Taken by Trees - Dreams

Favorite lyrics: I know a place that we can go and you can get back on your feet, boy.

With a Lana Del Rey indifferent vocalist and island-esque white noise beats, 'Dreams' is a song full of dance static. It has a very laid back, drifting, careless sound, like a sassy remix of a chill beach song. The build of the song is great, a wave of mellow melody with pulses of native music.

Glitter Pox rating: 68% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

RACES

RACES played at Cleveland's Beachland Tavern on their tour with Saint Motel, and they played good. We'd listened to their track Big Broom a lot, but hadn't fully delved into their album, Year of the Witch. That changed a lot after the show. Their vocals are basically flawless and the music that accompanies it is like small, contained explosives: it radiates from the center and just gets larger after it's played, like an instrumental collision game. Check this song out and you'll understand:

Even though they have softer songs, like 'Living Cruel and Rude', they have something really large about them. Followed up by 'Don't Be Cruel', it's like the tracks are playing entire lives inside of one album. The lyrics are well-written enough that they'd be good with almost any melody attached to them, but the way these songs are constructed and layered is really artistic. They're songs that are meant to have memories attached to them.

And the way the album ends is like it's all being ripped away, like those memories were stolen from you. So it's back to track #1 again.

Bunbury Festival

On the 13th-15th we made our way to the lovely city of Cincinnati to attend the first ever Bunbury Festival. We got there early to check out the set up and found out that the area is really easy to navigate, so we mapped out our schedule and smiled like idiots while we waited for our weekend of music to start.

The first band we checked out was Capital Cities, and they made the trumpet sound like it had thunder and lightning in it - it made their songs full of energy, and the dual vocals of two male lead singers worked perfectly with this band. It was a unique set up but it worked out into this incredibly quirky dance music. Perfect to wake us up on our first day.

After CC we saw Crash Kings, which is, I think, the first rock band we've gotten into that doesn't have guitar. The keyboard makes up for it with a whammy bar, though, and the bass is pretty heavy, so it works. We saw them a while ago, but it was really cool to hear some of their new stuff and the new band mates had great stage presence.

We stopped by to see Ra Ra Riot for a bit and say hi to some friends, but we'd seen RRR recently and were dying to rock out for Airborne Toxic Event, so we headed over to their stage and waited at the front. Seeing TATE is like an entirely different experience every time, because for as long as they've been doing live shows, they put everything they have into them. The lead singer engages the crowd more than any frontman we've seen, and their music is so incredibly easy to shout that it's impossible to stand in front of them and not have an amazing time.

We caught the last half of Foxy Shazam to end our Friday the 13th, and as usual with Foxy, it got weird. A really, really good kind of weird. The keyboardist crowd-surfed with his keyboard, still playing it with a wire trail leading back to the stage. The entire band is like a rockstar circus act, never letting a single mellow second pass. They're just all about a show, and you'll definitely get one if you see them.

Day two started out with seeing 1,2,3, who we've seen once before opening for Yellow Ostrich, and it was definitely a good start to the day. They have something really genuine and effortless about their music, so much so that it gets you amped up for a day full of it.

Then we checked out Imagine Dragons and even though we were way in the back, we danced in the grass and the sun. Their song Radioactive is amazing live, full of enough energy to reach way past the stage. We're gonna be seeing them again in a venue when they tour with Awolnation, so it'll be interesting to hear all that dance energy packed into closer quarters.

We took a break and chilled out for the rest of the day, catching part of Manchester Orchestra and part of Gaslight Anthem and then got up front for Grouplove, who were fantastic live. There were tons of giant inflatable beachballs being thrown around with glowsticks inside of them, so instead of just focusing on the stage, it was like the entire crowd was part of the show. Then after catching a few songs from Weezer, we headed back to our hotel.

Day three started with a lot of rain, so the sets were a little off (but were updated on the mobile app, which is awesome and kept everything organized.) So we got there in time to catch Pomegranates, which is a great band based in Cincinnati. It seems like they are music fans as much as they are musicians, and the influences in their songs are steady, but they have an original, modern sound.

Lights, who we caught the end of after Pomegranates, has a more pop sound, a kind of Paramore vibe that was upbeat and lively, even though we were all sundead. Afterward, we found some shade and caught the more mellow City and Colour. It was a big music genre shift, but it's great to have an eclectic festival to check out different types of artists.

After the rain, it got extremely hot so we were melting into the lawn. We put our umbrellas up for shade and listened to Margot and the Nuclear So and So's laying out on the grass. If you could get impregnated by sound, it would be by this band. They have a really intense tone that gets under your skin, and mixing it with the heat, it felt like it was drugging you into a kind of sunhaze.

