Thursday, November 11, 2010

Jupiter One - Sunshower

Woo hoo! Two great bands in two days! This is awesome.

The founding members of Jupiter One, K. Ishibashi and Zac Colwell, actually met as traveling, orchestral musicians with Barnum and Bailey. Freakin' weird right? But, also awesome. Add in Ishibashi's wife, Mocha, drummer David Heilman, and bass player Pat "Panda" Dougherty and you have Jupiter One. And yes, they ARE named after the spaceship in Lost In Space.


I can tell you one thing for sure about their sophomore album, Sunshower: I purchased it. I used real, American, dollars to buy music. That's a pretty rare occurrence in my life, but these guys are awesome.

It's been a long time since I've actually enjoyed every song on an album and this one really hits the mark. There's such a diverse array of music that it doesn't get boring. From the funky "Find Me A Place" to the indie rock "Lights Go Out" to the 80's new-wave "Anna" to the reggae inspired "Simple Stones" to the pop hit "Volcano", this album's got something for everyone.

They're also popping up everywhere, from video games (Madden NFL '08, NHL '08, Burnout Paradise, FIFA '08, and FIFA '09) to commercials (Payless and Mazda) to television (MLB Network, Heroes, and Kyle XY). They've also toured with Regina Spektor on her last two circuits, which is pretty sweet. That sounds like a lethal combo of AWESOME!

You can check out the new album, Sunshower, streaming on their Myspace now and read more about the band over at their site. Check 'em out! This album gets a resounding A from me!

"Volcano"



"Anna"



"Lights Go Out"

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Things Behind the Sun

Well, look at that...Lancaster, PA has more to offer than Amish people, Magic the Gathering conventions, and farmer's markets. From their Myspace:
"Things Behind The Sun is a Lancaster-based Indie Rock band made up of four beardless men who had a dream. A dream of making great music, and of one day having beards that would rival those of kings. Giving up on the latter part, they decided to write some music - with unconventional instrumentation featuring the unique timbres of violin and cello, driving rhythms and catchy choruses, emotional melodies and climaxes, and mood-evoking lyrics. The debut EP "The Beards of Kings" will be released sometime in late 2010."
 This also prompted this drawing in an email:


Yes, my friends, this is an emo cello. Do not let said cello fool you, though, this indie-rock quartet is oh-so-much more than that. However, I AM a sucker for a good cello.


They're insanely infectious. In fact, I think I'll have to apologize to my friends and co-workers in advance, because they only have four tracks up on their Myspace and I've been consistently listening to them on repeat since the later hours of the morning. You can actually download one of their songs, "Captured in Colors" for free. Well, not free I guess, but in exchange for a simple Tweet or Facebook post. It's well worth it.

Falling into this new, "Baroque Rock", folk category with bands like the Fleet Foxes, Mumford & Sons, and Iron and Wine, Things Behind The Sun is a welcome addition to my music collection. While they are similar to other bands when it comes to the music, Jordan Taylor's voice owns. Imagine that Maynard Keenan and Serj Tankian had a baby. And that it's an angel. That's Jordan Taylor. Maybe the lack of beard helps. A lot of these singers are mumbling lyrics at you through the thickest of hipster beards, see?

 
Robin Pecknold from the Fleet Foxes


Sam Beam from Iron & Wine


Colin Meloy from The Decemberists

And that's just three examples! Look how delightfully beardless Things Behind the Sun are!



I think we can now make the informed decision that naked faces make better rockers. Wow, this blog went totally off tangent...

Long story short: Things Behind the Sun is an awesome, awesome band and you should check them out. Also: PA REPRESENT! Keep an eye out for their debut album, "The Beards of Kings" coming soon!