Track of the day #1

Beth Jeans Houghton - 'Golden'

On my search for new, exciting music, I found this lovely little gem of a track. It's by the British youngster Beth Jeans Houghton, who is currently recording her debut album. Her sound is folk-y in a light, kitchen-sink way, with layered vocals featuring only her own voice and some minimalistic instrumentation. Her voice is soft as velvet and there's definitely room for it in her music. With 'Golden' being the most outstanding track, the demos on her MySpace page sound very promising indeed. Oh, and did I mention she's only 19? Compare her to Laura Marling if you like, but I really think this Beth-girl could have a bright-looking future ahead of her.

www.myspace.com/bethjeanshoughton

Spring!

I'm searching for new music today. Spring's on its way and most of the music I've been listening to through the winter kind of sounds a bit too moody and non-sunny to fit my much better mood. I need fresh, new sounds for company, when the weather starts getting warmer, sunnier and hopefully less rainy.

My musical year of 2009 is slowly beginning to take shape and so far, I quite like it. I'll be going to that before-mentioned Mercenary gig next saturday and it seems that every day a new release date for some exciting new album has been revealed. I simply can't wait for Regina Spektor's newest effort, 'Far', coming out in June. Though I'll probably know a large number of the tracks on it already thanks to the world of bootlegging, Regina's got a special place in my heart. She has an incredible voice and an unmatched charm when it comes to her music, her lyrics and her appearence. With all the other piano-playing girls (Kate Nash, Sara Barailles, etc.) who aren't even half as good as Regina, I feel like a sticker saying 'the original and best' should be put on the cover of her upcoming album. Also, I can't wait to see her live again, especially if she finally decides to drop by here in Denmark.

Secondly, as everything's turned out, I'll be going to London twice this year. More precisely for a week in July and for three days in May. I'm going with my best friend in July and we're both London lovers, so I can't wait to see what's it's like experiencing our favourite place on earth together. And, you know, there's that gig with a little band called Blur, in a little park called Hyde Park, which is going to be interesting. But - the new thing - is those three days in May. I'm addicted to London, so I like to see it as a little preview before the actual trip in July, where I can just inhale and get a little teaser before the real fix. In general it'll just be nice to see a London again since I miss it an awful lot, but what excites me the most is the concert I'll be attending on the second of the three days, which is Final Fantasy at the Union Chapel. It's no secret that Owen Pallet's different projects, and especially FF, have been quite an obsession of mine over the last few months. The thought of witnessing the violin looping magic in what seems to be a mind-blowing venue and possibly getting the chance to hear some new songs makes me want to jump up and down with excitement.

But back to spring/summer music. I try to avoid being fed by other music blogs and websites, so at the moment I'm just trying to search for random things on MySpace and YouTube, while listening to Grizzly Bear. I'm in the process of getting to know their stuff and so far I like it. They're releasing a new album this year as well, so I'll soon have something new to listen to in that area. If I haven't got tired of Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavillion album by then, I'm also looking forward to being outside on a hot summer day while listening to 'Brother Sport', 'Bluish' and of course 'Summertime Clothes'. In the last few weeks, whenever the sun hasn't been completely hidden behind clouds, I've felt like listening to that album. Since everyone loves it, I'd probably love to say I didn't, but really, it's very good. I just need more music! and I'll go search for more, and probably recommend something here, when/if I find something decent.

Where The Wild Things Are

Spike Jonze + classic children's book + Karen O + a little bit of Arcade Fire = amazing. I really really want to see this movie - right now. October seems so far away.

I find this to be both extremely terrifying and pretty hilarious. I wish I could see the rest of it.

Elizabeth Harper

While searching for new music on MySpace I came across the gorgeous little voice of Elizabeth Harper. Apparently she has been called the female Morrissey and though I think that's quite a mouthful for the girl to live up to, I can see why. While her voice makes me think of lazy afternoons and sunsets the music accompanying it sounds like it could be old Smiths demos where she has added nothing but vocals. Also, she has done a cover of The Cure's 'Pictures Of You' adding even more to the English rock vibe. Her voice is mellow and kitten-like but with just enough character to stand out and escape from the boring-girl-sings-pretty-rock-corner. I haven't heard her album yet but I'll probably buy it at some point - for now, I listen to the tracks on her MySpace (I recommend 'Pictures Of You' and 'Broken Adolescent Heart').
www.myspace.com/elizabethharper

Valravn

I hadn't expected my first proper gig of 2009 to be free and take place at my school (what are the odds?), but that's how it turned out to be. And it was surpringsly good. Last week a Danish group - with a Faroese lead songstress - came to play a gig for all the students at our school. They were called Valravn and make folk music with a twist of electronics, and base ther music on old Renaissance lyrics and songs from around Scandinavia. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, but as my classmates and I had found our spots (sitting down, in the front row, naturally), I found myself surprisingly fascinated. Earlier in the day two of the band members had told us about their unusual instruments and principles, and since I have a love of weird instruments I was delighted to see that they not only had a hurdy gurdy and a mandola but also a kalimba (!) and a whole set of different ancient flutes/whistles (of which one of them played two at once during the gig). The band's lead singer, Anna Katrin Egilstrød, kept reminding me of a young Kate Bush in that classic Wuthering Heights video - dancing around, doing hand gestures and displaying a passionate fire in her eyes while singing beautifully (and wearing a white dress not that much unlike the one in that particular video). The set-up of the gig was a bit strange - while candles surrounded the spot where they played, the band itself was notably dressed down - but I guess that was just because it was 11 AM and a school concert. The band's big achivement was that they managed to make me think of majestic landscapes and vikings just by playing their music without providing visuals telling you what to think of.

Sadly, not that many of the audience members seemed very interested in what was going on, but as my classmastes and I are music lovers and pretty open towards everything in that category, we got up and danced around and after a while an impressive amount of people had actually joined us. After the gig we stayed around and bought CDs, ending up trying to sabotage our mathematics class because we were still pretty high from the gig. Great.

www.myspace.com/valravn

Fabchannel R.I.P.

I'm officially bummed. Not only has my own computer caught virus so I have to borrow my dad's, but I just found out that Fabchannel is closing down. In just a few days, on March 13. There are some really good concerts on that site and it's one of those places where I've liked to go when I was bored and just wanted to go to a gig instead of sitting at home fiddling with my school papers and my iPod. Now, this great site's waving goodbye and I feel like I have to watch every single show on it before it's too late.

Rest in peace, Fabchannel, I miss you already.

www.fabchannel.com