Coachella Band Preview: Bob Moses

We’ve made it through another month! One more to go before April arrives and everyone ventures out to the Coachella Valley for the 20th Coachella Valley Arts & Music Festival. I can hardly wait! I hope you’re as hyped as me. Since the lineup dropped, I’ve been purposefully holding off on previewing this band because they’re one of the top acts I’d like to see this year and I wanted to save some of those acts for the coming weeks.

Bob Moses is comprised of Canadian duo Tim Howie and Jimmy Valance. The band formed in 2012 in New York City though. Both band members are from the same area of Vancouver, BC. They went to the same middle school and high school, but never really hung out much during that time. They were both into similar styles of music too. It took a fortuitous random meet up while both lived in NYC to bring together what is now known as Bob Moses. The band was named after Robert Moses, who was a prominent figure in NYC history involved in the building of Shea Stadium and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

The duo released their debut EP Hand to Hold in 2012 when their group was still playing warehouse shows in NYC. They signed to Domino Records in 2014 and released their debut album Days Gone By the following year. Their song “Tearing Me Up” gave the band some notable status earning the group a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording, while the remixed version of the song by RAC won the Grammy for Best Remixed Record, Non-Classical. The song also reached number 16 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart. The group was hand-picked to play on the Ellen Degeneres Show in 2016 and also played the music festival circuit that year which included appearances at SXSW, Ultra, Coachella, Gov Ball, Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits among many others. After touring and playing festivals through 2018, the group released their second album Battle Lines in September 2018.

Their music style combines electronic and indie/alternative music. That style seems to be a theme with a lot of Coachella acts I’m previewing/interested in this year. Although the electronic/dance sound in their music is  certainly evident, I feel like the rock beats are very heavy in their songs. Their music blends both genres so well that it, much like Mansionair’s sound, creates a sensual, low-key style of club music.

I started to pay attention to Bob Moses when my friend Noah mentioned his interest in them after they were announced as an artist at a music festival run by a company we both work for. I heard their song “Back Down” and liked it in the fall without knowing it was their song. When I realized it was a Bob Moses track, I decided to download the song and add it to my fall work out playlist. Since they were announced as a Coachella artist, I’ve been listening to them much more. I even considered buying their latest album, but have not yet made that purchase.

2019 will be the group’s second Coachella performance. They played a late afternoon set at the Gobi Stage in 2016 and a surprise Do Lab set during Weekend 1. I expect they’ll play a similar size stage this year but at a later set time or a similar set time on the Main or Outdoor stage. I’m not sure how crowded their set will be, but I’m sure the draw will be bigger than their last time at Coachella.  If you’re into electronic indie style music or even just electronic or indie music, you should check them out. Here’s some songs you should listen to before heading to their set:

1. Tearing Me Up
2. Back Down
3. Nothing But You
4. Too Much Is Never Enough
5. All I Want
6. Heaven Only Knows
7. Enough to Believe
8. Before I Fall
9. Selling Me Sympathy
10. Talk

Coachella Band Preview: LANY

So just FYI Coachella Weekend One is officially in 1 month! Yes, that’s right. One month today and its Day 1 of Coachella 2018. Just soak that in for a second……sigh. Until then though, there’s a few more bands I want you to know about before you bust out those flower crowns. This week you need to check out LANY.

LANY based out of Los Angeles, California is comprised of members Paul Klein, Charles Leslie “Les” Priest, and Jacob Goss. The band’s name, pronounced LAY-NEE, is actually the acronym for Los Angeles & New York (L.A., N.Y.). The band formed around 2014 and started to receive buzz from their SoundCloud release “ILYSB” off their first EP Acronyms. They anonymously released the EP, but revealed themselves after releasing two more singles on SoundCloud “Made in Hollywood” and “Bad, Bad, Bad”. In 2015 they toured in support of Twin Shadow, Tove Styrke, X Ambassadors, Troye Sivan, and Halsey. They also released a second EP I Love You.

Later in 2015 they signed to Polydor Records. They released the EP Make Out under their new label which consisted of all the songs they released before I Love You. In 2016, LANY toured in support of Ellie Goulding on her UK tour and Troye Sivan. They also announced their first U.S. headlining tour. LANY played several music festivals in 2016 in addition to two headlining tours which included Bonnaroo, Firefly, and Outside Lands.

