A musical mixed bag

'Mixed bag' is probably an understatement really and I'm not sure anyone could have predicted the inclusion of the Great British Ukulele Orchestra on IWAOS but all these varied musical stylings are equally brilliant in their own - and perhaps slightly eccentric - right.

Starting with the divine Snowblink and their luscious video, which totally allows me to indulge my 'one-day-I'll-be-a-beautiful-hippy-type-wondering-bare-foot-around -1970s-America-with-a-small-elfin-child' fantasy, you know the one? Well, it can't just be me. Anyway. Their MySpace labels them as belonging to that well-known Soul/Tropical/Surf genre(!) but I think I might agree with them, they're not really like anyone else around that's for sure. You can read a little bit more about them at The 405, here.

Second is Nika + Rory who are actually Zola Jesus and her bandmate Nick Turco. Zola has been intriguing me for a while and I just love how this track manages to sound at once utterly modern but somehow also tinged with a dose of 80s dramatic pop, which is echoed in the slightly creepy video.

The See See next, I caught them a couple of weeks ago when they were supporting the amazing Brian Jonestown Massacre. Quite a difficult slot I should imagine, warming up for the less than predictable BJM, but they were really good fun and gave the psychadelia-hungry crowd exactly what they were looking for.

And last but not least, a nod to my latest obsession - the ukulele. I bought myself one a couple of weeks ago and am quickly becoming a kind of mad ukulele band groupie. Plus the concept of this video is great - the idea of being stalked around town by a ukulele orchestra really cracks me up.

Magnetic

I heart these guys and their album 'Up from Below'. I'm inspired to either invent a time machine and go back to the '60s (quite keen on that idea already to be honest) or rent a big truck and drive around the southern states, or both. Album review to come!

Ellie and the Machine

So this is Florence and the...oh wait! I mean Ellie Goulding, silly me!

That's very unfair of me actually as I do quite like Ellie Goulding but her latest song 'Under the Sheets' does seem to be uncannily similar to Florence's 'Drumming Song', but I suppose music comes and goes in trends so it was just a matter of time before Florence's trademark harp and big synthy choruses started popping up all over the place.

I think I prefer Goulding's 'Starry Eyed' which at least distinguishes her as being a little bit different from other female artists and has given rise to a ton of really great remixes. None of this really matters however, she is definitely going to explode in a really big way very soon - her tour sold out uber quickly for an artist is who is still relatively under the radar, and despite my reservations I would still like to check her out live.

Son Lux

I stumbled across this guy the other day and have been slightly obsessed with their blissed-out sound (does anyone still say that?) ever since.

'This guy' is Ryan Lott who made his name through collaborating with and remixing other artists, such as Beirut. The above songs are from the 2008 album At War with Walls and Mazes which was his debut as Son Lux, it took 4 years for Lott to record and produce in his attic studio. I love it!