Do you know what Anosmic means? It’s not a common word to read while browsing the web, but it surely caught my attention. Anosmic or Anosmia is the inability to perceive odor. I’d tell you how many people have this condition, but there is not any clear data for it. What I can tell you though, is that Alex Wright of The Wax Girl is one of those people. I can also tell you that his debut EP is titled Anosmic.

Alex, a Canadian based post-rock/ambient producer released Anosmic earlier this month. The five track EP at first struck me as something to just unwind to, but after listening to it repeatedly, each track now stands as a piece of an ongoing story. Even with a mellow tone, tracks like Departure make you want to get up and get things done.

The EP starts out with the track Consciousness, an open invitation to start an exploration into this world that Alex has crafted. Leading into two of the tracks that have gotten the most play counts from me; Broken Space and Unknown Location. Both differ in their style, but what’s unique is the use of synths and drums to create an atmosphere of calm and almost eerie peace. We finish out with Departure, which first seemed to be the end of the EP because of the uplifting appeal, but then comes Sleep Disorders, a track for which I have no words other than “Great”. With a strong debut like this, I cannot wait for more. Alex’s composition for these tracks make it easy to interpret multiple stories from the album, depending on the listener, and its tales are unforgettable.

This EP is just the start of great things to come from Alex, a music video is expected later this year and a full-length debut album from The Wax Girl next year. In the meantime, check out the album after the video below. Like always, I recommend you listen to it all in one sitting.

We got to chat with Alex a few hours before the album’s release for our Music Hangout Series. Wondering what The Wax Girl has to do with anything? All the answers you need in the video below.

You can grab the EP over at The Wax Girl’s Bandcamp page or on iTunes – Twenty percent of proceeds from both the digital & physical copies goes to Raising the Roof – a Canadian organization that provides strong and effective national leadership on long-term solutions to homelessness.

The summer heat and humidity has started settling in over Houston, schools are about to end for summer break, and college kids are back home for the summer. Know what those three things have in common? If you guessed summer, you’d be spot on. The weather may not be of much concern for us Houstonians, but it does signal the coming of an anticipated festival.

In the midst of festival season, Houston’s Free Press Summer Festival joins the rest with top-notch headliners and a great line-up of local artists. From May 31st to June 1st. Eleanor Tinsley Park in downtown Houston transforms from a typical jogging park into…well this –

Photo from FPSF Facebook

We’ll be having a special series of our Music Hangouts – A self-proclaimed Houstonian interviewing five bands, some of whom are local Houstonians themselves. Check out the info about the bands below along with times and links to the events. Leave some questions for them…get to know them…check out their music…and join me next week!

The thing about ambient music is that it takes patience. Not only to compose it, but also to listen to it. We are naturally drawn to narratives, well at least I and most of the people I know are, to me ambient music has the most complex narratives to understand, but once you’ve understood it, it’s amazing. One of those talented composers is Andy Othling, the mastermind behind the ambient/post-rock project Lowercase Noises.

The latest album from Andy, This Is For Our Sins releases on April 30th. Inspired by the story of the Lykov family, a Russian family that was completely isolated from the rest of the world for 40 years, each track represents a moment in the lives of this intriguing family, whose lone survivor still lives in isolation. You can read more about the Lykov family at the Smithsonian. Andy released the music video for one of the tracks called “Famine and the Death of a mother” earlier this month. The song is a prime example of how complex the compositions on this album are and the impact of the emotions that the story holds. Previous albums have featured an emphasis on guitar because of Andy’s mastery of the instrument, but surprisingly the songs on this album have a larger diversity in instruments, some with no guitar at all. This may come as a big surprise to some long-time listeners, but I doubt it’ll be something to really complain about since the composition fits together so well.

Andy and I chatted for a while and took some questions from his fans, the entire hangout is below for your viewing pleasure. This Is For Our Sins releases April 30th, you can pre-order at the link below. When it comes out, I highly recommend sitting down and listening to the album all the way through in order, there are some songs that might not make sense by themselves.

This Is For Our Sins Pre-Order
Lowercase Noises Facebook
Lowercase Noises Twitter

Americans, and especially some of the Texans I’ve met, have this weird illusion that Canada is completely the polar opposite of us. That everything there is just done completely differently and that everyone likes maple syrup the best. I don’t think that could be further from the truth. Truth be told, I didn’t ask Jordan about the maple syrup, so I can’t exactly be sure about that.

