indie rock » froglix radio

…follow the beat…follow the drum…follow the sound

alternative, Australia, Circle, electro, featured artists, indie, indie pop, Monday Records, new release, reviews, Sydney, synth pop, videos 5 Responses »

Aug 202012

Circle - Radi Safi, Dan Shaw, Rebecca Shave artist: Circle
album: The Middle
genre: alternative
label: Monday Records

Fashion Me A Drum (Clip)
Half Race Girls (Clip)
Brothers (Clip)

I usually like to compare a band to other, often better known, bands. Doing so for Circle doesn’t seem fair though. Perhaps you will catch a glimpse of something like Death Cab For Cutie in a track or two, then others are reminiscent of Swedish bands The Legends or Acid House Kings. Sometimes the taste was something a bit like The Cocteau Twins. But Circle isn’t really any of those other bands. What they are is yet another brilliant alternative band from Australia delivering some of the best alternative/electro pop/indie rock (or whatever you want to call it) music I’ve heard in awhile. Seriously, what’s in the water there?

Although the band has been playing in some form since 2005, The Middle is first studio album from Circle. The wait is worth it though because Radi Safi, Dan Shaw, and Rebecca Shave surely have created a masterpiece here. It’s not often I listen to a brand new album on my morning commute and then find myself throughout the day singing to myself multiple tunes off of it. The album really kicks off, for me, with track two’s “Fashion Me a Drum”. The pulsating beating intro, layered a moment later with synth chords, then finally the slightly airy but understated Radi vocals draw you into the song immediately. The sucking in continues when Rebecca joins in on the chorus, but the coup de grâce is when Rebecca’s solo kicks in. When I find myself singing along “I will follow the beat, I will follow the drum, I will follow the sound… the sound that made me love you”, I really really mean it.

Other tracks along the lines of “Fashion Me A Drum” are “Half Race Girls” and “Brothers”. Both are incredibly accessible, having all the hooks you’d ever want and will have you singing along in no time at all. (I hear my 4 year old son singing the melody of the “ooooh ooooh ooooh”s from “Half Race Girls” all the time.) The tracks “Gorgeous”, “All The People”, and “Hold” are what gave me the glimpses of The Sundays and The Cocteau Twins I mentioned earlier. Ephemeral, melodic, hypnotic…brilliant.

- DMitch

P.S. Tell me this video isn’t the most hipster thing you’ve ever seen…

Sick Of It All? Try Going To Venus

alt-rock, alternative, Citation Records, featured artists, Hickory, indie, Leaving Venus, new release, North Carolina, reviews, rock 1 Response »

Apr 052012

“Sick Of It All”, the title track from Leaving Venus’s most recent EP made me smile right from the get go. You know the moment in the movies when a fledgling band in the late 1950′s excitedly listens to their song on the radio for the first time… and then it quickly cuts mid-stream to them playing it live? Well yeah, that’s the exact vibe you get at the 30 second mark. And the style of music in this track fits the image as well… a rockabilly styled tune, simple chord changes, but catchy and lyrically clever. Then right at the 1:20 mark you get a refreshing 10 second change in tone that brings to mind something you’d hear from The Connells, maybe like from the “All Sinks In” track off of One Simple Word. In fact it’s a glimpse of what the other tracks on the EP are like.

I had a hard time choosing which other track from the EP to add to the broadcast. Ultimately I chose
“Comfortably”, mostly because it had me tapping my foot halfway through my first listen, and had me wanting to sing along by the second. I suppose that’s as good of a test as any. “Comfortably” probably also does the best job in showcasing Michael Miller’s mellifluous voice. Sometimes I do wish he’d do just a bit more vocally, but in this track it feels just right, well “comfortable” actually.

- DMitch

Grimus :: Face The Light

alt-rock, alternative, Cluj-Napoca, featured artists, Grimus, indie, new release, reviews, Romania, SpaceRay Music, Transylvania No Responses »

Jun 152011

artist: Grimus | genre: alternative, indie-rock | label: SpaceRay Music

listen now: Face The Light

iTunes:

My favorite band from Romania (ok…the only band I know from there) have a new single out, and once again Grimus delivers in spades. “Face The Light” draws you in from the beginning with its steady drum intro and progressive chord changes and then builds into their signature angst driven melodies. Again, a comparison to The Killers is fair, but as I stated in my first review of Grimus, the sound is their own refined mix of rock and mood.

As I also mentioned in my first review, I have yet to hear a track from them that I don’t like. You really need to check out Grimus on iTunes and support the best alternative rock band from Romania.

