Alt-rock acts Echosmith and New Beat Fund have a bunch of things in common with each other: They're both from the West Coast, each toured the country on the Vans Warped Tour, and both bands have a legitimate beef with each other. Perhaps "legitimate" is a stretch. Let's use this word instead: "non-existing." Yep, A-Sides tried to start a little feud between the two at their respective sessions, but failed miserably. No matter. Both bands, who rightfully are getting their fair share of buzz lately, performed a killer, acoustic version of their respective first singles, and talked about what the future holds. Oh, and yeah, they called each other out in a play-fight kind of way. Before we get to the embeds below (seriously, you didn't scroll down yet?), here's what you should know about them.
So much has been made about the ages of teen alt-pop band Echosmith that I'll just let you Google them so I don't have to go on and on about how awesome and polished they are in such a brief time on this planet. Instead, I'll focus on their music if that's OK. The L.A. quartet consists of the Sierota siblings Jamie (vocals/guitar), Sydney (vocals/keyboard), Noah (vocals/bass), and Graham (drums). They recently dropped their debut Talking Dreams to much acclaim, and have been touring in support of it ever since. While they just burst onto the scene like a zit on Paul Pfeiffer's face (Google that, too) back in the day, they've already gathered a bunch of cool press. MTV declared them a "Buzzworthy Obsession," and Alternative Press selected them as one of their "100 Bands To Watch in 2013." Watch them now, and you'll get it.
Echosmith - "Cool Kids"
Echosmith - Interview
New Girl has their douchebag jar, and the band members behind the New Beat Fund have their, um, new beat fund. I'll let the band (Michael Johnson, Jeff Laliberte, Shelby Archer and Paul Laliberte) explain how they came up with their name in the interview below. Right now, I just want to talk about their ($)Coinz EP which was just released and features "Scare Me" which is so damn infectious it's scary. As a matter of fact, the entire album is just fun and solid "g-punk" as the cool kids say. Before their show at Irving Plaza in New York City (opening for 3OH!3), the band performed that killer track and spoke about it. Beef not, Echosmith. There is no beef.
"Scare Me"
New Beat Fund Interview
Filmed by shootmepeter.com.
A-Sides "Delve Into Twelve" Countdown
Each week A-Sides unleashes its Top 12 tracks of the week AKA the "Delve Into Twelve"based on the following contributing factors: songs I'm playing out that particular week NO MATTER WHEN THEY WERE RELEASED (think overlooked songs, unreleased tracks, and old favorites), songs various publicists are trying to get me to listen to that I did and listened to and liked (phew), posts and trends I've noticed on my friends' Facebook walls, and - most importantly - the songs my 1 1/2+ year-old son gravitates toward. Yeah, you read that right. This weeks follows below (LW= last week's rank):
12. "Methuselah" (LW-11)- San Fermin (Watch them perform it here on A-Sides!)
11. "Welcome to the Working Week" - Elvis Costello
10. "Get Me Golden" (LW-9) - Terraplane Sun
9. "Bitter Rivals" (LW-6) - Sleigh Bells
8. "Chain My Name" (LW-7) - Polica
7. "We Sink" (LW-5) - CHVRCHES
6. "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High" (LW-4) - Arctic Monkeys
5. "I Am Young" - Coconut Records
4. "Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice)" - Arcade Fire
3. "Don't Save Me" (LW-2) - Haim
2. "Bad Blood" (LW-6) - Bastille
1. "Reflektor"(LW-1) - Arcade Fire
About A-Sides Music
Jon Chattman's "A-Sides Music" series was established in August 2011 and usually features artists (established or not) from all genres performing a track, and discussing what it means to them. This informal series focuses on the artist making art in a low-threatening, extremely informal (sometimes humorous) way. No bells, no whistles -- just the music performed in a random, low-key setting followed by an unrehearsed chat. In an industry where everything often gets overblown and over manufactured, I'm hoping this is refreshing. A-Sides theme song performed by Blondfire.