What I can tell you is that Canada is a wonderful country and Canadians like Jordan are pretty cool people. Jordan is a native Calgarian (that’s Vancouver, Calgary for those of that are semi-globally challenged like me) Jordan released his “sophomore” album Repentance earlier this year. Repentance is one of those albums that hits home with the listener right away, it’s soft folk melodies blur the line of genres as there’s a bit of a pop feel to Jordan’s vocals. It’s something you really have to hear for yourself to grasp. The album also has a great meaning behind it, but I’ll let Jordan tell you about that himself, take a gander at our chat below.

Jordan just wrapped a bit of tour down the coasts, hopefully we’ll see him again in the states, but you can always go check out his Youtube for vlogs and updates.

Music is a powerful visual and inspirational tool. From the way lyrics craft scenes to every last note that form an emotion. An album embodied a collection of those powerful emotions and it used to be that when an album came out, it wasn’t just about the music, it was a complete artistic vision. From the album art, the pull outs, all the way down to the very last note. It was a package that lead to a journey visually, audibly, and emotionally. Somewhere along the way, the impact that music carries has slowly diminished as technology has made it easier to create sounds and share them. Now an album is a folder with a bunch of digital files and .jpeg, and while it can be easily bought, shared and listened to, it doesn’t have the same story or feel to it.

An ambitious project from an amazing group of musicians has been underway to show that we can take the technology that has diluted the message and use it’s powers to create what used to be one of the greatest things you could ever touch. A fully digital album that has all of the qualities of a physical album. Last year, Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden launched a Kickstarter to help fund their collaborative project, “The Shape The Color The Feel”. Composed of 1 record and 9 films with 8 filmmakers across 7 cities. “A community supported collaboration of music, film, photography, and visual art.” After the songs were written and recorded, they were handed off to the filmmakers who crafted their visions. Successfully funded, the project is on track to release the album on February 11, 2014.

In a time where a whole world of sound and experience can be compressed into a tiny digital file that we send to each other on our cell phones, we like the idea of attaching moving picture to this tiny little file and giving it some weight.

I like that idea too, and I’m also proud to premiere the project’s next music video for the track “Hangover”. The music video was directed by Jesse English, who also created the album art and a photo installation that encompasses the visual side of the project.

I’ll be hanging out with Kate Tucker and Jesse English on Wednesday, January 15th at 1:30pm CST. We invite you to join us as we find out more about what it was like to complete the album. If you have a question for Kate or Jesse, leave it the comments and it may get answered live.

Catch the Hangout over on our Google+ Page

New Jersey native Zak Smith is a character. There’s not much else you can say that would describe him. And trying to describe his music is even more of a challenge.

Zak recently released his newest album, The Precambrian Age earlier this year. The album is being hailed as a unique mix alt rock and americana. It’s got that down to earth feel, but boy does it get you up on your feet at the same time. At the CMJ Music Marathon this year, Zack played The Electric Bowery in NYC for his album release party and his first official showcase at CMJ. In addition, he was also been named Best Male Vocalist at the 2013 Jersey Acoustic Music Awards, and also saw one of his albums be named #20 on a list of the Top 100 New Jersey Albums.

We had the chance to sit and talk with Zak about his music, check out the hangout below.
(Please excuse the bit of technical difficulty at the beginning, technology is what it is)

When I first read about the The Retrospectives, the one thing that popped out at me was their Twitter bio. “…determined to bring back real pop music…” An ambitious mission statement considering what pop music is considered now in days. But the interesting route that Will Stocks, Tom Galton and Paul Jackson have taken has me in awe of their musical talent.

The Retrospectives have been named one of the Schffield’s Top 5 bands to watch, and in a city like Schffield that contains such a vast music scene, that says quite a lot. In September they released a video for their first release, and it’s evident that these lads are following their passions. By the way, I allowed to say lads now?..oh well, I said it anyway. These guys put their energy into what they make, but they also have fun while doing it and it shows. Lately, they’ve been on a string of tours with notable indie bands like The Boomtown Rats, The Last Carnival, and My First Tooth.

I got the chance to visit Tom and Will in Sheffield…all without having to leave my cozy city or having to make them leave their sofa. Don’t believe me? You can watch the interview below and find out more about the these two childhood friends and more about their band.

Take a listen to their latest tracks below.

P.s. They also love the internet as much as you or I do. Just goes to prove that the UK isn’t all that different.

Just done a really cool interview with @manjotjawa over in Houston Texas without even getting up off the sofa! #ILoveTheInternet

— The Retrospectives (@theretrosmusic) November 3, 2013

When I listen to a song from a electro-indie-pop band I normally wouldn’t think that it has such a profound message about our society, but when I thought about the lyrics in the song from Holychild, I got it. It also helped that it was explained to me by the band who created it the song.

