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Kathryn Yu By day, Kathryn Yu is an Interaction Designer working for a design firm in Brooklyn, N.Y., toiling away at web sites and software applications.
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Kathryn Yu

Story Archive

Friday

A Christmastime Walk 'Through The Snow'

Very little is jazzy or routine about The Winston Jazz Routine. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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courtesy of the artist

Review

Song Of The Day

A Christmastime Walk 'Through The Snow'

Propelled by strummed guitars, quietly brushed drums and dulcet chimes, The Winston Jazz Routine's "Through the Snow" provides a ready-made soundtrack to a stroll through snowy landscapes. Nathan Phillips' hushed vocals are well-suited for year-end introspection.

'Through the Snow' by The Winston Jazz Routine

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Wednesday

Beirut/Realpeople: Two Sides Of Zach Condon
Samuel Kirszenbaum

Review

Song Of The Day

Beirut/Realpeople: Two Sides Of Zach Condon

In "My Wife, Lost in the Wild," Beirut's Zach Condon constructs a remarkable sonic structure, built around whirling synths and swirling beats. He layers his clear, gorgeous crooner's voice on top of itself, piling on in a round robin with himself to dizzying effect, culminating in an a cappella ending in which Condon serenades, "You'll send your heart to me" over and over as he harmonizes with himself.

'My Wife, Lost in the Wild' by Beirut/Realpeople

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Monday

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Pop Nostalgia
Pavla Kopecna

Song Of The Day

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Pop Nostalgia

Fans of '80s-era U.K. indie music ought to find much to appreciate in The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The band's songs find a comfortable middle ground between the nostalgic past and twee pop present, blurring the boundaries with subtle confidence. In one of 2009's catchiest songs, "Young Adult Friction," an insistent bass line trades off against the sweet chiming of electric guitars, smothered with hazy noise that's as fluffy as cotton candy.

'Young Adult Friction' by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

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Thursday

Review

Song Of The Day

Amazing Baby: A Formidable Wall Of Sound

A Brooklyn band led by a pair of guys who write ringtones for a living, Amazing Baby creates a formidable wall of sound, magnified by a dozen rock stars' worth of swagger. "Pump Yr Brakes" reveals new layers of innuendo, reverb and echo with every listen.

'Pump Yr Brakes' by Amazing Baby

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Tuesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Matt And Kim: Wrong Notes Ring True

Matt Johnson plays keyboards and sings about longing for home in the wistful "Daylight," in which his everyman voice doesn't mesh so much as glide lazily atop a reverb-soaked string section. Meanwhile, Kim Schifino plays her drum kit sloppily but lovingly.

'Daylight' by Matt And Kim

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Tuesday

Review

Song Of The Day

The Mae Shi: Punk With A Bubblegum Soul

The Mae Shi's work is typically marked by an obsessive urge to create and destroy: It crams many catchy riffs into a single, painfully short song, but then also adds carefully timed choral screams on top of the guitar-strewn snippets, turning the mess into a frantic, joyous post-punk collage.

'Run to Your Grave' by The Mae Shi

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Monday

Review

Song Of The Day

DeVotchKa: Soaring And Silken, Sad And Lovely

DeVotchKa's sound is a surprisingly potent potpourri of cabaret, spaghetti Western, and Eastern European Gypsy songs. In "Head Honcho," Nick Urata's gorgeous voice holds the melting pot together as a lone accordion intrudes upon his reverie, insistent and beautiful.

'Head Honcho' by DeVotchKa

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Wednesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Baby Dee: Peace Beyond Tragedy

Transgender singer-songwriter Baby Dee has a rich, captivating, otherworldly voice. It soars majestically over mournful, sustained piano chords in "Safe Inside the Day" before retreating and returning, boldly and forcefully. Her voice is a force of nature, marked by dramatic outbursts and an unmistakable air of sadness.

'Safe Inside the Day' by Baby Dee

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Wednesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Apes & Androids: Flamboyant Space Opera

"Hot Kathy," a unique bit of flamboyant space opera from the New York band Apes & Androids, blends classic-rock influences (David Bowie, Queen) with the blips and bleeps of 8-bit video games, resulting in a giddy collage of sound.

'Hot Kathy' by Apes & Androids

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Wednesday

Review

Song Of The Day

The National: Conflicted Enough to 'Start a War'

A lovely tension permeates The National's "Start a War," as Matt Berninger's words suggest an inevitable clash of swords. The line "Walk away now, and you're gonna start a war" sounds like equal parts proclamation, threat and statement of weary resignation.

'Start a War' by The National

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Thursday

Review

Song Of The Day

All the Wrong Moves, in a 'Backfire at the Disco'

Demonstrating The Wombats U.K.'s firm grip on multi-part harmonies and bouncy choruses, "Backfire at the Disco" represents everything that can go right with melodic guitar pop. The song chronicles a disastrous date from singer Matthew Murphy's perspective.

