discover: wave & rome

I heard listened to Wandering Wolf courtesy of Dalton Diehl who suggested some songs for a summer playlist in my interview with him and I really suggest you listen to it to get you in the mood (is that weird?).

Okay, so you did it? Good. Now, you can tell me what you think on my Twitter but I think you generally get why this band deserves a discover post. It's a really pretty song! Yes, I do mean to pretty.

So, Wandering Wolf is an indie rock band from Nashville, Tennessee that began in 2013 and is fronted by Sam Tinnesz (picture below).

This is Sam

It was created with his co-writer and co-producer, Josh Farro and was borne out of an effort to push and depart from genre boundaries. Their EP, Across The Map was released in March 2015 and it was produced by Matt Bronleewe and mixed by Chad Howatt. It's an all round awesome EP that you can listen to on their Soundcloud.

Check them out on Twitter and Facebook and get their EP from iTunes.

discover: young brother

I have this really annoying habit of finding a song that I like and listening to it till my ear drums bleed (figuratively of course). Man Up has fallen under this category in the past few days (Lean On was at the top but it looks like Man Up has indeed, manned up (is that a thing? I don't know...) and is taking over pretty quickly).

Okay, so this is Dalton Diehl, also known as Young Brother:

He is from Nashville and his main genre is alt-pop I guess. He's influenced by pop acts like Jessie Ware, Lorde, and all their cohorts in awesome and his songs are essentially anthems. No, seriously, you guys should listen to Man Up right now.

He released his EP Kamikaze and it is brilliant. The title track is alt-pop brilliance, but the song that really grabbed my attention was Man Up. It's a song with a message that still fits right into any fun-loving playlist. The whole thing is a mishmash of songs that have bits of electronic music and pop thrown in, and it sounds like they are co-habiting on the tracklist. They work well together, but they are also amazing on their own. You will feel every single track in your heart (and sometimes your feet)



To read more about Young Brother, check out this interview with New York Minute Mag. If you listened to Man Up and don't like it, well....

Follow Dalton on: Twitter|Facebook|Instagram|Soundcloud|Youtube|Website

discover: alessia cara

Alessia Cara is one of those pop stars you know you'll stick with for a long time as her single 'Here' which is gaining ground as an extremely relatable alt-pop hit has proven. There's even a remix which sounds almost as awesome as the original song by Mickey Valen (listen to both below).

Alessia Cara, born Alessia Caracciolo is an 18 year old (19 in two days) Italian-Canadian R&B and alt-pop singer who is a self-proclaimed 'anti-social pessimist'. She's shy and doesn't like parties, and I have never connected so well with a person I don't even know before. She was signed to Def Jam Recordings after  a record exec's daughter heard her cover of The Neighbourhood's 'Sweater Weather' which is amazing, of course. Already, she's been compared to Lorde, another awesome teenage singer-songwriter, but Alessia is in a league of her own.

Her voice is silky-smooth and her lyrics feel like they were written for the listener. 'Here' is a song about being the shy one at parties- it is any wallflower's anthem, including myself. Alessia said in a TEDXTalk, she explains that 'Here' is essentially autobiographical as it talks about a party that she went to when she was younger that she hated so much, she had to call her mom to pick her up. Gen X teens are subject to a lot of generalisation in terms of our love of technology, our outspokenness, and our need to rebel. Parties are commonplace for anyone over the age of 14 these days, and at these parties, there's drinking, smoking, lots of inappropriate behaviour that desensitises us before we even reach our twenties. However, not all of us are party animals- we prefer to stay at home and find other things to occupy our time with and Alessia Cara is viral proof of that.

Along with her song, its remix and the video of her cover of Sweater Weather, BBC Radio 1 posted her performance of Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' for their Live Lounge and it is beautiful - Taylor Swift approves completely. Also, read this interview on RookieMag.com.

