So far, 2010 is looking like a great year for indie and alternative rock.
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2006 New Indie Artist Contest
best indie albums 2008
The song of the week is one that is well deserving of the honor. If you like edgy, experimental indie pop, check out the quirky Montreal indie band Island's single "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby".The single is on Island's under-rated and brilliant debut album Return to the Sea, which surprisingly was overlooked by many rock critics, and even many of the indie rock bloggers. It didn't even make most of the top album of the year lists you see everywhere in December and January.
- Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby [mp3]
- Bonus: Volcanoes [mp3]
Buy the album or these tracks individually at iTunes, Amazon or anywhere they sell the group's music!
Islands is a band that is in a perpetual state of flux, formed by Unicorn members Nick Diamonds and J'aime Tambeur. The album is described by Nick as having "some dancehall [sic] influences, some calypso...diverse and sprawling and ambitious...a bit more mature than The Unicorns... more of a Neil Young/Brian Wilson vibe running through it." (quoted from Wikipedia)
The collaboration on the Return to the Sea project included contributions from members of The Arcade Fire and The Wolf Parade.
Following the release of the album, the band went on a series of U.S. and Canadian tours during 2006. Earlier in 2005 they had opened for Beck from time to time and Metric. The critics and fans love the group's live shows. They even played some concerts where they had the concert-goers follow them out of the venue and into the streets in the spirit of the Pipe Piper of Hamelin.
After fans complained enough on blogs and fan sites, the group launched a fairly cool Flash powered official website back in late summer of 2006. The site may be a bit difficult for some (roll the mouse over the name of the band for the sections of the site), but it is a creative and refreshing approach.
No question that official band sites are getting better all the time. They just need to offer more free downloads, videos, interviews and add-ons like alerts when a concert date is added or changed.
Since 2006 wasn't that long ago, we have named Return to The Sea one of IRC's Top 20 albums of the year, and the single "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby," one of the best songs of the year. You'd think that a song with such a title would be quirky, angry, mocking or what have you. But it's a true indie gem - oozing with waves of melodies, catchy riffs and memorable chorus harmonies. You may even find yourself tapping your foot. It's a great song to play when stuck in rush hour traffic or you need a picker-upper.
Warning: If you are a total hard-core indie punk or monster rocker, then you'd probably want to smash this CD if it was in front of you, but chill out my friend, we have plenty on damn good indie rock and punk on this site for you too.
Labels: Beck, Islands, The Arcade Fire, The Unicorns, Wolf Parade
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