A pretty good tune from indie band Young Buffalo. A trio out of Mississippi, they have a sound that has a bit of a British vibe to it, and could easily be mistaken for Vampire Weekend. The video is pretty interesting as well.
Kind of an interesting tune, and a good video.
Jets Overhead are a Victoria, BC, Canada band formed in 2003, who play an alt-rock style. Boredom and Joy is their 3rd album to go along with 2 EP’s.
These songs are the ones that I will remember most from this year. It certainly appears that the world of music is beginning it’s move away from the pop artists that have been so prevalent and returning to the creation and production of some exceptional songs. About time I’d say. I attribute this to the web and the ability of many new artists to reach the public through such areas as Bandcamp, soundcloud, YouTube, Twitter etc. The advent of these devices has greatly expanded my musical horizons and will continue to do so.
I have chosen not to do a finite top ten list as I appreciated all of these songs and at certain times would have been my number 1. In addition, I have chosen songs new to me this year, meaning they could be from anytime, although the majority are 2012. I hope you enjoy.
I see great things from this Canadian singer-songwriter. Love this version, recorded live at CBC.
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This song reached and grabbed me by the ears and shook me to a musical high. Phenomenally written song, reaching one crescendo after another.
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Another tune that grabbed me. The more I listened, the more I liked. This song will be around for years, in movies, on TV, in commercials. Instant classic.
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Iceland’s contribution to music this year, and a great video as well.
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What a voice.
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My favourite find of the year. I am really digging this act. Great voice, and different in a great way.
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That’s a start, still have some more to pass on and will do so tomorrow. Don’t want to destroy your attention span.
Remember this video, only 140 million views on YouTube.
Believe it or not, the people who did this are recording artists in their own right. The group, Walk Off The Earth, hails from Burlington, Ontario and have been together since 2006. Their most recent album R.E.V.O., released this year and is their third recording. The video here is their song “Red Hands” off of the album. This song is receiving a lot of play on CBC2 here in Canada.
The Deep Dark Woods are another band out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan that I spent some evenings listening to at Bud’s On Broadway. This particular song was written for a CBC project in 2009 called The Great Canadian Songquest. Charlie’s (is coming down) is performed live in this version. Ah, memories.
Zack Booher of the band While We’re Up was killed in a car accident on July 8, 2012. He was 22. The band is an acoustic rock duo with one indie album to their credit, “Every Moment”. Terrific duo, great song, terrible loss.
Singer-songwriter Serena Ryder has released her new album today, “Harmony”. This is her 6th album to go along with 6 EP’s and 3 live compilations.  Her music has elements of folk, mixed with contemporary alternative and a touch of country. Her career path is taking her on the steady path to stardom as each album garners more notice and critical acclaim. CBC2 in Canada plays a steady diet of her old and new material, for which i am thankful. I have inserted two tunes off the album. The first is “What I Wouldn’t Do” which is a contemporary indie style song and the second is an out-and-out rocker called “Stompa”. Both are representative of her work.
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Yukon Blonde is an Indie Rock group out of Kelowna, BC that is beginning to make a name for themselves. This video is a live version, taken at the great venue in Vancouver, the Commodore Ballroom. This is an encore performance which includes members of the Library Voices and the Great Bloomers, good up and comers themselves. Great energy and a great tune!
Great new song from North Carolina indie-rock/folk band The Avett Brothers. Catchy chorus, well-played. The band has been around in various forms and names (around the 2 brothers, Scott and Seth) since the 1990’s, formally becoming The Avett Brothers in 2000.
They have released 7 albums, 3 live albums 4 EP’s since 2000, This tune is off their latest album, 2012’s “The Carpenter”.
The Avett Brothers on Facebook – oops, forgot, its Facebook, who cares