That Vintage Though
So Old School They Tore the School Down
This week, we’re looking at artists who are pretty new for their time, but produced a sound that could have taken place long ago. I reached out into the internet.com to get some suggestions and the list grew so large that I actually had to truncate it. I chose my ten artists, but one got thrown on at the end because I couldn’t help but not include it once I heard it. I won’t spend too much time prefacing this, I’m just going to get into it and then roll from there.
PILE OF PRIESTS (UNITED STATES)
Everything about this band screams 1990s. This could have easily been pulled from Florida and played alongside Death, Morbid Angel, Six Feet Under, and Obituary. The technical prowess is amazing in this upcoming release (first full length album drops December 12, 2015) to the point that the drummer even provides a few wicked guitar solos in the album because of how hard it plays. There is no gimmickry here, the music is just straight unadulterated death metal without the use of keyboards to add atmosphere. Abrasive, unrelenting, and in your face.
SIGH (JAPAN)
It might be strange to feature an avant-garde band in a post about vintage sounds, but in 2001 Sigh took on the challenge of creating an album using instruments that existed in the 1970s and prior. Some of these instruments included a clavinet, vocoder, speak and spell, and vibraslap. This album features genre bends from reggae, jazz fusion, classical music, black metal, and psychedelic.
CHROMEO (CANADA)
Chromeo is an interesting duo. It takes the old school sound of disco and funk and fuses it with the modern electro sound that is taking young women (and men) by storm. I have to admit, listening to some of their stuff is pretty groovy and quite enjoyable. It’s easy to listen to them and feel like you’re about to be made fun of by the crew in That ‘70s Show. I found the music fits well for those into the vintage sound and those who dig the electro sound.
TEMPLES (UNITED STATES)
This band is actually the inspiration that I had for making this week’s article. This is a super 1960s sounding psychedelic band that I loved throughout this entire album. Their use of string instruments in this particular song struck me real hard.
THE BLACK KEYS (UNITED STATES)
This one should be no surprise. The seven time Grammy winning band has experienced a great deal of success since 2011. Though they don’t have that same flair that they did coming out of the gate, they still hold a very influential place in the indie rock and blues scene. This band could easily open for Robin Trower in 1974 and no one would bat an eye.
A-F-R-O (UNITED STATES)
Here’s a guy who is about to blow up. DJ Premier will be featuring this guy in a 2016 debut release. This video is interesting and I really like how he transitions from the vintage slow beat to the vintage speed rap that dominated the 1980s and 1990s. I will be watching him to see what he does in the future.
THE FLOWER KINGS (SWEDEN)
The Flower Kings are nothing if not prolific. Releasing over 18 hours of music in a 13-year timespan, they are known for ridiculously long songs. Seriously, if you think this 25-minute song is long, try the 59-minute opus “Garden of Dreams”. They have a sound similar to King Crimson and Yes, hearkening back to a time of progressive rock nirvana.
PEANUT BUTTER WOLF (UNITED STATES)
Here’s another hip hop artist that uses a style that was heavily dominant back in the 1980s. The breaks and beats used from the vinyl are extremely vintage. It’s also got that slow feel that a lot of hip hop artists aren’t comfortable using anymore.
KING HOBO (SWEDEN)
King Hobo is a side project composed of members of Kamchatka, the old keyboardist from Opeth, and the guitarist from Clutch. It is super bluesy and super cool. I am a little sad that this never got any real focus but it was an amazing album.
NIGHT BEATS (UNITED STATES)
This is another super vintage psychedelic band that I was exposed to recently. The production quality is even lower and it has that “I recorded this on vinyl” crackle that you’re not going to get in processed music these days. The whole album is solid. I think I like Temples a little better but this was damn good as well.
BONUS: EDAN (UNITED STATES)
Seriously, just listen to this entire thing. Blew my mind.
This was definitely a fun subject to touch on. See you next week.
-Ryan