Year: 2011

5 Bands to Watch in 2011, Vol. II – Alcoholic Faith Mission, The Luyas, Elsinore, California Wives, Dada Trash Collage

Posted on by Max Hammer

Last week, we published our first installment of Bands to Watch in 2011. Instead of including one really long listing, we decided to break them up into five bands per installment. There’s plenty of evidence that people like things divided up into 5’s and 10’s. The first installment of 5 Bands to Watch in 2011 got tens of thousands of page hits, so we finished up volume two of this series which puts the spotlight on the following bands: Alcoholic Faith Mission (pictured above), The Luyas, California Wives, Dada Trash Collage and Elsinore.

Alcoholic Faith Mission – Copenhagen, Denmark and Brooklyn, New York

Little by little, more and more people are hearing about the fantastic Danish indie electro-pop band Alcoholic Faith Mission. During the waning months of 2010, AFM were beginning to breakout. We think 2011 is the year they’ll smash through.

AFM initially started out with ex-pat Danes Thorben Seiero Jensen and Sune Solund carving out a couple of fantastic releases in 2009 that caught the attention of European indie blogs and press. For their latest album, Let This Be the Last Night We Care, the band expanded their membership, adding a number of fellow Scandinavians – Laurids Smedegaard, Kristine Permild,  and Gustav Rasmussen – to round out the line-up.

“My Eyes To See” – Alcoholic Faith Mission from Let This Be the Last Night We Care

With interesting song titles like “Got Love/Got Shellfish!,” “Season Me Right,” and, “The You, That You Could Use,” Alcoholic Faith Mission obviously enjoy the quirky side of indie rock. In fact, they remind us more and more of a cross between Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens, and so it would not be a big surprise if those artists’ music has had a significant influence on AFM – quirky titles; sprawling, epic compositions; sudden stops and starts; spontaneous flourishes of orchestration and infusions of brass and wind instruments; and lots of chorus singing and sudden stops and starts.

“Got Love/Got Shellfish!” – Alcoholic Faith Mission from from Let This Be the Last Night We Care

The first signs of the musical genius of Jessen and Solund emerged when they released AFM’s 2009 EP, 421 Wythe, named after the Brooklyn  home where they recorded. 421 is simply a magnificent album that switches between songs with vibrant, inspiration choruses and instrumental perfection, and other times when the wonderfully crafted compositions are deliciously dreamy, and sometimes, comfortably numbing.

Songs like “Escapism”, “Gently,” and “Guilty Scared Eyes” and are at once luring, larger than life, flourishing. The previous band comparisons aside, AFM are extremely talented and craft indie orchestrations with sober lyrics and flourishing choruses, even while not taking themselves too seriously, such as on fantastic songs   like “Nut in Your Eye” and “We All Have Your Shortcomings.”

“Nut in Your Eye” – Alcoholic Faith Mission from 421 Wythe

“We All Have Your Shortcomings”– Alcoholic Faith Mission from 421 Wythe

With two solid records under their belt, it’s no wonder that more and more people are taking notice of AFM over the past half year or so. For those who enjoy the songs we’ve included in this profile, you’ll really want to get the albums the tracks come from. The more we listen to Let This Be The Last Night We Care and 421 Wythe, the more we love this band.

As we noted previously, these are the works of gifted musicians and songwriters, who are able to create sweeping epic songs that build up to a thrilling choruses, and are embellished with brass and string instruments. And you can almost feel while you’re listening to their songs like they realize they’ve got something special, and are happy to share it. All things considered, it was easy to pick Alcoholic Faith Mission as one of our top Bands to Watch in 2011. Let us know what you think!

The Alcoholic Faith Mission will be playing a number of shows in Canada next month, and a show at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on March 15th, before heading to Austin for the South by Southwest festival. They’re definitely on our schedule for SXSW.

