Songs That Should Have Been Hits (Part 1)

Not gonna blurb with these per time of course, but I personally both love all these songs, but also feel it's an incredible shame they never found a wider audience or became "Hits"..I suppose "Bug Eyes" and "Trains" and even "New Mistake" were MINOR hits, but not nearly enough people got to hear them when they should have.

I'll try and do another one or 2 of these hopefully, and actually it seems like a good forum topic to create. Maybe based on responses, some of those I might add.

























Kaddisfly - Empire from Jeremy E. Jackson on Vimeo.


OURS "Worst Things Beautiful" from jonathan becker on Vimeo.

September-November 2016 Album Anticipation (Video)

I didn't make a video speculation, etc..possibly in the next few days/weeks or after the wedding.

Of course Blackfield V will be on next year's list.

2: Nousound - Scintilla

9:
The Dear Hunter - Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional
Local Natives - Sunlit Youth
Oddland - Origin

23: 
Emanuel and the Fear - Primitive Smile
Warpaint - Heads Up
Kansas - The Prelude Implicit
Marillion - FEAR

30:
Opeth - Sorceress

October
7: Archive - The False Foundation

November
18: Blackfield - Blackfield V

Emanuel & the Fear - Primitive Smile (2015-2016)

5/6/16 6:35AM

2nd single "I Believe" is nice, kind of a ballad of sorts.


3/12/16 1:17AM
popmatters.com Article by Jordan Blum: which includes stream of "Meredith"




Fortunately, both expectations are met on “Meredith”, the first single from their upcoming third studio album, Primitive Smile. 



So this was just posted yesterday. The new single "Meredith" is there to stream of course per Soundcloud. As the article mentions, it does differ from their past work in some ways, with a bit of an electronic element.

I guess my feeling about these guys is, in 2010 they made a reasonable splash with Listen, which I found has 3 outstanding songs on it ("Jimme's Song" especially should have been everywhere, but wasn't really unfortunately). And then they released The Janus Mirror a couple of years later, which felt more cohesive, but didn't have the standout tracks that Listen did.

But it's been now 4 years since that record, so I'm wondering/hoping something cool will come with this new album from them. Although it's odd how ever since getting into them from my friend Sarah who made a comparison to Apes and Androids, I've been hoping for them to make a breakthrough or statement record. Listen showed a lot of promise, but I have kind of forgot about them the last few years for various reasons.

But that may be a good thing overall, as I find sometimes when bands have gaps and take more time to create a new record, the thought and work put in pays off. So I'm kind of hoping that could happen here. I guess we'll see.

When it comes out? unclear right now, but given that article and the 1st single is out, I would imagine sometime in the next few months perhaps.

Nicholas Krgovich - On Sunset (2013-2014)

I kind of dove blindly into this album within the last 24 hours, but I'm enjoying a lot about this. The track below "Along the PCH on Oscar Night" I heard on Radio K yesterday while at work and it forced me to write it down and look more into this guy's music.

I suppose part of why I found this appealing is some of the vibe and song structures remind me of stuff like Apes and Androids, Emanuel and the Fear, or maybe closer to say NewVillager and some others (Antony and the Johnsons, TV on the Radio) with a lot of orchestral layering with pop melodies, lush vocal harmonies.

While the jury is still probably ultimately out for this guy and his music, I can at least say there seems to be a lot of thought put into this album and his music. It seems more about the Art rather than the entertainment approach. A lot of smooth, slick sounding basslines and rhythms.

edit: wow, the outro to "At Pershing Sq." is very moody and cool!





1. On Sunset 00:17
2. The Backlot 03:58
3. Along the PCH on Oscar Night 04:24
4. Cosmic Vision 04:44
5. Let's Take the Car Out 04:16
6. City of Night 03:23
7. Rock's Dream 04:11
8. You're Through 04:41
9. The Mansion 03:44
10. At Pershing Sq. 04:41
11. Moon's Soft Glow 05:08

The Orion Experience - NYC Girl

This band was recommended to me by a friend of mine on twitter/facebook/lastfm named Sara. She is responsible for some other gem suggestions like Timmy Sean and Emanuel & the Fear among others.



