Dr. Dog

Dr. Dog is one of those bands that can do it all and all is well. All is fun and it all puts you in great mood. With pop/rock sounds similar to The Beatles, soulful piano sounds, to bluesy vibes, Dr. Dog is what music is all about.


This band has figured it out. Whether they are playing a badass bluesy song or a catchy indie song with perfect harmonies their songs will grab your attention. Their songs will remind you of music that was made in the 70s, but it isn't wannabe 70s music, it is original and wonderful!


Basically if you like the blues, the beach boys, the Beatles, Neil Young, Pavement, The Shins, The Black Keys or just good music in general I HIGHLY recommend checking this band out immediately.


Songs I Recommend:

- Beach Boys/Bealtes-esk -
The Breeze
Ain't It Strange
The Old Days
My Old Ways

- The Shins-esk -
Shadow People
Jackie Wants A Black Eye

- Bluesy -
The Beach
The Ark

- Soul Jams -
Hang On
My Friend


DO NOT limit yourself to just these songs though!





http://grooveshark.com/#/search/songs/?query=dr.+dog

Fences

Fences is primarily the work of lead vocalist/songwriter Christopher Mansfield. The key attractors to this band are the identifiable lyrics and the soothing and catchy melodies. The lyrics are incredibly simple, but they are all easy to relate to and when you listen you can think of a specific experience in which the lyrics fit that moment pretty damn well. Well at least thats how I feel. The melodies are so calm and collected, but they stick in your head for hours at a time and it is all you can think of. The only word capable of describing Fences is brilliance. This is the work of a pure genius. Why try to sound complex, when the simple sounds so perfect?

Despite recent popularity, Fences is still very unknown. It is time for them to get the true recognition that is truly deserved. And I just realized in that whole last paragraph I forgot to mention that Sara Quin of Tegan & Sara is featured in some of the songs. Not only did she add her vocals, she produced and recorded the whole thing to make sure that the album was the best it could be. For all the above reasons, I am telling you for your own benefit to listen to Fences. You will be severely missing out if you don't.

At times Christopher Mansfield has a voice that I mistook for Shout Out Louds lead singer, Adam Olenius. Also, similarities to Robert Smith of the Cure, and a song that I thought he sounded like Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie. All three are very talented singers, so I really am giving you no reason to not listen to Fences.

Recommended Songs:
Girls With Accents
Hands
The Same Tattoos
Sadie
Boys Around Here



http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/playlist/Fences/-1?src=5

Coconut Records

Coconut Records is a solo project from actor/musician Jason Schwartzman. Jason has something special. It is a rare talent to be able to be an actor. It is also a rare talent to be a musician. It is also rare to be good at both and to succeed at both. Jason has been able to do just that. He has acted in movies such as I Heart Huckabees, Funny People, and Rushmore. He was also the original drummer for the band Phantom Planet, who had an amazing one hit wonder with "California."


Now onto his band Coconut Records...


The music Jason has created in this project of his is indie pop and is very fun. He has good beats and attention grabbing melodies. His debut album, "Nighttiming" includes the song, "West Coast." West Coast is the song that attracted me to this band about a year ago. It has a catchy sound to it and the vocals are somewhat haunting, but in a very good way. This album and his others all have a Spoon The Shins sound to it. So if you are a fan of the band Spoon and/or The Shins definitely give this band a chance.


His second album, "Davy" contains my favorite song, "Any Fun." This album keeps up with the indie pop sound to it. The music is very similar to his original album, and that is a very good thing. He is good at what he does, and why fix what's not broken? Jason has two talents that many people would die to have just one of, and he takes full advantage of them. Congrats!


Songs I Recommend:
West Coast
Any Fun
Microphones
Nighttiming
Easy Girl



http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/search/songs/?query=coconut+records

Fight From Above

So lately here at the Music Doctor, we have been on a roll. In fact, I would say that in the past few months we have kicked it up not just 1 notch but like 5. We are gaining fans on facebook (like 24, we could definitely use more) and Twitter (12). However, we are more about quality than quantity. We have a record company following us and KROQ radio host, Ted Stryker. Overall, things are looking pretty good for us, but we could always use more help and friends.



Now to continue this roll we bring you another top notch great up coming alt. rock band that has the "fun" and "catchy" vibe we have been bringing you guys recently. Their 2009 album, L.A. Kids is really lively and the melodies of the band grab your attention and don't let go of it. We have not been able to see this band live, as we live in Ohio, but from what we have heard performing live is how they got to where they are now. They are one of the few bands that can create great recording songs and perform them live. Not just play them, but perform them.


If I were to describe this band's sound to you in a way that you would be able to relate to other music out right now I would say take The Shins and mate them with Modest Mouse but little did The Shins know, Modest Mouse already had a kid with with The Strokes. The babies met up later on in life, not knowing they were related and formed a baby of their own, this kid would be Fight From Above. They have some Shins in them, some Strokes and some Modest Mouse but most importantly they have some Fight From Above in them.


So in closing, listen to them now.

Songs I Recommend:

Between The Curves - Beginning to get some radio play because it is great!
Raindrops - My personal favorite.
Green - a catchy song that literally everyone can relate to
Alexander's Bus
Winter's Night - a bit slower but still great!




Preview Their Songs on iTunes!

or go to their Myspace

Shapes of Race Cars

Ok so this band has a story from me. I heard their song "Right Now" on the new sobe life water commercial. I immediately needed to know the song because it sounded fun and well, really good too! So after the first time I saw the commercial the only lyric I could remember was "It's What We Want." This is pretty much the most basic line ever and was obviously no help to me. I searched on Google, Yahoo!, I even tried ChaCha. No answers, and no stories on either of the two search engines. I saw the commercial again and made sure to remember all of the lyrics. So I plugged in those bad boys online, and still no answers. It took becoming a fan of Sobe and asking the question on their wall twice for an answer. It was 100% worth it! Not only was I able to listen to the song in it's entirety but it did what I was hoping it to do, open me up to a new band with great music!


So now that you know my story let's get to the band. Shapes of Race Cars is a really fun band and their tunes just put you in the feel good mood. And obvious they are getting some recognition if they are already in Sobe life water commercials. Their 2006 album, Power, uses catchy hooks and melodies to keep the audience intrigued. Let's say they did a very good job. This album is special because you can tell the band is still in it's early stages but you can feel the potential in their music. Listening to this album and thinking about they were just at the start of their career and creating songs like this is unbelievable!


Now moving onto the 2010 album, Beauty Beat, Shapes of Race Cars is able to show that they have grown and matured. This is a very good thing. They continue that raw feeling in some of the songs on this album but they also evolved to a different, yet still great, sound on this album. They add some harmonies into the chorus's of some songs, and they also incorporated the piano. (Which everyone knows that if you can successfully add a piano to your song it can make a decent song good, and a good song great.) They were successful and these songs (Boring Villains, World's End, Bigger Than Sin) are amazing!


So in short this band has a bright future and I am very excited to see them evolve even more.



Songs I Recommend:
Right Now - one of the most catchiest songs I have heard in a long time
World's End - catchy and a really really good (has a tiny dancer by elton john reference so I had to like it)
Get Melted - a catchy song with a raw feeling behind it, great!
Melody Knows
Boring Villains - possibly my second favorite song behind right now


http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/search/songs/?query=shapes+of+race+cars - not many songs here so I recommend previewing the albums on itunes