What Music Are You Listening To?

I would be a lot more productive if there wasn’t so much good music to listen to, and I know I’m not the only one. Even though this hunger for new music is probably a bit much, I’d still like to trade you some of my latest recommendations for one or two of yours.

Sebastien Schuller- Evenfall (album cover above)

I get teased by my wife and a couple of friends for preferring music that is European, atmospheric, ethereal, delicate, triumphant and a few other trendy adjectives. Their joking is valid, I really do crave beautiful sounding noise and ambient pop. And one of the staples in my Euro diet is Sebastien Schuller, whose debut ‘Happiness’ won him some deserved attention.  ‘Evenfall’ is the follow-up, and- so far so good (I’ve only been listening since the release last Monday). Where ‘Happiness’ was more melancholy, ‘Evenfall’s songs are a bit darker and haunting.  If all of those adjectives sound like something you’d like to hear, check it out. This 10-song collection features some incredibly epic, sweeping tracks, even while you can’t quite decipher the lyrics.  Schuller puts the “indeed” in indie rock.

Try out these songs: Last Time, Battle, Awakening, Morning Mist

M83- Saturdays = Youth

My first two recommendations are both French acts, and I can only hope to dodge the “snob” label because M83 happens to be widely known. I’ve had one of their earlier albums for years, and didn’t like it as much as the song I bought it for. Then came an amazing dance mix of ‘Don’t Save Us From the Flames’ from their next album ‘Before the Dawn Heals Us,’ which I would have missed entirely if not for my DJ friend Scott.  After that, I let M83 fade into memory, until another local DJ had ‘We Own the Sky’ (from their most recent release ‘Saturdays = Youth’) on his Myspace playlist. It took that song about 3 seconds to sell me on buying the album. This is M83′s most fully-formed release; a compilation filled with distinct electro-pop gems (and far less directionless noise). One of the stand-out songs ‘Graveyard Girl’ wanders into a spoken word interlude and drops this curious nugget: “Waiting for someone to love me, waiting for someone to kiss me.  I’m 15 years old and I feel it’s already too late to live.” That line always makes me laugh (and simultaneously feel like a predator just for listening). Can your music do that? Buy this album.

Try out these songs: We Own the Sky, Graveyard Girl, Too Late, Kim & Jessie

Cut Copy- In Ghost Colours

I’m late to the party on this one, I know. And ‘In Ghost Colours’ is a party. If I had to name the album I’ve listened to the most over the past six months, this would be it.  ‘In Ghost Colours’ is an unbelievably catchy success, loaded with giddy synthpop that draws its influence from 80′s new wave and supposedly- a bit of punk. You cannot possibly listen to this collection of songs and stay in a bad mood. I practically grind into my steering wheel while driving to this. Too much information? It’s an involuntary reaction. If you can manage to listen to this album while staying perfectly still- please let me know your secret so that I can stop scaring my wife. Just make sure you get a copy… of ‘Cut Copy’ (sorry, I had to).

Try out these songs:  Lights and Music, Unforgettable Season, Feel the Love, Far Away

Alright, do your part to enable my addiction: what music are you listening to?