Tennis

I have been inexcusably neglectful as of late! Life has not been busy, necessarily... but it's been rather strange. I've been feeling rather strange, at least. I have felt very apathetic about many things, mainly my schoolwork... and writing coherent blog posts. April rolled around too fast and I was caught unprepared with no artist of the month and instead of buckling down to pick one, it became the elephant in the room {AKA my brain}.
The choice was obvious, really. But as I said I've been feeling apathetic blahblahblah. But, better late than never, right? So, finally, I bring the you April's artist of the month, Tennis!



Tennis is married couple, Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley. This year they released their debut album, Cape Dory, which has a pretty awesome backstory. After saving money for four years, they bought a sailboat and basically ran away from home for eight months. They sailed around the Atlantic coastline, adventuring and also writing the songs which were later to make up their album. Consequently, they have created the most sun-drenched, ocean-soaked record I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Their music is perfect for summer or listening to when one has spring fever {which I've been diagnosed with :P}. What's also cool is they recorded it the "old school way" so it sounds like it stepped out of a 1950's or 60's jukebox. Read this interview with Alaina Moore on emusic to learn more about the recording of the album and also why their cover art looks the way it does. ;)

The title track, 'Cape Dory', is probably my favourite song off the album. I've found I'm a sucker for a good "sha-la-la"!

Listen:

Lisa

Get your ears ready folks! Today I am sharing my favourite song of the past couple months, 'Lisa' by The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers.


Quite a band name, non? (From hereinafter, I shall refer to them as "The Prayers and Tears" for brevity's sake.)
According to their myspace, The Prayers and Tears are "an incomprehensible mess of a band, comprised of the various members, benefactors, patron saints, and onlookers of the bu_hanan collective". But as best I can figure out, the root of The Prayers and Tears is Perry Wright.
You can go check out their website if you would like. You can even get some free dowloads there, including the EP that contains the song I am posting today!

'Lisa' is a song they recorded for Esopus Magazine back in 2005. I just happened to come across this song on another blog and I am so glad I did because, well, I love it. I love everything about it... the somber, subdued vocals; the slightly out-of-tune piano; the plaintive violin; the lyrics that make your heart ache... All these things add up to make a pretty special song.

I actually think I downloaded the song before I listened to it. The first time I heard it I was a bit distracted and there were other noises so I couldn't really hear it. But later, in the midnight stillness, I listened to it while lying in bed and was amazed.

The lyrics are definitely one of the highlights for me. I would recommend listening very carefully to them or reading along. {One of the commenters on that lyrics site I just linked, says that he remembers [whoever wrote the song - Perry, presumably] saying the song was about "an adult sending a letter back to his eight year-old self." Whether or not that is true, that is my favourite interpretation of this song.

Listen:

Foreign Slippers

So... um, sorry for only posting twice in February. I was going to post again but I had forgotten how short February is and I ran out of days. I figured I would just forget about posting again and instead actually post my "Artist of the Month" on time for once! Quelle idée! ;)

Apparently I've been listening to a lot of great EPs lately. If you'll notice, the last three artists of the month have all had EPs that I've loved. Hmm...
Though I did not do this on purpose, you'll be happy to know I'm am keeping that trend alive with Foreign Slippers as the artist of this month!

{No, I have no idea what she has on her head. I think it looks pretty awesome, regardless.
Also, picture was found here. Since I actually found it on someone's photostream and not just randomly on google, I though I'd give credit.}

Foreign Slippers is Gabrielle Fröden (with Phil Wilkinson on drums). She was born in Sweden but is based in London. So far she has released two EPs: Oh Death and It All Starts Now. I was not aware of the latter's existence till yesterday. You can download it for free here. Actually, I am listening to it for the first time as I type this. Incredible, right? So far it sounds great!

I suppose it goes without saying that it is her Oh Death EP I am familiar with. I first came across her music a few months ago. Her song 'Packed the Car' was the first I heard and let's just say, I was instantly hooked. Soon afterward I downloaded the full EP. Her music is full of nostalgia, quiet longing and absolute beauty. Oh Death is perfect for listening to while sitting by the fireside and dreaming of past, warmer days.

