Skip to content

Tour De Vaap

“A compilation of music from 417”

Monthly Archives: June 2013

27/06/13 Lou Doillon – Devil Or Angel

Lou Doillon

You may already know Lou Doillon as an actress or a model, or maybe from her famous parents.  But all fame swept aside, Doillon recently emerged in a new form under another art: music.  With her soothing voice spinning cautious melodies over songs, Doillon comes from a place of both fear and anger.  Nearing thirty, she fits comfortably with some of the great singer-songwriters, from Carly to Cat Power.  On June 18th, she released her first album, Places. It’s an album crafted from an introspective mind, turning autobiographical narratives into sprawling stories of love, violence and power.  One single, “Devil Or Angel” is particularly haunting.  Quiet electric guitars and a snare keep the beat, freeing Doillon’s voice up for flowing overtones.  The song turns an argument into an all out battle, guns instead of angry words, Doillon as the enemy.  Below, you can hear this single but you’ll definitely want to hear the full album, it’s full of new sounds and surprises that show just how multi-talented Doillon truly is.

Lou Doillon – Devil Or Angel:

Tags: , ,

25/06/13 Ellery James Roberts – Kerou’s Lament

kerou's lament

WU LYF were one of our favorite bands of the last couple of years.  With instrumentation not far off from Explosions in the Sky, plus drastic incomprehensible lyrics, a hidden band and screamed anthems, they were hard to match.  Sadly, the group broke up after about a year together, rumor has it due to singer Ellery James Roberts who wasn’t feeling the band anymore.  So the group split ways, the majority going on to form Los Porcos leaving Ellery James Roberts on his own.  Yesterday, he showed up what he can do as a solo artists with his first song, “Kerou’s Lament.”  It features the same desperate anthemic lyrics coming from that same emotion-packed voice, but the music has changed a bit.  While it’s still energetic, the music now features electronic samples galore, giving it a more ethereal sound than his previous stuff.  Either way, it’s solid first effort and we cant’ wait to hear more.  Check out the sorta music video below.

-M. Kauf

Tags: , , , , ,

23/06/13 Earthquake Weather – This December

earthquake weather

Earthquake Weather seem split between two decades.  At certain times, the group emulates the indie rock scene of the 90s, with heavy and heady guitars and an irresistible choruses.   At other times, the group sounds like a smooth pop-rock group of the ’00s (or Noughts if you prefer).  But regardless of the decade of influence, this Australian group create a rock blend that’s both powerful and easy to fall in love with.  Their first single, “This December,” aside from rhyming with the bands name is the most enjoyable radio-friendly song I’ve heard in ages.  Just try not singing along to those “oohs” in the chorus.  I bet you can’t.  Check out their single below and look for more from Earthquake Weather in the future.

-M. Kauf

 

Earthquake Weather – This December

Tags: ,

20/06/13 Hibou – Dunes EP

hibou dunes

A few months back, we told you about the artist Hibou and crossed our fingers that more would come soon.  Well, it just so happens that Hibou released a new EP called Dunes.  Where his first singles were bright and full, his new EP is a bit more somber.  Like the sunset signifying the end to a beautiful day at the beach, Hibou’s new EP is a more minimal, darker and fast-paced follow up.  Opening with the quick-tempoed “Sunder,” Hibou gets going with a bang, an anxious rush into the album.  But as the second song, “Valium” approaches, he slows it down for what is easily the most mellow track only to dial it up again by the third track “Above Us,” which could almost be a lost Smith Westerns song.  The two closing tracks feel the closest to his earlier singles, putting glimmering guitars to an 80s dance beat.  Overall, Dunes shows Hibou evolving and coming into his own sound.  It’s tighter, upbeat and a little louder and it’s still the Hibou we know and love.  You can currently get the album here, or check it out below as a stream.

-M. Kauf

Tags: , , , , ,

18/06/13 San Fermin – Sonsick [Video]

Last December, we had high hopes for San Fermin, who were set to release their debut album in February.  Well February has come and gone and a lot has changed since then.  For one thing, we now know who the band is and we know the actual album release date.  It turns out, this is the project of recent college grad Ellis Ludwig-Leone.  After graduating, the young composer retreated to the mountains to compose a masterpiece.  Dealing with love, youth and all the classic music clichés in an incredibly refreshing way.  Imploring friends and a plethora of other musicians, Ellis Ludwig-Leone brought his songs to life and, while Ludwig-Leone may not be a household name yet, if “Sonsick” is even the tiniest indication of his skills, this album will put him right up there with bands like the Dirty Projectors.  Today, he released the video for the gorgeous single “Sonsick.”  It features a girl and a giant bull, a dog’s birthday party and a lot of dirt.  Overall, it’s a lot of eye candy for this beautiful song complete with sharp horn sections, heartbreaking lyrics and powerful vocals.  If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the video above and look for the album September 17th.

