Monthly Mix: May 2013

Daft Punk shares Random Access Memories

     The month of May is usually synonymous with sunshine and a revival period for mother nature. As the fresh bloom starts to spring up, the musical world also begins sprouting up some blossoms of its own in the form of colorful mp3s.
     Electronic dance-rock duo Daft Punk is back in the fold with their first studio release in 8 years Random Access Memories [May 21, via Columbia]. The long-awaited album was worth the wait as the Frenchmen behind the robot helmets Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter deliver the goods with a 70's-style disco dance party. This record is filled with collaborations, with one of the better cameos coming from Animal Collective's Panda Bear on the club-shaking "Doin' It Right." After one listen, everybody will be dancing and be doing it right. Although there are no current plans for a tour, the rumors will always be circulating.
     With the cold and rainy weather behind us, the warmth of the summer will soon be beckoning. The May Playlist has a dynamic assortment of cuts that will make it easy to take in the vibrant sounds, perfect for a sunny afternoon stroll through the park.


May 2013 Playlist

1. Portugal. The Man - Purple Yellow Red & Blue

2. Capital Cities - Safe And Sound

3. Fitz And The Tantrums - Out Of My League

4. Atlas Genius - If So

5. The National - Sea Of Love

6. Daft Punk - Doin' It Right ft. Panda Bear

7. Empire Of The Sun - Alive

8. Small Black - No Stranger

9. Wild Nothing - A Dancing Shell

10. Frightened Rabbit - Oil Slick

11. Classixx - All You're Waiting For

12. Fall Out Boy - Young Volcanoes

Check in every month for the latest in alternative/indie music.

Visit iTunes if you heard anything you liked on Orbit Sound! 

For more, follow Steve Ferris on Twitter: @SteveFerris7

Monthly Mix: April 2013

The Flaming Lips bring The Terror

    
     Avoiding the rain in April is no easy task. A good umbrella and a solid pair of headphones is often a formidable defense. Lucky for us, under this month's umbrella was an array of shimmering tracks that helped to keep us dry and rocking out at the same time.
     Oklahoma space-rockers The Flaming Lips are back in action with their new album The Terror [April 16, via Warner Bros.]. Frontman Wayne Coyne describes it as "A record about acceptance. When the world expects you to be all sunshine, you want to express feelings that are the opposite so that others can share what you're feeling." The track "Always There In Our Hearts" is a dark haunting number which slowly builds creating a chaotic crescendo. The entire feel of the album plays out in a similar fashion. Look for them as their tour swings through the festival circuit including Bottle Rock, Forecastle, and Capitol Hill Block Party.
     The rest of April's mix is filled with a variety of alternative rock, indie rock, dreampop, and more to help brighten up the gloomy rainy nights.


April 2013 Playlist

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - If You Didn't See Me

2. Born Ruffians - Ocean's Deep

3. Queens of the Stone Age - My God Is The Sun

4. Dawes - From A Window Seat

5. Phoenix - Trying To Be Cool

6. The Flaming Lips - Always There In Our Hearts

7. Deerhunter - Monomania

8. Generationals - Say When

9. Snoop Lion - Ashtrays and Heartbreaks ft. Miley Cyrus

10. Lemaitre - Cut To Black

11. Bonobo - Antenna

12. Daft Punk - Get Lucky

Check in every month for the latest in alternative/indie music.

Please try and support all the great artists featured in Orbit Sound!

For more, follow Steve Ferris on twitter: @SteveFerris7

Monthly Mix: March 2013

Phoenix goes Bankrupt!

    
     "Beware the Ides of March" is the famous warning given to the title character in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar.  If Caesar existed today, they might be telling him to beware the "mp3s" of March, for they may cause dancing seizures. This month's mix features some spring-time gems in the form of spanking new indie rock and hypnotic shoe-gaze, sure to help put winter in the rearview mirror.
     French alternative-rock darlings Phoenix are making some major noise in anticipation of their upcoming 5th studio release Bankrupt! [April 22, via Glassnote]. The 4-piece rock outfit, led by Thomas Mars, has introduced the first single in the form of the synthy, eastern-sounding "Entertainment." While Mars states he'd "rather be alone", it is safe to say the band most certainly won't be as their tour will bounce through the western United States featuring a headlining spot at Coachella. They will also be at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival followed by a slew of European festivals including Primavera Sound, Pinkpop, and Leeds Festival.
     As the snow continues to melt away, the March mix most definitely does its best to bring about the much needed sunshine of the spring. In fact, it's so good that it would have Caesar saying "I came, I listened, I conquered."