Listen to 'Packed the Car':

Something or other.

The lovely alabee at Carpenter St. has given me a blog award!

Alright, so I have post seven facts about myself and then pass it on to like 100 million other people which I am not going to do because I'm regrettably lame like that.

But I thought I'd make the seven facts about myself related to music because... I'm awesome like that. ;)


1. I took piano lessons for about 8 years. {I started when I was 7 ½.} When I was around 9 I wanted to stop playing but my mum wouldn't let me. Hands down the best decision she’s ever made for me. ;)
But she encouraged me to stop in my mid-teens when I was no longer enjoying the lessons. And I play the piano more now that I've stopped taking lessons.

2. I love harmony; listening to it, singing it. I just love it. I've been singing in a girl’s ensemble for four years. I used to sing the Soprano part but I switched to Second Soprano and am now much happier and comfortable.

3. I announced in my pre-teen years that I would only listen to Classical music and nothing else. My favourites were Vivaldi, Tchaikovky, and Beethoven. It didn't last long, though. When I was eleven I started listening to artists like Switchfoot and Thousand Foot Krutch. {My favourite TFK song was 'Rawkfist'...? Yeah. I have no idea.}

4. If I had not become obsessed with the Beatles I would not be here blogging today. Why? Because of the Beatles I started listening to other 60’s music and from there I went on to listen to obscure 60’s music and from there - indie music. Voila!

5. I cannot stand really loud music. I have sensitive hearing so I keep my music low thankyouverymuch. {Hopefully this means when I'm old I won't be deaf like the rest of my generation will be... :P}

6. I hate the popular, inane, overproduced sound that passes for music these days. If I have to listen to the radio, I choose the 60's/70's station. Yes, I am a music snob. I am more open than I used to be but there are still a few music genres I can't stand. {e.g. Rap, Southern Gospel, Country... &c.}

7. For a couple of years my two younger brothers and I had a band where I {or younger brother #2} played the piano and we all sang along in high-pitched voices. We recorded three albums in our too short career. Regrettably we broke up… but not before we started a rumour/conspiracy theory that one of our bandmates had died. We hid many clues to this alleged death in our last album. {Hm, I wonder what that’s a parody of?}

Well, that's all for now. Oh, yeah. Happy Valentine's Day and all that. I would embed the music video for my favourite love song right here but blogspot isn't letting me right now {and I am too lazy to upload the file.} But you can go over and watch it on youtube if you want. It's 'Something' by The Beatles. {Quelle surprise. :P}

Peter and the Wolf

Ah, yes. Tis that time of month again, wot? And the artist of the month for this fine February is Peter and the Wolf.

{Gear picture, no?}

It is a little bit confusing trying to find information on Peter and the Wolf. There is a band called Peter and the Wolf from Texas and another from Liverpool. Not to mention the original, musical composition, Peter and the Wolf. {Which brings back such memories since I used to watch the Disney version when I was a child. I could probably still hum each character's theme!}

Anyhow, the Peter and the Wolf that I am talking about is the one from Liverpool. They are fronted by Marc Sunderland who sings lead, plays quite a few of the instruments and writes many {or possibly all} of the songs. But he gets "a little help from his friends", Hugo Harrison {who plays the double bass} and Donna Dosanjh {who plays the drum and sings back-up}.

I really don't know how to define their music. Folk Rock would probably be the closest I could come. Of course, their debut album, Golden Stars, {released last month} sounds more rock than folk while their 2006 EP Storyteller sounds more folk than rock.
I have only listened a little to their new album but Storyteller I am quite familiar with. In fact, I love it!
Storyteller is an apt name for the EP for each song is, indeed, a story. The lyrics give life to characters and short vignettes that are backed by catchy melodies and an uncluttered production sound. My only complaint is that it is so brief, having only 5 songs and being only about 16 minutes long.


Listen to 'Tommy' {from Storyteller}: