Random music discoveries - what have you found that's good?

ICBM · August 2013

I buy a lot of music on CD in charity shops - I still like physical CDs, and unlike when you're in a record shop you tend to come across stuff you're not actually looking for... or certainly wouldn't feel like trying at £10+ if you didn't know it was any good. I've discovered a lot of interesting music that I otherwise wouldn't have at all this way - you very often *can* judge an album by its cover, and I would say I've got a success rate of at least 90% when I'm buying stuff I know nothing about. It does help that I'm fairly eclectic in my tastes, but it helps to know that at £1-£2 an album the worst that can happen is it goes in the donation bag for next time...

Anyone else do this sort of thing? If so, what have you discovered this way?

This week's for me - Lissie, Catching A Tiger

http://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/covers/catching-a-tiger.jpg

I'd never heard of her, and from the cover I wasn't sure if it was going to be horribly commercial or quite interestingly alternative. Turned out to be much closer to the latter - quirky country-ish pop, nicely produced and with some good songs.

And failures... the all-time top of the list is Train. I bought their first album before I'd discovered what they were like. I don't think I even made it all the way through, which I usually try to.

octatonic · August 2013

The sounds of this summer have been from Canadian band 'Big Wreck'.

Check out the album 'Albatross'.

One of the best rock albums I've heard in yonks.

stickyfiddle · August 2013

Lissie's pretty good. My pick would be The Envy Corps. Supported them a few years ago expecting indie try-hards without any songs but actually one of the best things I've ever seen, and jolly nice guys to boot. Their albums Dwell and It Culls You are both stunning.

joneve · August 2013

Currently enjoying James LaBrie's solo stuff (cheers Nick!)...Completely not what I was expecting, and incredibly awesome.

ICBM · October 2013

This week's random discovery...

Haven - 'Between The Senses'.

http://cdn.7static.com/static/img/sleeveart/00/013/348/0001334850_500.jpg

I'd never heard of them. I quite liked the look of the cover, although there was not much info on it apart from that the album dates from 2001 and was produced by Johnny Marr - I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or if they were going to be a bit of a late-to-the-party sub-Oasis-type effort. No... they're really rather good, they remind me a lot of Puressence only less depressing

.

They appear to have split up after record label problems - sadly, at least on the evidence of this.

ICBM · March 2014

A good one this week…

http://www.kentuckyseven.se/blogg/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/The_Autumns-The_Autumns_480.jpg

The Autumns, from 2004. Never heard of them either!

Hard to even categorise - something like an American Suede, but not as 'affected'. (I like Suede, that's not a put-down.)

xSkarloey · March 2014

My random charity shop discoveries are always books.

Random music finds come for me via Spotify. My fave so far came when I was after some oud music. What I got suggested was The Spy from Cairo which is dub reggae bass and beats, middle eastern strings, the oud playing all the melodies, all performed by (I think) an italian gypsy based in New York.

Vive le difference.

jazzlemming · March 2014

I used to check amazon for their absolute cheapest jazz and world CDs, and was lucky enough to get some gems, like a bargain Charles Mingus boxset, and a record by Elek Bacsik, but also a few stinkers that were so bad I've even deleted them from my hard drive!

boogieman · March 2014

Garaj Mahal. Found them via the "if you like group x then you might like group y" function on CDBaby. They have Kai Eckhardt on bass, he's from John McLaughlin's Trio days. They play very funky, jazzy, world, hybrid music and are really rather good.

bertie · March 2014

Lissie ? shes the bird that sounds like Stevie Nicks ?

not_the_dj · March 2014

bertie said:

Lissie ? shes the bird that sounds like Stevie Nicks ?

Yes, nice FM cover here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OltcXMV-9Vk

NervousJohn · March 2014

Been watching Treme recently. Think The Wire for New Orleans musicians... It's brilliant and I've "discovered" this.

Only 50 odd years behind the times.

octatonic · March 2014

I've been on a Steel Panther trip the last few weeks.

And Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine.

lasermonkey · March 2014

I saw the Autumns doing a support slot a few years ago. They covered the Cocteau Twins song Garlands and did a very respectable job!

Iamnobody · March 2014

The Autumns - The End - first track on the album from around 2 and half minutes in - lovely stuff. Good find @ICBM

scrumhalf · March 2014

Found this today, surf-Bach.

badlydrawnbanjo · March 2014

ICBM;51367" said:
This week's random discovery...

Haven - 'Between The Senses'.

http://cdn.7static.com/static/img/sleeveart/00/013/348/0001334850_500.jpg

I'd never heard of them. I quite liked the look of the cover, although there was not much info on it apart from that the album dates from 2001 and was produced by Johnny Marr - I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or if they were going to be a bit of a late-to-the-party sub-Oasis-type effort. No... they're really rather good, they remind me a lot of Puressence only less depressing .

They appear to have split up after record label problems - sadly, at least on the evidence of this.

Great band. They're still all knocking about Manchester/Stockport in various guises.