Michael Cera

Yes, that is George Michael. Yes, that is Scott Pilgrim. Yes, that is none other than Michael Cera. The pathetically awkward but loveable actor who has appeared in every single one of your favourite movies. He dropped an album on his Bandcamp a few days ago. And holy shit, it's actually pretty good. He takes a lo-fi, experimental approach to indie folk music. He makes full use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synths, and numerous samples, plus distant, warbly vocals. Most of these tracks sound like quick demos of ideas (a lot are instrumental), though most are interesting and benefit from their brevity. He delivers quite a few standout songs, which are catchy, melodic, and distinct, showing off his songwriting skills in addition to the experimentation. Overall this thing is fucking great, both as a novelty and a legitimate album. Just listen. He also played in a band called The Long Goodbye, so you might want to go give them a listen as well. Enjoy.

true that (2014)

1. uhohtrouble

2. Moving In

3. Clay Pigeons - Blaze Foley cover

4. What Gives (...I can't live like this)

5. Of A Thursday

6. Too Much

7. Steady now

8. Gershy's Kiss

9. Humdrummin

10. 2048

11. Ruth

12. Old Grey Whistle

13. Brat

14. ohNadine  (you were in my dream)

15. Sexy Danger

16. Kettle

17. Smoke Eyes

18. Those Days

19. Play It Again - Roderick Falconer cover

20. Cher holders

21. silent struggle (I was blind)

Bandcamp

Prawn

Here's a band that  got me thinking "Why the hell weren't they on here already?" And I'm sure many of you feel the same way, so enjoy!

Prawn are a five-piece band from Ridgewood, New Jersey that formed in 2007. These guys have quickly risen to being one of the forerunners of the modern midwestern emo scene, and are currently signed to Topshelf Records. This is for a good reason, of course, this is an incredible band with a very blended sound. At their core, they are basically the modern incarnation of Braid or Christie Front Drive (despite the fact that both those bands literal incarnations). Therefore, Prawn are often associated with many of the bands in this modern scene (Joie De Vivre, Into It. Over It., Dowsing, yadayadayada). In some ways, they are very akin to this sound. The emotionally driven vocals, clean guitar tone, and math-rockish twinkly melodies, are staples in the genre. But at times, Prawn has more in common with Explosions In The Sky than American Football. The band takes a ton of post-rock influences, in their dynamics, reverb-heay sound, chord shapes, tremolo picking, layered guitar sounds, etc. Throw in some elements of indie rock and voila! You have Prawn. If you're looking for technically proficient, energetic music with an emotional edge, you're in the right place. This band has released some amazing material to date, they just put out a new album which is getting lots of (deserved) love, as is everything they've done up to this point.

False Institutions (2009)

1. Nightmares

2. Thousand Grains of Sand

3. Courage Kills Men

4. Arctic Foxes

5. Family Tree

Tour Tape 2010 (2010)

1. Clever Hands

2. Sammy

3. At Dawn We Left

You Can Just Leave It All (2011)

1. At Dawn We Left

2. Wesley's Pipe Dreams

3. Get Down

4. Sammy

5. Clever Hands

6. Horizontal

7. Perfect Equilibrium

8. Slaying A Paper Tiger

9. Questions For Dome Chomsky

10. Transcendental Deduction (Copernican Turn)

Short Stay, Long Road (2011)

1. Your One Is My Half Mile

2. Spring River

Ships (2012)

1. Costa Rica

2. Grass And Bones

3. Donald Domesky

4. Spring River

5. Praxis

6. Two Ships

Kittyhawk/Prawn/Droughts/Frameworks (2014)

1. Kittyhawk - Daily Dodger

2. Kittyhawk - Food Fight

3. Prawn - Nerves

4. Prawn - Laki

5. Droughts - Deaf Grin

6. Droughts - Financed Furniture

7. Frameworks - Presomnal

8. Frameworks - Preamble

Joie De Vivre/Prawn (2014)

1. Joie De Vivre - Martin Part

2. Joie De Vivre - Tenstopet

3. Joie De Vivre - Good Morning Mr. Franklin

4. Prawn - Why You Always Leave A Note

5. Prawn - Fracture

Kingfisher (2014)

