Thursday Throwback: Venus Hum

Posted on by mcsquawk

Thursday Throwback is a feature on Squawkin’ Good Tunes where we dig up a forgotten gem from at least 10 years ago, play it on that week’s edition of Squawkin’ Good Radio, and review the album on squawkingood.com.

This week I thought we’d cover something a little different from the power-pop/punk bands featured the past few weeks. Let’s go back to 2003 and hear from Venus Hum, a dream pop/electronica group from Nashville consisting of lead singer Annette Strean and multi-instrumentalists Kip Kubin and Tony Miracle. Their debut full-length Big Beautiful Sky (a reference to lead singer Annette Strean’s home state of Montana) featured the single “Hummingbirds” a vibrant, dramatic song with surreal lyrics.

After kicking off with “Hummingbirds”, Venus Hum cycle through three candy-colored pop tunes with varying levels of success before arriving at the haunting “Alice”, a contender for best song on the album. It’s followed by the bouncy, intriguing pop song “Lumberjacks”, and the album finishes strong with the ethereal “Honey”, suspenseful “Sonic Boom” and closing track “Bella Luna”.

While very much a product of the early 00’s electronica scene, Big Beautiful Sky is a solid album recommended for fans of artists like Florence & the Machine, Goldfrapp or School of Seven Bells.

Take a listen to the whole album below on Spotify:

 

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Squawkin’ Good Radio 6/1/16

Posted on by mcsquawk

Last night’s show is now up on Mixcloud! This show featured great new songs from FAWNN, Speedy Ortiz, Operators and a Bob Dylan remix by Animal Collective! If you missed this week’s show, you can listen here:

Click here for this show’s playlist on Radioactivity.

Squawkin’ Good Radio 5/25/16

Posted on by mcsquawk

Squawkin’ Good Radio is now on Mixcloud! Starting now, I will be putting each week’s show on Mixcloud where you can listen whenever you want! Here is last Wednesday’s show, featuring the latest music from Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop, Moderat, Magnet School, Marian Hill and more, plus a few throwbacks.

Click here for this show’s playlist on Radioactivity.

Weekend Mixtape #4: 5/1/16

Posted on by mcsquawk

Well it’s been a long time since you’ve seen one of these, haven’t you? Here is the first official Weekend Mixtape in over a month. I’ve got two weeks of new musical discoveries to share with you, so we’ve got 20 songs in today’s playlist. There’s quite a variety of music here from several different kinds of rock to more electronic stuff, from a mix of different artists from all over the world. There’s new single from Deerhoof’s forthcoming album The Magic, rockin’ tracks from Palace Winter, The Academic, Mean Jeans and LISBON, chill vibes from Cornelius, Maria Usbeck and Desert Sound Colony, plus the latest singles from Thrice, Why We Run, Aloha and Two Year Vacation.

Take a listen and let me know which songs you like best. You’ll be hearing some of these songs on Squawkin’ Good Radio in the next few weeks.

Squawkin’ Good Spring Mixtape

Posted on by mcsquawk

Apologies for the lack of Weekend Mixtapes the past few weeks. I’ve been really busy and haven’t had time to work on the blog as of late. I have still been discovering lots of great new music over the past few weeks, much of which I haven’t been played on my show yet. So I present the Squawkin’ Good Spring Mixtape featuring my favorite new songs I’ve discovered on Soundcloud plus a few other favorites I’ve been enjoying lately.

Some highlights this time around: my favorite track off of DTCV’s new album Confusion Moderne, you may remember them from the song “Miley Cyrus Wins the Race”, one of my favorite songs of 2016. Also, there’s a fun tune from the Swedish band Two Year Vacation, a perfect song for the warmer weather from The Hazy Seas, a new track from Mt. Wolf who you may remember from “VIII”, another of my favorite songs from 2015, plus great remixes of Saintseneca and Destroyer songs. Take a listen and let me know which songs you like best and I’ll get them on my show in the next few weeks!

Weekend Mixtape #1 (3/6/16)

Posted on by mcsquawk

Starting this week, I’m trying a new variation on my Weekend SoundCloud picks. Squawkin Good Tunes’ Weekend Mixtape will be a weekly playlist of my favorite new songs I discovered on SoundCloud plus some other great new tracks I heard this week.

Former Burlington band Argonaut & Wasp are back with one of their best singles yet. Marian Hill of “One Time” fame have released a brand new single, plus there’s a bold new track from rising artist Mitzki, hard rockin’ singles from Nothing and Bleached, latest cuts from Yeasayer‘s Amen & Goodbye, Com Truise’s Silicon Tare EP, and The Boxer Rebellion‘s Ocean by Ocean, promising tracks from London acoustic-rockers Narrow Plains and New Zealand band The Leers.

Listen to all tracks below:

Let me know which tracks you liked best and I’ll play them on this Wednesday’s edition of Squawkin’ Good Radio!

Also, don’t forget to choose which artists you would like to compete in Squawkin’ Good Showdown which starts Wednesday, March 16. Vote here!

 

Weekend SoundCloud Picks: 2/28/16

Posted on by mcsquawk

Every week, I listen to the new tracks posted on my SoundCloud stream and choose 4-8 of my favorites to share with you each Sunday.

I’m back with another set of my favorite songs discovered on Soundcloud. Interestingly, this week’s picks are a throwback to my high school days, with a couple of louder, angstier songs, a long-awaited return of a band I first discovered online when I was in high school, and a great remix of an early 00’s alt-rock hit.

White Lung “Hungry”

White Lung are back with the first single from their sophomore album Paradise, out May 6th on Domino Records. As powerful as their last album but shows off a more melodic and catchy side of their music.

Incubus “Stellar” (Alvan Project Remix)

French producer Alvan Project gives new life to Incubus’ second single from their 1999 album Make Yourself. Combining a dance beat with guitars from the original song, plus a flute and a strange vocal sample.

Prince Rama “Bahia”

Prince Rama were a band whose music I was never able to get into, but this first single from their forthcoming album Xtreme Now is very intriguing. A fun and catchy song that is still very weird.

Aloha “Signal Drift”

Aloha are band who I collected quite a few tracks from during my online musical discoveries from late high school into college. They’re returning with their first album since 2010, called Little Windows Cut Right Through, released on their longtime label Polyvinyl Records.

A Mouth Full of Matches “Possible Dreams”

British band A Mouth Full of Matches caught my attention with their latest track. They play a style of melodic hard rock, more along the lines of what I listened to in high school compared to what I listen to today, but give them a listen. They take this style of music in new and exciting directions and if you like this song, they have much more to offer on their SoundCloud page.

Fou De Toi “Don’t Know What to Do”

Fou De Toi are a Swedish band whose latest single is a really catchy pop-rock track, recommended if you like Phoenix or Two Door Cinema Club.

Below, you can listen to all tracks featured this week. Let me know which songs you liked and I will feature them on this week’s edition of Squawkin’ Good Radio!