It's such a twisted life, so hold me tight

Another band I feel needs a lot more attention is the New Zealand duo French for Rabbits. Their debut EP Claimed by the Sea was released just a few weeks back. Somehow I must have come across them when the faded nautical artwork caught my eye. But that's not the only form of beauty to be found here, soon I discovered the music is beautiful too: a perfect mix of folk and dream pop with lyrics full of longing for something lost, for new places to go, and perhaps for a little piece of safety in a world becoming crazier by the day. Brooke's soft vocals add to the intimate feel, and besides… you just can't go wrong with songtitles like "The Cats"!    

You can listen to the entire 6 track EP on bandcamp, and if you enjoy it buy the digital version or order a physical copy (with instant download - always a great option).

homepage (info, pictures, shows)

bandcamp (listen/buy)

mp3: French for Rabbits - Claimed by the Sea.

And I see you sleep, I see you sleep next to me

It's been a strange and rainy summer, and perhaps an even stranger autumn, although remarkably less rainy. I've been thinking about the blog a lot (honestly), but things always got in the way. Mind you, I managed to see Pulp play twice, both times too fantastic and surreal to begin trying to put into words. 

In November I've put all my writing energies towards a story that seems more or less stuck for now, probably I've picked the wrong theme at the wrong time, but it was worth the experience anyway. While I'm waiting for an idea to save this story or a new project to turn my hands to, I might as well continue the blog (and hopefully manage to keep going throughout life's other distractions).

The strangeness of the cold and dark late autumn days is captured perfectly in Amor de Días' album Street of the Love of Days. The band, that is primarily Alasdair MacLean of one of my all time favourites The Clientele, and Lupe Núñez-Fernández of indie pop duo Pipas, quietly worked on this beautiful debut over the course of three years. The result shines with rich imagery, bilingual lyrics and varied soft instrumentation.I really love the sound of both their voices on this album, especially when they mix as beautifully as they do in the haunting "Dream (Dead Hands)". I'd still like Alasdair to continue with The Clientele as well, but in the meantime, make sure you give Amor de Días a listen. (And yes, I know it's winter now, but hey - there's "Wild Winter Trees" with the line which gave this entry its name, and sometimes makes me stop breathing for a moment).

Amor de Días official site
Try Amor de Días - Bunhill Fields

Four years on and still in love

It's been nearly four years now since I first listened to a Fireflies song and instantly fell in love. It was the start of a fascination that has only kept growing since. It's also been nearly four years since I first intended to begin writing here. So how come I never got around to it? There are many answers to this question, still deep in my heart I would not know why. Several Fireflies albums, EPs and compilation songs later: all of them lovely and dreamy and best described in Lisle Mitnik's own words: "I try to craft each song into a tiny snow-globe-sized universe you can curl up in and get lost for a little while."
He has recently compiled a collection of demos and unreleased songs called At Home, which is available via Bandcamp at a price of your choice. What better moment could I wait for to finally write my first post?

You can find most Fireflies songs on Bandcamp, some of them are free downloads.

Fireflies - At Home
Try Fireflies - Butterscotch