In terms of music, of course. And it's not about the music that was released in February, but the music *I* discovered in February.
And that makes it fantastic.
Disclaimer: I will not review Kim Jonghyeon's "BASE". My rational mind wants to, but my devotion gets the better of me.
So, off to some music! There will be lots of extremely slow, sad ballads, so beware!
OK, I lied at the beginning, most of this music comes from January when I marathoned "Bones" and realized the series gave me an incredible amount of new artists to listen to. I'm completely overwhelmed and swamped. One thing led to another and I can't crawl back from Spotify. Nor I even want to, I'm afraid.
I realized I grow out of actors with time (except maybe for 2 of them) but I rarely grow out of voices and music. I tend to drop series, but I never dropped an album, because there's this thought at the back of my head: "what if the track no. 9 is awesome?"
I listened to the whole "Plainsong" album by Susan Enan (with collab from Sarah McLachlan) that featured this song below.
Tall Tree 6 ft Man & Jonathon Czervik - "Tears and Laughter":
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Ain't No Easy Way":
For those interested, the whole "Howl" album is really good and you can listen to it here.
Fever Ray - Keep The Streets Empty For Me:
I purposefully didn't link the MV for this, and there is, a haunting black-and-white, ice-cold video for this. This song, unlike the previous one, appeared during the later seasons (6th) and I will be frank, it made the whole episode heart-breaking even more.
The whole album (listen here) is twisted in such a pleasant way I can only praise it entirely. I like trip-hop and Massive Attack or Tricky is high on my list, so it was just a matter of time when Fever Ray could land around my ears as well.
So maybe a teaser, the very first song from this album, a hypnotic trance that is "If I Had a Heart":
And some other artists I came across or rediscovered during the journey down to the rabbit hole.
Mikky Ekko - "Pull Me Down":
I believe I mentioned Mikky Ekko once or twice, but no harm in mentioning him again. I have problems with him, it's hits and misses sometimes. But this song I stumbled upon haphazardly (the whole album, actually) and it stayed with me for weeks.
Also an anti-military song. Don't get me wrong, I AM a military girl, but despite all my admiration, I can appreciate such songs, because there are always two sides to every problem. That's why I have "American Idiot" superb concept-story-album on my playlist once in a while.
Rise Against - "Hero of War":
(someone please give this song to our royal activist, Kim Jonghyeon)
Also this one: Broods - "Mother & Father":
One Korean song worth mentioning is Kim Dongryul - "How Am I":
Listen here.
The fact MV has Gong Yoo doesn't hurt either, yesss...
And finally, the voice I fell in love with immediately - Casey Stratton. My first album was recommended on Spotify, and randomly played, cause I had nothing better to listen at that moment one cloudy morning. The album is "The Calling of the Crows" from 2012. If you like the alternative indie mixed with fantasy mood, this album is for you. I'm always iffy about the alternative going down the path of "mystic", because it can breed so much nonsense and emo, however this album feels eerily in place. Maybe it's because of elfish Stratton's voice.
The harmonies and his voice make this an otherworldly experience.
And my favorite song from this album, "Sacred Tattoo":
His whole work (sans covers, they are awesome and on YT) is here.
Another song from a different album: "For Reasons Unexplained" (the lyrics slay, people...)
I know one thing: I am going to buy few of Stratton's albums now. Along with that Geomungo Ensemble that I want...