- DMitch

Ritalin… Ritalout… ¿qué Tejano?

alt-rock, England, featured artists, indie, London, new release, Reading, reviews, rock, SpaceRay Music, United Kingdom, Vetoes 7 Responses »

Mar 292011

artist: Vetoes | genre: alternative, indie-rock | label: SpaceRay Music
EP: Ritalin / Ritalout
Vetoes - Ritalin / Ritalout

It’s not often we mention a producer on here, but we would not have heard the band Vetoes if it weren’t for Adam Whittaker. And his hand can be found elsewhere on Froglix too (on a few earlier tracks from Grimus and Attention Thieves). Well, Adam now has a new label, SpaceRay Music, and we were honored when he sent us a preview of his first release a few weeks ago.

When I played “On The Waterfront” by Vetoes for Drago, his first response beat any description I tried to come up with… “sounds like a cross between Brit Pop and Tejano music on acid.” I’m not sure I totally agree with that depiction, but I do think it says something about my own lack of words. The sound is familiar enough that there’s a good chance you’re gonna like it if you like British alternative rock. But it’s also unique enough that you can’t say it’s just yet another alt-rock band heralding from Britannia. I still don’t think “Tejano music on acid” is quite right, but since I am yet to come up with anything better, it stands.

What I’m more sure about is that the things that make their sound different will be the same things that either make you love them or hate them. Personally, I want more.

Their EP, Ritalin / Ritalout drops worldwide on April 11, 2011 via SpaceRay/Believe. You don’t have to wait though. Download “On The Waterfront” as a FREE MP3 from http://vetoes.believeband.com/ right now!

- DMitch

Sing Music Boy, Sing

Austria, blues, featured artists, Florina, Greece, indie, OT-musicboy, reviews, rock, unsigned 5 Responses »

Mar 152011

artist: OT-musicboy
album: Jump Over (a fence of electric sound)
genre: Indie Rock
label: unsigned

listen now:
Not A Song :: Did You Tell Your Mother
You Knew :: Dance (with the musicboy)

buy now:

Why do I feel like OT-musicboy is a guilty pleasure? Maybe it’s because I didn’t think I was going to like him. I certainly don’t get his name. I also think the album title, Jump Over (a fence of electric sound), sounds just a tad cheesy. He could also probably make use of a better photographer. Fair or not, first impressions set expectations. But damn it, after the first few guitar plucks starting “Not A Song” I knew I couldn’t just dismiss him. And damn it again, the first verse’s lyrics were pure poetry. And his voice is just solid. And not to sound too cliché, but the tone of his voice is just “believable”. By the time it hit the chorus I was all in.

Petros Kozis is OT-musicboy. Austrian born, Greek raised, and clearly, musically speaking, American influenced. On every track he is guitar(s), bass, and vox. And this album is chock full of really good tracks. “You Knew” does a brilliant job of slowly building right up to the chorus where it somehow makes sense that you’re singing the namesake of the song along with him. “Did You Tell Your Mother” drips in the blues. Hearing it makes me think I’m hearing Tom Jones singing a tragedy. Finally, “Dance (with the musicboy)” is just downright unabashed dance-fastic fun.

Moral of the story: don’t judge a book by its cover. Oh, and everyone is allowed a few guilty pleasures.

- DMitch

From the Shores of San Diego

alternative, California, featured artists, indie, new release, reviews, rock, San Diego, Small City Calling, unsigned 3 Responses »

Jul 142010

artist: Small City Calling
genre: alternative | indie-rock
album: Oceanus (EP)
label: unsigned

listen now…
Castaways :: We Are the Messengers :: My Friend the Ocean (Coming Home)

Just a few short months ago, San Diego’s Small City Calling released their 2nd studio recording and follow up to 2009′s The Living Room Demo. Their latest work, Oceanus, is an intriguing 7-song EP that, in addition to showcasing the talents of founding members Ryan Erwin (lead vox, guitar, keys), Kevin Adams (guitar, vox) and Jake Falzone (bass, vox), also marks the debut of the band’s newest addition, Hanna Hoffman (guitar, vocals, keys).

The blend of acoustics and electrics is stellar indeed, however, equally impressive is the interplay of melody and harmony that creates a cascading effect that leaves listeners awash in auditory bliss. While there are certainly some tracks that I favour more than others, of the (7) featured on this EP there are none that I dislike.

“Castaways” jumps in from the first downbeat with a quiet, steady cadence that is an instant attention getter. Piece by piece, bit by bit it continues to build, culminating with a chorus drenched in pure indie attitude. Dig it. The groovy acoustic vibe beautifully complements the colourful vocal elements featured in “We Are the Messengers” and makes for a track that is much more than memorable. Finally, as I listen to “My Friend the Ocean (Coming Home)” two words pop into me nugget…”simply inspiring”. Coincidentally, those are the same two words which, if asked, I’d use to describe this EP and this band.

- Drago

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