Novah - Revolution

1.   Who are these young lads?

Novah are an atmospheric indie rock band from Stockholm, Sweden. Novah took flight in 2013 and their debut single Robot (Aug'15) had big play. Revolution comes crusading off their debut E.P. Alaska (2016).

 2.   What kind of tune are Novah pushing?

Revolution is aiming for epic and emotive. Bottom of the heart, gut-wrenched, vocals accompanied with acoustic guitar that kicks in to electric guitar to take flight in the chorus. Revolution is stadium filling, arms in the air, soft rock for the masses.

3. Who do Novah sound like?

Coldplay. The Planet Of Sound say Novah sound like Local Natives, The Verve and M83.

4. What do the Lords and Ladies of the press have to say about Revolution?

“A slowly driven indie track that explodes into an epic open arms experience with its soft vocals.” – Alternative Tracks.

“Sonically stunning and particularly crafted new single.” –The Four Oh Five.

“Blew me away with one listen.” – The Daily Listening.

5. Which bands have inspired these wunderkinds?

Coldplay maybe.

6. Why should I give Revolution a listen?

Because being a hater is wrong and deep down in your heart you remember a time of euphoric happiness when listening to a Coldplay song. 

7. Do Novah have any more good songs?

Revolution is far and away the band's best.

8. Are there any more interesting facts to share about Novah?

Novah went to an isolated Swedish island to record their E.P. instead of using an established studio in Copenhagen.

The Magic Numbers are an indie folk pop band who hail from Ealing, England. They have been making music together since 2002 and have four grand albums on display. Mornings Eleven (2005) was the first single off their self-titled album and one of the best tunes The Magic Numbers have ever made. Their concerts have been called “a quasi-religious affair” and “a fully fledged cult affair” by The Independent and Pitchfork calls Mornings Eleven a “banjo-like guitar romp.”  Here’s the real deal. The Magic Numbers.

“Baby if you telephone,

Maybe I can meet you in the morning,

Come on your own”

Marble Sounds - The First Try

1.   Who are these hirsute hipsters?

Marble Sounds are a popular indie pop band from Belgium. The First Try (Jan’16) is the second single from Marble Sounds third album Tautou (Jan’16).

2. What kind of tune are Marble Sounds touting?

The First Try is a mellow, not slow, number with it's arms held wide open. The piano adds a little bounce until Gianni Marzo's unintrusive meloldic guitar lines takeover and strings lend loft to the chorus. Quiet middle of the road indie pop.

3. So who do Marble Sounds sound like?

The First Try vividly calls to mind Great Lake Swimmers' Zero In The City.

3 Voor 12 Tilburg compare Marble Sounds to Belle & Sebastian, Boy & Bear and a less commercial variation of Snow Patrol. Band singer Pieter Van Diesel said the band are most often compared to Sigur Rios and The Notwist.

4. So what is the good word from the press?

Not a dilly as far as The First Try goes. The reviews are out.

The new album Tautou has received a host of 3 out of 4 or 4 out of 5 star reviews. “Euphoric melancholy” say Enola, and “more epic climaxes in some stunning little songs that can fill a gap on Sunday.” De Morgen call Marble Sounds, “purveyors of super soft melacnholy pop” and Focus Knack thought the new long player has “elegant variations  of melancholy indie pop.” My Sound Escape were more loquacious, “folk and electro influences blend together with an indie-pop matrix, creating uplifting songs to accompany your travels, your readings, as well as and your afternoon’s naps.”

 5. So who are Marble Sounds influences?

The bands that give Marble Sounds their roll are Pinback, Eels and The Notwist say Song 365. Pieter Van Diesel said in an interview with Soft Concrete the band are influenced by Wheat, Pinback, Wilco, Death Cab For Cutie and Sigur Rios. In an interview with a Turkish blog he said Sufjan Stevens, Mina Tindle and Eefj De Visser are the sounds he is rocking right now.

6. Why should I give The First Try a first try?

The First Try is a slow burner that makes a break in the playlist from the overwhelmingly upbeat feel of so many indie tunes out there. Immediately likable but imminently lovable over time.

7. Do Marble Sounds have any more good un's?

The Time To Sleep is the most popular and has a more rock edge.

8. Any more good gossip to share about Marble Sounds?

The new album Tautou is named after French actress Audrey Tautou who western audiences will know from the movie Amelie.

The main music maker Pieter Van Diesel said he sought to create “music centered on a more cinematic atmosphere,”on the the album Tautou.

Pieter's favorite food is Thai, favorite color is green and the first movie he thought of was Back To The Future.

 “Here’s to another try
To move on to a different start
Ready for the rise
Ready for the second part”

Today’s double dip is from Delta Spirit and indie rock band from San Diego, California. From their fourth, and most successful to date, album Into The Wide (2014) is this song, Language of The Dead. Described as “a modern-day tent revival anthem” it is Americana indie rock gem with a classic drum and vocal breakdown.

“Fads of the 60's and the 19th century.
Leo Tolstoy and Robert E. Lee.
We got a war on in our duplicity,
suburban white blasphemy”

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Great Lake Swimmers

Great Lake Swimmers' Zero In The City (Feb’15) is a mood maker.  A melancholy mood maker. The underlying drum beat and plucked guitar strings move along at a fair clip like winter wind blowing through city blocks. But it’s the despairing vocals, the lyric and the surging violins that create the malancholy milieu of this tune.

A desperate milieu in fact. A vision of emotional desolation. A man alone in a diner staring out on empty snow covered streets in early morning hours. A heartbroken man. The countdown of the temperature is unnerving. It creates an internal tension to the song. A slow slide into tragedy. Something is being lost in every passing moment. There is no way this is one of the best indie songs of 2015. Yet it is.

“Minus one, split and it’s done

Getting up every day

Minus one in every way”

 

 

 

Great Lake Swimmers are an indie folk rock band from Toronto, Canada. They have been inspiring wonder since 2003. Zero In The City is the first single off their sixth album A Forest of Arms (April’15).

Shit you need to know:

The singer Tony Dekker said of Zero In The City, “It takes a reading of internal and external weathers, and lands somewhere in the place where those psychic and physical landscapes overlap.”

The bands press says  Zero In The City has “ …a surging rhythm section, razor sharp violin, and flourishing banjo and guitars…”

Of the new album the band say it resonates with many themes but particularly the beauty of the natural world and they feel this album has some of their most dynamic songs ever.

The new album was mixed by Howie Beck known for his work with Canadian indie pop artist Feist.

Of the new album this site opined it was emblematic of “…one of Canada's very best roots-based bands” while another thought it “seems dated.”

The band have been compared to Neil Young's acoustic work, Sufjan Stevens and Nick Drake.

The singer said his main influences are Hank Williams and Gram Parsons. He also mentioned he loves Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash.

Their singer and songwriter Tony Dekker is a big tree hugger. He helps out the World Wildlife Fund and other goodly environmental activities including going to Antarctica.

Great Lake Swimmers do a haunting cover version of Neil Diamonds Song Sung Blue. Well worth the time of day.

More superb Great Lake Swimmers tunes to make you realise the world is a wonderful place are Easy Come, Easy Go, just stop right there, that tune is gold, Great Lake Swimmer's apogee, a folk rock Wild Thing with meaningful lyrics. And of course Pulling On A Line.

 

 

Slippery seconds is another Canadian band. Mother Mother are an indie rock band from Vancouver, Monkey Tree (2014), is a song about the wild animalistic and cut-throat society we live in. An indie Welcome To The Jungle then.

“I'm looking for an angel
Found a bird of a different breed, yeah”