Gather round, my friends. It’s finally time for another installment of music recommendations from your small friend Mia. One recommendation I will give you on top of the awesomeness that follows this paragraph, is to do whatever you can to see Wild Flag live. I saw them last weekend here in Chicago and they not only sounded great, but looked like they were having a great time. In fact, my only sad takeaway from the night was finding out that my girlfriend had no idea who Ally Sheedy is and has never seen The Breakfast Club or High Art. She’s lucky we already own a condo together, otherwise …
File Under: Male-female duo of powerhouse performers putting out raucous rock and punk. Basically I’m in love.
From: Cleveland, OH
For Fans of: Heartless Bastards, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nico Vega, The Pretty Reckless (don’t roll your eyes), tank tops that let parts of your bra peek out from the sides, cheap beer and plenty of it, not being afraid to get rowdy on the concert floor by means of moshing, the fisheye lens for photography.
Bonus: Here’s a free download of “Bit of Tongue” from their forthcoming album, Madness In Miniature, coming out October 25.
File Under: Singer-songwriter, nu-blues, folken-word (see what I did there?)
From: Canada
For Fans of: Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Corrine Bailey Ray, Sophie Hunger, Spleen, making your own jewelry, drinking tea on a daily basis, meeting friends at coffee shops instead of bars, henna tattoos, old wise men with beards who hang out on fishing docks (go with it).
Bonus: Laveaux cites both Eartha Kitt (the original Catwoman) and Elliott Smith as two of her influences, which I find really interesting. She does covers of two of their songs on her last album and she’s in the process of recording a new one right now.
Crazy in love – Melissa Laveaux by Cécile Di Salvo
File Under: Male-female duo with a more understated indie rock vibe focused on drums, vocals and bass lines.
From: Austin, TX
For Fans of: Radiation City, See of Bees, a happier Dark Dark Dark, PBR, mustache parties, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, curly hair, living on peanut butter and jelly, kickball leagues for adults, Polaroid pictures, burnt-sienna as a major wardrobe color option.
Bonus: I just saw these two open up for Wild Flag on Sunday and they were really great. Lead singer Jennifer Moore was rocking her mom jeans like nobody else I’ve seen and drummer Adam Jones was holding it down on the drums. I’m really excited to hear more from these two.
Bermuda Triangle by YellowFever
File Under: Male-female trio with Talib Kweli as emcee, Graph Nobel singing and rapping and the lovely Ms. Res singing vocals. This is a great blend of genres from funk to rap, r&b to synth.
From: Philly
For Fans of: Common, Kelis, Outkast, Kanye West, collaborations with Estelle, flirting just to get someone jealous, high heels in a sassy color, Buena Vista Social Club fashion, big ass block parties, rollerskating (note: not rollerblading), Batman the television show.
Bonus: The group’s killer first album is available for your listening pleasure way ahead of its release date thanks to a partnership with Spotify. So, if you’ve got the hookup you can jam out like I’ve been doing the last two days.
Idle Warship ft. Jean Grae & Jay Knocka “System Addict” by idlewarship
File Under: Indie singer-songwriter, shoegaze, with a child-like sweetness in her voice followed by ghostly echoes
From: Mexico
For Fans of: a less cheery Coeur de Pirate, Dark Dark Dark, Cat Power, Juana Molina, Abbe May, El Dia de los Muertos, babydoll dresses, aggressive bangs, paper mache art projects, ’50s movies, Bye Bye Birdie, keeping in touch with your loved ones
Bonus: Check out this very cute video of Carla performing for La Blogotheque in the middle of a park, which seems oddly perfect.
Compartir – Carla Morrison by vegaart
That’s all for this week, but check back next week for more examples of why it’s great to live in a world with so much music at our fingertips. If you’re feeling feisty and want to follow me on Twitter or add me as a friend on Facebook, well, I suggest you do what your heart tells you to. Until next time, peace out mo-fos.
