New Music We Love: Festival Discoveries

Once again I’ve returned from a music festival with a whole new list of music to check out! Unfortunately most of these are artists I missed in Indio, and later regretted missing after hearing people rave about their shows! Either way, these acts are filling my ears with new and different sounds and I can’t stop listening. Let me know what you’re listening to these days, I’m always on the lookout for new tunes!

All weekend long, people would not stop talking about alt-J! This is an important lesson: don’t let peoples’ descriptions of something deter you from seeing our hearing it for yourself. Based on the first description I got, I did not think I would like alt-J. But after listening to it I did a complete 180. I don’t even really know how to describe it, I just know that it is not like anything else I’ve heard, and that is always a good thing. The British quartet formed in 2007 and their music almost seems like a mishmash of the various types of music that exist today – indie/folk sounding lyrics, electronic backgrounds, and verses that verge on sounding like hip hop. It’s fascinating… I’ve heard them be called the next Radiohead, and I’ll be curious to see if they follow a similar path. Listen to: “Breezeblocks” (but really the whole thing).

justin vernon

Had I been aware of who The Shouting Matches were, I would most certainly have caught their set on Friday. The band is another one of Justin Vernon’s projects, this one being a blues-rock project along with Brian Moen and Phil Cook. The three played their first show about 7 years ago in Vernon’s native Eau Claire, Wisconsin and recently reunited to make a full record. It has a great classic rock sound that reminds me of Derek & The Dominoes – never a bad thing. Listen to: “Gallup, NM.”

Speaking of Justin Vernon – he also joined Polica onstage for a performance of “Tiff,” on which they collaborated. I just heard this song for the first time the other day and immediately had to figure out who it was because it was so good. I was so surprised when I found out – it seems like an unlikely pairing, but Vernon has actually been a fan of Polica for some time now. He even told Rolling Stone they were “the best band I’ve ever heard.” The song is a beauty – listen below.

More indie music from the BLDG 25 Blog.

0 0 vote
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
6 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
10 years ago

Alt-J were on my course at Leeds Uni, sadly a couple years before me. Like you I didn’t think they sounded like my thing until I accidentally heard one of their songs on the radio and fell in love. Hoping to catch them at Latitude this summer! http://worthwakingupfor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/latitude-attitude.html

10 years ago

the shouting matches and polica are amazing!

wanderingsofalittlesoul.blogspot.de

10 years ago

Alt-J is incredible. Something Good=One of the best songs ever.

CallistoGalileo
10 years ago

i was at alt-j was awesome

Erika G
10 years ago

I saw them at Coachella and instantly fell in love. Can’t wait to see them when they come to Seattle. They are ones to watch!

Jamie
10 years ago

I drug my friends to see Alt-J at Coachella and they were glad I did! Ever since I first heard them, I’ve been obsessed. Awesome to see an up-and-comer like that!