Aug 23, 2009
This week on Soulful Sundays, I am showcasing the 2008 album from the Shinsight Trio – Shallow Nights Blurry Moon.
The main focus on this album for me was mainly the beats, because they are just so smooth, very much reminiscent of Nujabes and Kero One, definitely one of my new favourite albums. My list is growing way too large. The stream is below, hope you enjoy!
Aug 21, 2009
This week on Featured Album Friday, I am showcasing the 2009 album from As Tall As Lions – You Can’t Take It With You.
Here is the description of As Tall As Lions from their Last.FM:
After coming off the road in mid-2005, following months of touring in support of their Triple Crown debut, Lafcadio, Long Island-based band As Tall As Lions – vocalist/guitarist Daniel Nigro, guitarist Saen Fitzgerald, bassist Julio Tavarez and drummer Cliff Sarcona – spent more than half a year channeling their energies into crafting an album that would not only realize the lofty ambitions of these four young men but define them as a band, once and for all. The resulting self-titled album – released August 8, 2006 on Triple Crown/East West – provides dramatic evidence that they met this self-imposed challenge, and then some.
As Tall As Lions’ journey toward maturation began in casual fashion, the original version of the band forming around Fitzgerald while the members were still in high school. During the next few years, they endured the lineup changes and artistic roadblocks many young bands experience before taking their present, permanent form. But they still had some growing to do.
“When we started doing Lafcadio, we really didn’t understand what we were getting ourselves into – we were just kids” says Nigro. “We had made a couple demos, put them on the Internet and, after a couple of days, we had record labels calling us ready to sign the band. We all thought this whole band thing was going to come too easily after that. We dropped out of college and made As Tall As Lions our priority. At first, it was a tough adjustment. We’d never been on tour before, and getting used to life on the road was draining. I think we’ve all grown up a lot since then, and our attitude has changed for the better. We put everything we had into this new record and are extremely happy with how it came out.”
Fantastic album, the instrumentals and vocals are just a perfect match and it was so easy to listen to. I hope you enjoy, the stream is below!
Aug 16, 2009
This week on Soulful Sundays, I am showcasing the 2006 album from Aceyalone, accompanied by the one and only RJD2 – Magnificent City.
This is a fantastic album because the infectious back beats produced by RJD2 combined with the intelligent and pleasant-sounding emceeing of Aceyalone makes for one of the better albums I have ever heard. I loved it all the way through, and I hope you do too! The stream is below, enjoy!
Aug 14, 2009
This week on Featured Album Fridays, I am showcasing the 2009 album from Brendan Benson – My Old Familiar Friend.
Here is the description of Brendan Benson on his Last.FM:
Brendan Benson is a Detroit, Michigan born musician and singer-songwriter. He plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard and drums. He has released three solo albums and is a member of the band The Raconteurs.
His music is typically labeled as power pop, though he doesn’t completely agree. His major musical influences include The Cars, David Bowie, Electric Light Orchestra, Elvis Costello, The Kinks, Robyn Hitchcock, Paul McCartney, and Todd Rundgren.
His debut album, One Mississippi, was released in 1996 on Virgin Records. The album featured several contributions with Jason Falkner and gained many favourable reviews in the music press but failed to sell in sufficient numbers and Benson was dropped by Virgin.
It would be another six years until Benson issued the follow-up, Lapalco. Again the critical plaudits poured in but this time the record enjoyed a certain degree of commercial success.
While touring this record Benson played the Reading and Leeds Festivals and finished his Leeds set with a performance of the track “Jet Lag” featuring guest appearances from Meg White of The White Stripes along with members of The Datsuns and Soledad Brothers.
In 2003 Benson re-released his debut album along with bonus tracks including the unreleased six track extended player, Welfed Boy EP, featuring songs from a demo session with Falkner.
I really liked the upbeat feeling of most of the songs on My Old Familiar Friend, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. The stream is below, enjoy!
Aug 9, 2009
This week on Soulful Sundays, I am featuring the 2008 album from People Under The Stairs – FUN DMC.
This is a great album from People Under The Stairs, whom I discovered with this album, because of the broad variety of genres present in this album. It started off very jazzy and threw in bits of electronica and reggae to name a couple other genres. You should definitely give it a listen, the stream is below. Enjoy!
Aug 7, 2009
This week on Featured Album Fridays, I am showcasing the 2009 album from Canadian indie band The Coast – Expatriate.
