# Best New Releases – Fool’s Gold, Cut Off Your Hands, Botany, Her Space Holiday, Gold Leaves, Mister Heavenly, Jim Jones Revue - Link: https://indierockcafe.com/2011/08/best-new-releases-albums-summer-2011/ - Published: 2011-08-19T19:31:07-04:00 - Author: Max Hammer Fool's Gold released its sophomore album, 'Leave No Trace' earlier this week As summer begins to wind down to a close (already?!), the number of new releases each week starts to increase gradually the closer we get to the Christmas holiday. We are only about four months away from Christmas – that’s just nuts. Anyways, this is a great week for new releases, and we urge you to listen to this entire mix. In fact, this mix is meant to be listened to from the first to the last song uninterrupted; we think you’ll see what we mean after you’ve spun it two or three times. To stream this **Best New Releases** mix all the way through, just click on the first track and the embedded Y! player will do the rest. Of course, you can also download for free the songs you like the most (all we ask is that you somehow show some love to the bands you like the most from this mix) by doing a right click on the song title and then select Save As to save the MP3s to your computer. This week’s Best New Releases contains new tracks and albums from bands we already dig, such as **Cut Off Your Hands** and **Fool’s Gold**, to bands that are new to us, like **Bad Sports** and** Gold Leaves**. Other Recommended Releases This Week: Mister Heavenly           Chairlift         Gold Leaves   The War on Drugs       Botany           The Weather Station     Her Space Holiday            Hercules & Love Affair            Yob The Yellow Ostrich           Trophy Wives #### Thumbs Up to New Releases from COYH,  Fool’s Gold & Botany The **New Zealand** indie pop band, **Cut Off Your Hands** (how do you cut off the other hand if one hand is already cut off?), dropped its third LP this week. The perky, uptempo lead track from the album, “You Should Do Better,” is a great way to kick off this week’s Best New Releases. The song is simply infectious, embellished with jangling guitar notes, a non-stop tambourine beat and a heavy, melodic bass line, as well as the easily recognizable vocals of lead vocalist **Nick Johnston**. “You Should Do Better” – **Cut Off Your Hands** (courtesy of _My Old Kentucky Blog_) from _Hollow_ On Tuesday,**Fool’s Gold** dropped their sophomore album,_ Leave No Trace_, via ** Frenchkiss Records**. While it is a bit of a departure from the sunny tropical feel of their debut album, there is still plenty to dance to, and to love about _Leave No Trace_, which is a strange name for an album that is so full of fantastic music. “Street Clothes” – **Fool’s Gold** from _Leave No Trace_ It’s a bit baffling that some blogs we frequent have not made much mention of the new album from the electro-pop/synth music project **Botany**, the moniker of 23- year-old experimental synth-pop musician **Spencer Stephenson** of **Texas**. We expect to be hearing more about him in the near future, and would not be surprised if he is booked for 2012’s **SXSW**. (Read More about Botany via the new Music Quickies Blog) Related Post:  Best New Releases - Crystal Stilts, Los Campesinos, Sigur Ros, Carter Tanton, Pterodactyl, Whalers, Matty Sorono, New Division [“Water Parker”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/WV81.W4T3RP4RK3R3.mp3)–** Botany** from _Feeling Today_ [“Feeling Today”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/WV81.FLNG.TDY1.mp3)–** Botany** from _Feeling Today_ ⌊mister-heavenly⌉ #### Mister Heavenly, The Jim Jones Revue & More Sometimes when there are so many bands that you are trying to keep tabs on, you’re going to inadvertently miss some. It’s been a while since we’ve listened to **Mister Heavenly**, a **Subpop** recording artist, with a new album out this week, _Out of Love_. The lead track, “Bronx Sniper,” has the rage of grunge, and the sensibilities of indie rock, including frequent stops and starts that conjure up images of a big monster stomping through a city’s deserted streets, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. We still haven’t heard all of _Out of Love_ yet, but so far, we like it a lot. [](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/99563.mp3) [“Bronx Sniper”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/99563.mp3)– **Mister Heavenly** from _Out of Love_ Thankfully, the rocking doesn’t stop there. No, not at all. Another band on our radar is **The Jim Jones Revue**, who seem to channel **Jerry Lee Lewis**, with the 50’s-sounding “Great Balls of Fire”-like track, “High Horse” from the band’s new