Watch the new video for Florence + The Machine song “Lover To Lover” below, taken from the album “Ceremonials”.

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As we mentioned a few days ago, Joanna Newsom and Fleet Foxes were going to be on PBS’s Austin City Limits show this weekend and below you can watch the whole thing. Joanna Newsom played three tracks, the title track from her most recent album “Have One On Me”, “Good Intentions Paving Company” (will we ever see the video for it?), and “Bridges And Balloons” from her 2004 debut “Milk-Eyed Mender”.

Fleet Foxes threw down “The Shrine/An Argument”, “Sim Sala Bim”, and their newest album’s title track “Helplessness Blues”, as well as two tracks from their 2008 self-titled debut album with “Your Protector” and “Blue Ridge Mountains”. Next week we get performances by Lykke Li and Florence + The Machine.

Below is the performance by Fleet Foxes but you can watch the entire thing, including Joanna Newsom‘s performance at the PBS site.

Watch Fleet Foxes / Joanna Newsom on PBS. See more from Austin City Limits.

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Photo © Tom Oxley

Originally starting life as a four-piece, Australia’s Sparkadia released their first album a few years ago, only to break up a year later. However, front man and founder Alex Burnett did not give up on his initial vision. Keeping the band name, he transplanted himself to London, recording his first solo effort as Sparkadia with the production help of Mark Tieku (Florence And The Machine). His new solo endeavor, “The Great Impression” (released through OK!GoodRecords earlier this year), is a bold, heartfelt debut complete with swirling ’80s-style synths and powerful choruses. Already a significant chart success in Australia, Sparkadia is quickly gaining name recognition in the UK. With a penchant for powerfully heartbreaking lyrics and a fully realized singular sound, Sparkadia is in the process of shooting through the sky like a Roman candle.

“The Great Impression” features Burnett on almost all instruments, including such alternative mediums such as scrap metal, gongs, and scaffolding.  With a soundscape that fits nicely between M83 and “The Soft Bulletin”-era Flaming Lips, Burnett has a specific auditory vision that welds dreamlike pop elements with decidedly rock-n-roll underpinnings. Standout track “Talking Like I’m Falling Downstairs” is reminiscent of early Police. With a sharp, driving percussive electronic backbeat, it is hard not to find yourself dancing without realizing it. There is a certain early ’80s midnight FM radio feel to the song that makes it a full throttle, satisfying pop experience. This similar driving force is continued on with “China”, which bursts into an opulent crescendo of a chorus that encompasses all that is pure and good of the best tracks included on 1980s John Hughes flicks.

It is obvious that this is music that has come from extremely dark times, including a generous amount of personal anguish. Peppered throughout this record are references to self-doubt and nervous breakdowns. There is definitely something reminiscent of “Ashes to Ashes” –era David Bowie that strikes me about this album. It is that sense of disappointment and disillusionment that comes from transcending through a wretched series of events. The dark undercurrent that weaves its way through this rather dream-pop album is hauntingly compelling. It keeps the listener on their toes and intrigued. The thought that went into the production of this album is superb and all parts fit together like a well-oiled engine.

Powerful, yet delicate, all the right decisions have been made compositionally. However, at times, it feels a bit too slick. I dare to say that leaving a few loose threads exposed could have been beneficial. There are so many lovely elements, especially in the looping, glistening bells and brilliant use of echoing in “Ghost”, for example, that I wish had been dealt with in a bit more of a lo-fi manner. The polish isn’t necessary. In fact, if there was just a bit more grit involved, it would really pop out in all its complexities. The incongruous nature of the subject matter would definitely serve that sensibility well.

Burnett has the vocal abilities the likes of which I haven’t encountered since Jeff Buckley! He can hit those gorgeous,crystal-infused high notes like none other, offering the listener a sucker punch straight to the solar plexus. My regards must be given to Burnett for enduring such rocky difficulties and then emerging with a collection of music that he should feel very proud of. With a pop hook or lilting crescendo lurking around every corner, Sparkadia offers a mixed bag of surprises in the guise of gorgeously executed, dreamy power pop.

You can stream Sparkadia’s “The Great Impression” via OK! Good Records as well as purchase it on iTunes.

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Sparkadia – “Mary”
Sparkadia – ”Talking Like I’m Falling Down Stairs”

Watch Florence + The Machine cover the late Amy Winehouse‘s biggest hit “Back To Black” below, for VH1 Divas. It’s only a couple of minutes long but it’s still pretty sweet. Flo’s latest album “Ceremonials” is out now.

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Watch Florence + The Machine perform  “Shake It Out” and “No Light, No Light” on Saturday Night Live below. Florence + The Machine’s latest album “Ceremonials” is out now.

“Shake It Out”

“No Light, No Light”

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Watch the new video for Florence + The Machine‘s song “No Light, No Light” below, taken from the album “Ceremonials”.