The LA-based duo of Liz Nistico and Louie Diller form the core of Holychild. In fact, everything Holychild comes from the minds and hands of these two very awesome individuals. Their music is profoundly unique but very approachable in a way that makes you get up and dance, and trust me, I haven’t been able to say that about an electro-pop group in a while. Holychild recently preformed at the CMJ Showcase in New York, just weeks after releasing the very interesting music video for Playboy Girl. The video and song have garnered over 13,277 views and 12,852 listens at the time of writing, you can listen to the song below, but I highly recommend watching the video.

There is also a good reason why Billboard is calling them “Your new indie-pop obsession”. With massive tracks like Happy With Me, Playboy Girl, and Best Friends. Each of their songs are all just so awesomely freeing in regards to composition and yet so wonderfully crafted with an infectious rhythm and sound that it truly translates into music for the masses.

After hearing Happy with me for the first time, I had to talk to these two. You can watch the interview below to find out where the name Holychild came from and you’ll also get to know some very interesting things about them both. I forgot to ask if they had any of the candy left over from that video though. Also, I tried Louie’s hybrid peanut butter mix and it’s pretty amazing.

Liz & Louie are currently playing in some cities in California later this year, but hopefully we’ll see them on a national and international tour after their EP release. I encourage you to check out their Soundcloud tracks, start with their older ones and work your way to the future. You’ll see how they’ve found what I think is the perfect middle-ground between beautiful music and complete craziness.

We’ve been told that the most interesting man in the world can make orange juice out of apples, but that’s nothing compared how Caleb Ray can make beautiful music out of just a single thought. Music out of thoughts? I don’t know about you, but to me that’s more interesting than juice for sure.

Oregon native Caleb Ray is a multi-talented man, from his electro-slash-organic sounding Panda-Panda Project to his own personal music, Caleb Ray has a deep and beautiful understanding of music and how it relates to people. He recently released his christian-pop (for lack of a real term that describes the unique sound) album This Little Light earlier this month. I chatted with him through the magic of the internet, watch the interview below, and you’ll see why I consider him to be the most interesting man in the world.

On a cool summer or fall night, somewhere in the world, there is a small candle being placed into a paper lantern, a match is struck and lights the candle. Almost magically, the power of such a small flame lifts the comparatively massive lantern up into the sky. That feeling the atmosphere around it has always been indescribable to me. You are probably wondering what the world lanterns have to do with music, right? For Atlanta based band Paper Lights, that sublime awe is what inspired their name and is also what has been captured in their soon to be released album Caverns.

Atmospherically electrifying from start to finish, Paper Lights has crafted a sound that’s synonymous with the power of nature. I had the honor of speaking to Dan Snyder, Melanie Annabelle, and Jonathan Kimsey about their new album and the story behind it, check out the interview below.

The new album Caverns comes out November 19 on iTunes and Paperlightsmusic.com. The single “The Cave” is now streaming on SoundCloud, and you can take listen to it below.

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of genres of music. Once in a while you find that rare song or album that can’t be defined into a genre without hurting another genre’s feeling. Singer-songwriter Sara Masterson’s new album Always the Beautiful falls into that genre-less category. Though don’t mistake that to mean that it’s not equally, or even more, spectacular than a genre-classified album.

Fresh off her first east-coast tour, Masterson released her latest album Always the Beautiful on September 9th. Since then it’s been gaining attraction and love from fans across the states. Her music has been hailed as “Folk-Inspired Dream-Pop” by the Illinois Entertainer, a title that she and I both have some mixed feelings about. From the title track you’re struck by Masterson’s powerfully captivating voice. It launches you forward to the next five tracks that honestly put me into a daze and had me thinking I was walking down the streets of a Midwestern city, just as Sara did growing up. Her unsurpassed vocal quality can only be described as stunning. Sara has kept true to herself and her sound and her dedication shows in this production that has to be heard to be expressed properly.

I had a chance to speak with Sara and got to know a little bit more about her and her recent release, you can check out the interview below.

Always the Beautiful is available on iTunes and on Noisetrade and judging by her new collection of vinyl, it might soon show up on a 12″ or 10″ at a record store near you.

Music has a way of carrying a message that the artist truly believes in. In a highly commercialized music industry like ours, that message is sometimes lost or even left out. That’s why we’re constantly searching for the artists that carry a message and make their music mean something. Maybe they’re artists you’ve never heard of before, but we know they’re definitely ones that you’ll want to keep listening to. We want you to know the people behind the music, who they are and where they come from, what they believe in and where they’re headed. To begin our adventure, we chatted with singer/songwriter Ryan Courtney about his uplifting project named Trenton.

