Remember when ANR put out one of the most underrated albums of 2010? Remember when they packed the house at The Burning Ear SXSW party in ’12? Remember when they didn’t follow Stay Kids up with anything and I stayed up late at night wondering where they had gone? Do you remember!? Well, ANR isn’t back but one half of the band just dropped his debut jam as John Hancock and damn if it doesn’t make up for the 4 years of silence. “Left Me” is all kinds of summertime shimmer and beach day funk. Don’t you dare make a summer playlist without “Left Me”.
https://www.theburningear.com/media/2014/05/artworks-000069680199-erw3qb-t500x500.jpg500500Brandonhttps://www.theburningear.com/media/2015/03/TBE-Header-Logo-2015-stack1.pngBrandon2014-05-16 12:30:482014-05-16 12:30:19John Hancock - "Left Me"
Cover songs are still my favorite way for emerging bands to put their own sound on a hit song and get easy attention. However 2012 was for some reason a slow year for cover songs. Luckily a handful of bands did them well and left us with flipped and twisted takes on old classics and net hits alike. Here are my 10 favorites (#1 at the bottom). What did I miss? Read more
https://www.theburningear.com/media/2013/01/TBE-Best-of-2012-Covers.jpg600600Brandonhttps://www.theburningear.com/media/2015/03/TBE-Header-Logo-2015-stack1.pngBrandon2013-01-28 12:57:582013-02-24 21:51:23[PLAYLIST] The Best COVER SONGS of 2012
Holy smokes. What a day. So much great music. So much sweat coming out of so many talented pores. So much healing for my eardrums to do. Except they are gonna have to wait because we have 3 more days of madness! But enough about the future, lets take a peek at the past. Last night surprise guests Read more
https://www.theburningear.com/media/2012/03/Young-Empires-LIVE.jpeg540720Brandonhttps://www.theburningear.com/media/2015/03/TBE-Header-Logo-2015-stack1.pngBrandon2012-03-15 02:16:312012-03-21 21:38:33[LIVE] SXSW DAY 1 Re-Cap + 360° Interviews
Yes, the rumors are true. The Burning Ear is in full effect at this year’s SXSW. With the help of Joel’s Lights & Music Entertainment and the awesome people at The Firehouse Lounge & Hostel we have cooked up the biggest blog curated lineup Austin has ever seen. Plus, it’s FREE! Â Seriously. Sit down before you click through to the full event page.
I wont even get into too many details here lest those of you not in Austin this week flip out with jealousy. If you feel strong enough then dip down below for some teasers. I hope to see some of you come and rock out! Don’t forget to say hi and high-five!
We all know I hate Best of Lists that come out before the year is over so nearly 4 weeks into 2012 I finally present my best albums of 2011! (Still a day faster than last year!) Below are the top 10 albums from my 2011 followed by 10 honorable mentions. The list was compiled by weighing total play counts along with longevity. Not only did I Read more
Brandonhttps://www.theburningear.com/media/2015/03/TBE-Header-Logo-2015-stack1.pngBrandon2012-01-27 21:28:242012-02-12 17:18:04The 20 Best ALBUMS of 2011
where there is cheese there are rats, where ever there are rats there are cats, where ever there are cats there are dogs, if you got the dogs you got bitches, bitches always out to put their paws up on your richesÂ
Just because Christmas is over doesn’t mean that the giving spirit doesn’t live on! TBE alums ANR dished out a 2-song gift over holidays and while their cover of “Little Drummer Boy” may have to wait a few months to dip into rotation, their take on Kelis & Andre 3000’s “Millionaire” is something else. There is weight here. Not many of us can identify with the pain of being rich but now we can know what it sounds like. And who doesn’t want to hear Andree 3000’s verses slowed to an easily followable speed? Plus they take on a whole different feel when they are sung with more heavy emotion. Well played, ANR.
Brandon’s TBE Digest is a place where I gather up all the recent jams that are worth a listen (or 10) but don’t necessarily need their own post. Here you will find new tracks by known bands, remixes, covers, and even mashups if they are interesting. My favorites of the lot are in bold.
See that nifty little intro in italics up there? Yeah, it was brought to my attention that these Digests didn’t come with much in the way of explanation and even dedicated TBE readers may not really understand what the heck these are considering I haven’t explained them in about 22 volumes. Oops. Anyway, this Digest has some real jam-a-roonies so quit reading my baloney and get in there!
For more jams by any of these artists use the ‘tags’ links at the bottom of the post!
You may remember Miami’s ANR from when they went by Awesome New Republic and helped us ring in TBE’s 2 month anniversary almost 2 years ago. Since then they dropped a few more EPs and an underwhelming LP before diving under the radar for a bit. Cut to 2011 and they have emerged leaner and meaner than every before. They’ve not only streamlined their name, but tightened their sound and honed in on the hooks and heart. It’s not
“Stay Kids” is the title track of their forthcoming LP and starts the disc off right, easing us into the new sounds of ANR. It’s a little more delicate, a little more precious, a little more rocking, and suddenly, it’s a lot more appealing. It’s an ironic title because you can almost hear the duo coming growing up.
Stay Kids continues with “Big Problem,” a speaker blasting reminder that these guys mean business. Crunching guitars and fingersnaps hold on as tight as they can to that freight train beat that careens around the dance floor at top speeds. This one is for rolling down windows and blowing out stock speakers.
The rest of the album’s 10 tracks balance the soft and soulful with the catchy and polished in a way that sets ANR apart in this years crop of buzz bands. They’ve dug deeper and it shows. No two songs sound remotely the same yet all of them are clearly branched of the same quickly maturing indie rock tree. Songs like “Holes” and “A Year Of Solitude Pays Off” show a band comfortable with baring some soul through sparse arrangements. Others like “It’s Around You,” and “This Is The Timing” are instantly catchy and memorable but in quite different ways. Cheers to ANR for kicking of 2011 with such a solid bang! Stay Kids is out digitally on March 15h. You know what to do.
https://www.theburningear.com/media/2011/02/ANR-Stay-Kids.jpg360360Brandonhttps://www.theburningear.com/media/2015/03/TBE-Header-Logo-2015-stack1.pngBrandon2011-02-08 01:59:312011-12-19 23:52:16[LP] ANR should STAY on all KIDS ipods if they want BIG jams and are having a PROBLEM finding them
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