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The Hum and the Beat: Alabama Shakes’ ‘Boys and Girls’ gritty
With no body of work to compare it to, a debut album should define an artist's ambitions, and set some direction for their future by leaving the listener with a hum or a beat that sticks with him well after it has left his ears. No one is looking for perfection in a debut's material. We look for a quality that may come to define the band's sound—an element to build upon to form an improved second effort and, eventually, a balanced career.
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The Hum and the Beat: ‘Kill for Love’ strikingly subdued
Shorter tracks balance out longer ones on Chromatics' latest release, an ode to '80s minimalist electronic and post-punk
Electronic music, broadly speaking, has separated itself into two camps in the past several years. One of these camps is dominated by the pursuit of the colossal, the attempt to create waves of noise that overwhelm the ear and the body. Dubstep, a prime example, has become a musical arena for the survival of the thickest tones, the most audacious arrangements, and the most powerful, visceral reactions.
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The Hum and the Beat: The Shins’ ‘Port of Morrow’ lavish yet stays true to roots
"What are you listening to?" "The Shins. You know them?... You gotta hear this one song. It'll change your life."
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The Hum and the Beat: ‘Kindred’ sees Burial at his most accessible
William Bevan, the electronic solo artist also known as Burial, has attracted much critical acclaim, but his music has always struck me as too detached and too unfeeling. His 2007 release "Untrue" lacked the emotional truth that characterizes the strongest and most poignant electronic works. Bevan's DJ stints around London and the four EPs to his name have taken strange and innovative stabs at redefining exactly what electronic music can be, and the result has often been far from accessible.
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The Hum and the Beat: Going against grain of music business, Goldfrapp’s ‘The Singles’ successful
It's been a busy week for music. We lost a legend, there was an allegedly important award ceremony Sunday evening, and Usher and Diplo got together. But what most caught my attention this week was the well-received release of Goldfrapp's compilation record "The Singles." Who knew that a relatively new band like this one was so deserving of a greatest hits album?
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The Hum and the Beat: Del Rey betrays former irony with first full-length album
Of all of the remixes, music videos, and performances one can find online of Lana Del Rey's hit single, "Video Games," none are more beautiful or poignant than her performance at the Corinthia Hotel in London.
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The Hum and the Beat: Top 10 albums of year: veterans, fresh talent span sonic spectrum
This final installment of The Hum and the Beat for 2011 will review the highest achievements in a year of music brimming with high-profile collaborations (Kanye and Jay-Z, Lou Reed and Metallica), ever-budding teen sensations (Rebecca Black and Justin Bieber), a number of fantastic self-titled releases, and some ineffably marvelous sophomore records. Without further ado, here are my top 10 albums of the year.
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The Hum and the Beat: The NARPs on yelling, athletics, computers, making out
This year at Bowdoin, there has been no band that has played with quite as much tenacity—and frequency—as The NARPs.
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The Hum and the Beat: White Denim come to sonic fruition with ‘D’
I first heard White Denim in late 2007, a time when I would spend hours on various music blogs, downloading anything that caught my attention. I'd quickly listens through the dozens of songs I had downloaded, hoping a few would be worthy of repeated listens.
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The Hum and the Beat: Questionable substance, style on ‘The Rip Tide’
Up until now, Beirut has always held a special place in my heart. Their first two albums rank among my favorites of the past decade. Their French- and Balkan-inspired sound distinguishes them from many others in the contemporary alternative music scene today. I listened to their songs countless times in my high school days. On numerous occasions, I've spent hours online downloading any unreleased demos I could find, some of which are now amongst my favorite Beirut tracks.
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The Hum and the Beat: Pretty Lights dazzles crowd with sight, sound spectacle
I suppose I've been in a concert-going mood as of late. This Sunday, I ventured to Lewiston to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee to see renowned DJ and electronic sample artist Pretty Lights perform.
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The Hum and the Beat: Electro-pop sound pulsates with history
Last Tuesday evening, a friend informed me that Washed Out was opening for Cut Copy at the State Theatre. A few phone calls and some extra daytime hours in Hawthorne-Longfellow Library later, I was in a car with four friends driving to Portland.
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The Hum and the Beat: The Weeknd blows up social media with new album, “House of Balloons”
If you've been following the summer music blogosphere or Drake's Twitter, or if you happen to frequent the Toronto club scene, chances are that you've caught a listen of the nocturnal, electric and spaced-out voice of The Weeknd on his breakthrough album "House of Balloons." The Weeknd is the stage name of Abel Tesfaye, the 21-year-old Canadian mastermind behind one of the year's darkest projects: a nine-song mixtape released for free online in March.
