Hello Friends:
This has been a crazy year in local music. Several FC/CO bands have struck it big, getting their sounds out to the masses via mad internet play and blog love.
to perpetuate this cycle, I am going to blog about a few of my favorite local/denver bands
who are destroying--in my opinion--and deserve to have 2010 be their year:
1. Bad Weather California
Chris, Joe, Adam and Logan are four of my favorite musicians/magicians to watch, local or otherwise. Chris is one of the most inspirational, unhinged, and passionate frontmen/song writers to call our great state his home. He'd been killing in the Love Letter Band for quite some time, but 2009 saw him mount up with some heavy players and bust out "Young Punks," one of my favorite records from this year. Adam's searing pedal steel and lead guitar wahwahs swerve between Joe's thumping bass lines and Logan's manic and incredible percussion. This is a timeless summertime album played by some timeless dudes. We (M. Pyres) have had the pleasure of playing with these dudes several times (and we share a drummer, occasionally) and they are honestly one of my favorite live bands of all time. I went to high school here in town with Logan, and it is inspirational to see a musician I grew up with making it playing music successfully in the indie sphere. Keep track of them in 2010.
BAD WEATHER MYSPACE2. Candy Claws
Ryan, Kay and Wesley are three unassuming young musicians from Fort Collins who write, record, play and produce some of the most imaginative, layered and lush music coming out of anywhere, let alone Fort Collins. Their album "In The Dream Of The Sea Life" struck the hearts and ears of internet music dorks, and they have been riding a residual wave of praise since. Their sound and their aesthetic is familiar and unique; they smoosh Pet Sounds harmonies through Animal Collective gurgle and approach the aftermath with naivety and wonder. Much like their graphic design--done by Ryan--which often utilizes samples of older design, reworked through digital means to become fresh again, their music is both classic and totally modern.
CANDY CLAWS MYSPACE 3. Weed Diamond
My exposure to Weed Diamond (aka Tim Perry and friends) has been limited. Until we played together at the Low Key last friday, I hadn't seen them live or heard their full length, only hearing a few demos I found on the internet. After wrapping my head around their live set and their full length within 24 hours, they are officially one of my favorite bands in Denver. Fuzzed out melancholic ambient noodling paired with lofi pop anthems make this tape a total quest through the potential wonderland that is Weed Diamond. Definitely keep your eyes out for their future movements, and a 7' coming out on Transparent very soon.
WEED DIAMOND MYSPACE4. Automobile, Swift / Joseph Yonker
Joseph is my roommate. He also plays bass in M. Pyres. I've also been playing music with him since we were in jr. high. This is to say, I am very biased. Joe has been making music as Automobile, Swift for somewhere around two years. He makes a specific kind of ambient music that is meditative, cathartic, textural, melodic and embracing. He has an EP and half of a split that are both stellar. But his new material, that I spy with my ears from time either through the floorboards or in his studio, the Drone Zone, is what I find most incredible. He is constantly working on songs (both solo and for collaborations) that are beautiful, churning pieces of melodic focus. He is working on a full length and more collaborations that will be available in 2010.
AUTOMOBILE, SWIFT MYSPACE5. Ambassador Engine
Aaron Landgraf also plays in the band Feeling Beastly with a pack of his friends. Though Feeling Beastly is awesome, I am more taken to Aaron's solo work as Ambassador Engine. He quietly released a full length--"Subtraction, Elation, Hydration"--last year, and did the same this year with "A Collection of Songs That Found Their Way to You (This Is The Map)." Both records are incredible soundscapes mashing guitar plucking and eclectic sonic layering to make brilliant escapist audio expeditions. I'm not really sure what he is up to, but go to his myspace, email him, get these records and curl up with some incredible sound.
AMBASSADOR ENGINE MYSPACEI guess the most exciting part about all these artists for me is that they are my friends. They inspire me with their art and their music. I am proud to share a state with them. A state of place. A state of mind. A state of sound.
Here is to you. and to 2010.
cheers.
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