That time you meet one of the most talented folk/Americana artists out there (Langhorne Slim) after his show at the Swedish American Hall (as part of NoisePop festival) and nerd out with him about (1) effects of music on the brain (why music holds such strong memory), (2) playing music to old people (he loved playing to his Grandpa Sid and I encouraged him to play at nursing homes), (3) our perception of time (why time seems longer when we are in unfamiliar environments like when we are kids and everything is new), and (4) Langhorne (the town where he grew up but the one that I always remember my soccer team never being able to beat!). Never did I think I would have such a heart-to-heart with someone whose music had my heart when I first I heard it. Langhorne Slim is a true wordsmith whose way with words makes you feel so warm and welcome in his company, as if he was a long-lost friend that you have known for years. I couldn’t stop smiling when he was spouting off his deluge of stories (he’s certainly got plenty!) and providing context for how his various songs came to be (some in a dream). Aside from being one of the kindest, funniest, most humble human beings I know, he is one of the most AUTHENTIC, and you will never doubt that every word, whisper, belt, chuckle, howl coming out of his mouth is HIS OWN. He is not like the rest — just like Kurt Cobain (“I’m not like them / But I can pretend”) whose birthday he honored on Monday — but he does not pretend. You can certainly count on Slim NOT being slim with his self, his FULL SELF. ❤
Some of my favorite songs that he played tonight: Changes (“I’m going through changes, rattlin’ cages, I’m going through changes now”), Song For Sid (“Tell me where do all the good ones go, when they’re gone”), Back to the Wild, Coffee Cup, Again tonight and Be Set Free. It was also awesome to hear him cover Leonard Cohen‘s Tonight Will Be Fine” and Jackie DeShannon’s What the World Needs Now. Just also wish he played The Way We Move!
FRESH NEW PLAYLIST (Spotify link and track listing below) inspired by recent shows in January and February (many of of which were part of SF’s NoisePop Festival) – Josh Jacobson, Typhoon, Mimicking Birds, Emily Afton, Future Feats, Wild Child, Andrew St. James, Wildling, Crooked Colours, Dagmar, Ha Ha Tonka, Belle Game, Geographer, DonCat, Langhorne Slim, The Album Leaf, Vakoum, Field Medic, Waxahatchee, White Knuckles, Banzai Cliff, King Krule, Derek Ted (of Owl Paws), Lucy Rose, Charlie Cunningham, tUnE-yArDs, X-Ambassadors, Tall Heights, Black Pistol Fire, Billy Rafoul, ZZ Ward, The Wedding Present – and new releases fromFrenship, Chvrches (including a track featuring Matt Berninger of The National), Jose Gonzalez, and Tallest Man in Earth (along with new tour dates!)
I chose Frenship’s ‘Love Somebody’ as the title track because, despite the song being so damn catchy (I couldn’t listen just once), I really liked the overarching message: “Get out and LOVE SOMEBODY, and GET LOST on the way.” You never know what hard times someone may be going through or how much they could use a simple smile or “Hello” from a stranger. Get out of your own head and look up at the beauty in your surroundings, savor all the amazing people around you and the lil’ miracles that might sweep you off your feet. I’ve recently encounter many young lives being snatched up way too early (including the super-talented, massively-loved LA-music photographer, Emery Beckerwho met last year at SXSW), and it absolutely crushes me. No matter what your circumstances and what miserable mood you may be in, strive to be kind. Remember that everyone’s days are numbered and that only WE have the power to make sure those numbers count – every hour, every min, ever second. The fleetingness of life will always remain one of our greatest mysteries, and we should never take anything for granted. Hug harder, smile wider, lend more hands. You never know what impact the tiniest act of kindness may have, or whose lives they may be saving. I hope this playlist will encourage you to open your heart to “love somebody” and to “make tiny changes to earth” (now quoting Frightened Rabbit). And as my friend Paige Parsons (met seeing The Twilight Sad (Official)) says so beautifully, music is the best medium to do so because “music cuts through out cynicism and breaks down the barriers that we erect between ourselves and the rest of the world.” Check out her talk on this:
Help me amplify this message by sharing my playlist with friends and posting about it on social media. AND, if you are an artist featured on this playlist, reposting this playlist will increase the odds of Google not filtering this out on the web and improving your visibility (from what I’ve been told by SEO experts), so please care to share! 😀
(In order to access the playlist, you have to press the 3 vertical dots in the upper right hand corner and select download. You can then cancel the download immediately and still have access to the playlist. If you are still having uses, let me know and I can send you a link to download the tracks!