Sweater Weather cover

Official video for Here

Follow Alessia on:
Youtube|Soundcloud|Twitter|Website|

No images belong to me.

discover: sam bruno

It has been way too long since I wrote on this and I apologize to anyone who checks here for new material. However, I have yet another treasure for you to enjoy and I hope you can appreaciate and love her music as much as I do.

First of all, let me introduce you to the song that should keep your ears warm (warm?) this summer:

Listen to it before you proceed with the rest of the post.

If you don't like it, then you really shouldn't be here. This is pop you can listen to without feelign sick to your stomach after the first five seconds. It has the 'Paper Planes' (M.I.A 2007 hit) vibe to it, mixed with something that feels a little like Lorde that makes me want to sway and stop in the middle of the stairs to class and dance like no one's watching even when there are peopl everywhere- this is pretty hard to achieve for me seeing as I hate dancing in public anyway.

It is essentially a song about running away, but it also feels like summer and freedom with those people you care about enough to spend weeks with. It's beautiful synth-pop that makes you feel like you can do anything.

Sam Bruno (pictured below) doesn't have much by way of singles on her Soundcloud or Youtube channel, although she's done some pretty cool collabs.



'Search Party' is shaping up to be one of the top songs of the summer and then it'll be overplayed everywhere and I may start to despise it, but for now, I will let it warm my ears and be my one true love (until I find another one true love of course).

At this rate, I'm not sure I can wait to hear rest of the songs off the Paper Towns soundtrack.

Sam Bruno's Links:
Soundcloud|Twitter|Youtube|Facebook|Website

discover: x ambassadors

When Dan Reynolds hears a band on the radio that is totally awesome, he fanboys much like the rest of us, non-famous humanoids. However he also begs his producer to sign them and then proceed so to produce the majority of their debut album.

X Ambassadors is an alt-rock band from Ithaca, New York formed in 2009 and signed to Interscope Records that produces music that strikes you right in the heart. They began with the name Ambassadors, touring with artists like LIGHTS. The band is comprised of brothers: Sam and Casey Harris, and their friends, Noah Feldshuh and (get this) Adam Levin (I know!).

They self-released their debut EP- Ambassadors EP and then their LP, Litost. They did a Kickstarter to raise money for a music video for of the songs from the LP, my personal favourite Unconsolable.

Unconsolable was also used on their debut EP for their label, Love Songs Drug Songs released in 2013, which also included a song co-written by Dan Reynolds (lead singer of Imagine Dragons, you should know this). In promotion of the EP, they toured with bands like The Mowglis, Imagine Dragons and Jimmy Eat World. They released their second major label EP, The Reason in 2014. They also released a single with Jamie N Commons in 2014 called "Jungle".

They featured on a track "Transmission" on Zedd's new album this year as. Their debut album VHS is set to be released on the 30th of June (can't wait).

X Ambassadors have lyrics that speak to you about life and the things that we do or have to do that make us happy or not so happy. I strongly suggest you reader of this belated post, give them a try.

Listen to Unconsolable below if you're not sure and tell me what you think in the comments.

discover: jon bellion

This is the man. He looks so hipster...

Anyway, he is a singer-songwriter New York native, full name: Jonathan Giler Bellion, a 24 year old signed to Visionary Music Group. His music is this blend of indie rock, R&B and hip-hop and usually that combination would make me wary but I saw a gif set from the music video for his song Simple and Sweet on Tumblr and that was what led me to google the lyrics I saw and that led me to YouTube and the rest, as they say, is history.

From what I read, he took his time with this album and it sounds like it too; each track is curated beautifully. He's been a producer since he was 14 and he got tired of  the generic music he was asked to put out. Suffice to say, there is nothing generic about this album. He has also released 3 previous EPs before the one he released last year: The Definition, which is available for free on his website jonbellion.com.

Listen to Simple and Sweet below and tell me what you think in the comments.

He's going to work with Zedd on his upcoming album, True Colors. This album is also reported to have collaboration with artists like Echosmith and Selena Gomez. Can't wait! 

Click on the image to head over to jonbellion.com to download his album FOR FREE!



