looking into your eyes for a sign

I think this will be my last post in quite a while. Don't have much time to do regular postings since school started, and I miss writing about fantastic songs. I would appreciate if anyone would like to fill in for me as a guest writer, maybe with me chipping in every now and then. I still love this sweet labour of mine and would still very much like to spread the goodness of indie music around.

Isbells - Reunite
Thanks to the anonymous reader who told me about this song. I was thoroughly enchanted by Gaëtan Vandewoude's crisp yet introspective vocals. He sounds like a cross between the folksiness of Fleet Foxes and the pensiveness of Little Dragon, in particular Twice. Gorgeous music with an equally stunning video. They managed to make music sound like an art piece, with subtle yet affecting strokes of the brush on a sparse canvas.

School of Seven Bells - I L U
Straying quite a bit from the dream pop that fueled most of their debut album "Alpinisms", this particular track plays up the expansive soundscape and clearer vocals from Alejandra Deheza.

Sarah Blasko - All I Want
All personal and straightforward, coupled with her smoky vocals, Sarah Blasko hits home with this folksy-acoustic number. She's from Down Under, and for those who don't know yet, she'll be performing a cosy set at the Esplanade Recital Studio on 8 Nov.


With this, I'm taking an unfortunate and indefinite hiatus, until I've figured how to squeeze time for posts. Unless of course, someone who can guest write turns up and offers his/her services. Till then!

will we ever paint the walls

Basia Bulat - Once More, For The Dollhouse
Folksy feel, yet it belies the deep vulnerability that seems to emanate from the lyrics - almost like howls of desperation crying to be heard. Her strong emotive vocals drive this song with panache, along with the bare guitar accompaniment, contributing to the emotional bedlam.

Pearl Harbor - Luv Goon
Sweet shimmery vocals surf on dreamy hazy sounds with washed out synths as one of them coos the chorus. Pearl Harbor is made up of 2 sister, Piper and Skyler, 22 and 15 respectively. Amazing isn't it? They make absolutely harmonious dream pop that dazzle the heart.

Pretty & Nice - Tora Tora Tora (mp3)
You get a bit lost for a moment as the song opens with "the japanese and singing 'tora tora tora' but i don't understand". But as soon as you right your bearings, you realise the upbeat song is flippant and fun. Snappy drumbeats with random lyrics amidst the motley instruments ringing out in the background definitely contribute to the springy mood.

Trentemoller - Always Something Better
First, there's this really bad-ass bassline. Secondly, the haunting sound prolly from the pads. Thirdly, sleek sounding 8 bit synths. I could go on and on, but whatever Mr Trentemoller is doing, he's doing a fantastic job of marrying the vastly different layers in the song into one entity. The ebb and flow is doing the very job of pulling you into the world he has created and pushing you out abruptly, only to bring you back in again.

you must speak your life into existence

Holly Miranda - Waves (mp3)
Very beautiful song, brought to life by her drawn out vocals and well-written lyrics. Poignant song on love lost that's so affecting, supported by very subtle drums and the tambourine(?). As she goes on "I don't know, I don't know", it makes one wonder about the unpredictability and incomprehensibility of love.

The Low Anthem - To Ohio
Deep raspy vocals on this melancholic song by The Low Anthem. A folk song sung with such measured elegance and with really brilliant orchestration, I look forward to their next album.

Sun Airway - Waiting on You (mp3)

Lusine - Twilight
As the description of the video goes, "What do you know about the ancients? / What do you know about the future? Vilja Larjosto intones as the song walks on air, evoking an appropriately thoughtful mood to match the songs titular half-light." Down-tempo ambient song vocally led by her, produced by Texan native Jeff McIlwain also known as Lusine, the song is a respite from the plethora of purely ambient songs. Shimmery melodies syncopate as buttery vocals waft from the speakers, she intones and she murmurs; she leads and she follows. Some may say it's placid, but I can feel the warmth of the subtle layers of production rushing through me, vivid images conjured up in my mind. Exquisite.