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Sarah Aument playing at the O, Morning Records Showcase @ Funk ‘n’ Waffles 11/06/09
For more visit: http://tinyurl.com/yzs5rne
–Photo and Production by Isabel Alcantara
20 Watts presents White Picket Fence, a band based in Syracuse
–Photos and Production by Isable Alcantara
An interview and photo shoot with Caution Children, a band based in Ithaca college
–Photos by Max Jackson
–Produced by Irina Dvalidze
Taylor Swift may not have Kanye Wests approval, but the girl makes music people like. Swift was the first country artist to win an MTV Video Music Award, and her album Fearless has been wildly successful on the Billboard charts since its release last November.
Basically if you like Taylor Swift, youre probably drawn to her love-struck country ballads and cute-and-wholesome girl-next-door image. The only thing she’s missing is indie cred, which is why 20 Watts has compiled this list of similar indie artists you’ll likely love them, too.
–Copy by Mary Cappabianca
–Produced by Irina Dvalidze
WE GIVE IT: 17/20 Watts
Daniel Johnston — literally indie-rocks resident madman — steps production up ten-fold on Is and Always Was, his first release in six years. With multiple rock instruments where there used to be just a voice and piano, Is and Always Was tends towards both the mainstream and more mature songwriting from the secluded genius with bipolar disorder. Drum fills and electric guitars breathe new life into previously recorded track I Had Lost My Mind. Meanwhile, unconventional ballads like Tears and Light of Day prescribe life lessons from a man whos had plenty of them over the past 30 years.
Check our full review in the latest issue of 20 Watts!
– Copy by Eric Vilas-Boas
– Produced by Irina Dvalidze
WE GIVE IT: 14/20 Watts
At only 21 years of age, Neon Indians Alan Palomo is the man behind the trippy, nostalgic psychedelia that fills Psychic Chasms. On what comes off as a very impressive debut record, Palomo keeps a high-energy, yet drowsy feel constant. The listener drifts at a steady pace, sometimes getting caught up enough to dance on tracks like Terminally Chill and the title number, Psychic Chasms. However, on songs such as Should Have Taken Acid with You and the closer, Ephemeral Artery, youre so buried by the pure strength of the sound around you, that you can only enjoy the scenery as it appears on every side.
Check our full review in the latest issue of 20 Watts!
–Copy by John Cassillo
–Produced By Irina Dvalidze
WE GIVE IT: 15/20 Watts
The Flaming Lips Embryonic is perhaps the bands most experimental work to-date. Abandoning their usual sense of melody and composition, theyve completely retooled, instead creating a sound completely contingent on loud, discordant walls of noise. The album creeps in the darkness, billowing in the shadows until it explodes at various points through its 18 tracks. Even the efforts more accessible offerings are nowhere near as friendly as past singles. Standouts like Convinced of the Hex, See the Leaves and Silver Trembling Hands are the rule, rather than the exception, amidst a lengthy set or spacey, distant tracks.
Check our full review in the latest issue of 20 Watts!
–Copy by John Cassillo
–Produced by Irina Dvalidze
