Tag: Music

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Sister Hazel – Come Around

When it comes to the Throwback Thursday entries, I’m playing it by ear. It’s not easy to pick one relatively old good song amongst hundreds or thousands of them. For that reason, I’m letting random coincidences to choose one for me. For instance, in yesterday’s post I mentioned Sister Hazel and that was all it took for me to write today about that act from Gainesville, Florida. The band, named after a local missionary who took care of homeless people, formed in 1993 and besides being extremely productive with over 10 studio albums (plus EPs, live albums and compilations) over that span, they have also been shockingly stable, maintaining the same line-up throughout all these years. That’s pretty unusual to say the least.

Sister Hazel has had several minor hits and some loyal followers, but if there’s only one song you know from them, then it’s probably All For You. This track was part of the band’s debut album from 1994 but it was re-recorded for the follow-up from 1997and it was then when the song became a hit, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It remains Sister Hazel’s most successful single to date.

However, the song that I want to highlight today is one of those minor hits Sister Hazel had, Come Around, from their excellent 2003 album: Chasing Daylight. This great tune is just as good as All For You but far less popular. It’s also a good example of the band’s trademark blend of alternative touch with southern rhythms.

Let’s remember this classic song today. Enjoy Come Around.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Kristian Montgomery and the Winterkill Band – Razor Wire Heart

Kristian Montgomery and the Winterkill Band - Razor Wire Heart

After two days of grunge pop and indie punk, it’s time to slow things down with this mellower track from Kristian Montogomery and the Winterkill Band. Razor Wire Heart showcases Kristian’s husky and pleasant voice, delivering emotional and personal lyrics inspired by his tumultuous life journey, from heavy rock bands to world travels, marriage, divorce, and six months in jail. His heartfelt experiences shine through the chords of his guitar and the depth of his vocals.

This song is part of “Gravel Church,” an album that Kristian wrote upon his release from prison, marking his debut as Kristian Montgomery and the Winterkill Band. It’s a diverse album, blending alternative rock, country, and other genres. Reminiscent of Sister Hazel‘s style, if you enjoy that vibe, this band is a must-listen. Start with “Razor Wire Heart” here.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Grow Rich – Bounce Back

Music is universal and it can come from the most unexpected places. Maybe Indonesia is not the first country that comes to mind when you think about indie punk bands but that’s exactly where Grow Rich comes from. The project from multi-instrumentalist Abdur Rahim Latada is influenced by bands like Veruca Salt, Joy Division, and My Bloody Valentine. Abdur has released two self-financed EPs already as Grow Rich, and he also markets them himself. Frantic Semantic is the latest EP, which includes Bounce Back, a really good track.

Lyrically, to be honest, Bounce Back is nothing to write home about, but musically, it is a completely different story. It got great hooks and guitar riffs and nice soundscapes that make it really hard to believe it was all done by one person (except for drums, as he got help for that). Even the vocals are really good as well. This really sounds as good as any song produced by heavyweights. If you are into this type of music, I beg you to give this song a chance. You won’t regret it.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Punk-Rock

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Pony – WebMD

I found it hilarious that Sam Bielanski, the lead singer and mastermind behind Toronto-based band Pony, tweeted –when the band released their latest single– that she had written a song about her favorite website, WebMD. She obviously can make fun of herself and that’s a good quality to have. The song is a great alternative rock jam with an infectious melody and, despite its title, a good message about being independent and not wanting to depend on anyone else in order to feel complete.

According to Pony‘s website, the band’s style is grunge pop, which in a way makes perfect sense. Whatever it is, we need more bands like Pony. Luckily, they recently announced the signing of a deal with an indie label and will release a debut full-length album soon. That being said, the band had been publishing songs and EPs regularly since 2015, so they got plenty of material out already.

Sam even starred, directed, choreographed , shot, and edited the music video for WebMD (the link is below but you might have to go to Youtube in order to watch it due to restrictions from the music label). Or you can also enjoy this tune on the mixtapes below. Whatever you choose, have fun!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Pop

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Max Richter – All Human Beings

Max Richter

According to Wikipedia, Max Richter “works within postminimalism and in the meeting of contemporary classical and alternative popular musical styles”, and I totally agree with that description. This German-born British musician is one of my favorite composers out there today. He’s not an unknown artist, with over one billion (yes, with a b) streams and after having worked on the soundtrack of popular movies such as Ad Astra, but just in case this is the first time you hear about him, let me tell you that you have probably heard Spring 1 from his album Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons (2012), as it’s been used in plenty of TV ads, like this one from LinkedIn.

This month, Richter returned with a conceptual album, Voices, which is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This peculiar records consists of 2 discs: the first one features recordings of people in over 70 countries reading articles from that document, perfectly intertwined with Richter’s mesmerizing compositions played by his orchestra (which has an unusually high number of cellists). The second disc got the voiceless versions of the same compositions. Both versions are beautiful and interesting. The piece I liked the most is the one called All Humans Beings, and in the video below you can listen to the original version with the “voices” in it. However, the version I added to the mixtapes listed after the video was the “voiceless mix“. I highly recommend you try both versions. Enjoy!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax

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Toys In The Attic – Where Giants Sleep

Where Giants Sleep

There’s no much background info I can give you on Toys in the Attic. All I know is that this project consists of one person, based in Rhode Island and that he is pretty active on Twitter. According to his songs’ writing credits on Spotify, his name seems to be Alexander, but the fact that really matters here is that this artist is really passionate about making music of all genres, but mostly alternative and synth-based tunes. His catalogue is small but varied, with some songs flirting closely with dance music while others, like Where Giants Sleep, are mellower.