“The You That You Could Use”– Alcoholic Faith Mission from Let This Be the Last Night We Care

Alcoholic Faith Mission have at least three gigs booked for SXSW in Austin next month. See the band’s MySpace page for more.

The Luyas – Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Over the past couple of years, the indie experimental band The Luyas have made little splashes in a big pond. But things really picked up for the band after their debut album, Faker Death, was re-released in 2008, and following appearances at popular Montreal music festivals. Yet, as far as in the States, The Luyas didn’t start to grab attention until the later half of 2010, especially after their praised performance at New York’s CMJ Music Marathon last October. The Luyas are set to perform at South By Southwest in just a couple of weeks from now.

The band have grown in number over the past couple of years, and it has benefited them greatly. In fact, former Arcade Fire French horn player, Pietro Amato (who also plays with Bell Orchestre and Torngat) joined the band. And Arcade Fire collaborator Owen Pallett contributed string arrangements and violin to some tracks on The Luyas’ latest album, Too Beautiful to Work. In addition, the band turned to engineer Jeff McMurrich (Tindersticks, Constantines) for their second album. Founding member Jessie Stein (vocals/guitars/moodswinger) has also played with SS Cardiacs and Miracle Fortress, and is skilled at playing the Moodswinger, a 12-string electric zither created by the Dutch experimental luthier Yuri Landman. Another founding member, Stefan Schneider (drums), plays with Amato in Bell Orchestre. Recently, they added their fourth permanent member, Mathieu Charbonneau (Wurlitzer).

With their lush, electro-pop sounds, trippy orchestrated loops and heavy bass lines, heavy use of strings, plus the charms of the Moodswinger and a Wurlitzer. We included a number of tracks from The Luyas sophomore album, Too Beautiful to Work, released last Tuesday to impressive reviews.

“Too Beautiful” – The Luyas from Too Beautiful To Work – Feb. 22nd

After hearing the title track, plus another song that circulated in 2010, “Tiny Head,” we were excited to listen to the band’s entire newly released debut LP. Not because we needed more proof that they qualified as a band to watch in 2011, but simply because we enjoyed the first few tracks so much, we wanted more. Plus, we’re also including a song from the band’s first album.

“Tiny Head” – The Luyas from Too Beautiful To Work – Feb. 22nd

Flashback Track: “Dumb Blood” – The Luyas from Faker Death (2007)

california wives

California Wives – Chicago, Illinoise

As with Suns, California Wives is another Chicago band we are only recently acquainted with. California Wives, thanks to the accomplished work on their Affair EP (released last September), are definitely on our Bands to Watch list for 2011.  In recent months, the band’s fan following in Chicago has begun to spread outside of the city, and across the nation with a blog post here and there.

A sign of a new band’s prospects, one could say, is if they are invited to record a Daytrotter Session.  The band recently recorded their intro DTS, and we expect that is only the beginning for this promising new band.  We think you’d be really glad to grab a copy of  Affair if you can. The band will be performing a number of shows in Austin during next month’s SXSW.

“Blood Red Youth” – California Wives from Affair EP – Sept. 3rd

“Purple” – California Wives from Affair EP

California Wivesofficial website.

Dada Trash Collage – Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis experimental psychedelic rock band Dada Trash Collage where on our radar for 2010, and have elevated to a band to watch in 2011.  DTC are all over the map musically, and it works to their benefit. At once you can be hazed out and then wrapped an epic glory in the same song.  When they say they are experimental, they’re not kidding.

“Moon” – Dada Trash Collage from Cool Waves/Bad Days

Songs like “Moon” and “Two Eyes” have soft, dreamy intros, but by mid-song, the band breaks out into full-throttled, unabashed psychedelic bliss pop. Dada Trash Collage have received some pretty good blog buzz (including on here in 2010), and have built a small, but loyal, following. But still, we think, as evidenced by the songs below, that the band are ready to break out in 2011 if all the right chips are in the right places.

“Two Eyes” – Dada Trash Collage from Cool Waves/Bad Days

“Glowing Wires” – Dada Trash Collage from Neighbors

“In Season” – Dada Trash Collage from Neighbors (via MFR’s)


Elsinore – Champaign-Urbana, Illinois

Champaign-Urbana pop quintet Elsinore is one of the best new band discoveries for our In Dee Mail playlist series throughout 2010. When we premiered the songs below late last year, you guys went crazy for the Illinois band, streaming and downloading the band’s songs from IRC in the hundreds and hundreds, and putting the been on the Top Ten Songs list. Therefore, it is no wonder that we have chosen Elsinore as a band to watch in 2011. Elsinore’s upbeat, catchy melodies and rock influences make them a band that is hard to turn away from.

“Yes Yes Yes” – Elsinore from Yes Yes Yes – Aug. 10th

“Chemicals” – Elsinore from The Chemicals EP – Jan. 10th 

Best New Releases from Scattered Trees, Edwyn Collins, Datarock, Puro Instinct, Phineas & Lonely Leaves, Cave Singers

Posted on by Max Hammer

scatteredtreesuptown

It wasn’t hard to pick the lead single for this week’s Best New Releases feature. It is a great track, and our song of the day, “Love and Leave,” from Chicago indie band Scattered Trees. The dreamy, lush track is a near instant MP3 hit, and contains an ironic anthemic quality, not to mention sounding amazingly like 1970’s pop rock band ELO. That said, we tag Scattered Trees as a band to watch in 2011.

As we were putting together this post playlist, it became apparent that there are a good number of impressive tracks from relatively unknown bands. While Scattered Trees have been around for about five years now, there are still a lot people who have not heard of them. They have been compared to Radiohead and Coldplay. They combine elements of electro-pop, rock, and grunge, so it’s difficult to put them into a genre. Their new album, Sympathy, dropped this week.

“Love and Leave” – Scattered Trees from Sympathy

Bonus: “Four Days Straight” – Scattered Trees from Sympathy

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Edwyn Collins’ Praised LP Finally Drops in U.S.

Scottish-born musician and producer Edwyn Collins‘ influence on indie rock is unquestionable. As the founding member of Nu-Sonics in 1976 – which was later renamed to Orange Juice – his remarkable electric guitar pop riffs had a significant impact on scores of young bands in the U.K. during the late 1970’s and most of the 1980’s. Orange Juice disbanded in 1985. They only had one hit single, “Rip It Up,” but their importance in the U.K. indie and alternative rock remains intact.

During his long career, he has produced The Proclaimers, A House, Space, Robert Forster, The Cribs, and Little Barrie. In the 1990’s, Collins had two big hit singles – 1994’s “A Girl Like You,” became a huge hit in the U.K. and U.S. When the song first came out, some people understandably thought it was a new Bowie track; either way, it’s one of the best rock songs of the 1990’s. “A Girl Like You” has been featured in films like Empire Records, Charlie’s Angel and The Secretary.

“A Girl Like You” – Edwyn Collins from Gorgeous George

Collins suffered a double brain hemorrhage in 2005, and has made a remarkable recovery since then. Last year, he released a new album, Losing Sleep, to huge critical acclaim from mainstream media critics, bloggers and fans throughout the U.K. Check out this awesome video “Do It Again,” featuring Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand.

The album features tracks co-written by members of Franz Ferdinand, plus Romeo Stodart of The Magic Numbers, and Ryan Jarman of The Cribs and The Drums.

“In Your Eyes” (featuring The Drums) – Edwyn Collins from Losing Sleep


Datarock Release Techie USB Filled with Everything Datarock

Datarock calls the release of their up-coming single, “Catcher in the Rye,” the “most extravagant single in history.” The single’s toy designed USB stick will feature 110 tracks, 20 music videos, and an one-long concert film, Never Say Die, a five-track EP, the latest album, Music For Synchronization, the remix album Mixed Up, two other previous albums with bonus tracks,  new Lost and Found B-sides and rarities, 1,500 photos taken at their shows in 33 countries, and 15 instrumentals.

