BoxSpeaker favorites and the band with indiecutie Lauren Mayberry, CHVRCHES is playing tonight at Thekla in Bristol!
“The Mother We Share”
“Lies”
Tag: UK
Swim Deep at Thekla in Bristol
BoxSpeaker takes it international today for the Swim Deep show at Thekla in Bristol, UK!
The Birmingham, UK- based Swim Deep has a very special special place in BoxSpeaker’s heart solely because of their extreme knowledge of (or at least homage to) California geography. They have the following California-related songs:
King City (a city in Monterey County):
Orange County:
Santa Maria:
Isla Vista (the college town area of Santa Barbara):
Conclusion: Aptly-named Swim Deep loves the beach cities. AND their show tonight is at Thekla, a boat-turned-music-venue!
Just wish they’d give the Torrance/Redondo/Hermosa/Manhattan/Santa Monica area some lovin’. Maybe next EP.
Mr. Little Jeans – “Faking Gold”
What I first noticed about “Faking Gold” by Mr. Little Jeans is the singer’s sensual, smooth voice. It’s not “sensual” and “smooth” in a soul way but in an electropop Goldfrapp or triphop Sneaker Pimps manner. In fact, her music sounds like the electropop version of Kitten or The Like! It’s as if someone took Kitten and the Like’s faster songs and added electropop beats over their lofi indie rock rhythm.
In fact, the initial twenty-five seconds of my first listen made me think Mr. Little Jeans was simply an electropop musician. The drum machine-sounding drums combined with the spacey keyboard notes and the warbley static at the thirteen second mark are very reminiscent of Goldfrapp’s style. However, past the twenty-five second mark, a guitar riff comes in and reveals that Mr. Little Jeans blends indie rock with electropop.
It also doesn’t hurt that Mr. Little Jeans did a cover of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.”
Have your own listen at myspace.com/mrlittlejeans100
Robots in Disguise
Let me set the scene.
It was 2006. I was 16, sitting in my living room doing homework. My big black Sony stereo with the two feet tall box speakers that started everything (Music Starved, BoxSpeaker, my interest in my internship, my hours of searching for and listening to music online, my changing of plans for flights back to LA to accommodate bands’ concerts, probably even the whole point of who I am today) was playing tuned into either Indie 103.1 or KXLU 88.9 (these details escape me, but judging from the lack of static, it was most likely Indie).
Anyway, there I was sitting doing homework when an amazing song came on, sending its electronic beats through the speakers to my ears. I immediately pushed the red dot button on the stereo that meant “Record” to capture that magic on cassette. Later, I tried to type in the lyrics that I could hear to find out the song title and band. However, for some reason I kept getting death metal bands. It must have been because of the “Do or die” part. It was kind of hard to get any other lyrics because the section I was able to record was mostly in French. Anyway, after much searching, I finally found out that the song I heard was “DIY” by Robots in Disguise.
Now, if you know me personally, you’ll be aware of my love of robots and electropop. The girl duo that is Robots in Disguise bridged my two loves of robots and electropop to make a mellow track that really shows its ambient European electronica influence.
Fast forward to today when they are working on their fourth album and have songs that exhibit a riot grrl feel such as “We’re in the Music Biz.” This band is versatile and fun!
Check them out here: myspace.com/robotsindisguise and robotsindisguise.co.uk
Marina and the Diamonds at PopScene in SF!
Last night, I did something really awesome!
I accidentally met Marina from Marina and the Diamonds before her set at PopScene!
Her set was amazing! I loved her short quips between songs, especially when she said “…and I only attract interesting audiences. That’s why I say it’s for you” before playing “The Outsider” and her quick discussion about a Gandhi quote before performing “Are You Satisfied?”
The place was packed with so many fans singing along to every word. Marina and the Diamonds started the set with “Shampain.” She segued into her next song, “The Outsider,” by teasing the audience a little with a dedication. (“And I only attract interesting audiences. That’s why I say it’s for you.”) After singing “Seventeen,” Marina commented “We have some interesting sounds on-stage with the monitors.” However, it did not even seem as if there was a problem because Marina’s voice is as strong and amazing live as on the album! Marina continued the set with “I am Not a Robot,” “Numb,” “Oh No!” and then “Obsessions.” Marina discussed the Gandhi quote “Everything you do in life is insignificant, but it is important that you do it” to introduce her song “Are You Satisfied?” Quite fittingly, she continued her set with “Hollywood” and then finished off with “Guilty.” As she left the stage, the crowd chanted “One more song!” A few minutes later, Marina was back on stage performing “Mowgli’s Road,” a song that everyone kept cheering for during her set, to simultaneously satisfy her crowd’s song request and encore request.
Marina performing “Mowgli’s Road” during the encore
Check out her music and upcoming shows at myspace.com/marinaandthediamonds
One of the best moments was when she did a cover of 3Oh!3 (featuring Katy Perry)’s song “Starstrukk”!