freshvibesmonday #17 (OVERDUE)

YES I know It's Friday & not Monday (TGIF for all of you living a 9-5/M-F lifestyle like me.) I've been updating the Facebook page for LYED as much as possible, and if you haven't had a chance to check it out ---> PLEASE DO! :) Just click HERE & Poof, your ears and eyes are in for a treat! :)

Guards - "SILVER LINING"
If this band doesn't ring a bell, but Two Door Cinema Club does...guess what - they're touring together! Maybe this song rings a bell? If not, have no fear - this is a band from NYC that has a great future ahead of them. Although they're not touring on the West coast with TDCC, their east coast shows should be amazing! I'm fortunate enough that I will be seeing them on Saturday at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia! (AKA My new home). It's my first time checking out the Electric Factory, but I've heard several good things about this venue. Wish me luck! ;) 

Nero - "WON'T YOU (BE THERE)
I've been looking forward to this gem for quite some time after they recently announced (via Facebook) that they were going to release a new track. All 3 members of NERO (Daniel, Joe, and Alana) are currently working on their 2nd album, and how nice of them to share this gem that they initially planned to include in their DJ sets. I am a big fan of NERO, and was fortunate enough to catch their set during the first weekend of Coachella (which was beautiful). Sad to hear that the 2nd weekend set was scheduled earlier during the day, and therefore it didn't match what the members of NERO had expected for their ideal performance environment. I don't blame them! In my opinion,NERO comes alive in the night time. 
Don't forget! This track is a FREE DOWNLOAD! All you gotta do is click HERE! 

The Head and the Heart - "FIRE/FEAR"

If you've been keeping up with the FB page for LYED then hopefully your ears would've listened to one of the latest unreleased tracks from The Head and the Heart recently performed live on KEXP. There was a bit of a twist though to this performance: only 3 of the band members are here for this specific performance (Josiah, Jonathan, and Charity) which are the three main vocalists for The Head and the Heart. They performed a couple of unreleased tracks (one of them was "untitled" or maybe that was the title?) Anyways, I felt this was a beautiful way to give listeners an opportunity to capture the acoustic version of upcoming tracks that will hopefully be released on the upcoming album. 

Alt-J - "TESSELLATE"

Here's an example of something that isn't as fresh as the other tracks featured on this post, but the debut album for Alt-J was released about a week ago on September 18th! Their music has been released over the course of the past few months, but I must admit that it is nice to listen to the album An Awesome Wave from beginning to end. This album is BEAUTIFUL and besides this track I am OBSESSED with "Something Good". I am constantly receiving Ben Howard & Radiohead vibes throughout each song In my response this album fits perfectly for my walk to the subway station. Usually I am looking for something for my walk to work that's overly upbeat such as Martin Solveig or even Two Door Cinema Club, but this album has definitely made it on the list.

FAIR LION - War

A friend of mine recently introduced me to this song and I was stoked on from the start. Fair Lion (aka Victoria Tresko) is from New York and if you have a chance, check out her SoundCloud account. There's a handful of songs on there that are worth checking out! It's a little Imogen Heap-ish (which I love) but Fair Lion takes a more electronic/trip-pop direction. Regardless, her voice is mesmerizing alone. So, what do you think?

Cold Cave - "A LITTLE DEATH TO LAUGH"

Mmmm between the latest release from TRUST and this new one from Cold Cave, that little dark & cold part of my soul is temporarily satisfied. If that sounded a little over the top then I'm glad.Fun Fact: this track was written, recorded, and performed by Wesley Eisold in his Los Angeles apartment. Cold Cave will be going on tour this fall and expect some new but familiar faces to be performing with him. Former members from Blood Brothers, Samhain, AFI, and LCD Soundsystem will be joining him on stage! 

Also, I recently stumbled upon this track by Swedish musician Hannes Norrvide that's worth checking out if you like the song above ---> Lust for Youth - Behind Curtains.

