Today’s Indie: Running for Cover / Ivan and Alyosha
‘we’ve been trying with each other to unravel the age old story’
This is the first time Ivan and Alyosha have come on my radar since I fell for their song Easy to Love back in 2011, and its great to hear they are gearing up to release a debut LP on February 26th, All The Times We Had. Like Easy to Love, Running for Cover provides easy listening, feel good folk pop with a slow tap along beat and steady, yearning vocals. I am excited to hear the rest of what this Seattle quartet comes out with next month, in the meantime enjoy the single. indie/tory
I wrote a while back about the weight of the gift of music. Today it is the weight of the gift of an impromptu invitation to a show. Instead of catching up on Glee on the couch on Tuesday, I found myself engulfed by friends, hipsters, twelve year olds with Sharpie X’s on the backs of their hands (all age show), and some serious bass at the Bottom of the Hill. Amazing live music and Sierra Nevada was consumed, and the aches of the work week melted away.
Today’s Emo: Easy to Love / Ivan & Alyosha
‘the sky turns black / we know it will from time to time / and we’ve been through that / and we came out on top because / you’re really easy to love’
I stumbled across this song on Hypem a while back and then totally forgot about it until my friend Morganne shot out an email seeing who wanted to join her in catching an old friend of hers perform who plays drums for Ivan & Aloysha. She thought no one would be interested, and instead instantly got a replies from a really fun crew.
There is no one in the band named Ivan or Aloysha (which I thought sounded kind of Hawaiian?) but rather the name stems from lead characters in in Brothers Karamazov. I never got around to taking Russian Lit so I have little insight into why, but from what I have gathered the two have some serious talks on faith and god, and things get pretty emo.
I&A played some seriously fun upbeat stuff, but I am drawn back to what I was originally was drawn to on Hypem – the simplicity of Easy to Love. A soft but steady beat, gentle guitar and warm vocals, it’s the kind of song you picture your secretly talented friends pulling together around a campfire with whatever instruments they happen to have on hand. Perfect music for nestling into before bed. #emo
Today’s Untz: Falling in Love with Brazil (Kaskade mashup) / Haley vs. Deadmau5
‘it’s not like it’s a photograph / something to frame then hang it up on the wall’
Excuse me for trancing my face off and for my inability to miss any obvious opportunity to inject a song title into a post, but it’s hard not to fall in love with this song. All my favorite players in the untz world combine their musical prowess to make sweet sweet music, this is a chill untz favorite of last year. While Haley has a beautiful voice, it is the first few minutes of the remix that have won me over… the subtle magic Kaskade weaves into Deadmau5′ already outstanding Brazil.
This feels like the perfect track for easing into summer and all of this sun, although the beats fall in trickles like rain. Suppose it works for San Francisco summer. #untz
theuntzandtheindie 