Posted in Indie Rock

LITS’s Top 10 Tracks Of 2013 – Harri Gibson

LITS Harri's Top Ten Tracks Of 2013
Over the past year, Lost In The Sound has moved in a new direction covering alternative genres and choosing to add focus on lesser known artists. With this in mind however we also continued to cover prominent outfits that we enjoy listening to and supporting. We added punk, metalcore, folk and ambient to our editorial genres to give us a more diverse array allowing us to promote more of our favorite bands and solo projects. With all of these changes we thought it would be much more reasonable to compile ten tracks from each of us reflecting on our favourites from the last twelve months. So, this year, LITS presents fifty tracks in five separate top ten lists. Today we present our second list of the series by Harri Gibson.

10. Manger – The Sweater I Gave You from One
I only found out about the One, Two, and Three EP’s a couple of weeks ago, but the constant tape fuzz warmth and the duet vocals create this great pop tune perfect to start off my list.

9. Glossed – Smith Westerns from Soft Will
Hailing from Chicago, their album Soft Will is one of my feel good albums when I want to stray away from depressing tracks. Frontman, Cullen Omori’s airy vocals make this dreamy pop number for me and I’m looking forward to whatever is next from them.

8. I Still Think About Who I Was Last Summer – Old Gray from An Autobiography
I had to put at least one emo track on here… There’s an acoustic version of it on the Big Footprint Records compilation that’s pretty cool too. The slow guitar melodies, the heart wrenching lyrics and the spoken word prose at the end really show how far this band have come since their 2011 demo.

7. Good Shit – Georgia Maq from Friends & Bowler’s Run
Melbourne’s second finest, Shit Street Band for life! Plain and simple – acoustic strumming, strong vocals and easy relatability for any lost teenager. Friends & Bowler’s Run has been on repeat since I first picked it up, and a new release in the new year would be greatly appreciated.

6. Virgin Veins – Coma Cinema from Posthumous Release
Amongst the melancholy, this track stands out the most for me on the album. I would have chosen Survivor’s Guilt but the little blues-like electric solo and the refrain, “so lonely / so ugly / and confused” pushes it ahead of the others. The 12″ just got here yesterday so thanks Fork & Spoon Records!

5. Other Voices – The Orwells from Other Voices EP
Raw garage punk straight out of high school, with all the teenage angst you could ask for. This song only makes sense if it’s played loudly and any track that has the lyrics “Don’t grab my hand / I’m not your friend / I’m waiting for my life to end” deserves to be on a top ten list.

4. How They Made Us – Wil Wagner from Laika
I know that  I should probably choose the titular track from this release, but it just wasn’t as relatable. I used to sing this song when I walked home, and had no clue where Punt Road was but it still meant something. I believe there’s a new solo album from Wagner in the coming year, and I’m pretty happy about that.

3. library – Julia Brown from to be close to you
There’s a hi-fi recording of this song on their 7″ but I’ve always preferred the fidelity of the album. Hauntingly beautiful lyrics, a violin, and Torts’ hair all coming together for an exceptional pop tune.

2. Back Flip – The Front Bottoms from Talon of the Hawk
I was skeptical when I knew they were adding two new members to the band, but everything stayed the same, the trademark lyrical style, Ullyich’s pulsating percussion and the arpeggiated powerchords. If anything the additional members just created bigger fuller build-ups and songs, which is always a plus. I just loved the lyrics and couldn’t get it out of my head for a very long time.

1. Ducks Fly Together – The Smith Street Band from Don’t Fuck With Our Dreams
Simply put The Smith Street Band are better than The Beatles ever were. I was split between this and Self Control for my favorite track of the year, but this song has everything, the sense of pining for someone, the signature crescendos, and a chorus that deserves to be shouted. Also it’s a bit more optimistic than the rest of these tunes and that’s needed at times.

LITS’s Top 10 Tracks Of 2013 – Alex Huang

LITS Alex's Top Ten Tracks Of 2013
Over the past year, Lost In The Sound has moved in a new direction covering alternative genres and choosing to add focus on lesser known artists. With this in mind however we also continued to cover prominent outfits that we enjoy listening to and supporting. We added punk, metalcore, folk and ambient to our editorial genres to give us a more diverse array allowing us to promote more of our favorite bands and solo projects. With all of these changes we thought it would be much more reasonable to compile ten tracks from each of us reflecting on our favourites from the last twelve months. So, this year, LITS presents fifty tracks in five separate top ten lists starting off today with Alex Huang‘s.

10. Angels – Mayday Parade from Monsters in the Closet
It took a while to get used to Mayday’s new sound after their perfect debut full-length A Lesson in Romantics, but the while was worth it. While there are no refreshing curveballs, Angels is just an amazing song that is just representative of the band’s talent.

