Summertime Kids - Table Manners

Artist Website: Summertime Kids
Netlabel Website: N/A

Track list:

1 - JV

2 - Know
3 - Storm the Station
4 - August
5 - Rain on My Parade

6 - Bed Time

Download links: [Bandcamp]

Gainesville native Nick Roberts (aka Summertime Kids) is the perfect example to show that expensive recording equipment and record label deals are not required to make great music. Recorded over the span of six months, Table Manners is a wonderfully written, relaxing and enjoyable album to listen to.

Every track on the album has a wonderfully calm feel to it. Right from the opening chords of JV, I felt like I was lounging outside on a warm sunny day, or driving through the countryside with the top down. The second track, Know, added even more to the mix, with Roberts' soothing vocals, slightly reminiscent of John Mayer minus the undeserved self-importance. Every track is beautifully written, and considering it was self-recorded, the quality of sound is quite impressive. Despite the album having such a chill, relaxed feel to it, the music still has enough drive behind it to keep it interesting and keep you listening to the end.

Stand-out tracks on this album for me were the opening two, JV and Know. My least favorite would probably be the closer, Bed Time. I wouldn't say it's a bad song, it just didn't keep my attention like the other songs did. One of my only gripes with Table Manners is that it is over far too quickly, clocking in at just under 20 minutes total.

I love finding new bedroom musicians who are not only technically competent, but also fun to listen to, and Summertime Kids is definitely one that I'll be adding to that list. I sincerely hope that this is not the last we hear from Mr. Roberts.

It's A King Thing - Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo

Artist Website: It's A King Thing

Track list:

1 - Old Hobbies

2 - Mush Mouth
3 - Baby Tantrum
4 - Everything Backwards
5 - Kira
6 - Bill Haverchuck
7 - Number One Option
8 - Vegetarian
9 - Hanging Out
10 - Wine and Ponies
11 - Tammy Faye
12 - Triple Jump

Download links: [MP3]

Hooray, another free indie album! Seriously though, I'm always happy to stumble upon new free music that isn't electronica (not that I don't like it, but it seems free rock/indie music is much more rare).

This week's album entitled Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo comes from the group It's A King Thing. On their website, they list their "sounds like" counterparts as "The first 2 Weezer albums, The Lemonheads, Nada Surf, Ben Kweller, Superdrag, The Shins, Guided By Voices." Unfortunately, the only one of those artists that I have listened to for an extensive period of time is Weezer so I can't agree or disagree with their other choices. I will admit that there were several points during the album that were reminiscent of The Blue Album and Pinkerton, if not in the songwriting, then certainly in the sound they managed to achieve. The distortion used on the guitars in Baby Tantrum could have come from Rivers Cuomo, and the 3-beat feel of Vegetarian reminded me of the classic Weezer tune My Name is Jonas. Other than those songs, however, I think it'd be a real stretch to draw any more similarities between the two groups.

The only thing I can think of that I didn't really care for in this album are the lead vocals. For the most part they seemed rather wispy and breathy, although I suppose that type of singing complements this kind of music better than someone with a really heavy tone.

I suspect that those of you who are certain that they don't like music that can be put in the "indie" genre are not going to get much from listening to this. You can tell the guys in It's A King Thing are fans of the genre and made this album specifically for people who also enjoyed their type of music. However, the tunes are easy enough to listen to and if you don't feel like actively analyzing the album, it makes a great background soundtrack for whatever it is you happen to be doing at the time, whether you're surfing the Internet or driving in your car.

Overall, not one of my favorite release, but I did enjoy listening to it several times through for this entry. If you aren't totally opposed to this kind of indie rock, give 'em a listen.

Heart-Sick Groans - Gentlemen, If You Ain't Right, Get Right!

