After We Talked: The War On Drugs

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Kurt Vile supplying the tunes for a sun soaked Spring

So Spring 2011 has landed in London and the sun is shining and the sunglasses have been dusted off and people are walking the streets of Soho with a smile on their face. I have been listening to Kurt Vile's debut album for the past few days and I have to say 'Smoke Ring For My Halo' which was released on Matador a couple of weeks ago is almost the perfect soundtrack to the sun soaked city.

To be honest I had not heard anything from this album until I got hold of it and Kurt Vile (lead singer of The War On Drugs) has delivered a collection of psychedelic, fuzz filled folk songs that are brilliant. The War On Drugs really reminded of The Verve's early work and Kurt's vocals are not a million miles away from Richard Ashcrofts. I don't usually like comparing musicians but Kurt's sound really hit a nerve with me and this album already has the nostalgic feeling you get when you return to an amazing record after several years. Clearly Kurt was a hit at SXSWand you can hear why. Spend some time today getting to know Kurt Vile's sound and you wont regret it - start with 'Baby's Arms':

Kurt Vile - Baby's Arms by squidrobot

Kurt Vile - Jesus Fever by musicmule

I have mentioned them before but Kurt's band The War on Drugs released one my favorite tunes of last year and it's worth listening to again - The War On Drugs - Comin' Through.

Comin' Through - The War On Drugs by livkend

Wherever you are, enjoy the first sights and sounds of Spring!

Andy in London

Thursday, March 10, 2011

On a journey you can always rely on these tunes...Oh and an update on AWT

So after a brief excursion for the London based AWT faction to Cali last week and a slight departure from all things blog related I wanted to post some of the tunes that have kept me smiling whilst I have been travelling round the world and also share some snaps.

There is some exciting developments going on behind the scenes at After We Talked and we are very close to launching a brand new site with all new content and exciting features. Ok, ok how many times have you heard that about blogs or websites before?
...but this time - this is going to get real... AWT has been going only 1 month and we have already garnished a following and have many ideas to develop and share with you. So stay tuned for After We Talked to get bigger, stronger, faster & harder!

So southern California was the destination of my latest little trip and on the way I had many tunes to keep me company but there are 5 stand out favourites that are worth sharing with you. It has to be said and it is somewhat of a cliche, but music makes memories come alive. A tune or a song can enhance a memory and you can be transported back to a place or time in flash. That is part of the magic of absorbing music while you travel. This may come across as a fairly indulgent post but I hope it introduces you to some great new music.

There is no real correlation between any of the tracks - some are epic, some are beautiful, others just put a smile on my face.

So 1st up is Andrew Weatherall's remix of Fuck Buttons Sweet Love for Plant Earth - The Bristol based Aphex Twin influenced duo have a special sound and this tune is pure escapism.

Fuck Buttons * Sweet Love for Planet Earth (Andrew Weatherall Remix) by Cruyff

Next up The War on Drug's utterly fantastic single Comin' Through - for me this is a perfect alt rock single and there are almost nods to The Verve. This was one of my stand out tracks from last year. They are on tour with Destroyer and play LA's Troubadour on 22nd March - maybe you should go see them?

Comin' Through - The War On Drugs by livkend