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The Shout Out Louds is an indie-pop band from Sweden. Their songs are structured to appeal to a mainstream audience, with enough innovative musical work to please to their peers also.
1999 introduced the album; a stripped down song which kicks off in the choruses with simple, 1-string guitar lines. What is unique about The Shout Out Louds is that they are a 6-piece and because of this they can add a mixture of instruments to create a variety of sounds.
Fall Hard is an expample of this where we hear two guitars in the intro and female backing on the choruses. in terms of raw songwriting, this is good stuff. The melodies serve as hooks that you will remember, which is what this genre is about.
WORK is a familiar album. The songs have been done before, but there is still something unique here. A recommeded listen if you are into grown-up indie-pop music.
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Reliable and strong guitar capo that will last for years
This guitar capo at first looks a bit like some kind of 19th century torture device, and to be completely honest it can sometimes feel like torture fitting it on the guitar! That said, once you have mastered the art (it doesn’t take long) you will be able to quickly attach and detach the capo – the best thing about this guitar capo is that once secured, it holds the strings down better than any other I have used. Also because of it’s design, it will last for many years (unlike the spring loaded or elastic capos).
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Emma Gillespie, better known by her stage name Emma’s Imagination, rose to fame after winning Sky1 talent show Must be the Music. She hails from sunny Scotland, and brings a collection of acoustic musings with her on debut album Stand Still…
The opening track and single This Day is a sweet song that suits Emma’s persona perfectly. With striking confidence fighting against innocent vulnerability, the lyrics speak of feeling at complete ease with ones surroundings. This makes a fine catapult into the mainstream and is sure to capture the public’s imagination (excuse the pun).
Emma began by busking on the streets of Edinburgh and at the foundation of these songs lay pretty standard acoustic song structures, but built upon this is a higher level production which includes string sections, electronic effects and more. These come together to create a very atmospheric and quite unique experience.
The album also includes a beautiful cover of Falling Slowly by the fantastic Irish band The Frames (featured in the film Once). This is a welcome addition to an already enjoyable album, and one that Emma has truly made her own.
Stand Still is a very nice debut album from a rough and ready singer-songwriter who has earned her achievements through legitimate means. I look forward to seeing what 2011 brings for her!
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I only recently discovered The Felice Brothers when I stumbled across their fantastic song Frankie’s Gun. After I heard this I immediately sought out more music by this interesting band from New York.
The Felice Brothers play folk-rock with a modern feel. The lyrics are extremely well thought out and the musicianship is on the money. Yonder is the Clock is an album which mixes quite frantic songs like Run Chicken Run with more relaxed efforts, like the opening track The Big Surprise.
This mixture of fast and slow makes for a roller coaster ride of an album, and when compared to their older work you can actually hear the progression in this bands style. The songs have evolved from being heavily acoustic based to much larger productions. This can possibly be partly attributed to one of the brothers (Simone Felice) leaving the band in 2009 to start his own band (The Duke and The King).
This is a good album that makes you feel like you should be drinking whisky in a bar in Tennessee, and having songs featured on popular TV shows like True Blood it’s not surprising that The Felice Brothers satisfy the criteria of popular folk-rock. A recommended listen whether you are into this particular genre or not, because if there is one thing these guys are good at it is connecting with the listener on a multitude of levels.
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A sensibly priced and reliable guitar tuner
This is a nice and compact, affordable tuner for both guitar and bass. The built in mic is responsive and it also has the ability to display chords on its small screen. A recommended purchase for its price, Qwik Tune always product quality musician products that are funky and practical.
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