Freelance Whales

Lately, I have been discovering a lot of music that uses slightly more unusual instruments in fun ways. I think this is a trend we will be seeing more of in the future, as more and more people are getting tired of the traditional rock band consisting of four men, with one drummer, one bass player, a singer who plays quitar, and another guitarist, all of whom wear band t-shirts, dirty jeans, chuck taylors, and maybe a leather jacket or two. The instrument that Freelance Whales uses that I find so fun is a xylophone, but from what I read their collection of fun instruments is growing to include instruments such as Japanese flutes and possibly someday, a pipe organ.

I believe that the singer sounds like a slightly more androgynous version of the singer from The Format, but others have likened his voice to Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, which I can definitely hear. The band's sound reminds me a bit of The Postal Service, though their sound is not quite as polished.

I personally think the best songs on their album is Generator First Floor, Generator Second Floor, Hannah, and Starring. Starring has super fun instrumentals (and definitely reminds me of Postal Service). Their album "Weathervanes" is the type of album that constantly gives you new favorites though, depending on your mood. As I write this I am listening to the album, and have found several more songs that I am enjoying immensely, such as Broken Horse and We Could Be Friends.

My favorite part about this band is their instrumentals, but if you choose to focus on the lyrics, there are some interesting stories going on in the album. The lyrics are based off a combination of the singer's childhood memories and dream journaling. By age six, the singer began to make room in his house for the ghost of a young girl he sensed living in his house, a detail he works into the album.

This is a super fun band, and I hope you take the time to listen to some of their music. To hear some examples of their work, check out the videos below:









-Melissa

This Time in My Life

Sarah Jaffe is the singer for this time in my life. Love lost. New love. Begging love to stay. Wishing you could feel differently about where life has lead you. Promises. Broken promises. I've felt it all. And so has she. Her style is often so simplistic, that it's easy for me to see myself in any one of her songs.

Stay With Me is a song that hardly sings, but rather whispers her pleas to the one she loves for them to stay. Clementine is my theme song at the moment. In this song, she details her journey through multiple heartbreaks and wishing she could go back to being delicate after becoming so calloused. I believe the line "I wish my name was Clementine" to refer to the song Oh My Darling Clementine, in which Clementine is remembered even after death, though it could also refer to her wish to return to gentleness. Better Than Nothing has one of the most rousing choruses I have heard in a while, as does Perfect Plan. Pretender is another song I can really relate to. The lyrics mixed with the dark music brings to mind that feeling of desperateness everyone feels for someone at one point in their life. Is she really a giver/forgiver, or is she just telling herself that so she feels better about the situation? Though her lyrics are simple, I find myself questioning every little meaning in her songs.

I would not consider Sarah Jaffe one of the new great lyricists of our time however. Her lyrics, as with her music, are simple. Songs such as Clementine repeat the same lines over and over, and some lines are slightly odd, such as Vulnerable's "You're such a baby, it's just a nosebleed. Leave me for a while, so you can go and cry." But I don't like Sarah for her lyrics. I like her for her heartfeltness and her great (and sometimes incredibly catchy) instrumentals.

As with her songwriting style, I see her clothing style as being simple. I would love to see her in fun dresses and rompers, with the occasional cardigan or casual jacket. Sarah is not a traditional beauty, so I think she could pull off some slightly unusual styles, such as rompers with tights and boots. If I was to style Sarah I would dress her as I often dress myself, taking even fancy pieces and dressing them down with boots and sweaters.

If you have not already heard Sarah Jaffe, please take the time to check out some of her music at the bottom of the page. I have found something new in her songs every time I have listened and hopefully you will love her as much as I do.

Sarah Jaffe

Fun Dresses

Dresses with Cardigans

Cute Casual Rompers

-Melissa

Epic Banjos

While listening to Mumford and Sons' debut album "Sigh No More" I caught myself thinking "Man, these banjos are epic," which are not exactly words one would normally put together. I think that choice of words is actually fitting though. Mumford and Sons is a great folk band for one who does not necessarily like folk bands due to their quick tempos and ability to keep their songs interesting, even the slower ones.

I really love this album, especially the songs Little Lion Man, White Blank Page, Winter Winds, Sigh No More, The Cave, and Awake My Soul. I love the singer's slightly raspy English voice and their use of literary references in their lyrics. As the singer put it "You can rip off Shakespeare all you like; no lawyer's going to call you up on that one."

