Je l’adore! Meet New Parisian Psych-Rock-Pop Project: Moodoïd

MoodoidAh, new eclectic and electric discoveries are simply the best! I recently and delightfully came across the Parisian psychedelic project, Moodoïd, and je l’adore! Listen and read why:

Moodoïd‘s frontman is no stranger to psychedelic-pop. Multi-instrumentalist, Pablo Padovani is the touring guitarist in the lovely Melody’s Echo Chamber. And, Melody Prochet’s producer and boyfriend, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker also produced Moodoïd’s self-titled EP, which was released in September via Entreprise. Sharing is caring.

So not only does Moodoïd consist of and is produced by psychedelic darlings in the music realm,  their music is an irresistible flurry of dreamy vocals, beautiful melodies, trippy synth and keys, fuzzy guitar, and smashing percussion. Even better? They recently released a cover of “Falling” by Julee Cruise and Angelo Badalamenti AKA the theme song to David Lynch’s late ’80s serial drama, Twin Peaks (listen below). Freak out!

Have a listen to Moodoïd’s self-titled EP below, watch their intriguing and splendidly bizarro interpretive art music video for “Je suis la Montagne“ and anxiously await with me for their forthcoming album.

Moodoïd debut EP

Moodoïd – Tomber (Twin Peaks theme song)

Moodoïd – Je suis la Montagne

New Delicious Psychedelic Jams: Quilt – Tired & Buttered + Arctic Shark

Quilt - Held In SplendorGet ready to trip out. Boston hailing psych-dream-pop-folk rockers, Quilt have released two new trippy tracks: “Tired and Buttered,” and “Arctic Shark.” Both tracks can be found on Quilt‘s forthcoming sophomore album Held in Splendor.

Since Quilt emerged in music scene back in 2009, and released a debut LP in 2011, Anna Fox Rochinski, Shane Butler, and John Andrews have continuously succeeded in ‘patching’ together a magnificent conglomerate of equally upbeat, rockin’, spacey, catchy and dreamy sounds. The results are splendidly out of this world.

Held in Splendor will be released via Mexican Summer and is due out Jan 28th (US) and Feb 14/15th (EU/UK). Until then, enjoy gettin’ wavy on these gems:

Quilt – Tired & Buttered

Quilt – Arctic Shark

Hype-Worthy! New Psychedelic Brit-Rock Jam: Temples – Mesmerise

Temples - Sun StructuresOoh baby, ooh baby. A quad of Brit rockers with beautiful shaggy hair who play amazingly catchy psychedelic jams? Sign me up! Temples, the UK hailing psychedelic four-piece, channeling The Byrds and giving Tame Impala some serious competition has just released, “Mesmerise.” The track is the first single from their forthcoming debut album, Sun Structures, due out February 10/11 via Heavenly Recordings & Fat Possum (Jackson Scott, Band of Horses, Youth Lagoon).

According to their bio, in the summer of 2012, bassist, Tom Warmsley and singer/guitarist, James Bagshaw were recent college graduates attempting to look for work, not really knowing what to do w/themselves, so they wrote, played and recorded music at home. In July of that same year, they recorded, “Shelter Song,” threw it on the internet, and it virally caught the ears and stole the hearts of many. Warmsley and Bagshaw suddenly found themselves signed with Heavenly Recordings. Though not really a full band at that time, Warmsley and Bagshaw recruited drummer, Sam Toms and keyboard player, Adam Smith. A year later Temples shared the bill with The Rolling Stones at London’s Hyde Park. From then on, the sky has been the limit for these hazy 12-string psych-rockers with beautiful heads of hair.

While we all eagerly await Temples‘ highly anticipated album, give ’em a listen below, on SoundCloud and follow along on Facebook.

Temples – Mesmerise

Temples – Shelter Song

Temples – Colours to Life

New Album + Video from Dream Pop Artist: Cuushe – Butterfly Case

Cuushe Butterfly CaseDream-pop from Tokyo? What’s not to love! Tokyo is such a surreal, bustling, beautiful and magnetic city. Add ambient music to the mix and it’s like experiencing your own Lost in Translation, Bill Murray not included.

