Amber Clouds - Need to Know

She doesn't want you
Someone else has occupied her mind
Stop trying
Wishing, wanting, it's not worth the time
She doesn't know, she doesn't know (x2)
Friends just doesn't do it

From the land of Santa Claus (Norway, so I may have that wrong but close enough) comes the latest dream pop band to be featured on TMIS: Amber Clouds. Their unsigned, debut EP was released just a month ago, but lucky for us someone at Sirius found them, and I happened to hear it during my commute. The self-title 4-song-plus-intro EP has a lovely, semi-sad story arc to it, perfect for an emo mood. 'Cause sometimes you need to rock (i.e. Keith's Sunday post), but sometimes you need to chill.

RIYL: Tame Impala, My Bloody Valentine, DIIV, School of Seven Bells

Upcoming Shows

Car Seat Headrest - Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales

It doesn't have to be like this
It doesn't have to be like this
It doesn't have to be like this
Killer whales, killer whales
It doesn't have to be like this
It doesn't have to be like this
It doesn't have to be like this
Killer whales, killer whales

Will Toledo, the driving (heh) force behind Car Seat Headrest, came up with the name for his musical project when he discovered he preferred to record his vocals in his car than in his home studio. Fairly odd, sure, but whatever works. I saw Car Seat Headrest at SXSW and was impressed. Teens of Denial came out shortly after and it's been in fairly heavy rotation ever since. To get a taste of their live show, check this KEXP video.

RIYL: Modest Mouse, The Lonely Forest, Cloud Nothings

Upcoming Shows

At The Drive-In - Governed by Contagions

That's the way the guillotine claps
She's the one who's governed by contagions
That's the way the guillotine claps
She's the one who's governed by contagions

Now this is exciting: the first new music from At the Drive-In since, I think, about 2000. And it's great. Sounds like they've not missed a beat,  scream, machine gun vocal styling or wild metal-on-metal guitar riff. 

\m/>.<\m/

RIYL: Omar Rodriguez Lopez, The Mars Volta, Sparta, Fugazi

Upcoming Shows

Bastille - Blame

You’ve been granted three wishes
Say goodbye to your mother, your father, your son
I can hear your pulse racing from here
Sitting next to this gun beats your heart in your mouth

Fall upon your knees, sing:
"This is my body and soul here"
Crawl and beg and plead, sing:
"You’ve got the power to control"
Don’t pin it all on me
Don’t pin it all on me!

Another overdue post, I've been meaning to pick something from Bastille's latest album since it came out in September! I probably mentioned when I posted one of their remixes earlier this year, but Bastille's All This Bad Blood is a musical touchstone for me. Something about Dan Smith's lyrics, voice, and the band's sound recalls the very best of Martin Gore/Dave Gahan/Depeche Mode and all the feels that gave in my youth. That something was sorely needed in my life in the 2010s. For whatever equally ephemeral reasons, Wild World hasn't touched me quite the same way, with the exception of a handful of tracks. "Blame" is the only one of the handful I've heard live, and so it wins the toss-up of which to share. A gem of Dan's story telling, this song is about a couple of Goodfella-type gangsters facing off. I'll also recommend "Fake It" "Snakes" and "Way Beyond" in addition to the two released singles, "Good Grief" and "Send Them Off!"

RIYL: Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, O.M.D., The Wombats, Two Door Cinema Club

Upcoming Shows

Run River North - David Robinson

I do right by all I know
Images on the wall say the same
Spotlight or shadow
My life and my worth is my name

Take this farther
Makes me stronger
Make this harder
Makes me stronger
Feel the light inside me
Reaching beyond my failing
See the crowd surround me
Leave the ground, I feel higher

Run River North were one of the highlights of SXSW 2016 for me - even managed to see them twice! I was already hooked on "Run or Hide" via indie radio but had no clue about their unique instrumentation (two violinists) nor that they were a totally Korean-American (6 of them) band. Great live - the drummer alone is entertaining - I've continued to enjoy their sophomore album Drinking from a Salt Pond throughout the rest of this year. Perhaps overdue as a Most Important Song, here is the track that is named after my sweetheart, and (he swears it's just coincidentally) his favorite.

RIYL: Local Natives, Head and the Heart, Grizfolk, Ra Ra Riot

Upcoming Shows