Nov 28th, 2008 · The pheasant-sized superb lyrebird doesn't look like much until you get to its tail. Sixteen feathers create a gorgeous pinnacle of lacy white and brown filaments shaped like the ancient musical instrument the lyre.
Nov 19th, 2008 · The Los Angeles-based dream-pop duo Devics has enchanted fans for years with its beautifully dark and moody music, but there's hardly been a peep from the band since its 2007 album, Push the Heart. Thankfully, singer Sara Lov has just released a solo EP, The Young Eyes, which features gorgeous ballads, setting her flawless voice over melancholic piano and strings.
Nov 18th, 2008 · As a child, musician Elizabeth Willis was formally trained in piano and violin, and often imagined she'd grow up to be a classical musician. But at some point along the way she decided to walk away from classical music and start writing grand and beautiful pop. The 11 songs on her self-titled debut bridge the gap between her two passions by pairing her distinctive vocals and pop stylings with cinematic string and piano arrangements. The result is refreshing and often gorgeous.
Oct 1st, 2008 · Monkey: Journey to the West is the collaboration between musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, the creative minds behind the multimedia band Gorillaz. The gorgeous stage adaptation of the 16th Century Chinese novel now has its own unique soundtrack.
Aug 3rd, 2008 · Gillian Welch and her musical partner David Rawlings filled the Newport air with their gorgeous harmonies on this sunny Sunday afternoon set. They finger-picked from the whole catalog, but fans were also treated to three brand new songs, including a Johnny and June Carter Cash cover of "Jackson."
Jul 25th, 2008 · Hear Handel at the height of his powers, as he sets the conflicts among love, war, and backstabbing politics to gorgeous music. It's a production of Julius Caesar from the stage of the Metropolitan Theatre of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Jul 23rd, 2008 · It's easy to get lost in the eclectic soundscapes of Ohio-based band Trouble Books' fourth self-released album, The United Colors of Trouble Books. The album plays out like a wandering trip through a 13 year-old's subconscious, set to beautifully unique experimental music. The gorgeous mix of meandering instrumental arrangements, expansive ambience, and wonderfully earnest vocals creates a sort of spacey chamber pop that seems to float wherever the wind may take it.
Jul 16th, 2008 · Stars Like Fleas' music is disjointed, meandering, chaotic, and wonderfully unique. The group's second full-length release, The Ken Burns Effect, is a gorgeous jaunt through experimental orchestral pop that is as engaging as it is utterly confusing. The record seems at times aimless and at other times perfectly composed, if insanely so. With a wealth of instruments (at the album's recording the group was a 12-piece collective) that clash as often as they harmonize and tracks that drift from beautiful symphonies to discordant pandemonium on a whim, the album stands as a work of mad genius. Stars Like Fleas have created a sound that, though certainly not easily digestible, is extremely rich.