Wake- Typhoon
Same Mistakes- FUTURE FEATS
LOVE Somebody- Frenship
Get Out- CHVRCHES
Hummingbird- Wildling
Rorschach- Typhoon
Plymouth- Crooked Colours
In the Morning!- Andrew St James
I Want Nothing- The Belle Game
Try to Be Someone- DonCat
Conversation- Owl Paws
Lost- Emily Afton
Suck- The Wedding Present
Gorgeous- X Ambassadors
Home- White Knuckles
Sparks Fly- Waxahatchee
Don’t Ask Why- Black Pistol Fire
Minimum- Charlie Cunningham
Laura- Andrew St James
Flow- Crooked Colours
backyard sorrow- derek ted
Biscuit Town- King Krule
Remember- Typhoon
Little Lies- Wildling
Tumbleweed- Dagmar
Expectations- Wild Child
What Do You Want- Dagmar
Sorry Bout Tomorrow!- Andrew St James
Foolish- Geographer
Millennial Malaise- Andrew St James
Severing the Knot- Emily Afton
Come Back To You- Crooked Colours
The Way We Move
Bloodlines- Mimicking Birds
Anyone Can Make A Mistake- The Wedding Present
Too Young To Die- Banzai Cliff
Silver- Waxahatchee
Bully- Black Pistol Fire
poison poetry- derek ted
Silver Screen- DonCat
Foolish- Geographer
Bully- Black Pistol Fire
Koyo- Josh Jacobson
Coast to Coast- tUnE-yArDs
Changes- Langhorne Slim
My Enemy (feat. Matt Berninger)- CHVRCHES
Think it Over- Wild Child
An Opening- Charlie Cunningham
Hipster Shakes- Black Pistol Fire
Tethered- Josh Jacobson
I Love to Dance- Langhorn Slim
Danielle- Banzai Cliff
I Hope You Get It- Crooked Colours
An Ocean- The Tallest Man on Earth
Back & Forth- Wild Child
Better Off- White Knuckles
What Did Your Last Servant Die Of- The Wedding Present
GDJYB(Gai Dan Jane Yuk Bang) were one of the top new discoveries for me at Iceland Airwaves this year. Calling themselves a “Math-folk girl band from Hong Kong and plays song in Honglish,” this badass quintet (Soni Cheng – guitarist, Heihei Ng – Drummer, Soft Liu – Vocalist, Wing Chan – Bassist). My eyes were bugging out the entire set and bugged out EVEN MORE when I learned that they will be playing at San Francisco’sNoise Popfestival at the end of February! Can’t wait to see them again! Be sure to check out GDJYB’s debut EP (what I bought right after the set) and their first full album (11 songs) ‘23:59 Before Tomorrow,’ released in early 2017 in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. I true treat! 🙂
“If there’s a band capable of striking a successful balance between tranquility and tumult, calm and tension, it’s GDJYB, Hong Kong’s best-kept secret. Featured on the art-pop quartet’s debut album, 23:59 Before Tomorrow, the intriguingly titled “That Day I Went to His Funeral” presents a clean, smooth, and resolutely warm façade, one capable of disarming the most hardened set of ears. Beneath its alluring surface, however, the band can be heard churning out energetically swirling tangles of guitar, bass, drums, and even multi-part harmonies that in their delicate complexity fall somewhere between the Marine Girls’ jazzy post-punk and Warpaint’s dreamy tribal pop.” –KEXP
Some of my favorite tracks can be found on my recent playlist: Make It Out Alive
I couldn’t believe when Nick Mulvey said “I’ve seen you before!” after his Swedish American Hallshow on Nov 17. He musta remembered the puppet face! I was hooked ever since that first night at Barfly and just kept showing up everywhere he played, from Green Man Festival to Shepards Bush empire (opening for Laura Marling) to O2 Brixton Academy (opening for London Grammar) to XOYO (where he played with the talented Fiona Bevan). His song ‘Fever to the Form‘ was legitimately my LIFE ANTHEM for most of 2013-2014, and that first verse “So whether music or madness, We live