Other Lives

One of my favorite new bands in 2009 was Other Lives, with their eponymous, debut album making it into my top 10 for the year. These guys come from Oklahoma, which I imagine to be cold and lonely, due not in small part to the sound that these guys have created, which is pretty cold and lonely. It's good for Beijing winters, and apparently good enough for Bon Iver, who they toured with.

Unfortunately I couldn't find you a video of my favorite track from their first album, How Could This Be?, but fortunately they released a new album earlier this year, so here's Tamer Animals, the title track and one of my favorites from the new album.

Though I loved their music when I heard their first album, it wasn't until I saw this next video that I really fell in love with the band. They did an amazing, acoustic living room performance of one of their best tracks, E Minor, and I think the live version is possibly better than the recording, which is always a very important trait I look for in a band. I have yet to see them live, as I moved out of the US right after finding out about them, but based just on this video I would not want you to miss them if you had the chance.

Warpaint

It's 6:30 am on a Saturday and I'm awake thanks to jetlag, so what better to do than share some good music?

One of my favorite albums from the first half of the year was The Fool, the full length debut from Warpaint, a Los Angeles based experimental rock group. They make great, chilled-out rock, and have apparently had actress Shannyn Sossamon and current Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Klinghoffer in previous lineups.

Here are my two favorite tracks, Composure and Undertow.

Undertow is their first single, and I think one of their best tracks. Especially once it picks up about half way through.

Active Child

I've been hearing Active Child here and there for the last few months, and for a while was only able to find an EP from last year. That was because he didn't release his debut full-length album, You Are All I See, until last week. It was worth the wait though. The first two tracks are gorgeous, they remind me of a mix between Bon Iver and Sigur Ros, which is a good thing. The rest of the album is great, as well, but nothin can beat those first two tracks. And just like Beth/Rest, the last track on Bon Iver's second album, a lot of his music seems like it should be so wrong, but in reality it's just so right.

So without further ado, here is some delicious new music for your earholes. First is the opening/title track of the album.

I couldn't decide which of my two favorite songs off Active Child's debut album I liked more, so here's Hanging On, my other favorite, and I believe also his most popular song.

My Happy Song

I know it's old, but this is my happy song. Especially when I buy star maps and drive around Los Angeles. Or when I'm not there and I just want to.

My Brightest Diamond - All Things Will Unwind

All Things Will Unwind has been one of my most anticipated albums this year, and it's finally been released this month. This is the 3rd studio album from My Brightest Diamond, one of my favorite artists for a couple of years now. My Brightest Diamond is the stage name of Shara Worden, a trained opera singer who paid her dues as an Illinoisemaker, touring with Sufjan Stevens before she began releasing her own solo work (much the same as St. Vincent, who also released her 3rd album this year).

I've been waiting pretty much since 2008 when her last album came out for her to release anything new, and this album has lived up to my expectations. She's always mixed an orchestra into her relaxed, rock sound, but this third album is stripped down even more, focusing on mostly the orchestral side. It's a beautiful derivative of what she's done before and still lends itself wonderfully to her ethereal vocals. My favorite track from the album, Reaching Through to the Other Side, maintains a bit more of her older sound than most tracks on the album.



I'll definitely keep enjoying this album for a while, but at the same time I'll be very much looking forward to the remix albums she always releases after her studio albums. Her voice lends itself so well to such a range of styles, which is one of the things I love about her. For example, one of my favorite remixes of her work:

I think it's an amazing remix of one of her most haunting songs, and it's so different from the original version of To Pluto's Moon, but still fits her so well, which I guess is one of the things I love about her.

So to sum up, you really should be listening to My Brightest Diamond. Her new album is great and it just makes it more difficult for me to pick my favorite album by her, an argument I constantly have with myself and have still not resolved. And if you're not yet sold on her, you should watch this: