All Songs Considered

Check out NPR's All Songs Considered special on SXSW.

There is a wide variety of music featured (indie rock to electronic to metal). Check out Quiet Company, ZZ Ward, Bad Sports, and Impending Doom.


-Brittany

Chiddy Bang: Breakfast

The featured artist this week is Chiddy Bang with their new album, Breakfast.

"The chorus of “Mind Your Manners” shamelessly attempts to set rapper Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege and DJ/producer Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin apart from their hip-hop-meets-alternative peers, 3/5" -Consequence of Sound

"Breakfast is such an original album, it's coined a new term for swag: Call it swelly. A." -EW

I recommend Ray Charles, Breakfast, Mind Your Manners, Whatever We Want, and 4th Quarter


-Brittany

Blind Guardian

Brittany asked me to do a feature on a MTL band, and because I uploaded one of their albums recently, I'm choosing Blind Guardian.

Blind Guardian has been a stalwart of the power metal scene for over two decades. The German band released their first album in 1988, and have since evolved from a more straightforward power metal band to a more nuanced sound.

The emphasis is still on speed \and bombast, but they've added orchestral elements and the occasional ballad to help even things out.

They tend towards epicness, with at least one song one each album shooting for that sense of glory. It's helped by the fact that they pull inspiration from a variety of fantasy sources, from Arthurian Legend to Tolkien (they have an entire concept album based on the Silmarillion) to A Song Of Ice And Fire.

Check 'em out.







- Nathan