9. Violence is Violence (Enough is Enough) – A Day To Remember from Common Courtesy
The one track that convinces me that A Day To Remember can make heavy songs well. An amazing song that got the hype for Common Courtesy rolling and really highlights how versatile the Floridian outfit really is.

8. A Disasterpiece – Palisades from Outcasts
Metalcore has been suffering from a wave of mediocrity and unoriginality—similar-sounding vocals and breakdowns being played over and over again. This breaks it. I like this track a lot because it keeps true to metalcore while experimenting successfully with heavy electronic influences. I lose it every time when the dubstep kicks in.

7. Life @ 11 – A Day To Remember from Common Courtesy
Because just one ADTR track wasn’t enough. Life @ 11 is my favorite track off the new album, which is saying a lot because Common Courtesy was, in my opinion, the best overall album of 2013. This track both reminds me why I fell in love with ADTR in the first place and comforts me that their talent and creativity haven’t burned out yet.

6. hostage – Dangerkids from Collapse
Dangerkids has made an amazing breakthrough. Being called “Linkin Park 2.0,” their songs can be characterized by metalcore with angsty rap influences—not the steamy senseless stuff that Attila screams about. This is probably my favorite track off the album, especially since I really love the chorus on this one.

5. Crooked Young – Bring Me The Horizon from Sempiternal
When it comes to musical direction, Bring Me The Horizon’s Sempiternal really takes the cake. They really stepped it up in this album, particularly in the clean vocals department. Crooked Young is my favorite on the album particularly because of the instrumentals… so, so good. I’m a sucker for classical influences and this is a perfect example of how well they mesh with heavy tracks.

4. Pompeii – Bastille from Bad Blood
This is the one track that got Bastille the global recognition they deserve, and for good reason. It’s just an all-around sublime piece. The background vocals are enchanting and the melody is catchy as hell. There’s also something about that accent that fits with the song perfectly. There’s also a version of Pompeii where they play at the British Museum—an alternative version that is equally powerful, one for which I give my highest recommendations to watch.

3. What I Never Learned in Study Hall – Ice Nine Kills from The Predator
Ice Nine Kills are underrated, and I don’t know why. They are an incredible band with an especially talented vocalist. Their recently-released The Predator is a solid EP that really shows potential. In particular, What I Never Learned in Study Hall has become one of my favorite songs ever. Really.

2. A Love Like War – All Time Low from Don’t Panic: It’s Longer Now!
All Time Low, with their upbeat swag and their witty lyrics, have never disappointed, and their recent album has been nothing short of spectacular. And they killed it again with the re-release, including new songs such as A Love Like War. Since first listen it has quickly become a staple in my pop punk playlist. The music video is particularly awesome… watch it!

1. Technicolor – Madeon from Technicolor Single
I don’t think a list could be complete without this eargasmic piece. After no original tracks for months too long, Madeon dropped us a massive, six minute long track that just blows all his old work (besides Finale, but that’s my opinion) out of the water. This is just an incredible track that progresses from beginning to end, like a novel or a movie. It tells a story. It’s amazing.

Watch: Clockwork Noise – “The Tourists”

Clockwork Noise Press
Irish five-piece outfit Clockwork Noise are fascinated by juxtaposition – the marriage of quiet and loud, classical and contemporary, pretty and ugly, chaos and order. Their debut album Whethermachines is the culmination of a long journey exploring this concept. A large number of their songs evolved from two years of performing live, which spun into an intense pre-production phase, marshaled by Torsten Kinsella of God Is An Astronaut and finally after several years of experimentation nine tracks were cemented into place by Ivan Jackman of Silverline Studios. The last song of the full-length, “The Tourists” provides a good taster for the combination of all these ideas integrating a refined string section, frantic digital noise, delicate harmonising, intricate guitar work, and sincere vocals and lyrics. Watch the point of view music video for the track below. Stream their debut record on Soundcloud, download it for free on Bandcamp and check out their website for more information.

Interview: Marietta

Marietta Press
Philadelphian four piece emo-punk outfit Marietta have recently released their debut album summer death. I got the chance to speak to the band about the recording process of their new record, Philadelphia’s music scene, the media’s favourite buzzword “emo revival” and more. Read the full interview below, pick up their discography digitally on their Bandcamp, and pre-order their debut full length on vinyl from Soft Speak Records.

First off can you introduce yourself, the rest of the band and the respective instruments that you all play please?

I’m Evan – I play guitar and sing. Ethan sings and plays guitar, Ben plays bass, and Andrew drums.

So your Demo was released nearly two years ago now, and you’ve just released your debut album summer death, how has the band evolved since your beginnings?