Well, this song "NYC Girl" is catchy as all fuck. Unfortunately it's a couple of years old, coming off an an EP from 2011. And now this band The Orion Experience seem to be doing some different things in the vein of Rocky Horror Picture Show as more of a theatrical/live performance art almost, sort of focus.Although even with the teaser and website below, and a little turnover in membership? I don't know enough about them to know exactly if they are just doing this live spectacle, or still looking to record stuff like the music on the site and trailer, or NYC Girl and the other tracks on that EP.

They are from NYC anyway, which I don't think it's much of a coincidence, so many of these electro/artsy/dramatic/theatrical groups seem to be based there. And they also formed around the time many of the others I know did in 2005. Their 1st LP Cosmic Candy is quite different though, more straight Power-Pop; kind of similar to groups like The Apples in Stereo, The New Pornographers or even Fountains of Wayne, all of which do not come from NYC ironically.

None the less, I do like this band and will try and keep tabs on them. I just wonder if their future for recording music may not be as important as this "off-broadway" show of theirs which unless it tours nationally, I doubt I'd ever be able to see.

http://theorionexperience.com/

Mother Falcon - You Knew (2013) INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN

5/9/13 1:55PM

 New video for the tune "Dirty Summer." The album "You Knew" by the way, was officially released yesterday to iTunes and what not. I of course have only been able to listen to some of it sparingly with my new job starting this week. I actually may be facing listening to very little music this whole year depending on how much my job prevents my music listening. O well, priorities as many believe. I do like a lot of what I have heard of this record. Style-wise, they seem to be continuing much of the Alhambra elements, with maybe more emphasis on variety. I am reminded of bands like Emanuel & the Fear and Revere off an on.



4/22/13 6:33PM
8 Hours Left!

4/15/13 4:46PM

STREAM THE WHOLE THING (or individual tracks) HERE PER NPR

It's worth repeating, their INDIEGOGO campaign is still ongoing, and they are still looking to succeed in their goal with 7 days left (a little over $22K to reach the $40K goal. Not impossible, but a big RALLY seems like it will have to happen soon).

A super-sized chamber-rock collective from Austin, Texas, Mother Falcon constructs sweepingly
 majestic rock out of a nine-piece string section, multiple horns, a bassoon, a glockenspiel
 and a diverse assortment of voices that sing and shout to the rafters. The band makes
 the most of those many moving parts — its songs shimmer and boom with
 infectious joy — but Mother Falcon doesn't skimp on the songwriting, either. Listen to
 "Marigold" or the brightly galloping "Dirty Summer," from the band's forthcoming album
 You Knew, and you'll hear a group that can juggle more than a dozen discrete components
 while still crafting impeccable, surprisingly airy three-minute pop songs.

Formed as a free-wheeling, 15- to 20-piece side project for a group of orchestra students, Mother Falcon
 maintains an educational mission, as well; its members help operate a summer camp for young classical
 musicians. But on its two full-length albums, You Knew (out May 7) and 2011's Alhambra,
 Mother Falcon's classical chops fuel a sound that soars with the grandiosity of Arcade Fire
 at its most anthemic. There's nothing staid or stodgy about Mother Falcon, 
whose albums capture the hugeness of a band that can't fit on many of the stages it plays.

Self-released and funded via crowd-sourcing, You Knew maneuvers its way through notable shifts in tone, 
often within moments; it doesn't take more than a few seconds for the band to shift gears between
 the booming acceleration of "Marigold" and the plaintive brooding of "Porcelain."
 Diverse and inventive, You Knew positively spills over with ideas and enthusiasm — the hallmark
 of a left-field treasure to discover and cherish.

4/8/13 11:50AM-4/9/13 2:00PM
Here's the cover Art for You Knew, which is a bit odd. But they have 15 days left to succeed with their Indiegogo.com Campaign, which it appears they need almost $26,000 still (of a $40,000 goal).

Hopefully more people will get word and check out what they are doing with this upcoming album in the next couple of weeks.

Track List added below:.