1. Scud Running

2. First as Tragedy, Second as Farce

3. Prolonged Exposure

4. Dialect Of...

5. Old Souls

6. Glass, Irony

7. Absurd Walls

8. Thalassa

9. Runner's Body

10. Halcyon Days

Settled (2014)

1. Settled

2. Built For

Moving Mountains/Prawn (2015)

1. Moving Mountains - Abby Normal

2. Moving Mountains - Deathless

3. Prawn - Slopes

4. Prawn - Seas

Run (2017)

1. Hunter

2. Snake Oil Salesman

3. North Lynx

4. Cricket In The Yard

5. Hawk In My Head

6. Empty Hands

7. Short Stern

8. Rooftops

9. Leopard's Paw

10. Greyhound

11. Split Logs

Facebook

Bandcamp

Topshelf

Mat Kerekes

Big thanks to Jacob Shumaker for the help with this post!

Mat Kerekes is best known as the lead singer of Citizen. This is his solo acoustic stuff, which gets requested a ton. So, here you go! He just dropped his first official EP this year. In addition to that, he's been doing a few tracks here and there since 2011, as well as a handful of covers. He also has two splits out that are both done with his brother, Chris Kerekes. Enjoy!

Fall Sampler 2012 (2012)

17. The Worst

Mat & Chris Kerekes 2 Song Split (2013)

1. Mat Kerekes - Good To Be

2. Chris Kerekes - Where I Don't Belong

Off The Board: A Studio 4 Family Compilation (2013)

18. Wisteria

Songs From 2011-2013 (2013)

1. Calling Quits

2. Better Off

3. Heart of Gold

4. Goodbyes

5. 2am

6. Drive

7. Sunday Night

8. Home

9. May

10. Silver Bill

Winter Split (2014)

1. Mat Kerekes - About-Face

2. Mat Kerekes - Clegg Road

3. Mat Kerekes - In Every Inch, In Every Mile

4. Mat Kerekes - Aloe

5. Mat Kerekes - The Sound Of Mislay

6. Chris Kerekes - On Your Way (August Orders)

7. Chris Kerekes - Hannah-Rose

8. Chris Kerekes - To The Sky

9. Chris Kerekes - Clover

10. Chris Kerekes - The Sidewalk

The Midnight (2014)

1. The Midnight

Mat Kerekes (2014)

1. Forgiveness

2. For The Month

3. Reach

4. Forgiveness (Demo Version)

5. For The Month (Demo Version)

6. Reach (Demo Version)

Luna & the Wild Blue Everything (2016)

1. The Clubs/The People's Attention

2. Direction

3. My Lucky #3

4. In Every Inch, In Every Mile

5. Bosque Verde

6. Canvas

7. Riding In Your Car

8. From None

9. ...For Anyone

10. The Means Of ( )

Ruby (2019)

1. Ruby

2. Diamonds

3. Young

4. Autumn Dress

5. They Appear At Night

6. Hawthorne

7. Welcome To Crystal Cres

8. Spider Silk

9. One For The Wildflowers

10. An Ode

Amber Park (2020)

1. Amber Park

2. 20**

3. Low

4. Marie

5. A Moment

6. Someday I Will Lose You

Songs For Breanne (2021)

1. Blush

2. Breanne

3. Dogwood

4. Turn Back

5. Steven's Creek

Covers

Counting Crows (Mr. Jones cover)

The Freshman (The Verve Pipe cover)

Have You Ever Seen The Rain (CCR cover)

Here's Looking At You Kid (The Gaslight Anthem cover)

Me vs Maradona vs Elvis (Brand New cover)

Okay, I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't (Brand New cover)

Terrible Things (Mayday Parade cover)

Untitled 01 (Fight Off Your Demons) (Brand New cover)

The Wedding Singer (Cover)

Bandcamp

Keaton Henson

"You're my best friend, and I'll love you 'til one of us dies"

