Ashtmatic Kitty has been on a role lately. The record label, run by indie-glorified Sufjan Stevens, has been busy with releases in early ’09 and late ’08, and has managed to curate tons of attention with the release of two rising artists. The Welcome Wagon and DM Stith are those two acts, gaining attention at rapidly increasing rates. And for good reason, whether it’s the almost quirky nature of their music, the comfortability that each offer, or the familiarity that oozes from each track.
Let’s dive into The Welcome Wagon first. The Husband (Thomas) and Wife (Monique) duo deliver multi-instrumental music that is heavenly in more than one sense. Many of the lyrics and ideas expressed in the tracks draw upon biblical references and experiences, while not pushing any values upon the listener. The actual musical production draws upon many of the aspects of arrangement and production that has made Sufjan so popular. From the occasional banjo to the simple piano and back again with the well recognizable horn section. The first single, entitled “Sold! To The Nice Rich Man,” from their debut album Welcome to The Welcome Wagon is their most polished and well rounded cut. It offers the widest variety of the couple’s skills. Encompassing all of the aspects that I just mentioned, the horns drive the chorus, the keys lead into the track, and the vocals fill up the track much a choir in a church. The feel of the entire album is expansive, but like I said, it feels incredibly comfortable at the same time. Deserving of a huge 2009, The Welcome Wagon is one of my favorite new artists and I’d highly encourage any fan of Sufjan’s catalogue or label to check these two out.
mp3: The Welcome Wagon – “Sold! To The Nice Rich Man”
DM Stith. With a name like that it’s kind of hard to know what to expect, but with a background filled with musical education and family lineage that bolsters the same thing the hopes were high for this former writer. Stith’s first single, “Just Once,” off of the Curtain Speech EP is a seven minute roller coaster ride through a dream-like landscape of repetitive and revealing lyrics and echoing guitars. “Just once, I could love you just once” Stith sings throughout. The music, is incredible. I know I hype pretty much everything I write about, but this is another one of those tracks that re-invigorates my love for music and makes me simply feeling happy at the end. Best described as a hi-fi version of The Microphones, Stith plays with various guitar chords layered together and eerie sounds running throughout the track, giving it the feel that The Glow pt. 2 gave me the first time I heard it.
So if you’re looking around for some great new music look no further. Fans of past Asthmatic Kitty releases will love and probably already heard these tracks, but those new to the game need to get schooled on these new artists. And fast!
Dig Deeper: Asthmatic Kitty DM Stith The Welcome Wagon
It’s finally here folks, the finished version of “Crack a Bottle”. The other version that was floating around the web wasn’t nearly finished in production, and thus turned many of its listeners off. But this time around Eminem, Dr. Dre, and 50 cent absolutely kill it. As much as we may doubt mainstream rap on this site, or much as we might dismiss this right away, I’m happy to say that I infact do enjoy this cut. It’s beyond refreshing to have Eminem back on the scene, seeing as he is one of the few mainstream artists whos talent expands beyond the auto-tuner.
The outpour of new music lately is unprecedented. I feel like an idiot jumping on here again and praising some blog-worthy track to the max, but here I go. (It’ll be fun this time, I promise). The Whitest Boy Alive is an interesting group, not only because its name suggests it’s a white parody-rapper or something of that sort, but because of the music as well. With only one album release out at the moment, the hugely under-rated 2007 “Dreams,” Whitest Boy plays some of the most polished and soothing songs on the market. Tracks like “Fireworks” and “Golden Cage” combine soft vocals with amazing song-writing and mix in plenty of guitar with rhythmic cymbal crashing. Maybe not so graceful sounding when I put it in words, but check the video below if you don’t believe me. Whitest Boy Alive performing “Golden Cage” live on BBC:
MIND INVERSION 