Good Small Bands/Musicians

[dot]

Hello everyone,

I basically want your help because I am useless at finding good music. So I want you all to introduce me to all the interesting, wonderful bands/musicians out there. You can probably guess my general taste by the fact I'm here on Owen's forum but I want all types of music, though not big bands I probably would have heard of. Also, I thought this could just serve as a general introducing people to music you like thread. It doesn't have to be new music, I'm just as interested in hearing stuff from the 50s as I am from now. Oh and bonus points if if the musicians are cello players, I have lots of cello love at the moment (already know Ian Cooke and Ben Sollee).

[sarpedon]

Apr 2, 2010 20:23:38 GMT -5 dot said:

I have lots of cello love at the moment (already know Ian Cooke and Ben Sollee).

Arthur Russell!

[An Amateur]

I'll try my best not to overwhelm you, as there are plenty in Toronto alone. But certainly if you like Owen Pallett, then there are a good few that might match your particular taste.

I might as well beat Thomas to the punch and recommend Gobble Gobble. It's electronic, it's pop, it's fun. If you liked the songs on the Final Fantasy Alphabet Series: X single, then you'll probably be into them. The fact that their album can be downloaded for free is also nice.

Katie Stelmanis is a local girl here in Toronto breaking hearts. She was training to be an opera singer before going rockstar, and all her songs are composed entirely on MIDI, although I think she's starting to branch out. I think "Red Sun No.5" actually sounds like it could be one of her songs, in fact I'm hoping she'll cover it one day.

[weaseltractor]

I don't know if you've heard of him but I've been listening to a lot of Owen Pallett lately. He used to go by Final Fantasy if that helps.

[ben]

Not sure whether these are particularly unknown/small or not:

• Ok 1st one is a must for everyone who reads this post! CHIKINKI is a little-known electronic/rocky/dancey group from Bristol, UK. Their first major-label album, Lick Your Ticket, is just absolutely incredible. The album before, Experiment with Mother (!) is a lot more lo-fi but also cool. Their newest album, Brace, Brace is not so good. But yeah Lick Your Ticket is in my opinion one of the greatest albums ever written with electronic instruments. (All the keyboards, drums etc. are played by the band, nothing programmed.) For a single track, listen to 'Assassinator 13':
  
  or 'Like it or Leave it':
  
  
  
• Phantogram - an electronic duo from America, their album has imperfections but it's really great and hopefully a sign of some good stuff to come.
  
  soundcloud.com/mediatedmedia/sets/phantogram-eyelid-movie-select-songs
  
  
• The Books - really weird Tomlab duo. Really great too.
  
  
• Anathallo - their album Canopy Glow has some of the best lyrics and rhythms around. "And you pull yourself up underneath the dugout cubby enclave of the sidewalk overhang, cement buckled upward and the rain came dripping through the crack. We hear the voice of Italo sing of a holy fire. [...] In the second zone of the city a baby born in the nightclub mould where goons dry heave the factory glue all crust-lipped and bloody nosed."
  

[yevveh]

Chichinki sound pretty good! btw I don't know what other people like but embedded youtube vids are very handy, I will probably not go looking for good youtube vids if there aren't any linked, sorry D;

Anyway, neither of this is similar to OP, but I'll throw them out anyway 'cos I love them so:

* Errors - Scottish electro/indie group. Synthy with elements of post-rock. They're on Mogwai's label, if that swings anyone. Two albums have been released, the latter only recently. First song 'Pump' is from It's Not Something But It Is Like Whatever, 'A Rumour in Africa' is from sophomore album Come Down With Me. I caught them live last week and they were very great.







* Late of the Pier from Castle Donington, England. Only the debut album 'Fantasy Black Channel' has been released. They've an impressive list of support slots so far, including Justice, Soulwax and UNKLE.

