Update time!
Peter Broderick - How They Are
I've always been quite the Peter Broderick fan, even before he was cool. I discovered him pretty soon after I began to broaden my horizons. EDM, Black metal, and all the stuff I used to listen to in the 90s just wasn't cutting it. Little did I know he would be the one that put me on to folk music, which would then put me on to some of my all time favorite albums.
What's bizarre is that I got two albums from him, listened to them, loved them, but then he sort of drowned in the wave of new music I got. With the amount of new material I was getting, I just sort of overlooked him. Today I rediscovered him. And for the record, I have to thank the fact that I've had to scour new blogspots for new music, because it's become increasingly difficult to find stuff I truly enjoy. HELP.
In the off chance you're not familiar with him (which I just don't see as possible), his sound is a sort of amalgamate of folk and modern classical (and is especially heavy on piano). Some of it is instrumental, some of it includes his own vocals. Consider yourself caught up.
Now, about this specific album. Well, for starters, this album is easily my favorite of his. It starts out with him singing without any instruments accompanying his voice, which creates one hell of a dramatic opening. It gets friendlier. And I think that's what I enjoy so much about his music. It's not "weird" or "bizarre", and I have enough of that already. He's just sticking to his own sound, which I think he does especially well on this one.
I think my personal favorite from the album is Human Eyeballs on Toast. I think his voice, mixed with the tone of the song, creates such a beautifully happy combination. It's one of those songs you can't listen to without a smile. I need more of those. The last song, dedicated to his friend and fellow amazing artist Nils Frahm, is especially beautiful. I knew they collaborated, but had no idea that they were so close. They actually have a side project called Oliveray, and have just recently came out with an album. From what I've heard, it's unbelievable. Best believe I'll be getting my hands on that.
The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
When I initially saw the album art and album title, I admit that I initially thought it was going to be a forgettable post-rock album. I'm happy that I ended up being wrong. And I was
very wrong.
As I mentioned earlier, I like friendly music. I like weird music. I
love when the two find a happy medium. This is one of those albums. What is it exactly? Think big band music being played with a vinyl's static and warmth. Some of them are easily recognizable as having that big band sound, but in some of the songs it sounds almost as if it's buried, or if as if you were listening to it from a distance. I've never heard anything like it. I'm so enamored. It's like spending a dark snowy night in the city. I don't want to say anything else about it. Just get it.