Sunday Night JAMS

Here’s one for the Sunday night, to wrap up the weekend.

Enjoy!

Earworm Saturday: The Heavy

Hurrah the weekend is here! Bring on The Heavy!

Claiming to be from Noid, England, an “alleged small hamlet near Bath”, The Heavy is Kevin Swaby (vocalist), Dan Taylor (guitarist), Spencer Page (bassist) and Chris Ellul (drummer). Where’s Noid, you say? There’s frankly no such place. They are trying to be funny.

Jokes aside, what I really like about the music is the grungy garage down and dirty quality of the recordings — the band is known to leave in mistakes and imperfections in order to add to the soul of the mix.

Solid stuff, eh, mate? Now how you like me now?

Tokyo Jihen

Anyone who knows me knows I’m no fan of Japanese nonsense, except for the food. Mirmirr has tried to get me into anime but failed, other friends have tried their darndest to get me to join their manga world, I’ve even been exposed to the Cosplay world once, but all to no avail.

I just didn’t (and still don’t) get the Japanese sense of humour / style of animation / genre of music / fashion sense etc. Especially the music. I absolutely cannot stand the shrieking that most Japanese female singers do.

But this, I like.

Tokyo Jihen, or Tokyo Incidents is a Japanese band that plays a delightful mix of rock and jazz, with unique chord progressions and arrangements that make you tap your toes and itch to dance. (And perhaps this is why I like their music – it’s not very…Japanese per se.)

via

Fronted by Shiina Ringo, Tokyo Jihen was formerly her backing band when she was a solo artiste. What a coup for us that she decided to join them as a member. She’s got a killer voice, Izawa Ichiyou the keyboardist plays wicked jazzy arrangements on the piano, Seiji Kameda the bassist plays a mean solo on the double bass (why am I using adjectives that don’t mean what they usually mean) and not forgetting Ukigomo the guitarist who adds rock & roll riffs into the music and Toshiki Hata the drummer who provides the beats and rhythms that make you tap your toes.

I may say a lot about the Japanese, but one thing they are is not boring. The band’s renowned for churning out albums that are fresh and never similar to previous ones – no mean feat considering creativity and originality are such rare species these days.

Check them out below:

Marunouchi Sadistic

Jusui Negai

Himitsu

Kabul Dreams

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Afghanistan’s FIRST indie rock band, Kabul Dreams.

Less than a decade ago, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, a concert like this would have landed them in jail. Playing musical instruments was banned. Singing was allowed, but only songs praising Allah or the Taliban.

Today, Kabul Dreams, as the band is named, is paving the way for a very modest but growing local rock scene.

About 100 Afghans and foreigners gather around a makeshift stage with improvised lighting and a sputtering sound system.

(Source)

Weekend Jam – There ain’t no rest for the wicked

Alright, enough with the comedy. Now for some serious rock ‘n’ roll as you gear up for the weekend. Today I present to you a band to watch out for.

Cage The Elephant hails from Bowling Green, Kentucky, and is made up of Matthew Shultz, Brad Shultz, Lincoln Parish, Daniel Tichenor and Jared Champion. Their self-titled debut album is an absolute feast for the ears, as they bring you track after track of wholesome rock goodness. Worth every single cent/pence, I say.