Oh, hello world. The new blog.

As promised, Here's the link to my new personal blog. I'm excited about it and really hope I'm able to keep it exciting and up and running.

If you're really only here for the music, go and listen to A Weather. I would give you a juicy review... but I only found them 5 minutes ago. So far so good.

Have a nice day:)

I know you want to be different, but you should probably move past that.

I'm sorry the blog's been dead lately, but I've been working hard on my new blog baby- a more personal space about traveling and other pretty things. I've loved writing the Sound Between, and I'll still keep the blog open, but blogs just aren't the main pipeline for the music world, so I've decided to rather focus on other things for now.

I'll post the link for the new blog here when it's done, so keep checking in please!

For now though, I'd like you to meet an awesome guy called Jacob Ulickij and his one-man band New Orleans Swim Team. 

I'm not very familiar with talk-music, but this feels like good stuff to me.
His honest lyrics are like raw, unvarnished wood, but captivating in the way whispers are in loud rooms. Expect intricate metaphors and a voice that is clearly laced with strong emotion.
We're talking here about a 18 year-old Canadian who nicked instruments from his school to record in his basement... don't you just love the underdog?

Jacob's sound direction was new to me, so it felt very experimental and fresh. Download the full album with lyrics for free on bandcamp and give it a decent chance. I hope it grows on you to.

Try.... You Were A Ground Level Limb

Listen to New Orleans Swim Team... for something to think about.

"I'm not as much a builder

as I am a man with gasoline

and a fire's flicker in my eyes,

set on you it would seem"

-What We're Not

We dance and grow on through our darkest days

There are so many great South African bands on the scene lately it's hard to line them all up and pick out the best like this is fourth grade gym class. So, instead I offer you just a random little smorgasbord (fancy word alert) of nice local tunes.
Enjoy and then go find more!

Checked Zebra - Koudinikaap
Here's a funky Cape Town band, which already makes them cool, of course. (I'm only half kidding;)
This song is just unbelievably catchy and will make you a little happier. And really, when last did you hear a song with the word 'shu-wap'?

Jakkals- Woah, Nelly!
In the same vein, here's another animal-named Cape Town act that's just as upbeat as those patterned zebras.What I really like about these guys that you know straight away you'd have a ball at their gigs. There's this South African energy in bands like this that make listening to them live just so much fun, and the Jakkals seem to fit the bill.

Die Tuin Dwergies- Kopskudkinders
I'm not even remotely Afrikaans, but there's something smooth and and vibey about this song that I quite like. Plus their name is awesome and they're from my hometown, Pretoria. Win!

I could go on and on, but that's enough for now. I leave you with this pretty little vid by Fulka, that makes me want a banjo even more.


image by Dylan

can I be close to you?

I was going to make this a part of longer post on music videos, but now it's a gorgeous, sunny Friday morning and this song just fits. *happiness*

I like how the Paper Kites have layered this songs, without it loosing any of it's quiet smoothness. The whistling with the different acoustic instruments makes it just a little quirky while being quite melodious and sweet.

The lyrics are a like a love poem- the good, sincere kind, no roses are red cheesiness. I really appreciate love songs like this, that you can hear are a reflection of something deep and special, that just happened to escape into the outer world. True love songs are not written to be heard by the others, and that's what makes them so great.

Hoping you're having a great Friday.

Oh, the whole world is sleeping, 

But my world is you. 

Can I be close to you?

So we are moving to a lighthouse, you and I

On a rainy day, of which we've been having many lately, I love listening to a medley of Joshes.
Like Jon or James, Josh is one of those names that belong to a slew of good musicians. (Come to think of it, naming your son anything with a J seems to be a great idea.)
So, if you have a friend with this musically mystical name, give him a banjo and see what happens... alternatively, listen to my pick of Josh songs.

My favourite Josh for a rainy day is one Josh Ritter, who is one of those artists that manage to say something deep and emotional without losing your interest or scaring you. I love it how he can spend a whole song talking seemingly nonsense and in the last two lines change everything. Listen to my favourite, Girl In The War, and Rainslicker.

Most of my friends would be able to tell you that my ultimate morning-music artist is Joshua Radin. This guy and all his music has meant to me really does deserve a whole post, but for now, have a peek at No Envy, No Fear and his The Smith's cover Girlfriend In A Coma.

I've mentioned Josh Pyke in a previous post, but he really shouldn't be missing from this list. Have a listen to the Lighthouse Song, for some more of his relaxed Australian tunes. Also, lighthouses are the shiz. And how can you not like someone who goes cruising around in a guitar-shaped boat?

Some of Josh Kelley's stuff is a little to rom-com cliched for me, but songs like Bound To Keep Moving has a rustically romantic feel to it that's a little Country, but feels just right sometimes. He's the hubby of actress Katherine Heigel, in case you care.

Josh Rouse is on my list of Joshes just because he has a song called Hello Porcupine and I think that's awesome. Jokes, he is pretty good and a nice rainy day artist.

That was quite a full post, but I'm sure you can handle it. Now all you need is a snuggly bed and some rainy-ness outside. Enjoy!

I got a girl in the war,

her eyes are like champagne.

They sparkle, bubble over 

and in the morning all you got is rain 

image thanks to onigiri-kun here

You're so gorgeous and you don't even know it.

When I moved to university in a crazy little town, I thought it might be the end of my music-filled glory days.  Thankfully though, Grahamstown proved me wrong with it's little collection of local bands, one of which just launched their debut album and thus deserves a post.

Life of Riley played at one of the first gigs I went to here and they've had me singing along to their whimsical love tunes ever since. They mix emotional and carefree songs and show love the way it makes sense in the mind of a crazy, confused student. Terri-Lee Adendorff gives the folk-pop duo a touch of Florence Welch and is responsible for their feisty stage presence.

