Courtesy of Hopscotch Music Festival Given the name one might assume that Sylvan Esso is some sort of mystical Eastern European troubadour, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The side project of Mountain Man‘s Amelia Meath and Megafun‘s Nick Sanborn, the duo makes music wholly unlike either of their original bands. A combination … Read more
Via NPR Hopscotch begins tonight! I gotta keep this short because I’m about to make the three hour drive back to Raleigh, but short and sweet is always good. Waxahatchee is the project of Katie Crutchfield. She makes wicked awesome, acoustic-y pop punk with just enough grit to keep you on your toes. Her newest … Read more
Sunday marked the close of yet another Hopscotch Music Festival for those of us in North Carolina. It’s normal day of reflection here in the south, being the Sabbath and all, but it’s a time for us music junkies to look back at the now-gone-weekend of booze and debauchery, instead of praying out those sins … Read more
Image courtesy of Jeffery Vash What were you doing at age 17? I think for most kids that age it takes all the energy they can muster just to get through their last couple years of high school and keep from going completely insane (hormones are a hell of a drug, y’all). When I wasn’t … Read more
Here’s this week’s Speakers in Code endorsed live shows in St. Louis and The Triangle, from now until October! Saint Louis 6/21 – The Moondoggies + Blitzen Trapper @ Off Broadway [buy tickets] 6/23 – Brahms + Tokyo Police Club + Passion Pit @ The Pageant [buy tickets] 6/26 – Sleep Kitty + The Blind … Read more
Apparently, growing up in the rougher neighborhoods of Sacramento not only makes you tough as nails, but it also preps you for the day you decide to start making music. For Terra Lopez, a little quiet isolation in the LBC, and a long night of drankin’, apparently doesn’t hurt as well – since after boozing … Read more
Atlanta based Wowser Bowser recently bleeped on the official Speakers in Code radar, via a little reconnaissance work our secret agents were doing on Raleigh’s Hopscotch Music Festival lineup. From what we know thus far, they give high energy performances, their music contains complex layers of instruments, and the diversity of musical genres they feature … Read more
The idea of the slow burn isn’t appealing to everyone. Especially today in an age where everything is immediately obtainable. But with music, and specifically song craft, slowly sinking your hooks into someone’s soul is something that is oft-tried, but rarely as effective as the artist had intended. In attempting the slow burn, many artists … Read more
Continuing our weekly Jam of the Day post featuring an artist that will be playing this year’s Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, we are are pleased to bring you Balam Acab’s remix of Lana Del Rey’s breakout single,”Video Games.” As if “Video Games” wasn’t already heartbreaking and addicting enough, Balam Acab, in a genius move, … Read more
Photo by Sarah Jurado With its psychadelic guitars and haunted, echoing vocals, “Nothing Is The News” opens Damien Jurado’s Maraqopa with five and a half minutes of the bleakest, loneliest landscape possible. It’s a track for watching the sun rise over a barren but beautiful desert alone, a song that sets the tone for Jurado’s masterpiece … Read more
I’m a firm disbeliever in serendipity, fate, and generally anything else that could be used for either the premise of a teen novel or a chick flick. Call it soulless, but that melarkey is for the birds. However, last week, while reading a list of “new” bands a friend sent me while doing Hopscotch Music … Read more
Photo courtesy of the band It’s an age old story: a songwriter’s band takes a break, but the songwriter keeps writing songs. When JKutchma’s primary vehicle, Durham punk stalwarts Red Collar, took a break to deal with life two years ago, J kept writing, and took the songs on the road by himself. Eventually Red … Read more
Summer is coming. Matthew E. White will make it his. Just surrender now. But if your hand and ears must be forced, they will not be led by extreme means. Instead, you will slowly succumb to beats that sneak along and a voice that quietly kills, seemingly possessed by the ghosts of history’s most powerful … Read more
Photo by Joe Appaluccio NY multi-instrumentalist, Steve, has been touring the world with Yeasayer and tUnE-yArDs for a minute now behind his new LP, Positive Force. His reception has been met with more than positive reviews. That alone is reason enough to check him out, no? In addition, Steve wrote, performed, recorded, and mixed Positive … Read more
Music nerdom can sometimes be frustrating. Sure – you have the typical irritation points, like when you see that Maroon 5 sold out the local Bud Light Lime Dome, or that the massive pool of Top 40 fans were amazed and horribly irritated when Bon Iver won a Grammy, despite their not knowing who the … Read more