'Backfire at the Disco' by The Wombats U.K.

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Thursday

Review

Song Of The Day

Embracing 'Cult Status,' with an Eye on Stardom

In 1990s' "Cult Status," tongue-in-cheek singer John McKeown proclaims, "My cult status keeps me alive" with all the preening attitude of Mick Jagger in his prime. Running less than three minutes, it's a high-spirited romp through the rock of yesteryear.

'Cult Status' by 1990s

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Tuesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Heartfelt Emotion in an Orchestral Arrangement

The songs of Canadian songwriter Barzin Hosseini present an ideal marriage of alt-country and slow-paced soundscapes. When his beautifully hypnotic "My Life in Rooms" is over, it continues to linger in the air like a sepia-toned daydream.

'My Life in Rooms' by Barzin

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Friday

Review

New Music

Jangly Rock with Frantic Intensity and Lusty Vocals

On "The Plot," White Rabbits' members demonstrate a fondness for twinkling keyboards, room-filling rock and snarling but seductive vocals. Playing a kind of pitch-perfect indie-soul, they draw inspiration from disparate sources like calypso and ska along the way.

'The Plot' by White Rabbits

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Tuesday

Review

Song Of The Day

A Hopeful Prayer to a Higher Power

Akron/Family makes a dynamic, experimental, unpredictable indie-folk racket, with influences as disparate as classic rock, psychedelic guitar, found sound and gospel. But in "Love and Space," it puts its considerable vocal talent to work in a campfire spiritual.

'Love and Space' by Akron/Family

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Thursday

Review

Song Of The Day

Music for Dusty Roads and Endless Possibilities

Ola Podrida's lazily majestic "Jordanna" builds slowly, as bandleader David Wingo carefully engineers the placement of each individual element. People and scenes float in and out of focus, lending the song the feel of a scrapbook.

'Jordanna' by Ola Podrida

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Monday

Review

Song Of The Day

An Autumn Daydream, Five Months Early

Beach House's sleepy "Saltwater" never feels weary or tiresome. Instead, it floats along in a wispy haze of skittering drumbeats that rise and fall like heartbeats. As Victoria Legrand sings, "Love you all the time / even though you're not mine," her voice sounds powerful and stripped bare.

'Saltwater' by Beach House

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Wednesday

Review

Song Of The Day

The Arcade Fire: Growing Up, Getting Better

In the momentous Neon Bible, The Arcade Fire's members are worn down by modern living, and their hearts are in tatters, but their fever burns more brightly than ever. On the heels of Funeral, the follow-up takes a far less obvious approach.

'My Body Is a Cage' by The Arcade Fire

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Tuesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Loney, Dear: From the Basement to the Heart

The product of Swedish multi-instrumentalist Emil Svanangen, Loney, Dear recorded its debut CD mostly in his parents' basement and a tiny studio apartment. But in spite of its modest origins, the disc is an immensely satisfying collection of light, lush pop songs with warm electronic cores.

'I Am John' by Loney, Dear

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Friday

Review

Song Of The Day

A Preacher's Son Launches a Lusty Soul Revival

Jon-Rae Fletcher may be Canada's finest indie-gospel-country-soul songwriter, and his backing band The River — a rotating cast of friends who occasionally include members of a gospel choir — accompanies his charismatic odes to sex, drinking, rock 'n' roll and God.

'Just One More' by Jon-Rae and the River

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Friday

Review

Song Of The Day

Rock Plaza Central: Out of the Mouths of Horses

Rock Plaza Central isn't afraid to get thematically ambitious: The Canadian band's self-released Are We Not Horses is a concept album about the "apocalyptic daydreams of six-legged robotic horses," who believe they are real horses and find themselves caught in a war between humans and angels.

'My Children, Be Joyful' by Rock Plaza Central

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Wednesday

Review

Song Of The Day

A Cracked Power Ballad, Realistic and True

Pink Nasty is a young and talented singer-songwriter whose quirky alt-country songs nicely complement her pretty but powerful voice. She gets her moment in the sun with Will Oldham on "Don't Ever Change," which smartly sums up all of the contradictions, tensions and aggravations inherent in relationships.

'Don't Ever Change' by Pink Nasty

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Friday

Review

Song Of The Day

Pretty Pop Finds Its Sinister Side

Not content with musical convention, Chris Garneau restricts his soft voice to starts and stutters, as if it refuses to leave his lips. At its most fluttery, it brings to mind the likes of Elliott Smith and Sufjan Stevens, but Garneau breaks free of easy comparisons in "First Place!!!"

'First Place!!!' by Chris Garneau

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Tuesday

Review

Song Of The Day

An Unlikely Source of 'Sunshine'

The Chicago band Lesser Birds of Paradise, known for its hushed and pastoral folk music, takes "You Are My Sunshine" out of the American songbook and slows the classic to a crawl. Left to a hypnotic trance, the words take on significant new meaning.

'Sunshine' by The Lesser Birds of Paradise

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