About a month ago, Glenn and I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Icelandic post-rock band For a Minor Reflection at the Ambassador of Iceland’s residence in Washington, DC. They performed there as part of a local endeavor to promote travel between the DC area and Iceland. They’re a great group of talented young guys who recorded their second album, Höldum Í Átt Að Óreiðu, in Sundlaugin, Iceland and Slogan Studios, Los Angeles in August and September 2009.

So what exactly is post-rock? Think Explosions in the Sky. If that doesn’t help, then imagine slow, intense, and spacey rock with inclinations towards orchestral and experimental song structures. Worried about being confused by Icelandic lyrics? Don’t be! For a Minor Reflection is instrumental, so speakers of any language can enjoy them! Well, except for the song titles, those are written in Icelandic… and when did this become an infomercial?

Anyway, For a Minor Reflection definitely makes for a unique listen. The first song that comes to mind is the one that actually kind of took me by surprise: “Sjáumst Í Virginíu.” For one thing, the title of the song means “See you in Virginia,” which, coincidentally enough, is where Glenn and I saw them live on the day that we interviewed them. For another thing, it seems like a very slow track that lasts fourteen and a half minutes. But even though it seems slow, the song gets incredibly fast and mind-blowingly intense in the blink of an eye.

The key to the song’s unique structure is the build-up, the constant evolution of sound while maintaining the same musical theme throughout. It starts off very minimally with just a little crinkling background noise and an electric guitar with a slight reverb that conveys the easiness of a ship drifting through space. Soon, extra little musical elements are slowly added one at a time and are slightly altered as the song progresses. Then suddenly, without even realizing it, you’re halfway into the song and it’s sonic chaos! The drums are pounding, and the guitars are screeching and wailing, and the ship you were drifting on seven minutes ago is now rocketing through nebulae, past comets and suns! And just as you catch your bearings in this whirlwind of roaring rock ‘n roll bedlam, the storm calms just as suddenly as it came. So you start to relax and get back into the easy flow of the music, and then it picks up all over again! It’s truly is like a mental rollercoaster ride through space!

Now apply that description to the entirety of Höldum Í Átt Að Óreiðu, and you have an idea of what kind of an album you’ve got on your hand. There are slower, more laid back songs like “Fjara,” which is composed entirely of airy piano playing and classical strings, and then there are quicker, more intense songs like “Átta,” which has a punk energy to it. In fact, the drum intro to “Átta” reminded me of “Nitro (Youth Energy)” from Smash by The Offspring.

Want to know a few interesting facts about For a Minor Reflection that will reveal the story behind their music, like how they’re related to Sigur Rós? Check out my interview with them:

We also have an audio recording of the band performing live at the Ambassador of Iceland’s house, which can be downloaded below. The band wanted to assure everyone that the best way to experience their music is live in concert. If you listen to Höldum Í Átt Að Óreiðu, you’ll understand why; the intensity of their sound is something that can only be captured in the purity of an in-person, live performance. Unfortunately, since the luncheon at the ambassador’s house was a semi-formal event, they played rather quietly. And the concert later that evening was at a bad venue, so Glenn and I were unfortunate enough to not get the true experience.

And the music video for “A Moll” is something that must be seen. It was directed by Lorenzo Fonda, an Italian commercial director who created the video for free. Why? Because it’s an incredible song that filled him with artistic inspiration. Now watch the music video, and let me ask you a quick question once you’re done. Go on! Watch the video!

So here’s the question I pose to you: what were those large, billowy objects that you saw floating around? I thought they were clouds, but apparently they are grains of sand from Icelandic beaches filmed through a microscope. The director requested that Icelandic sand be sent to him for filming, and this music video is the result. Isn’t that cool!?

I said it before, and now you know why: For a Minor Reflection is an incredible band. Their music is filled with power and emotion, it’s inspiring, and it’s just plain interesting. For a taste of Icelandic music, you can’t do much better than listening to their particular brand of post-rock. Is it worth a trip to Iceland to see them? Probably. And I’m sure they’ll be performing in the United States again, so stay tuned!

Purchase Höldum Í Átt Að Óreiðu by For a Minor Reflection from the band’s online store, Amazon, or iTunes!

For a Minor Reflection – Fjara
For a Minor Reflection – Sjáumst Í Virginíu
For a Minor Reflection – Átta
For a Minor Reflection – Fjara, Flóð, & Dansi Dans (Live)

Also, be sure to check out For a Minor Reflection on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo, and SoundCloud.

We cover a lot of indie rock, pop, folk, etc. here at Radio KRUD, mostly cause that’s what the kids seem to be into these days, so that’s what ends up coming our way most often. Not that I dislike all that stuff, it’s just nice to have some variety. For instance, I’m a fan of the sweet, bumping vibes of modern R&B, so it’s great to see some of that goodness adrift in the indie ocean that is my inbox. Today, I bring that goodness to you in the form of Lola Bleu.

