Five Things You Should Be Listening To Right Now
I’m just trying to help make you a better person. That’s my gift to you this Easter.
And so we have it. The article that none of you have been waiting for, that will no doubt start a semi-regular feature that some of you may read. The article that will be the first in several, as forementioned, semi-regular features, that are just a way for me to introduce people to music that I think is good, that they may not have heard. These features will be far from on the pulse, hell, they wont even be stethoscoping the heartbeat, but thats not the point. Im not writing these to be ahead of the game and introducing up and comers, some might be but some may be old or now defunct, regardless I shall share them with you. Im just trying to help make you a better person. Thats all. Thats my gift to you this Easter. Japandroids I first stumbled upon Japandroids around 2009 or 2010, when on a serious bands including Japan in their name kick, which also included such highlights as Japanther and Japanese Voyeurs. These endorsers of Japan caught my attention most with their brand of noise pop, and they certainly are that in the truest sense of the term; pure pop songs caked in cacophony. Theres only two of them but the racket they make youd think otherwise given their wall of noise, that encapsulates the blissed-out distortion of shoegaze by way of the enthusiastic energy of garage, a punk ethos and pop sensibilities. Having released their debut Post-Nothing in 2009 after some turbulent formation years, 2010 saw them release their two earliest EPs under the title No Singles, alongside some singles that were meant to feature on the first album had they been able to afford further studio time as way of appeasing fans with more music whilst they were touring relentlessly. 2011 saw them take a break to record new material and 2012 will see them release it with new album Celebration Rock. Already teased at with The House That Heaven Built, I suggest you start thinking about turning Japanese. http://youtu.be/lGIaA_IRAAM The Weeknd 
Following on from Canadas Japandroids, we come to Canadas own Abel Tesfaye or as he is better know The Weeknd. Artist and producer, The Weeknd has steadily been making a name for himself with a trilogy of free mixtapes/albums. Starting out by uploading a few tracks to YouTube in 2010, he issued his debut House of Balloons in early 2011, quickly followed up by Thursday in the summer and Echoes of Silence at Christmas time. Its with Echoes of Silence that he first caught my attention after having stumbled upon his brilliant cover of Michael Jacksons Dirty Diana. Each mixtape has been steadily developing in production, emotion and performance, each telling their tales of the hangover and the comedown after the night before, strung up on heartache and lust for whats been and what couldve been, but with Echoes of Silence the trilogy comes to its true emotional climax. Free albums are often over looked as not being proper albums, but the talent on display with these three mixtapes, the positive acclaim their starting to gather and the big name endorsements (The Weeknd features on three tracks from Drakes second album Take Care) prove otherwise. http://youtu.be/-iW1-BuJ_Hc Frank Ocean 
2012 should rightly be the year in which Frank Ocean finds a fame and fortune entirely all his own. Being somewhat of a shadow figure for the majority of his formative years; as a part of The MIDI Mafia, a member of the collective OFWGKTA often outshone by the more invasive personalities of the group, a ghost writer for other bigger name artists (including Justin Bieber, John Legend, Brandy and Beyonce) or a guest vocalist for some impressive collaborators such as Kanye West and Jay Z. This year though with the follow up to his stunning (and free) debut album nostalgia, ULTRA and OFWGKTAs The Odd Future Tape Vol. 2 released recently, should see him stride into both the spotlight and limelight all on his own. His debut is still available for free from Odd Futures site and its melancholic yet euphoric synths, laidback beats, RnB heart, brazen copyright infringing samples and Franks emotive lyrical performance are part of the reason I wrote this feature a lot later than I meant too; having spent this past week stoned drifting off to it. http://youtu.be/PmN9rZW0HGo Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely State) 
Now, before you get up and leave on the grounds of well thats just a silly band name and not worth time can I just quickly say; 1.) Youre a bit quick to pass judgements arent you? and 2.) The rest of this paragraph. E!E!(IWALS), because Im too lazy to type it all, are an indie outfit of the most emotional variety churning out soaring melodies over sombre jams built up of intricate clean and distorted guitar melodies focussing heavily on building an atmosphere that is as affecting as the lyrics and vocals atop them. The band have only one full length album under their belt so far in the shape of the subtlely sublime What It Takes To Move Forward, but given their heavy duty touring and their clear tonal kinship in acts like Death Cab For Cutie and Sunny Day Real Estate, when the next one does come around itll be worth taking a gamble on. Also, check out the equally wonderful though equally silly name sporting I Would Set Myself On Fire For You. Think what Ive described so far by way of spaghetti western soundtracks, more screams, waves of distortion and strings. http://youtu.be/UjI4KrIh7bg Willis Earl Beal 
If Lana Del Ray left most concerned more with her authenticity than her music, then Willis Earl Beal will certainly fill any buzz and hype opposers need for authenticity with his gritty rags to potential riches tale, and the lo-fi noises contained within Acousmatic Sorcery. Though currently courting quite the buzz, its not undeserved or all of a sudden; having moved from Chicago to New Mexico and back, recording tracks down on cassette, hand drawing and distributing his own flyers and advertisements, having one such flyer picked up by art journal Found, resulting in calls from Mos Def (allegedly interesting in making a film of his life), an appearance on the American X Factor and then finally being signed for a four album deal to Adeles record label resulting in the release of his debut album this year. With such a whirlwind and the big name interests you might expect something pop, something mainstream, something marketable in any of these expectations youd be mistaken. No, what you actually get is rudimentary and raw two chord blues, cracked and broken but beautiful vocals, lo-fi soul, clanking, clambering rhythms and an unhealthily healthy dose of Tom Waits. http://youtu.be/U3xpSYTdxlA The Wave Now this is a cheat, pure and true, but its a way I can talk about more than one thing in the space of one thing, so quit bitching youre getting four for one here. The Wave is the self-given title given to a collection of four hardcore groups, its a title that started off as a joke that has unfortunately been over-adopted by media covering any of the bands that make up the collective, but its a cheap way for me to cheat my own system. La Dispute, Touché Amoré, Pianos Become the Teeth and Make Do and Mend are the four acts that comprise The Wave and they are certainly making waves and slowly proving to be the leading lights in the current resurgence in hardcore and post-hardcore. Last year La Dispute released one of the stand out albums of the year in Wildlife, an album so striking in its lyricism alongside the intense rise and falls of the instrumentation that its likely to leave an impact once listened to and the stories within absorbed. La Dispute - King ParkTouché Amoré released another seminal album last year in the shape Parting The Sea Between Brightness and Me, that saw them hone their song craft really focusing in on the impassioned vocals, the bands tightness and an expert production trimming off all the fat. Touché Amoré - TildePianos Become the Teeth take the musical theatrics of La Dispute and more so the cinematics of post rock, and push them through an abrasive scream/hardcore delivery, for this reason they are a band you can keep on coming to that will keep on giving. Pianos Become the Teeth - I'll Be Damned Of the four Make Do and Mend could perhaps be considered the most traditional in their interpretation of hardcore (post or otherwise), but that doesnt do them justice because what they bring to The Wave is a real song centric focus, earnest emotion and an openness to dabbling in country, folk and classic husky voiced punk. Make Do and Mend - Oak Square I know I said five, but I lied.