Check him out on:

Twitter|Facebook|Soundcloud

discover: valise

I seem to do a lot of "dicover" posts on bands/artists that follow me on Twitter these days and these guys are no exception. Randomly selected by yours truly, I decided to check out their latest single. And of course, I love it.

Cover art for Young Bloomer

Four guys (there seems to be a theme here): Vince Penick, Jared Travis, Casey Newton, Ricky Johnson from Dallas, Texas doing indie rock that sounds like its been well sprinkled in a studio. I got my hands on their debut album after listening to aforementioned single ('Charlie Gray') and so far, so good.

Their album is called Young Bloomer and it is out now on iTunes.

Check out their:

Soundcloud|Twitter|Facebook|Website

They are also going on tour with another band called Copeland, so be sure to check that out if you're able to go.

Listen to Charlie Gray below and tell me what you think in the comments.

You can also download it from their Soundcloud if you're interested. No images belong to me. One belongs to someone named Anna and  I mostly just got them from their Facebook.

discover: decades

Okay, so this band followed me on Twitter and I when deciding who to listen to at random, they got lucky (because I am lazy and they are recent followers).

They are called Decades and they do the kind of rock that got me into music into the first place. I loved listening to it. It's melodic and heavy and sounds like the alt rock bands of  the early '00s but somehow still very 2015.They are four guys with a pretty standard set: vocals, guitars and drums, from New Jersey. No two of their songs sound the same and I am currently repeating Anchors Away, their new single from their EP, Similar Lights which will be released this spring. They're not perfect and they sound like what most alt rock bands sound like in the beginning, but they're worth a shot.

Listen to Anchors Away and tell me what you think in the comments.

You can get a free download of their songs which I'm pretty sure is limited to head over to Soundcloud if you're interested.

Check out their:

Facebook|Twitter

discover: broken back

8tracks is seriously becoming the best friend I have. I heard a Broken Back song on a playlist and now, I can't get enough.

There's not much about them out there and it's a little frustrating, but from what I could glean from their Facebook, it is an electronic music, dance-pop band based in France (French people generally have good taste, don't they?)

Listen to their newest song below and tell me what you think then!

Check them out on:

Soundcloud|Facebook|Twitter|YouTube

...and pre-order their upcoming EP on iTunes!

discover: catfish and the bottlemen

Notice I didn't use a witty song lyrics or something as the post title. That's because this band's name speaks for them and it speaks loudly!

Picture from Facebook.

Catfish and the Bottlemen are four guys from Wales (the UK provides some of the best bands of boys- not boy bands, mind you): Ryan "Van" McCann (lead singer), Johnny Bond (lead guitar), Benji Blakeway (bass guitar) and Bob Hall ( he plays drums. Got such a normal name after the rest). The music they make is easily classed as alternative (at least, what alternative sounds like now) with elements of rock and post-punk.

The band name (I just had to put this in here) has a chain of events leading up to it, but basically, Van was a little boy watching a busker called Catfish the Bottleman. 

They've been a band since 2010 with changes in members here and there. They signed to Communion Records in 2013 and released the singles 'Homesick' (my favourite track) and 'Rango' from what would be their debut album, The Balcony, released on the 12th of September last year. Also, Rolling Stone has their eye on them (their good eye) and there's this DJ that really likes them too.

The Balcony

The Balcony is a good, solid debut album and the fact that they haven't been around as long as some other bands does not show at all. Their sound is professional (Van's voice has been compared to that of The Kooks' frontman, Luke Pritchard). The album is said to draw heavily on Van's life (he was a last-resort IVF baby) for inspiration and the cover art for some of the songs makes it sort of obvious in that respect. They're not one for subtlety, they go outright with their lyrics and I love it.

Cover art for Rango

Cover art for Pacifier

Cover art for Homesick

They have also garnered a reputation as an amazing live band and the YouTube videos I've watched cement the fact. So go see them if you're anywhere near where they're playing next. Also, their album was produced by Jim Abbiss who has worked with Arctic Monkeys and is apparently quite well known for that (as he should be), so you should be assured.

