Artist Roundup – Monthly Faves From Our Artist Relations Team
Every month our Artist Relations managers, Alex and Dan, submit their 3 favorite artists or bands they’ve been listening to recently. These are bands that might or might not be endorsed by Orange. If they’re not endorsed, it’s probably because they play some other manufacturer’s amps. We don’t fault them for that, but we do certainly welcome them dropping us a line because obviously we love them!
Alex Auxier – Artist Relations Manager
Another one of those “how’d I miss this band and now they’re broken up” scenarios, The Features is pop-rock at its finest. If you’re a fan of Kevin Gilbert or Jason Faulkner then you’ll appreciate this band. If you’re a fan of Weezer you might appreciate this band. If you’re a fan of Dimmu Borgir then you probably won’t like this band as much.
The Features is a band that should be headlining massive festivals and getting all the Nike endorsements (or something like that). They’re one of the tightest live bands I’ve ever seen. What sucks is that I’ve only been able to watch them on YouTube.
I love the evolution of their sound too. On 2004’s Exhibit A they’re pure power pop. On 2009’s Some Kind Of Salvation they add horns, a bit of a New Orleans gritty vibe, and start crafting really quirky tunes. By 2011’s Wilderness they kind of came back to a straight rock vibe. And then fast-forward to 2016 and “Sunset Rock” sounds like the band from Revenge of the Nerds moved to LA, had a music baby with Spoon, and started experimenting with psychedelics.
End of the day, I just LOVE this freaking tune:
Don’t sleep on Big Thief. I’m certainly not (they just bought a bass amp from me). Big Thief is like the indie-folk-rock version of rain. And I mean literal rain. If rain was an emotion, that’s the emotion this band would invoke. Every single song they write can be interpreted as either sad or happy. It depends entirely on your mood, the time and place, and what kind of liquor you’re drinking.
I also really dig their album covers. They have a “stark reality” approach that speaks to my more candid side.
Now here’s a band I actually did just endorse. Bassist Casey Soyk will be rocking the OB1-500 moving forward. I’ve heard of Harm’s Way before but just recently started listening to them. They’re as hardcore as they come, bordering on death metal. In the last 12 years they’ve made a name for themselves with a high energy live show and albums that just keep getting better (in my opinion).
Dan Darby – Euro Artist Relations
Vein – “Virus://Vibrance”
This band was recommended to me by Steve from Every Time I Die, who have toured with these guys recently. I can’t believe I haven’t heard of these guys before! The band are from Boston and I don’t think there is a band that sound like them at the moment.
Bloody Knees – “Maybe It’s Easy”
This track from the Cambridge/London based four piece is taken from their debut EP “Maybe It’s Easy” released in October 2017. The band have had a tough start to 2018, with all their equipment being stolen from their van. Luckily, after a national gofundme campaign, they’re on their way to becoming the band to see this summer.
Lump – “Curse of the Contemporary”
Laura Marling is back with a collaboration with Mike Lindsay, member of Tunng and Throws. This collective is called Lump and is a great mixture of acoustic and atmospheric music. Their first single is called “Curse of the Contemporary” and I can’t wait for the full album which comes out in June.
