Kamikaze Water Slide

Sometimes a song just fits your mood sooo perfectly that nothing else should really matter. Keep Your Head Up is an excellent self-esteem booster, providing that spark of inspiration and strength to carry on regardless of the obstacles we may face. Its sing-along chorus, full of feelgood lyrics and positive sentiment accompanied with the slick guitar, can only leave you with a smile.

I know, peeps. There have been a whole raft of sensitive boys with acoustic guitars appearing recently and it may seem that there surely can't be room for anymore. But Ben Howard is an artist that every folk fan should make space for in their record collection. Even though this self-taught and left-handed guitarist is still only in his early twenties, he proves maturity and ability through the combination of smooth, beautiful vocals, pensive lyrics and delicate picked guitar lines and the versatility to sound the gentle and atmospheric alongside the faster paced and more motivated.

As far as the video is concerned, it will make you so, so jealous if you're a city dweller. Ben and a few friends work tirelessly here to build the best looking water slide I've ever laid my eyes on. It just never ends! 

Holy Civilian Fish

Today is my sister's bday and for me there is no better way to honor her than posting one of her tremendous recent musical discoveries:  Wye Oak. Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner are on album number three with the latest release, but are probably not a band at the forefront of most people's minds. Like me perhaps, you know the name and have heard some music but not much else. Well, that's all about to change.

Their combination of boy-girl hymns and dreamy, sometimes shoegazing sonics, have garnered accurate comparisons to Yo La Tengo. Though this sound of ambient chatter quickly washes away by steeled guitar and electronics, making it clear that they still hew closely to 90s indie rock.

It'd be difficult to pick a highlight of this album, but Civilian would certainly rate a mention. This is more like the indie-folk territory that people may have expected from this album and also provides another of the many high points.

Holy Holy bangs along with a thumping drum beat and jagged guitar, pausing mid-song to showcase Wasner’s beautiful vocals, before hauling you back into the midst of the drum line. As Slow Club did before (click here), the band take us on a roller coaster emotional journey. Ok, erm... I think I already told you... I have serious problems with vertigo, so I haven't really watched this vid. I just listened to the song! Crazy, huh?

The last clip I bring you today is the one for Fish, which slows things down, with Wasner and Stack combining forces to lull you in with catchy hooks and delicate vocals. 

Peeps, get ready to let 'em have your attention from beginning to end.

Civilian

Holy Holy

Fish

Here is the link for those who liked the above songs.

Moonwalker

Thanks to my faithful follower Anna, I just recently discovered a new superband called Walk the Moon.

She posted a video for the single Anna Sun (yep, she was probably looking for songs with her own name), which leads us through a maze of a building to a sick house party complete with an eighties costumed dance troupe. And face paint, lots of it. By the end of the clip I was in love with the lead singer's voice / face / dance and I restarted it as soon as it finished. By the moment, I still can't get enough. It's hilariously choreographed, neon-colored and awesomely shot in one take. 

This whole tune always puts me in a great mood and entrances my imagination, making me wanna go out and celebrate being alive with a smile. Although it belongs to their debut album entitled I Want! I Want!, out in November 2010, the official short film was launched last week, together with Anna Sun EP, adding two more songs. 

Remember these bros coz they are responsible for the latest anthem that will live in your head for the next few weeks. Definitely, Walk The Moon is poised to bee-line straight to the top if they continue to crank out gems like this. Believe me when I tell you this is pretty much my favorite discovery this month. Watch and listen below. You won't be disappointed and you will thank me.

If you're willing to hear the rest of their EP, you're lucky. Here are the other two tracks contained in the album. Yay!

Tightrope 

Next In Line 

Cupid's Revenge

Drawing donated by my great friend Álex Brau.  

Further info: http://alex-brau.blogspot.com
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Whether I like it or not, today is Valentine's Day, aka <Singles Awareness Day>, which makes me moderately annoyed. Thus, I decided to dedicate this post to all these people who do not believe in love, to these souls that are heavy with sorrow and to all those whose hearts have been violently uprooted from guts.

New York trio School of Seven Bells captures perfectly all the sadness that lost love and blown opportunities imply with their single under the name I L U.

A dreamy piece of shoegazery melancholia over a rippling layer of keyboards, in which singers Alejandra and Claudia Deheza apply their angelic voices mourning the end of a relationship. The tune is equipped with a delightful video featuring realistic marionettes. I really love this simile. When all's said and done, we all are puppets of our lovers.

Well, at least I take comfort in the thought that V 's Day exists today less than ever coz 14-2-12= 0.

Animated Ilustration

Since some time ago, my friend Álex (illustrator, cartoonist and blogger) and I are seriously considering to build a website where gathering info about independent creators and new trends in all arts disciplines, such as movies, comics, design, music, painting, photography, literature and poetry. In spite of being at the starting point, a relevant number of interested partners are willing to participate in this project. Thus, it's just a question of getting down to it ASAP. Needless to say, I'm utterly excited and enthusiastic about this interesting and motivating stuff. 

In relation to the subject we're on, the clip for Thought Of You by Ryan Woodward was precisely born out of Ryan's desires to connect several of his passions (figurative works, 2D animation, EFX animation and contemporary dance) into one art piece. I'm quite sure you've already seen this awesome video, which made its rounds on the Internet last year, but it's worth taking a look again. From beginning to end, the experience of watching it completely engulfed me in this wonderful story where a graceful moving human form can communicate more emotion that any length of dialogue. Woodward restricts the visuals to simple line tracings. No clean-up or coloring here. Nevertheless, the motion is so fluid and the shapes are so organic and appealing... I literally felt like my body melted when I watched this. Go for it!

You can also check out the making of, where Ryan explains the creative process behind the piece.

Wax & Milk

Theme Park are a four-piece London-based band with a refreshing, easygoing blend of catchy guitar hooks and laid-back summer melodies. The outfit has only been around since the early days of 2011 and they still have a long way to go. However, one should not judge merely by their youth coz with their huge talent and brilliant debut, it's undeniable that their popularity is destined to increase, being widely regarded as one of pop's great hopes for the current year.

Their debut single, Wax, was taken from their EP of the same name, released last summer. This is a nice peaceful tune to have in the background. The video features a lady who goes through lots of pics of the band, subtly introducing us to them. TBH, I was hoping someone would have slipped in an accidental nudey snap, hehe.

Their latest anthem, Milk, was released last December and paves the way for what's set to be a great success which will bring them worldwide stardom. Falsetto vocals and guitar reverb combine with a killer bass line to great affect making the urge to nod along impossible to ignore. 

Check 'em below!

Crossovers

If there's someone who has vastly influenced my taste in worldbeat music and ethnic-specific rhythms, this is Quino. 20s songs with Italian roots, electronic-inspired Portuguese fados, soul-tinged Arabic themes, French operettas alike... Anything can be expected from his awsome surprising suggestions and what's on for today is his latest great reco: Feriado Pessoal (Personal Holiday), a positive, feel-good jazzy Brazilian bossa-nova with a funky groove by Bruna Caram, that first appeared as the title track of her second album of the same name. This will make you smile and brighten up an otherwise bitterly cold morning. Just click play already!