Painting the Silence

The indie rock / post-rock / instrumental novices, Bells, started with two friends, Jon Hershey and Sean Hennessey, back in 2005. Hershey and Hennessey played casually together for years, with a number of line up changes. In 2010, Sean left his former band to seriously pursue music with Jon. This is when Bells was born.

Bells started writing and recording their first album at Hennessey’s Studio in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. During recording, Jon asked his close friend, Tim Kettering, to join the band. Therefore, the current band members are Sean Hennessey, Jon Hershey, and Tim Kettering. During live shows, they are supported by two additional individuals, Joe Terranova and Matt Greiner.

“In short, our music combines layered guitars sprinkled with electronics, with occasional soaring vocals. We can be compared to Sigur Rós, Arcade Fire, and Mogwai. Our Debut album, “Our Forest, Our Empire”, will be releasing on August 28th…” ~ Sean Hennessey

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“Always Invisible” by Bells

I am instituting a new series titled Two for Tuesday. On Tuesdays, I will post two versions of the same song by different artists. The first installment features the original song “The High Road” by Broken Bells. The song is found on their self-titled 2010 album. The cover is done by Joss Stone and can be found on her sixth studio album, The Soul Sessions Volume 2, recently released on July 23, 2012.

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“The High Road” by Broken Bells

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“The High Road” cover by Joss Stone

Sea Wolf frontman and songwriter, Alex Brown Church, will release his third full-length album Old World Romance on September 11, 2012. Church shares, “After the last record, which was written and recorded far from home and was more of a group experience, I really wanted to stay close to home, be in my own space and give myself room to explore and write and record on my own schedule.” Church produced and recorded Old World Romance in the comfort of his home studio, with mixing by Kennie Takahashi (Broken Bells, The Black Keys, Jessica Lea Mayfield).

Church is currently solidifying venues and dates, but his tour will most likely start in the first week of October as a full US tour with some Canada dates.

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“Old Friend” by Sea Wolf

Get a free download of “Old Friend” here.

Here’s a free collection of mp3s from Alexi Murdoch, Valgeir Sigurðsson and Nico Muhly commemorating their collaboration at the PopTech conference in Iceland.

The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, Alexi Murdoch, has released his second recording, Towards the Sun, following his 2006 breakout indie release, Time Without Consequence.

Though his second record has had a long gestation, Murdoch’s reputation as a serious musical force has been growing. He has made multiple appearances on prominent radio outlets like KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, WXPN’s World Café, WNYC’s Soundcheck, Minnesota Public Radio’s The Current, and Seattle’s KEXP. Most recently Murdoch was tabbed by director Sam Mendes to helm the soundtrack for the acclaimed 2009 indie film Away We Go, contributing nine songs alongside songs by the Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, George Harrison & the Stranglers.

Murdoch tape-recorded the majority of Towards the Sun in Vancouver in a single night while on tour in North America in 2009. Revisiting the tape months later in a basement studio in Brooklyn, the record was finished in a few days.

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“Towards the Sun” by Alexi Murdoch

The title of the third Punch Brothers disc for Nonesuch is Who’s Feeling Young Now? Produced and engineered by Jacquire King, the album contains an exhilaratingly direct and daring performance by the group. Being on the road has shifted their approach to writing and performing into a looser, simpler and more youthful one. For instance, the opening track “Movement and Location” came together over a matter of minutes in mandolinist/singer Chris Thile’s living room.

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“Movement and Location” by Punch Brothers

Rising star Angel Snow has partnered with PledgeMusic to pre-sell her new album! It will be available everywhere on October 2.

You can downloaded Snow’s NoiseTrade session, Live at Eddie’s Attic, right here!

“Angel Snow’s music is absolutely beautiful. When she sings I hold my breath.” ~ Alison Krauss

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“California” by Angel Snow

The fantasy pop duo, Savoir Adore have released an Official Music Video for the first single, “Dreamers” off their upcoming album Our Nature. Watch out for the album release this fall!

They will be touring with Jukebox the Ghost, Bright Moments and Now, Now through mid-July.

“Our Nature itself is both a collection of catchy indie pop songs and a dramatic narrative. Dreamers functions as its prologue; on it, Muro insists her subject not worry and ‘keep on sleeping,’ while Hammer confronts the inevitable transience of dreaming: ‘Where we are isn’t just a place where everything remains.’”

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“Dreamers” by Savoir Adore