Month: March 2015

Years & Years – 30 March 2015

Concert Series

After a long 5 months, I have finally gone to a live show and I can finally start the Concert Series back up. Ironically, the last concert talked about on the pages of this site was Sam Smith back in November. This concert was the first time I ever heard/saw/marveled at the musical wonder that is Years & Years. It was their fantastic live show that got me hooked and got me to go home and listen to them. *Full circle* This is also why it is so important to go to the shows early to see the opener, because you just never know what you’ll end up seeing.

Speaking of the opener, if anyone out there knows the name of the guy that opened for Years & Years at the Boston show, PLEASE let me know! I tried so hard but I just could not catch him name. Either way, he was a DJ. I know some of you may be thinking “um, what” and I was too, but his set actually fit in perfectly with the vibe that Years & Years has. The tunes he was putting out had a more ambient-electro feel than like house or anything (clearly I know so much about DJing.) I thought this guy was really talented because he mixed together some reeeeally cool stuff (like the opening song in The Lion King with Niggas in Paris?!) As far as DJs go, he was a good one.

Now, for the main event. Now, like I said, I’ve see these guys before so I knew a little bit about what to expect. However, that did not make them any less awesome. Their set was a pretty even mix of old material and new material from their forthcoming album (pre-order here) and let me tell you, there may not be another album out there that I am as excited for as “Communion”. Based off the few songs I heard last night, Years & Years has some very special new stuff coming for everyone to look forward to. I got a sort of 80s pop/rock infused kind of vibe that I am very excited for.

As for the actual performance aspect, wow. I mean, wow. Olly Alexander’s voice is just from another world. He can belt with the best of them, and those runs! The other thing I will never stop loving about Olly is that he has the best dance moves. Hey Olly, can you tell us where you got those moves so we can all go get them for ourselves? He’s started doing this kind of squat thing that literally gets him parallel to the ground and it’s just great. The greatest thing about this band is that they are SO excited to just be there. This is their first US tour, and it just radiates off of them how grateful they feel to be up there doing their thing. You don’t see that very often in artists anymore, so that was really refreshing.

The only criticism I have of the show: How could you not play “Breathe”?! Just a personal preference.

Thoughts? Let me know with a comment below!

I also love when people send me stuff to check out, so if you find yourself thinking “Man, this song should grace the pages of The Lucky Velvet”, let me know people!

You know what else is awesome? Taking the music of The Lucky Velvet with you everywhere you go! And you can now do that with this Spotify playlist.

If you like my music blog and you like stickers, you can get a sticker with my music blog on it. Cool, right?

A P R I L 2 0 1 5

What's Dropping This Month

April 6

The Wombats- Glitterbug

tumblr_inline_ngqoa0JPwy1qam7wi

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/glitterbug-deluxe-version/id955812139

April 7

Delta Rae- After It All

deltarae_album-e1424209533832https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/after-it-all/id967126600

Matt & Kim- New Glow

newglowhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/album/new-glow/id956394919

Priory- Need To Know

393069be-ae18-439c-b141-b8a2635fe807-1https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/need-to-know/id920153128

WATERS- What’s Real

1https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/whats-real/id960239761

April 13

Mt. Wolf- Red EP

rHhfO6V8https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/red-ep/id967295325

April 18

Violent Femmes- Happy New Year

unnamed3

(no iTunes link)

April 20

Passenger- Whispers II (all profit going to UNICEF)

whispers2-500https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/whispers-ii-deluxe-version/id976668065

Tom DeLonge- To The Stars…

screen-shot-2015-03-02-at-3-21-49-pmhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/album/to-stars…-demos-odds-ends/id979423810

April 21

Alabama Shakes- Sound & Color

screen-shot-2015-02-10-at-8-13-20-amhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sound-color/id963011510

Passion Pit- Kindred

passioncoverhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/album/kindred/id965405199

Joywave- How Do You Feel Now?

