New band/material advice?

[HiFiFan]

I have been searching for ages to find some good new bands. I won't go through a full list but favorite bands include The Frames/Swell Season, Damien Rice, REM, Fleetwood Mac, Muse, Jewel, Bonnie Prince Billy, Snow Patrol, Anthony & The Johnsons, Natalie Merchant, Live, Linkin Park.

Lately we have tried Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, TV on the radio, Tired Pony, Mumford & Sons, Editors, and Mt. Desolation and though there have been some good tracks on the CDs on the whole they haven't grabbed us.

Anyway if anybody has any suggestions I'd love to hear about them
Thanks
James

[Claus]

All I can say is, I sort of hope you haven't been hit by the same bug that hit me... I just couldn't listen to new music anymore. I think it has to do with the production maybe, or just the sound that is in "fashion". I tried the Arcade Fire and liked it but got very tired of it very quickly. I could only listen to new Steve Earle, Waits, Dylan, Levon Helm and Neil (to a certain extent).... Otherwise it had to be classical, jazz, Muddy etc...

Then I was "saved" by Wilco! Someone mentioned them, and I bought their newest Wilco (The Album) and it IS (imho) the greatest album I have heard in ages. It takes a bit of effort - it has great depth and doesn't get boring after two listens. It sounds a bit poppy at first, but don't let that fool you either. Then buy Ashes of American Flags DVD. And then go on exploring through their amazing back catalogue.... Sky Blue Sky and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot are both brilliant as well.

Their Vicar Street gig remains one of the best shows I have ever seen. Lead guitar man, Nels Cline is a force of nature, that is worth the price of admission in itself....

I still only bought a few new albums since: Jason Molina with Will Johnson (ok, but not great) as I am a completist when it comes to Jason Molina/Songs:Ohia/Magnolia Electric Co...
I have really enjoyed Lucinda Williams last four or so albums. Great songwriting and a great lead guitarist in Doug Pettibone.

But no "new" bands unfortunately.... That I can think of... Hmmmm

[Fran]

A great album, very listenable.


Fran

[HiFiFan]

Thanks Guys. I am familiar with the names of both bands both not the music. I will try give them a listen over the next few weeks. I’m hoping Wilco pans out, it would be nice to find someone new to me with a good back catalog. I had a quick listen to 2 songs off “Sky at night” and it sounded promising.

Claus – I wonder have we reached that stage in life where at least I never expected to be. I remember when I was younger listening to music and my parents muttering “What’s that noise, that’s not music, .....” and saying to myself “I’ll never be like that ....”. Yet by and large here I am . Perhaps not to the same extreme but looking longingly towards the past.

[JAW]

I have been searching for ages to find some good new bands. I won't go through a full list but favorite bands include The Frames/Swell Season, Damien Rice, REM, Fleetwood Mac, Muse, Jewel, Bonnie Prince Billy, Snow Patrol, Anthony & The Johnsons, Natalie Merchant, Live, Linkin Park.

Lately we have tried Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, TV on the radio, Tired Pony, Mumford & Sons, Editors, and Mt. Desolation and though there have been some good tracks on the CDs on the whole they haven't grabbed us.

Anyway if anybody has any suggestions I'd love to hear about them
Thanks
James

I'm in the same boat myself. I'm starting to go towards other music, particularly Krautrock, which passed me by completely until now. If Dermot's reading this maybe he might suggest a few titles, (hint, hint). At the moment I'm listening to Tago Mago and Soon over Babaluma by Can, and finding both interesting and new. As regards guitar based stuff the relatively new bands that I play occasionally are Weezer and The Hold Steady. Just looking at the rack here and Cathy Davey is pretty good too.

[Ivor]

Tomorrow night's Tuesday Night Music Club will be a slice of new releases from 2010 and so might be of interest to seekers of new sounds.
9 - 11pm on http://www.dublinsouthfm.ie or 93.9fm if you're local and lucky enough to get a decent signal!

[Claus]

Claus – I wonder have we reached that stage in life where at least I never expected to be. I remember when I was younger listening to music and my parents muttering “What’s that noise, that’s not music, .....” and saying to myself “I’ll never be like that ....”. Yet by and large here I am . Perhaps not to the same extreme but looking longingly towards the past.