Then, we woke ourselves up and got right into the crowd for Neon Trees. We've seen them live a few times (and will again in Cleveland in a couple weeks!) but this was the first time hearing most of their new album. We thought we had a fantastic time at the last couple of their shows, but it was like they took up every good moment of the weekend and just expelled it into the crowd. Tyler Glenn did a piano rendition of Your Surrender that reminded you how freaking talented his vocals are, followed up by some of their new songs that are so high energy you forget how to do anything but jump.

We ended the weekend by listening to Death Cab for Cutie on steps overlooking the lake and the city.

The atmosphere of the festival was great and the people were awesome - everyone was there to hear some good music (which there was definitely plenty of.) We suffered from some post Bunbury blues while heading back to Cleveland, but we're really excited to see who they have come next year. We'll be there.

Kids of 88 - Just a Little Bit

Kids of 88 adds just a little bit of flavor to your water. This song is the weirdest combination of pop mixed with Marilyn Manson growl, and it has a constant catchy beat, full of chorus. It's 100% dance, from the second it starts to the second it ends; a healthy dose of fun and guilty pleasure that should be played at every club ever.

GP rating: 91% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs - Alone in This Together

Favorite lyrics: Does it make you weak, is it something new / to admit you failed

This song starts off mellow, with just a guitar and vocal melody; but then the drums start, and they're straight determination. The lead singer's voice is torn and rigid, but full of emotion - and the music is the same, the powerful guitar solo being the point in the song that's wholly encompassing. The ending kind of is infinitely depressing, with the vocalist's voice trailing out, like the energy of the instruments just drained dry. The entire song is an on and off wave of strength and weakness, and it produces a kind of a slow extended-release reaction, like it's still stirring after it's over.

Glitter Pox rating: 72% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Shannon

Favorite lyrics: I wanna have your babies, take your last name, oh, but I'm probably gonna just get drunk, Shannon.

'Shannon' is slinky and syrupy, like dirty honey; it's a dark song that pulls you in like a secret with its increasingly strange lyrics and smug vocals. Its baby-making bass leads into a sauntering kind of melody, like it's getting closer to you with each note. Margot and the Nuclear So & So's have a sound that screams of a filthy lullaby in this song.

Glitter Pox rating: 85% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

Beat Connection - Palace Garden, 4am

We just saw Beat Connection play with White Arrows, and Palace Garden, live, is true to its lyrics: it makes you dance. All of their music does, really, but when a dance song talks about dancing, it's like a whirlwind paradox. It's a dreamy and foggy song, but the percussion kind of grounds it, so it's a mix of smoky airwaves and cemented beats.

Glitter Pox rating: 81% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

Voxhaul Broadcast

Voxhaul Broadcast has a lot of variety in their music and their albums, but they always have really otherworldly guitar work. 'Turn the Knife' has a kind of Arcade Fire feel to it and the vocals have an 80s rock sound to them, but each of their songs are unique and melodically different (check out 'Leaving on the 5th' here). We saw them open for Airborne Toxic Event last year and they have a ton of energy, so if they're ever around you - they're playing the Troubadour on the 25th and you can check out their site for other events - check 'em out!

Ravens & Chimes - Arrow

Favorite lyrics: I hope the sun is pouring on you now

The piano is made a focal point in Arrow, and it just completely engulfs you. It's almost louder than the lyrics, but in a way that makes its notes of equal importance, spotlighting both the music and the vocals. The male vocalist sounds a little like Nate Ruess from Fun., that same unique artistry in his voice, and the female vocalist matches it and stands out just as much. It's a genuinely artful song, full of talent.

Glitter Pox rating: 57% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

Local Natives - World News

Favorite lyrics: And a cloud covers your car at just the right time / for you to see the dark on your face / in the mirror

The melody for Local Native's 'World News' starts in the vocals, moving to the guitar and frenzied drumbeat only after establishing that these boys have some voices. The song is all about perspective and the story inside it is a simple one, but it's written so uniquely and with such a different approach that it's really heady. It holds a kind of delicate substance, and the song itself accomplishes the same effect as the character in the lyrics goes through, a shift in outlook even if it's just for a few minutes. It's a powerful song hidden in catchy music, a clever combination of depth and dance.

Glitter Pox rating: 68% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

Signed ANNA SUN EP (Walk the Moon)

Walk the Moon (who we featured here in June 2011 and have subsequently repetitively listened to) is a pretty amazing band - they're four crazily energetic guys who put on a great show and if they're ever around you, we'd definitely recommend going. At one of their Cleveland shows, we got an EP signed (by Nick, Eli, and Kevin - we couldn't find Sean!) and we wanted to give it away to one of you guys! Here's what it looks like:

And here's what it sounds like:

It has three (amazing) songs: Tightrope, Anna Sun, and Next in Line. You can dance to all of them, and if you win you will. Just fill out the form below (we just need your name and email for now, unless you win.) The form might take a minute to load, but if you have any problems or questions, shoot us an email at theglitterpox@gmail.com. Good luck, and if you haven't checked out Walk the Moon's new CD, their self-titled album just released and you can check it out on itunes for a happy time.

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