POSTS TAGGED : Beach Day

BarryGruff’s Albums of the Year 2014

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So, it’s that time of year again, yeah, it’s favourite albums of the year time. Loads of great music this year, some old faces and plenty of new ones too but for those of you who care, here are my 25 albums of 2014. Enjoy!

25. Second Storey – ‘Double Divide’

24. Beach Day – ‘Native Echoes’

23. Globelamp – ‘Star Dust’

22. Sex Hands – ‘Pleh’

21. The #1s – ‘The #1s’

20. Attaque – ‘ON LY YOU’

19. Shit Robot – ‘We Got Love’

18. Mowbird – ‘Islander’

17. Oh Boland/Me & My Dog – ‘Delphi’

16. Jamie T – ‘Carry on the Grudge’

15. Pharoahe Monch – ‘PTSD’

Following on from his 2011’s W.A.R, comes fourth solo LP, PTSD (aka Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), a loose-concept album which sees Pharoahe Monch speaking as a weary independent warrior against the industry machine and dealing with the struggle of the black male experience in America. It’s dense, raw and sometimes painfully raw, as he relives harrowing memories of his struggle with addiction, depression and suicidal thoughts. It’s all draped with his familiar top-notch storytelling, cavernous vocabulary, thought-provoking rhymes, precise delivery and thought-provoking metaphors, placing him right up top of the current hip-hop pile.

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(Video) Beach Day – ‘How Do You Sleep At Night’

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During the summer Beach Day released Native Echoes, a collection bright and cheeky, lo-fi garage rock tunes. Inspired by nostalgia but powered by a fresh verve, it captured that hazy summer vibe and this bright blend of garage rock, surf pop and girl group sounds, sits comfortably alongside contemporaries like Cults and Tennis.

Needless to say, hazy summer days (and nights) are but a distant memory on this side of the world but doesn’t mean we must dispel the hazy, sun-kissed and cheery tunes. Beach Days’ latest single, ‘How Do You Sleep At Night’ provides an easy and breezy escape from the shackles of winter. It has a swooning, peaceful feel to it, aided by the sound of waves lapping a Holywood shore line. A gentle jangle accompanies Skyler Black’s wonderful floating vocals in tenderly piercing the soft fuzz that crackles with warmth and tingles with nostalgia. One of many loveable and inescapably brilliant tunes that festoon their latest album, Native Echoes.

You can check out ‘How Do You Sleep At Night’ below and if you’re liking that, why not give the album a whirl over here?

Win Tickets to Beach Day in The Electric Owl, Vancouver :: Sat August 23

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Florida duo Beach Day play The Electric Owl, Vancouver this Saturday night (August 23rd), as part of a summer tour in support of their new album, Native Echoes (stream it here).

Beach Day have kindly offered readers of the blog a chance to go, with a pair of tickets up for grabs. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is answer the following question: ‘What is the name of Beach Day’s forthcoming album?’ (Hint: Check here). Email your answer, along with your ‘name’ and ‘Beach Day’ as the subject title to barrygruff[at]gmail[dot]com, before 12:00 (UTC) Friday, August 22nd.

Saturday night’s show should be a cracker and I for one can’t wait. The ease and breeze of Beach Day’s bright blend of garage rock, surf pop and girl group sounds is a delight, and their new LP has been monopolising my time since last week. Inspired by nostalgia but powered by a fresh verve, it manages to capture the best parts of summer and sits comfortably alongside contemporaries like Cults and Tennis. Beach Day’s Kimmy Drake and Skyler Black have provided us with a treasure trove of loveable and inescapably brilliant tunes that explore everything from ‘60s girl groups to garage rock and punk. If you’re still not sold, there’s some choice cuts below to sway your opinion.

Beach Day w/ support from Amanda X @ The Electric Owl, 926 Main Street, Vancouver, BC, V6A 2W1 ($10/7 PM) – (more details here).