The last album you bought on a whim...by a band you had not heard of...

MPH

...and ended up hooked on them.

For me it was Shishimumu by Phantom Buffalo (which I bought in 2006).

If you do not know them, and you like The Shins or that type of band, these may appeal to you.

Especially 'Cement Postcard With Owl Colours' - wonderful album.

equalsql

Not done that for a long long time, but the last album/CD I bought blind was 'Dressed Up Like Nebraska' by Josh Rouse and it was worth every penny. I bought it on a whim because the girl on the cover reminded me very much of a picture of my mother when she was young, in the late 1940s (she had died just a few years earlier). 
so to find that the music was great was a real bonus!

mike_l

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=u9_SEr-ORyk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kTe0qwxLTDg

 

 

 

MPH

equalsql said:

Not done that for a long long time, but the last album/CD I bought blind was 'Dressed Up Like Nebraska' by Josh Rouse and it was worth every penny. I bought it on a whim because the girl on the cover reminded me very much of a picture of my mother when she was young, in the late 1940s (she had died just a few years earlier). 
so to find that the music was great was a real bonus!

How sweet.

I do not have that album, but I have the 'Chester' EP by Josh Rouse & Kurt Wagner.  Brilliant EP, especially 'Somehow You Could Always Tell'.

DiscoStu

'Benthic Lines' by Dan Lyth & The Euphrates.

I heard someone mention how it was made. Basically, Dan recorded the whole thing himself, entirely outdoors and in various locations around the world over a few years. That was enough to make me curious!

Bought it unheard, loved it. Try it:

MPH

DiscoStu said:

'Benthic Lines' by Dan Lyth & The Euphrates.

I heard someone mention how it was made. Basically, Dan recorded the whole thing himself, entirely outdoors and in various locations around the world over a few years. That was enough to make me curious!

Bought it unheard, loved it. Try it:

This is exactly what I had hoped for.  I like the sound of this.

I will definitely add this to my list.  Thanks 'DiscoStu'

 

DiscoStu

Glad you like it!

Buy the CD version. It comes in a CD case-sized book which has been beautifully thought out and put together.

Proper art and you can feel the love put in to it.

DiscoStu

http://www.benthiclines.com/the-book/

MPH

DiscoStu said:

http://www.benthiclines.com/the-book/

Like I said, added to my list.

I always buy the CD versions.   I'm not into downloads (unless its individual songs).

I really like stuff like this.

DiscoStu

I'll tell you another one from years back.

dEUS - The Ideal Crash.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1c/DEUS-The_Ideal_Crash.jpg

Flicking through the sale CDs in HMV one time and amongst all the Jeff Buckley 'Grace' CDs was this dEUS album.

I liked the cover photo and then my mate says "that's the best album you've never heard" and again, I was intrigued.

Bought all of their other albums since.

MPH

In a 'Snake' voice: Slow down 'DiscoStu', i'm not made of money.

Phil_aka_Pip

Not sure about the last one, but one definitely stands out: Once In A Lifetime - Runrig Live. Because of that one LP, I now possess umpteen more Runrig LPs and CDs. I bought it for being a scottish band playing scottish music on sassenach electric instruments. 

dogload

I think it was probably Passover by The Black Angels

ICBM

Hard to say for 'hooked on' - I buy a lot of music on a whim though! The stuff I like I obviously keep an eye out for in future.

For 'hooked on' - as in bought the first one one a whim and then deliberately sought out more - I would say probably Bright Eyes.

Or possibly Alex Ebert/Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros… I got the 'Alexander' album last week and really like it, then discovered he was in Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, who I'd never heard of either. So when I saw their latest album yesterday I bought that too, although I haven't had time to listen to it yet...


Edit: update. I have now been listening to Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and I'm pretty sure they're my new favourite random music find band .

Gagaryn

I don't buy on a whim anymore - that's been replaced by free downloads or streaming. If I think it's got something that I like or intrigues me then I may buy it.

Annoys me a bit though  - I sometimes wish music was harder to find like in the good old days - it's easy to get overwhelmed now and not give 'the growers' a chance, which is a shame.

Phil_aka_Pip

@dogload that album cover freaks out my monitor especially if scrolling

dogload

@Phil_aka_Pip

Yes. It certainly caught my eye

ICBM

Gagaryn said:

I don't buy on a whim anymore - that's been replaced by free downloads or streaming.

This is why I like buying music from charity shops so much - despite the effort to trawl though endless grubby copies of Steps and Craig David albums, every now and again you see something that you genuinely have no idea what it is but the cover looks interesting, and that you would probably not even have thought to pay attention to otherwise even if you saw the name of the band on a list. And for a pound or two it's worth the risk - the worst that can happen is that it goes back next week and you've just made a small donation.

In fact, I like over 90% of the stuff I buy on the strength of the cover alone, and that's without even being very choosy - I often buy everything I don't recognise and already know I don't like! On the other hand I do have fairly eclectic taste...

MPH

Gagaryn said:

Annoys me a bit though  - I sometimes wish music was harder to find like in the good old days - it's easy to get overwhelmed now and not give 'the growers' a chance, which is a shame.

I know what you mean.

I end up listening to clips/songs on Amazon or Youtube or whichever download site before buying stuff.

Fretwired

Sonic Codex with Eivind Aarset on guitar and samples ...