Note: The original video has disappeared. Here is an audio-only version: Stone’s Throw is about aspiring to achieve your dreams and it is from The National Parks sophomore effort entitled Until I Live (August 2015). The National Parks make sometimes bouncy, sometimes introspective, message-driven alt-pop and alt-folk tunes that inspire careful listening and yes, dancing. When the band released their first full-length, Young, back in September of 2013, they found an immediate following that grew by leaps and bounds. The release of the…
Read MoreJenn Wasner is probably best known as one-half of the whole that is Wye Oak, the band that she formed with co-conspirator Andy Stack. With a desire to explore the more atmospheric elements of music, Jenn formed Flock Of Dimes back in 2011, and If You See Me, Say Yes (September 2016) is the first long-player from the side project. Semaphore (seen/heard here) is from that LP. Flock Of Dimes musically plays with the limits of music within the constructs of alt-pop. Jenn Wasner’s voice is more prevalent here than…
Read MoreSometimes here at Vodka, we like to take a look back at artists that we reviewed some time ago and see how they are doing. Such is the case with Good Old War. We did a mini-review of Calling Me Names clear back in April 2013. I’ve got to say the duo has been busy perfecting their folk-pop chops and Never Gonna See Me Cry, the latest single from the duo’s new long-player Broken Into Better Shape (June 2015), is a great example of that!…
Read MoreIt should be no surprise to once again see one of Vodka’s favorite rockers, Courtney Barnett, posted here; this time with the opening track of her edgy debut LP, Sometimes I Sit And Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. (March 2015) Elevator Operator explores the everyday rush of our world with a melody and lyric that is both comedic and accessible. Here at Vodka, we can’t get enough of Courtney’s music. We’ve been following her since we first posted our review of History Eraser clear back in December 2012….
Read MoreHope & Social have been making music since 2008-well actually before 2008 if you count many of the member’s previous bands, Four Day Hombre. Each offering is full of rich textures and melodic twists and turns. Take Feel, the title track to the band’s latest (October 2016) long-player as an example. Feel begins almost in discord and rapidly takes the beginning theme into a more complex melody adding in horns, electronics, guitars, drums, and more. Literally, everything provides rhythm here. There are ebbs and flows and crescendos, all…
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