the war on drugs

The Best Records Of 2014’s First Quarter

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the-war-on-drugs

And to kill time while our blog is on annual leave exploring Australia, here’s a special edition of the loop to recap the best records that have seen the light of day so far this year, focusing in popular favourites that haven’t yet been released as singles, such as the week’s honorary number one, Philadelphia rocksters The War On Drugs and ‘Burning’ our favourite from their acclaimed latest opus; those that we originally ignored or didn’t appreciate as much as they deserved, Future Islands‘ terrific ‘Seasons’ (Waiting On You)’ is a good example; or tracks from albums that didn’t have a clear standout moment but are still worthy of notice.

Check this informal edition with the first quarter of 2014 music review after the jump

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REVIEW 2008: HONORARY MENTIONS – 21 BLOG DARLINGS

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THE SHORTWAVE SET-No Social

Collectively nicknamed as Blog Rock, during this decade a big number of new artists discovered by the increasing presence of music blogs online, have grown to be a parallel world coexisting with the big-buck marketing of the four majors oligopoly, being a true engine for the industry’s renewal. Their influence was felt and in some cases intercepted, with some high profile ones closing down and some others watching their contents and ethos being modified. The remaining ones still fulfilled their gatekeeping role with clockwork precision and the following names were among their luckiest findings.

Apodados colectivamente como blog rock, durante esta decada un gran número de artistas noveles descubiertos por la creciente presencia de blogs musicales se han convertido en un mundo paralelo, coexistiendo con el ostentoso marketing del oligopolio de las cuatro grandes y consolidándose como un auténtico motor para la renovación de la industria. Su influencia se hacia notar y en algunos casos era interceptada, con algunos ejemplos notables cerrando sus puertas y otros viendo como sus contenidos y ética eran alterados. Los que quedaban siguieron cumpliendo su papel de filtro con precisión casi mecánica y los siguientes nombres se encontraron entre sus hallazgos más felices.

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