Artist Website: Heart-Sick Groans at Myspace
Netlabel Website: unsigned

Track list:

1 - Three Day Blow
2 - Suddenly Molly
3 - In a Small Kitchen Song
4 - After Being Awake
5 - Streetlight Chase
6 - You Look Like Rain
7 - Why She Wanted to Stay at Home

Download links: [MP3, FLAC, and stream]

This week's album was brought to my attention from my good friend Dante over at All Around Sound. The name of the band is Heart-Sick Groans and their EP is entitled Gentlemen, If You Ain't Right, Get Right!

If I could sum up this album in only one word, it would probably be "charming." This is the kind of indie-pop you might expect to hear as the soundtrack of a feel-good teen movie like Juno, but the fact that it isn't attached to a movie or TV show shouldn't deter you from listening to it. The music is tight, and the melodies create a sort of musical river that I found easy to drift along with. That's one thing I really appreciate about music like this; whether you prefer to zone out while listening or pay close attention to the words and harmonies, you'll end up enjoying it either way.

The EP starts out on a happy guitar riff in Three Day Blow, which reminded me of lazy summer days. Suddenly Molly picks up the tempo slightly, and In a Small Kitchen Song raises the speed even more. However, at no point does the tempo of the music feel too frantic or out of control. The quality musicianship of the band members keeps the songs focused and flowing at the same time.

After Being Awake moves the music into a more ambient, shoegaze direction, using synthesizers and synthetic drum beats as opposed to the predominatly acoustic feel the album had up to that point. Streetlight Chase introduces a subdued horn section during portions of the song, while the vocals and guitars in You Look Like Rain brought to mind the works of George Harrison. The final song on the album is probably the most minimal in terms of instruments used and melodic variations, but in a way, it seems a fitting end to such a bright album.

This album was really tough for me to pick out a "favorite" track, because with most albums I'm immediately able to identify at least one or two tracks that I don't enjoy as much as the others. However, with this album, I enjoyed each track as much as the preceding one, and the songs flow so seamlessly into one another, that it almost seems wrong to place one on a higher level than the others. That, coupled with the fact that the EP barely breaks the fifteen minute mark means that you should listen through the whole album and decide for yourself. The album is available to download and stream from their Bandcamp page (which is linked to above).

We Swim You Jump - We Swim You Jump

Artist Website: We Swim You Jump
Netlabel Website: Subroutine Records

Track list:

1 - Sharks

2 - Sparks Fade Out
3 - 1234
4 - Frames On The Wall
5 - This Thing Will End

Download links: [Bandcamp]


Over the weekend I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon a new music discovery website, thesixtyone and spent several hours playing around on it. The site is like an RPG of sorts, gain experience from discovering/listening to music, complete quests, grow in levels, etc. One of the many bands I discovered and enjoyed through the website was We Swim You Jump, with their self-titled EP.

According to one of their bios, We Swim You Jump draws influences from Elliot Smith, The Posies, and Loney Dear, but I've never listened to any of those groups before. Basically, We Swim You Jump is a five-piece indie/rock band with folk influences. One thing I enjoyed about their EP is that no point is their music too indie or too folk. They manage to maintain a nice balance throughout the five songs, which not only will help to make sure that they don't alienate possible listeners, but also makes the listening experience a more entertaining and exciting one, since you aren't exactly sure what the next track might sound like until it begins playing.

The album opens with Sharks, a lighthearted, shoegaze-ish feeling song. Right from the get-go, I was quite impressed with their tight vocal harmonies, and the fact that while the vocals were crystal clear throughout, they were not overpowering the band. After the first track, the mood of the EP immediately shifts to a more heavy-handed folk sound in Sparks Fade Out. This was my favorite track of the record, due to the presence of a piano and backing string section, as well as the somber mood of the song. 1234 resumes the faster paced, rock feeling of the first track, and Frames on the Wall follows suit. This Thing Will End is the shortest track on the album, but is the perfect closer, and a beautifully written song.

A great band with a great EP. Download it from their Bandcamp page for free.