Essentially, you should download the album. It is crazy good, perfect for fans of George Ezra, Drowners, Royal Blood and Atlas Genius. Listen to the first minute and a half of the song 'Fallout' in the Song of the Day tab.

Website|Soundcloud|Twitter|Facebook|iTunes

discover: colony house

The title of this post is from a song by my band of the week (day, month, we'll see), Colony House who are amazing (I say that A LOT. Maybe I should start blogging about music I hate...nah).

These guys are into the whole indie rock bit which is amazing since two of them have lots of potential for pop music. However, I won't be getting into a history you could get from Wikipedia or a Google search.

All three are natives of Tennessee and they've been a band since 2009. The lead singer is Caleb Chapman, whose voice is beautiful, Will, his brother, plays the drums and the guitarist is Scott Mills.

Image courtesy of Teen Vogue.

Their lyrics are so evocative too (wonder who writes the songs), not just lyrics for the sake of being lyrics. Their album When I Was Younger was released on July 22 last year and I heard Silhouettes (one of my favourite songs off the album) last month on an 8tracks playlist and I loved it and everything it seemed to convey. Also, they do rock-n-roll like most bands don't these days. There's something about stripped-down, real instruments that conveys a sense of real emotion in the music to a person and these guys have that.

Lyrics courtesy of the band's website

In an interview with Teen Vogue (I'm paraphrasing here, I think), they said that it's so hard to be original these days especially when your sound was probably influence by another person's sound which is very true, but the thing I love about my perspective on music is my ability to see every band as having their own sound. Take for example, Kodaline who everyone says is a rip-off of Coldplay or something. I think Kodaline sounds like Kodaline because while they may admittedly sound a lot like Coldplay, they have this uniqueness to their music. I don't know where that comes from, but it is there, in my head whenever I listen to their songs. What I'm trying to say is that to me, Colony House sounds like something new (well, new in the sense that I don't know the lyrics to more than three of their songs) and a lot like what I'm sure they mean to sound like- themselves.

They will be touring with Needtobreathe (please tell me you know why they are), Switchfoot (you can't not know them) and a couple of other musicians this year in the 'Tour de Compadres', so be sure to check it out if you can. I strongly suggest getting their album. It's beautiful really.

Right now their touring with KONGOS (who are like...whoa!) and Sir Sly, so check out their website for more info on that.

Listen to their song 'Silhouettes' in my Song of the Day tab and tell me what you think in the comments.

Website|iTunes|Soundcloud|Twitter|Facebook|YouTube

discover: the score

I want that leather jacket!!!

This is The Score (they look like badass Abercrombie boys, I know. Don't judge just yet.)

They are an indie-pop act from New York (the city of dreeeeamssss), now based in LA (according to their Soundcloud account. Their names are: Edan Dover and Eddie Anthony (they're both Eds!). Eddie sings (and I just love his voice) and plays guitar, while Edan plays keyboard and produces their tracks. They are currently unsigned (what in Nutella are labels looking for?!?!) but we all know that won't last.

I just found out about them yesterday and then tweeted at them like I'm some crazy fangirl (which I am...)

Oh My Love blew my mind. Now, I will blog about: @TheScoreNYC

— Tammy Oladipo (@tammyoreads) February 3, 2015

They were so nice about it and they replied and everything and damn it...they deserve this post because that song, 'Oh My Love', is freaking amazing. It's the kind of song that makes you want to smile and dance and just be happy. It's in one word: uplifting. There's this raise-your-head-up, foot-stomping, festival-ish (my idea of festivals is skewed because I've never been to one. I know they are never as dreamy as they seem) quality to it.

Now, if you're the kind of person that just likes to be unhappy for the sake of unhappiness, this band might not be for you, however, if you are into the whole sunny dispoisiton on life thing, then they are perfect listening.

Listen to 'Oh My Love' below.

 Isn't it just amazing. Replay, replay, replay!!!