“Catcher in the Rye” – Datarock from Catcher in the Rye 7″

Cotton Jones is an indie folk-pop band from Cumberland, Maryland. Cotton Jones began as a project band for Michael Nau, lead singer and founder of the now defunct Page France, and has since become a full-time project. The single’s title alone will getting you thinking.

“Egg on a Sea” – Cotton Jones from Sit Beside You Vegetables

As with all the choices for the weekly Best New Releases, we listened a number of times to dozens and dozens of singles. Obviously, we don’t have the time to listen to all of the albums these songs come from, but we do our best to keep up.

Puro Instinct floored us with this dreamy and melodic track, “Stilyagi,” that will definitely be on our year end list for best song of 2011; we’ve already spun it like ten times. Puro Instinct and Phineas & The Lonely Leaves are bands to watch in 2011, and you should be hearing more about them in one of the upcoming editions of Bands to Watch in 2011.

“Stilyagi” – Puro Instinct from Headbangers In Ecstasy

“The Kids We Used To Be” – Phineas & the Lonely Leaves from The Kids We Used To Be

The following bands have appeared as fairly lit to bright blips on our music radar for 2011: Puro Instinct, Phineas & the Lonely Leaves, PT Walkley, Make Out, Powerdove, Marcellus Hall, The Caribbean, Six Organs of Admittance, and Hotels.

In keeping with tradition, please write any comments or reviews of songs in this playlist mix in the Comments section. We love reading them, and you guys leave a lot of great observations of posts and playlists, as well as engaging one another in conversation about a song, album or artist. Plus, we love when you Tweet, Like on our Facebook page, and share music from Indie Rock Cafe with others because we love spreading great, rarely heard music.

“I Don’t Want Anybody That Wants Me” – Make Out from Make Out EP

“Edita V” – Balkans from Edita V

“Outskirts” – The Caribbean from Discontinued Perfume

“Mr. Let’s Find Out”– The Caribbean from Discontinued Perfume

“Hold But Let Go” – Six Organs of Admittance from Asleep on the Floodplain

How Do We Determine if a Band is ‘Relatively Unknown?’ One way that we measure a “relatively unknown band” is to search their name in Google and see how many music sites and blogs have written about them. We also check Wikipedia to see if they have a page in Wikipedia. If they don’t, we think that is a pretty good additional clue of a new and under-the-radar artist. Another measure we use is to check the number of views and friends on MySpace, followers on Twitter and Friends and ‘Likes’ in Facebook.

“Laughing With You” – Marcellus Hall from The First Line

“The Bat Watusi” – Hotels from On The Casino Floor

“Birdsong”– Powerdove from Be Mine

“Love You Dearly” – PT Walkley from The Ghost of Chivalry EP

“Speed of Light” – Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion from Bright Examples

“Ma Do Nar” – Los Chicharrons from Roots of Life

“In Manila” – Eagle and Talon from In Manila

More well known indie bands like The Cave Singers, Floating Action, Danielson, and The Builders and the Butchers also have new releases this week. We wish we could do a write up on every artist featured in this mix, but we simply don’t have the many, many hours available that would be required to do so.

However, if IRC’s regular readers/listeners (not comfortable saying “followers”) audience keeps growing as it has been over the past year (and nearly one million visitors a month), it may be possible some day to do so much more of what we want to do. For now, we hope that IRC becomes your one-stop place for indie music.

“Lullaby” – The Builders and the Butchers from Dead Reckoning

“Swim Club” – The Cave Singers from No Witch

“Please Reveal” – Floating Action from Desert Etiquette

“People’s Partay” – Danielson from Best of Gloucester County

Bonus: “Grow Up” – Danielson from Best of Gloucester County

Make sure to check back tomorrow for a special edition of In Dee Mail, a playlist series that focuses on the best music we receive in the mail. You can’t miss this special edition – it has some of the most amazing artists you’ve probably never heard of, but will likely be glad you did.

