James Vincent McMorrow

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James was a drummer before switching to the lead-singer/song-writer role. Hailing from Dublin, Ireland- McMorrow started playing pubs & uploading his music to MySpace- all of which was well-received. For a taste of this time period, I would recommend the song "Like The River" which I believe best encapsulates this time period in McMorrow's early recording career. 2008 saw the release of The Sparrow and The Wolf E.P. After that, he held himself in a cabin to write songs, songs like "The Old Dark Machine," that would eventually become his 2011 debut album Early in the Morning. Think five-part harmony, acoustic guitars, and heart-wrenching & chillingly beautiful melodies. McMorrow would head to El Paso, TX and add some studio charm for his second album, 2014's Post Tropical. This was the album where I jumped on board as a fan and discovered this amazing Irish singer-songwriter. I was amazed by the beautiful vocals and melodies which captured a a beautiful kind-of sound; a pristine quiet. Post Tropical found McMorrow going from simple-guitar-folk to brighter arrangements, more electronic keyboards, & (my favorite) cymbals (CRASH)! And so much more: smooth harmonies! flourishing horns! Did I mention the crashing cymbals?! The strongest instrument, of course, is James' powerful & vibrant voice. 2016 brought his third album, We Move, which proved McMorrow's love (& debt) to the R&B and synth-pop world. Less than ten-months later he would release 2017's True Care, another ambitious, reverent record. An album so scatter-shot that you can't help but admire it. 2018 saw McMorrow welcoming the birth of his first child as well as releasing the single "Me And My Friends." His fifth album, 2021's Grapefruit Season, is set to be released Sept. 17th. McMorrow released the single "Paradise" in support of the project. As awesome as avocados...

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James Vincent McMorrow

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The Band

19 The Band The Band First known as the Hawks, the Band got their initial fame as Bob Dylan’s backing band. Remember when Bob Dylan sold out and went electric, angering fans so much that they called him “ Judas ”? Well, you can thank all of that to the Band. For a band that sounds so fucking American (seriously- no band has done the whole Americana roots music better than the Band) it’s pretty funny most of them were Canadian. After finally branching out on their own in 1968, the Band would release some of the best music ever recorded… and if you thought the Beatles had a hell of a run- check out the Band’s discography: 1968’s Music From Big Pink , 1969’s self-titled The Band , 1970’s Stage Fright , 1971’s Cahoots , 1972’s live-album Rock of Ages , 1973’s Moondog Matinee , 1975’s Northern Lights -Southern Cross , and 1977’s Islands. Lynard Skynard may have taken the crown for greatest southern rock band, but for a band full of Canadians and Americans, the Band really embraces a...

Crystal Castles

61 Crystal Castles Crystal Castles If you ever wondered what it would sound like if the video-game character Mario was catapulted through a plate-glass window- you'd get close to describing Crystal Castles. Cut up vocals and soothing waves of synth, live shows known for "fan riots, crowd surges, and metal barriers destroyed" Toronto electronic-punk-bleep-pop duo Crystal Castles is music that could only be made in the post-modern / post-millennium era, with a fan base that remembers the 8-bit era. Some dance music is meant to be played in the dark, but few dance bands bring their own darkness. This is dance music for sociopaths. Crystal Castles is the brain-child of Ethan Kath. The band began as a Kath solo project in 2003, but the producer recruited a 15-year-old Alice Glass to add vocals. Glass recorded rough soundcheck vocals for five tracks, which were secretly recorded by an en engineer, and Kath uploaded the material un der the name Crystal Castles. After rele...

FKA twigs

99 FKA twigs FKA twigs FKA twigs is the brain-child of Tahliah Barnett. Under her stage-name of FKA twigs (which I'll just refer to her as twigs from here-on-out) she has released three EP’s (2012’s EP1 , 2013’s EP2 , and 2015’s incredible M3LL155X EP ) and two albums (2014’s LP1 & 2019’s Magdalene ). With someone with such a small catalogue, it's amazing how dense and rich this music is. Before Billie Eilish made the whole whisper-singer mainstream last year, twigs was already releasing down-tempo-trip-hop-whisper-sung music back in 2012. That is when she released her debut, EP1 . twigs hqd been studying dance since the age of six, but deep down, she knew she always wanted to be a recording artist so she eventually left the dancing behind (in a way [dance has always been a big part of her project]) to focus on her music project. However, limiting to just a music project is doing it an injustice in labeling. It’s more of a visual-dancing-art project. Ever ev...

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