by one of the two… So Go on an fill your heart with gladness, not a moment too soon” will forever be my GUIDING LIGHT. It is a TIMELESS TRACK that I know will still bring me the same peace of mind and clarity (“cause the very thing you’re afraid, afraid of, It keeps you clean but unclear”) 20 years from now as it did back in 2013. ‘Fever to the Form’ was released alongside other tops tracks (First Mind, I Don’t Want to Go Home, Meet Me There, Juramidam, Cucurucu) on his debut album, First Mind, which was nominated for a Mercury Prize (well deserved!) in 2014. Nick has become a dad since the release of that album, and he considers this step to have had a positive influence on his music writing: “Putting music as a secondary priority to that (the challenge of making new music) was a really healthy thing for me.” Well, we are glad to reap the benefits of that positive influence, for his newest (sophomore) album, Wake Up Now, is freaking AWESOME. Standout tracks for me are: Mountain to Move, Remembering, In Your Hands, Transform Your Game, and Unconditional. In fact, Nick has a really cool story to go along with ‘Mountain to Move’ and I hope he continues to share it during his live performances. Cheers to the super talented British musician who studied music in Cuba and who continues to weave styles from all over the world into his musical quilt. ❤
SUCH A TREAT to have discovered the sweet, sassy, SUPER-TALENTED Southern singer/songwriter from NC (Emily Scott Robinson) who now lives on the road with her husband in their RV, writing and performing across the country and touring with bluegrass/grassroots powerhouses like Ben Sollee and the Kentucky Natives (Swedish American Hall). Equipped with an angelic voice and natural knack for storytelling, Emily gives us a glimpse into her wanderlust window, exposing us to the “traveling mercies” of life on the road and missing community and a home base. One of my favorite tracks from her set was ‘Better with Time,’ inspired by “the first place you live with someone you love” (which for her was a tiny one bedroom house in Colorado with a beautiful view). Another track that had my was a brand new one (finished only a few days ago) called ‘Ghost in Every Town.’ It was inspired by the monotony, desperation, and loneliness that she witnessed living for a short while in a small RV park in Oregon. The lyrics SLAY, and I could not help but get chills when she sang “The kinda desperate that forces you to kneel… The kinda howling you can only do alone.” WOW. But overall, it had to be ‘Overalls’ (her inaugural Patreon song) that stole the show. Written about her dear friend’s father who served in WWII and passed away this year, ‘Overalls‘ will touch your ❤️ and leave you in a puddle of tears/joy. It’s just so refreshing to hear stories veterans who were so grateful to be alive when they returned from war and who measured their wealth by their experiences and family/community (“I know I don’t have much to show, but I’m the richest man that I know”). I can’t help but smile to imagine this grateful fella who grasped every day as a gift and now looks back on his good long life with pride and appreciation: “So raise a glass to my good long life, don’t dress in black, don’t let me see you cry, I’m not afraid, I’m just headed home. It’s time to let me go.” Having released her debut album, “Magnolia Queen” just last year, Emily has started a Patreon page and will be releasing songs periodically while on the road. I sure hope her RV makes a very long pit stop in NorCal so I can see her again soon!
