Tag Archives: Hidden Gem

Ohio’s Lost on Purpose finds deep inspiration in Asia

Posted on by Katie
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The last time I mentioned Lost on Purpose, I had discovered them serendipitously via an errant eBay search. I’m glad to say that I’ve been an admirer ever since then. Their 2010 album A Knight At The Crossroads fits in nicely on the shelf between Bon Iver and Simon and Garfunkel, ready for deployment on rainy, contemplative days.

After months spent tripping through Cambodia last fall, frontman Will VanderWyden has come back sounding stronger, more confident, and more resonant. Adding keyboardist/vocalist/producer Jacquelyn Thropay to his lineup has brought a softer, more delicate sound to Lost on Purpose’s newest record Ashes.

Although frontman Will VanderWyden’s voice still carries a slight Conor Oberst tremble at times, he exhibits vocal chameleonry on Nowhere Hard Enough and takes on a rich baritone akin to The National’s Matt Berninger. Fans of VanderWyden’s Elliot Smith-inspired whisperings will take comfort in their presence on Ashes.

The album’s title track carries a sense of urgency that brings to mind flashing lights in your periphery while highway driving in the dead of night. VanderWyden explains that he intended the album to be “simple and honest” with raw, dark undertones. Inspired by the image of a young Cambodian genocide victim, Ashes explores sounds rippling with rich tonality and subtle imaginations.

I’m not going to tell you which songs I like the best, because I like them all.

Instead, melt your heart with Sails, take courage with Nowhere Hard Enough and rock yourself to sleep with Dubrovnik.

Brooklyn’s The Planes do homemade light grunge well

Posted on by Katie
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I look so cool with my matching yellow harness!

If you do a Google search, a lot of things turn up when you search “The Planes”.

There’s a band from Belgium called The Planes who seem to be high off their collective ass, if the one track on their Myspace Music account is anything to go by. They claim to be a “music lovers cover band”. You can listen to them here (but I don’t recommend it).

There’s a group from British Columbia with a vocalist reminiscent of Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. You can listen to them here.

And yeah, there are a ton of pictures of planes.

However, I’m most interested in a band that hails from Brooklyn that only formed just last summer. They’ve already recorded their first album, The Planes, a handmade effort on 1/4″ tape. Sure, it sounds rough and unpolished at parts, but the potential is there and you can hear it in tracks like Sleeping Contest and Secret Show.

The Planes definitely need to work on defining their unique hook that will grab listeners by the balls, but then again, they’re still a young band! I look forward to their future EPs with relish.

Sleeping Contest – The Planes (free download)

With twangy, abstract guitar chords, Sleeping Contest is a clash of sounds. It channels the roomy, loose-skinned drums of 60′s rock and pairs them with vocals teeming with compressed teen angst. One of the most lo-fi tracks on the record, it carries a direction that the band would do well to pursue.

Secret Show – The Planes (free download)

The opening riffs sound like the band is actually warming up for their own secret show. The song sounds like a swiftly fleeting ode to classic punk circa 1974 with its petulant lyrics and grimacing vocals.

Both of the above tracks and the rest of The Planes are free to download on Bandcamp right now, so grab them while they’re available.

Hidden Gem: Squaresville’s New EP (Free)

Posted on by Katie
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Denmark’s Squaresville combines the best of early 60′s rock-and-roll with 90′s grunge. Think boy-and-girl romance à la Belle and Sebastian meets mellowed-out Rolling Stones meets aggressive, angsty Pavement. Put it all together and you get an excellent free EP for your downloading delight!

The 90′s influence is a little stronger on Kill your darlings and You’re gonna miss me I’m gone, but Girl is pure idyllic 60′s sweetness. If Squaresville had a flavour, they would taste like those little pink-and-blue Chupa Chups lollipops that melt warmly in your mouth until you bite down and they explode into warm, sweet, powder.

Download it here!