When we started this band, it was just Ethan and I writing songs together – shortly thereafter, Andrew came along and wanted to play drums. We were like that’s pretty tight. Originally, we were writing songs without a bass, not to mention we had both just started using alternate tunings. I think the biggest differences between our early stuff and summer death are the technicality of the parts. We’ve gotten better at playing and we’ve also gotten better at adding dynamics to songs that we wouldn’t have thought of before.


I’ve been streaming the new album quite a bit, and everything just seems to fit together so well; the crescendos, the twinkly melodies, the pulsating drums, and that perfect transition between soft-spoken and wailing vocals. How do your songs come together? Do the instrumentals or lyrics come first?

Ethan or I will write a song in its entirety on guitar. Then we’ll show the song to the rest of the band, and we bang it out together. Usually vocals are put in last.

Speaking of your debut release, you recorded it in a variety of different locations, why was the process like that?

We recorded the record all over the place – it was some pretty DIY shit. Our friend Eric Muth, to whom most of the credit goes to for how great the record sounds, hooked us up with East Room Recordings – where Eric recorded drums. Then we just divided up the recording amongst places we had access to – some of it in our (Ethan and I) house, some of it at Ben’s old house (Michael Jordan house), and some at Drexel’s recording studios.


I noticed that all the proceeds from the vinyl pressing of the new album go towards the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and I just want to say that’s awesome. Was there a reason for this specific foundation?

That idea is all Michael from Soft Speak Records. I’m not fully sure why he chose that foundation, I believe that his college roommate or friend suffers from Cystic Fibrosis; regardless, I commend him for his charity. He’s a cool-ass dude.

There seems to be quite a few emotive bands coming out of Philadelphia right now and in 2012 you guys did a split with Modern Baseball titled Couples Therapy. Is there a strong community feel between all the bands?

Absolutely. If you’re in a band and you play in this particular scene in Philly, chances are we’re already friends. I want to be clear on something, though – you don’t even have to be in a band to be friends with everyone in the scene. If you engage with the scene in any way, whether it be going to shows, making art, filming, photographing, etc. you are part of the scene and there is a respect and care for one another that you can’t find in many other circles. I think everyone in the scene would agree that we’re all willing to help one another out, and we’re all stoked on what everybody’s doing.


Do you think there is an “emo revival” or do you believe you are just apart of a third wave of emo bands?

Third wave, fourth wave, fifth wave; some sort of wave. The whole emo revival thing is just music journalists finally paying attention to a genre of music that was born, died, was buried, and then resurrected from the grave, only to be shot point blank with a shot gun. I think that Marietta is a part of a newer wave of emo music that a lot of people have coined “twinkle.” Emo has grown, mutated, and morphed into so many different things that are so far apart musically but remain unified by the genre- so to answer your question – yes, we are the step-sons of bands like Algernon Cadwallader, Snowing, and Grown Ups.

On the topic of genres, which bands did you grow up listening to, and how did they influence your music?

Personally, my tastes went all over the damn place throughout middle school, high school, and even college. I had a big folk punk phase with bands like Defiance, Ohio and Against Me! Then I became interested in heavy shit like The Jonbenét and Daughters. Then I was really into indie music like The Microphones and Sufjan Stevens; after that I got into new emo through bands like Algernon, Merchant Ships, Age Sixteen, etc. I can’t say for sure how any of these bands influenced me because I would say that any music I’ve listened to, ever-including Linkin Park in 4th grade, has influenced the way I write songs.

Alright, kind of off topic, but are you excited about the new Star Wars movies and perhaps seeing Dantooine on the big screen?

Shit, this is definitely Ethan’s territory. He LOVES Star Wars. I’m sure he’s half excited, half skeptical for how the new star wars will turn out.

Any last words, plans for the future, or something you want to say to your fans?

Thanks y’all! The response to our album so far has been really incredible. We plan on going on tour this winter with State Lines, Old Gray and a ton of other cool bands! Hopefully within the next few months we’ll get to work on something new! Really though – our fans rule. I can’t stress enough how important it is to support local music/local scenes. The fact that kids actually get stoked on us is the coolest thing ever. You guys are cool. You rock.

Watch: MT – “Alpha Romeo”

MT Press Shot
Hailing from the UK, MT have released a euphoric indie pop track called Alpha Romeo. Produced by Dan Grech (The Vaccines, Lana Del Ray) this new single is a pop anthem of seismic proportions, complete with hook-laden melodies, an unshakeable rhythm section, and the catchiest of choruses. The accompanying B-side, titled 77 produced by Charlie Huggall (Florence and The Machine) continues in the same vein with massive pop hooks and thunderous synths. The single will be available on limited 7” vinyl from all good digital stores. Watch the music video for the track below and follow the band on Facebook and Twitter.