After a blockbuster week of new releases last week (so many that we had a part one and two), this week’s lot of new releases is also impressive, just not as jam-packed as last week. But, don’t fret – there is plenty to listen to, including new music from:
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Danger Mouse Bahamas – Pink Strat Chad VanGaalen Zachary Cale Point Juncture, WA Thee Oh Sees Glasvegas |
13 & God Metal Mother Bachelorette PlanningtoRock Big Scary Damon & Naomi |
Witches Falcon Ryan Garbes Gold Bears Sargent Garcia Yellow Dogs | |
The best part of this week’s new releases – and which is actually true many weeks throughout the year – is the fact that the mix we’ve put together introduces so many people to talented, but hardly known, artists and bands, whether they are DIY or signed to a label. Some are completely new to us as, which is likely to be the case for most people listening to this mix.
One of the things we cherish and enjoy the most about putting together all kinds of playlist mixes (more than 800 since 2007) is sharing them with the 25,000 or more visitors who come to IRC every day from around the world.
The lead track for this Best New Releases comes from the new album from Grammy Award-winning producer Danger Mouse and the Italian film composer, Daniele Luppi, who collaborated to create an epic ‘movie’ soundtrack (for a movie that doesn’t exist) with help from heavy-hitters Jack White and Norah Jones on guest vocals.
The project arises from Danger Mouse’s life-long admiration of Italian film soundtracks. The album isn’t anything like his solo work or his work as a founding member of Broken Bells, but it’s a must-have for Danger Mouse die-hard fans and other lovers of old Italian film soundtracks.
“Two Against One” (featuring Jack White) – Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi from Rome
Toronto musician and singer-songwriter Afie Jurvanen, aka Bahamas, has finally released his 2009 acclaimed debut album, Pink Strat, via Brushfire this week. In 2010, Jurvanen was nominated for a Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Solo.
Bahamas is the touring guitarist for the band Feist. If you enjoy these two tracks from the album, then you’ll really want to add it to your music collection. We absolutely love, love the lead track, “Already Yours,” and “Hockey Teeth,” besides its great title, is also a splendid song, as is the entire album, which after you’ve listened to it a few times, is not hard to see why it was nominated for a Juno Award.
“Already Yours” – Bahamas from Pink Strat
“Hockey Teeth” – Bahamas from Pink Strat
(these two tracks are featured at CurrentDirectMusic.com for this compilation)
Multi-Award Nominated Artist Chad VanGaalen Releases LP and Introducing Zachary Cole
Another Canadian singer-songwriter that we have admired from the get-go is Subpop recording artist, and Calgary resident, Chad VanGaalen. And also like fellow Canadian Jurvanen was also nominated for Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year in 2008 album Soft Airplane, which was also shortlisted for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize.
Two year previously, VanGaalen’s second album, Skelliconnection, made the shortlist for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize, which in the end went to the band Patrick Watson. If the rest of dDiaper Island is as good as the single, “Sara,” then VanGaalen will have managed again to write, record and mix another fantastic album. He has also released a 2009 album Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz under the moniker Black Gold, and produced the first two albums from Canadian indie band Women.
“Sara” – Chad VanGaalen from Diaper island
Another singer-songwriter that we are loving right now is Zachary Cole. His acoustic sensibilities, wonderful songwriting and excellent vocals are at the heart of his music, and we hope to eventually get to listen to all of his new album, Noise of Welcome, via the free, but temporary album stream from Spinner before deciding to purchase it or not.
“Hello Oblivion” – Zachary Cale from Noise of Welcome
New Releases from Point Juncture, SF’s Thee Oh Sees and Scotland’s Glasvegas
Fans of Best Coast and Generationals are most likely to dig the sounds of Portland band Point Juncture, WA and their third album, Handsome Orders. Also, the band of many incarnations, San Francisco experimental garage-rockers, Thee Oh Sees, release their 11th album, Castlemania, this week, spin the new single from the latest album from
Scottish indie rockers Glasvegas.
“Boston Gold” – Point Juncture, WA from Handsome Orders
“I Need Seed” – Thee Oh Sees from Castlemania
“Euphoria, Take My Hand” – Glasvegas from Eurphoria
Whether it is music we receive from publicists or record labels, recommendations from other music blogs, or songs we receive directly through our submission form, it never ceases to amaze us just how much fantastic music flies in largely under the radar.
