New Music 2013

Kurt Vile’s 5^th studio album Wakin on a Pretty Daze,
http://kurtvile.com/

 

New Glasgow band #Chvrches, worth checking out! Cool sound. http://chvrch.es/videos

Strong melodies and memorable sound.

Check out HAIM's Days Are Gone, first album. Good vocals and cool bass lines - http://haimtheband.com

Lorde (Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O'Connor)
Only 17 (!)  is a New Zealand singer songwriter with a style all her own, I saw her on the Jools Holland tv show and I was impressed. She has topped charts with her first EP The Love Club and singles Royals. Interestingly her mother is a poet. Her debut album Pure Heroine, was released Sept 2013. http://lorde.co.nz/

Haim's Days Are Gone

The three LA Haim sisters grew up with rock n roll and so their sound draws heavily from 70s and 80s pop rock. 
I like that they are playing basketball in their Save Me video and that they look good without having to totter around the stage in enormous heels the way most girl bands do. They actually play instruments too (!)  - Este plays a mean bass guitar, Danielle energetic rocking guitar and Alana dynamic fun rhythms on percussion, drums and keys.  

Their first album title, Days Are Gone, has been receiving mostly good reviews. They are strong vocally and all four singles are quality funky indie rock pop (Don't Save Me, Forever, The Wire, Falling). The track Go Slow shows a bit of an XX influence. The later tracks veer slightly into a poppy sound and with Let Me Go reminiscing for 70s rock. 

  

Otherwise the girls write and produce their own material and do it well. I would prefer that they stuck to the raw rock sound that they play live. I like their fun energy and new sound vibe.

I saw them play an upbeat and cool gig at Glasgow's SW13 venue last May, where they did a rocking version of early Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well. They also played Glastonbury 2013 and other UK festivals and they topped the BBC's Sound of 2013.  I noticed them firstly on the Jools Holland tv show earlier this year and I thought they played a distinctive rhythm that made them stand out.   http://haimtheband.com/

Haim at SW13 Glasgow

Haim at SW3 Glasgow

I like Haim - good to see a girl band that really play and look good without tottering about the stage in huge heels! In their video they are even playing basketball! Girls in America play sport much more than here.

I heard the band perform on the BBC Jools Holland show and I thought they had a new refreshing sound. 

Glasgow’s hippest venue SW3 was packed with many female fans joining the front rows. Haim have already  supported Florence and the Machine a few months back, which was certainly a good support slot to achieve!

The three sisters let loose their joyful harmony singing and cool rhythms. Este, the oldest is a talented bass player – as are Danielle who plays guitar with drama and energetic Alana on keys, along with drummer Dash Hutton. They are all equal band members and take turns on lead vocals which makes them a fun live band. . . . 

The crowd enjoyed their Fleetwood Mac cover and new single Falling. A favourite was their song Save Me, which is also a favourite of mine. They finished their encore with the fun full on drama of drums and their song Let Me Go.

They had a relaxed manner and played with subtle and infectious energy. There are shades of Fleetwood Mac. What took my attention was their rather unusual and enjoyable rhythms.

This band is the second Californian girl rock band I’ve taken photos of – the first being Warpaint a few years ago. Not sure where the Scottish girl bands are? 

Haim, worth checking out!

I heard this girl band from LA on Jools Holland the other week - HAIM - and I thought they were excellent with fun rhythms and vocals. I took photos of another cool American girl rock band called Warpaint a few years back. No cool Scottish girl bands around though... oddly?    


The band's releases include the EP "Forever" and the single "Save Me" 2012.  They were announced as winners of the BBC Sound of 2013.

Haim is a group formed in 2006 in Los Angeles who first released in 2012. The band consists of sisters Este Haim (born 1986), Danielle Haim (born 1989) and Alana Haim (born 1991), along with drummer Dash Hutton. Most frequently compared to Fleetwood Mac, their sound has been described as "nu-folk–meets–nineties–R&B" and "music that sounds like it was written on a lakeside retreat attended by Stevie Nicks, John Waite and En Vogue"