LP, _Burning Your House Down_ (**Talking Heads**‘ fans too?). This band really knows how to rock out, and we’ve already listened to the new LP a couple of times– it’s terrific! “High Horse” – **The Jim Jones Revue** from _Burning Your House Down_ #### Her Space Holiday Calls It Quits With Farewell Album The gifted purveyor of glitch pop music, **Her Space Holiday** (aka, **Marc Bianchi**) released his farewell, self-titled album this week. The lead track from the LP, “ Ghost in the Garden” is a fantastically addictive track that is just one of many such tracks on the album. This past May, **Her Space Holiday**, much to the dismay of thousands of fans worldwide, announced that this would be the final album as the highly regarded indie pop outfit. [“Ghost in the Garden](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/HSH-07_Ghost_In_The_Garden.mp3)”–** Her Space Holiday** from _Her Space Holiday_ ⌊war-on-drugs-slave-ambient⌉ #### The War On Drugs Release New LP; Chairlift Single Just about as fast as you can like a band from the get-go was basically how we became acquainted a couple of years ago with the **Philadelphia** indie/alt rock band, ** The War on Drugs**. Interestingly, Adam Granduciel moved from Oakland to Philadelphia in 2003 where he met singer/songwriter Kurt Vile. The two began playing music together from the get-go, and in 2005, recorded as The War on Drugs, self-releasing a demo EP that year. By 2008, Vile had departed from the band – earning his cred as a gifted solo artist. Related Post:  Best New Releases, Part I - R.E.M., Beach Fossils, Dinosaur Bones, Alexi Murdoch, Parts & Labor, Wye Oak, The Megaphonic Thrift Later that year, the band gave away their debut EP, _Barrel of Batteries_, and established themselves as a band to watch. In fact, they signed to the popular indie label ** Secretly Canadian** to released their 2008 debut LP, _Wagonwheel Blues_. It was this album that first turned us onto the band, and we’ve been fans ever since. The WOD’s are commonly associated with genres from indie rock to **Americana**, and are believed to be heavily influenced by artists that range from **Bob Dylan** to M**y Bloody Valentine**. This week, The War on Drugs released their second album, _Slave Ambient_. The lead single, “Come to the City,” and “Baby Missiles” are two of our favorite tracks from the LP. If you like these two tracks, it’s a good bet that you’ll like/love the album. You can download Slave Ambient via iTunes. “[Come to the City”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/cometothecity3.mp3)–** The War on Drugs **from _Slave Ambient_ **Double-shot:** [“Baby Missiles”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/babymissiles.mp3)–** The War on Drugs **from _Slave Ambient_ “Amanaemonesia”_ _ – **Chairlift **from _Amanaemonesia_ 7″ #### New Bands We Like: Bad Sports and Gold Leaves A totally new band that we’ve never heard of before, **Bad Sports**, bang out the 1970’s-pop rock-sounding track, “Teenage Girls,” a perfect track for a mixtape of summer anthems, even as summer quickly fades away. “Teenage Girls” – ** Bad Sports ** from _Kings Of The Weekend_ [_“_Days of Denton”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/6529615.0.mp3)–** Bad Sports ** from _Kings Of The Weekend_ ![goldleavescover](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/goldleavescover. jpg "goldleavescover") A few months ago, we learned about a new musical project, **Gold Leaves**, from ** Seattle**-based songwriter **Grant Olsen**, who is more widely known as ‘Arthur’ in the duo **Arthur & Yu**. **Jason Quever** of Papercuts was by Olsen’s side through most of the recording process, serving as co-producer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. **Ben McConnell, Thao Ngyuen, Amy Blaschke**, and members of the **Moondoggies** all contributed to the album as well. “Vocally, the album’s title track oddly gives me a My Morning Jacket vibe, but musically it replaces the alt-country/jam sounds with a 60’s psych/brit-folk/pop influences.”