When I started this blog a few weeks ago, my goal was simply to learn a little about blogging as a form of word-of-mouth communication as well as share my love of more "unusual" music (that is, stuff you don't hear every day when you turn on the radio). I never expected that this blog would (so quickly) help me
discover new music and artists -- something I love to do (as I mentioned in my
post about bar hopping).
I was surprised recently with an email from the marketing coordinator of an artist management company that represents a band called
Years Around The Sun with an attached MP3 file from the band as well as an offer to send me their debut CD
Introstay. The moment I heard it, I decided that
this was
my kind of music. Catchy melody and toe-tapping rhythm. While it's possible the lyrics may be profound (as I've mentioned before, I am not really a "lyrics man"), I couldn't tell. I listen to music for entertainment and not some intellectual stimulation. This was a song with lush and layered sounds surrounding a nice hook. As I said, my kind of music.
I would like to assure blog readers that I am NOT paid for the review. They sent me the song, I liked it and decided it is worth sharing with all of you. I don't know if any of you know me well enough to trust that I won't feature anything I am sent by any band or company that I don't genuinely like myself. But, given my eclectic taste in music, the featured music here will span many genres.
The first song is a single
Heart Delay which, as I said, will get your toe tapping. This is the first song I heard from this group. The second song linked below is a selection from their debut CD called
Sinclair. I had a hard time picking a song off their
Introstay CD to feature here. I didn't like the opening track (
Align), but found
Dead Man's Sea to be very catchy. But then, when I put my headphones on, I seemed to prefer
Dry Lake Bed. Probably the easiest to like on the first listen is
Sinclair. Sounds like a single should sound.
Soft Soul has a funky groove to it that would work great in the evening with a glass of wine in your hand. Both
Northfork and
Warm Jets are great songs. For some reason
Warm Jets sounds a little Beatlesque to me. The sound on most of the songs is quite similar with jangly guitars and synths leading to a nice melody and a steady beat. Overall, the vocals are somehow reminiscent of a British group, but their site seems to suggest they're all Americans. Let me know if you get the same sense of a "British accent" when you hear these songs. In fact, all these songs remind me a lot of
Evermore who I
featured recently on this blog. Maybe it's my imagination.
You can find the band web site
here (including tour info). And their CD cover looks suspiciously like the
Jantar Mantar ancient astronomical lab I used to pass by frequently when I lived in New Delhi! Like many independent bands today, you can hook up with their
MySpace page. Of course, I urge those of you who like these songs to buy their CD
here. After having heard the songs, how wrong can you go for ten bucks?
1. Years Around The Sun - Heart Delay (
Deleted on artist's request)
2. Years Around The Sun - Sinclair (
Deleted on artist's request)