Tuesday Tunes--August 23, 2016
Shaun Cordingley
This week with Tuesday Tunes we have our first (two), non-Beck related artists returning to the list, as well as a couple of newbies (in terms of on the list...) in what is largely eclectic, worldly, if not with one eye toward the autumn list.
I know, it's early to talk about autumn, but August is almost over, so we need to start facing facts...and the fact that there are a lot of leaves changing around my house....
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any of these songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new and different music, or re-expose them to things they may have forgotten about.
At the top of each section, will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website, so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.
Silver & Gold - WILD
This is literally the third time that I've pitched a song by Los Angeles based indie folk trio WILD (first was in December with "Bonnie and Clyde", and again in March with "Vagabond"), but just last month they released a new EP titled All We'll Ever Have, so you'll just have to enjoy more of their wonderful, warm harmonic folk-pop. "Silver & Gold" is yet another example of just how good this group is; perfectly layered, well produced, and the combination of traditional (and modern) folk tropes, with a heavy dose of acoustic guitar, "Silver & Gold" should be in every folk fans playlist.
Seriously folk fans, we need to start loving WILD as much as they deserve, because they just keep releasing great music month after month.
Put Your Hands Up - The Struts
Do I really need to say anything else about The Struts?
We first talked about them in October of 2015 (literally the second week I was doing Tuesday Tunes) with their first couple of tracks (before they were super well known over here, but you know, still opening for the Rolling Stones in Paris), and then again in February of this year with "Dirty Sexy Money" before their debut album, Everybody Wants dropped (which is great by the way)...and here we are again.
"Put Your Hands Up" was a surprise release, which I believe is going to be heard during ESPN College Football which, being old school, jumping arena rock, is perfect, plus some massive mainstream exposure for one of the best bands out there today. This is the usual Struts awesomeness--just kick back with a drink, or jump in your truck and crank "Put Your Hands Up".
Howl - Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro is a Scottish alt-rock band who have been working for over 20 years now, and just this past July released their seventh album Ellipsis. Now Biffy Clyro is a band that is quite a bit more well known than most of the groups that I write about here on Tuesday Tunes, but I find that around here, if I mention them I get an awful lot of blank stares...
"Howl" is at both an excellent example of how good Biffy Clyro is (think...a mix between rock like the Foo Fighters, with a dash of 90s college radio), but an the same time...not; the really wonderful thing about Biffy Clyro is that they try things with their albums. While there is always (what the iTunes description calls) "hearty, bare-chested rock" throughout, they will also wander into other musical territories and genres to make something dope like "Howl". Plus, who doesn't love The Shining vibe in the video?
If this is your first introduction to Biffy Clyro, definitely check out the rest of Ellipsis, as well as Opposites and Only Revolutions...at least to start...
Vagabonds - Satellite Stories
There's a good chance you have heard of Finnish indie pop rock group Satellite Stories, particularly if you have been reading music blogs/websites before here, as their song "Campfire" was one of the most most blogged about indie songs of 2010 (hitting #1 on Hype Machine's Most Blogged Chart by 2013).
They released their third album, Vagabonds, in 2015 and...I'm not particularly sure why I never added "Vagabonds" to a list until now...it's just damn good indie pop rock, trending a little more into the pop category than some of their previous work (but this is not a negative thing -at all-). Excellently balanced, well-produced, and fun, "Vagabonds" is another reason that, if you are into pop-rock, you should be listening to Satellite Stories.
Peace - Little Oceans
Wrapping us up this week is "Peace", an ambient alt-pop track from New Zealand's Little Oceans. This is one of those tracks that feels like it has been lifted out of a cool little indie film that you track down at a film festival, or from one of those lounges that you always feel like you're not dressed well enough to be in, but totally isn't like that. "Peace" is a song as much as it is a sense or feeling...which is hard to really describe unless you listen to it. At it's heart, the song is one of those perfect, end of night songs that long time readers of 'Tuesday Tunes' know that I love, and I know that "Peace" is going to find it's way on to a lot of my evening playlists for quite a while.
Here's the Apple Music Playlist for July 2016! I have done my best to mix it all together like I'm spinning a set for you, but as that is hard to do without being able to fade, mix, or talk through the transitions, you will have to forgive a few hard edges...weirdly enough, I started from the bottom with this one, which never usually works...but here we are.
Remember, if you want me to put these playlists on other services (like Spotify), let me know on Twitter (I've linked it below)
If you're looking for more Tuesday Tunes, are late to the party, or just want more theguysfrom.com in your day, here are the playlists for:
December 2015 & January 2016 (because I felt crazy)
Support what you dig! It's soooo much cheaper than anything else out there. You cannot even buy carbon for what one of the songs listed here would cost you....seriously...No Man's Sky...I can rip cactus' apart for free, but to buy carbon costs how much?
We will see you again next week with 5 more Tuesday Tunes!
-S (@Shauncord)