A perfect example is the band 13 & God, a collaborative music project between the bands The Notwist and Themselves (plus Dax and Antonionian from Subtle). This marks their first album in six years. The lead track, “Old Age,” from their new release, Own Your Ghost, is a richly melodic indie electro-pop keeper track that is simply quite addictive. We haven’t heard the whole album yet, but the first single from the album is compelling enough that we’re going to purchase the album.
If even half of 13 & God’s new LP is as good as “Old Age” – easily one of our favorite singles of the month – it’ll be well worth the investment. (Also, on a separate matter, we can’t be the only ones to notice the frequency of which the word “ghost” has appeared in band names and song and album titles over the past couple of years.)
“Old Age” – 13 & God from Own Your Ghost
This next song was another welcomed surprise from an artist that we’ve never heard of previously. The track, “Billy Cruz,” from Oakland’s one woman band Metal Mother (aka, Tara Tati), is not the sound you’d expect from a band with such a suggestive name. Rather than being anything close to metal, “Billy Cruz” is a mysterious, haunting and exotic tune – almost as if a traditional Far East song was mixed with a steady rhythmic beat, horn inserts and even some funky sound effects, not to mention the meat of the song which is a compelling chorus. We will definitely add Metal Mother’s Bonfire Diaries to our listening list solely based on the hypnotic lead single.
“Billy Cruz” – Metal Mother from Bonfire Diaries
Bachelorette, PlanningtoRock and Big Scary Drop New Releases
The next single we’re digging this week comes from a new-to-us band called Bachelorette, whose richly layered, forward-driving, yet spacious, electronic track, “Blanket,” from the band’s self-titled, debut album, is bound to gain some new fans this week, most of whom will likely want to hear the entire LP to discover what other gems may be waiting for them. Chances are that people who like “Blanket” will also enjoy the entire LP; so we’re also including a second track. Put Bachelorette on the list of bands to watch.
“Blanket” – Bachelorette from Bachelorette
We’re also including the lead track from Planningtorock‘s new LP, simply titled W, which may or may not have something to do with former president Bush, junior, sometimes referred to as “W” for his middle name, Walker. Perhaps the Depeche Mode style track “Doorway” is another presidential metaphor. Following right behind Planningtorock is a similarly dark, escapism track from the new album, Dead Horse, by Screens.
“Doorway” – Planningtorock from W
Up next, Big Scary isn’t scary at all, In fact, as far from it as you can be with a song – on their cheery, almost 2nd-grade class chorus arrangement, “Autumn” which is a bit too enthusiastic for it’s title, but one way, perhaps, to think of it is like the sounds of leaves on fire in the later days of October – an interesting, maybe clever, dichotomy?
“Autumn” – Big Scary from The Big Scary Four Seasons (self-released)
Damon & Naomi, Witches, Falcon, Ryan Garbes, Gold Bears and Sgt. Garcia
Another newbie for us is the duo Damon & Naomi, whose lead single, “Walking Backwards” is a chill, almost floating track characterized by the vocal harmonies of the duo and spiked with fuzzy guitar licks. Plus, check out fresh tracks from new releases by more new-to-us artists, including Witches, Falcon, Ryan Garbes, Gold Bears, Sergent Garcia, and Yellow Dogs.
“Walking Backwards” – Damon & Naomi from False Beats and True Hearts
“Creature of Nature” – Witches from Forever
“Say Goodbye” – Falcon from Disappear
“Boys Are Back” – Ryan Garbes from Sweet Hassle
“Record Store” – Gold Bears from Are You Falling In Love?
“Mi Son Mi Friend” – Sergent Garcia from Una y Otra Vez
“Gastronomic Meal” – Yellow Dogs from The Kennel EP (self-released)
Stay tune for Part II of this week’s Best New Releases, featuring semi-super group Amor de Días Miracle Fortress, Glorie, Company of Thieves, Almost You, Mercury Rev, plus talented bands you’ve probably never heard of before who also have new albums out this week, accompanied by free MP3s.