Lola Bleu, whose real name is Janell McCracken, is a talented, 22-year old singer from Michigan, and her debut album Love Will Find a Way isn’t what you’d expect out of an R&B artist’s initial release: it’s a concept album (you didn’t expect that, right?). It’s a fairly basic concept taken from her real life experience of breaking up, coping with the aftermath, and then finally finding the right guy. It’s a tale that you can easily relate to, and the execution is excellent with the natural progression of emotion as the album moves forward.

The album starts off with a quick intro track featuring a phone call between Lola and another girl where she is complaining about her relationship. I have to admit that this track bugs me just because of the ringtone at the beginning. Some instinctual, primitive part of my brain can’t help but react to that sound and say, “My phone’s ringing! I gotta pick it up!”

Anyway, the intro flows into the track “Hate to Wake Up,” which is about that horrible feeling when you know a relationship you’ve invested so much of your time into is not working out. It’s like waking up from a wonderful dream into a reality you’d rather not face just yet, hence the title. This song and the two after it focus on that painful part right after the breakup. “Deep Pain” is the standout of that trifecta. It’s the climax of that emotional stage. Lola Bleu’s voice sings out with so much soulful energy backed by thick layers of such emotionally intense instrumentation that you feel the pain of her experience as if it was your own.

But in an emotional 360, as is so common with people, that song leads directly into “So Over You.” You can probably guess what part after the breakup that song is about just by the title. It’s a fun, celebratory letting loose with a strong sensation of freedom. It even sounds like a Gospel song in some aspects, which is strangely appropriate.

I’ll admit, the waters get a little murky throughout the rest of the album. Based on the songs and their lyrics, it’s tough to tell whether Lola gets back together with the old guy again, things go south again, and then she meets the finds the right guy, or if she meets a new guy, things get rocky, but everything turns out alright. I think this is one of those classic “It’s up to the audience” situations. So I guess you guys will just have to go get the album and find out!

So up until now I’ve spent most of the time talking about the concept behind the album, but what about the actual music? Well, I wouldn’t even bother with all that concept stuff if it didn’t have some good tunes to support it. Not only does Lola Bleu have a beautifully soulful voice, but there is a surprising amount of stylistic variety to be found in the album as well. Of course Love Will Find a Way comes with the standard R&B fare, catchy beats with a booming bass for example, but you can also hear some unexpected elements thrown into the mix. There’s a hint of trancey synth pop in “Love Will Find a Way,” a unique blend of alt rock’s distorted buzz mixed with a Lady Gaga-ish dance groove in “Get Away,” and a very sing-songy choir of voices, mostly overdubbed, that is very reminiscent of a cappella in “Where Do We Go From Here.” It’s weird, but that last song makes me think of The King’s Singers. Very weird.

On that note, let me just close things up and say that you should definitely check out Love Will Find a Way if you want to listen to some good, fresh R&B by a talented, young singer who brings some unique twists to the genre. And if this only the beginning, I’m eager to see where she progresses from here.

Purchase Love Will Find a Way by Lola Bleu at HSP Music, CD Baby, iTunes, or Amazon!

Lola Blue – Deep Pain
Lola Blue – So Over You
Lola Blue – Where Do We Go From Here

You can also get a free CD sampler at Lola Bleu’s website! And make sure to check out Lola Bleu on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, and Blogger.

One style of music I have become more and more familiar with because of this site is chamber folk. With their classical instrumentation that is steeped the down-to-earth roots of folk, Eagle Winged Palace is a great example of a band using this style to craft memorably haunting melodies that reached in through your ears and gripped your soul. The music of Chloe Charles has a very similar effect.

Her EP Little Green Bud is a blend of swaying, symphonic arrangements blended with a simple, rootsy tone that creates an evocatively ear catching audio experience. But you won’t just hear folk-styled acoustic guitar strumming accompanied by traditional violins and cellos. No, each song on this album contains a variety of instruments and playing styles to create a lusciously beautiful wall of sound that would make Phil Spector jealous.

Take the song “Soon on a Snowflake” for example; the light jingling of bells, the gentle tinkling of piano keys, and the plucking of violin strings along with the song’s many other elements come together so wondrously to create a beautiful, snow-laden soundscape in your mind. The music complements the lyrics incredibly as Chloe Charles sings about “drifting on a snowflake” and other wintry images. You could be listening to this song in Miami Beach while laying in the hot sand as the sun blazes and waves crash, and you would still feel the sting of a winter breeze and the cold moisture of pure, white snow penetrating through your woolen gloves as you get lost in the music.

