Griff says; Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound

I hope I'm not coming across as a mere cheerleader for Bad Panda Records, but tonight, as I did just last week 'here', I want to draw your attention to yet another of their free Monday singles, and when you hear it you'll realise why.
This week's song, My Darling Grace, is the debut single from a newly formed trio based in Barcelona, Spain called Berlinist. Bad Panda don't seem to have a lot of information available about them, but a quick look at their Facebook page is quite revealing, as they site their influences as; William S. Burroughs, Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud, Jorge Luis Borges, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Dante Alighieri, H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, Allen Ginsberg, J. G. Ballard, Jose Saramago and Federico García Lorca. Wow! If they were trying to impress the literature-loving, name-droppers who staff The Streetlamp then they just did so, and some.


But leaving aside the literary influences for a moment, you may well be asking; what do they sound like? Well, the band are currently recording using piano, guitar, glockenspiel, accordion, drums and ukulele. The music they create has a sparse, haunting, melancholic and, on this single, rather eerie, otherwordly quality which makes it perfect night-time listening. They are currently working on their debut album and if it is as good as this debut single then we're in for a real treat. But don't take my word for it. Have a listen below:

Berlinist - My Darling Grace [BadPanda81] by Bad Panda Records





Don't you just love the way those vocals are reverbed to the max? Magnificent!
Thanks again to the lovely people at Bad Panda, as always the MP3 can be freely downloaded from their site. While you're there you can also read a short interview with the band. The Berlinist tumblr site is also worth a visit.

Griff
xx

Griff says; la Virgen de Seattle (con aves)

Our friends at Bad Panda Records have come up trumps yet again with last Monday's free release (and if you haven't visited Bad Panda yet, or realised that they release a free song every Monday then shame on you!). This release is BadPanda080, the artist is Virgin of the Birds and the song is Let Me Be Your Bride. There, what more do you need to know?

...Oh, OK, Named after a poor English translation of a Salvador Dali painting, Virgin of the Birds is the solo project of Jon Rooney, with occasional help from various folks for live shows and select recordings. The music is very much in the 'Griff Says' mould, i.e. it's a mix of introspective, lo-fi folk and indie-pop, which should thrill the senses and stimulate the mind in equal measure.

Jon formed Virgin of the Birds as an outlet for his songs outside of Morning Spy, a now-slumbering indie pop/rock band he originally formed in San Francisco, California. Virgin of the Birds followed, and was briefly based in Austin, Texas (the happy hunting ground of many a Streetlamp band) before settling in Seattle, Washington. Since 2004, Jon has also managed Abandoned Love Records through which he has released a series of free, download-only EPs. The Abandoned Love website is well worth checking out as, as well as providing downloads to all of Jon's prolific Virgin of the Birds back catalogue, they also release music by other artists; specialising in indie rock, lo fi, dream pop, and instrumental music.


Let Me Be Your Bride has a real 60s pop vibe to it but with the sort of dense lyricism and vocal phrasing that instantly reminds one of Bob Dylan. I think that it's really rather wonderful and hope that you will too. Here's the official video:



Let Me Be Your Bride is the opening track on Banquet Years, a free digital EP released in 2010 and recorded entirely at home by the talented Jon. It can be downloaded 'here'. Numerous Morning Spy MP3s are also available freely 'here'.

That should keep you busy for a while.

Big thanks to Bad Panda.

Griff
xx

Griff says; Útidúr - where the Sad Panda meets the Bad Panda!

You may remember that back in May (see here) I blogged about a 12 piece /indie/folk/pop band from Iceland called Útidúr (pronounced: ooh! – detour). At that time the band had posted three extremely promising demo songs on to bandcamp and were in the process of recording their first album. The album entitled 'This Mess We've Made' is now finished and will be out this week via Gogoyoko and bandcamp. The band have just released a couple of the songs on Youtube allowing us a sneak preview and I think you'll like what you hear (below). The Útidúr studio sound is now richer and more fully orchestral with the arrangements displaying a definite flavour of the film scores of 'Streetlamp' hero Ennio Morricone about them.





On top of that, the band have also released a free digital single via the nice people at Bad Panda Records (BadPanda051 Fisherman’s Friend / Grasping for Thoughts). I've wanted to mention Bad Panda for a while as they are a free-download netlabel releasing Creative Commons licensed songs (one free song every Monday), which is, as you should know by now, a concept dear to the Streetlamp's heart. Also, they have a rather fine roster of artists many of whom will appeal to those of you who enjoy these 'Griff says' recommendations. And, of course, I also wanted to introduce their intrepid, gun-toting Panda icon to our own rather more introverted little fellow.

Oh, dear! I do hope that they play nice.

The Bad Panda release is also available for preview and download at the Free Music Archive (songs below).



Enjoy!

Griff
xx