ListenUp

Nashville's Hotel War, Lianne La Havas for Converse and a classic '80s #PrivateJam in our look at music this week

Lianne La Havas: Twice (Little Dragon cover) South London songstress Lianne La Havas is known for heartfelt songwriting as much as her soulful voice, but it turns out she can breathe new life into other artists’ work too—as evidenced by her cover of Swedish electropop outfit Little Dragon’s “Twice.” With just a bassist accompanying La Havas’ rich but mellow voice, there is a certain intimacy …

Angel Olsen: Forgiven/Forgotten

Nashville's Hotel War, Lianne La Havas for Converse and a classic '80s #PrivateJam in our look at music this week

Missouri native and Chicago adoptee Angel Olsen has been on our radar since performing at this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival. “Forgiven/Forgotten,” her first single off her upcoming album Burn Your Fire For No Witness (slated for February 2014 release) is a serious departure from her previous mostly acoustic album Half Way Home, which featured beautiful, stripped down folk songs. Now that Olsen has proven that …

Hotel War: Get Up

Nashville's Hotel War, Lianne La Havas for Converse and a classic '80s #PrivateJam in our look at music this week

Sometimes, the best music comes in the purest form. In this case it’s Nashville’s latest band to watch—Dayton, Ohio natives Hotel War—who are pure, dyed in the wool, no nonsense rockers. Opting for bluesy guitar riffs, hard-hitting drum solos, distorted bass lines and whiskey-drenched vocals, Hotel War are at once a contemporary culmination of various rock influences as well as a textbook definition of American …