Indie Sheep

Missy - No More Kings

THROWBACK THURSDAY TIMEEE. 

The duo No More Kings writes songs about literally everything under the sun - Watergate, Peanuts the comic strip, Knight Rider, Gulliver’s Travels, Elvis, zombies - literally anything and everything. I’m dying for new NMK music because it’s been a few years since they’ve released anything but lead vocalist Pete Mitchell released his first solo album (which is friggin’ dynamite by the way) so I’ve got that to listen to in order to curb my NMK crave...

Lose My Head - Volunteer

Bacardi - Mark Johns

Unknown - Ruen Brothers

Twisted - Missio

I.D.C.B.U. - SIBA

Going through some heartbreak? Looking for that one great “Screw You” jam to your ex-love? WELL, MAY I INTRODUCE “I.D.C.B.U.” which stands for - if I haven’t made it obvious already - I Don’t Care ‘Bout You.

This is a tricky little trickster of a track because it starts and you’re like “Aww, this song sounds cute and happy” and then the lyrics hit you and you’re like “Wait...what?”

Very Nice - Seventeen

Today’s Mainstream Monday is “Very Nice” by kpop boy group Seventeen because I fell down the kpop rabbit hole recently and I don’t wanna come out of it. I’m now obsessed with kpop music and am driving my boyfriend crazy with shouting “AJU...NICE.” all the time randomly. 

That and Seventeen actually has a hand in producing their songs and they’re all like between 17 and 23 I believe so IDK, THAT’S PRETTY IMPRESSIVE THAT THEY’RE THAT YOUNG AND ARE SELF-PRODUCING. 

...

...

AJU

NICE.

As winter moves in and frost starts to appear on the ground (at least over here it is), there's a certain song that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. You know when you've been outside in the cold for awhile, and then you come back inside and you have that first cup of hot cocoa and your whole body just gets all warm and fuzzy? That's what "Your Text" did to me.

"Your Text" by sundial  is honestly one of the cutest songs - No, wait, I take that back, it's THE cutest song I've ever heard. Jisu and Dorothy, the duo that makes up sundial, have composed a little ditty with lyrics that will make your heart just M E L T. It's all about a blossoming romance between two strangers and there's some EDM influences sprinkled throughout. It's basically... electro pop? Light electro pop? Light electro pop that will make you feel like you just had that first cup of hot cocoa? Yes.

Burn Break Crash  - Aanysa x Snakehips

HEY-OOOO. I'M BACK. ...For now, right? Life gets in the way, what can I say? I'm trying my best.

LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW "Burn Break Crash" BY NEWCOMER AANYSA AND PRODUCED BY SNAKEHIPS IS A FREAKING MASTERPIECE. OKAY, HERE WE GO.

You know how you hear a song in those first few seconds and your brain goes, "...Well. Idk what to tell you, dude. I'm gonna care about this song and this song only for a long time. Better buckle up."

That's this song for me. I don't know what else to say about it other than that it's like a lake and the pounding bass throughout the song is making the water do that ripple effect while Aanysa's complimentary vocals and high notes are gliding over the lake. Is that a weird way to describe it? Maybe. But I honestly can't think of a better way because how can I come up with words when this song makes me lose my words and just dance around?

A few years ago, a duo who called themselves Polyphone contacted me and asked me to review their EP ‘Twice as Loud’. That was back in 2014 and their single “Apprenticeship Year” was one of my favorite tunes of that year. If you haven’t heard it yet, you can check out my review of ‘Twice as Loud’ over here.

Fast forward to this year and the musically talented men wrote me again with the very exciting news that they had a full length album coming! The record is being released on September 23rd – this Friday -  and you can go order it right over here – but before you do that, here’s my two cents on ‘Silhouettes’.

If you are a fan of Two Door Cinema Club, fun. (early fun. at least ala Aim and Ignite), or the Wombats, WELL DO I HAVE THE BAND FOR YOU. Polyphone, a duo who recently became a trio, hails from Switzerland.  Silhouettes is their debut full-length album and you can just feel their passion for music when you listen to it. 