In 2017 the band released their debut album, LANY, on June 30th. They spent the majority of 2017 touring worldwide and also playing music festivals. Their appearance at Coachella this year will mark their first visit to the Empire Polo Fields.

Their music style is mostly indie pop or dream pop. Although they’re described as being indie pop, their style is a soft kind of indie pop. It really is a strong mixture of that style and dream pop. A lot of their songs have themes involving love and romance, but honestly those themes fit their sound because their tracks are perfect make out jams or baby-making music.

I found out about LANY through my favorite soccer player’s monthly playlists that she made available to fans. After finding out about LANY, I would occasionally download a song once new singles were released. I never had a desire to see them perform live, but I think a festival is the perfect opportunity.

LANY plays Sunday at Coachella. As for timing, your guess is as good as mine. I’d expect to see them at Gobi or Mojave if they play later in the day. If they’re playing in an early afternoon time slot, they could possibly be performing on the Main Stage or Outdoor as well. As long as they do play earlier, they’d be an act I would love to catch since I’ve been following them here and there for the last 2-3 years. If an early set time is the case, I highly recommend you check them out. The only Sunday act in a similar set time scenario that I’d recommend over them would be Hayley Kiyoko. That’s because I’m biased, but I’ll get into her again in a week or two. For now, here’s a few song by LANY to get you ready for their first Coachella set:

1. Super Far
2. ILYSB
3. Good Girls
4. yea, babe, no way
5. Where the Hell Are My Friends?
6. pink skies
7. 13
8. current location
9. Bad, Bad, Bad
10. like you lots

Coachella Band Preview: Oh Wonder

Coachella begins in 2 weeks! I hope you’ve been doing some serious music listening. If you haven’t, I’m disappointed in you. Even if you’re one of those people who doesn’t like to listen to the music before they attend the show, I’m still disappointed in you because, I mean, come on. How can you not prep even just a little?! This is one of the biggest music festivals out there. For those of you who have been prepping, here’s another band you should be listening to.

Oh Wonder is a band who began creating music together in September 2014. The band is from London and comprised of keyboardist/vocalist Josephine Vander Gucht and guitarist/vocalist Anthony West. Oh Wonder’s claim to fame comes from the release of their DIY debut album. Beginning in September 2014, the alt-pop duo began releasing one song per month via SoundCloud for one year. The year culminated in the release of their debut album which also included two unreleased songs.

The band’s song release process attracted the attention of music fans, blogs, and record labels. They eventually signed with Republic Records. Upon the release of their self-titled debut album in September 2015, the band scheduled shows in London, Paris, New York, and Los Angeles, all of which were sold out. The band has toured internationally since that time and also played a handful of North American music festivals last summer. They made stops at Bonnaroo, Firefly, WayHome (Canada), Lollapalooza, and Live Out (Mexico).

Their music is an alternative/indie pop style, but softer and more mellow than other music I would classify as indie pop. Vander Gucht and West also harmonize magnificently on every track. Their vocals create such soothing melodies that are often times catchy as well. Once you get one of their songs in your head, it’s difficult to get it out.

I heard of Oh Wonder from a music recommendation tumblr post last fall. I checked them out a few days after and decided to download one of their songs. It seemed like after listening to them for the first time, more of their music would pop up on random Spotify playlists I would listen to. I also routinely listened to the song I downloaded. It only took a few times of listening before I would sing-a-long with the music. Their music isn’t the kind of indie pop you’d want to hear to get you hyped up for something. It’s the kind that you’d put on during a sunny afternoon drive or road trip.

That being said, don’t expect a fun, upbeat indie pop style set from them at Coachella. They’re not Grouplove or Matt & Kim. Their music is more relaxed and their set will be too. They play Friday and my guess is that their set will be earlier in the day. They’re a perfect band to see at the festival because I doubt their set time will overlap with other must-see acts. Here’s a few songs you should listen to before their Coachella performance:

1. Drive
2. Technicolor Beat
3. Lose It
4. All We Do
5. Without You
6. Livewire

(But truly, if you just check out their debut self-titled album, you should be fine.)