With A Crushing Beauty
So I'm stuck at work trying to finish up some things, but since I really want to get something posted today, I'm gonna give you a video:
Once again, Scandanavia steps correct with some amazing, deep, heavy pop, courtesey of one of my new favorite artists, Jose Gonzalez, and his new band Junip. Junip is Gonzalez with his friends Elias Arias on drums and Tobias Winterkorn on keys. The sound is heavy on the keys, acoustic guitar, Gonzalez's shatteringly beautiful voice, all of which are bleeding together in gorgeous analog warmth, as they're (I think) run through overdriven tube amps.
I first heard Gonzalez with his song "Crosses" - which is so goddamned good, it is just about heartbreaking - on the It's A Trap compilation (which you should look into if you're into these guys... Gonzalez is also known to do searing acoustic covers of other beautiful songs (see his version of JD's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and the Knife's "Heartbeats" for evidence).
Anyway, Junip's EP, Black Refuge is out on their own label, Teme Shet, and is available from DOTSHOP.SE in Sweden, Boomkat in the UK, and Parasol in the US.
Be sure to check out the website for a couple of free tracks, and check their myspace page for more info and music.