Trenton released a new EP titled “Dreamers” earlier this year. The 5 track EP kicks off with powerful drums and guitar riffs that grab your attention, and soon after, a voice captures you with a softness that melts together with the beat in perfect unison. The tracks keep the energy flowing until you get to the last one, that’s when there’s a moment of peace and you understand that there is a depth to the soul that comes through in Courtney’s voice, and that’s what makes this album a must hear. The passion for music can be heard loud and clear. The gentle mix of energy, soul, and meaningful lyrics makes for an impressive gathering of musical talent. What really catches me off guard every time is Ryan’s vocal quality, despite the use of cheap microphones, his raw emotions are projected loud and clear; proving that technology is not all that matters.

Ryan explains where the band name Trenton came from, what is different and surprising unique about where Dreamers was made and more in our interview below.

Trenton’s Dreamers is available on iTunes and Noisetrade

I have strong opinions about the state of music today. Some people would object to them, I even object to them most of the time. But the fact is that for those honest to the art of creating music, it exists to bring joy, energy, sadness, or any emotional response. However, that only happens when it’s created well and thought out so that it does make an impact in some way, shape or form…if it’s not, then it’s just a bunch of notes that somehow make sense.

I’d like to think that founding members of MGMT; Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden share that opinion of an honest musical art. From the sounds of their latest self-titled album, it appears that they do indeed. MGMT’s self-titled album MGMT was released September 17, 2013, about a year after it’s announcement. The songs are a pieces of art that you can listen to over and over and still find something new to explore. MGMT’s sound is, to put it lightly, unique. It always has been and this album doesn’t change that.

The particular mix of the psychedelic and rock vibes flow softly over the poppy lyrics that are far more than your just a typical chorus lines. There’s also a couple of unique sounds that you wouldn’t expect to hear together. Included on the album is a cover of “Introspection” by a not so recognizable band called Faine Jade. The cover seems like it was meant to bring people back from the wild, synth-filled forest that they’ve created in this album. However, MGMT is a bit too synth’ed up in certain songs to the point where it just gets confusingly trippy. Perhaps that’s the point. Overall, it’s a solid album, though I’m personally still partial to their first album, Oracular Spectacular.

MGMT isn’t geared for everyone’s listening pleasure, and it’s good to see that Columbia Records hasn’t pushed them too much on that either. It’s got an easy-listening feel to it which makes it…well easy to listen to. Benjamin and Andrew are keeping true to their sound. My suggestion is to start with the first track, “Alien Days” and work your way in on a lazy saturday.

Full disclosure: I personally do not like 3D movies, I feel that they are distracting to the true art of filmmaking. That being said, I saw the advanced screening of Gravity in 3D, however, my review would likely be no different for its 2D counterpart.

Gravity brings the long awaited return of Children of Men director Alfonso Cuarón. Set almost entirely in space, this sci-fi thriller with a dash of humor has stunning special effects and dedicated 3D scenes. Actors George Clooney and Sandra Bullock play characters Commander Matt Kowalsky and Mission Specialist Dr. Ryan Stone. Within the first 15 minutes viewers are taken from a light-hearted and even slightly humorous conversation between three astronauts outside a shuttle to an adrenaline packed thrill ride. The focus then turns to Bullock’s character who must now overcome the cornucopia of challenges that comes with trying to get back on Earth when you’ve just been flung into empty space by a large cloud of increasingly speeding satellite debris (all caused by the Russians of course).

I wish I could tell you the rest, but I’m guessing you would not like the spoilers. Besides, I forgot it all within 2 minutes of leaving my seat. It’s just not that memorable. What I can tell you is that it’s filled with dazzling special effects and “3d-ness” that is sure to wow and perhaps even shock some audiences. However, I thought it was overkill. With such a small amount of dialogue, you have more time to focus on the scenes that often were tilted or flipped, but I was severely disappointed by the lack story development through the somewhat meager pace of the movie. Bullock’s character has an emotional back story but that emotion remains untapped for the most part. The storyline itself is decent, though Gravity certainly left me begging for more development in both the story and the characters.

The two redeeming qualities in my opinion are the fact that it’s set in space and that the sound score was decent. Something that seems to have become more popular, but does not entirely distract from the poor storyline development and what to me are overly done special effects. It is sure to win something for it’s massive technical feats. Warning – if you just happen to be an astrophysicist or a nerdy space geek, you will shudder at the sight some of the scenes, just keep in mind it’s purely science fiction.

Gravity premieres October 4th for its wide release. Despite what I mentioned above, I suggest you go see it in theaters…perhaps with an astronaut’s helmet on if your local theater permits such awesomeness (and if it does not, you may want to find another theater). If you do decide to see it, keep a lookout for Marvin the Martian’s cameo appearance.

Gravity trailer: