Cinematic Orchestra - Ma Fleur

Now that I've moved into my own apartment, I was thinking about what should be my first blog from home. Obviously, I wanted to choose something with "Home" in the title, and the first thing that came to mind was Cinematic Orchestra. I've heard a few albums by this group, but I think their best by far is 2007's Ma Fleur. The opening track, To Build A Home, features Patrick Watson on vocals and is absolutely gorgeous. It's been featured in a lot of shows and movies, so you may have actually heard it. I can't speak for the video, but you will definitely enjoy the song immensely.

If you liked it, which I'm sure you did, you should find more by Patrick Watson also. He makes some great music, a lot of which reminds me of Jeff Buckley.

The second track off the album, Familiar Ground, is also awesome, featuring vocals by Fontella Bass. I know nothing about her, but she sounds great on the song.

Local Natives

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I have no internet in the place I've been staying for the last two months. That means pretty much every Saturday and Sunday morning I come to McDonald's where I get a free hour of internet and can get my fix for the day. Luckily for me I'm moving into an apartment tomorrow, complete with internet! Which means I should probably take this last morning at McDonald's to write a blog from the place that's been so good to me.

I've been listening to some older stuff lately, some of it not so old (like Local Natives) and some much more old (like Nina Simone and Jeff Buckley). Local Natives first album, Gorilla Manor, was actually one of my favorites in 2010, so definitely worth sharing with you guys.

And here's my favorite song, Shape Shifter.

So I actually didn't know this before, but these guys not only hail from Orange County, my own hometown, but they met at UCLA, my alma mater! Makes me love them even more. They have now rounded out my top 2 UCLA alum musicians list (the other being Sara Bareilles).

I really hope these guys make new music soon, but I haven't heard any word of that happening. So for now, here's Who Knows Who Cares, another wonderful song by them to keep you happy.

St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

St. Vincent is the stage name of one Annie Clark who, much like my favorite My Brightest Diamond, was once an Illinoisemaker for Sufjan Stevens. Also much like My Brightest Diamond, she released her 3rd album, Strange Mercy, last year. That's where the similarties between the two ladies end, though.

In my opinion, Strange Mercy is her best work so far, although there's nothing bad to be said about her old stuff. I mean, how can you say anything bad about a lady who titles a song Jesus Saves, I Spend?

Strange Mercy was very close to making it into my Top 10 Albums last year, so it's definitely worth sharing. You should of course listen to the whole album, but for now here are my two favorite songs, Cruel and Surgeon.

There's no video for Surgeon, so it's one of those where they just put a picture of her. To be honest, she kind of creeps me out. She's very pretty, but she looks like a doll. That's what creeps me out. Maybe just listen to it in the background instead of watching.

Avalanche City

So a couple months back I read a blog about the best of New Zealand music. Sadly, some of it was your general mainstream crap. But there were a few gems in there, and one of my favorites was Avalanche City. According to Wikipedia they're doing quite well for themselves in New Zealand, and I'm not at all surprised. My favorite song is Love Love Love, the title track off the band's debut album Our New Life Above The Ground. And it might just be one of the best music videos ever. See for yourself.

They also have an EP called Snow, which is relaly good, and I also love the title track off of this one. Both my favorite tracks are actually the first track on their album and EP. I love a good first track. This song reminds me of Snow Patrol in some ways, who I also happen to rather enjoy.

Youth Lagoon

So this is actually what I've been meaning to blog about. Finally got to it.

Youth Lagoon makes nice music and has an album called The Year of Hibernation that came out last year. My favorite song is July. Most of his songs are kind of the same, they start out pretty slow and quiet and then pick up. I guess it could get repetitive, but I like it a lot. Good music for relaxing.

He also has a song called Montana, which I only mention cause my sister lives there now. Well, it is also a good song and worth mentioning for that reason, I guess. Maybe it's the first single? Not sure, but there's an "official video" for it on youtube, so I guess it could be.