Where Giants Sleep is a catchy track that takes you on an auditive journey. It’s easy to imagine that you are driving through a scenic route when listening to this tune, and the destination is your happy place. By all means, check Toys in the Attic out and you can start right here, right now with this addictive track.

Update: Due to legal reasons, Alexander has had to change his stage name. While old songs will remain under the Toys in the Attic moniker on streaming platforms, new music will be released as Dreddbeat.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Electronic

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London Grammar – Baby It’s You

Out of the blue and without any indication of a new album coming out soon, London Grammar simply dropped a new single yesterday, Baby It’s You, after posting a tease on Instagram on Monday. The young band from Nottingham, UK, had last released an album, their sophomore record, in 2017. Both of the band’s studio albums were massive successes in the UK and if this new track is an indication of what’s coming next, their third full-length will hit the jackpot too, and deservedly so.

As it was the case with all of London Grammar‘s previous songs, Baby It’s You is driven by the stunning and powerful vocals of Hannah Reid. In a way, it’s fitting that this entry comes right after the one about Mazzy Star, because not unlike Hope Sandoval, Hannah is an introvert who suffers from stage fright. And just like Hope. she got an angelic voice capable of leaving any audience absolutely mesmerised.

On this new track, the ethereal vocals are surrounded by the band’s trademark atmospheric sounds. What is new this time around is a certain balearic vibe: just the right amount to make things interesting without overpowering the tune. All in all, Baby It’s You is a nice new song from London Grammar and you can enjoy it in the mixtapes below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie
  • Pop

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Mazzy Star – Fade Into You

Mazzy Star - Fade Into You

Earlier this week, I mentioned that Teen Idle was going to get compared to Mazzy Star. Now, depending on your age, you might not be aware of who they were (I love ’90s music and I wasn’t aware of them until the late ’00s!), which is why I thought it fitting to feature Fade Into You as this week’s Throwback Thursday entry. A song that is widely considered one of the best tracks of that decade.

This song was a huge hit for the band in 1994, reaching number 3 on Billboard‘s Modern Rock chart (back when that chart meant something) and peaking at #44 on the Hot 100 chart. No other song from the band appeared on that Hot 100 chart and only two other tracks charted on the Modern Rock Top 40 (Halah and Blue Flower), which in part explains why people who were not active music listeners at the time might not know about this band. That and the fact that the band broke up in 1997 and didn’t regroup until 2012.

Mazzy Star consisted of Hope Sandoval, as lead singer and lyricist; and David Roback, as composer and main producer, who also played most of the instruments. Hope has a reputation for being shy, which made her focus on her singing while on stage instead of interacting with the audience. When you have a voice as angelic and beautiful as hers, I don’t see the problem in that. Sure, having a charismatic singer is nice, but we don’t need every single lead singer to be like that. Anyway, I guess that was another reason preventing the band from achieving super stardom.

Unfortunately, David Roback died earlier this year but he and Hope (who’s still active) left behind a legacy of great music that won’t be forgotten. Isn’t that the ultimate goal for any artist?

Watch a live performance of this iconic song here, or find it in the mixtapes below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Teen Idle – In The Morning

Teen Idle

Sara Abdelbarry is a 23 year-old music artist of Egyptian heritage who greg up in the suburbs of New Jersey. The boredom of suburban life and everything she went through growing up led her to start writing songs in 2018 as a mean to emotional catharsis, giving birth eventually to Teen Idle, her musical project.

Back in June, Teen Idle released her first EP, Insomniac Dreams, which consists of 6 tracks of what could be categorised as indie/dream-pop, with my favourite one being In The Morning. What I like about this song is that Sara’s ethereal vocals and pop flavour get infused with hints of alternative rock from the 90’s. I think Sara will inevitably get compared to Hope Sandoval/Mazzy Star and I can certainly see why, but I also think that she injects enough of her own identity to Teen Idle’s music to be able to stand on her own.

Listen to this rising star below and let me know if you disagree.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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Holly Jones – Believe

Few instruments are as capable of giving you calm and peace as a piano, and when it comes to piano compositions, I favor heavily the melody over everything else. This is why I like Holly Jones‘ latest piece, Believe, so much. The song’s beautiful melody takes you on a journey to the Sea of Tranquility and back, which is very much in line with what Holly had in mind when she composed the song. Her aim was to bring relief, reassurance and comfort during these uncertain times.

This contemporary classical pianist and composer is originally from Kentucky but now lives in Oklahoma. Her debut piano album was released in 2003 but it wasn’t until 2016 when she released her sophomore record. Since then, Holly has been getting new music out regularly, including Believe just this week.

Check her work out on your favorite streaming platform. In the meantime, you can relax on this Sunday afternoon listening to Believe here.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax