Archive for the ‘Thunder Power’ Category
AWmusic’s Top Songs of 2008 pt 1: #76-100
Rest of the series:
Part 2: #51-75
Part 3: #26-50
Part 4: #1-25
I’m really late with my top songs list. There are far too many and it’s likely I missed a whole bit. In order not to just give a list of 100 songs, I’ll split it into four-parts with a 10-word limit describing each track.
#76 (Why Don’t You Go) Take A Hike by Thunder Power (myspace/video)
Even if she tells me, I’m not leaving.
#77 Wishing Well by Love Is All(myspace/video)
Josephine Olausson is a goddess. I’ll make her feel better
.#78 Take Me Home by Team Genius(myspace/video)
Most optimistic attempt to be Michael Jackson vocally?
#79 Clouds by The Rumble Strips (myspace)
“I’m lying on my back, looking at the clouds”
#80 Singer-Songwriter Anthem by Silver Speakers (myspace)
I think of this whenever I hear a singer-song writer.
#81 The Hollows by Why? (myspace)
10 words doesn’t do it here.
#82 Cherry Tulips by Headlights (myspace/video)
Pop at its finest.
#83 The Nun’s Litany by Magnetic Fields (myspace)
Fuel to the “dirty nun” fantasy.
#84 Black Satin by The Raveonettes(myspace)
Another simple yet effective Raveonettes song.
#85 California Girls by Magnetic Fields
Someone actually hates California Girls?
#86 Where Do You Run To by Vivian Girls (myspace)
A simple yet catchy song.
#87 You, Me and the Burgeoise by The Submarines (myspace/video)
I-phone commercial for the win?
#88 Bye Bye Bye by Plants and Animals (myspace/video)
Good song….album? ehhh
#89 Stormy High by Black Mountain (myspace)
A great start to a great album.
#90 Nothing Ever Happened by Deerhunter (myspace)
“Best song to play on a road trip”
#91 Constructive Summer by Hold Steady (myspace)
Me and my friends are like “constructive summer”?
#92 Ghosts by Ladytron (myspace/video)
Schizophrenia?
#93 House Music by Cadence Weapon (myspace)
Best song on Afterparty Babies.
#94 Creeper by Islands (myspace/video)
Video is odd.
#95 The Old Days by Dr. Dog (myspace)
“Let go of the old ones, we’ve got new ones.”
#96 Jodi by The Dodos (myspace)
Jodi my dear, this is a song you must hear.
#97 Battle Royale by Does It Offend You Yeah? (myspace/video)
A catchy instrumental for one of my favorite movies.
#98 I Wasn’t Made For Fighting by Woodhands (myspace/video)
They were actually made for dancing.
#99 Heaven (Narctrax Remix) by Health (myspace)
Health’s Disco has amazing remixes.
#100 Dawn Of The Dead by Does It Offend You Yeah? (video)
Critics hated on the wrong album.
Thunder Power – Love Yourself… EP
Thunder Power is a strong name while, “Love Yourself….” implores some self doubt and half hearted commitment to a statement with just the use of “…”. The three trailing periods to end a statement is probably one of my favorite uses in online conversation and writing in general. I always feel like maybe a reader or another person will receive the wrong interpretation so I half-heartedly commit to saying something or if I want to implore some doubt and be mysterious.
Before I am carried away with something unrelated, Thunder Power is a female fronted group from Omaha, Nebraska home of Tilly & The Wall and Bright Eyes & Co. While I did ramble on the usage of “…”, it is related to frontwoman Kacynna’s singing as her singing style is unique in that she half-hearted commit to words. Her singing reminds me of Victoria Legrand of Beach House but with far less commitment but instead of a soul/dream pop style backing Legrand, Thunder Power takes more of a Belle and Sebastian approach. With Twee pop influences and voice that at first doesn’t seem to suit the style, it makes Thunder Power stand out among the simplistic folk/pop outfits that are a dime a dozen.
While Kacynna does have a unique voice, I think at times she needs a little more conviction. An example would be Imaginary Rules, a very strongly written song about being different and adding their ABBA reference: “humming Abba choruses
To all her friends “Take a Chance” stuck in their heads”. In this case I like the lyrics more then the actual song.
My favorite song is (Why Don’t You Go) Take a Hike. Basically from the title it’s self explanatory, the song is telling you to piss off but it’s sung so beautifully, maybe that’s why Thunder Power needed to write a song about leaving them alone because I’d come back for more based on this track alone.
As an EP it’s solid all around, nothing over the top… no big exclamation marks…or anything special really. Hopefully future releases are successful because I think they are more then capable.
Rating: 4 out of 5
(Why Don’t You Go) Take A Hike by Thunder Power
Imaginary Rules by Thunder Power
Video for Take A Hike after the jump.
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