Mayuko Hitotsuyanagi is the (now) Berlin, Germany residing, Kyoto/Tokyo native and girl behind the moniker Cuushe. In 2009, her psychedelic, ambient dream pop sounds recorded in her paper-thin Japanese apartment caught the ears of Tokyo record label Flau. Now, as Pitchfork stated in Cuushe‘s recent LP review, “The imprint was a good place for Cuushe to hone her restrained style, and it nabbed American performers Julia Holter and Motion Sickness of Time Travel to remix her work last year.”

Following last year’s success, Cuushe has recently released a soothing, dreamy, whispery second full-length album, Butterfly Case (which you can stream on Spotify). Have a listen below, and watch her latest video for “Lost My Way,” which premiered on Gorilla vs. Bear this morning.

Cuushe – Sort of Light

Cuushe – I Love You

NEW Beauty of a Track: Clare Maguire – Half Hearted Love

Clare MaguireIt’s amazing, crazy and sometimes a little heart wrenching when a song hits way too close to home. Clare Maguire, the young British singer-songwriter with a magnificent, smoky, Stevie Nicks-esque voice does an excellent job of creating beautiful, soulful and somber songs that relate to many.

Following her recent hype-worthy track, “Paper Thin,” Maguire has released yet another enchanting, nostalgia inspired and heart breaking track, “Half Hearted Love,” written by Jarvis Cocker. With lyrics like, “I can stand all the booze and the drugs, but not this love, this half hearted love,” the song easily, painfully yet beautifully strikes a chord in anyone.

Find Clare Maguire on SoundCloud and Facebook and stay tuned for her highly anticipated forthcoming album.

Clare Maguire – Half Hearted Love

Listen to the Newly Released Majical Cloudz Track: Savage

Majical Cloudz

Photo by Sarah O’Driscoll

While aimlessly scrolling through SoundCloud today, I came across a wondrous surprise: An interesting and beautiful new release from Majical Cloudz! Now, “Savage” isn’t necessarily ‘new,’ as frontman Devon Welsh has been playing the track shows for majority of the year, however, if you haven’t seen them live, you’re in for a treat. The track also didn’t make it onto 2013’s emotionally driven LP, Impersonator, making it even more rare of a release.

On Welsh’s blog, he exclaims, “Many people have asked me on Tumblr and Twitter what this song is called and when it will be released, so here it is! … Happy to be releasing it! It’s been fun to play it live over the past year.”  He continues to explain that he’d rather not delve into the details of the song, “…ultimately what the song is ‘about’ is less important than how and why it is meaningful for you when you listen to it,” Welsh says. “It’s about letting go of a relationship as it changes and the emotions that go along with that.” Enjoy:

Sounds of Sorrow: A World-Wide Roundup of Sad Breakup Songs

High-Fidelity-John-Cusack-miseryAside from maybe death, there’s nothing as painful, soul crushing and gut wrenching as a breakup. A breakup certainly emulates the feeling of death when the black pit of despair you’ve suddenly been thrust into wraps its cold, unforgiving fingers around your heart and mangles it until you’re gasping for air, feeling empty, desperate, delirious and broken.

The only logical way to “cope” with the pain, of course, is to (no… not jump on OKCupid), but drown your sorrow in the sounds of ridiculously sad songs, and there are plenty of ’em. And since “everybody hurts,” I asked people of various ages from across the globe (San Francisco to New York, Australia to Germany) to spill their number one sob-song. If you’re going through a breakup (big hug), know someone who is (‘cus we sadly all do), or you just wanna be a sad sap, turn up these depressing tracks and force yourself to ‘get on with it.’

It’s no wonder we’re all such a mess, is it? We’re like Tom Hanks in Big. Little boys and girls trapped in adult bodies and forced to get on with it.  ― Nick Hornby, High Fidelity

*Note: Some of these songs were just like a stubborn ex-lover; too damn difficult to work with. So I’ve compiled most into a Spotify player and the few tracks that just didn’t want to work things out are linked.