Gentle, delicate, beautiful. Heartbreaking. Keaton Henson is a solitary man from London, England, and he is an artist in every possible use of the term. Visual, literary, musical, genius. However, as astounding as his entire body of work is, it's his music that is the focal point here. Keaton soundtracks feelings of isolation, loneliness, loss, and longing. He details events in his own life, covering everything from his own anxieties to failing relationships. His topics may not be all that optimistic, but in these sorrowful songs, one can find comfort in realising that they are not alone in their feelings, even in loneliness itself. He conveys his lyrics in his hushed, quivering voice. It sounds like a child shivering under their covers during a storm, but with the pain known only to a man who has lived too much. And the result is emotionally astounding. His musical backing is usually just his guitar, which is usually fairly simple, but with such elegantly raw tones. The chords, dynamics, and overall tone is truly the sound of a guitar while it "gently weeps". He makes beautiful use of vibrato and fingerpicking patterns, with unconventional chord structures and tunings. This description sounds very folk-y, which to an extent, it is. But very somber, modern, and unique to him. Other instruments are used frequently to expand upon his skeletal haunting sound, which turn his songs into quiet, melancholic tunes into orchestrated sadness in swelling motions, crashing into the listener. Listening to Keaton, a layer of skin is taken off, and it's almost as if the vulnerability he displays in parallelled in you, as you feel yourself open up to your own feelings and the connection you make with his. This is a stunning musical experience, and one I highly suggest you try. Enjoy everything below, and hopefully find solace in knowing you are not the only one that relates to this.

Metaphors (2011)

1. Metaphors

2. Judging Books By Their Covers

Don't Be Afraid (2011)

1. Don't Be Afraid

Dear (2011)

1. Prologue

2. You Don't Know How Lucky You Are

3. Charon

4. Oliver Dalston Browning

5. Sarah Minor

6. Small Hands

7. Flesh And Bone

8. Nests

9. Not That You'd Even Notice

10.  Party Song

The Lucky EP (2012)

1. You Don't Know How Lucky You Are

2. To Your Health

3. Mary Celeste

4. Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover)

B-Sides And Rarities (2012)

1. Strawbear

2. All Things Must Pass

3. Sophie

4. Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover)

5. You Were Always On My Mind

Birthdays (Deluxe Edition) (2013)

1. Teach Me

2. 10am Gare du Nord

3. You

4. Lying To You

5. The Best Today

6. Don't Swim

7. Kronos

8. Beekeeper

9. Sweetheart, What Have You Done To Us?

10. In The Morning

11. Milk Teeth

12. If I Don't Have To

13. On The News

Sand (2014)

1. Sand

Romantic Works (2014)

1. Preface

2. Elevator Song

3. Healah Dancing

4. Field

5. Josella

6. Petrichor

7. Earnestly Yours

8. Nearly Curtains

9. Emissary

Website

Timber Timbre

Timber Timbre are a four-piece indie/folk/blues band from both Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec (both in Canada) that formed in 2005. The band has since then released a total of five albums. Their sound has progressed quickly in that time, both due to artistic advancement and production quality. The band's sound is often defined by their ethereal, baritone vocals, which sounds like that of the greats (Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits), with a more modern touch of Nick Cave and Jeff Buckley (though those could also be classified as "greats"). The vocals are intimate, but laden with reverb and an entrancing persona. This could be said about the entire band, actually. The bass and drums jam along at mid-tempo, creating a walking/slight swaying vibe, displaying the blues influence. The other instruments, often keyboards and guitars, and occasionally strings/horns, add layer upon layer to the basis of each song. This makes them distinct, and gives each song its own characteristic while filling up a lot of space. This is a major reason I am so into this band. They make very filling songs without sound too complex or cramped. There's a fullness to it, but there's room for every instrument to breath. Basically what this band does is take the down-trodden, dark aspect of blues, the chords and storytelling of folk, a tinge of psychedelia with the reverb/tremolo sounds, and mix it with the modern experimentation and production of indie rock. As far as their modern comparisons, bands such as Broken Social Scene, M. Ward, The National, and Editors could be some examples. Though Timber Timbre certainly has a sound very distinct to that of the aforementioned. This is a great band that more people need to hear. If you're new to them, check out their most recent material and work your way back. Enjoy.