It’s too hard to truly convey how much love and admiration I have for Merrill Garbus, creator and curator of tune-yards. Her live performances evoke a visceral vortex of mixed emotions (aggression, desire, laughter, pain) that words can simply not describe. I still recall how feverishly my body was overcome with curiosity and vitality the first time I saw her perform at Outside Lands Music Festival in 2011. Since then, I had seen her a total of 5 or 6 more times (SASQUATCH! Music Festival, The Regency Ballroom, Fox Theater – Oakland, Electric Brixton, Live for Contemporary Colors), and I am STILL electrified by her power, a “powa” that “gives me thrills I can’t describe.” Yes, ‘Powa‘ (in addition to favorites like ‘Bizness,’ ‘Water Fountain,’ and ‘Gangsta‘), were some of the old gems that Merrill, Nate (bassist), and her new badass drummer (forgot his name!) treated us to last night at Mystic Theatre in Petaluma. I of course got a bit OUT OF CONTROL for ‘Bizness‘ and nearly lost my voice trying to shout along. That song gave the world a serious taste of such MUSICAL MASTERPIECES that can manifest from creative, clever experimentation with loops pedals, saxophones, and an untamed vocal chords (the way Merrill distorts her vocals to create a variety of sounds is simply something else). Merrill is simply MESMERIZING to watch, and last night was no exception. We were all glad to watch her perform new songs from her highly anticipated new album, ‘I can feel you creep into my private life‘ (thank gosh she has), scheduled to be released on Jan 19. Standout tracks for me were ‘Heart Attack,’ ‘Honesty,’ and ‘Colonizer,’ (although all were pretty freaking awesome), and most of these showcased Merrill on synths and drum kit, in addition to her notable ukulele. Merrill is a FEMALE FE-LION, and and I cannot be more inspired/empowered by the femininity, strength, and intolerance that she radiates out to her fans. I’m grateful for artists like her that are not afraid to share their passion with the world and believe they deserve a chance of changing it. She could not be more SPOT ONT when describing the vision of her music: “altering the way the music industry functions to positively and responsibly impact our communities and our people, to act not only as soothing pacifiers with music but also activators, inspiring innovators, and revolutionary booty-shakers.” I have so much love for this woman and cannot WAIT to see her again at Noise Pop in February.
Videos of entire set on my YouTube page (see below):
The title of my first playlist of the new year is ‘I Want It All,’ (very fitting, I know) an AWESOME NEW TRACK that Mike Deni of Geographer first rolled out to us at The Rickshaw Stop a few weeks ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQzUd9qJ2Zo. This playlist was inspired by past shows: Geographer, Bear’s Den, Lord Huron, Kyle Morton of Typhoon (who I had waited 6 years to see live),Mogwai, Anthony D’Amato, Valley Maker and upcoming shows: Tash Sultana (BEEN WAITING 6 MONTHS FOR THIS!), The Staves (have wanted to see these SISTER SIRENS in concert for YEARS!), and Bastille. It also includes awesome new tracks by Laura Marling (arguably one of the most impressive and vocally challenging gem in her collection — SLAYED when she shared it with California for the first time at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HufiX1j3X8), Geographer, Bear’s Den, Lord Huron, Amber Run, Asgeir (SO GLAD HE IS BACK – one of my FAVORITE ICELANDIC ARTISTS!), Tow’rs (excited for their third album!), Mogwai (the artistic arsenal of their new album, Atomic, detonates an explosion in our brains – a radioactive realization about the heinous impact of chemical warfare), Milky Chance, and Radical Face. Last by not least, it features new discoveries that I am glad to have pocketed: Cloves, Doncat (guitarist of Geographer), Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness, LANY, Lewis Del Mar,Guthrie Brown, Ron Gallo, Branches, Lisa Hannigan, The Midwest Indies, and Andy Chew. Pleased to post this before a whole NEW SLEW of BANDS at NoisePop music fest in SF next week! CAN’T WAIT!