SIDE A:
Emily, 23, Los Angeles: My Blood – Ellie Goulding
*Greg, 24, San Francisco: Sun Was High (So Was I) – Best Coast
Max, 24, Germany: This is Letting Go – Rise Against
Freddy, 25, England: Eskimo – Damien Rice
Kayla, 25, Ireland by way of Boise, ID: It doesn’t Matter Anymore – Linda Ronstadt
Jessica, 26, Ireland: Ever – Team Sleep
Kevin, 26, San Antonio, TX: Walk On By – Dionne Warwick
Stuart, 26, Scotland: It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue – Bob Dylan
*Ashley, 27, Los Angeles: Oh! Darling – The Beatles
Naomi, 28, San Francisco: Stormy Weather – Billie Holiday
Inelen, 30, Italy: I Love it (I Don’t Care) – Icona Pop
Kyle, 30, NYC: I Don’t Believe You – The Magnetic Fields
Matt, 30, Salt Lake City, UT: Ms. Jackson – OutKast
Brandon, 31, West Valley, UT: Stop Me June (Little Ego) – Kent
Ryan, 31, San Francisco: January: The One with “Kid” – Local H
Elisa, 31, Italy: Mi Sono Innamorato Di Te – Luigi Tenco
Emma, 32, San Francisco: Tous Le Garcons Et Les Filles – Francoise Hardy
Amanda, 33, San Francisco: Think of You – MS MR
Hyunmi, 33, South Korea: If I Were a Boy – Beyonce
Michelle, 34, San Francisco: Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division
*Magnolia, 34, San Francisco: Recall – Susanna & The Magical Orchestra
Anthony, 35, Australia: Psychic Returns – Nedelle Torrisi
Sam, 35, Brooklyn: Get Me – Dinosaur Jr.
James, 39, San Francisco: Concrete Wall – Zee Avi
*Lana, 41, San Francisco: Nunca – Volován
*Clarice, 45, San Francisco: In Your Eyes – Peter Gabriel
Tom, 63, San Mateo, CA: Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe – Kendrick Lamar

 

coco stereo’s picks: SIDE B
Always See Your Face – Love
Don’t Tell Me – Empress Of
Feels Like We Only Go Backwards – Tame Impala
Give Out – Sharon Van Etten
Hood – Perfume Genius
Losing You – Solange
Love Me Like You Used To – Class Actress
Pale Blue Eyes – The Velvet Underground
Sinking Stone – Gems
So Good At Being in Trouble – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Still Love Me – Jessie Ware
Tell a Lie – Farao
Waiting Game – Banks
Water Me – FKA Twigs
We Hit a Wall – Chelsea Wolfe

Hype-Worthy! Meet Dream Pop, Post-Punk Duo: Iska Dhaaf

Iska DhaafHappiness… a feeling, conquest, goal, that everyone painfully strives for each day, yet it sometimes seems just out of reach. “Happiness, it’s just around the corner. Taste it. I want to taste it. I want to taste it ’til i’m wasted.” These are lyrics to the rapidly rising, Seattle-hailing dream pop, post-punk duo, Iska Dhaaf‘s recent single, “Happiness.” The track is dreamy, heartbreaking, and touches on the very real desires yet realities most people struggle with on a daily basis. So who are these musical talents known as Iska Dhaaf, and what do they know about happiness, or the lack thereof?

Iska Dhaaf, which loosely translates to “Let it go” in Somali, is the moniker for Nathan Quiroga & Benjamin Verdoes. According to this article in Seattle Weekly, Verdoes was a former bilingual teacher located in a largely Somali neighborhood and began studying the language. “… I just fell in love with the sound of it; the words will get stuck in my head like songs do.”

Both Verdoes and Quiroga come from vastly different musical backgrounds prior to Iska Dhaff. Nathan Quiroga (vocals/guitar) was previously known as Buffalo Madonna in a crew of notorious electro “hip-hop hedonists” called, Mad Rad. They essentially wreaked havoc, created debauchery, landed themselves in jail and were banned from more than five Seattle venues.

Benjamin Verdoes (drums/synths/backup vocals) previously played in a more likely to envision indie rock group, the Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, and toured with various big band names like Japandroids and Cursive.

Together, the two make raw, honest, emotionally driven music, all of which attributes to their up-and-coming success. Have a listen to both of their recently released singles, and watch the brand new video for “Happiness.”  Also, give ’em a follow and a listen on Facebook or Bandcamp.

