Over the past 15 years, I've listened to very little commercial radio. Podcasts are my thing for interesting dialogue and news, as well as for finding out about new music.

There's a few radio stations across the country that have a 'song of the day' podcast. I will let a week or two of subscription of song of the day downloads to build up and have a very eclectic music mix on my drive to work.

This band, Wye Oak, has shown up in several of these stations' daily song downloads, and each time I hear the singer's voice proud amongst the interesting beats, electronica backing, and beautifully mangled electric guitar - I look up to see who the band is. This has happened a few times, and I decided to purchase their latest CD from Amazon.

There has been a trend going on 10+ years of indie female singers, mis-shaping their vowel sounds, so that it often sounds like a meow for every single vowel. I don't mean that as a crotchety old man, it's the best I can describe their 'formant-replacement-method'. It's as if every vowel should receive every single formant, which is what a cat does with a meow. Huge turnoff for me. There are many male singers in the indie rock world that are doing this as well. Drives me nuts. I want to hear you sing how you talk, not how you think you are being edgy and clever.

Not so with Wye Oak. Gorgeous vocals, provoking lyrics.
http://wyeoakmusic.com/

I hope that they really take off and maybe the female indie artist world will wake up to it and think to themselves that 'Hey, I can sing like I talk AND get picked up by college radio', and this meowing trend will die like the gated snare sound of the 80's.

Another one that I've recently come across is a sister duo from Sweden called 'First Aid Kit'.

Harmonies like only sisters can sing - in mid-west American accents, with modern twists on Americana music.
http://firstaidkitband.com/


As for the podcasts that do the song of the day feature:
https://www.thecurrent.org/collection/song-of-the-day
https://kexp.org/podcasts/song-of-the-day/
https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/todays-top-tune

Scott,

I listened to both artists. I have to say... neither "did anything" for me. Obviously not the kind of music I like. In both cases, half way through the song I began "waiting for it to be over". Nothing about them appealed to me (and I listen to a lot of new music of all kinds).

There is a lot of music in the world these days...

Thanks for offering it up...

We must not like the same music. First Aid Kit sound much more what I remember real country music sounding like, than any of the current stuff except some Allison Krauss - She and Union Station are the real deal (got to talk with Ron Block for about 15 minutes at Guitar Town 2016). I can't stand most of the modern party rock that passes for country these days which is what I keep seeing the BIAB'ers wanting these days. Give me some George Strait, older Emmylou Harris, etc.

Anyways, neither are heard on most radio stations these days.

90's Country is my #1 favorite music. If you don't know that, then you haven't listened to much of my music...

Here is a list of a few favorites:
Previous forum post about Country songss
(2nd response in the thread)

But I prefer not to be "stuck in the past" - and I'm willing to listen to - and write and produce - newer stuff.

As for BIAB'ers wanting the new Country sound - there are only a couple who really do - a couple who give it a try - a couple who never let us hear what they do ever, so we don't really know... The majority of BIAB'ers - like 98% - are more than happy with what BAIB can do for them and the sound they prefer.


Did you have a listen to the Ashley McBride record?
http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=468555&Searchpage=1&Main=68482&Words=McBryde&Search=true#Post468555

I listened to some of their album but was unimpressed. Here they bring Emmylou Harris to tears which is much closer to Classic Country in my estimation.

https://youtu.be/Hi5A9OCAyIk

I listened to Wye Oak and thought she was really good. But I liked First Aid Kit the best and in fact I will purchase this album as both my wife and I like this genre.

Music is such a personal thing....and there is so much to choose from. E

I never really thought of indie as being 'hipster'. I really enjoy indie folk and indie rock, but that's because indie folk runs in the family and I've been around it forever. I do admit that the downside to indie vocalists is that they do tend to all have the same cadence and overall sound to their voices, so listening to a bunch back to back can get a bit stale ( in my honest opinion ).

I'm currently really enjoying Florence and the Machine's new single, Hunger. That being said, Florence and the Machine is not always my cup of tea. I'm not a fan of her singing style most of the time, but when you have the right combination of sounds then it just works. Howl is the only other song by them that I actively listen to. Nooot a huge fan of the rest of their stuff.

Passenger's All The Little Lights is also really good, but then again I like all his stuff.

