Tennis + Grass Widow + Jai Paul

Marathon :: Tennis

I've been sitting on this track for bit, and I finally have a chance to write a little bit today.  Tennis are a husband and wife duo, and they begun to pick up some steam in the blogosphere with the track "Marathon."  It's the perfect song for the summer.  It is poppy and infectious, and the vocals (at least to me) evoke the sort of 50s/60s girls vocals; they maintain the upbeat and carefree feeling that make it so summery.  It is destined for being on every summer party playlist.  At the same time though, I can't quite imagine listening to a whole album like this song though.  It is the type of song that so captures a perfect feeling, it seems having more songs surrounding it would ruin that if they were different or just be boring if they were the same.  Anywho, it is still a great song and definitely worth the download.

mp3: Marathon

Grass Widow

Grass Widow at AS220 in Providence, RI
Photo by the Teenage Elephant

I recently attended a Grass Widow show at Brown, and though there were only 50 or so people there, they absolutely blew me away.  Their songs are already catchy and danceable, but with the spirit they put into it, it turned the small gallery space into a party for those who were there for Grass Widow (unfortunately a lot of people were there for Grass Widow, a punk band from the 70s who went on after Grass Widow and who I missed).  Their harmonizing was spot on, and Raven Mahon's guitar propelled the songs into dance jams.  If you don't know Grass Widow, they're a San Francisco girl trio (as emphasized by the "Girls Rock!" spray-painted on the wall of the stage) who released a self-titled LP on Make a Mess last year and will be releasing a new one called Past Time later in August on Killrockstars.  They describe themselves as being 'Psychedelic/Visual/Surf,' but I think a better description is that they just are a band that weaves simple guitar, bass, drums, and harmonizing vocals together tightly and extremely well into a package that seems very refined and thought out, and most of all, incredibly satisfying and good to listen to.  Although they do at times sound like one of the many lo-fi/pop bands due to the clearly lo-fi style of recording, they rise far above the standards of the genre, and I believe they will be making quite a splash in the coming year.  Here are my three favorite tracks by them.  Listen and understand why I like them so much.

mp3: To Where
mp3: Celebrate the Mundane 
mp3: Shadow (Off of the new LP)

Jai Paul

Last but definitely not least is Jai Paul, an electronic guy.  The opening of this song reminds me immediately of Bon Iver's "Woods," (which I do enjoy, just not as much as his normal stuff), or perhaps it is something else that I can't quite place (maybe Sufjan Stevens' "You Are the Blood" off of Dark Was the Night?), and then the drums kick in (which are reminiscent of "Blood, Pt. 2" on Dark Was the Night) and you really think wow this song is going to be sick.  Which it is.  The beat is simple, but this simply (nice pun right?) contributes to the overall structure of the song by making the synth and laser-blasty things that much more impactful when they come in.  The vocals, which are layered of coos in the background, also sparse, and this really captures the longing that seems to be built into the way the different pieces of the song interact with each other.  Don't forget to go to his MySpace (as you are directed to at the end of the song.)

mp3: BTSTU

-- A Teenage Elephant

PS  Still collecting my thoughts on the Arcade Fire album (and it hasn't even been released yet!).  There aspects of it that I love (the music itself), and aspects I don't/waver between enjoying and not enjoying (the lyrics of some songs/the overall theme).  I will most likely post on it shortly.

PPS I'm getting really excited for the new Panda Bear album, how about you guys?  Also, Avey Tare just announced he will be releasing a solo album.