003; Day Dreams

Laura Marling, pictured to the right with one of my favorite instruments ever - the french horn, is a 19 year old from England who happens to share my birthday. But more importantly, she is an amazingly gifted singer/songwriter who shows understanding beyond her years (I should know, since we're the same age). Her debut album, Alas I Cannot Swim, came out last February, and I had listened to it then, pretty casually, but for some reason never noticed this song.

Night Terrors - Laura Marling

I am really really enjoying it right now. The lyrics are hauntingly sad and her voice wobbles in a way that makes you want to know her pain, to sympathize with her situation. There is a break after the repeat of the chorus where a folky, yet powerful violin solo occurs, it is beautiful and the component that drew my attention to the song in the first place. One thing I really like about Night Terror, that I think is different than an average song, is that she uses very interesting rhythmic components. There is a bit around 0:55 that is A++. All in all it's just good music.

Next time I promise to post a song that isn't so dark. I swear, all the music I listen to isn't this depressing.

002; Hunters

If you check my Last.fm account you'll see that Florence and the Machine has been played over a hundred times in the last seven days. That is no fluke. The band itself is comprised of Florence Welch (Florence) - who, apparently, was discovered drunk in a bathroom at a night club singing motown covers - and a multitude of collaborators who do the background music (The Machine). Like so many, I am completely in love with the HBO Original Series True Blood. It is so fun and entertaining in the simplest ways, and there is one Florence and the Machine song that always reminds me of the show. The literal deciphered version of the song would actually be talking about werewolves, which are, historically, vampires ~arch enemies, but the general feeling of the song itself is perfect. It's called Howl, and I think you need to listen.

Howl - Florence and the Machine

The first thing that pulled me in when listening to Florence and the Machine was her raw, almost carnal voice. There are these rhythms and chords within her first album, Lungs, that have such a driving force. I feel like I should be dancing around a giant fire praising some higher power. Too much? Well that's what they do to me. Particularly the tracks Blinding and Drumming Song (surprising? Not so much). The album, lyrically, is pretty dark, but that doesn't really bother me. Not when the music is so richly dynamic.