R.I.P. Paperthinwalls.com

Sad day, as one of my favorite non-blog, sort-of music blog roundup websites, Paper Thin Walls, announced it is ending its run. Check out their "PTW's Almanack: The Greatest Hits" feature to see some of the best featured on the site over the years.

mr. Gnome - Night of the Crickets

So I just recently came across this band/song/video and though a bit odd, all are worth a look. The band's sound reminds me off the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, perhaps with a bit more of a mid-90s-alternative-nation-appeal to it. Keeping with that theme, the video is reminiscent of the kind of videos that you would stumble upon while watching late night MTV back when it was good and did things like play music videos. Oh, 120 Minutes, where have you gone?

"Night of the Crickets" by mr. Gnome

Bowerbirds - Olive Hearts

A track that I was mildly obsessed with last year was Bowerbirds' "In Our Talons," which led me to check out their great set at SXSW '08. This week I finally picked up the band's full length debut, Hymns for a Dark Horse, and now wish I had done so months ago.

Lead single "In Our Talons" is immediately catchy, due in part to a main refrain sung as a group effort, and an accordian hook (just go with it). The song on the album that took me off guard in terms of how much I liked it, though, was "Olive Hearts," which starts out a bit slower but builds as the song develops. As I was listening to the album through (particularly "Olive Hearts"), I realized that I really enjoyed how the vocals and instrumentation interact in Bowerbirds. The two entities are almost like an owner walking their dog, with the dog happily walking off the trail here and there, but never straying too far. It's a style that could go dramatically wrong (see: Dirty Projectors), but works perfectly for Bowerbirds. Streaming and video links below.

Stream: Bowerbirds - Olive Hearts
Video: Bowerbirds - In Our Talons

Meeting (& Exceeding) the Hype: Fleet Foxes

White Winter Hymnal from Grandchildren on Vimeo.

Nowadays, so many bands are overhyped to the point of unattainable expectations. With blogs and media sites posting music recommendations that they get from one another, a band can be over saturated in the matter of a week or two. This new fishbowl environment makes it so much more gratifying to find a few notable bands that emerge as worthy of all that praise (Grizzly Bear & Arcade Fire to name a few that I'd put in this category, disagree as you see fit). The debut Fleet Foxes album has had all kinds of people heaping praise all over it (that dude over at Stereogum, for one, should probably take it down a notch), but the honest truth is that their album really is that good (and as someone who was lucky enough to see them live twice this year, the music translates great in concert). I mean damn, they even made their myspace page funny.

Folksy but not sleepy and spacey but focused, Fleet Foxes really is one of the best albums of 2008. Video above, Mp3 below. Enjoy.

Mp3: Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why

The Donkeys - Walk Through a Cloud

From the moment you hear the great opening guitar hook in The Donkeys' "Walk Through a Cloud," it's hard not to be won over immediately. It's a light, likable song from the San Diego band that serves as a fun preview of some new music headed our way this fall. Their next album, Living on the Other Side, is due out on September 9th, and I'd recommend staying posted here for more info. Until then, this song is destined to be on my next mixtape. Check it:

Mp3: The Donkeys - Walk Through a Cloud