Fresh Tracks from Radiohead, The Strokes, The Ravonettes, Opus Orange, The Submarines, Okkervil River, Stylofone

Posted on by Max Hammer

On Saturday, the world finally got their hands on the highly anticipated, MP3-only album, The King of Limbs, from rock gods Radiohead. The King of Limbs is the long awaited follow-up LP to the band’s brilliant 2008 release, In Rainbows.  With the release of the latter, Radiohead snuffed the corporate record label EMI by offering In Rainbows to fans for whatever fans wanted to pay. It was the shot heard around the recording industry. And fans reinforced Radiohead’s anti-corporate stance by purchasing hundreds of thousands of copies of In Rainbows in the first couple of months of its release.

This time around, Radiohead has made The King of Limbs available only from their own website, and no where else, yet without the name-your-price option, instead setting the price of the MP3 album at $9.  What In Rainbows did in as as far empowering bands and their fans to connect directly with one another, we think The King of Limbs will do for elevating and building on that dynamic relationship. Just from a musical perspective, The King of Limbs is already receiving high praise from critics and fans alike.

The lead up to the release of The King of Limbs was insignificant compared to the massive million-dollar marketing campaigns that surround artists who have a fraction of the talent that the four members of Radiohead possess. It was apparent the band did not want a big fuss to be made around the release of the album. To that point, the release date for The King of Limbs was only announced on Valentine’s Day, five days before it’s official release. There was no advance single or NPR album stream. As with millions of other fans, we had been eagerly awaiting the web-only release of The King of Limbs all week, almost like little kids counting down the days to Christmas morning. But in fact, some savvy Radiohead heads discovered the band actually made the album available sometime on Friday.

And there they were – all eight fresh tracks from Radiohead sitting in our iTunes, waiting to be played. For whatever reason, Radiohead’s albums have the distinction of sounding better over time – like a fine, fruity wine. That said, it took only a few seconds of the first song to recognize the quintessential and intricate sound of one of the most beloved modern rock bands on earth. And, in a rush to put words to what we were hearing, we pretty much messed up our first hurried attempt to present an off-the-cuff, and somewhat intelligent, review of the album. We should have known better – Radiohead’s albums are way to layered and complex to summarize after just a couple of hours of listening.

Radiohead – Little By Little

It takes many, many spins over a number of months, even years, to begin to formulate a sensible review, but, not because their music is necessarily cryptic, but in fact because it is so magnificently arranged and recorded by each member of the band. Radiohead is so ahead of the rest of the music paradigm – and has been for years – that fans, writers and musicians are still studying (and copying) the band’s previous album when a new one drops. Just who do you expect to be at the top of the best albums of 2011 lists in nine or so months from now?

The first track here is Thom Yorke performing “Lotus Flower” during a solo acoustic show in Los Angeles in January of 2010.

“Lotus Flower” (Live 1/24/10) – Radiohead from The King of Limbs

The Strokes Build Anticipation for New LP with a Killer Single

Last week, New York‘s quintessential garage rock band, The Strokes, released the first track from their much anticipated new LP, Angles, due out March 22nd. The track, “Under The Cover of Darkness,” does not disappoint; it’s electrifying guitar rock just as we expect (and hope for) from The Strokes, backed by a catchy, shuffling rhythm, and a superbly addicting chorus. We realize that many of you have either heard the track or purchased it; but, we’re including it anyways for those who have yet to hear this awesome track.

“Under Cover of Darkness” – The Strokes from Angles – out March 22nd

Above is the official cover for Angles. We are seriously jonesing to hear the rest of the album. Hopefully, it will be released in a couple of weeks as an album stream on Spinner, NPR or even The Strokes’ website. Pre-order Angles from Amazon for only $11.94.