Once upon time there was a little girl.  Little girls, especially ones that aren’t princesses, are often underestimated for their abilities to become commanding adults.  Despite such a setback, this particular little girl grew into a woman with flaming red hair who became the front woman of a band.  She sang about things haunting and beautiful, grotesque and powerful.  Maybe Florence Welch’s life isn’t a fairy tale, but Florence + The Machine’s new release, “Ceremonials”, reminds me of one.

Welch’s voice has this modal, haunting quality I’ve always associated with the likes of Shirley Manson, Karen O, and, on occasion, Debby Harry. A voice, I might add, capable of even making domestic violence sound sexy (hint: it’s not). Throughout “Ceremonials”, Welch’s voice transports me to a fairyland. But the fantastical tales told in “Ceremonials” are more akin to those of the Brothers Grimm, rather than the ones purveyed by Walt Disney.

Just take a peak at the lyrics. In “Breaking Down”, Welch’s voice swells in and out, up and down in such a familiar, disturbing way, telling us how she’s  “All alone/ on the edge of sleep./ My old familiar friend/ comes and lies down next to me.” “Heartlines” warns “Oh the river, oh the river,/ it’s running free. /And oh the joy, oh the joy, / it brings to me./ But I know it’ll have to drown me/ before it can breathe easy.”

Such sentiments are not meant for those who expect every story to have a happy ending.  But, as in all proper tellings of fairy tales, Florence + The Machine lines its cloudy, grim messages with slivers of hope: “And it’s hard to dance/ with the devil on your back,/ so shake him off.”   The deceptively simplistic hopefulness of such a statement shouldn’t be lost on you, but maybe that’s why there’s always a bit of magic in fairy tales.

The instrumentals throughout the album fall in line with the ethereal, eerie quality of Welch’s voice, giving “Ceremonials” a more grown up, staid feel than its predecessor, “Lungs” . The emotive, raw qualities of Welch’s voice, rather than lending an ironic twist to cheery, pop beats, help to carry the weight of the tracks.  Her voice has become imbedded within the music, rather than being trapped for use as a gimmicky counterpoint.  This weightiness is also communicated through a percussive heaviness running through tracks like “What The Water Gave Me” and “Seven Devils”.

Though there’s a proliferation of these slower feeling, heavier sounding tracks on the album, “Ceremonials” does still make frequent use of the band’s peppier rhythmic devices.  “Spectrum” picks up the beat towards the end of the album, in a move reminiscent of 80’s Eurodance tracks that I grew up listening to exclusively at roller rinks.  “Bedroom Hymns” marries the sacred and the profane with a delicious irreverence: “I’m not here looking for absolution/ because I found myself an old solution.”

Florence + The Machine’s “Ceremonials” demonstrates that the band has evolved in the best ways.  They’ve highlighted Welch’s soulful voice without allowing her to overpower the roughly hewn and evocative sound of their instrumentals. And how fitting for a sophomore album to embody fairy tales, dancing on the precipice between adolescence and adulthood.

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Watch Florence + The Machine on Later With Jools Holland performing “What The Water Gave Me” and “No Light, No Light” below, taken from the album “Ceremonials”.

“I Found You” from Alabama Shakes is more than just some 60′s soul/50′s blues throwback, it’s more like Ruth Brown meets James Brown with a slight hint of The Starlighters mixed in and there’s a difference between the two.

It’s one thing to be able to throw bands like that in as references, it’s another all together that the first time this song came on I was asking myself, “Wasn’t this song playing on Pappy’s jukebox in Iron Eagle?” Well it should have been! Some bands channel there influences and although the final sound is solid very rarely do we get a band that becomes their influences, where there is no line between then and now. Alabama Shakes channel their sound so well that initially I’d considered comparing them with maybe Florence And The Machine and The Black Keys but there’s no way anything is persuading this band’s sound that wasn’t released as a Vinyl only option.

Seriously, these guys should have been playing at the “Enchantment Under The Sea” dance.”Chuck it’s Marvin. Your cousin Marvin Berry! You know that new sound you were looking for? Well listen to this!”

Check out “Hold On” as well. Am I the only one hearing some Janis Joplin influence?

Connect with Alabama Shakes – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter

Listen to “Ceremonials” below, the new album by Florence + The Machine.

You know how when you heard Florence + The Machine‘s debut album “Lungs” for the first time and you went back and back and back and listened to it multiple times in the space of 48 hours?  Yeah, well you’re about to do the same with their new album “Ceremonials”.

Twelve songs long, with an extra seven tracks on the deluxe version, “Ceremonials” makes for an extremely rewarding hour and a half of listening. You’ve already heard “What The Water Gave Me” and one of the best songs of the year so far “Shake It Out”, and the monstrous songs found on “Lungs” are present here too in tracks like “No Light, No Light” and “Breaking Down”. Enough yapping, just enjoy!

Let us know what you think in the comments.

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