Release Date May 7th noted on Facebook here

LINK AGAIN 

1. Pink Stallion
2. Marigold
3. Porcelain
4. Sleep
5. My Majesty of Madness
6. Dirty Summer
7. Blue and Gold
8. Marfa
9. When It Was Good
10. What’s the Matter?
11. I Dream of Water


3/27/13 6:00AM

I got into this band last year with their debut album Alhambra, from 2011 (my little review from last year). Nice, big ensemble chamber pop/rock group somewhat in the vein of groups like Anathallo, Jared Micah, Sufjan Stevens, The Dear Hunter and others.

Their goal is $40,000 and they are at $11,369 with 27 days to go.

The title "You Knew" and projected release (May) of this were mentioned along with an mp3 download of the upcoming 7-inch single "Dirty Summer."

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mother-falcon-s-new-album/x/2421326


Mother Falcon IndieGoGo Video from MFAccount on Vimeo.

We're Mother Falcon, a band from Austin, Texas, and we're nearing completion of our second album. 

It doesn't have a title yet, but it does have a long list of new songs that we've been crafting since we recorded Alhambra in 2011.

Mother Falcon has a lot of members. We have a lot of instruments too, and musical ideas and touring plans and dreams of teaching young musicians and scoring films and writing better and better songs. 

What we don't have, at this point, is a label. We don't have someone to pay for the recording, mixing, mastering and duplication of our music. We don't have an army, or even a platoon, of publicists, booking agents, and interns alerting the world every time we release a record and sending us out on the road, setting up radio performances, contacting bloggers, and sending out promotional materials. 

What we do have is you. 

So we're humbly asking if you'll help us be our own label, so that we can do all the things necessary to produce an album that reaches a large audience.

With your help, we'll fund the mixing, mastering, and duplication of our second record, which we aim to release in May. Then, we'll take it to New York in June and Los Angeles in August and play as many darn shows as we can. 

And we'll make it worth your while. As you'll see below, you can get recordings, t-shirts, songwriting coaching, private performances, and all manner of other exciting gifts for helping us out. 

Thanks for all of your support,

Mother Falcon

Emanuel & the Fear - All We All [Official Music Video]

A young mother-to-be finds her city being overrun by technocrats and seeks escape.

Not a bad video, which is almost like a short film. It seems to be getting at the idea of technology and the mass population of being in the city is the worst thing for this woman to bring to her about-to-be born child. And even just giving birth in that environment.

So, she by some miracle, escapes to a body of water and ends up on an island which in a more natural, simpler circumstance to have her baby. It sort of reminds me of The Blue Lagoon or Lost (or even Gilligan's Island) in a way.

Emanuel & the Fear - The Janus Mirror (2012)

7/30/12 9:58AM

The whole thing can be streamed now, and there's a preorder there which includes a direct download. Damn, I wasn't expecting it until September. Very cool and pleasant surprise to get on this Monday morning.

The only drawback at the moment, I'm at work, thus I won't be able to check it out until this afternoon.




7/14/12 5:40PM

Another stellar track from the album "Samuel." Wow, this record is starting to raise the bar a bit. It may be my most anticipated new album now (perhaps until if/when The River Empires next record comes)




7/2/12 4:48PM

another excellent track.

Via our lovely label in Germany, here is ANOTHER song from the album, this is the first track on the new record



6/25/12 2:00AM

cover:






5/2/12 6:34PM




In light of the wonderful show we have tonight with Leverage Models, we figured we'd post the first teaser of what our new LP is going to sound like. Hope to see you all tonight at Emanuel and the Fear/Leverage Models @ Mercury Lounge

Not a ton to add of course at this point, as I haven't even heard whatever audio is on that short clip yet. But these guys have written some tremendous songs, so naturally there is a good amount of optimism about this. Listen had many of those great tracks, although at the same time, the whole album I never found myself attached to. 2011's EP Hands I can say more or less the same about.

Still, such great potential, especially just checking out the video I passed along in a previous entry a few weeks ago; this new song "Wooble" is just awesome.

More to add in due time of course.

Emanuel and the Fear "Wooble" and Interview

"Wooble" is a new track, which I'd presume will be on their upcoming record. Wow, it sure does smoke!

In that interview Emanuel Ayvas, mentions that much of the new record will be "heavy" which like this new song, I think should be a good thing.

