Great Month... Or The Greatest Month?

July is by far my favorite month out of the year. Not only does the hot weather finally roll in to the Northwest, but there is a busload of new music that gets released as well. And today I get to share my favorite bands' newest music. First we got Delicate Steve's newest full length called Positive Force. I love this album. Super awesome guitar and rhythm music that breathes life into the listener. Positive Force is a serious smile fest from the opening notes of "Ramona Reborn" to the lyrical "Two Lovers" all the way to closing cricket noises of "Luna." The music is an exact representation of the album name, so much positive energy forcing its way into your sound holes. So listen to it below. My favorite tracks are all of them but particularly "Love" and "Wally Wilder."



Next up is yet another positively charged band in Fang Island. Their brand new one called Major is set to come out on the 24th, but our buddies over at NPR has the entirety streaming on their site here. This is one rocking, head-banging, dancing crazily like no one sees you kind of album. It starts off with a great catchy piano line, the standard high flying guitar, and an awesome chorus of "I all I know, I learned in kindergarten." "Kindergarten" is an epic opening track that sets up the rest of the album for greatness. With the metal-pop rock anthem of the single "Sisterly" being the second track it might seem like that they will soon run out of steam. Not so, instead the second half starts out with a classic noodling track "Dooney Rock" that evolves into high energy metal about halfway through. Then comes another high flying, rock punching track that is probably my favorite so far called "Chompers." In short this is a great album and you should listen to it via the link above, then you should buy it when it's released, and then you should check out the tour dates and go to their show.

Now for some of the best house party music out there with Jeff The Brotherhood. Their new album is called Hypnotic Nights, which started out as an EP released a couple of months ago. This one is produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. This is seriously some of the best music to hang out with friends and drink beers to. Lo-fi fuzz guitar riffs and catchy, rocking drum beats fill this album along with lyrics about not caring, getting wasted, and being young. Hypnotic Nights starts off with a great track "Country Life" followed by the hugely popular "Sixpack." After the sludgy "Leave Me Out" we get treated to the mellower "Region Of Fire" which has a kick-ass saxophone solo in the beginning, followed by a kick-ass guitar solo. It feels like they experimented with their sound a little more towards the end of the album and it sounds fantastic. The album comes out on the 17th and you can stream it here for free.

Live At Holocene: Delicate Steve + Adventures! With Might

Last night was one of my most anticipated shows of the year featuring Delicate Steve. After seeing them in Boise, ID I knew that this was a show that couldn't be missed. Though before the main attraction came on, Adventures! With Might opened up the night with their blend of electro-rock pop music. Though there were some technical difficulties it was still a good start to the night as people started to fill in the Holocene.

So after the last song "Heavy Hevvy" from Adventures! With Might, came a quick stage change to allow the members of Delicate Steve to all fit comfortably. As anticipation was quickly building from the audience, Delicate Steve started taking the stage and after a brief tuning, they started into their set with "Many Moods" followed up by "Sugar Splash." Delicate Steve rocked out so hard and sent so much positive vibe out that it was impossible to feel anything but happiness in Holocene. The highlight of the show was of course the last song they played, "Butterfly." Everyone was dancing to it by the end. What a great show to end the month of June. To see more pictures of the show go to our website KillingSasquatch.com.

Treefort Music Fest Day 1 of 4

This week sees the beginning of the inaugural Treefort Music Festival. The first day was full of transcending bands. We rolled into Boise, Idaho around 5 pm local time, just enough time to see the opening band Finn Riggins. It was a packed show that rocked so hard, I wasn't sure if I would make through the rest of the day.

Next up was Dustin Wong, the incredible one man guitar symphony. Some of the best pedal looping I have witnessed in my years of concert going.

We decided to take in the food culture of Boise after Dustin Wong. Turns out there's a sushi restaurant called Shige that has one dollar sushi plates for happy hour, and I must say that it was some of the best sushi I have had.
After dinner we then went back to the Neurolux to watch the most anticipated show (in my opinion), Delicate Steve. The show was everything that could be expected and more. Delicate Steve created another dimension in which I was very lucky to be a part of.

Mr. Gnome was at the Red Room after Delicate Steve. It was a packed show, almost didn't get in on time. Though Delicate Steve took most of my energy, Mr. Gnome was able to find more and extort it from my body. The outpour of pure rock from this two piece reminded me slightly of the Black Keys.

