Warpaint just keep getting better.

"Just to have it be earnest and always getting better and always pushing ourselves to do better, to play better, write better songs...you can't be bigger than that. That's huge in itself." - the women of warpaint

I love these girls! Watch their dreamy, riffy songs on YoursTruly. Warpaint is a new chick band from LA with attitude - which happens to be my new favorite genre. Watch this video for their song "Undertow." It encompasses what they can turn a guitar into and showcases their psychedelic vocal tones.

Time to hear the Gulf Sounds.

In April, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had a devastating effect on pelicans and turtles, Gulf fishermen and locals, in addition to what once was considered the pure water and plant life of the Gulf.

I've been waiting for the opportunity to combine my passion for music with an environmental cause and I had to seize this one. I decided to pick three organizations who are providing aid to the Gulf, to cover three categories: environment, community and wildlife. The organizations are the Environmental Defense Fund, the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the National Wildlife Federation. We gave attendees the freedom to choose which cause they wanted to help and the results were over $500 in support to divide to the organizations. There are four different musicians who graced the stage at the Blue Fugue Wednesday.

First in the lineup was Davis Dunavin, who sang some pretty funky folk rock with his acoustic guitar. He was supposed to play his accordion, unfortunately it was in the shop. He's got a pretty cool video up on his facebook page.

Next was Kyle McDonald, a good friend of mine who started an independent music project called Old Skin. I would recommend taking a look at some of his lyrics. Kid's got a lot of heart and as he stood bravely on stage with his acoustic screaming those words, no one could take their eyes off him.

The third act was the High Street Cousins, originally named the High Street Nephews, but whose name was changed by the only girl in the band who demanded the change. These guys were entertaining for sure. They opened the set with the theme song from Ghostbusters, which everyone found hilarious. Before that they did a horn intro because there was a sax and a trumpet on stage, which was pretty cool. Later on they covered some Alman Brothers, which didn't hurt their performance.

And last, the Nacho Brothers took stage. They focused on bluegrass and played a bunch of Dylan and the Meters, which was all I needed to finish off the night. They don't have a site, but they were featured on this blog.

Local music is a really important part of the Columbia community and I'm extremely grateful that these musicians helped the cause. We could not have done it without them! If you missed the concert, there's still a way to donate! Visit Sustain Mizzou's website for more information. For more of an update on the process behind Gulf Sounds, visit Sustain Mizzou's blog, Footprint.

"Love is All."

I tend to take everything the Tallest Man on Earth says quite literally, and that includes his song "Love is All" from his album The Wild Hunt. Matsson uses ambiguous clips of what seems to be people having a great time somewhere in Europe, throughout the song. My favorite kind of movies are home movies, so this was a treat.

Broken Dreams Club.

Girls' new LP Broken Dreams Club is in the works and they released a track this week. I'm antsy for more Girls!! The LP will come out Nov. 22, but for now you can hear "Heartbreaker" on gorillavsbear.

Jordan's getting married!

So the lovely lady glancing at you in this picture is my good friend Jordan Rogers, soon to be Mrs.Jordan Coffey. It will be offical in a few days and I want to dedicate this song to the beautiful bride:

First Aid Kit is pretty.

First Aid Kit from Black Cab Sessions on Vimeo.

I haven't really been that into First Aid Kit, except for listening to their Daytrotter session a couple of times. I can safely say after this chilling Black Cab Session, I'm going to be listening to them a lot more. They remind me of a couple of modern day Jonie Mitchells, and I like that.

These Sweedish sisters got their start by goofing around in the woods and posting this youtube video covering fleet foxes.
"If you've got visions of the past, let them follow you down. They'll come back to you someday."

Local Natives and Love Language in CoMo.

Looking at their website, you can tell Local Natives is a band that plays music as purely artistic expression. Their photo blog is another testament to that. I had the pleasure of seeing them at the Blue Note in Columbia Sunday and there was not a dull moment.

I knew they were Talking Heads fans because they cover "Warning Sign" on their album, but seeing them play live just reenforced it. You wouldn't think that Gorilla Manor is their only album at this point, but it seems like more than enough for them to experiment with. There were always two drummers and every band member can sing. It's amazing how one person can lead a song and then another can take over and they compliment each other so well. The whole show was one carefully crafted harmonizing session after another. When they came out for an encore and played "Sun Hands," the crowd went crazy. Local Natives managed to fill the Blue Note with jumping, screaming fans and I'm sure they'll be back again. My favorites were "Warning Sign," "Airplanes" and "World News."

Love Language was the opener, and they were a perfect component to Local Natives. Stuart McLamb and his electric guitar took the stage and sang their love songs. I LOVE them. Please listen to "Stars," "Lalita" and "Brittany's Back."