28273-how-do-you-feel-nowhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/album/how-do-you-feel-now/id965050044

Guys, please let me know if there are albums coming out that I missed!

I also love when people send me stuff to check out, so if you find yourself thinking “Man, this song should grace the pages of The Lucky Velvet”, let me know people!

You know what else is awesome? Taking the music of The Lucky Velvet with you everywhere you go! And you can now do that with this Spotify playlist.

If you like my music blog and you like stickers, you can get a sticker with my music blog on it. Cool, right?

Shadows // Hayden Sandford

If You Listen To Nothing Else Today

If you would like to hear the next Ben Howard, look no further. This guy has some serious talent, and I think it’s only a matter of time before he gets as big as Ben is. Think a perfect blend of Ben and Lewis Watson. This song is so beautiful and so chill, and it’s so simple but that’s great because it gives you a chance to really admire the vocals going on. Great stuff.

Thoughts? Let me know with a comment below!

I also love when people send me stuff to check out, so if you find yourself thinking “Man, this song should grace the pages of The Lucky Velvet”, let me know people!

You know what else is awesome? Taking the music of The Lucky Velvet with you everywhere you go! And you can now do that with this Spotify playlist.

If you like my music blog and you like stickers, you can get a sticker with my music blog on it. Cool, right?

Sweet Nothing (Calvin Harris/Florence Welch Cover) // Alex Vargas

Cover Corner

Who knew it was possible to sound just as good as Queen Florence? The original of this song is amazing, but this cover makes me feel all of the feels. His voice is so raw and passionate, and I love how he took it back down from the dance beat that is was so we can all experience the emotion. The build at the end makes my heart explode, it is so good. Fantastic cover.

Thoughts? Let me know with a comment below!

I also love when people send me stuff to check out, so if you find yourself thinking “Man, this song should grace the pages of The Lucky Velvet”, let me know people!

You know what else is awesome? Taking the music of The Lucky Velvet with you everywhere you go! And you can now do that with this Spotify playlist.

If you like my music blog and you like stickers, you can get a sticker with my music blog on it. Cool, right?

1999 // Active Child

If You Listen To Nothing Else Today

Here we go with some new stuff from Active Child. This song encapsulates the perfect vibe for a Sunday. It’s super chill with just a hint of a groove to it. And of course, top it off with some beautifully haunting vocals. What more do you need?

Thoughts? Let me know with a comment below!

I also love when people send me stuff to check out, so if you find yourself thinking “Man, this song should grace the pages of The Lucky Velvet”, let me know people!

You know what else is awesome? Taking the music of The Lucky Velvet with you everywhere you go! And you can now do that with this Spotify playlist.

If you like my music blog and you like stickers, you can get a sticker with my music blog on it. Cool, right?

What’s Real // WATERS

If You Listen To Nothing Else Today

This song reminds me of a combination of The Neighbourhood and New Politics- The Neighbourhood because the vocals are similar, and New Politics because it has a very indie pop vibe that could also become more mainstream alternative. By that I mean that I can definitely see this act getting huge in the coming months. If their upcoming slot as the opening act for Matt & Kim doesn’t do it, then their new record coming out next month should do the trick. This is the kind of stuff us alt-rock lovers enjoy jamming out to in the car in the middle of the summer (that’s just the picture I envision.) I’m definitely looking forward to the album drop.

Anyone else totally stoked for the new album? Let me know with a comment below!

I also love when people send me stuff to check out, so if you find yourself thinking “Man, this song should grace the pages of The Lucky Velvet”, let me know people!

You know what else is awesome? Taking the music of The Lucky Velvet with you everywhere you go! And you can now do that with this Spotify playlist.

If you like my music blog and you like stickers, you can get a sticker with my music blog on it. Cool, right?