Well, I’ve mentioned the instrumentation, but it just wouldn’t be right to not mention Chloe Charles’s voice. Her singing style is unique in that it is both jazzy and operatic: it’s smooth and soulful while having such a soaring, dramatic tone. These qualities stem from her deep, sensuous vocal delivery, the sheer power with which she projects her lyrics, and her alluringly breezy warble. Her singing is hypnotic in its ability to draw you in with its beauty. You don’t even need to understand the words.

Chloe Charles is essentially the definition of a talented singer-songwriter, and Little Green Bud is certainly an album worth getting for incredibly well-composed and emotionally engaging music.

Purchase Little Green Bud by Chloe Charles from CD Baby, Amazon, or iTunes!

Chloe Charles – Soon on a Snowflake
Chloe Charles – Water

Also be sure to check out Chloe Charles on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and MySpace.

For full disclosure, I held off on writing about today’s band for a few months because I was waiting for a full copy of their album. I don’t like writing about bands when I have a limited amount of material at my hands, so I was waiting in hope that one day it might show up. Even so, I always knew that I was going to write about this band even if I never did receive their full album because their music is just so damn good and it needs to be spread as far and wide as possible.

What band am I talking about? Taína Asili y La Banda Rebelde, a group of musicians that are based in Albany, New York but that originates from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. The stunningly exotic lead singer, both in appearance and in voice, is the Puerto Rican Taína Asili who sings soulful, upbeat songs of rebellion. She is backed by her Banda Rebelde (Rebel Band), which consists of Sicilian guitarist Gaetano Vaccaro, Greek drummer Kiki Vassilakis, Brazilian bassist Sean Muniz, Ghanan percussionist Saeed Abbas, and the multi-cultural backup vocalist Alicia Ortiz.

These musicians blend a huge variety of styles together in their debut album War Cry that is hard to pigeonhole. Throughout the album, you get a little taste of the Caribbean soul, African beats, traditional Latin American style guitars mixed with reggae grooves, and even some hip hop aggression thrown in to boot at times.

Take War Cry‘s title track for example. It starts off with flamenco style guitars and quickly adds in African influenced percussion and Asili’s passionate wailing. In a way, this track reminds me of Paul Simon’s famous album Graceland with its upbeat joyfulness and modern pop sounds blending seamlessly with traditional world music.

Then two minutes away from the end of the song, Asili switches to a spoken word style of delivery. This is where obvious hip hop elements start blending in with the song as she makes fervent declarations in English like, “We have been given the power of the word, and we will use it!” and the bass starts thumping more noticeably. This might seem like an odd transition in concept, but like Paul Simon’s experimentalism with world music, it works incredibly well and makes complete sense when you actually hear it. In fact, it makes too much sense. You wonder why you don’t hear it more often in American music.

One thing I will say about Taína Asili y La Banda Rebelde, even though their music may be laid back at times, it still always manages to be upbeat. “Verdade Vencerá,” for example, is for the most part very mellow and relaxing, but it still manages to get soul stirring in excitement. I think it’s all that Caribbean flavor. My family’s from Martinique, so I know all about that stuff. A little bit of my grandmother’s Martinican peppers will make even the blandest dish burst forth with enticing, spicy zest. It’s the same thing with a hot, Caribbean beat.

So this is the part where I summarize all the reasons you should go check out the artist and the album I’ve been talking about. Well, let me just end by saying that since I didn’t get to enjoy my usual perk of getting a free album, I will instead go out and buy a copy of War Cry by Taína Asili y La Banda Rebelde since it is so awesome and I am so thoroughly impressed by the band. And even though a free album would be nice, I would feel even better about monetarily supporting such a talented, unique, and interesting group of musicians in addition to spreading the word about them.

Purchase War Cry by Taína Asili y La Banda Rebelde on Nimbit, iTunes, or Amazon!

Taína Asili y La Banda Rebelde – Its in Our Hands
Taína Asili y La Banda Rebelde – War Cry
Taína Asili y La Banda Rebelde – Love
Taína Asili y La Banda Rebelde – Verdade Vencerá

Also make sure to check out Taína Asili y La Banda Rebelde on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, last.fm, and Sonicbids.

Sorry, no picture of the band this time, but that’s okay, because the awesomeness of their music more than makes up for the lack of photographic evidence of their existence.

When I first started listening to Day of the Woman’s album, I was immediately reminded of a favorite Radio KRUD contributor: Downliners Sekt. DotW has crafted very atmospheric instrumentals that have a touch of unique experimentalism to them. But even though the music has a surreal quality, it’s also incredibly catchy. So while your mind is drifting off with the mood of the music, your body is kept down to the earth with the thumping beats that will get your head nodding.

I’m keeping this post short, but I strongly encourage everyone who reads this post to download Day of the Woman’s album. It’s free and you will not be disappointed!