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Songwriter

Josh Record – The War

josh record

National Anthem artist (CHVRCHES, Haim) Josh Record releases “The War” the title track from his upcoming follow-up EP to his brilliant “Bones” EP. Already anointed a “Hottest Record in the World” by Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, “The War” is stunning in its sparkling simplicity & beauty. Spare slightly-reverbed guitar arpeggios and Josh’s 100% committed vocal (& fine falsetto) highlight here a track that is clearly the work of an artist, writer & arranger of the highest ability and order. “The War” EP is out August 12th.

Josh Record england (Facebook)

Rating: 8.3

brown8

reviewed by
07-03-13

WOODS – Be All Be Easy

Woodsist

“Be All Be Easy” goes down easy with an always classic makeup of soothing harmony and folk rock roots music. The NY collective Woods will release the song as a new single on July 9 and be sure to catch them on tour throughout this summer and fall. Sample “Be All Be Easy” below along with a B-side cover of “God’s Children” from The Kinks.

Tour Dates

Fri-Jul-12 Hudson, NY – Half Moon
Sat-Jul-13 Boston, MA TT – The Bears *
Sun-Jul-14 Portland, ME – Space 538 *
Mon-Jul-15 Burlington, VT – Signal Kitchen *
Tue-Jul-16 Montreal, QC – Il Motore *
Wed-Jul-17 Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern *
Thu-Jul-18 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern
Fri-Jul-19 Chicago, IL – Pitchfork Music Festival
Mon-Jul-22 Louisville, KY – Zanzabar *
Tue-Jul-23 Charlottesville, VA – Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar *
Wed-Jul-24 Philadelphia, PA – Morgan’s Pier *
Thu-Jul-25 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar *
Sat-Jul-27 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom #
Thu-Aug-01 Berlin – Berghain Kantine
Fri-Aug-02 Katowice – Off Festival
Sat-Aug-03 Vienna – Flex
Sun-Aug-04 Nürnberg – Folk im Park
Mon-Aug-05 Hamburg – Aalhaus
Tue-Aug-06 Köln – King Georg
Wed-Aug-07 Sibenik – Terraneo Festival
Sat-Aug-10 Helsinki – Flow Festival
Sun-Aug-11 Amsterdam – MC Theater
Wed-Aug-14 Luxembourg – Exit07
Thu-Aug-15 Paris – Plage de Glazart
Fri-Aug-16 St. Malo – La Route du Rock
Sun-Aug-18 Powys – Greenman Festival
Mon-Aug-19 London – Hoxton Bar & Kitchen
Mon-Sep-16 Vancouver, BC – Electric Owl %
Tue-Sep-17 Seattle, WA – Barboza %
Wed-Sep-18 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios %
Fri-Sep-20 San Francisco, CA – The Chapel %
Sun-Sep-22 Big Sur, CA – Woodsist Festival @ Henry Miller Memorial Library
Wed-Sep-25 San Luis Obispo, CA – SLO Brew %
Thu-Sep-26 San Diego, CA – Casbah %
Fri-Sep-27 Los Angeles, CA – Center for the Arts Eagle Rock %
Sat-Sep-28 Pioneertown, CA – Woodsist Festival @ Pappy and Harriet’s %#

* = w/ Parquet Courts
# = w/ Alex Bleeker and the Freaks
% = w/ The Fresh & Onlys

Woods (Official)

Rating 8.3

brown8

reviewed by
07-03-13

Amason – Went To War

Amason

Amason, a Swedish indie supergroup of sorts (the Stockholm-based band features members of Miike Snow, Idiot Wind & Little Majorette), make their B3 debut w/ the compact rhythm-driven indie pop of “Went To War”. The track ticks the boxes (quite well actually) of being great melodically and conceptually as well as lyrically but is particularly memorable for it’s excellent set of horn-led hook-sealing counter melodies (you will recognize them instantly when you first hear them) that are of a quality characteristic of the best songwriters (like Miike Snow’s Pontus Winnberg).

Amason california (Facebook)

Rating 8.3

brown8

reviewed by
07-01-13

Jody Brock – Stormy Weather

jody brock

We love Jody Brock. The South West London soul man definitely evocates the power and visceral quality of the best vocalists of that genre’s golden era (e.g. Donny Hathaway, of whom we are certainly picking up a vocal influence) while channeling an immediacy and right-now-ness that pulls at you straight through headphones and grabs at you, demanding, pleading that you need to listen. Check Jody’s excellent brand new “Stormy Weather” single below.

Jody Brock (Facebook)

Rating: 8.3

brown8

reviewed by
06-26-13

Sophie Jamieson – I Don’t

sophie jamieson

Sophie Jamieson a new artist out of London UK and her debut EP “Where” are very very impressive. A lovely cinematic mix of folk melody and dramatic dynamic instrumentation, Sophie’s music ably stands out from a relatively crowded genre by the sheer quality of its writing and instrumentation. On “Where”, we’re seemingly drawn in by every verse, chorus and turn of tune; track four of the EP’s five total “I Don’t” with its simple pensive beauty is our pick from the set. Love.

