Your Band of the Month

[duga]

I did a quick skim through the forum to figure out if there was anything like this already, so if I missed it I apologize.

Anyways, I'm sure we all listen to a ton of music all the time, but at any given stretch there is usually a band or album that I can't stop coming back to. I'll continue listening to other albums by other artists, but something keeps bringing me back to this one album and only after I've memorized all the lines and hooks will I let it rest. For a while. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

So, what band/album or even song have you been totally wearing out for the month? It can be old or new. Something you just found, or something you have rediscovered after a long time of not listening. We can start of January's.

My pick for January is Asobi Seksu.


I have not been able to stop listening to this band. Based in New York and fronted by a pretty hot Japanese singer, their band name is slang Japanese for playful sex. I got into their album Citrus last year and gave it a few listens. I really enjoyed it and this was a band I was happy to be a fan of. Citrus was a good dreampop/shoegaze blend with a few very strong singles. The songs 'Strawberries' and 'Thursday' are truly breathtaking. Yuki's voice is very dreamy and they succeed in creating incredible atmospheric jams during their finest moments. I decided to then check out their debut. Enjoyable, but not as strong as Citrus.

Then last November along came Hush. I'm not sure why I didn't listen to it until last month. Maybe it was because even though Citrus was very good, I didn't see enough skill to think they could top it. Well, I bit the bullet, put it on, and was subsequently mind ****ed. Hush is such a sexy album. Now focusing more on their work as a whole, Hush flows seamlessly from beginning to end. Citrus had very strong individual songs, but Hush begs to be listened to all the way through, only to leave you wanting more. Shifting their focus entirely to dreampop (very few big buzz guitar moments here), the atmospheric moments they achieved on Citrus are fully realized here. The album is consistently interesting not only because of the range of textures they use, but because they refuse to be predictable. Where you think they could continue jamming with the groove they have, they change the beat only to tear you into another world. And it is done with expertise. This is one of those bands that I am proud to have discovered if only because of the level of growth I can see in them. If they can move from Citrus to an album like Hush, I can't wait to see what else they can do.




So, there you have it. The band I couldn't stop listening to for January. And honestly, it has been bleeding into February, but I'm sure I'll have something else by the end of this month.

So, let's hear it, guys. What do you have?

[Stone Birds]

Broken Bells

[sidewinder]

Cool thread man. I'll have to think about this one, look through my play history and see who I've focused on the most this month.

[Dieselboy]

Agree, this is a great thread. I was actually thinking of something similar to this the other night.

For me in January it was all about this instrumental hip-hop release. I wrote a review for it in my journal (page 3), so if anyone's interested in everything I have to say about it then check there, but heres the album cover:





For a single song though...It would have to be Outlandish - Rock All Day, hands down. God knows how many times I actually heard this in entirety. Amazing song. Also discussed in my journal btw.

[loveissucide]

At this minute in time, Steely Dan, in particular the Aja album.

[sidewinder]

I would have to say for January and into February it has been Autechre (an experimental electronic music duo from Rochdale, England). I think this is partly due to the announcement of their new album, Oversteps, for March 23. Where many people can't wait for new releases and must grab a leak as soon as it's available, I utilize that time (along with keeping myself occupied with other artists) to revisit the back-catalog of said artist. Autechre is a group I've been into since the mid-late 90s I'd say, but they're a difficult one. Each album feels like a puzzle, where the task is to build melodies out of what might on the surface sound like a cold mechanical wasteland of noise. If you put it on as background music, some albums could hurt your brain pretty quickly, while others are more ambient and soothing yet still complex. So they demand a good deal of attention, and take a while to sink in. Not to mention an individual song basis, sounds build on other sounds to eventually develop into something...or sometimes not. But regardless, they make cool noises. I probably have never played any one of their albums more than 10 times each, and that's probably pushing it, 5 may be more realistic for some. So I don't know them inside and out like I would other albums by other artists, there is just so much in each album, it truly sounds very different on each listen. So waiting for a new album, which I hear is supposedly quite different and more 'obvious', is a great time to let the rest of their albums sink in a bit more. Here are some of my favorite releases, for the uninitiated willing to take a chance:

Amber, Tri Repetae, EP7, Draft 7.30



And a few awesome tracks not from those releases:

[Charlemagne]

Band of the Month for January: Tullycaft
Their music isn't complicated, it doesn't have any deep meaning, it's just fun, you can listen to it and it will put you in a good mood no matter how bad you are feeling. Their songs are full of quirky lyrics, pop culture references and humorous anecdotes about culture, their music is light, upbeat, poppy, something that can just be purely enjoyed, and that's perfect for me.

[khfreek]

The Blood Brothers

[gunnels]

I have two. :o
First one is Can.


Future Days has been put on nightly. It's ambient in a very strange way.

The second is fun.


Aim and Ignite has been put on almost daily, but for the opposite reason as Can. It's one of the most melody-packed and upbeat albums I own.

[mr_weed]

Zun Zun Egui

“Zun Zun Egui hail from Bristol but are from everywhere. They make a hypnotic blare-out sound that is making a joyful noise. Very on the corner, off its head and a blast. This is “tropicalism” but with an influence of subterranean shaped rock edges and quick edits, Japanese progressive epicness and a heavy dose of Fela Kuti inspired eternal groove. East African guitar practise hotwired to Zappa-like subversions and underpinned by a thumping rhythm section sounds hot. This is where the wild music lives on. Political, inspirational and dance floor friendly.”

Saw this lot support The Ex & Brass Unbound (Mats Gustaffson, Wolter Weirbos, Ken Vandermark and Rick Paci) a couple of weeks back and they were mesmerising. They only have a two track single released in 2008 and a three track EP released late last year to their name at the moment.