Treefort Music Festival

To whoever says that Boise, Idaho doesn't know how to party will be proven wrong with the inaugural Treefort Music Fest happening at the end of March. This is one of the most stacked lineups of unknown independent bands I have seen! The headliners for the music fest are Built To Spill, Why?, and Of Montreal. With supporting bands such as Blitzen Trapper, Delicate Steve, Typhoon, and Finn Riggins, and a 4-day pass costing only 79 dollars there's really no excuse not to see this festival. Below are some excellent examples of why everyone should come to Treefort.
Desert Noises have a great sound that reminds me of a certain band named Fleet Foxes. Really catchy drums and groovin' bass lines makes it more uptempo, yet still sounds like a crisp sunny morning. Make sure you check out their album Mountain Sea on the bandcamp site. Also check out the awesome single "Oak Tree" below.

Next band I want to share is Red Hands Black Feet, an instrumental band that have heavy influence from Modest Mouse, Russian Circles, and Minus The Bear. They build up each track so well to a sometimes overwhelming climax, your not sure what just happened until after the fact. Check out their stuff here.


Last one for tonight is Shades. Their debut album Clear Motions just dropped last month, and I assure you it is a must listen. They have a great electro-pop chill wave sound going on. Great beats and cool vocals fill this album so go and check it out on their soundcloud page here.

Top 50 Albums of the Year Part 5 of 5: The Top 15 Albums of All Year

Welcome to the final installment and last post of the year. This year has been a treat, there has been so many great albums, it was hard to choose what was the best of the best. Even though I have listened to a lot of albums this year, I know I have missed out on some good stuff. So if you think that there should be a record on any of these lists then please leave a courteous comment on my posts. In the end it's really not the number that counts, it's how the music makes you feel, and that's how I base this list off of. So as I sign off for the rest of the year I would like thank everyone who reads this and I hope that you are sharing all this great music that I am sharing with you. Happy Holidays to you all and I hope to see you all next year.

15. Cults - Cults

Cults - You Know What I Mean by cultscultscults

14. Sleep ∞ Over - Forever

Casual Diamond by Sleep ∞ Over

13. Neon Indian - Era Extrana

Hex Girlfriend by MGMTNeonIndian

12. Explosions In The Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

Trembling Hands by Explosions in the Sky

11. Gauntlet Hair - Gauntlet Hair

Gauntlet Hair "Keep Time" by DOJAGSC

10. White Denim - D

White Denim - Bess St by ProspectPark

9. Panda Bear - Tomboy

Panda Bear: Slow Motion by -gaga

8. Starfawn - Starfawn EP

12,000 B.C. by Starfawn

7. Real Estate - Days

Real Estate - Municipality by DominoRecordCo

6. Delicate Steve - Wondervisions

Delicate Steve- Don't Get Stuck (Proud Elephants) by The FADER

5. Starfucker - Reptilians

Starfucker - "Millions" by terrorbird

4. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

Shabazz Palaces - An Echo From The Hosts That Profess Infinitum by subpop

3. Pure X - Pleasure

Dry Ice by PURE X

2. Peaking Lights - 936

Hey Sparrow by Peaking Lights

1. Washed Out - Within and Without

Washed out - You and I by iroel

So there you have it. It is ok if you disagree, let me know what your favorites are in the comments box.
Honorable mention to the incredibly talented Purity Ring for their 7" release this year.
Killing Sasquatch will be back next year to bring you even more music so stay tuned. Thanks again.

Top 50 Albums of the Year Part 3 of 5: Misc. Category

This miscellaneous category contains everything from hip-hop to instrument and contains all the year's best EPs. Once again this list is alphabetical according to artist.

Das Racist - Relax

Das Racist - Girl by flyergoodness

Delicate Steve - Wondervisions

Delicate Steve - Sugar Splash by MOORWORKS

Exitmusic - From Silence

Exitmusic — The Hours by DOJAGSC

Peaking Lights - 936

Amazing and Wonderful by Peaking Lights

People Get Ready - People Get Ready

People Get Ready: "Uncanny" by Brassland

Phantogram - Nightlife

Phantogram - Don't Move by vibetothis

Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

Shabazz Palaces - Swerve... by subpop

Starfawn - Starfawn

Dark Touch by Starfawn

Nothing Dead by Starfawn

Surfer Blood - Tarot Classics

Surfer Blood - I'm Not Ready by Chris Topher Dawe

Toro Y Moi - Freaking Out

Toro Y Moi - Saturday Love by Carpark Records

Typhoon - A New Kind Of House

Typhoon - The Honest Truth by tender-loving-empire