Sophie Jamieson (Facebook)

Rating: 8.3

brown8

reviewed by
06-26-13

Amber – Kites

amber - kites

Nottingham UK act Amber impresses w/ the both melodically lyrically very strong “Kites”. Still quite young, the band (the oldest member is 20) met at university only last year, sound very ready to make an immediate impact w/ their lo-fi meets destined-for-arenas sized songs. Sample “Kites” from Amber’s debut “Noah” EP below.

Amber (Soundcloud)

Rating: 8.3

brown8

reviewed by
06-25-13

Dent May – Born Too Late

Dent May

Pop songwriting oddball Dent May returns with “Born Too Late” the lead single from the Mississippi-based artist’s third LP, Warm Blanket. Recorded in a (at least according to PR) haunted Victorian mansion in St. Augustine, Florida; May recruited locals to record many of the record’s insturmental bits and bobs. Recalling the 60’s-80’s pop songwriting student blend of artists like Mayer Hawthorne; “Born Too Late” achieves it’s B3 Rec’d status on the very stength of its songwriting. Obviously Mr. May is a bit of a hand here, effortlessly blending varying schools/genres/era of melodic construction into a seamless melange of high quality tunefulness. Warm Blanket is due August 27th.

Dent May mississippi (Facebook)

Rating 8.4

reviewed by
06-24-13

Yassou Benedict – The Cloisters

yassou

S.F.-based dream pop act Yassou Benedict release new single “The Cloisters”. Excerpted from the band’s forthcoming (July 2) “In Fits In Dreams” EP, “The Cloisters” dynamically builds across the track’s 3:48 duration with syrupy counter harmony and swells of clean melodic guitar lines adding panache. Of maybe most note though is the quality and conviction of singer Lilie Bytheway-Hoy’s vocal choices and performance.

Yassou Benedict california (Facebook)

Rating 8.9

brown8

reviewed by
06-19-13

Giveaway: She & Him w/ Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Matthew White @ Hollywood Bowl in LA this Sunday (6/23/13)

shehim-685x250_0

We’ve got a surprise giveaway for y’all today! This Sunday (6/23) Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, aka She & Him, will take to the stage at the legendary Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles to kick off ‘The Bowl’s’ always stellar Summer Concert Series. The duo will be performing fan favorites as well as new material from their recent Old Yellow Moon release, and they will be receiving support that night from Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, and Matthew White. We’ve got one pair of tickets to giveaway to this special summer evening for one lucky reader!

For your chance to win the pair of tickets, just email us here and let us know you’d like to go… and we’ll enter you to win in our drawing to take place this afternoon! Our winner will be picked at random from the pool of submissions (one entry per person), so keep an eye on your inbox. You can get additional details on the show, as well as purchase tickets for the show at the Hollywood Bowl website. Good luck!

Hollywood Bowl california (Tickets and Info)
She & Him (Official)

reviewed by
06-19-13

Oliver Wilde – Perrett’s Brook (Edit)

Oliver Wilde

Oh yes, we definitely love this. “Perrett’s Brook” is how the much-attempted in 2013 “hazy lo-fi rock w/ melodies” sound is supposed to be done. Meet Oliver Wilde. A Brief Introduction To Unnatural Lightyears is out July 22.

Oliver Wilde (Soundcloud)

Rating 8.6

brown8

reviewed by
06-14-13

Premiere: Ancient Mariner – Child of Wrath

AncientMariner_3

Ancient Mariner is the songwriting brainchild of Aurora, CO. native Gabriel Jorgensen. His new track, the pensive and beautifully conceived, “Child of Wrath” proudly bears Ancient Mariner’s knack for honest musical and lyrical expression. As Jorgensen himself puts it:

“In impatient desperation my mouth begins to water for seemingly sweeter tastes that would eat me from the inside out; my eyes are drawn to fantasies painted across desert horizons that will fade as I race toward them. I’m a child lead astray and ruined by my own wrath. May I be found, revived, and fulfilled by the only one who can reach me.”

Ancient Mariner’s forthcoming In Solitude EP was recorded in a cabin, tucked away within the Rocky Mountains. On “Child Of Wrath” the tranquil isolation bleeds through poetic lyrics driven by the many trials and struggles of life. B3SCI has your first listen at this stunning new track. Sample it below and be sure to mark July 2nd on your calendars for Ancient Mariner’s debut EP In Solitude.

Ancient Mariner colorado (Official)

Rating 8.3

brown8

reviewed by
06-13-13

Lovelier Other – Wonderkind

lovelier other

Lovelier Other do one better in approaching “B3SCI favorite band status” with the dreamy whimsical new song “Wonderkind”. Following up on the B3-approved “Hidden Shelters” and “Leave This Behind“, Wonderkind explores a bit more pop-centric side to the little-known-about band. We call it one of our favorite tracks of the week.

Lovelier Other iceland (Soundcloud)

Rating 8.3

brown8

reviewed by
06-12-13