CHVRCHES - "THE MOTHER WE SHARE"

I'm just now hopping on the CHVRCHES train, and I won't be surprised if you do the same after listening to this catchy lil track. The Mother We Share is out on 5 November via National Anthem. Feel-good electronic indie is what's in store if you decide to click on the video above. Also, the higher the volume is when you listen to this song, the more you'll enjoy it. Looking for something with a punch? Listen to this one from CHVRCHES called "Lies"

All Things Sasquatch Flavored Pt. 1

In case you weren't aware: this upcoming weekend is not only Memorial Day Weekend but it also marks the 10th annual Sasquatch Music Festival held at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. It's a 3-day festival sponsored by: esurance (an AllState company), Kokanee, Honda, Verizon, Matador, and Alaska Airlines. Some of the high notes for the festival are without a doubt: Jack White, Beck, Bon Iver, Tenacious D, The Shins, and Pretty Lights. 

So HERE is the first dose of my personal high notes that I highly suggest you check out for yourself while you're there (because unfortunately I'm a full-time student and finals are in less than two weeks, boo). 

If you want to learn more about the festival itself, feel free to checkout their website by clicking here!

METRIC

Alright, so you're probably thinking "no shit sherlock" that Metric is a must-see on my list. I might be a fairly young(22) music enthusiast, but Metric and I go WAY back. Thanks to a dear friend of mine, I was immediately attached to this group following the 2003 release of their first full-length album Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? "Dead Disco", "Combat Baby", "Wet Blanket" were bonafied jams of mine. They have an undeniable "sparklepunch" sound that I find addicting; and spikes your curiosity about what influences the words that come out Emily Haines' mouth. Other tracks of mine that I'm head over heels about and hope you'll hear live are: Police in the Private, Monster Hospital, Help I'm Alive, Collect Call, Gold Guns Girls, Gimme Sympathy, and this newly released track you'll find below titled "Youth Without Youth". This single will be on their upcoming release Synthetica that is out on June 12th. If you think about it, this is the perfect time to expose some of the new material. 

THE JOY FORMIDABLE

Take it from me as I've had the pleasure of catching The Joy Formidable live twice last year-THEY PUT ON AN AMAZING LIVE SHOW. Not only did I catch them at a festival setting (Outside Lands), but also at a small nearby venue (SoHo). TJF is a trio consisting of Ritzy Bryan(lead vocals/guitar), Rhydian Dafydd(bass guitar/backing vocals), and Matt Thomas(drums/percussion) from the UK. Don't let Ritzy's pint-size frame fool you, she's a beast (just watch how big her eyes get). It really amazed me how identical they sounded to their recordings. Below is my favorite track by them "A Heavy Abacus" off their first (and only so far) full-length 2011 album The Big Roar. Have no fear, the amount of roar in their music will not cheat you whatsoever. 

PURITY RING

I predict Purity Ring to be one of the standout sets for this music festival. With the amount of hype that's been generated off their 3 tracks that have been swimming for what feels like forever, Purity Ring is barely a year old. After an amazing delivery at this year's South By Southwest (SXSW), a surprise release of a new single "Obedear" that was followed by the announcement of an upcoming album release has graced our attention. Shrines is the first full-length from Purity Ring, and will be released July 23rd on 4AD/Last Gang Records. Below is the first single off Shrines titled "Obedear". 

ACTIVE CHILD

Recently when I posted about favorite duets, Active Child was featured in it along with How To Dress Well for their hypnotizing track "Playing House". Active Child (aka Pat Grossi) is easily one of the most talented solo artists today, and I am extremely envious of you who get to catch him in the flesh this weekend! I would love to hear what your thoughts were in regards to his live performance. Enjoy Active Child's Live Performance on KEXP Radio below from last September.... that harp-playing is mighty wonderful. 

ZOLA JESUS

Zola Jesus aka Nika Roza Danilova is the voice of your darkest dream. The first word that comes to mind whenever I listen to her music is "release". Therapeutic or cathartic also appear. In my opinion I wasn't much of a fan at first for her 2nd EP Stridulum, which is the 6th release from Zola. Conatus on the other hand, was an immediate attraction for me. What I found is that the music on both Stridulum and Conatus reflect identically upon their album covers. While Stridulum captures Zola completely drenched in a dark liquid, Conatus displays Zola wrapped in a white sheet as well as wearing white clothes. This isn't to say that the music on Conatus is super airy and lacking the operatic darkness, because it is still there in full force. Also, Zola Jesus is featured on the first track "Intro" of the latest M83 album Hurry Up We're Dreaming & collaborated with Orbital on "New France". Those are two tracks that are definitely worth checking out if you haven't already. Below is my favorite Zola Jesus track which is found on Conatus titled "Seekir". Enjoy!