Cedar Shakes (2006)

1. So Much

2. Home

3. Mercy

4. Cedar Shakes

5. As Angels Do

6. Black Creek Drive

7. It's Only Dark

8. I'm A Long Way

9. Each Good House

Medicinals (2007)

1. Window Talk

2. There Is A Cure

3. Devil's Dress

4. Like A Mountain

5. Beat The Dead Horse

6. Under Your Spell

7. It Comes Back To Haunt Us

8. Werewolf

9. Oh Messiah

10. Patron Saint Hunter

Timber Timbre (2009)

1. Demon Host

2. Lay Down In The Tall Grass

3. Until The Night Is Over

4. Magic Arrow

5. We'll Find Out

6. I Get Low

7. Trouble Comes Knocking

8. No Bold Villian

Creep On Creepin' On (2011)

1. Bad Ritual

2. Obelisk

3. Creep On Creepin' On

4. Black Water

5. Swamp Magic

6. Woman

7. Too Old To Die Young

8. Lonesome Hunter

9. Do I Have The Power

10. Souvenirs

Hot Dreams (2014)

1. Beat The Drum Slowly

2. Hot Dreams

3. Curtains!?

4. Bring Me Simple Men

5. Resurrection Part II
6. Grand Canyon

7. This Low Commotion

8. The New Tomorrow

9. Run From Me

10. The Three Sisters

Website

Facebook

Mineral

Here's a post that is long overdue, on one of the best bands ever that everyone should hear.

Mineral are a four-piece emo/indie band from from Houston, Texas that was around from 1994-1997. In their time, they put out two perfect albums and numerous other releases. These guys not only pioneered but mastered the indie/emo sound of that era. That influence is still felt today, with tons of amazing bands around today existing pretty much solely because of what bands like Mineral did. Other bands akin to them are Sunny Day Real Estate, Texas Is The Reason, Christie Front Drive, etc. As amazing as all those bands are, Mineral still was not exactly like them. Beautiful guitar arpeggios, poetic lyrics, melodies that hook you in, and Chris Simpson's angelic voice define Mineral's sound. I dare you to listen to their music and not chills. It won't happen. Their music hits highs that not many band's can. Their songwriting, playing style, vocals and lyrics, everything, is perfectly crafted. And that is no hyperbole. They managed to reach perfection, and will continue to stun and inspire audiences with what they made in the short time they were around. And the best part is, they are around again! In 2014, they announced a reunion tour, as well as reissues of their two album and compilation CD of all their music, some of it which has never been out before. Their legacy will be preserved for a long time, and to anyone who has yet to hear them, enjoy, and I truly mean that. Mineral is a gift to all those that get to hear them. After their initial breakup, their members formed quite a few different bands, some of the best and most notable being The Gloria Record and Pop Unknown. But still, Mineral are the legends. Enjoy.

Gloria/Parking Lot (1994)

1. Gloria

2. Parking Lot

The Power Of Failing (1997)

1. Five, Eight, And Ten

2. Gloria

3. Slower

4. Dolorosa

5. 80-37

6. If I Could

7. July

8. Silver

9. Take The Picture Now

10. Parking Lot

Mineral/Jimmy Eat World/Sense Field (1997)

1. Mineral - Crazy (Willie Nelson cover)

2. Jimmy Eat World - Secret Crush

3. Sense Field - Every Reason

(Don't Forget To) Breathe (1997)

11. Rubber Legs

The First Crush Compilation (1997)

3. Sadder Star

February/M.D. (1998)

1. February

2. M.D.

&Serenading (1998)

1. &Serenading

2. Love My Way (Psychedelic Furs cover)

EndSerenading (1998)

1. Lovelettertypewriter

2. Palisade

3. Gjs

4. Unfinished

5. ForIvadell

6. Wakingtowinter

7. Aletter

8. Soundslikesunday

9. &serenading

10. Thelastwordisrejoice

The Complete Collection Disc 1 (2010)

Disc 1

1. Five, Eight, And Ten

2. Gloria

3. Slower

4. Dolorosa

5. 80-37

6. If I Could

7. July

8. Silver

9. Take The Picture Now

10. Parking Lot

11. Rubber Legs

12. February

13. M.D.

The Complete Collection Disc 2 (2010)

1. Lovelettertypewriter

2. Palisade

3. Gjs

4. Unfinished

5. ForIvadell

6. Wakingtowinter

7. Aletter

8. Soundslikesunday

9. &serenading

10. Thelastwordisrejoice

11. Love My Way (Psychedelic Furs cover)

12. Crazy (Willie Nelson cover)

Note: This was released in Japan only. The upcoming discography album will contain more, and I'll upload it here as soon as I can.