#The Naked and Famous

[polkadotmotmot]

The Naked And Famous - Girls Like You, 2010

[dustedmagazine]

Thomas Powers — A Tyrant Crying in Private (Self-Released)

The way you feel about autotune is, perhaps, a generational marker. If you came of age after the 1990s, it probably sounds like home to you, lisping, warbling, flickering in that half-human, half-cybernetic way that has defined pop and hip hop for more than a generation. But if you hit your teens before digital sounds took their place in commercial music, it might sound false and artificial, a sign that whoever the artist is behind that rack of computers, he or she can’t carry a tune independently.

And okay, I’m old, and I generally don’t like autotune, of which there’s a ton on this first solo album from the Naked and Famous frontman. But these songs are so lush and emotive and humane that I’m willing to overlook it, even acknowledge that its lost-in-the-machine fragility is part of the appeal here.

Consider, for instance, the dream-pop-ambient-dance concoction called “Li,” in which Powers duets with fellow New Zealander Chelsea Jade. It pulses insistently, but dissolves into tissue delicacy, the mesh of faintly altered vocals billowing like translucent colored scarves in the sun. “I’m a tyrant/crying in private,” confesses Powers, as Jade echoes him through hiss and static, and though there is a certain amount of artifice involved, it bolsters rather than denatures the emotion in the track.

Powers enlisted Boygenius’ Julien Baker for a couple of long-distance collaborations here, and his voice and hers intertwine with sinuous sweetness above the syncopated thump, thump, thump of “Empty Rooms.” She also sings on the opening “Little Lungs,” the disc’s loveliest and most emotionally resonant cut, with its oscillating string throbs (orchestrated by Rob Moose) and thoughtful, querying piano. There is a pensive, lonely core to these songs, however abundantly they enfold. “You leave me breathless, breathless,” sings a not-quite-human voice, as a baroque string quartet erupts in velvety lavishness. There’s spirit here and vulnerability, hedged in by dance floor beats and silky commercial pop hooks. The song keens and yearns like the most exposed confessional songcraft and no amount of digital alteration can obscure it.

Jennifer Kelly

[hollyjwonders]

Wide Awake ✤ A Clare Edwards Mix Listen on Spotify

✤ Wide Awake - Katy Perry ✤ Fallin’ For You - Colbie Caillat ✤ Building a Mystery - Sarah McLachlan ✤ Only Girl (In the World) - Rihanna ✤ Jackrabbit - San Fermin ✤ My Moon My Man - Feist ✤ King of Anything - Sara Bareilles ✤ Are You Happy Now? - Michelle Branch ✤ Bad Romance - Lady Gaga ✤ My Favourite Book - Stars ✤ Rolling in the Deep - Adele ✤ Young Blood - The Naked and Famous ✤ the 1 - Taylor Swift ✤ Head Underwater - Jenny Lewis ✤ Now - Paramore ✤ Catch My Breath - Kelly Clarkson ✤

Influences: pop, indie pop

Mix Notes: “And now it’s clear to me that everything you see ain’t always what it seems...I’m not blind anymore.” Clare’s laser eye surgery at the start of season 10 was a symbolic awakening. And with the accidental destruction of her glasses shortly thereafter, there was no turning back. Once a naïve and sheltered girl who hid behind vampire fiction and lived out her fantasies in dreams, Clare awakened to find herself facing things she never would have imagined. Her parents' divorce, her boyfriend's mental illness, sexual harassment, a cancer diagnosis, the death of a close friend, infidelity, and of course the biggest surprise of all... an unplanned pregnancy.

But no matter how many curveballs life throws her way, one thing is for certain — Clare Edwards writes her own story. This mix explores a range of themes, including falling in love, disillusionment in faith, avoiding the mistakes of your parents, setting boundaries, asserting independence, confronting your own mortality, and not giving up on your future.

Personal highlights: Katy Perry, Stars, Jenny Lewis, Kelly Clarkson

[veryjammy]

The Naked and Famous - This Machine cd (2008)

[icantalk710]

Missing her work with The Naked and Famous but Alisa is killing it on her solo stuff too 🔥🎶🔥

[staceycasey123]

The mood it changes like the wind

Hard to control when it begins

[luminous-lunar]

Day 30! Finallyyy done

[a-contemplative-soul]

Another indie classic that I almost forgot about, the synth riff is very unique, I can recognize it from a distance , also, their vibes remind me a bit of another band from those times, which is MGMT.

Song: Punching In A Dream

Artist: The Naked And Famous

Year: 2010

[sortofamechanic]

there's a fear that won't subside of all the things i'll never do