Song of the Day

Song of the Day: Beth Orton – Magpie

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beth orton magpie

It’s been six long years since Beth Orton released new music. That’s a long time. To recap, here are some things that also happened in 2006.

– Winter Olympics happen in Turin. It’s also known as the one that everyone forgot
– Montenegro declares independence, making the show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego even harder for kids
– Italy wins the world cup after Zidane headbutts some dude
– Windows Vista is released
– Suri Cruise was born
– The Departed wins best picture
– Taylor Hicks was a thing
– Justin Bieber was 12

Here were some songs from 2006
– James Blunt – “You’re Beautiful”
– Justin Timberlake – “Sexyback”
– Nelly Furtado – “Promiscuous”
– Peter Bjorn and John – “Young Folks”
– Hot Chip – “Over and Over”

So yeah, it has been a while. A critically acclaimed singer-songwriter that grew in stature in the late 90s, Beth Orton went on hiatus immediately after becoming a mother. Now that the kid is probably six or seven and the novelty has worn off, she has decided rise from the ashes and grace us with a new tune.

Magpie is the first single off her new record Sugaring Season and it once again features her glorious voice over a simple guitar arrangement that slowly gets more and more interesting as the track moves on. It sounds conventional, but anyone who has heard Beth Orton before knows that there is always more then meets the eye.. like a transformer.

Check it out

Song of the Day: The Royal Concept – In The End

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the royal concept

Swedish indie pop band The Royal Concept released an EP not too long ago and it seems to get better with each listen. Sure, it doesn’t really tread any new sonic territories and you can most certainly start listing off supposed musical influences from the opening beats of the first track, but a good tune is a good tune.

The last track of the EP, In The End is a good tune. It’s one of those melodramatic sappy song that’s designed for a montage scene in a rom-com, where the guy is mulling around feeling all dejected about some chick and then has some sort of epiphany (at the 3 minute mark), runs through the rain (it always rains) to some transportation hub (bus station/train station/airport/harbor/spaceport/stargate). Then they confess their love for each other and have an epic makeout scene that is clearly vying to be nominated for that mtv movie award.

Now that the imagery is in your head, listen to this song.

Song of the Day: White Arrows – Get Gone

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You know how some songs have certain parts that stand out: like the beginning of M83’s Midnight City? White Arrows’ Get Gone is just a stream of conesecutive such stand-out moments. I have no better way to describe it. The beat at the beginning: super good. :56 when the the first chorus happens: 100% approved. The yell at 2:23: totally dig it. The overall sound is somewhere between Paul Simon/Animal Collective/Vampire Weekend – an interesting mix and one that works. I don’t think I can be more eloquent than one of the commenters on the band’s Youtube video who put it, simply and beautifully, as follows: So? sweet it makes ya wanna smack your granny’s toothache!

Yes, this song is pretty sweet. Give it a listen.

Song of the Day: The Heavy – What Makes A Good Man?

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One of my favorite acts of SXSW, UK soul-rock outfit The Heavy have been living off their breakout album The House That Dirt Built for three years now and as you might have figured, it’s about time for a follow up. That time is now. Actually it’s today. The Glorious Dead is their third full length album and from what I’ve heard so far, it is going to build on the momentum that this band has gained from their previous release.

The lead single What Makes a Good Man has been out for a few months now. I heard it at their SXSW showcase and it emphasizes some of the strongest qualities of the Heavy – anthemic choruses that makes you want to sing along, a heavy edge that elevates it from being soul music and a whole lot of swagger that you can only understand if you ever see lead vocalist Kelvin Swaby perform live. Did I mention they were fantastic live?

Check out the track, and a tour date near you. I have even kindly listed them here, thanks to my awesome pr email copying and pasting skills.

Aug. 23 – House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
Aug. 24 – The Blue Stone, Columbus, OH
Aug. 25 – Bogart’s, Cincinnati, OH
Aug. 30 – The Fillmore at Irving Plaza, New York, NY
Sept. 01 – Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle, WA
Sept. 02 – Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
Sept. 04 – Slim’s, San Francisco, CA
Sept. 05 – The Blank Club, San Jose, CA
Sept. 07 – El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Sept. 08 – Casbah, San Diego, CA
Sept. 10 – Santa Fe Brewing Co., Santa Fe, NM
Sept. 11 – The Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ
Sept. 13 – Red 7, Austin, TX
Sept. 14 – Fitzgerald’s, Houston, TX
Sept. 17 – Old Rock House, St. Louis, MO
Sept. 18 – Majestic Theater, Madison, WI
Sept. 19 – Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis, MN
Sept. 20 – Double Door, Chicago, IL
Sept. 21 – Magic Stick- Detroit, MI
Sept. 22 – Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids, MI
Sept. 23 – Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON
Sept. 25 – Le Cabaret du Mile End, Montreal, QC
Sept. 26 – Brighton Music Hall, Allston, MA