Out this week are two new compilations that highlight the diversity and breadth of Seattle’s music scene. And if you want to get a taste of what’s happening (and about to happen) locally, I recommend you pick up both.

Crybaby Studios’ Compilation features tracks from artists who currently practice and record in the subterranean complex which has been home to countless Seattle bands. Much like the studio space itself, the compilation is chock full of interesting up-and-coming bands that run the gamut of what’s happening at Capitol Hill bars every night of the week. It features tracks from folks like Absolute Monarchs, My Goodness (the only recorded track of the bands we know of), Hallways, Strong Killings and See Me River. You can pick up a copy of the compilation with the $5 cost of admission to tonight’s record release party at Neumo’s where bands featured on the comp will entertain.

While Crybaby’s comp features diverse bands who all happen to share the same practice space, the Seattle’s Best Compilation from Mario Sweet highlights Seattle’s vibrant hip hop community. The free compilation features tracks from two legends of the local hip hop community, Vitamin D. and Jake One; as well as some of the biggest names of what’s happening right now in Seattle: Mash Hall, THEESatisfaction and Grynch. If you’re a local hip hop head, you already know and love these artists and the compilation is a must have mix tape of favorites. On the flip side, the compilation serves as a solid introduction to those curious about what the 206’s burgeoning hip hop scene sounds like.

Whether you’re a local music die hard or you’re looking for an introduction to what’s happening right now in Seattle, both compilations are worthy purchases and well-done snapshots of what unsigned Seattle sounds like in 2010.

Need to inject a little energy into your backyard grill session? Or need an appropriate soundtrack for watching fireworks? Might I suggest THEESatisfaction’s new 5 cut EP THEESatisfaction Loves Stevie Wonder Why We Celebrate Colonialism released especially for Independence Day 2010. I’m especially partial to “Obama” and “Bush.”

THEESatisfaction are at the Capitol Hill Block Party July 24th, the Columbia City Theater on August 7th, and the sold out Doe Bay Fest August 13th and 14th.

Thanks to RaindropHustla for the good word.

The Head and The Heart ::: photo by Robertsen Ashman

If you have ever liked a band we’ve suggested on Sound on the Sound … take our word again and listen to The Head and The Heart. In the process of writing the blog, we’ve been lucky enough to be introduced to and to introduce you to, too many bands to count. Few have ever excited us the way The Head and the Heart do. Their joyful brand of folk has captured our hearts and imagination since listen one … as well as dominating our ipods, playlists, personal recommendations and songs stuck in our head on repeat. We can tell you now, “Down in the Valley,” which we’ve probably listened to more than any other local song this year, will be perched very near the top of our Best of 2010 list. Ditto that for the full album.

The Head and the Heart sing of life’s greatest journeys with uncanny confidence, knowing and a genuine glow. They may be young and the band may be new, but they sing of leaving home, the trials, stumbles and exhilaration of finding yourself, the tumults of love and the inevitability of loss, all with a sage-like comprehension of our humanity. If you love bands drenched in pretense or that keep themselves metaphorically aloof, you’ll hate The Head and The Heart. This band is unadulterated joy and boundless hope for the future laid bare in three-part harmonies, bubbling bass lines and warm pop orchestration that embraces you in a full-on hug. They are a recipe for a palpable rise in your mood, an antidote to counter the poison of our fast-paced days filled with calculated and impersonal interactions. They are genuine, infectious, obscenely talented and the best new band that came out of nowhere that we’ve come across.

Unfortunately until today, all you could go on was our word, but as of right now you can happily take a listen for yourselves. As an exclusive to Sound on the Sound, the band has shared three of their favorite tracks from their forthcoming self-titled debut, out June 29th. The band is celebrating their record with a CD release show this Friday, June 25th, at Conor Byrne’s and an in-store performance just up the street at 3pm at Sonic Boom Records in Ballard the following day, June 26th. They’ll be supporting the Moondoggies at Mississipi studios in Portland on July 2nd.

We can’t encourage you enough: take a listen, buy a ticket for an upcoming show and please get to know our favorite up and coming local band.

The Head and The Heart album preview by theheadandtheheart

Best Coast’s new track “Our Deal,” which you can hear at blackiris.tv, is making this Monday just a little better for me right now. A little sun was badly needed since I didn’t actually get to appreciate the real sun our windswept city had the benefit of today.