-M. Kauf

Tags: , ,

16/06/13 Ponderosa Twins Plus One – Bound

ponderosa twins plus one

The new Kanye West album is right around the corner, and I’m sure many of you have heard snippets of it either through leaked versions or the few songs Kanye has performed live.  I’m sure some of you early listeners aren’t as thrilled with this latest effort as the masterpiece My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but then again, maybe some of you love this angry house music side of him.  On this minimal album, samples are pretty scarce but Kanye still saves a good one for his final track, “Bound 2.”  The track he samples on the closer is by a little (literally) group called Ponderosa Twins Plus One.  Made up of two sets of twins and their friend, this group had hopes of becoming the next Jackson 5.  And although history shows that this never happened, the group has left behind some soulful singles including “Bound,” a beautiful love ballad on its own.  I wonder what would have become of the group if they’d taken off, but at least we have this song and artists like Kanye to dig them out of those dusty record collections and help them get the recognition they deserve.  Yeezus aside, this man knows how to find a sample.

-M. Kauf

Ponderosa Twins Plus One – Bound

Tags: ,

13/06/13 SAFIA – Listen To Soul, Listen To Blues

 

SAFIA

Electronic music has become way to general of a term to describe many of the bands who are out there today.  Electronic music can be soulful, poppy, danceable, filled with the blues, or any combination above.  Fitting somewhere snugly in between minmal electronic soul singer and the booming bass of Bassnectar is where we find SAFIA.  Take their song, “Listen To Soul, Listen To Blues” which starts out as smooth as any Adele heartbreaker, but quickly builds from that, adding snappy drums, ambient echoes and, of course, some synths.  All of this leads up to a powerful second half, which ditches the soul in order to crank up the volume and hit the dancefloor.  Yet, this transition never seems forced or out of place.  SAFIA dance back and forth over the line like it’s their business, creating genre-crossing music that will win over fans from many different styles of music.  For a taste of this, for now we’ll call it “dance soul” check out a couple of their songs below.

-M. Kauf

SAFIA – Listen To Soul, Listen To Blues:

SAFIA – Streched & Faded:

 

Tags: , , ,

12/06/13 Washed Out – It All Feels Right

2011 will always go down in my memory as the Summer of Chillwave.  Left and right, bands seemed to be releasing electronic melodies full of heavy mellow synths perfect for just laying around in the sun and embracing the laid-back vibes.  But just as quickly as all these bands seemed to unite under this specific sound, they disowned the name “chillwave” as too general and not what they were trying to produce.  And, as many of these bands begin to release their sophomore albums, they have proven that their annoyance with the term is not unfounded.  Each new album uses new instruments and new sounds that can hardly be labeled Chillwave.  Now, the king of all Chillwave artists is gearing up to release the follow up to his amazing debut album Within and Without, there’s not a lone synth and drum sample in sight.  For his next album, Washed Out (aka Earnest Greene) samples from over 50 different instruments, and you can be sure they’re not all synthesizers.  Today, he released the first single from the upcoming album called, “It All Feels Right.”  While the tune is just as summery and laid back as much of Washed Out’s earlier work, the sound is almost unrecognizable (besides Greenes smooth voice).  “It All Feels Right” sounds more like a rediscovered Beatles song from the Revolver era, remixed by Kevin Parker.  And, as much as I loved the Summer of Chillwave, this new song shows that there’s much more to these artists.  Check out the lyric video above, filled with trippy flower sequences to match the sound, and look for more non-chillwave when the full album, Paracosm, comes out in August.

-M. Kauf

Tags: , , ,

09/06/13 The National – Rains of Castamere

Image

“The National are a pristine indie rock outfit, not afraid to rock some sharp suites,” says M. Kauf. I had to ask him because I only know one song by them, and that song is “Rains of Castamere” which is a prominent song in the Game of Thrones series written by George R. R. Martin. HBO asked the band to cover the song and the rest is history. As most of you know tonight is the season finale of Thrones and I could not be more psyched. I’m stretching right now to ensure I don’t pull a muscle while watching it. Even if you don’t watch Thrones the song is dope, check it out!

-Elmar

Tags: , ,

08/06/13 Jonathan Rado – Faces

Janathan Rado

Foxygen’s We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic (damn that’s a mouthful) has quickly become a favorite hear at TDV.  It’s pure retro sound is refreshing, fun and always entertaining and, as a duo, Foxygen’s core members really are the masters of a sound older than them by more than a few decades.  But what happens when you separate them?  When I think of the voice of Foxygen, I usually think Sam France, but it’s quickly looking like that isn’t the case.  Guitarist Jonathan Rado recently announced a solo album Law and Order due in September.  The first single, “Faces” is just as retro as anything in the Foxygen catalogue, but Rado has a sound all his own.  Instead of taking a page from the rockers of the 60s and 70s (think The Kinks and the Rolling Stones), Rado leans more towards 60s pop-rock.  Acoustic guitar blends with Birds-esque electric twang as Rado sings about isolation to a happy, bouncy beat.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this was a one hit wonder crawling up from the dusty vinyl collections in someone’s basement.  Check out the song below.

Jonathan Rado – Faces

Tags: , , , ,