(In order to access the playlist, you have to press the 3 vertical dots in the upper right hand corner and select download. You can then cancel the download immediately and still have access to the playlist. If you are still having uses, let me know and I can send you a link to download the tracks!)
I Want It All- Geographer
Berlin- Bear’s Den
Wild Fire- Laura Marling
Fool For Love- Lord Huron
Don’t Wanna Fight- Amber Run
Fire Escape- Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness
Pink Skies- LANY
Western- DonCat
My Little Darlin Knows My Nature- Kyle Morton
Lonesome Dreams- Lord Huron
Frail Love- Cloves
Painting (Masterpiece)- Lewis Del Mar
Love Like Ghosts- Lord Huron
Auld Lang Syne- Tow’rs
Cocoon- Milky Chance
If Youâre Gonna Build A Wall – Anthony D’Amato
Meet Me In The Woods- Lord Huron
Don’t Forget About Me- Cloves
Lottery Ticket- Andrew Mcmahon In The Wilderness
Moonn- Radical Face
The Night We Met- Lord Huron
Day To Day- Guthrie Brown
Driving Through A Dream- Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness
Ether- Mogwai
Good Grief- Bastille
Kill the Medicine Man- Ron Gallo
Maps For The Getaway- Andrew Mcmahon In The Wilderness
Outlaw- The Staves
Dark Fores- Andy Chew
Oh My Goodness – Anthony D’Amato
Stay Gold- Guthrie Brown
Survivalist Fantasy- Kyle Morton
Send Them Off!- Bastille
By My Side- Valley Maker
Canyon Moon – Andrew Mcmahon In The Wilderness
Authority (Live)- Tash Sultana
Sleeping In A Car- The Staves
Unbound- Asgeir
The “S” That Stood for Nothing- The Midwest Indies
Tomorrow- Branches
La Belle Fleur Sauvage- Lord Huron
Young Lady, You’re Scaring Me- Ron Gallo
Snow- Lisa Hannigan
Fresh new, VERY UPBEAT playlist inspired by my TOP DISCOVERIES at this year’s NoisePop festival in San Francisco: Day Wave, Harriet, and HEARTWATCH. These three bands are all local, and their catchy, vibrant tracks capture the essence of sunny California quite perfectly. The playlist was also influenced by other bands in town – Joe Purdy, Milo Greene (Jukely event), Penny and Sparrow (soon to write a review), Elle King, Jamie Lawson, and Soren Bryce (reminds me of Daughter) – as well as recent album releases from Ra Ra Riot and Hey Marseilles (who I’ll both be seeing in March) and a new single release from Augustines‘ HIGHLY ANTICIPATED new album. Not only is Augustinesone of my FAVORITE BANDS OF ALL TIME, but this new song (Are We Alive) has FIRED ME UP moving into the new year (RISE: The Story of Augustines)- I can’t WAIT till they are back touring over here in the states – the UK has had them for long enough! Other inspiration comes from new discoveries – Funeral Advantage(thanks to my German roadtrippin’ buddies that I met at Penguin Prison last month), Tom Rosenthal (thanks to my London music guru buddy), Baby Brave and Joel Arthur Russel(NoiseTrade). ENJOY!
