No Grave Like The Sea - One For Lyman (feat. Paul "Watty" Watson on cornet)

One of my favourite concert-going experiences is attending a concert for the headlining band just to find out that the opening band is equally as amazing. Two days ago I attended the If These Trees Could Talk concert. No Grave Like The Sea opened, and they blew me away. That night I don't see it as two openers (with Signal Hill) and a headliner, to me it was three headliners.

I had a great conversation with Benjamin (keyboards) after their soundcheck and prior to the show. We both agreed, there should be more brass... or generally more brass in instrumental rock. (Oooh, I just gave myself goosebumps imagining trombone in instrumental rock.)

Both Signal Hill and If These Trees Could Talk were superb. But I think my highlight of that evening was discovering a great band I didn't know about prior to the show.


Their EP currently only can be streamed or purchased at their concerts (it's in a really cool tin case with a parchment paper insert). The physical copy has the addition of this song, One For Lyman. Though, the trumpet cornet was just featured in the live show and the recording features non-lyrical vocals. I do hope their next album has some brass.
Edit: "Yes, brother there will be cornet on the record, that you can count on." -NGLTS Nicccccccce!


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La Bicicleta - Sombras Azules

As of late, I've been heavily into tango. Classic musicians like Carlos Di Sarli, Juan D'Arienzo, and Osvaldo Pugilese are the known greats. But my appetite is never satisfied even as great as the classics are. So, as usual, I have to do some tango exploration. There are some modern musicians that are sprouting with such vibrance and passion.

La Bicicleta is a tango trio from Berlin. Out of the modern tango musicians I've heard, these guys have struck me the most. The peaks and the valleys of their music has created some intense emotion. And while this music would most likely be considered undanceable due to the lack of discernable rhythm, I can't not dance to this. I dance to tango I feel. And oooh, do I feel this.


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(Their album, Tango Progresivo, is available on Bandcamp for purchase.)

123 - KDA

I come across a lot of phenomenal artists through my music discoveries. And sadly, a lot of these artists get forgotten after a period of time. But the other side of the fun of music discovery is rediscovery. I rediscovered 123 just recently and reminded myself what initially captured me. Their music resonates with such beauty that it penetrates my entire being. When I hear this song, even though I didn't listen to their music during my two week stay in Turkey, I'm instantly flooded with memories of walking through the outskirts of Samsun during the setting sun. I feel a warm sensation and a build-up of emotion when her voice is accompanied by harmonics.

One of my major regrets from my two month trip through Europe and Turkey last year was not getting to see 123 play. But that will be one of my biggest goals of my return trip.


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(Albums available for purchase on iTunes, links on their website.)

Arian Saleh - Wakeup

A couple weeks ago I went on an Iranian music binge, searching for as much as I could find. It was a difficult search, but there were some results that struck me. Arian Saleh's Wakeup struck me profoundly. Most of the lyrical music I listen to (that I can understand, in English) tend to be more toward the upbeat like Mammal Club or more emotional like Blank Maps. But this is the first I can recall listening to and feeling darker lyrical songs. The rest of Arian's music is already pretty downbeat. But wow... the frustration and darkness in this song is so intense.

Arian's diverse influences are brought out fairly clearly in his songs, with the gypsy-like Better in Blue and the tango-like Unspoken. Right when I thought I'd move on and listen to another artist I can't help but go, "Oh, I want to hear this one again... and this one..."


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(Arian Saleh's music is available on iTunes for purchase.)

Dosh - Loud

I've been out of it for the past several days. So what better way to be "in it" than to just to go head-first into some new music. This first started with something a little more familiar. I started listening to a little The Non some The Octopus Project, and from there I discovered this artist. This entire album (Tommy) is filled with an array of styles that all blend beautifully together. A little folk, a little hip-hop, jazz, alternative... it's nice. I'm totally digging this.


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(Albums available for purchase on Bandcamp, his Website, or Label and streamed on Spotify.)