listen to it. Buy now
Battery about to die and it's at :11 minutes for the 11 best of 2011...eerie.
I can’t wait until next week. I’m anxious and excited and I just want to get it over with…you understand, the anticipation to tell someone some good news. So I’m all alone in a dark hotel room, I think the electricity just crapped out on me, so it means I have :11 minutes on my Mac to make this shizzle fo real. SO here it is, 11 Bands for 2011 in all it’s glory… THE BEST OF 2011…SO FAR
11. Other Lives – This is the band that won’t leave my playlists for 2011. I love them hard.
“Tamer Animals”
10. Suuns – 2010 year end dandies have captured our hearts in 2011.
“Arena”
9. Code Pie – The BSS of 2011. Canadian love children with layered sounds.
“Love Meets Rage”
8. Widowspeak – We were there in the beginning. We’ve heard from the fans and we’ve watched them skyrocket up our PAGEVIEW list. Wow. They have more traffic then all of the 2011 bands combined. Just listen.
“Harsh Realm”
7. Sun Airway – Found them to be the most delightful band of 2011. I think they’ll move up the charts by year end.
“Waiting On You”
6. The Vaccines – They are the ROCK darlings of 2011 and if you haven’t heard their singles then you’re trapped in a Chilean coal mine.
“Blow it Up”
5. The Antlers – One word “FINALLY” they’ve hit the hipster mainstage. We love them.
“Rolled Together”
4. The Donkeys – The Turk found these San Diego stoney garage boys.
“I Like the Way You Walk”
3. Seapony – The Trio from Seattle is our Tennis of 2011. So Spectory good.
“Always” – A little early Cure guitar riff.
2. James Vincent McMorrow – Do you know me? Really have you been reading us for awhile? Then you know we love Singer/Songwriters and JVM is better than them all this year.
“If I Had A Boat” – Try not to tear up.
1. Star Slinger – Dude has been a DJ for less than a year and his stuff is otherworldly.
“Mornin'”
GIVING YOU THE BIRD…THE WHOLE 2011…SO FAR PLAYLIST —>
Widowspeak's mesmerizing vocals and simple riffs lull you into obsession
Band of the Day (1.6.10) Widowspeak
Is it Widow’s Peak or Widow Speak or Widowspeak, amazing how one space makes such a difference. The third version is my favorite, Widowspeak is a band of slow grind female led dreary rockers from Brooklyn, NY. Their music belongs in the 60’s with dream space vocals layered by a single amplified guitar. Garage rock with an air of creepy Misfits guitar strumming. Love hearing EPs from bands that have the sound, but not the overproduction. Get these cats in a studio and they’ll crush it. Your chance to hear em first and own em. Grab their EP from BandCamp below. Maybe I’m just obsessed with Cape Dory from Tennis, but I can’t help but play these tracks on repeat.
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
Must Hear Tracks:
“Harsh Realm” – so simple, but yet incredibly effective. She frightens me.
“Burnout” – The night is over, your bed is spinning and you need sleep, put on “Burnout”
NewBandDay 