I know we’re all tired of hearing the same sound over and over again in music; we all want something new. If that sounds like you, then here are three new artists that have been making waves in this large ocean of music that is available to us: Daughter, Volcano Choir, and Rejjie Snow.
Daughter: Formed at the London Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, Daughter captures its audience with haunting vocals and lingering melancholic strains. They are easily described as a calm mixture between the XX’s lazy yet stirringly comfortable playing, and Florence and the Machine’s powerfully evocative lyricism. Daughter has certainly made a strong first impression on the music world; combining beautifully crafted music with thought provoking lyrics. If you sit and listen to them, I promise you, you’ll be moved to tears and if you’re not, there is certainly something wrong with you. Moving lyrics from tracks like “Human” leave no question as to the depth and breadth that they can achieve: “Underneath the skin there’s a human/ Buried deep within there’s a human/And despite everything I’m still human/ But I think I’m dying here…” The group seems to have dedicated itself to providing soul-wrenchingly beautiful lyrics to fit with the soul-swooping sensation one has with headphones plugged in, or when listening to an iPod connected to the stereo while lying on the floor. Get ready to be swept up in what is Daughter’s wave of emotion and sorrowfully uplifting songs.
The band has been active since 2010 with their first demo garnering attention by word of mouth. Originally the solo work of Elena Torna (vocals and guitar), the current trio added Igor Haefeli (guitar) and Remi Aguilella (drums) to the mix. The group self-released their debut EP ablum “His Young Heart” in April 2011 closely followed in 2012 by the release of their second EP album “The Wild Youth.” The group has garnered a close following, and with the release of their first long play album “If You Leave” in late April of this year, have begun touring with the added benefit of radio stations playing their music with uninhibited frenzy. This band while young has surprised all with its mature style of playing and intellectual musings on life and personal experience. Find Daughter on iTunes, Amazon, or Spotify.
Volcano Choir: Volcano Choir, formed in 2005, is an Indie band from Wisconsin and a collaborative side project between Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, and the members of Collection of Colonies of Bees. Having released their debut album “Unmap” on Sept. 22, 2009, reaching 92 on the charts, they are back with their second album “Repave.” Released Sept. 3, “Repave” seems to be a genius creation, combining Vernon’s angelic like vocal quality and introspective lyrics with Collection of Colonies of Bees’ more electronic pensively absorbed musical feel. The opening title – “Tiderays” – begins with something of a didgeridoo-ish quality, softly layered with an opening guitar riff that will have you asking for more, and that’s exactly what you get as Justin Vernon enters the room with his mythical-quality falsetto.
The album is full of cuts with titles like “Acetate” (a product used in making plastic), “Byegone,” which makes one feel as if the album in its entirety is about reminiscences, and “Alaskans,” with lyrics that make me want to get up off my butt and go travelling before I remember I’m a college student with too much debt and too much homework to do anything but stay in-state. The driving lyrics – “You had me housed up on your red, red road/ Stranded in the housing of our move in house in/ We were going to hit every port and every cape town/ We were going to give a full report, of sorts/ To your mother up in Cabo and in Newcourt…” – just capture you and don’t let you go until the end of the album. Really though, if you’re looking for your new inspirational writing-to or painting-to album, look no further, for you have found a gold mine of rousing (and dare I say arousing) lyricism and melancholia in “Repave.” Find it on iTunes, or anywhere else you can get music!
Rejjie Snow: When I think of rappers, I don’t normally think of thought-provoking lyrics with smooth jazz mixed in to provide an aloof atmosphere not accomplished by other rappers. Rejjie Snow has completely blown me away. A 20-year-old emcee from Dublin Ireland, Snow’s style is completely different from his other UK contemporaries, making him incomparable. His gritty lyrics really bring rap back to its roots: poetry. His first EP “Rejovich” released June 24 of this year, under the indie label Kaya Kaya Records, really shows how powerful the combination of evocative lyrics and spine chilling music can be. As I sit in my dorm room, in the broiling heat, and listen to his cut “USSR,” the snap and the soft fuzz from a record makes its way through my speakers. The piano begins and I imagine that I’m sitting in a 1940s movie set, waiting for scene to start. The EP has the sort of personal feel that only a rapper who respects himself can have. “Olga,” the last track on the EP, combines a jazzy quality with graphic verses depicting his life, and his personal experiences making me feel like I’m right there in the studio, cooling down amongst a haze of cigarettes. If anything, I can’t wait to see what else Snow produces. If it’s anything as addicting as this first dip, he has nothing to worry about. Find him on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, or even YouTube for fellow broke college students. For an interview with Rejjie Snow check out these two links: http://www.mtviggy.com/interviews/rejjie-is-about-to-make-it-snow/ and http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/rejjie-snow-rejovich#_.
DAUGHTER SOURCES
http://glassnotemusic.com/profile/Daughter
http://4ad.com/news/19/4/2012/daughtersignto4ad
http://drownedinsound.com/releases/17527/reviews/4146174
VOLCANO CHOIR SOURCES
http://jagjaguwar.com/blog/2013/05/volcano-choir-are-back/
http://www.avclub.com/articles/all-tiny-creatures-thomas-wincek,45725/
http://www.billboard.com/artist/431070/volcano+choir/chart
REJJE SNOW SOURCES
http://rap.about.com/od/artist1/tp/Top-10-New-Rappers-2013.htm
http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/rejjie-snow-rejovich#_
