Song Sampler of the Day: “Never Forget You,” “Help Me Close My Eyes,” & “Revolution”

Another great Song Sampler of the Day, coming right up. One of these might be one of the more unique songs I’ve posted on Harmony Avenue. First off, though, it’s…

“Never Forget You” by the Noisettes!

I’m not too familiar with the Noisettes at the moment (as is often the case with artists whose tunes I feature in Songs of the Day), but I definitely would like to get to know their music a little better. (Mildly amusing tidbit: I first came across their work when another song by them, “Atticus,” was playing on our Pandora station at work, and I really was intrigued by it…at which point it was promptly skipped, since no one else thought it sounded any good. Sigh.) This is a very retro-tinged song…a way to describe it best might be Motown gone modern. It’s deliciously catchy, yet with a sneaky sort of depth that elevates it above the level of bubblegum. Lead singer Shingai Shoniwa (who apparently is British, but with Zimbabwean heritage) ties everything together nicely with a textured, impassioned vocal. (My sister said it reminded her a bit of Amy Winehouse.)  I’ve definitely been coming back to this song quite a few times.

Next up, by way of Sweden, it’s…

“Help Me Close My Eyes” by Those Dancing Days!

This song, by all-female Swedish indie pop group Those Dancing Days,  is somewhat stylistically similar to “Never Forget You,” in that it’s musically upbeat, but lyrically bittersweet. (Wow, I used both alliteration AND rhyme in that sentence. Since I’m posting on a music blog, not writing a Dr. Seuss book, that probably wasn’t for the best…) However, it’s definitely a bit more dance-oriented than the aforementioned tune. (Not that you’d hear it very often at a dance club or anything, but it’s fairly beat-driven.) It’s subtly intoxicating, haunting, and all those kinds of wonderful things that indie pop music should be.

And last but not least, an intriguing entry into the Harmony Avenue Song of the Day oeuvre…

“Revolution” by Dr. John!

Dr. John is a legendary New Orleans musician with credits and honors as diverse as five Grammy Awards, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, contribution to the soundtrack for Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” (he sang the opening tune, “Down In New Orleans”), a collaboration with Hugh Laurie on his recent musical debut, and membership in the first incarnation of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band. His very cool new record, “Locked Down” (which I haven’t gotten around to checking out fully yet, but I’ve heard a bit of so far), produced by Black Keys member Dan Auerbach, is in some ways influenced by all of those things (and more)…but at the same time, none of them. The vibe of this song (and of the album) is very hard to describe in terms of genre. In terms of atmosphere, on the other hand? Words that come to mind for me: funky, gritty, honest. Things get down and dirty here, but thanks both to Dan Auerbach’s innovative production, as well as Dr. John’s unique artistic vision, this tune stays incredibly, vividly accessible. I’m not usually attuned to this vein of music as much as I should, but songs like this just might change that.

Artist Mini-Spotlight: Kimbra

Quite often while brainstorming posts, I want to highlight artists that only have an album or so out, whose music I’ve only recently discovered, and usually I end up doing this by way of a Song of the Day post. (There have been a lot of them lately, hmmm. Harmony Avenue should not live by Song of the Day alone…) However, a lot of the time, there’s a good deal of songs by said artist that I enjoy, yet not enough to expand into a full-blown Artist Spotlight post. Enter a new spinoff of the Artist Spotlight I’m trying out, the Artist Mini-Spotlight. (I floated making this a combo post like I did with the Song Sampler a day or two ago, but I thought it would be nice to give each artist their own space, since it’s a bit of a different situation than a song.) This will likely be shorter than most Artist Spotlight posts, provided I don’t get too long-winded (yeah, I’m already losing that battle), and will feature some of my favorite tunes by said artist, and good introductions to their music. Without further ado, the inaugural mini-spotlighted artist…

Kimbra!

If you’ve been listening to the radio lately, you might have already heard her voice. She’s the featured artist on Belgian-Australian artist Gotye’s deliriously catchy little-indie-hit-that-could, “Somebody That I Used To Know.” (Her appearance is a high point of an already pretty darn terrific song.) I, like a growing number of people at this point, had heard and fallen in love with the song, when a good friend of mine (the same one that recommended I check out Andy Grammer’s music, as noted here) suggested I look up her solo work. I found out she had an album, “Vows,” released in New Zealand and Australia (her home country and its friendly neighbor, respectively), and took a few listens to some of the songs…and oh baby, I was hooked. She has such a stunning, expressive, vibrant voice that it seems like she can do pretty much anything with. If you were impressed by what you heard of her on Gotye’s single…you are in for a treat. It gets even better.

Something I’ve noticed about Kimbra (besides her terrific music) is that so far, her music videos have been firing on all cylinders. Not since the days of Feist’s triple-threat of “1234,” “My Moon My Man,” and “I Feel It All” have I seen three video clips of  this caliber. They’re quirky, beautifully shot, engaging, dazzling, and tons of fun. I could of course introduce you to Kimbra strictly by audio, but I think it’s better if you check out her amazing visual aesthetic as well.

