MUMBLING ABOUT MUSIC

July: The Month of Music

Today on the #blawg I'm going to chat about some music-related topics. I kind of wish I wrote this on a Monday so I could get some 'Music Monday' alliteration going on but I think I brought it home with 'The Month of Music', no? Anyway, let's just launch straight into it:

Gig calendar for July:

Pls ignore the stuff about the dentist. Can't believe I left that on =[

I saw Willow Beats for the second time last Friday and they were incredible (again). They hypnotise their audiences with an odd juxtaposition of dreamy vocals and dubstep-infused beats, causing everyone to emphatically sway in unison like some kind of cult. 
Fun fact: the last time I saw Willow Beats I drunkenly told the singer how 'amAzgNIG' she was and that she looks exactly like Chloë Grace Moretz (which I probably pronounced wrong) so now I can't look her in the eye. #MoreLikeSadFact

The Rubens were surprisingly impressive live. In all honestly I only went because the tickets were $15 but they actually sounded like seasoned professionals, not a band on the verge of releasing their first album. The crowd at the Corner Hotel went crazy for their infectious summer tracks armed with catchy guitar riffs, and then waved their glowing iPhones back-and-forth in silence during their very Kooks-esque ballads. I even bought their EP at the end of the gig, pictured later down, because I was that impressed. Oh- and to the girl at the front who was wildly waving a double black and incorrectly miming the lyrics all night... I like double blacks as well lol =]

So now I've got The xx, Lana Del Rey and Youth Lagoon to look forward to. I reckon by the end of the month I'll perfect my gig stance. I'm still trying to find the middle ground between the "fuck yeah I'm so into this right now I'm going to nod my head like ape shit and sing every word so everyone knows that I ROCK" stance and the "na bro I'm too cool to 'move' or 'bop' so I'll just stand here like a badass statue lol I'm better than you xox" stance.

Blawg question of the day: whats UR #gigstance? R u an #ApeShitRager or a #BadassStatue? #AudienceEngagement

Some music I'm loving this July:

• Seatraffic
  I took this from a write-up I did for ITNO.co.uk. Check out the full thing here. Oh yeah, I'm writing for a website other than my own now! Fun times.
  
  “We make dreamy synth pop!” Seatraffic sum themselves up perfectly in those five words because that’s exactly what they do. Who are these “dreamy synth pop” wizards? They are the San Fransisco duo of Mark Zannad and Brandon Harrison.
  
  
  Seatraffic first appeared with their debut self-titled 5-track EP on Bandcamp last November. This year they’re back again with a two-single 7″ vinyl, “Crimes”, set to release on August 1st. In the meantime you can download the title-track for free on SoundCloud. 
  This is my favourite track of theirs: "Leave It Alone".
  
  

• Twin Shadow
  Last week George Lewis Jr made a return with his second album 'Confess', and it received the same level of praise as George Lewis Jr's debut effort (his name is so good that I refuse to use pronouns). Sonically, George Lewis Jr hasn't changed the Twin Shadow formula that much, in fact, it sounds very similar. That's not an insult though, because George Lewis Jr didn't leave much room for improvement with George Lewis Jr's first album. George Lewis Jr simply confirms that George Lewis Jr is a true master of pop music. This cathartic track has been in my head ALL WEEK. Don't let that put you off, though:
  
  
  

• Purity Ring
  Purity Ring are set to release their first full length album "Shrines" later this month and I've already been loving what they've shown us so far. Synth pop at its finest. Check out the brand new clip for "Fineshrine" and see if you understand what the fuck is going on. Hint: you won't.
  

What is l i f e

Music loving ME this July:

Yes, you heard right. This month I've been getting a lot of love from various musicians. I've gotten so many offers to join bands recently it's a joke. Take a look for yourself:

Thanks Seatraffic but I live in Australia? :S

Not very professional of you, The Rubens.

Others included Muse (gross), Black Eyed Peas (...no) and K-POP band 2ne1 (sorry girls I don't speak Korean). Everyone wants a piece of my #yoloswag.

Playlist #4: GOLDEN LIGHT

Playlist time! Featuring some of the artists I mentioned throughout this post like Seatraffic and Twin Shadow, this fourth playlist is the mellowest of marshes. Did u get it? Coz marshmellows? Leave a comment below if u got it lol. Hopefully I led you to some new music and if not, I owe you a double black.

GOLDEN LIGHT from dylanmccarthy on 8tracks Radio.