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Here’s the playlist on Spotify:
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You can download all of the songs (out of order) from my link on Box.com
Irish Margaritas- Harriet
Total Zombie- Day Wave
Are We Alive- Augustines
Foreign Lovers- Ra Ra Riot
Get Louder- Caught A Ghost
Eyes On You- Hey Marseilles
Nothing At All- Day Wave
Inheritance- Harriet
Lie To Me- Milo Greene
Faultlines- HEARTWATCH
Bread and Bleeding- Penny and Sparrow
Ten Steps- Harriet
Perfect Ok- Hey Marseilles
Chariot- Soren Bryce
Drag- Day Wave
America’s Sweetheart- Elle King
Burbank- Harriet
Broken Bones- HEARTWATCH
My Heart- Hey Marseilles
Gardensong- Funeral Advantage
Absolutely- Ra Ra Riot
See You Around- Joel Adam Russell
Sirens- Soren Bryce
Wasn’t Expecting That- Jamie Lawson
Never Let You Go- HEARTWATCH
Non-Verbal Communication- Tom Rosenthal
Newport- Soren Bryce
Plastic Skateboard- Brave Baby
SO STOKED that I got to catch the DREAMY Day Wavefor their first ever headline show at The Rickshaw Stop last week as part of SF’s NoisePop festival. It was no secret that Day Wave was to be playing NoisePop this year, for the musical mind behind Day Wave – Jackson Philips– was actually featured on the cover of this year’s NoisePop magazine. In fact, it was my friend -the incredibly talented and very much in-demand music photographer, Paige Parsons– that took the awesome photo. Initially trained as a jazz drummer at the prestigious Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA) from the age of nine, Phillips eventually found himself trapped in a Whiplash (yes, the movie) kind of world where people were “very competitive” and “not very nice to each other.” During college especially, he realized that he was more interested in making songs than in perfecting his drumming technique, and this epiphany inspired him to learn piano and song production. By the end of junior year, he was already creating his own synth-based songs and releasing these through his first band, Carousel.
Fast forward a few years, and Philips decides to leave Carousel to pursue his own solo project, Day Wave. This pursuit involved him teaching himself guitar (for which he learned all by ear) and moving away from synths. By July 2015, he was ready to release his debut “lo-fi guitar-based indie rock EP” – Headcase – that was recorded entirely by himself at his home studio. I can definitely see him as a music hermit (similar to Trevor Powers of Youth Lagoon) that spends ALL DAY in his bedroom crafting different arrangements without leaving the house for hours on end (I learned from Powers that this was indeed the case for him). All of that intense introverted-ness and die-hard devotion eventually paid off for Philips (and Powers too of course), for the five tracks on his Headcase EP prove to be a unique brand of dreamy, lo-fi surf rock that is CATCHY AS HELL. With influences of New Order, Joy Division, and The Beach Boys/ Brian Wilson, Day Wave’s wistful, melancholy lyrics are perfectly matched with happy hooks (guitar) and persistent percussion (you can tell he was a drummer). This EP is MY JAM right now, and a SOLID CHOICE for your summertime playlist!
Only 26 years old, Philips has a COLOSSAL career ahead of him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins “best breakout band” (or something along those lines) at this year’s The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, UK (just outside of London). I went to this festival both years that I lived in London, for it reminds me of Europe’s mini SXSW and is a SERIOUS stomping ground of international music talent (3 days = 400+ bands/artists from 30 different countries). I’m still shocked by all of the budding bands I was lucky enough to see there before they BLEW UP (including two recent Brit award winners, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Jack Garratt, James Bay and a Australian Recording Industry Association winner, Courtney Barnett). I’ve already given a heads up to my music pals in the UK to make sure they check out Day Wave– they are a MUST SEE!
Although Dave Wave hadn’t sold out their show at the Rickshaw (would have been pretty impressive for their first headliner), they were surely greeted by a roomful of dedicated fans hailing from Oakland and the surrounding Bay Area. The guy standing next to me was just one of many, and he kept raving on about how Day Wave’s Headcase EP was his favorite album right now.
Kicking off full force, Day Wave started the set with Nothing at All, one of my favorites from the EP and arguably the CATCHIEST of their collection. Nothing at All was the first song Philips wrote for Day Wave, and the first time he put himself out there with such open, honest lyrics:
“What am I good for? Somebody tell me Cause I don’t know anymore What am I good for? Somebody tell me Cause I don’t know anymore.” SO GOOD.