First off, “Settle Down,” her first single. There are shades of Bjork-style influences throughout (her use of vocal loops and harmonies is wonderfully innovative), but overall, it’s really a song that can’t be classified. The way she builds and tosses and turns…it’s intoxicating. In the best way. Here is the song, with its (literally) fiery music video attached:

The second single (P.S.: these singles sadly have only been released outside the U.S. for now, though her debut is set to bow in the States on May 22, and she does have an EP in the U.S. iTunes store), “Cameo Lover,” is insanely catchy and, to use a highly technical phrase here, pumping. I’m pretty sure I’ve listened to it the most out of all the Kimbra songs I have. There’s a bit of a ‘girl-group’ sound in here…but once again, Kimbra ends up turning it on its ear, and the result is something quite unique. The music video, featuring some infectious dancing by Kimbra herself (accompanied by a throng of female backup dancers), matches the song’s brilliance very nicely:

And because it’s her only other song with a music video, and I’m on a music video kick, the slinky, throwback-esque “Good Intent,” which shows yet another side of Kimbra’s musical vision:

In case you’re wondering whether she’s any good live…here’s a great clip of her singing another song off her debut, “Two Way Street.” If this is how she is in a studio, I can only imagine how terrific she is onstage:

To close it all off, a fun 80s-R&B-tinged number, “Call Me.” (No relation to the Blondie song of the same name…well, maybe a little.)

By the way, she’s only 22. (A fact I found out today while looking at her Wikipedia article as brief preparation for this post.) My mind, it is forever boggled. (She’s only got 2 years on me and is making this kind of incredible music? Wowsers.) Thanks for reading and listening!

Song Sampler of the Day: “Comme des enfants,” “Death By Perfection,” & “Reset”

So I have less than a month, officially, until I’m due to leave on my mission and depart for the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Crazy, I know. But that means I have 29 days (according to the handy little countdown widget on your right) to keep the Harmony Avenue party going, and I have tons of artists & songs I still want to share. My solution (for now, at least)? I’m going to experiment with some ways to expand my posting repertoire, while still sticking to the (hopefully) simple ways I’ve done things on this blog since the beginning. (P.S.: Helpful feedback on what’s working and what’s not is always appreciated. A blogger can’t do it all on his own. ) And thus, I introduce to you…the Song Sampler of the Day! It’s the Song of the Day we all know and love, but thrice as nice at the same price! The first song in this trio of musical delight? A tune in French called…

“Comme des enfants” by Coeur de Pirate!

Coeur de Pirate is the stage name for young French-Canadian singer/songwriter Béatrice Martin. (“Coeur de Pirate is French for “pirate heart.”) I first heard another song of hers on our Pandora station at work, and I had been meaning to check her music out further, but before I did, I saw her name pop up again, this time while perusing Musicnotes, one of my favorite sheet music sites. This song was on the front page, so I took a listen to the audio sample of the sheet music, was intrigued, listened to the 90-second clip on iTunes…and boy, was I hooked. Such a beautiful song, and the kind that’s appealing and lovely regardless what language you speak. (I’m personally not the best at French, and I’m much less familiar with it than I am with, say, Spanish, though I do kind of admire it from afar. And we’re singing a song in French, from the opera “Carmen,” for the East Valley Mormon Choral Organization’s upcoming concert. It’ll be very fun.) Light and airy, yet haunting and riveting, this song is, as English-speaking people say in a clichéd fashion, thinking they’re all French…très magnifique.

Next, take a gander (with your…ears?) at…

“Death by Perfection” by Maia Sharp!

I actually don’t have a way to embed the studio version here. But you can listen to it rather easily thanks to NPR, by clicking on this link. The link also features a little story about the song (funnily enough, it was actually their Song of the Day…connections!), which is really insightful. Anyways, before I talk about that a tiny bit, Maia is an unbelievably talented songwriter and performer who has helped write songs for the likes of the Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, and according to the little NPR article, even Cher. The Dixie Chicks song, “A Home,” was co-written with her dad Randy Sharp, and was one of the standouts (for me, at least) from the Chicks’ stunning album “Home.” One of the songs she contributed to Bonnie Raitt’s last album, “Souls Alike,” is one of my all-time favorites…a stark, heartbreaking tune called “The Bed I Made.” She’s a gifted composer, but also a vibrant and dynamic performer. David Browne of NPR (who penned the article I linked to) states the essence of this song’s appeal best, I think: “A subtly ingratiating song, it makes its point with grace and nuance — in other words, a protest song for adults.” I just love the lyrics…Maia is skilled at putting things in unique ways, yet making them intensely relatable, and she’s also terrific at creating just the right musical setting for her lyrics. Plus, this song features a fine guest appearance by none other than Bonnie Raitt herself.

The last song in today’s trio? A breathtaking song that I have a favorite artist of mine to thank for introducing me to (more on that in a moment)…

“Reset” by Lucie Silvas!

Lucie Silvas is, from what I understand, a British singer-songwriter. This is the only song of hers I’ve heard. (I’ll soon have to remedy that.) I found about it via Jamie Cullum, one of my musical idols, and one who’s been previously featured on this blog. His brother, Ben Cullum, is a songwriter who’s co-written for Jamie and for other artists, and he made the following tweet about a song his brother had worked on:

@bencullummusic wrote a gorgeous song with @luciesilvas. It's going to be on One tree hill 2nite in the US. Listen here bit.ly/zcyYlC—
  (@jamiecullum) March 14, 2012

I saw it by chance while checking out his website for possible news about his upcoming new album (JAMIE JUST GIVE IT TO US PLEASE), and I went to listen to the song…sweet mama, is it good. It’s sweeping, and emotional, yet beautifully confessional and honest. (It also increases my desire/dream to someday co-write with Ben Cullum. He is terrific.) You’ll be hitting the play button quite often on this one.

There you have it! Harmony Avenue’s first Song Sampler of the Day. I have no idea how often I’ll be utilizing this combo format for Song of the Day posts, but it was worth an initial try at any rate. Thanks for reading, and I’ll be sure to make this final month of posting an exciting one!