Lee Fields & The Expressions
Sarah Jaffe was sort of an indie-folk type, but just broke her mold with “Glorified High“ a sticky, muddy, electro-infused dance rock tune: (Embedding is turned off on this track which is stupid – click link above to visit)
British sisters comprise the braintrust of 2:54. “You’re Early” rocks just enough to catch my attention amid the tidal wave of new indie music – strong enough to break through the wall of laptop artists, 2:54 is driven by real guitars and drums … thank god:
2:54 – You’re Early by 2:54 Band
Formed by some of the dudes in Fleet Foxes, Father John Misty is a side project that flexes a little more straight forward rock muscle than the Foxes usual somber folk. Listen to “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings”:
Father John Misty – Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings by subpop
Another side project, this time from some of the guys in Tame Impala, is Pond. “Elegant Design” embraces the psychedelic trip-rock of Impala more than some of the other tracks on their album and that’s probably why I like it:
White Rabbits are back with a new album. Now I never loved them nor hated them before, they just kind of existed. Their latest album pushes the Rabbits another step away from their percussive, nearly Latin debut album toward a more fully integrated rock sound. I absolutely adore the first single “Heavy Metal”:
White Rabbits – Heavy Metal by theinsound
Now this motherfucker has soul! Lee Fields & The Expressions have a new album called “Faithful Man” and this is the title track. Like Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Fields takes the roots rock ‘n soul approach with a traditional sound that is neither tired or contrived, but spot-on:
Lee Fields – Faithful Man by Rodion Gusev 1
Jeff the Brotherhood is another 2-person outfit, but instead of fleshing out songs with synth and loops they opt for the layering of crushing organic rock guitar. “Hey Friend” lays thick guitar tracks on top of a drum kit for a more traditional White Stripes meets 70′s guitar rock feel:
Mellow Out by Jeff The Brotherhood
Like Lee Fields, Nick Curran and the Lowlifes embrace tradition. Curran evokes early Sun Records Elvis or Gene Vincent with a retro garage rock blast that is so authentic you would never know it came out last year. Check out “Rocker”: