Bombay Bicycle Club is an indie rock band known for its catchy beats, meaningful lyrics, and relatability.
Actually, I chose a pretty good song for the average lazy listener. This is one of those songs that repeats the same few lines in a way that makes sense and doesn't drag ("Can I wake you up?"; "Is it late enough?"; "There's a story in which my eyes shut"; "Could you bag me up?").
However, it's not as easy and basic as it may appear.
...I think I'll leave it at that. You're more likely to listen to it that way.
Bombay Bicycle Club is one of my favorite bands. Honestly, I don't know how I haven't talked about them yet. This was the first song I heard from them that really, really stuck with me. I hope it'll stick to you, too.
You know what to do from here.
I don't think I've been able to properly introduce you to folk yet.
Now, don't judge the genre before you properly hear it. Besides, the band that I'm writing about is indie folk. Totally different thing.
(Maybe. Whatever it'll take to get you to try it out.)
Indie folk combines the catchy tunes of indie rock with the soft acoustics of contemporary folk.
See, that doesn't sound so bad, does it?
Don't worry, we'll get to the song in a bit, but I can't leave you mispronouncing the band name in good conscience. Say it with me: Bone-Ee-vare. Bone-Ee-vare. Bone-Ee-vare. Okay? None of that "Bon-Eye-Ver"stuff.Bone-Ee-vare.
It took me a really long time to decide what song to use. I know a lot of great indie folk artists, but they didn't appeal to me at first. Although "Skinny Love" is not my favorite Bon Iver song, it is certainly the most well-known and accepted of my other options.
As with most folk-influenced songs, it includes heavy usage of the acoustic guitar, a soft, even tone throughout, and metaphorical lyrics that I hope you'll bother Googling.
The lyrics are easy to hear but hard to understand ("Pour a little salt, we were never here"; "Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer"; "Come on skinny love, what happened here?"). I would give you my own opinion of the lyrics, but, in reality, your opinion should be your own opinion.
The video is below. Good luck meeting folk music for the first (or not?) time.
Remember in my first introduction post when I said that "The songs I'll talk about will probably revolve around a few main genres - indie, rock, folk, electronic, whatever"?
Well, I think I've gotten to indie and rock. Next up is electronic. (We're not going in chronological order, okay?)
Purity Ring is another Canadian band consisting of Megan James (vocals) and Corin Roddick (instrumentals). They're known for their heavy beats, haunting (sometimes creepy) lyrics, and, of course, the lead singer's voice (often described as high-pitched).
Purity Ring is definitely not your average electronic band. For one thing, they actually have lyrics. They are often meaningful and dark. They make you think and consider the purpose of the song.
This song, in particular, opens with "Get a little closer, let fold/Cut open my sternum, and pull/My little ribs around you". (People usually stop here.)
But, if you continue on, you get to the more detailed "That I might see with my chest and sink/Into the edges round you/Into the lakes of quarry's that brink".
Think you understand the song yet?
Need to know the rest of the lyrics to come up with a guess?
Here's the video. Listen to the song and have fun decoding.
Arcade Fire is a Canada-based indie rock band (with pop and classical influences) created in 2001. They currently have four albums out. This song can be found in "The Suburbs".
They're known for their only-as-catchy-as-necessary beats and vague (sometimes confusing) lyrics.
This song, in particular, has quite a few different meanings (I guess) but I will share my own thoughts with you.
It appears to be about the existential crisis of the so-called "modern man" - humans following along with what is popular nowadays without really understanding the purpose of said materialism. We huddle together in lonely packs with our heads down and our shoulders up, not even attempting to question or wonder.
"In line for a number but you don't understand/like a modern man"
"I know we are the chosen few, but we're wasted"
"And you feel so right, but how come you can't sleep at night?"
These are just a few lines from the song that support my opinion.
Then again, in the end, that's exactly what it is - an opinion.
Maybe you should listen to it yourself, come up with your own thesis.
Well? What are you waiting for? I gave you the link - the rest is on you.
I just realized that I haven't talked about The xx yet.
The xx is yet another indie/pop group that specializes in great lyrics and mellow beats. You can't really dislike them - maybe you don't love them, but who could hate them?
It took me a while to decide what song in specific to recommend. They only have two albums but pretty much all of their songs are amazing. In the end, I went with the first song I heard by them - "Night Time". It's got a really understated pop-y beat that you'll catch yourself humming during the day. (Be careful with that, it could get really awkward.)
Most of their songs make use of the other male vocal with no obvious "lead" singer, but this one is all one person. It's what separates it from the rest of their songs.
The lyrics are short, sweet, and to-the-point ("Should release but just tighten my grip"; "Hold my words, keep us together") like they usually are. They have a very refreshing, minimalistic approach to indie pop.
Are you curious yet? Wanna see if you like it? I'll help - all you have to do is click play.
So today I'm doing two things that I usually disapprove of.
The first thing: recommending a song from a band that I've recently talked about.
The second? Recommending a cover song.
Don't know what a cover song is? (Are there a lot of bugs under your rock?) I'll tell you.
A cover is when a band or a person or a dog or whatever sings a song that's already published by another band or person or dog or whatever. In this case, Local Natives is covering King Krule's "Out Getting Ribs".
The original song is already pretty good, but the Local Natives cover is just overall...better. Maybe it's because it's more modern, less raw. Maybe it's because the lead singer has less of an accent. (Listen to the original and you'll see what I mean.) They sing it like it's their own, even though we all know it's not.
I guess I can't really talk about the lyrics (hence the reason why I didn't want to discuss a cover song) because, well, it's not a song written by Local Natives.
But listen to it anyway.
Listen to the cover, listen to the original, listen to both. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you don't regret it.
