After a few spins of their material, it’s apparent that it’s heavily influenced by bands like The Pixies, The Ramones, The Strokes, and perhaps (and I know I’ll get people mad because I’m drawing this parallel) the Beatles. Overall, it’s an easy, uncomplicated listen. Not overproduced, simple, yet solid harmonies, and the best part, no apparent auto-tune.

The Black Rabbits are one of those indie bands that has succeeded in not only capturing a timeless sound, but has also mastered the fine art of keeping it from getting dated. Even if you’re not a Brit-rock fan (I’ll be the first to say I am not a Beatles fan!), The Black Rabbits are a new band that will still catch your ear. Check them out on Amazon if you’re interested in purchasing.

The Black Rabbits – Hurry, Hurry:
The Black Rabbits – Hypno Switch:

Referred to by some as “melodic indie rock”, Sounds People Can Hear is definitely an album that deserves hearing from front to back. If you only check out a couple of tracks, you’ll definitely miss out on killer keyboard work, orchestral movements, and harmonies so solid that you could build yet another Yankee Stadium on top of them. Between Joey’s croon, Lauren’s masterful piano/synth work, and Adam and Danilo holding down the rest of the arrangement, you can’t help but feel like that nothing short of the absolute best went into making this album.

The New Limb stands apart from other bands not only by their excellent musicianship, but by the hard work and dedication they put into connecting with their fanbase. From what I hear, it’s not uncommon to show up to a New Limb show to be greeted with cookies or hugs. They’re also active in the local music scene, supporting other artists in their hometown of Costa Mesa, California.

Check out one of my favorite tracks from the album, “Birds and Stuff”:

The New Limb – Birds and Stuff:

First off, if you’ve heard the first two singles from CastleLights, you know that they’re a driving, very Brit-rock influenced band. The setup today was a very different, acoustic-based performance. The band pulled out two new songs for the set, and finished off with one of the first singles, Paint The Stars. The version played today is a completely different animal from what has been released, but is in no way any less interesting as a song. The guys almost effortlessly translated their original ideas to fit into the folkier mold.

The location for the shoot was the bottom floor of an old warehouse-turned-lofts building in the downtown area of Houston. Lots of exposed brick, structural steel, and wood really set the tone and mood for the stripped-down performance. Ryan Booth and his team at SerialBox have essentially transformed a empty room into a soundstage ready for shooting music videos. If you’re a band in Houston, look them up for your next video. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I hope that we’ll see this video out pretty soon. The setting of the band playing a few tunes for a few friends is one that always makes for good footage, and something that people can easily watch and feel like they were really there. It’s another way for indie bands to reach out and engage an audience that they not have reached out to yet.

ripped open my heart as a butterfly goes free from the jar
out into an edible distance
we ride like there is no too far – “Sycamore”

I’ve heard a lot of “world music” in my day. Too much, I would say. The one common thread between all of them is that even though they might incorporate elements of a few cultures, they’re almost always centered in one mainstay.

Songs Of Water‘s latest release, The Sea Has Spoken, thus far has surpassed that expectation for me. I started listening to this album expecting the typical Arabic and African percussion material that’s rampant throughout “world music”. And, while those elements are unmistakeably there, they skillfully have been incorporated in a way that only serves to strengthen the album as a whole, and not become the mainstay of the project.

The bluegrass/Appalachian/newgrass influences, however, are one thing that cannot be ignored on this album. The Skaggs pedigree undoubtedly shines on tracks like “The Family Tree” (especially with the Ricky Skaggs fiddle/banjo contribution), but I’d be remiss to not mention Stephen Roach’s killer dulcimer playing on “Everything Rises” (among others). Roach also happens to be the talent providing the lead vocals on “Sycamore” and “Willow”.

Recently, there’s been a upsurgance (yes, I totally just made that word up) of indie bands with heavy Eastern European, Balkain, and Gypsy influences (DeVotchka, Beirut). While it’s a fun and interesting sound, an entire album’s worth just gets old. Admittedly, I’m not a fan of the style as a whole. However, “Bread and Circus” really surprised me in that regard. What starts out as a melancholy, almost epic-movie-soundtrack type of song slowly builds into a darkly comedic, upbeat, well,….circus tune. It’s morphed into something that would fit right into a episode of Carnivale, before retreating back to the the previous theme.

“Sycamore” is probably my most favorite track off of this disc. It’s a laid-back groove, saturated with Jason Windsor’s baritone guitar playing. It’s really reminiscent of something Nevada desert troubadouresque, like Chris Isaak. Stephen Roach lends a great lead vocal to this track; a bit whispery with a hint of delicateness. It’s a perfect recipe for a song about longing.

No matter what your flavor of folk or world music, I think you’ll probably find something on the new Songs Of Water disc that you’ll like. I know that I certainly did. Take the next step and check out Songs Of Water on MySpace or at the iTunes store if you’re looking to purchase some music. If you prefer a real CD, you can purchase those directly from the website at www.SongsOfWater.com

Meanwhile, check out “Sycamore”, one of the tracks from The Sea Has Spoken.

