“Breakfast with My Shadow” by Cloud Cult – A Song Review

     Cloud Cult is an eight-member band from Duluth, Minnesota. The band includes a recent instrument obsession (the trumpet) and our current instrument obsession (the cello). And there are “visual artists!” 

     The eight members are Craig Minowa (singer/songwriter and guitar), Arlen Peiffer (drums), Shannon Frid-Rubin (violin), Daniel Zamzow (cello), Shawn Neary (bass and trombone), Sarah Elhardt-Perbix (keyboard, French horn and trumpet), Connie Minowa (visual artist), and Scott West (visual artist and trumpet).

     The name of Cloud Cults' 2014 acoustic album is “Unplug” and it includes the track “Breakfast with My Shadow.” We enjoy the banjo intro for the song, but it’s the vocal blend that starts at the 2:30 mark that makes this song special.

Downloads of the song are available at:

https://www.kexp.org/live/liveperformance.aspx?rId=34967

and

Indie Rock Cafe (CLICK HERE)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CloudCultMusic

Website: http://cloudcult.com/

“Unplug” – The song list

1.     You Were Born

2.     Breakfast with My Shadow

3.     The Ghost Inside Our House

4.     Chemicals Collide

5.     Responsible

6.     Purpose

7.     Chain Reaction

8.     Running with the Wolves

9.     Transistor Radio

10.   We Made Up Your Mind for You

11.   That Man Jumped Out the Window

12.   Pretty Voice

13.   Journey of the Featherless

14.   Light at the End of the Tunnel

15.   Step Forward

16.   Complicated Creation

17.   No One Said It Would Be Easy

     "Good Friend" - not on the song list, but it's a favorite

     "Running with the Wolves"

“Elysium” by Bear’s Den – A Song Review

      The London band Bear’s Den dropped another quality track. This one is named “Elysium.” The song progresses along quietly, until the horn asserts its position at the 1:33 mark. Typical of music from Bear’s Den, the cooperative vocals are the best feature.

     “Elysium” by Bear’s Den

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bearsdenmusic

Website: http://www.bearsdenmusic.co.uk/

     We received an email invitation to consider “Elysium.”  Among the information in the invitation was:

     “Elysium” is an elegiac paean to the redemptive power of friendship.

     Bear’s Den are Andrew Davie (guitar, vocals), Joey Haynes (guitar), and Kev Jones (drums, bass). Since forming in 2012, the London based trio have built a fervent fanbase through their live shows and a dedicated DIY aesthetic that originally saw them self-fund tours and sell hand printed CDs direct to fans at gigs.

     In two short years, Andrew, Joey and Kev quietly went from pub shows to a jaw dropping headline gig at the Brixton Electric in front of 1500 people. Their appearance at Mumford & Sons’ Summer Stampede saw them play in front of a 60,000 strong, sold out crowd in London’s newly landscaped Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. In the US, the band played support tours with Mumford and Sons and Daughter and festival shows on the Gentlemen Of The Road Stopover Tour in both the US and Canada.

      Following on from their two acclaimed EPs on Communion Records, Bear’s Den are currently working on their debut album in a North London studio. It is due for release in the autumn.

     "The Waters" by Bear's Den (we're running out of songs from these guys that we haven't posted already). 

Dualtone Offers a Free Sampler

     Repeated - For the next eight days, many of the Indie Obsessive posts can justly be referred to as brain dumps. Of those days, our lives will have four dedicated to a festival (Bonnaroo), two dedicated to travel, and the first two dedicated to preparation. With a firm grasp on our excuses, here we go.

     We know, we know! These are not recent songs. However, they have withstood the test of time. And they are free downloads (mere price of an email address). Here is a sampler from Dualtone Records.

1. The Felice Brothers - Cherry Licorice

2. Noah Gundersen - Ledges

3. The Lumineers - Stubborn Love

4. Little Comets - W-O-E

5. Simone Felice - Running Through My Head

6. Fort Atlantic - Let Your Heart Hold Fast

7. Brett Dennen - Hard Times (Come Again No More)

8. Shovels & Rope - Birmingham

9. Trigger Code - The Fugitive Kind

10. Ivan & Alyosha - Running For Cover

11. Guy Clark - Diamond Joe

12. Hotpipes - The Future Is Where We Belong

13. WAGES - Eclipse

      "Stubborn Love" - by The Lumineers

      "Running For Cover" by Ivan & Alyosha

      "The Fugitive Kind" by Trigger Code

      "The Fugitive Kind" by Trigger Code