Iska Dhaaf – Happiness

Iska Dhaaf – Rumi

Oakland Represent! Oaktown Music Festival Contest Picks + Winners

Shannon and the Clams

Shannon and the Clams

There’s an interesting contest and event called the Oaktown Music Festival which showcases and celebrates musical talent hailing from the other side of the Bay Bridge. San Francisco always seems to steal the Bay Area music spotlight, so it’s refreshing and exciting to see some Oakland representation.

The contest is put on by local Oakland venue, Awaken Cafe and entertainment production company, Oaktown Indie Mayhem. The first round of the contest began with an online song and video contest in which bands were nominated and voted upon by judges and the public. This year, there were supposedly 2,100 submissions and 30 band finalists selected. The final round of winners (see below) were selected by a jury (musicians, writers, marketers, producers, etc.) and have been given the title: “Best of Oakland.”  The winners will be headlining the Winners’ Party/Concert on November 15th & 16th at Awaken Cafe, and are also given recording time at Fantasy Studios, along with other perks.

Below are hand-picked, highlighted (and alphabetized) winners and finalists – Some beloved, some newfound joys, and a couple of wacky gems ranging from groovy funk, whimsical folk, surf/punk/psych-rock and “chill pop.” I’ve included commentary on any of the bands I’ve actually seen live; hopefully more so in the future.

My boyfriend, an Oakland resident, (does this mean I get some Oakland street cred?) introduced me to Bells Atlas. We saw them play an insane debut album release show back in June at The New Parish in Oakland. They have a huge and loving Oakland/Berkeley fan following, which was easy to hear and see why. They’re an extremely talented, vibrant, groovy, funky group.

Bells Atlas – Loving Your Down (Won: Honorable Mention for Best Video) 

Emily Moldy – My Own One (Won: Best in Show – People’s Choice)

Fever Charm – Magazine

Minute is 4-piece of good lookin’ boys and their good lookin’ musical toys. I saw them play a packed show at The Stork Club in Oakland and it was a sweaty good time. Occasionally a trombone was thrown into the mix and people commenced to dance up a storm. They also did a cover of Keyboard Cat just for kicks and I nearly went insane with excitement. This is one of their dreamier, psych-inspired slow jams:

Minute – Adrift

This year I saw Shannon and the Clams play at Burger Records’ Burger Bugaloo Music Festival in Oakland, and as an opener for Sonny & The Sunsets in SF. They’re one of my favorite Bay Area acts to see live and they always steal the show! The rippin’ three piece look and sound like something out of the movie Hairspray, and their jams are so damn catchy. I obsessively listened to their latest LP, Dreams in the Rat House, for a good three weeks.

Shannon and the Clams – Rip Van Winkle (Won: Honorable Mention for Best Song)
[audio http://www.hardlyart.com/mp3/ShannonAndTheClams_RipVanWinkle.mp3]

The Tambo Rays – Take That (Won: Honorable Mention for Best Song)

Tin Cup Serenade – Sunny Oakland Day  (Won: Honorable Mention for Best Song)

We Became Owls – Suitcase (Won: Runner Up for Best Song)

FUNKY! Listen to New: Blood Orange – You’re Not Good Enough + Chamakay

Blood Orange

Blood Orange. Photo by Stacey Mark

Y’all, let’s get funkaay. And, that’s exactly what I’m doing with Blood Orange‘s latest release, “You’re Not Good Enough.” It’s deliciously smooth, upbeat, addictive, funktastic and heart jabbing. Some are even comparing the jam to Prince, thee man, himself. With lyrics like “I never was in love. You know you were never good enough,” it’s hard to imagine a track could be so easy to get down to. However, Devonté Hynes, the man behind the BO band never fails to produce a pop hit. He’s written for Florence and the Machine, Solange, Sky Ferreira, Kylie Minogue and is currently working with Brittany Spears on her upcoming album, after all.

“You’re Not Good Enough” featuring Samantha Urbani on vocals, swiftly follows Blood Orange‘s recent release of “Chamakay,” both of which will be featured on his highly anticipated forthcoming album, Cupid Deluxe due out November 18th. We’ve all been dying to hear the new album, so join me in this mini celebration of pre-LP-release by listening to the pure funk that Blood Orange exudes:

Blood Orange – You’re Not Good Enough

Blood Orange – Chamakay