4 the Love of Music #6

I do not know if it is the month November but this month is an indie turned pop edition of 4 the Love of Music. It's not really mainstream pop but pop as in underground bands/artists who have one or two radio hits. This month I will have music by Brett Dennen who just released his 5th album, also The Lumineers who brought out their Deluxe Edition, Imagine Dragons and Of Monsters and Men who have been rocking out all festivals all year!

'When I Do Not Feel Inspired...I Can Only Speak My Heart'

Last week Brett Dennen released his album 'Smoke and Mirrors' - October 22nd to be precise. When Brett is releasing new music rest assured...there's magic happening. Before the release of 'Smoke and Mirrors' Brett had Q&A's on his Facebook and I was lucky enough to be one of the fans who got 2 out of 3 questions answered. I asked him what I always ask musicians who have a different sound - but they never answer, so glad he did - which is "how did you find your sound?". He answered: 'It takes time. Picking and choosing what feels right. Sometimes it's more about what you don't play.' I've been a Brett Dennen fan since Heaven came out and I've really been looking forward to a new album because they're all so personal and honest. He's most of the time talking about 21st century problems, love or just the adventures that life has to offer. That's not too bad for a 34-year-old folk singer and songwriter with five studio albums. Brett calls this album 'back to basics' saying: 

'I wanted to return to folk and acoustic music I loved when I began writing. I decided to tap into my memories and explore new emotional territory as honestly as I could'.

Why the name 'Smoke and Mirrors'?:

'I called the album Smoke and Mirrors, because one of the major themes of the album, lyrically, is that things aren't exactly as they appear to be. If you focus on how you think things should be, then you can't see them for what they really are,'

The first released song off 'Smoke and Mirrors' is Wild Child, it's more of a radio hit - which the first song almost always is. The highlight of the album for me is really 'Only Want You'. It's a love song about choosing the connection over the the tough times you can face when in a relationship. It's a mixture of things that make this song amazing...like the female vocals in the background, the lyrics and the reggae touch. I'm never worried about lyrics with Brett because he has just a simple and clever way of writing his music. If it's one thing this album isn't missing it's great lyrics. 

You can listen & get 'Only Want You' for free on NOISETRADE!

Brett Dennen -

Only Want You

Album: Smoke and Mirrors

'In the End it All Comes Down to Credibility. I Had None So I Will Die with the Secrets of the Sea'

Yay! My all time favorite song FINALLY has a music video. My favorite band just can't stop doing AMAZING things like releasing a deluxe edition of their album (which I have been waiting for since I heard the album!), getting a track on The Hunger Games' Catching Fire Soundtrack and now releasing their third music video from the self-titled album that came out in 2012. The album version of Submarines is not my favorite song - rather the Submarine live version from the HearYa Live Sessions - but this will do! It's animated and now it's mine and yours...enjoy!

The Lumineers - 
Submarines

Album: The Lumineers (Deluxe Edition)

'I Take it in but Don't Look Down'

If you used to watch the TV-serie Partners you probably already know this song because it was the theme song. But if you didn't this is a really great way to introduce yourself to the band Imagine Dragons. Imagine Dragons' "On Top of the World" is like The Lumineers' "Ho Hey" and Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks" - you first love the song and then you fall in love with the band. It's really catchy with the claps and the background vocals and it's a great song to get you or keep you in a great mood:

Imagine Dragons -

On Top of the World

Album: Night Visions

'And as the World Comes to an End, I'll Be Here to Hold Your Hand'

Of Monsters and Men was a must-check-out band at this year's Coachella and they did not let down. They formed O.M.a.M. back in 2010 and they released their first studio album 'My Head is an Animal' in 2011. They - for the most part - have the same fans as 'The Lumineers' and 'Mumford & Sons' and they even share a radio station on iTunes. My favorite song of theirs is "Love Love Love", and I'm basically in love with Nanna's soft yet sharp voice...I just can't get enough! I would advise to listen to all the songs on My Head is an Animal, because they have a whimsical side to their music that I can really appreciate. Like the song 'Dirty Paws' starts with 'Jumping up and down the floor, My head is an animal. And once there was an animal, It had a son that mowed the lawn. The son was an ok guy, They had a pet dragonfly. The dragonfly it ran away. But it came back with a story to say.' All I can say: I can't wait for that video! For now we are going to have to do it with their animated video-game-like music video's which they have released 2 of including 'King and Lionheart' and 'Little Talks'.