The debut album, The Golden Age of Us, has all their clap-along favourites one expects from their gigs and can now finally listen to whenever you want. But the real gem is the track Your Brand New Summer Dress, which is far more acoustic than the rest and is the only one sung by Nick Mulgrew.
It's very reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens, both in sound and thoughtful lyrics, and is plainly just a great song. 

Try... Green Eyes, which I've dubbed 'the clap song' and anything else you can get. (Unfortunately, being local, they don't have a fantastic online presence).

Listen to the Life of Riley... because Grahamstown does in fact have a music scene.

You and your brand new summer dress

you wear it well, you wear it best. 

it fits you close and tight on your hips

and fits your curves better than I ever did.

This is a ride, not a fight.

I'm all for moving forward, but there are times when you kind of get stuck on something. Stuck on a person, a place... a craving for cupcakes.

I seem to be getting stuck a lot lately, and it's only fitting that I've also been stuck on some good music at the same time.The Weepies were suggested to me recently in one of those wonderful spontaneous conversations with a stranger about music. At first it just sounded like some easy listening to me, but the beautifully woven lyrics behind the mellow tunes soon had my full attention.

These are weathered story-tellers that have made their peace with the reality of pain and loss, and turned it into something precious. They've surprised me time again by describing something I've felt with images I've never thought of. They take what life is and turn it into what it feels like. At the same time though, they stay rather chilled, without making you cry yourself to sleep Damien Rice style.

Try... any of it, pretty much. I had Old Coyote and World Spins Madly On on repeat for half a week, but How You Survived the War and Hideaway are decent too.


Listen to the Weepies...for when you're missing the right words.

This is not the official music video, but it's beyond beautiful. Watch till the end! 

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

Ring around rosie game 

always ends the same way

we all fall down.

Get up now, baby, it's your song playing.

-Old Coyote

A new bee in my bonnet

We all know the feeling of real, deep rock. It's not even in your ears, it's in the gut. It seeps from the speakers into the floor and creeps up you until you're headbanging with your eyes closed, forgetting anything else exists.

It's this raw, wrenching feeling that will grip you with every beat of She Keeps Bees. The duo remind me of a time when rock had dirty long hair. They keep it simple with just drums and guitar, but paired with the potency of Jessica Larrabee's voice, it's really all they need. It's a pure outpouring of feeling wrapped in simple, strong rock. In short, it works.

Try... Release and Gimmie to see what I'm talking about. Also, check out the great clip of them at the bottom of this post.

Listen to She Keeps Bees... with big speakers.

My bones are tired, my dress is weathered

I've got no place or home to cling to 

So give me water, give me light,

Give me the strength I can remember.

-My Bones Are Tired

no fear.

I've been getting the travel heebie jeebies lately from being in the city too long, so I'll be escaping to the bush till Friday.

Listen to this while I'm gone. Just because you can.

Listen to the post

I've recently been listening to some bands that I hadn't given much attention to in a while and The Postal Service charmed me once again.

cc thanks to Sarah G

They start off with little catchy electronic intros that could be signaling your next favourite electro head-bopper, but then twist into their own special direction with a casual and cool voice that sounds all too familiar. If you have any Death Cab for Cutie in your playlist (which, honestly, you really should), you'll know I'm talking about the somehow endearing Ben Gibbard. He teems up here with producer Jimmy Tamborella (of Dntel) in a combination that meshes just right. The fact that the two look eerily similar doesn't hurt either.


They only brought out one full album, and it doesn't look like we'll be getting much more, but the project worked well and caused quite the ripple effect. Their singles even feature covers of their songs by greats like Iron & Wine and the Shins, which I thought was quite snazzy.

Try... Such Great Heights of which I was not the only big fan,as a quick wiki search will tell you. Also, Be Still My Heart is a good example of how

well the two's styles mix.                                      

Listen to The Postal Service... to discover that electro and pop can work well together

I am thinking it's a sign that the freckles
In our eyes are mirror images and when
We kiss they're perfectly aligned

-Such Great Heights

Florence and one funky machine

Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine is one feisty female that puts that extra bit of energy into every song. She swings from one high to the next, surrounded by a good dose of foot stomping and hand clapping to add the extra kick to her sometimes dark, but pensive lyrics.

cc thanks to Kon Males

Florence has got a voice that should fill concert halls, but it's worth squeezing her into your headphones anyway. I'd describe her like a dark red lipstick- daring and sexy, with just a touch of morbid.


Try... the popular Kiss With A Fist, if you've never heard it. I quite like the flow of Dog Days Are Over myself, also from her debut Lungs (a consistent and strong effort, I'd say.) 

Listen to... Florence + the Machine if you can handle a strong voice and a little violence in your love songs.   'Falling's not the problem, when I'm falling I'm at peace.
It's only when I hit the ground it causes all the grief'-Falling

Falling in love with a Pigg

With the the honey-smooth voice of Landon Pigg, it's hard not to slip into daydreaming. He's got an array of easy-listening love songs that wink at you with their belief in love at first sight and big romantic gestures. The quality of his voice really carries the songs, while the lyrics would fit perfectly into any rom-com soundtrack.

cc thanks to Lucy Hakalo

Listen to Landon Pigg... to get a dreamy smile on your face. 

Try... his dreamy hit Falling in Love at the Coffee Shop (and its

 sweet music video).

There's a difference between living

and living in your head.
Don't let life pass you by.

-On The Other Side 

P.S. Please comment and let me know what you think about the redesign of the blog and my attempt at making the posts shorter and sweeter.