If anyone likes the videos below, they also have official videos for 'Fokker', 'Heartbeat' and 'Space and the Woods' - all worth checking out

[Thomas]

Apr 2, 2010 20:55:07 GMT -5 An Amateur said:

I'll try my best not to overwhelm you, as there are plenty in Toronto alone. But certainly if you like Owen Pallett, then there are a good few that might match your particular taste.

I might as well beat Thomas to the punch and recommend Gobble Gobble. It's electronic, it's pop, it's fun. If you liked the songs on the Final Fantasy Alphabet Series: X single, then you'll probably be into them. The fact that their album can be downloaded for free is also nice.

Katie Stelmanis is a local girl here in Toronto breaking hearts. She was training to be an opera singer before going rockstar, and all her songs are composed entirely on MIDI, although I think she's starting to branch out. I think "Red Sun No.5" actually sounds like it could be one of her songs, in fact I'm hoping she'll cover it one day.

UGH. GOBBLE GOBBLE is the best band around.

BRAIDS is another local ex-calgary-now-montreal band thats probably gonna essplode in 2010/2011. They make fuzzy-organic pop jams.

[Ren]

Seconded on The Books and Anathallo! For other Things With Cello, investigate: Picastro, Nick Storring (try Love song for white invincible), Pale Young Gentlemen...and it's not cello, but it is strings and I am still head-over-heels obsessed with it: Orange Mighty Trio.

[emilypoulain]

orange mighty trio

glad to see you're spreading the word ren

[Alyssa!]

Oooh, um, hmm.

Le Loup. Electro-indie folk group started in DC. It's a craigslist band turned really good collective. Their first album, Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millenium General Assembly, has some wildly evocative use of banjo, among other orange-colored turns and twists of verse. Family, their second record, is denser but still amazing. Apparently they're like The Books.

Future of the Left. A sort of unlikely sequel to the No-Wave stylings of Lydia Lunch, the trio from Cardiff walks the lines between Punk and Indie. They're incredibly powerful and tight, but playful and not too serious in their lyrics. They have all the energy of a guilty pleasure band while still being creative and tight musicians. Kelson is also really, really hot.

Radicalface. Side project of one of the guys who does Electric President. I have a lot of problems with how trite it can sometimes get, but Ghost has its moments of musical and lyrical virtuosity. He was very sick for a good while, but he's releasing three records, grouped by the name of "The Family Tree," detailing a fictional family from 1800 to the 1950s. You know how a lot of Arcade Fire songs are grooves which pivot and circle around 4/4 measures with 4 bass drum quarter notes? It's a lot of that spirit, translated into more folk/atmospheric terms.

Oooh, I don't think Islands counts as unknown, but I insert them whenever I talk about music. Same for Gang Gang Dance.

[Ren]

Apr 4, 2010 12:51:14 GMT -5 emilypoulain said:

orange mighty trio

glad to see you're spreading the word ren

To everyone I know, particularly Artistic Directors. I am the Street Team!

[yevveh]

I like Islands. I interviewed Nick once, he seems really shy. It was a slightly awkward interview.

Actually, I'm a huge fan of Spencer Krug (Sunset Rubdown, Wolf Parade, Swan Lake, occasionally Frog Eyes) and he just released an EP under the name of Moonface. It's called Marimbas and Shit-Drums and can be downloaded here with an optional donation - scdistribution.com/moonface/

Only just getting into it now but it sounds promising.

[Alyssa!]

You wouldn't know it from how he acts in performance. He did hide behind his "I-am-a-prophet" cape gloves and sunglasses, but he seemed really into his minimalistic dancing and random acts of face-stroking.

[yevveh]

Oh yeah, when he's up there on stage he doesn't seem to be too shy. You can tell he's a little, but it's probably thanks to stuff like the makeup etc he can get over whatever it is holding him back.

All this reminds me about an Irish band called Adebisi Shank, the bassist plays with a red hood over his head. I'm pretty sure I asked him about it once and it was because he has stage fright, again, he's very shy. It's funny when you know that and then you see him on stage.

[dot]

Thanks everyone, I'm having fun listening to all the bands.