March 2013 Playlist

1. David Bowie - The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Sacrilege

3. Phoenix - Entertainment

4. Portugal. The Man - Evil Friends

5. The Neighbourhood - Sweater Weather

6. Foals - My Number

7. The Crookes - Afterglow

8. Wavves - Demon To Lean On

9. Psychic Twin - Dream State

10. Haim - Falling

11. Vampire Weekend - Step

12. The Men - I Saw Her Face

Check in every month for the latest in alternative/indie music.

Please try and support the great artists featured in Orbit Sound.

For more, follow Steve Ferris on Twitter: @SteveFerris7

Monthly Mix: February 2013

Jim James explores Regions of Light and Sound of God

     As the snow and the slush continue to pile up, lucky for us so does the reloaded reservoir on our iPods.  February produced a healthy amount of solid tracks, ranging from folk to indie rock and all points in between.  Plenty of variety to help spice up the last few weeks of winter.
     My Morning Jacket band leader Jim James is back in the mix of things with his debut solo album Regions of Light and Sound of God.  This record has a stripped-down feel, giving way to a haunting collection of songs.  The first single "A New Life" finds James at his bare-bones core, while managing to slowly morph a folk song into a showtune.  Look for him in the months to come as his tour makes stops at some bigtime festivals including Bonnaroo, Hangout, and Firefly.
     The rest of February's playlist produces a better than average mix, enough to keep the heat going a bit longer as the winter winds down.


February '13 Playlist

1. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)

2. Jim James - A New Life

3. 90 Pounds Of Pete - Arms

4. My Bloody Valentine - New You

5. Cymbals - The Natural World

6. Atoms For Peace - Judge Jury and Executioner

7. !!! - Slyd

8. The Strokes - One Way Trigger

9. Youth Lagoon - Dropla

10. Cold War Kids - Miracle Mile

11. Goldroom - Sweetness Alive ft. Saint Lou Lou

12. The Away Days - Galaxies

Check in every month for the latest tracks from around the music world.

Try and support the artists featured on Orbit Sound!

For more, follow Steve Ferris on Twitter: @SteveFerris7

 

Monthly Mix: January 2013

Toro Y Moi offers Anything In Return

     
     Welcome back, folks. Hope everyone had an enjoyable new year's eve. As you can see, there are some slight changes around these parts and there will be more to come as some of the kinks get worked out. Orbit Sound is now here. January's installment will not disappoint, as a surprising amount of quality tracks came blustering in along with the arctic winds.
     South Carolina native and chillwave mastermind Chaz Bundick, better known as Toro Y Moi was determined to blend some pop flavor into his latest album Anything In Return. Bundick delivers just what he intended, a synthy, groovy, melodic record complete with even a few radio hooks. On "Say That," he utilizes his light vocals over a bouncy backbone, including his signature synths dancing in and out. A string of dates through Texas is how he will kick off the tour in February, followed by a run up the east coast.
     The January Mix is stacked with a bunch of quality early season cuts, ranging from hip-hop to punk rock. The year is off to a good start so far and there will be plenty more to come down the road.


January 2013 Playlist

1. Yo La Tengo - Ohm

2. Churchill - Change

3. Of Monsters and Men - Mountain Sound

4. Dirty Projectors - About To Die

5. A$AP Rocky - Wild For The Night ft. Skrillex

6. Toro Y Moi - Say That

7. Mitzi - All I Heard

8. Tegan & Sara - Closer

9. Ducktails - Letter Of Intent

10. Albert Ryan - We Meet Again

11. Swim Deep - The Sea

12. Rancid - Fuck You

Check in every month for the latest in alternative/indie music.

For more, follow Steve Ferris on Twitter @SteveFerris7

Monthly Mix: The Playlist, December 2012

Alt-J offers up "Something Good"

     Well, friends, on the last day of 2012 comes the last Playlist of the year. Not only that, it is also the final post under the title "Feerock's World." Don't worry music fans, this site will be back next year under a different name and design with the same concept in mind. It will still have the same goal to recap some of the month's best music and to give insight on a few bands and their new albums.

     December handed out plenty of gifts, not to mention a bunch of stocking stuffers in the form of toasty mp3s. British indie quartet Alt-J kicks things off with "Something Good", a slow moving eerie cut off of their 2012 release An Awesome Wave. Another featured song comes from Cincinnati indie rockers Walk The Moon. The band handed us "Tightrope" as the second single and serves as a peppy dance number to get the blood flowing on these cold nights. Scottish indie-folkers Frightened Rabbit deliver the last featured cut of the month in the form of the somber, yet uplifting "Dead Now" which will be on their new 2013 record Pedestrian Verse.

