I've been listening to a lot of new artists lately. Finding new artists and bands was something I despise doing because I like sticking to what I know and listen to the living crap out of it (e.g. Last.fm is telling me that Foals have reached 9,018 plays in my library). But now that it has become somewhat my duty to dig for the gems in the rough, I'm learning a lot about what I actually like and Toronto's local music scene. Although personal music taste is really comparable to Internet identities - unstable, always changing - it is safe to say that I kind of (maybe even very much) dig the whole hazy vocals, atmospheric guitar that almost sounds like synths, to really in-your-face, loud, fast-paced punk music (which Vancouver has a lot of, apparently). Although, my two current favourites are Melody's Echo Chamber and Wild Nothing.
I had heard of Melody's Echo Chamber maybe a year or two ago from a friend who had a slight (actually it was pretty huge) obsession with Tame Impala. Melody's Echo Chamber is the stage name for Melody Prochet, who is actually Kevin Parker's girlfriend, in fact, he produced her record. Everything about her is so dreamy. The way she sings and moves makes you like her more and more. The melodies (haha) she plays combined with its effects almost touch you in a spiritual level, especially if you have headphones on. But then in some parts you can hear the sneaky bass in the background that resembles Tame Impala songs, making you feel giddy inside. Also she's so good live, holy shit?
Being in love with a band after watching them live has happened to me too many times. It started with Warpaint 3 years ago to Unknown Mortal Orchestra late last year. On one side, it's exciting to know that you have watched a band you love, yet you are disappointed in yourself for not fully appreciating their live performance at the time. This is the case with Wild Nothing. If you can recall from a previous blog post, Wild Nothing opened (or co-headlined?) with Local Natives last year. Prior, I wasn't really into the whole faint vocals, an aesthetic that can be found in almost all bands signed to Captured Tracks. But over time I've developed a new kind of appreciation and fell head over heels with these sounds. Compared to Melody's Echo Chamber, Wild Nothing has a more conventional set-up. Jack Tatum uses synths as an accompaniment to set the atmosphere of the songs than the actual centrepiece, alongside clean guitar riffs, backed up with some very groovy bass lines and simple drumming patterns. Man, I do love a good bass line.
Hope ya dig da tunez!