This band does not completely fit into the theme of this blog as I have heard them on the radio a few times and were recently nominated for two Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song, but I believe them to be relatively unheard of still as they are relative newcomers to the music world. As for the Grammy nominations, it just shows that on occasion award shows actually get it right. Despite my love for many of the other Best New Artist nominees, I expect Mumford and Sons to win that category.

Check out this wonderful band below:







-Melissa

Tennis

One of my new favorite bands is actually from Denver...not that you have heard of them. Tennis is an amazing husband and wife duo that is starting to get national attention, but is practically unheard of right here in their hometown. They recently went on a sailing trip and were so inspired that they decided to record an album heavily influenced by their time at sea. This album is called "Cape Dory", named after the ship they sailed in.

With a sound that feels like a retro beach party, Tennis is great for anyone who likes Vampire Weekend or Surfer Blood. The singer's voice reminds me of girly groups of yesteryear. Every song on their album is really great, but my favorites are Long Boat Pass, Take Me Somewhere, Marathon, and South Carolina. This is a great mood album, especially in these cold winter months.

I like the idea of simplicity with dressing the singer Alaina Moore. She has big frizzy hair that reminds me of Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing (I actually think this album would fit right into the movie as well) so I think she could do fun simple pieces well. I like the idea of simple rompers and summer dresses in fun prints. I'd love to make her sundresses in sailing inspired fabric to match with their sound. And because I love frizzy hair, I say let it do it's thing!

Alaina

Rompers

Simple Summer Dresses

Some Great Prints

Check out some of this group's great music!









-Melissa

She Said What?- Kate Nash

Kate Nash writes some of the worst lyrics I have EVER heard. I really enjoy her in general, her voice is great and her songs Foundations, Pumpkin Soup, and Merry Happy are really enjoyable, but some of her other songs are absolute garbage. I thought she had some doozies on her first album "Made of Bricks" but then I listened to her latest album "My Best Friend is You" and was so shocked at the first line of Don't You Want to Share the Guilt that I burst out laughing. Here are a small selection of her gems:

"BBQ food is good
You invite me out to eat it, I should
Go, but I'm feeling kind of nervous
And not quite myself"
from Don't You Want to Share the Guilt?

"I hate seagulls
And I hate being sick
I hate burning my finger on the toaster
And I hate knits"
from I Hate Seagulls

"And I use mouthwash
Sometimes I floss
I got a family
And I drink lots of tea"
from Mouthwash

"right birds can fly so high
or they can shit on your head
they can almost fly into your eye and make you feel so scared, but when you look at them and you see that there beautiful that's how i feel about you."
from Birds

-Melissa

Modern Sixties

I was not sure what to expect when I first listened to Frankie Rose and the Outs. I expected a girly pop or rock band. What I did not expect was to hear sixties pop come from a band that looks like this:

Though very modern in many ways, my first thought when I heard Frankie Rose and the Outs was how much it sounded like an all female sixties pop group. Their self titled album has a few slow pretty songs, but most of them are fun retro rock. Some songs sound like sixties songs with a slight modern touch, while some sound like very modern songs with a sixties touch. My favorite songs on the album are Candy, That's What People Told Me, Must Be Nice, and Don't Tred.

I would love to dress all the girls in the band in modern versions of 60s dresses. Each girl would wear something that shows her individual personality, but would look good with the other girls. An example would be if they all wore black and red but had different shaped dresses and different levels of red to black. Here are some inspiration pictures:

Different Shapes of Retro Black Dresses

Fun Shapes and Patterns

Oh So Sixties

Check this fun band out below!

-Melissa

KaiserCartel

The first time I heard KaiserCartel was at the UMS back in 2009. I thought the name was related to some strange joke about gangs and bread, but was a little disappointed to find out it was just a combination of the two singer's last names. I was not disappointed when I heard their music however. Their sound is simple and fun and never feels overworked. And to add to how good they are, they are even better live, which always impresses me. My favorite songs of theirs are Oh No, Season Song, Okay, Favorite Song, and Good Ones. Some of the songs are just so damn catchy that I catch myself bobbing my head along, such as Favorite Song and Season Song (which makes me wish I knew how to whistle).

Courtney Kaiser is super adorable in a retro sort of way. I would love to see her in simple vintage print dresses and old timey country inspired pieces. On the cover of their cd "March Forth" she is wearing an adorable print skirt with a cinch belt which is very close to what I would dress her in.

Courtney

Here are some inspiration pictures

All designs by the amazing Luella Bartley. I like the shapes and the fun use of pattern.

Check out some videos by this great band!

-Melissa