Here is the description of The Coast from their Last.FM:
The Coast release their much-anticipated debut full-length, Expatriate, on Aporia this April in Canada and AUGUST 19 (JonLim: Hehe, whoops) in the United States. Recorded in winter 2007 in Toronto with producer Chris Stringer (We’re Marching On, Ohbijou), the album is a departure from the layered epics of their first EP, harnessing the off-the-floor energy of their live show and letting their signature hooky guitar melodies stand on their own.
The band was touted as one of the acts to watch in 2008 by Canada’s national music monthly Exclaim and Toronto’s Eye Weekly, thanks to the buzz that continued to grow as the band toured extensively across North America last year, playing alongside such acts as Tokyo Police Club, The Dears, Sam Roberts, The French Kicks, and a coveted CMJ showcase with Foals, A Place to Bury Strangers, and Le Loup.
“There was far more integration between writing and arranging this time around,” Spurr adds. “We stopped being so precious about the songwriting and let everyone bring their own strengths to each song.”
“When you’ve been in a band with friends you’ve been with since you were a kid, it can become a difficult thing, separating your creative relationship from your relationship as friends,” Melchoirre says. “I think that the writing and recording of this record required us all to be far more honest with each other about what we expected from one another musically and how we wanted to sound.
This is a great album and I haven’t stopped listening to it all day, and you should definitely support them because they are a Canadian band! From Toronto too! So the stream is below, enjoy. 
Aug 2, 2009
This week on Soulful Sundays, I am showcasing the 2007 album from Y Society – Travel at Your Own Pace.
Travel at Your Own Pace feels like a really old school hip-hop album with the very simple beats and great emcees. I loved listening to it, and so I hope you guys enjoy it too!
Jul 30, 2009
This week on Featured Album Fridays, I am showcasing the 2009 album of Passion Pit – Manners.
Here is the description of Passion Pit from their Last.FM:
Passion Pit is an electronic band that formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States in 2007. They consist of Michael Angelakos (vocals, keyboards), Ian Hultquist (keyboards), Ayad Al Adhamy (synth, samples), Jeff Apruzzese (bass) and Nate Donmoyer (drums). Passion Pit was a vocab word used in a class Mike took in school. It’s a slang word for a drive-in movie theatre where kids used to go to make out.
Michael played his first show sitting with his laptop and a microphone. Later, Ian approached Mike and asked him if he wanted to start a band. After a few line-up changes, Passion Pit was born.
The band’s debut Chunk Of Change EP originally had four songs and was recorded by Angelakos on his laptop. It was intended as a belated Valentine’s Day gift to his girlfriend. This set of songs was passed around Emerson College, where Angelakos was attending and caught the attention of many blogs. It was then released on September 16th, 2008 on Frenchkiss Records with two extra songs. The band’s debut album, entitled Manners, was released on May 19, 2009.
The song Sleepyhead contains samples of the song “Oro Mo Bhaidin” by Irish harpist Mary O’Hara. This song has been used in a Canadian PSP advertisement, MTVs ‘What the Flip?’ campaign and the television shows, Skins and Gossip Girl.
Passion Pit made their television debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday July 29, 2009 performing their song “The Reeling” from the album Manners.
Passion Pit is already a pretty popular band, but I am just completely enamoured by the album, so I had to include it. Their single ‘Sleepyhead’ has been stuck in my head for weeks, so I hope you enjoy as much as I have!
Jul 26, 2009
This week on Soulful Sundays, the 2008 album from Substantial – Sacrifice.
Definitely love this album, mellow jazz beats with great emceeing from the man himself, Substantial. Substantial has done quite a bit of work with Nujabes, which is how I learned of him, and I’ve been a fan for a long enough time. His lyrics are intelligent and he has a very relaxed flow, which complements the jazz in the background perfectly. The stream is below, enjoy!
Jul 24, 2009
This week on Featured Album Fridays, I am showcasing the debut album from Cold Cave – Love Comes Close.
Here is the description of Cold Cave from their Last.FM:
Cold Cave is an electronic music project led by its sole member Wesley Eisold (formerly of Some Girls, Give Up the Ghost, and XO Skeletons).
A little shorter description than I would have liked, but it just about sums it up: a great indie electronic pop band that has a fantastic sound. Check it out, stream is below. Enjoy!