The Darkness pictures with tag: breaking

Hype Monitor: Reykjavik!, Mazes, Ivan & Alyosha

Every week, Hype Monitor wades through the most buzzed-about bands all across the Internet to find the ones you need to hear now. The Band: Reykjavik! The Buzz: Icelandic band decimates hardcore, turning out brutal, bratty songs that beg and kick. Listen If: You miss the days when …Trail of Dead was all sneer and volume Key Track: “The Blood,” all galloping drums and stomping feedback and gruesome Birthday Party riffs. The Band: Mazes The Buzz: Forget the new no-fi — Chicago band writes songs that are light and soothing as spring breezes. Listen If: You have an ear and a heart for melodies that lap like the ocean on the beach. Key Track: “I Have Laid in the Darkness,” a lonesome lullaby sure to soothe the heartbroken. The Band: Ivan & Alyosha The Buzz: Smooth, soaring guitar pop from Seattle duo that is plaintive and pristine. Listen If: You’d be curious to hear what happened if the Shins slowed it down a bit. Key Track: “Easy to Love,” the perfect late Valentine for the mutually smitten.

Published: 2009-03-12 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Breaking

Hype Monitor: Celeste, Jean on Jean, La Roux

The Band: Celeste The Buzz: Grim, grinding French metal band releases latest album for free, giving unlimited darkness and doom to all. Listen If: You consider Dillinger Escape Plan “soft rock.” Key Track: “Que Des Yeux Vides et Seches,” a knot of razor-wire guitars and seared-larynx vocals, the sound of an elevator ride to the underworld. The Band: Jean on Jean The Buzz: The inverse of Celeste: sweet, soft, female-fronted pop that blend shoegaze vocals with starry-eyed strumming. Listen If: You’re excited about the return of lo-fi, but wish some of the melodies were a bit stronger and a lot warmer. Key Track: “Cold Horse,” which sounds like it was rescued from the dusty archives of forgotten dreampoppers Lush. The Band: La Roux The Buzz: Dance dance revolution! Big beats and bright synths make for perky, catchy electropop. Listen If: You’re DJing a dance night in Berlin and you’ve run out of MGMT remixes Key Track: “In for the Kill,” where breathy female vocals float over morse code synths like cotton balls over a bed of nails.

Published: 2009-02-26 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Breaking