If you like: Train or OneRepublic, you'll definitely like these guys.

They have this casual, pop-rock feeling to their outfits

Check them out on:
Twitter|Soundcloud|Facebook|Their Website|iTunes|YouTube

Download Oh My Love on iTunes and SUPPORT THE BAND.

They're cute too...

You know, I might just start asking for Skype interviews from the indie artists I tweet and blog about (it is so weird how these words have become part fo our everyday language...). Wouldn't that be so cool though? Seriously though, if Skype interviews seem like a viable thing, tweet me or comment on the post (pleeeeease, comment on the post). Or, you know...be a little...sorry. I had two Red Bulls and a granola bar for breakfast and now I'm in a Theology class and I can't even...

Thank you, people who read these posts that I don't know about. If you want me to blog about your music (which I will only do if I like your music...), then tweet me or you know...nah...sorry.

discover: the kite string tangle

This is Danny Harley.

He's the man (the very cute- hot? man) behind The Kite String Tangle (think Owl City style). He's an electronic music producer with quite the ear for music as proven by Arcadia a song (my favourite) off his debut EP Vessel. This EP has been highly anticipated by his fans after the release of Given The Chance (also on the EP).

TKST is a project (which is the explanation for "think Owl City") and has apparently been way more successful than Mr. Harley ever thought it would be (why he would think that, I have no idea. TKST is amazing. JUDGE I CALL HIM OUT ON WRONGFUL DOUBT. Or whatever). He's played SxSW (holy...) and guest-appeared at Coachella which has really improved his fanbase (success in the US changes your life).

Danny Harley is a unique triple threat of singer/songwriter/music producer. TKST is entirely of his own design and Vessel shows the world that his design = genius. 2014 was a good year for him,so lets make 2015 even better. Whoo!

Also, Arcadia (listen below) has been on repeat for the last few days and it is all his wonderful fault so listen below and join me in fangirling and finger-snapping.

Soundcloud him. Twitter him (tweet him???). Check out his website. GOOGLE HIM.

Credit for info to the TKST website, for the images to Google and the song to Soundcloud.

discover: marmozets

This is Marmozets.

They are two sets of siblings (the Macintyres and the Bottomleys) from England who formed a band in 2007 WHILE IN SCHOOL! I mean- what am I doing with my life?!

Anyway, they're really good, especially if you like Paramore. You'll love Becca's (the girl who is a sassy badass) voice if you love Hayley Williams'. Their sound is what I would call nearly-screamo-but-not-quite, leaning more toward hard rock, punk and prog. rock. Becca has a strong voice and the instrument playing is always on point. They've shared a stage with The Used (who are also really good) and other bands and they did their first headline tour in September of 2013.

They released an EP called Passive Aggressive in 2011 and one called Vexed in 2012. Their debut album was released last year and its called The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets (and weird and wonderful they are) under the label- Roadrunner Records.

My favourite songs off the album are 'Born Young and Free' which sounds like something you listen to while in class, not paying any attention to your teacher, generally just lost in your own world, 'Move, Shake, Hide' which will make you want to fist pump so badly and then there's 'Why Do You Hate Me?' (listen below) which was the song that Rolling Stone picked as the first must-listen. So listen. Because RS said so.

I won't say their sound is like nothing you've ever heard before. There are A LOT of punk bands out there, but these guys are good. I mean, Rolling Stone recognizes their awesomeness, and that should tell you something. 

So, educate yourselves! Follow them on Twitter, watch their videos on YouTube, visit their website, listen to them on Soundcloud, keep up with them on Tumblr and just be cool in general.

Download their album here on iTunes.

Marmozets everyone!

discover: nikki lorenzo

On her website, the "About Me" part tells us that Nikki Lorenzo came into the world during hurricane Andrew in Miami, Florida and that after taking one look at her, anyone could tell that she would be quite the hurricane herself.

I love that. That description tells you so much about her already, and after listening to 'Work That Charm' (below) where she sings , you'll understand the part about the hurricane. She's got that sassy, showgirl style through and through (she learned Evita by age four!

