Local Natives: Gorilla Manor

    Today I didn't really know who to write up. So, this post, as you'll see, is kind of half explanation of my music binge process at times and plugs for other websites. Anyway, recently I stumbled across Birp.fm, or Birp!, a really cool indie music site. They're doing a pretty cool thing at Birp!, a new playlist of new stuff every month, just so you can listen and discover. You can even download each playlist, which I almost did once, but it was going to take about 7-8 hours. Anyway, the artwork for each month is inventive and they seem to be on the cutting edge of indie music. Doesn't mean that all the stuff is good listening, but you'll hear where things are going at least. And, you can rate each song. You can even contribute to a user-generated community playlist if you are a member of the site, which is free, just takes signing up for their forums. They also have reviews, a new music blog, mixtapes (WARNING: mature content), interviews and video archives of live and studio sessions.
    On Birp!'s November 2012 playlist I listened to the newest single from Local Natives, "Beakers". They have a new album coming out January 29, 2013, Hummingbird. Usually, it takes me all of five seconds to determine whether I like a song or not and want to continue perusing their musical catalog. Well, "Beakers" intrigued me enough to give them a shot, so I went to their SoundCloud, where I could listen to the entire debut, Gorilla Manor (Nov. 2, 2009 on Infectious Records in the U.K.; Feb. 16, 2010 on Frenchkiss Records in the U.S.). The album was named after the house where all five, now four, band members lived in Orange County, which was apparently quite the mess-pad.
    I also found that the Local Natives have done Daytrotter Sessions, and you can check those out here. Daytrotter is definitely a place to find new and cutting edge music. I think Local Natives is also at that point, with their music falling towards the front of the indie pack of hazy, psychedelic, dreamy, folk inspired, upbeat at times and at others chilled out, multi-vocaled harmonies and world/afro beat inspired. Other bands I'd put there are Young Buffalo, Freelance Whales, The Dodos and, well honestly, many others I just don't ever listen to [because they're not that good]. That being said, I'd compare Local Natives a lot more to Young Buffalo than the latter two; but, you'll even hear semblances of Sigur Ròs in one song, "Shape Shifter". I just get the feeling that Local Natives hadn't quite figured out their sound yet with Gorilla Manor, as half way through the album is this shift, sometime after "Shape Shifter", where they just changed styles. The songs are a little cleaner, less psychedelic haze and more pop-ish or beach rock-ish at times. I was just listening along and it just struck me that they sound significantly different and I wondered if I was listening to the same band-- if that is truly the case it is hard to tell going back, contrasting the latter with the first half of the album. Something I do like about the first half is the use of a more heavily distorted guitar/bass, as in songs like "Wide Eyes", "Sun Hands", "Shape Shifter" and "Camera Talk".
    See for yourself. Check out the entire Gorilla Manor on their SoundCloud, here. If you'd prefer MySpace, go here. You can hear their new single, "Beakers" a number of places, including their website, here. I've put the first track from Gorilla Manor, "Wide Eyes", up under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks'. Discover something different and cutting edge and, hopefully, enjoy!