Ecovillage – “Before We Knew The Cross”

I came across a new band today called Ecovillage.  They are two from Sweden, and are really making some interesting music.  Filled with some shoegaze and chillwave elements mixed with a little bit of Animal Collective their track “Before We Knew The Cross” really has a lot going on.   The chorus really has some beautiful elements to it, making me come back to it over and over again.  I don’t know if it’s that little bit of a sad element to it with the lyrics,or the guitar chords swirling around in the background.  Regardless these guys are worth checking out.

Mmoths – “Thnx”

The last few weeks I have been giving the Mmoths self-titled EP some heavy listening.  There is just something about the EP that keeps me coming back, especially the track titled “Thnx.”  It doesn’t matter if it’s in my car (as long as my son isn’t riding with me, all he wants to listen to is the Wreck It Ralph soundtrack.  This is an upgrade from the Barney CD he was jamming previous), or with my headphones as I’m getting stuff done at work.

Currently my wife and I are anxiously waiting the arrival of our second child.  With the due date fast approaching on the 30th, not knowing the gender of the baby, chasing down my 3 year old son, and wondering how the new baby is going to affect our family dynamics has kept things moving crazy fast in my life.  This has left me desperate for just a few quiet moments that have been enhanced by listening to “Thnx.”  There is nothing like some ethereal electronic music to give your head the space it needs, and help slow things down.  Even if it’s only for a few minutes.

School Of Seven Bells – “Windstorm”

The last week or so I’ve been thinking about tweaking the feel of the blog.  While I will continue sharing all of the music that I love, I thought I would make it a little more autobiographical.  Sharing not only what I’ve been listening to, but also the events in my life that happen to be corresponding with the music.  Kind of an intersection of music, faith, and my life.  I just feel like I need to take the blog a new direction, and maybe sharing a bit about my life and who I am might be more interesting/helpful/I’m not really sure what to whoever is reading what I’m writing.  There are plenty of other blogs that sharing music (Check out http://indieshuffle.com, a website I happen to write for) at a much more consistent rate that I just can’t keep up with.

With that, I was doing my daily rounds through Soundcloud when I came across a new track that Teen Daze had put together.  Now I’m not sure if he’s coming out with a new album, or what, but it was to raise awareness for Benjamin Curtis.  Benjamin Curtis is part of the band School of Seven Bells, and was just diagnosed with cancer.  You can check out/help him out on this page right here.  I’m praying for a full recovery for Benjamin as he fights cancer.

It’s always crazy seeing someone young have to fight something like cancer, making you think about your mortality and the world around us.  No matter how deep I get in my walk, I wonder why stuff like this happens.  I’m sure God’s got a bigger and better plan, but it doesn’t make it any less confusing here on earth.

Here’s a track by Benjamin’s band, and here’s to some strength for him as he goes through this “Windstorm.”

Wildlife Control – “Ages Places”

The bi-coastal indie rock partnership that is Wildlife Control just released their brand new track today called “Ages Places,” as they get ready to make an appearance at SXSW.

The track is filled with booming bass and enough indie synth pop to definitely get you moving.  I think one of the coolest things about the song though is the lyrics, especially if you’re a literary nerd.  The lyrics are made up of various modified haiku stanzas.  Pretty genius if you ask me, especially since the lyrics can still be coherent despite this ambitious, poetic lyrical styling.

Their new album doesn’t drop until this summer, but keep your eyes out for these guys.

Marcus Foster – “I Was Broken”

Since today is my beautiful wife’s birthday I thought I would do a special Crystal post.  One of her absolutely favorite artists is the super-talented British singer-songwriter Marcus Foster, and her favorite song off his album Nameless Path is “I Was Broken.”

The song features Foster really belting out the song, showing off all the soul that fills his voice with some lightly strummed acoustic guitar and cello.  The song really get’s good with the build up as you can feel the desperation in Foster’s voice and the music follows right behind me.

So here is to you Crystal, I love you and I’m so excited to celebrate another year of you!