She's really good (yes, I know I write that about A LOT OF ARTISTS) and should be Twittered, Tumblered, Soundclouded and Youtubed as much as possible. Check out her website too.

Stay sassy Nikki.

discover: gerard smith

There isn't much on this Gerard Smith to be found if you Google him (you'll get a Gerard that died in 2011), but he's a treasure, he really is.

This is him. It's his Twitter profile picture so...

His song Odessa is fantastic, perfect for those that love the guitar-strumming sound that is prevalent in folk music. His voice is soft but strong, and croons in a way that gets to your stomach and gives you butterflies.

Listen to it below and if you like it, check out his Soundcloud, follow him on Twitter, do the Facebook thing, check out his YouTube channel and just show him some love in general.

discover: milo greene (not the monocle-wearing fictitious British man)

That dress is festival perfect

This is Milo Greene. 

They are a self-described cinematic-pop quintet with not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR lead singers. And a drummer. Their level of musical prowess just from knowing that alone, has to be astounding.

They are all multi-instrumentalists, except for their drummer who leaves the song-writing and major instrument playing to his band mates.

Milo Greene was the name of their fictional agent that they used to get into shows and stuff (genius). He was envisioned as a confident and charming British, monocle-wearing, three piece suit donning albino. They decided to keep the name for the group.

They have this dreamy sound that they created with movies and TV shows in mind (you know, all those songs you here during scenes of road trips or family moments montages or whatever) and they captured it perfectly. Now, whenever I watch some movies, I'm always thinking: this Milo Greene song would be perfect!

The first song of theirs I ever heard was '1957' (listen to it below) and it blew me away. Then I heard 'Autumn Tree' and then 'Don't You Give Up On Me', and that was it. I was so on the hook, the hook could barely hold me up.



The thing is, I've been a fan since before their debut album 'Milo Greene' came out, and times like that are diffcult for fans because YouTube and Soundcloud don't have enough material for you to sufficiently freak out over. Now though...there's an abundance.

Check out their short film 'Moddison' which was basically an anthology of all the music videos for songs from the 'Milo Greene' album, and also, their YouTube channel for music vids and stuff.

Control, their sophomore album, comes out today Jan. 27th 2015. Isn't that amazing?! You can order it on iTunes or on Amazon.

discover: chlöe howl

We're right there with ya Chlöe (notice the misplaced diaresis (dot-dot thingies) on the 'o' instead of the 'e' in Chlöe. Too cool!). The post title will make sense if you go check out Rumor, a song by 19 year old British musician Chlöe Howl. Or listen to it below...

Rumour is stuck on repeat (reference) for me. She is what pop could possibly be if it had a little less sugary sweetness or over-sexiness and a little more meat to it. She herself described her music as steak-and-kidney pop. Perfect, really. She started making waves at the age of 16 with her amazing music, amazing style, amazing personality in general. The lyrics of her songs are no-holds-barred, honest-to-God, representations of what teenagehood is like and the accompanying music helps you forget how depressing teenagers can really be.

Her style is something else that fascinates me about her. Her short reddish hair gives her this look that would be scary fierce if not for the freckles (which are the best part about her anyway). The way she dresses is amazing too: the hats, the boots (THE BOOTS!), the overall androgynity that leans towards the girly side. In the shoot she did for TeenVogue, the clothes she wore made me green with clothes envy- sweaters, the hats, the boots (again!). In pictures of her at concerts or on red carpets, her style has this tomboy edge to it- lots of crop tops and shorts, her shoes that are always so badass...

Just stare and fall in love.

TeenVogue

TeenVogue

SXSW

BRIT Awards

The NME Awards

The images belong to TeenVogue magazine, Google, Vanity Fair magazine,  and whoever I don't credit, I am sincerely sorry. 

Basically, Chloe is super-fierce and awesome, you should go check her out. Really.

Her debut album is due June 9th, so that's something to look forward to. Support her by checking her out on iTunes or on her website!