Ember,

You've hit on an excellent point...I don't prefer to be categorized as Country when I am more of a Folk listener and singer. In fact, I'm not comfortable being 'shoehorned' into any one particular genre. My musical tastes span the broadest of spectrums, even Broadway musicals, and light opera.

Some of Gordon Lightfoot's songs go straight to my heart but they are seldom the over-played, highly commercialized songs. I don't care if I ever hear "Wreck Of The Edmond Fitzgerald" ever again. However, there are many of Gord's 'B-sides' that I still love and would like to hear more of.

This is an interesting observation. I've noticed that distinct "yowling" form of singing in lots of folk music these days too. I'm not overly fond of it, but it's a genre of music I've never cared much for in the first place. I didn't mind Wye Oak one bit though

And I can’t stand Florence and the Machine. The Machine is fine. Florence is one of those meowers

I can't hear the meowing. They all seem ok to me including Florence. This must be culturally specific... The only meowing singer I can't stand is Amy Winehouse.

I actually really liked Amy Winehouse. Very different and unique IMHO.

Ditto

She was nuanced and wasn’t compelled to scream.

While not a group, a modern singer in this kind of style I really like is Aurora. She is Norwegian, so she does have an accent but definitely not what I'd describe as the signature "yowl" we're referencing here. She also falls into a category closer to pop than folk generally speaking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTwdGRHl5Mw

As for Amy Winehouse - I can definitely understanding someone finding her voice annoying, but I actually really like it for the same reason mentioned above: it sounds really unique and fresh to me.

This is where almost 67 year old grumpy Eddie comes in with his extremely old school nuanced taste in music.

Just for an example of where this is headed, let me share a quick story with you. A female friend of mine called me abut 6-7 years ago all excited that she won tickets to see Josh Groban, asking if I would go with her. My reply was something close to "There are not enough Clydesdales in the world to drag me kicking and screaming to a Josh Groban concert."

One of these threads somewhere mentioned that Ed Sheeran guy. I had to go find him and listen to about 10 seconds of 3 of his songs to see how much I hated his work. Refer back to the Clydesdale reference.

I can't stand this breed of wispy, willowy, overly-breathy half whispered largely falsetto singers that are the rage today. I want to hear music with power. With guts. With testicles. The music of today puts me in mind of the days of dueling when people would slap each other on the cheek with a glove. I prefer a solid left hook.

To Groban and Sheeran, add Jason Mraz, John Mayer (excellent guitarist - sappy songs), ANY of the nasal girl singers who release music in which you can audibly hear the autotune in place. And any of the boy band craze bands. New Kids, NSYNC, First Edition... any of them. Yes, they could sing, but when you spend more time in the beauty shop than the rehearsal hall, that's a problem for me.

Listen to THIS singer. I would rather gargle with Drano and chew razor blades than endure 100 minutes of this kind of voice. I suspect this is what you mean by "hipster" music? I don't have any idea who this guy is or what he looks like, but I am going to guess he probably has a man bun.

I want Average White band. I want Tower of Power. I want Earth Wind and Fire. I want music that screams at me to GET OUT OF THAT CHAIR AND MOVE YOUR FEET!! Not "Oooh let's make hot chocolate and cuddle under the stars".

I allowed myself to be dragged to a faith music concert once. The guy next to me, the GUY next to me, wanted to hold my hand and sway to the music. Okay, first of all, Eddie doesn't "sway". Second, keep your [ahem] hands off me. There is no reason other than you taking my pulse if I collapse mid-show for you to touch me. To this day I don't know why I even went to that thing. I am not a believer. That being said, some of the best music I ever heard was in a Southern Baptist church in Oklahoma!

On topic, of the 2 examples, I was okay with the second one a little bit. Not the first one. At all. Even the second one only got an A&R listen of 20-25 seconds.

I agree with you Eddie. These are great bands. Be sure to check out Tower of Power's new CD "Soul Side of Town". It's excellent and I'm sure that you will like it.

Mario, I listened to 10 seconds of 3 songs and bought that CD.

Yeah, I don't really hear the meowing/yowling either, but maybe that's because I'm a crazy cat person and have a hard time comparing it to actual cat yowling.

Nothing wrong with that if that's what you're in to. Personally I find it pretty relaxing sometimes. I tend to listen to indie music specifically when I need to relax. But I agree it's not exactly music intended to make you stomp your feet to the music. Then again, it is apples and oranges, musically speaking. They serve different tastes and they're all valid.