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The Hum and the Beat: Call It The Truth sets an ‘honest’ tone on campus
"The name has to do with the fusion of sounds we bring together," said Justin Foster '11. The band Call It The Truth is scheduled to open the Ivies concert tomorrow. "I also think it has to do with your persona, Justin," added Mikel McCavana '12. "You just tell it how it is."
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The Hum and the Beat: The Pains attain hipster status, but album is painfully sweet
OK, OK, I know. Pitchfork rated it an 8.2. They sound like Belle and Sebastian. They're from Brooklyn. They were one of the "best breakout bands of 2009." I still can't stand The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and their painfully toolish name is only a small fraction of the reason why.
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The Hum and the Beat: With ‘Smoke Ring for My Halo,’ Kurt Vile is our generation’s all-American rocker
Philadelphia native Kurt Vile is a rocker. His name is Kurt Vile, for starters ("it's the handle my mama gave me"). His black, wavy hair is long and hangs like a curtain over his face when he performs. Watching him play on stage is like witnessing a religious experience—he is so wholly absorbed in the chords he is strumming or picking, it's clear that whatever he's playing is coming from somewhere deep inside his grungy façade.
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The Hum and the Beat: Student band Mr. Suds drums up a name for itself at Bowdoin
The campus band Mr. Suds, comprised of seniors Bryce Lednar (guitar, vocals), Sam Epstein (guitar, vocals), Brian Wu (synth, vocals), James Carney (bass) and Andrew Coleman (drums, vocals), who met their first year, has been a regular staple of the small, but ever-growing, Bowdoin music scene for years.
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The Hum and the Beat: Smith Westerns win thousands of fans with garage pop rock music
The Chicago-born rock trio, the Smith Westerns, started off as a highly successful MySpace group known for channeling their teen dream sound into garage rock anthems. Their first songs went a long way to capture the band's high school youthfulness in lo-fi ballads, but little to display the raw talent residing, unharnessed, beneath. Nevertheless, their 2009 self-titled debut won them enough fans to sell thousands of records and turn heads in the alternative rock scene.
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The Hum and the Beat: Pop star Robyn to perform in Portland on Saturday
Portland, Maine may ask what celestial force has hit it when Swedish pop star Robyn sweeps through this weekend, painting the quiet maritime city neon with her robot-diva-beats. She is scheduled to play at the newly renovated State Theatre at 8 p.m. on Saturday, a space with the capacity to accommodate the full-scale production of a Robyn concert. Mainers, take off those Bean boots and put on your kicks—Robyn's about to take us on a journey through the unique synths, kickdrums, looped lyrics and strobe lights that comprise her sophisticated pop world.
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The Hum and the Beat: Weeks, Wu join forces to create ‘darker’ sound
Although some would argue that the on-campus music culture has been deafeningly silent this fall, a few student musicians are as busy as ever composing melodies and pushing the musical envelope. Seniors Louis Weeks and Brian Wu are two such musicians.
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The Hum and the Beat: Lady Lamb the Beekeeper: what keeps her buzzing
This interview was conducted with Portland-based singer-songwriter Aly Spaltro, a.k.a. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper. Spaltro, who Bowdoin students may know from her years of employment at Brunswick Bart and Greg's DVD Explosion! is planning to further her music career come December, first with a move to Cambridge, Mass. and then to New York.
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The Hum and the Beat: ‘The Fool’ strikes gold, and it rocks
Imagine you're in the middle of a desert at two in the morning. All around you is miles and miles of void. Only the moonlight and cloud shadows color the ground; nothing but a few cacti and animal carcasses lay scattered across the desert floor.
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The Hum and the Beat: More to Portland music scene than meets the ear
Last Friday was the opening night of Portland's State Theatre, and it did not disappoint.
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The Hum and the Beat: How to Dress delivers complex indie-soul with “Love Remains”
Tom Krell is a student of Kantian philosophy who splits his time between Brooklyn, New York and Cologne, Germany. He was born in Colorado and enjoys '80s and '90s hip-hop. He's a blogger. He is also the indie-lo-fi producer of the 2010 breakout solo act, How to Dress Well.
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The Hum and the Beat: Sufjan Stevens surprises with an unexpected EP
Sufjan Stevens has never been one to stay in the realm of convention.