Just Rolled In: SALES - "Chinese New Year" [indie pop / electronic / lo-fi]

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Since we last checked in with Orlando, Florida's endearing indie pop duo SALES about eight months ago, they have released a handful of catchy tracks on their SoundCloud and expanded their fan base considerably. On their fifth single "Chinese New Year", SALES continue their minimal sound but kick the tempo up a few notches, resulting in a tender indie pop song that recalls the clarity and candor of The Drums while preserving their originality thanks to Lauren Morgan's indelibly sweet voice and Jordan Shih's less-is-more approach to electronic production.

Stream "Chinese New Year" below along with four other beautiful SALES tracks.

Swell Album: Yellow Ostrich - Cosmos [indie rock]

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Before moving to New York and subsequently signing to Seattle's Barsuk Records, Yellow Ostrich's singer/guitarist Alex Schaaf lived in Wisconsin. He was the frontman of indie rock band The Chairs for a couple years then went solo as Yellow Ostrich in 2009, recording heartfelt numbers on his 4-track that caught my attention for the raw emotion and experimental layering and sampling of his youthful voice (check out 2010's interesting Fade Cave EP for 6 songs he recorded using nothing but his voice and a drum machine). When Schaaf moved to Brooklyn he had already released a total of five EPs and two full-lengths.

Yellow Ostrich's third full-length The Mistress (and fifth release of 2010!) marked the first Y.O. recording that Schaaf made with another human being, current drummer Michael Tapper. After giving The Mistress a proper release in 2011, Barsuk went on to release the following year's excellent full-length Strange Land and the R&B-influenced Ghost EP. Since joining the Barsuk roster, the band has experienced a few personnel changes but currently stands at four members. With their current lineup, Yellow Ostrich brings us their fifth album Cosmos, which was inspired by astronomer Carl Sagan's documentary series of the same name.

As the title of the album suggests, Yellow Ostrich's sound has expanded skyward since Schaaf's solo days by taking on a fuller, at times frantic, rock sound and by inviting celestial synths and electronic effects into the mix to allow for more intricate, atmospheric melodies, recalling Local Natives or Radiohead ("Neon Fists", particularly). Notwithstanding these changes, Yellow Ostrich still is and will always be led by Schaaf's sincere, tender voice, which quavers along gently with the melodies of softer songs like "My Moons", "You Are The Stars", and "Don't Be Afraid", but explodes like a supernova through the heavier walls of sound on tracks like "Shades", "Any Wonder", and "How Do You Do It?". Somehow, Cosmos manages to be Yellow Ostrich's loudest and smoothest record at the same time, thanks to the band's cohesive instrumentation and songwriting and the excellent production of Beau Sorenson (Death Cab for Cutie, Superchunk, Sparklehorse) and Paul Kolderie (Pixies, Radiohead, Dinosaur, Jr.).

Listen to the full album stream below and purchase your own copy here. Also, enjoy my favorite tracks from Yellow Ostrich's three previous records.

Artist Making Waves: Vensaire [pysch pop / indie folk / experimental]

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Among all of the great bands and musicians that blossom out of Brooklyn and those that make the pilgrimage to "the center of the world" to join the scene, one band in particular stands out in this creative crowd—Vensaire. This colorful quintet, comprised of frontman Alex Laliberte, guitarist Robert Earl Thomas (one half of Widowspeak, which released holaOLA's No. 41 album of 2013), clasically-trained violinist Renata Zeiguer, bassist Hunter Hawes, and percussionist Alex Jacobs, draws from traditional Asian music, Western folk rock, and digital sampling to produce beautiful psychedelic folk compositions that sound like something that an Animal Collective/Grizzly Bear/Prince Rama collaboration would birth.

Vensaire already has a self-titled EP under their belt, for which each member wrote his/her own song for the rest of the band to elaborate upon and record. This collective approach to songwriting and recording clearly illustrates the band's desire to allow each member's style and influences to shine through in their music, not to mention it has a pretty excellent outcome.

On April 15 they will release their full-length concept album entitled Perdix, which is based on Homer's Odyssey and inspired by Audubon bird paintings. For now, enjoy the first two singles from Perdix and stream the entire Vensaire EP  below.

Swell Album: Abram Shook - Sun Marquee [indie pop / tropical / psychedelic / jazz / soul]

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As I listen to the new album Sun Marquee by Austin-based multi-instrumentalist Abram Shook I try to pick up some sort of consistency in his songs—as I do with all the music I write about—to be able to come up with genres it may fit into and to help me write a little something about it, but the only thing I've grasped so far is that no two songs are really alike. Shook's dreamy debut solo album is "all shook up" (har har har) in terms of musical direction. With one song you're grooving along to a soulful jazzy tune, then you're bouncing around to an upbeat indie pop jam, and the next one shoots you down a tunnel of syncopated psychedelia.

A spirited world traveler and apparently a big fan of Serge Gainsbourg, Shuggie Otis, fellow genre bender David Bowie, and Brazilian music, Abram Shook does a great job of drawing from his multitude of worldly influences to create a well-balanced eclectic record that hooks you upon first listen. If this great mixture of sunny pop songs has anything consistent about it, it's Shook's effortlessly cool vocals, groovy bass lines, an intricate rhythm section, and his beautiful guitar melodies all intertwined into a catchy record filled with lush production.

Enjoy the full album stream below and be sure to support Abram Shook by purchasing his album via his label Western Vinyl or by clicking the "Buy all on iTunes" link on the SoundCloud player below.