Of Monsters and Men -

King and Lionheart

Album: My Head is an Animal

See you in December for the 7th and final edition of 2013 of 4 the Love of Music.

Much Love,
DiFashionista!

4 the Love of Music! #2

For the second edition of DiFashionista's '4 the Love of Music' I am going to show you the awesomeness that is my 'new' favorite band. They are....The Lumineers.
From being able to perform at the Grammy's and at Coachella 2013 - and let's not forget selling over 1 million albums - The Lumineers have come a long way. A friend recommended their self-titled album and since then I can't seem to picture a moment of my life that they haven't been playing in my ear - or  in my head. Repeat is a place they have come to earn and should make peace with!

Everyone has that band that you want to listen to all the time but when you search their track list you don't know which song to listen to first, well The Lumineers are like that for me. I'm not saying I can't pick my favorite song from them, I'm just saying it doesn't happen a lot that a band/artists has an album filled with amazing songs. It is literally the only album where I haven't come across a song I dislike. I can listen to the album without skipping anything - that's a work of art, if you ask me.

The thing that really makes The Lumineers stand out, is the same rule as in Fashion: Be cohesive yet versatile AT ALL TIMES! Listening to their album will show you their sound as a band, but it will surely won't make you say 'ow I heard this song already'.

Introduction:

The band members from left to right: Stelth, Neyla, Wesley, Jeremiah and Ben.

"And Love, We Need It Now. Let's Hope For Some 'Cause We're Bleeding Out"

The Lumineers first released 'Ho Hey' off their debut album and the video quickly came after that. Ho Hey is a very good introduction to the band's new sound - it's both mainstream and also underground. There are circling a lot of 'meanings' behind the song, some claim it's about the love of his life, others say it's about his move from NY to Denver and another claims that it's about drugs (I highly doubt that). It's not important, we all find our own meaning behind our favorite songs. When I first heard it I thought 'this must me excellent live' and the band said it's a definite crowd-pleaser. It was received pretty good because they ended up performing it at the Grammy's and it has over 63 million views on YouTube. I fell in love with this song and decided to check out the album:

Song: Ho Hey

"In the End it All Comes Down to Credibility. I had None, So I Will Die With the Secrets of the Sea"

Wesley (the lead singer) wrote most of the songs and this next song is an example of how important the relationship between lyrics and music is. The lyrics are amazing and comedic but what really sets this song apart is the music behind it. It's catchy and eccentric because they didn't over-do the music instruments. It's the right amount of keeping it mainstream and  honest at the same time. Now it's yours to listen to:

Song: Submarines

"Suits Were Made For Men Not Boys"

The second song that I fell in love with is not on the album, but it is my favorite song from them. Like the rest of the album, this song strongly shows their talent of telling a story through music, which is really the kind of music I like and miss from the modern music industry. Some songs don't need a lot of explanation - this is one of them:

Song: Don't Wanna Go

"Some Love Was Made For The Lights. Some Kiss Your Cheeks And Goodnight"

The next song is not the kind that will be released anytime soon - it's not very mainstream. It's one for the true fans and every album has 1 - 3 songs that are for the acoustic/slow-it-down and sing-beautiful-words fans, like me. This song (almost) didn't make the album but the Denver-Colorado trio fought hard to get it on the album. As you will hear - it wasn't recorded in a real studio and that's one of the reasons why it almost didn't make the final album. I'm glad it did because it's one of my favorites - it has a very raw and live feel to it and it makes the album more soulful than it already is:

Song: Slow It Down

Here are 4 + 1 bonus songs worth listening to:

Song: Classy Girls

Song: Dead Sea

Song: Big Parade

Song: Charlie Boy

Song: Flapper Girl


As much as I can encourage you to check out The Lumineers, they are simply a band that you'll either really dislike or really like. Their sound is not that mainstream but eccentric plus the lead singer is the total package eye candy. What you see and hear is what you'll get...they're as good on the album as they are live: eccentric, raw and honest!
Much Love & Music,

The previous edition of '4 the Love of Music':
4 the Love of Music #1

The next edition of "4 the Love of Music" will be released on: Tuesday June 4th 2013.

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