Music of the moment (February 2014)

Wowza! It’s been ages since I last did one of these. November to be exact. And that tells you how busy I’ve been and how much work it is to scramble out of my little hole. I had literally no time to find any new music since the start of the school year. I bought the odd album here and there, but to scour the Interwebs, looking for new and mostly indie stuff? Na-huh. I had to put that on the back burner. But do not fret: by now I’ve had the time to go through all the indielists and pick my favorites. Here’s a selection of some songs that I’ve been digging lately.

Bombay Bicycle Club – Carry Me

I’ve loved BBC since their first album came out. I purchased it years ago during one of my trips to London. Then they went acoustic on their second album and that had me go: huh? whut? I have the album and I like it, but Bombay Bicycle Club is good at making catchy indie rock songs with good rhythms. And that is exactly what they are doing on their latest album and the lead single off that album.

Hozier – Take Me to Church

This song is by no means ‘new’, I’m sure I heard it before I picked it from my list, but I just love it. It has nearly 2 million views on Youtube so I’m sure you may already know this. I just love this guy’s voice. Strong, powerful just like the accompanying video.

Ginger and the Ghose – The Mark of Hearts

Folky music is always high on my list. This song has a bit of a twist though. The song starts as a folk song, but when the chorus hits you get something more poppy and catchy. And after that it changes into something that reminds me of Björk: the vocal pull the song into a different direction and gives the song its edge. Catchy, yet a bit strange at the same time. The video is aptly strange.

Temples – Mesmerize

On to some more guitar flavored sounds. This 60s psychedelia inspired group has been graced with a spot in my ever expanding music collection because I bought their album a few weeks ago. If you like Tame Impala, The Coral, The Byrds and any such bands, you’ll most certainly like this. It even nods into the direction of early Beatles stuff. So yeah, this is aces in my book.

Grizmatik – My People

Thumping basslines are still high on my list and this song fuses a pulsing beat with dubstep breaks, the sounds of shooting lazer beeams, soul vocals, reggae rhythms and rap. Yet, somehow it never sounds over the top or overdone. It’s a well-balanced track that suddenly gets your head boppin’.

Active Child – Takes Me Back (Until the End of Time Edit)

This song is amazing. It sounds new and fresh, yet samples Mr. Mister’s 90s hitsong Broken Wings. It sounds a bit 80s too. To me, this is the perfect mix of retro and new.

Flume – Insane ft. Moon Holiday

And then an old favorite hits it big. I have known Flume for quite some time now, picking up the odd song here and there from my indie playlists. Now, this chillwave music has found its way into my BodyBalance class. Yes, the warm up to the current LesMills work out programme is done to this song. I thought it sounded familiar, looked it up and yup, this is the one.

Britney Spears – Work Bitch

Well, no surprise here I guess. My go to current dance song. That’s what this is. This song just makes me want to get up and dance. This is Britney at her finest and the video is just off the chain! Anyone care to buy me a ticket to see her in Las Vegas ;-).

Two Door Cinema Club – Changing of the Seasons

I love me some TDCC. I knew their music, but hadn’t given it a thorough listen until I saw them live at Rock Werchter last summer. Just before I went there I saw an interview with the band at Glastonbury which made me think of them as a bunch of stuck up brats (which they probably still are). But they are GOOD. They really surprised me and whenever I hear their songs now I remember the great festival, a summer filled with friends and fun times. This song pretty much embodies that.

Ólafur Arnalds – Haust

To end this post, I thought I’d close off with something I like to call: my late night jam. A few weeks ago, someone in my Facebook timeline posted some of his music and I’ve been hooked ever since. His music is beauty captured in song. This song in particular is very sad, but it’s insanely pretty. I like playing this to unwind after a stressful day. It helps me to empty my head and get a good night’s sleep.

What have you been listening to?