Like, let’s just talk for a minute here. Do you KNOW how much work goes into creating an album? You gotta write the songs, you gotta go into the studio space and rehearse the songs, you gotta record the songs, you gotta actually mix the songs, you got all that post-production. It is A. LOT. OF. WORK. Polyphone posted a few studio session vlogs that you can watch over here and here giving you a glimpse into the making of Silhouettes.

So yeah, my dudes and dudettes, as you can see from the videos, it takes a lot of work and oodles of patience. And like I said, you can just feel their passion for music when you listen to this whole record.

Hands down, the best track for me is “Eyes Closed”. It is definitely one of those blare-it-and-drive-like 80-mph-with-the-windows-down-and-the-sun-is-beating-down-on-you type songs. Trust me. Because I did it. And it was, as Tony the Tiger would say, GRRRRRREAT.

For real though, if we’re going to talk about Silhouettes as a whole, basically the entire thing has a drive-with-the-windows-down vibe – especially it’s namesake opening track. And “Frankfurt” is LITERALLY a song about getting in the car and driving away. It does not get any better than that. It’s similar to Parachute’s entire Losing Sleep record (a personal fave of mine) so I think that’s why I dig it so much.

The haunting…well, “Haunted” is just that. DAT GUITAR IS DA BOMB IN DA BRIDGE, LEMME TELL YA. “Insanity” reminds me of a much slower sounding “Greek Tragedy” by the Wombats – instrumentally, not lyrically. The cello that is used throughout makes it sound beautifully haunting while “Haunted” has more of a creepy watch-your-back feeling with it’s gritty vocals.  

They slow it down with the acoustic ditty “The Morning” with only guitar and harmonica as Marcus croons about the aftermath of a party . It’s easily one of my favorites because of it’s simplicity but alsooo that harmonica. I am a sucker for harmonica. The closing track, “Crime”… what to say about “Crime” to make you understand? The way it sounds makes you feel like you should be in the air flying. Not on a plane though. Just your body like flying through the air. If this song doesn’t get used in a climactic scene in a romantic movie, Imma be mad. Honestly though. The way that “Crime” is composed makes you feel like you are floating (and one of the lyrics is even about floating so there ya go).

Overall, Silhouettes by Polyphone is an amazing and 100% solid debut album. “Eyes Closed”, “The Morning” and “Insanity” are my favorites but every single song is incredibly well put together and dynamite. You are honestly doing your ears a disservice if you don’t listen to this record. 

Pantiedropper - Polyphone

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away - ok, not that long ago. It was actually only about two years ago and it was here on this blog that I wrote about Swiss band Polyphone and their EP. Two years later (plus adding a new member to the band) and I am proud to share the news with you that they are getting ready to release their first full-length album! 

The World Will Begin Again - Volunteer

Humbug Mountain Song - Fruit Bats

Black Hole - King Neptune

I was working on the Indie Sheep Twitter the other day and while I was listening to my music, I came across “Black Hole” by King Neptune. I was like, “Oh dude, this is crazy good and this sounds like it’s NGHBRS”. And then I thought to myself, “Hey, self, NGHBRS has been gone for awhile. Did they release any new music? You should check, self.”

So after doing some digging and seeing King Neptune and NGHBRS were basically the same people (give or take a few), I did what any self-respecting hard-working blogger would do. I sent out a tweet to get an answer fast because I HAD TO KNOW ASAP. 

Ian Kenny, the lead singer of NGHBRS and now King Neptune, told me, “it's my new project, nghbrs is enjoying the sun for a bit. new look, same great taste.”

And same great taste it is. Even though it’s a different project, it still has that loud and kick-ass sound that NGHBRS became known for.

Blouses - Swear and Shake

Can’t Stop The Feeling - Justin Timberlake

Mainstream Monday. Mainstream Monday. Mainstream Mondaaaaaay. When I was little, I was an NSYNC fan girl through and through (And here I am, a month away from turning 25 years old and am still an NSYNC fan girl). So it goes without saying that I have a soft spot for Justin Timberlake’s music.