I started to fear that as well. But I still listen, with interest and delight, to very modern classical music (which my parents would describe as organized noise). I think it has to do with a developed appreciation of quality. I can't remember why but "Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" comes to mind.

I just think I can decipher music very easily now. Also the rebellion and identity project of youth is not so important any more (at 30 plus :) ). I suppose I sometimes long for the first time I heard Radiohead "The Bends" (my friend and I sat down to listen to it after my birthday - 19th - I think. We heard the whole album through without saying a word! Then we played it again while bouncing around cheering!) or Metallica, GN'R, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers etc, etc... I don't think it is possible to hear music in the same way as when I heard those bands for the first time. They spoke to me as a young person, in their own time (or age). Like Elvis, Bob, Neil etc did to the youths of their time (or age).

I do think that I have opened up towards older stuff in a way I would never have predicted: I have spent the last 5 years just slowly discovering Dylan without feeling the need for anything "new". He suddenly speaks to me after years of just associating him with my old Maths teacher and sitting around bonfires singing "Blowing in The Wind" :).

What I like about Wilco is their intelligence: They can write simple or complex, but always seem to work for the benefit of the song. They have a playfulness that is hard to tire of: Like mixing sounds and staying away from conventional song structures (when needed). Their front man Jeff Tweedy has a sense of humour that I think is rare in modern rock music. He seems to put the music ahead of himself, letting his own ego stay in the background.

I like Ryan Adams for the same reason: He is concerned with the quality of the songs, and keeps an incredibly high standard through an album. He is another artist I would recommend if you are not familiar already.... ;)

Sorry for the rant but this is interesting... Cheers for bringing the topic up! :)
Claus

[cybot]

I'm in the same boat myself. I'm starting to go towards other music, particularly Krautrock, which passed me by completely until now. If Dermot's reading this maybe he might suggest a few titles, (hint, hint). At the moment I'm listening to Tago Mago and Soon over Babaluma by Can, and finding both interesting and new. As regards guitar based stuff the relatively new bands that I play occasionally are Weezer and The Hold Steady. Just looking at the rack here and Cathy Davey is pretty good too.

Only seeing this now. Leave it with my Johnny and I'll try and come up with a few gems. Exploring new music is all I've ever done but I tend to keep my mouth shut as I'm very wary of recommending stuff to anyone....

[cybot]

Johnny,

Here's a few essentials for your KG (Krautrock Guitar) list:

Can : Soundtracks - specifically for Side 2
Cannibalism 1 - Terrific primer/compilation

Amon Duul 2 - Yeti - A stonewall classic with plenty of juicy guitar and other weird things :)

Popol Vuh - Einjaeger & Siebenjaegar - for Danny Fischelcher's sterling Telecaster work.

Faust - So Far - their most accessible album :)

Tangerine Dream - Richochet - First and best Live album - featuring Froese's guitar interjections.

Encore - Another Live one, this time from their American tour and featuring
all aspects of their slightly more easy listening style but still
compelling listening especially Side 3 - again Froese's guitar in
abundance - and Side 4 being the more experimental side.

Sorcerer - Their first and best soundtrack.

Footnote: Nobody has done more damage to the Tangs reputation than Froese himself with increasingly banal and pointless remixing of his group's back catalogue as well as releasing consistently poor albums over the past 30 years or so...



Agitation Free - Malesch

That'll do for time being...

Edit: Here's a link from the top 100 in Ultima Thule's list (See worthwhile links thread)...

http://home.btconnect.com/ultimathule/krautrock.html - note: the list is in alphabetical order....



Here they are in all their pictorial glory and in no particular order:

[jonnyone]

I have been searching for ages to find some good new bands. I won't go through a full list but favorite bands include The Frames/Swell Season, Damien Rice, REM, Fleetwood Mac, Muse, Jewel, Bonnie Prince Billy, Snow Patrol, Anthony & The Johnsons, Natalie Merchant, Live, Linkin Park.

Lately we have tried Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, TV on the radio, Tired Pony, Mumford & Sons, Editors, and Mt. Desolation and though there have been some good tracks on the CDs on the whole they haven't grabbed us.

Anyway if anybody has any suggestions I'd love to hear about them
Thanks
James

You could try these you won't be dissapointed