Next up was Total Zombie, the track that I must admit to having the strongest connection with the first time I heard it. Like a “total zombie,” I fell numb to this dreamy ditty and was instantly lured into joining the catchy chorus: “So just close your eyes and I’ll close mine.. Let me close your heart, it just takes time… And we’ll be alright, we’ll be alright.” Apparently, this song was recorded all instrumental before the lyrics came. Whatever the process… it worked well!
Then came Drag, a sweet gloom-pop melody that was apparently a drag to finish (Philips’ “most tedious song to write”) but we are sure glad he didn’t give up on it: “I’m stuck in my head.. I don’t wanna let you in.”
Soon after was a song called I’ll Be Fine (I think?), another gloomy ditty that just WORKS and is undeniably addictive: “I’ll be fine on my own, as long as I’m waiting I’ll be fine alone, so leave me alone.”
Similar to that was Wasting all my time(I think?), one that again lures you in to a certain gloomy-but-gleeful state: “I’m wasting all my time… I push it all away.”
… as well as another track for which I don’t know the name:
Nearing the end, Day Waveplays Gone, an unreleased track that has already gained a lot of popularity on SoundCloud: “I feel this way alone and i feel this way… I feel this way alone and you’re gone, you’re gone..”
It’s no surprise that Philips saved Headcase for last, as he once noted in an interview that this track was his “favorite of the bunch” and his “favorite to play live.” He described it as “summing up the whole theme of EP” (hence the title track). Cheers to the ‘headcase’ in all of us: “Cause I don’t feel right anymore… so bury me alive… this time.” EPIC ENCORE.
I definitely left the Rickshaw on “cloud nine” that night, and thanks to the EP, have been keeping my headcase self “in the clouds” ever since. 🙂
Bands they’ve played with: Rogue Wave, Blonde Redhead
Written by Erica Andreozzi (with pics by Stefan Arosen)
Formerly known as The Tropics, the SF Bay Area band named HEARTWATCH recently released their self-title, debut record: http://heartwatch.bandcamp.com/. In fact, they did so the same day of their SOLD OUT NoisePop show at the Independent on Wednesday. After streaming the album on Itunes and Spotify the week earlier, I was stoked to finally hear their pulsating, high-energy, indie-pop tracks translated into a night of endless dancing (and IT WAS).
HEARTWATCH is definitely a band to WATCH OUT for, and their popular performances at Phono Del Sol and Outside Lands Music Festival last year quickly elevated their stature and solidified their status as “the Bay Area’s favorite new band.” Members include: Eric Silverman (guitar, keys), Rowan Peter (guitar, vocals), Nate Skelton (bass), Kern Sigala (drums), and Claire George (vocals). Surprisingly enough, Claire – whose voice reminds me of a cross between Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir of Of Monsters and Men and Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches – is just a girl who “been singing (her) whole life in cars to Mariah Carey and Fiona Apple” but had no prior vocal training. You would never have guessed that from the powerful pipes propelling these tracks! My favorites to sing along to are Fireproof, Sleepless, and Faultlines. I especially connect with the verse about meeting on the Golden Gate, as I do often visit this SF landmark (yes, even as a resident!): “Meet me in the middle of the golden gate and feel my heart beat.. meet me in the middle of the golden gate and our love will stay between the ocean and the bay.”
I love to see such SF pride shine through their music, and I respect their diehard devotion to the SF music scene regardless of the exponential increase in rent and the mass exodus of artists/musicians to Oakland and Portland. “People love to talk about how bands are leaving, everyone is leaving, San Francisco and getting priced out—and it’s true,” says Claire. “A lot of musicians have left. I have a lot of friends who are leaving, still. We’re hanging on, and it’s cool because we feel really supported by the community.”
That community support definitely showed up at the Independent on Wednesday , and I wouldn’t be surprised if they earned recognition one of the “Best acts at NoisePop.” Good thing they will be touring the West Coast in March and playing BottleRock Napa Festival in May – people OUTSIDE the local community need to know about them! Don’t say I didn’t warn ya! 😉
https://www.facebook.com/Beatsthatsetmypulse/ 