Songs Of Water – Sycamore:

I saw a bunch of different bands at SXSW. Every make, model, genre, and permutation of what could be concievably be called a “band”. Everything from polished radio-rock outfits to some guys hurriedly set up in the middle of the street with battery-powered amps, whatever your flavor is, it’s at SXSW.

Some of the bands did a great job at marketing themselves to the crowds, but those were very few and far between. Most made some critical mistakes that I wanted to outline. If your band ever gets the chance to play a festival-type gig, keep these things in mind.

1. Say Your Name! Say It! – If you don’t do anything else, do this. When you’re playing, say your band’s name every chance you get. More often than not, you’re only getting a person’s attention for 2, MAYBE three songs at the most. I saw at least 10 bands that I had no idea who they were because they NEVER SAID ANYTHING. (This means you, Frank and Derol!)

2. Let Me Leave With Something More Than A Memory – Send people away with something small, but that you’ll be remembered by easily. Sure, demo CDs are great, but not for music festival situations. I’ve already got my hands full updating Foursquare and texting people to find out where the next stop is, so it needs to be something I can fit in my pocket. If you’re a member of the Band Management Guide mailing list, I’ve got some ideas coming up for you soon that will catch people’s attention when it comes to handouts.

3. Don’t Be A Diva – You aren’t special. Everyone else is in line to see bands millions of times bigger than you, so be thankful and appreciative for the people who are listening…even if they’re just here for the free Shiner. You never know who might be in the crowd. Someone’s cousin/brother/neighbor might be that connection you need or that fanatic fan that gets you noticed. Before and after (especially after) your set, get out there and talk to people. Have a couple of friends who can take down your equipment, and get out and start squeezing some palms. Thank people for staying to listen to you, engage them in conversation, and most of all, mean it.

Do these three things, and I can almost guarantee you will be remembered by those who catch your show. There is no one better to sell yourself than YOU! Get out there and do it!

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a huge fan of the Shins. They’re good, but, to me, nothing worth writing home about. However, James Mercer completely made this album for me. His vocal style is a perfect fit to the laid back, almost Chemical Brothers-esque tracks that Burton composed.

I’ll keep this short, but I’m going to leave you with two tracks that are favorites of mine. Enjoy!

The High Road:
Citizen:

I’ve known the guys in CastleLights on a personal level for a while now, and have been a fan of various incarnations of bands that they’ve been in (Leeland and The Blinding, among others). So, when I found out that Aaron Eaves and Jeremiah Wood (a founding member of Leeland) were working together on this project, I knew that it would be something that would blow up in a big way for them.

And, in this line of thought, I’m not alone:

Everyone needs to follow CastleLights. They’re going to be huge! – Stephen Christian, Anberlin

Vocalist Tyler Susaras enlivens you with images of space and the fantastic, deftly drawing parallels to the realm of everyday experience. Soaring choruses collide with multifaceted harmonies in songs that are both driving and iridescent, with melodies that are memorable in their pop spirit. As guitarists, Wood and Susuras each bring a distinctive energy to their songs, playing off of one another in a way that, when coupled with the hard-hitting percussion by Grady Saxman and Aaron Eaves’s heavy basslines, pushes each song into new terrain of velocity and tone. Personally, I’ve found there to be a very European glimmer to the tracks I’ve heard. You can tell they are fans of stadium bands like Coldplay, Muse, and U2, but have kept the sound from being overly pretentious.

Recently, the guys have gotten the opportunity to co-write with some major players in the industry. Knowing (and hearing) the pedigree of songwriting and arrangement this band has, along with help from guys like Joshua Moore (Caedmon’s Call/Derek Webb), and Stephen Christian (Anberlin), it’s going to be one of those albums that gets talked about before it ever gets on the store shelves.

In the near future, you can catch CastleLights at the legendary South By Southwest music week, in a showcase hosted by Connect The Dots (www.ctheds.com) on March 18th, and then they’ll be taking the stage with a recent favorite of mine, Barcelona, in Denton, TX at Andy’s on March 20th.

To finish, I’ll leave you with two singles that, until today, have been previously unreleased. You heard it here first, folks.

Saint Era:

Paint The Stars:

Recently, there has been some chatter around the internet that the electro-pop diva Ke$ha ripped off established French club-scene diva Uffie. More specifically, Justice’s track featuring Uffie called The Party:

To me, there’s definitely a similarity in the way Ke$sha’s vocal track on Tik Tok sounds:

Most people have never heard of Uffie, but she’s a huge club hit presence in the UK and Europe, and has been popular since 2006 or so. Ke$ha is relatively new on the scene, but has a been a background player for several years, doing backing vocals on track by Flo Rida and writing lyrics for pop artists like Miley Cyrus and The Veronicas.

Let us know what you think. Is Ke$ha ripping of an industry veteran, or is it just coincidence that they sound so similar?

• Question by the Old 97s
• Falling Is Like This by Ani diFranco
• Hold Your Breath by Morning Runner
• Red Right Ankle by the Decemberists
• Just Like Honey by Jesus and Mary Chain
• Half Light by Athlete
• Living of Love by the Avett Brothers
• All I Need by Radiohead
• Just Like We Do by Eisley
• I Summon You by Spoon

Share yours!