Hamburg // Mt. Wolf

If You Listen To Nothing Else Today

Use this song to take you to your zen place today, because we all know how important that is on a Friday. This sounds is like a mix of Bon Iver with some James Vincent McMorrow thrown in, and then just when you think you’ve got it pegged, a little electro-beat is thrown in. It is definitely an interesting sound, and I think it brings a little something else to the table. I will be interested to see what other material these guys bring with their new EP set to release next month.

Thoughts? Let me know with a comment below!

I also love when people send me stuff to check out, so if you find yourself thinking “Man, this song should grace the pages of The Lucky Velvet”, let me know people!

You know what else is awesome? Taking the music of The Lucky Velvet with you everywhere you go! And you can now do that with this Spotify playlist.

If you like my music blog and you like stickers, you can get a sticker with my music blog on it. Cool, right?

Chaos And The Calm // James Bay

Weekly Obsession

This album has been long awaited by pretty much anyone who has ever heard the beautiful voice that is James Bay. And his first full length album finally dropped this week! Needless to say, it did not disappoint. It did whatever the opposite of disappointing is. This album is so good, I have listened to it probably 10 times on repeat, and I am about to start on listen #11. As per usual, I will not be highlighting the most well known songs (a.k.a. singles) or any songs I have talked about previously in this space. And since I just did one of James’ EPs a couple of weeks ago, that takes out about 5 songs, but this new album is just so good we still have plenty of fantastic songs to highlight. So, here we are with another weekly obsession.

Craving- If you want to hear the opening track, which I think really sets the tone for the rest of the album.

Best Fake Smile- If you want to hear the best song on the album in my opinion. Great beat, great lyrics.

Collide- If you want something that has a little more edge to it. If anyone knows Alexander DeLeon of The Cab, I am strongly reminded of his voice here.

Get Out While You Can- If you want a song to sing along to.

Need The Sun To Break- If you want a more chill/love song.

Fantastic album.

I also love when people send me stuff to check out, so if you find yourself thinking “Man, this song should grace the pages of The Lucky Velvet”, let me know people!

You know what else is awesome? Taking the music of The Lucky Velvet with you everywhere you go! And you can now do that with this Spotify playlist.

If you like my music blog and you like stickers, you can get a sticker with my music blog on it. Cool, right?

Tell Me // Atlas Bound

If You Listen To Nothing Else Today

This song, is just, so SMOOTH. It has this vibe that just gets you going, but it still keeps it cool. This song reminds me so much of Chet Faker and Oh Wonder combined. Every part of it fits so well together from the wonderfully chill and sultry vocals to keys breakdown in the middle to the lyrics that loads of people can relate to. Great track. And hey, new track means maybe some more new material will be headed our way soon! Cross your fingers.

Who else is totally obsessed with this song? Let me know with a comment below!

I also love when people send me stuff to check out, so if you find yourself thinking “Man, this song should grace the pages of The Lucky Velvet”, let me know people!

You know what else is awesome? Taking the music of The Lucky Velvet with you everywhere you go! And you can now do that with this Spotify playlist.

If you like my music blog and you like stickers, you can get a sticker with my music blog on it. Cool, right?

Retrograde // James Blake

If You Listen To Nothing Else Today

This song is very much not a “you heard it here first” kind of thing because this song and this artist are pretty well-known in the world of indie music, but this is a really great song and it has a lot of aspects in it that I really enjoy. First of all, a smooth and sultry voice that spreads like butter. It’s synthy, but not overwhelmingly so. And the percussion line is so basic but is one of the most important parts of the song in my opinion. It’s just very good.

Thoughts? Let me know with a comment below!

I also love when people send me stuff to check out, so if you find yourself thinking “Man, this song should grace the pages of The Lucky Velvet”, let me know people!

You know what else is awesome? Taking the music of The Lucky Velvet with you everywhere you go! And you can now do that with this Spotify playlist.

If you like my music blog and you like stickers, you can get a sticker with my music blog on it. Cool, right?