     Thanks for reading, folks, it truly was a great year of music like usual. Have a good New Year's Eve and I hope to see you up around the bend.

December 2012 Playlist

1. Alt-J - Something Good

2. AWOLNATION - Kill Your Heroes

3. Walk The Moon - Tightrope

4. Mystery Pills - Anti-Pattern

5. Wild Cub - Thunder Clatter

6. Peace - Wraith

7. Girls Names - Hypnotic Regression

8. Bleeding Rainbow - Waking Dream

9. Frightened Rabbit - Dead Now

10. School of Seven Bells - Secret Days

11. OMN - Between Us Now

12. Memory Tapes - Neighborhood Watch

IN THE BONUS:

Top 5 Tracks of the Year:

5. Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built

4. Bear Hands - What I've Learned

3. The Shins - Bait and Switch

2. Lymbyc Systym - Falling Together

1. Tanlines - All of Me

Check in every month for the latest in alternative/indie music.

Please try and support all the great artists on the Monthly Playlists!

For more, follow Steve Ferris on Twitter: @SteveFerris7

Best Albums of 2012

     It's hard to believe another year is almost in the books. The feeling is bittersweet as we get to look back on the great year it was and we get to anticipate what lies ahead up the path. Seems like just yesterday the first fresh batch of albums came in and were absorbed into the eardrums. The return of alternative rockstars from the past and a whole bunch of indie dance tracks set the pace for what turned out to be another successful year for alt-nation.
     As the year ends, and the heap of music has piled up, it's nice to take a look back at a few of the records that stood out a cut above the rest. With that being said, here are some of the best albums from 2012:


Best Albums of 2012


20. Purity Ring - Shrines

19. Animal Collective - Centipede Hz 

18. Muse - The 2nd Law

17. Beach House - Bloom

16. Grizzly Bear - Shields

15. Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls

14. Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten

13. Cloud Nothings - Attack On Memory

12. Minus the Bear - Infinity Overhead

11. Passion Pit - Gossamer

10. Dinosaur Jr. - I Bet On Sky

9. Japandroids - Celebration Rock

8. The Shins - Port Of Morrow

7. Yeasayer - Fragrant World

6. Tame Impala - Lonerism

5. moe. - What Happened To The La Las

     New York jam-rockers moe. have the uncanny ability of making quality studio albums, something that is not the norm for the genre. On their most recent effort What Happened to the La Las the group utilized an outside producer in John Travis (Kid Rock, Social Distortion) and joined up with Sugar Hill Records. Heavy on guitar-shredding and catchy hooks, The La Las is one of this year's most pleasant surprises.

4. The Smashing Pumpkins - Oceania

     Of all the 90's alternative rockstars that made returns in 2012, only Billy Corgan managed to break through the fold with a solid album. Although they dawn a completely new line-up except for Corgan, Oceania sounds like vintage Pumpkins, in both the production and the song writing. Their classic sound remains true. Welcome back.

3. Brothertiger - Golden Years

     Chillwave guru John Jagos aka Brothertiger dropped perhaps the most dance friendly album of the year. Golden Years is Jagos's first major release and it sure does deliver the goods. Blending easy-breezy summertime vocals with blazing hot synths, this album was meant to be played in the heat of the summer. This is definitely not the last we've heard from Brothertiger, and that's a good thing.

2. Jack White - Blunderbuss

     It's safe to say Jack White was on a mission in 2012 to prove once again that he should be at the top of the list of the world's baddest musicians. He states his case very well with Blunderbuss, his first solo studio album. This record is filled with a little of everything including gritty guitar, poppy keys, and plenty of White's swagger sprinkled in. Mission accomplished, Jack.

1. Two Door Cinema Club - Beacon

     Northern Ireland indie-rockers Two Door Cinema Club made a surge in 2012 stretching to the banks of California and many places in between. This was in part due to Beacon, an impressive collection of arena-sounding, guitar-drenched, dance-worthy rock songs. Frontman Alex Trimble claims this album "Is much more intimate" than their last. That may be true, but it's also more explosive, which is a good thing for music fans.

There you have it folks, the Best Albums of 2012.

Stay tuned for the December 2012 Playlist as well as some site changes!

For more, follow Steve Ferris on Twitter: @s_ferris