DOWNLOAD: Lisa Germano - The Prince Of Plati
(Photo: Dina Douglass)
You know how just about every solo female singer has to put up with endless comparisons to Cat Power and/or Björk? They should have to put up with endless comparisons to Lisa Germano too. Since the early-’90s she’s been writing piercingly emotional songs that imagine a girly world far more real and rewarding than the standard unicorns-and-daydreams dioramas. “The Prince of Plati,” from her brand-new Magic Neighbor, is quintessential Germano: so tender and direct and gorgeous and close that it hurts (the good way), with darkness and light swirled together and inseparable. Just like in real life!
DOWNLOAD: Maria Taylor - Time Lapses
According to Maria Taylor, you should listen to this track while "in a dark room, with a candle or two with headphones, maybe in the bath, but definitely horizontal.” It'd also work on a road trip on some flat, dusty road. A musician from 15 years old, Maria Taylor gained recognition as part of the duo Azure Ray before pursing a solo career; her first solo album included vocals from her buddy Conor Oberst and garnered some hearty accolades for her soulful balladry. Like Azure Ray, "Time Lapses" from her third album LadyLuck has got a symphonic pop-rock edge with sweeping violin and full drum accompaniment. Seductive and a bit melancholic, it's for broken-hearted romantics craving "time out" mode.
Sounds Like: Azure Ray, Ivana XL, Sarah McLachlan
EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: Ivana XL - The King
All Ivana XL requires is a guitar and maybe a little whiskey. Her lyrics are paced slowly over lazy guitar strokes, abiding by folk traditions but with a street-smart Millennial edge ("So F*ck having babies and rocking them to sleep). There's a tinge of melancholy drizzled over it all and her tone is lackadaisically bluesy - like she's preaching to the choir and she knows it.
PS She's a Brooklyn girl so watch out for her on those Greenpoint and Williamsburg watering holes.
Sounds Like: Mazzy Star, Cat Power, Nicole Atkins
Download: Thomas Feiner
Hopefully by now you know here at SEEN we frequently hip you to dope ass new music. So here's a remarkable release from Thomas Feiner & The Anywhen and there's something very dramatic and sweeping about it. With an epic and captivating sound, it reminds us of a more refined Rob Dougan. There are many points of references to David Sylvian and Nick Cave. The album, called The Opiates-Revised, has been two years in the making and started as a collaborative effort but ended as a solo project for the Swedish-born Mr. Feiner. On listening closely to The Opiates, one hears its testament to perseverance.
Originally recorded in 2001, this album was to be the band’s third full-length album, and its last. But for many this will be the first they have heard of Feiner, and it comes several years after David Sylvian first heard the album, which he regards as a lost classic having only been released in a few territories. David Sylvian recalls, “the dark, brooding, romantic nature of the material and, in particular, the emotional gravity of Thomas' voice, came as something of a surprise to me as it was quite out of keeping with my listening habits of the time but I couldn't help but be drawn into its widescreen, colour-drained, soundscapes.”
Click here to download "Songs Of The Siren" to hear what David Sylvian is talking about.
Exclusive Download: One eskimO
What would happen if Cat Stevens (pre Yusuf Islam) and The Gorillaz collaborated on an AV project? The end result might look like the acclaimed music video for "Hometime" by One eskimO, which has created some buzz in the UK music and animation industries. Sound and vision...just what we (and uh David Bowie) are all about.
One eskimO is the brainchild of Kristian Leontiou, who once upon a time was being groomed as a sort of UK Justin Timberlake and actually had a top 10 hit in the UK back in 2004. After quickly realizing he was becoming something he isn't, he eschewed major label hoop jumping and embarked on a more honest path toward making music that was "filmic and magical". He put together a band - which Kristian envisioned to be a penguin, monkey and giraffe - and asked Rollo Armstrong of Faithless to produce.
While not unprecedented, it's uncommon when a musician has a angle for their music that's so visual-based. The end result is some sick songs where the stories unfurl in your head as you listen to them. Toyota saw a different story of their own after hearing "Hometime" and used it in their new eco-friendly Harmony campaign. The music works almost as well in the ad as in the music video.
One eskimO and their management have given our readers an exclusive mp3 download of a previously unreleased track called "Giving Up". It's money. So check it out.
SEEN's Top 10 Albums of 2007
Without further ado here's our first ever top 10 list. It wasn't easy coming to a consensus between the 5 contributors over here but in the end we think a quality, representative list came through. Also none of the bands on our top 10 list have animal names (name another blog's without one!). Send your hatemail to whogivesafuck@seen.com, otherwise leave a comment below (jk...not about the comments though). CLICK HERE to see our top 10...
FEATURED: The Magnetic Fields
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The Magnetic Fields are slated to release their latest album Distortion on January 15th on Nonesuch Records, and from what we've heard the LP will be exactly what the title says it will be--lots of fuzzy guitars and messed-up melodies over traditional Stephin Merritt pop gloom. A Plague of Angels is on the fence, hoping that something will emerge from the album's misty production, but we think that if Merritt is at the helm, chances are it will be great.
FEATURED: Remi Nicole x Lee Mortimer
The parade of British female singer-songwriters continues this week, this time with Remi Nicole, who is probably our favorite post-Lily Allen addition to the cannon. Remi writes sun-kissed, summery pop songs driven by her catchy acoustic guitar strumming. Kind of inoffensive, that is until you add British house producer Lee Mortimer to the mix, and Remi's track "Rock 'N' Roll" goes from being nice-walk-in-the-park to crazy-club-dancefloor-freakout as soon as Mortimer adds his remixing skills. Get Weird Turn Pro have just featured said remix, and it's quite enjoyable. Check it out at the link below...
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