– _My Old Kentucky Blog_ The mellow, daydream-inducing track, “Cruel/Kind,” is one of the highlights of _The Ornament_, as well as one of the most beautiful, heartfelt ballady songs that we’ve heard so far this year. In fact, the song conjures up a scenario in which **Don McLean** lifts a few riffs and melodies from the 1969 Grammy-winning Top 10 track, “Everybody’s Watching” ( and which later became a staple on 1970’s A.M. radio) by **Harry Nilsson**, and makes his own track out of it. Every time we listen to “Cruel/Kind,” there’s just no doubt that it is one of the most touching songs from a relatively unknown artist so far this year. Related Post:  Best New Releases - Times New Viking, Painted Palms, Of Montreal, Golden Dogs, The Globes, Girls Names, Ezra Koenig Thankfully, the treats don’t end there. But you’ll have to buy a copy of the album to find out for yourself what we are talking about. Oddly, there are no matching results when googling “Gold Leaves band.” Not a band website, MySpace page, Lastfm or Bandcamp profile – nada. Firstly, “gold” and “leaves” are fairly common terms (but not together);  it simply looks like there are no websites for the solo career of Grant Olsen. If anyone finds any additional information about Gold Leaves, please let us know. Following Gold Leaves, the **Boulder**-via-**Brooklyn** electro/synth pop duo, ** Chairlift**, released a new seven-inch single, “Amanaemonesia,” this week. “Cruel/Kind” – ** Gold Leaves ** from _ The Ornament_ #### Other Fresh Tracks from New Albums Out This Week “You’re Like a Bad Song” – **Trophy Wives** from _Old Scratch_ “Fiery Ring(“ – **Appetite** from _Scattered Smothered Covered (stream) “Robin Hood” – **The Great Book of John** from _The Great Book Of John_ “My House” – **Hercules and Love Affair **from _Blue Songs_ “Falling Down” – **Hotel Lights** from _Girl Graffiti_ “Bee Nose” – **Pink Skull** from _Psychic Welfare_ “Derelict” – **Sundress** from _Sundress EP_ (self-released) Box Elder” (Pavement)** ** – **Astrid Swan **from _Hits (Pavement For Girls)_ “Everything I Saw” – **The Weather Station** from All of It Was Mine “Whale” – **Yellow Ostrich** from _The Mistress_ “Prepare The Ground”– **Yob** from _Atma_ “Smokin’ 100s Alone”- **Bottle Rockets** from _Not So Loud: An Acoustic Evening With…_ “Comforts of the Coffin” – **Matthew Friedberger** from _Cut It Out_ “The Eagle, or the Serpent” – **Case Studies – ** (courtesy of Pitchfork) from _The World Is Just a Shape to Fill the Night_ **August 16** [Ana Popovic](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/08/best-new-releases-albums-summer-2011/ anapopovic.com)– _Unconditional_ Astrid Williamson – _Pulse_ DC [Botany](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/botanymusic)– _Feeling Today_[Canon Blue](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/08/best-new-releases-albums-summer-2011/ canonblue.com)( Daniel James/Efterklang) – _Rumspringa_[Case Studies](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/thedutchessandtheduke)– _The World Is Just a Shape to Fill the Night_Charlie Simpson – _Young Pilgrim_ DC [Cut Off Your Hands](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/cutoffyourhandsblog.blogspot.com)– _Hollow_Eli Young Band – _Life At Best_[Fionn Regan](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/08/best-new-releases-albums-summer-2011/ fionnregan.com)– _100 Acres of Sycamore_ (U.K.)Gold Leaves – _The Ornament_Guy Clark – _Songs and Stories_[Hotel Lights](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/10842527313)– _Girl Graffiti_[Jeff Bridges](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/08/best-new-releases-albums-summer-2011/ jeffbridges.com)– _Jeff Bridges_[Jill Scott](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/08/best-new-releases-albums-summer-2011/ jillscott2.com)– _From the Vault Vol. 1_[Kris Delmhorst](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/08/best-new-releases-albums-summer-2011/ krisdelmhorst.com)– _Cars_ (Cars Covers Album)[Lex Land](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/08/best-new-releases-albums-summer-2011/ lexland.net)– _Were My Sweetheart to Go _DCLuke Temple – _Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care_[Maria Taylor](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/08/best-new-releases-albums-summer-2011/ mariataylormusic.com)– _Overlook_ DC[Mister Heavenly](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/misterheavenly.com)– _Out of Love__[O Brother Where Art Thou](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/release.aspx?pid=1379&aid=72)–_ Soundtrack (Deluxe)Ollabelle – _Neon Blue Bird_[Psychic Babble](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/PsychicBabble)– _My Brother’s Ears_…[Sena Ehrhardt](http://www.reverbnation.com/senaehrhardtband)– _Leave the Lights On_[The Bottle Rockets](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/08/best-new-releases-albums-summer-2011/ bottlerocketsmusic.com)– _Not So Loud/Acoustic_[The War on Drugs](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/08/best-new-releases-albums-summer-2011/ thewarondrugs.net)– _Slave Ambient_[Various](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/08/best-new-releases-albums-summer-2011/ johnmartyn1.com)– _John Martyn Tribute Album_ DC