The last thing I read, they are mixing? their new record and expect it to be released sometime in the late Summer or Fall (or that may just be MY guess, I forget, I just recall that timeframe in reading some recent updates on Facebook).

Emanuel and the Fear - Hands EP (2011) (1.0)

5/17/11 10:21PM, 5/25/11 6:57PM

http://emanuelandthefear.bandcamp.com/

the whole thing is there to Stream for free, or download for $6 (and $2 to buy a hardcopy? since I was charged that and they took my address down).

The last song "Song For the Rain" sounds more or less a tribute or directly influenced by Billy Joel's "Piano Man."



1. Over and Over 05:19
2. Vampires 03:51
3. Purple Sunless Sky 03:51
4. Meadowlands 05:27
5. Song For The Rain 05:55

Good collection of songs. I need to hear them with headphones. But initially I would expect this to place high amongst 2011 EPs certainly, and possibly in the ole 2011 Index.

4/14/11 1:45PM

new song "Vampires"

Vampires by Emanuel and the Fear


3/14/11 7:01PM

some instrumental samples from it.



2/23/11 11:33AM


Facebook post

Today we are tracking the horns and tomorrow the strings/flute for the new EP "Hands". Mixing begins next week. All of this being done with the help of Mr Brendan Tobin (Made Out Of Babies/Red Sparrows).

Well, I'm rather curious about this. This band have seemingly a TON of potential, and Listen from last year has some of the best songs from 2010 on it. Who knows, their could be 4 or 5 tracks as good as "Jimme's Song" on it for all I know.

Along with the new Between the Buried and Me and Meniscus releases, this could be one-of if not my favorite, non-full-length release for 2011.

Emanuel and the Fear - "Jimme's Song (Full Band Version)" (live AUDIO)

the flute arrangement at the end is pretty much ace. Damn, I could go for seeing these guys, but that's obvious.

Emanuel & the Fear - TBA (2011) (1.0)

haha. New ep is coming next Spring :)



So, I wonder if their next full-length will come later in 2011, or 2012? I guess 1 thing at-a-time. I can claim to finally have seen a hardcopy of Listen at The Electric Fetus a few weeks back, which is impressive in itself given how many albums like it never find the shelf there or even at Cheapo (I recall finally after 4 years seeing a used copy of a Bend Sinister cd there this Summer).

Emanuel and the Fear - Listen (2010.) [2.0]

Track Listing
1. The Introduction 2:12
2. Guatemala 3:38
3. Ariel And The River 5:25
4. Jimme's Song (Full Band Version) 5:24
5. Duckies 0:16
6. Free Life 3:52
7. Dear Friend 4:18
8. Yo, Jåmin 0:31
9. Trucker Lovesong 5:40
10. Baclony 6:44
11. Whatever You Do 4:08
12. Bridges And Ladies 0:16
13. The Raiman 5:13
14. Same Way 3:33
15. Simple Eyes 4:03
16. Song For A Girl 3:34
17. The Finale 5:47
18. Look Ma, The Walls Are Moving! 0:23
19. Razzmatazz 3:49

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I've now gone through this record at least 4 full times and my thoughts about it are this.

It's best songs are really awesome.The opening 4 tracks/suite "The Introduction/Guatemala/Ariel and the River/Jimme's Song" work exceptionally well. The chamber element in Guatemala is great. The interplay that includes a flute solo almost does remind me of Jethro Tull. "Jimme's Song" is the album's biggest highlight for me. The gradual build of the theme between instruments and especially the vocal chorus never leaves my head.

"I don't want to do nothing but be in a rock band. I don't wanna get a job, I don't wanna be a man."

The way the fat synths come in there and begin repeating is unforgettable. The "indietronica" part if you will. Apes and Androids could have written that part.

As the rest of this album continues, there are some short sound-bytes or movements along with some more thematic tracks. "Dear Friend" certainly stands out, even if it does sound lifted from some musical on Broadway.

"I see all the people passing by..and I smile to myself, in the most peculiar wayyy ...walking along singing a tune for all the people passing by..I was smiling in the most peculiar way, feeling happy. something I'd never thought I'd say."

