[RH Photos] Lollapalooza 2015
Photos by Bryan Allen Lamb.
Lollapalooza 2015: it came, it conquered, and it closed early. But not even Sunday's crappy, unpredictable weather could put a damper on the weekend’s festivities. Packed full of artists of every genre, Lolla brought us the latest and the legendary, once again proving that this monster of an event cannot be tamed or topped. From Friday to Sunday, Lolla-enthusiasts spent their days and nights trekking back and forth from stage to stage across the large and lovely Grant Park. Though my feet are broken and my body hates me, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. But if you did, here’s a recap on my weekend in Lolla land.
Top Artists to See at Lollapalooza 2015
Alright cool kids it’s that time of the year we all look forward to - when summer actually feels like summer (for two weeks) and you can drink booze outside with a couple hundred thousand of your closest friends while Millennium Park is raging with some of the most epic and fresh artists to date for Chicago’s largest annual summer music festival, Lollapalooza.
[Video] Kaiser Chiefs: "Coming Home"
British indie-rock band, Kaiser Chiefs, have been together for over a decade and are releasing their fifth studio album Education, Education, Education & War on March 31 via Universal Music. As a preview for the new album they dropped a music video for the debut single "Coming Home."
Lead vocalist Ricky Wilson is shown waltzing around the British countryside, passing various random characters, including his bandmates. Pre-order Education, Education, Education & War here and view the video below.
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[Video] Glass Animals: "Gooey"
British four-piece Glass Animals has released a new music video for the smooth and glossy single "Gooey." The track is off of their upcoming EP, Gooey, produced by Paul Epworth and due out in April via The Harvest Imprint.
Strange and intriguing, the video follows individuals who immediately transform into their most unrestricted, strongest, and best selves after they ingest some sort of slimy substance in one way or another. The whirling synth, lo-fi beats, and lurid vocals put you in a dream-like state. Catch a buzz from the new single "Gooey."
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[Video] Haim: "If I Could Change Your Mind"
LA indie-pop rock sisters Haim, dropped a music video for their new single, "If I Could Change Your Mind," off of their album Days Are Gone. The 2013 debut album blew up upon release and made countless top album lists.
The video radiates a super '80s pop vibe with close ups of the ladies faces half in the shadows while they do a synchronized dance routine on a huge retro studio stage. Snappy and provocative, the video is a perfect fit for this dance-y track.
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[Video] St. Vincent Performs On 'The Colbert Report'
St. Vincent AKA Annie Clark just released her eccentric fourth full-length, self-titled record, St. Vincent. Clark is exploding out of herself, bringing her strange, yet dazzling sound to new levels.
St. Vincent performed some of her new material after a comical and informative interview with Stephen Colbert. Colbert asked about "getting" the new album, highlighted Clark's genius, and commented on her Einstein-style hair-do.
Check out St. Vincent performing "Birth In Reverse," below and download the track for free here.
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[Video] Lake Street Dive: "You Go Down Smooth" Live On KEXP
Lake Street Dive is an exceptionally talented, tight, and groovy foursome that met almost a decade ago as students at New England Conservatory in Boston. The band - Rachel Price (Lead Vocals), Mike Olsen (Guitar/Trumpet), Bridget Kearney (bass), and Mike Calabrese (drums) is killing it in a very major way. Promoting their brand new album Bad SelfPortraits, Lake Street Dive has been all over late night television and has received rave reviews from Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, and pretty much everyone who has laid ears on them.
Check them out live on KEXP performing "You Go Down Smooth," an original off the new record Bad Self Portraits which is out now and available here.
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[Review] Phantogram: Voices
Due to the overwhelming amount of electro-pop rock outfits saturating the indie scene over the past couple years, I have had difficulty latching on to any one artist or album that I enjoyed thoroughly, not just that had a couple of catchy tracks. That being said, I have been constantly listening to Phantogram's latest album Voices on repeat, discovering deliciously desperate lyrics, alluring vocals, and knock-out beats with each go around. The more I listen, the more I like.
Josh Carter (guitar, vocals) and Sarah Barthel (keyboards, vocals) made their debut in 2009 with their album Eyelid Movies, sparking attention but somewhat living in the shadows of other electronic rock groups like Sleigh Bells. They gained more glances their way collaborating with heavy hitters like Big Boi and The Flaming Lips, but lacked a strong presence musically, almost like they were stuck in electro-pop limbo. Voices is the next step in the absolute right direction.
"Fall In Love," (the first single off of the record) is enchanting, dooming, and dance-y all in one. I literally can't stop singing the hook, which is perfectly simple in comparison to the melodic verses. And I must praise the vocal melodies on this album, so often with pop music we are presented with one or two note repetitive mutterings that march on to the chorus. But Phantogram achieves excellent song structure with compelling musical lines accompanied by tragically lovely lyrics. "The lines on my face ate away at my smile, could it be that I fell apart?"
Having two lead vocalists on a project can sometimes derail the flow or energy of an album, but when Carter popped up on "Never Going Home," I was delighted at the change of direction the album took. Stripped down and organic, the track possesses a Bon Iver/David Bazaan quality that pulls you out of the electronic heavy haze.
The album seems to teeter between reality and dreams/nightmares, with tracks like "Howling At The Moon," which gives off a very aggressive, sacrificial vibe. Barthel hollers and swoons over busy beats singing "And if I ever fall asleep I'll turn around and face the sea. And if I crucified my dreams to be on your side, to see you alive." Followed immediately by "Bad Dreams" which is less violent and more lyrical as Barthel confesses "Bad dreams never effect me I'm not afraid of the concrete... bad thoughts never arrest me, I'm just a flash in the memory." reality kicks in on the bass heavy "Celebrating Nothing," one of my favorites off the album. Barthel sings about failures and empty living, pleading for a reason to go on if there's nothing to look forward to or no one to celebrate with. "How many times will I blow it all? How many times will I burn it down? Give me a reason to stay alive."
The album pulls you through various emotions and sounds, breaking your heart and burning a fire in your brain. Voices is the complete package, each track executed flawlessly, proving the album to be the boost that Phantogram needed to land themselves at the top of the electro-pop chain. Get Voices here and be sure to listen from beginning to end.