Unnatural Helpers ::: Photo by Kelly O

Stream: “Sunshine/Pretty Girls” by Unnatural Helpers

The first time this song started within 23 seconds I wanted to turn it off. “What the hell is this nonsense?” I said to myself as I drove around north Seattle. Apparently I had been caught in a moment of self-importance while listening to what some might call “Grunge Lite.” Oh yes gentle reader, I just used the dreaded “G” word. In that moment of pretension, I put on a beret and instantly grew an ironic mustache and longed for a time when Dream Theater would write songs as emotionally piercing as Bob Dylan.

Then I put the track on repeat.

“Good grief! This shit is pretty rocking!” I threw my imaginary beret out of my car window. My ironic mustache disintegrated and in its place, was a gruff five o’clock shadow. There was no need to get critical and over-analyze this song or this band. Unnatural Helpers were singing about the very things that get me out of bed every morning! Only they were singing about their decided indifference to sunshine and pretty girls; which smacks of insanity in my humble opinion. However there’s nothing wrong with being crazy. More sunshine and pretty girls for me, none for you! Ha!

Obviously there’s plenty of the latter when it comes to the song’s subject matter here in Seattle but not enough of the former. This song was crying out from my mp3 player, trying to bring a smile to my face and I was being too ‘cool’ to let it. I wasn’t even hanging out with anyone, who was I trying to impress? Why are we always so guarded as human beings? When did we forget to have fun? And by ‘we’ I’m really talking about myself. Sigh. I just used the royal ‘we’, I’m a punch-drunk blogger this morning.

The long and the short of it is this. This song is one minute and 58 seconds long, once you get to the dual male/female vocals that begin trading off and the goofy yet oh-so-appropriate guitar line bit at the 1:22 mark, you never want this song to end.

MP3: “Sunshine/Pretty Girls” by Unnatural Helpers from Cracked Love & Other Drugs out now on Hardly Art Records

Pearly Gate Music at the Sunset Tavern ::: Photo by Abbey Simmons

Though Pearly Gate Music’s debut self-titled record is due out in the U.S. on Barsuk Records on May 18th, in the UK it’s out on Bella Union May 3rd, and Bella Union is giving everyone an early preview of the record on their site this week. On first listen, I’m not at all disappointed. Each song is it’s own thought, not produced in relation to a larger aesthetic on the album. Some sound straight out of the 4-track, while others are given a more complete arrangement. “Navy Blues” features a whistle solo.

A slightly quirky and over-the-top production is front man Zach Tillman’s hallmark, and one that he’s able to pull off in performance with just his nylon string guitar. But hearing the aesthetic realized more completely, as Tillman himself would have it in a perfect world, only impresses the idea that Zach Tillman is one different dude who’s happily unconcerned with the usual notions of popular music creation. That’s not to say Pearly Gate Music doesn’t make a great pop song, it’s just that these songs defy being neatly boxed and wrapped into an iTunes approved genre label.

Though Pearly Gate Music is doing a Daytrotter Barnstormer tour as we speak and has a string of national tour dates supporting Frog Eyes for the summer, Zach Tillman’s only scheduled Seattle date right now is May 11th for the Round 60, happening at it’s usual venue, the Fremont Abbey. The Round’s announcement notes there will also be three painters, two poets, and an “Improv band: + very special guests & cupcakes?” Considering Zach Tillman would get us in the door all on his own, everything else about this sweet sounding night is icing on the (cup)cake.

The Head and The Heart ::: photo courtesy of Robertsen Ashman

Are you ready to fall in love? Prepared to discover your new favorite up-and-coming local band? Because for at least a few of you, that’s going to be what happens upon first listen to “Sounds Like Hallelujah” from The Head and The Heart. I know, because that’s exactly what happened to me.

A local six-piece, The Head and The Heart’s sound recalls some of pop’s truest masters–most notably Rufus Wainwright and The Beatles. The band is in the process of finalizing their debut EP, due out next month, but the three songs that they do have available on Facebook further evoke the soaring but subtle refrains of Bon Iver’s Forever Emma Ago and the foot-stomping twang-twinged tunes of The Avett Brothers. Those are lofty comparisons for a brand-new band to garner, but there isn’t a single note or phrase that I’ve heard from The Head and the Heart that even hints the band isn’t worthy of them. There’s a cohesion, confidence and craft displayed in the songs that sounds more like something a seasoned band nit-picked at for years than it sounds like a debut album.