The arrangement is very show-tuney, but it's rather catchy no matter. And I enjoy the horn and other chamber parts of it.

From the 10th track "Balcony" to the 15th track "Simple Eyes" I'm luke warm about. "Song For a Girl" I am enjoying more now, due to not having issue with the female singer or the dialog vocals. The outro especially really works and leads well into "The Finale" which is probably the most overt prog rock or just *technical* this record becomes. Intricate phrasing. Some chromatic work on it, almost sounds like Elton John's "Funeral For a Friend" or even a classical influence (Beethoven?). It's a rather grandiose and bombastic way to come down the stretch, but it never comes across as pretentious to me.

The last 2 tracks "Look Ma, The Walls Are Moving" and especially "Razzmatazz" are remotely interesting for the story I guess, but the truth is, I'm not sure how many times I'm going to want to hear the dark comedic attempt. "It's a beehive!!!"
That I guess along with a few other moments prevent this album from being really great, maybe partially I find it lacks some cohesiveness that could help it all the way through..

But for a debut album, this is still pretty impressive and actually somewhat original approach to a Rock Opera. I'm not sure there's a band who sounds exactly like these guys. You could compare them to Apes and Androids or someone like Arcade Fire in their wall of sound. The Dear Hunter or Gavin Castleton's "Home" also might be somewhat reasonable comparisons, but there's still a lot of differences to their writing approach.

I just hope they can continue on forward here, because based on a lot of the songwriting and musicianship, they have a lot of talent and could make a lot more music, probably even better than this.

85/100

I need to also include something here. They posted these outrageously funny promotional videos on youtube for their debut ep last year.

Preview/Overview: Emanuel and the Fear - Listen (2010)

okay, given I've been on vacation for the past week, and will still be until Monday May 17th, some of the music I might want to thoroughly or at least more accurately talk about in here and/or review, well I'd rather wait.

But, at least it's worth bringing some of this stuff up.

Emanuel and the Fear is a new band who a friend of mine on last.fm suggested a few weeks ago. This friend also really enjoys Apes and Androids like I do. And I guess the best thing to do is copy/paste how they described them.

Hey, have you checked out Emanuel and The Fear yet? They're a rock orchestra from NY. Very cool and kind of prog-rock and remind me a lot of Apes and Androids, a little bit sound wise, but also with how they're kind of taking an existing genre and making it their own.

so that description sounds totally up my alley. I listened to their debut album "Listen" once and liked some of it, but wasn't entirely sold due to it being a "Rock Opera." But in playing it once more, and finally with headphones, I liked it more.

I've posted on some of the forums, I think among the new albums I have heard in 2010, the best thing clearly is The River Empires 88-minute epic debut record. And the 2nd best is the Lehto & Wright album "Children's Songs." And among my top 10-15, Foals and I would possibly include Dead Letter Circus as pleasant surprises that belong pretty high up.

But this record from Emanuel and the Fear, may potentially get addictive and thus may be the 1st real challenge to The River Empires in the race right now.

I've thought to myself, what may end up happening in 2010, may be similar to 2008 with TRE album may end up being like Apes and Androids, and Emanuel and the Fear being like The Stiletto Formal or Burst. A damn good record, that in another year would finish on top, but the same year something even better and landmark comes out.

But I bought a copy of "Listen" already for under $2 on Amazon.



1. The Introduction 2:12
2. Guatemala 3:38
3. Ariel And The River 5:25
4. Jimme's Song (Full Band Version) 5:24
5. Duckies 0:16
6. Free Life 3:52
7. Dear Friend 4:18
8. Yo, Jåmin 0:31
9. Trucker Lovesong 5:40
10. Baclony 6:44
11. Whatever You Do 4:08
12. Bridges And Ladies 0:16
13. The Raiman 5:13
14. Same Way 3:33
15. Simple Eyes 4:03
16. Song For A Girl 3:34
17. The Finale 5:47
18. Look Ma, The Walls Are Moving! 0:23
19. Razzmatazz 3:49

emanuelandthefear.com
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hopefully a true review and feeling on how good this album is will come soon, along with a 1st half of 2010 index report of some kind.