The shared lead vocals of Josiah Johnson and Jon Russel have a sweet timbre with just the slightest twang that floats above the acoustic arrangements and flawlessly melds with the backing vocals of band-mate Charity Thielen. The trio’s harmonies are backed by sparse piano hooks that feel as if they haunt the heart of the songs, and nimble bass work by Chris Zasche (also of The Maldives and Grand Hallway) makes for a warm full sound that plays more like an acoustic orchestra than a six-piece.

Its been a long time since I was so excited to share a band with you or so confident that you’ll be hearing a lot more about them in the coming months. The band’s next show is April 21st at the High Dive, and they’ll also be playing Hey Marseilles’ vinyl release show on May 22nd at The Tractor Tavern. You can expect Sound on the Sound to be there in the front row; we’ve been told by folks we trust that the band and their songs are even more awe-inspiring live. Check back here in the next month, when we’ll be sharing a track off the band’s debut EP as soon as it is ready.

Until then, here is a video from a recent acoustic show of the band’s “Sounds Like Hallelujah” (For the First Time). For those of you who are about to hear the band for the first time, the title seems especially fitting— discovering The Head and The Heart was definitely a hallelujah moment for me. I hope it is for you too.

The Head and the Heart - Sounds Like Hallelujah from Whitney Moreno on Vimeo.

Wild Orchid Children at the Blue Moon in January of 2010 ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

In an industry plagued by sound-a-likes, Wild Orchid Children are completely their own men. We’ve been fans of the band since the very beginning, when we stumbled on to one of their first shows and were blown away by the bombast of their peyote fueled percussive sound and their savage stage presence.

Since that first show my experiences with Wild Orchid Children have always goes something like this: 30 seconds into the first song, “Man, I wish I was on mushrooms.” Five minutes in to the set, “Man, am I on mushrooms?” The thing about Wild Orchid Children is you need not ingest any substance to make you feel like you’re on the most electrifying trip of your life. With their in your face sound and performances, Wild Orchid Children take you down the Rabbit Hole and the world that awaits is at once beautiful and grotesque. This isn’t the “prettiest” music, but you feel it in your gut all the same.

This spring, Wild Orchid Children is releasing their debut full length: The Wild Orchid Children …. Are Alexander Supertramp, (the follow-up to their much beloved self-titled EP which we called one of the finest local releases of 2008). Courtesy of the band, you’ll only hear the psychedelic shamanistic shouts of “Martha Washington Goes To War” right here. And by the end of the nearly nine minute tune, we bet you’ll be shouting along with your first pumping in the air, “Freedom is a Heavy Load!”

Freedom is a heavy load indeed, and we’re glad with all the choices and sounds and influences in the world, Wild Orchid Children decided to sound like themselves and no one else.

Stream: “Martha Washington Goes to War” by Wild Orchid Children from The Wild Orchid Children… Are Alexander Supertramp

Currently dominating my playlist is NY band Dinosaur Feathers’ new record Fantasy Memorial. They playfully channel the vocal heavy, world music influenced pop that’s so in style right now into some of the catchiest, most dancinest pop songs I’ve heard in 2010. “Dancinest” is a word, right? It should be.

mp3: “Vendela Vida” by Dinosaur Feathers from Fantasy Memorial

If I could be at SXSW this week, this would be the band that I would probably have to see more than once. There sure are plenty of opportunity’s…

DINOSAUR FEATHERS at SXSW

3/18 - SXSW - Dominican Joe’s Coffee - All Your Friends Party - 2pm
3/18 - SXSW - Homeslice Pizza - Music by the Slice party - 5pm
3/18 - SXSW - Creekside Lounge - Pop Tarts Suck Toasted party - 9pm
3/19 - SXSW - Agave - Ghost Town day party - 1pm
3/19 - SXSW - Galaxy Room - Official SXSW showcase - 8pm
3/20 - SXSW - End of Ear - In-Store - 2pm

I eagerly await some west coast dates.

Sleepy Eyes of Death at Bumbershoot ::: Photo by Marcella Volpintesta for Sound on the Sound

This week Seattle’s Sleepy Eyes of Death spilled the beans on their plans for coming back into the performing fold after taking a short break to record and recharge. Today they posted a song from a forthcoming record on their myspace, a record that they’ll separate the release of on Friday April 30th at Neumos in Seattle, with Feral Children and Talkdemonic. “Data Grave” is the name of the new track, and it’s the lead track from Toward a Damaged Horizon which will be officially released Tuesday, May 4th.

You can get tickets early to the record release show via Neumos new web ticket vendor eTix.com.