You may also want to check out the The S-25 Songs Mix in which The Strokes were the featured band.

Also, here’s behind-the-scenes footage of the band (minus Julian Casablancas for some reason) during recording of Angles. Why is the director whispering?

The New York rock band have also announced that a new, non-album single, “You’re So Right,” will be released as an exclusive Record Store Day vinyl edition on April 16th. The track will also be featured as the official B-Side to “Under Cover of Darkness,” which drops officially as a 7-inch single on March 1st.

Opus Orange Gives IRC Exclusive New Track

If you’ve been a regular reader of IRC for the past year or so, you may be familiar with the music of successful Los Angeles music composer Paul Bessenbacher, aka Opus Orange. In 2009, we were the first indie website to premiere the music of Opus Orange after hearing one of his songs on a Johnsonville Sausage commercial. Since then, our love for Opus Orange has only grown with each new release, and all seven OO songs we’ve published during the past 18 months have been big hits with our readers and visitors.

So, it’s with great excitement that we premiere a brand new, unreleased single from Opus Orange titled “Crystal Clear.” Let us know what you think. We call it ‘deliciously upbeat indie pop,’ perhaps OO’s best single yet.

“Crystal Clear” – Opus Orange, single 2011 – IRC Exclusive

Check out Opus Orange’s Bandcamp page

Raving About The Raveonettes

We’ve been digging this spanking new track from The Raveonettes, complete with a percussion heavy, lo-fi indie rock romp that makes the track as exciting as the anticipation of the duo’s upcoming fifth album, Raven in the Grave, set to drop on April 5th. Pre-order here.

“Forget That You’re Young” – The Raveonettes from Raven in the Grave

Okkervil River’s Rondevu With “Mermaid”

Pitchfork premiered the new Okkervil River single, “Mermaid” last week, the first single from the popular indie band’s upcoming album, I Am Very Far.  We have yet to hear any news of an Okkervil River tour to the support the May 10th release of the band’s newest album. One show is scheduled for June 7th at New York’s Terminal 5.

“Mermaid” – Okkervil River from I Am Very Far – out May 10th

The Submarines Come to the Surface with New Track

Every since one of their songs was included on a popular and frequently viewed commercial touting the new iPhone in 2008, The Submarines have built a fan following across the States and Europe. The Submarines are currently putting the final touches on their latest album, Love Notes/Letter Bombs. We’d love to know what you guys think of this advanced track, “Birds.” Pre-order the album on Amazon.

“Birds” – The Submarines from Love Notes/Letter Bombs

Popular Indie Film You Won’t Miss Me with Indie Soundtrack

On May 17th, the critically praised indie film, You Won’t Miss Me, will be available on DVD via Factory 25. The film, an official selection at Sundance and SXSW, and a Gotham Award Winner, is a kaleidoscopic film portrait of Shelly Brown, a 23- year-old alienated urban misfit recently released from a psychiatric hospital. Starring Stella Schnabel, featuring Rene Ricard, and introducing other notable New York personalities, the film gives pathos to the frenzy of the youthful desire for acceptance.

Ronnie Scheib of Variety wrote about the film: ” This powerful, iconoclastic pic could gain a cult following,” and Nick Pinkerton of Village Voice, said the film “has a pure, 180-proof burn.”

The film’s theatrical run began in New York City in December 2010, followed by a substantial national tour. The soundtrack contains original songs by Stylofone, a band featuring members of Amazing Baby, MGMT and Standing Nudes. The following song is one of the tracks from the soundtrack.

“Loose Boots” – Stylofone from You Won’t Miss Me

Julian Lynch Releases Title Track of New LP

Julian Lynch, the respected and rising one-man band from Ridgewood, New Jersey, has completed recording for his third album, Terra, slated to drop on April 24th. Growing up in Ridgewood, Lynch learned to play clarinet and guitar, and in high school, he performed in bands alongside future members of Real Estate, Titus Andronicus, and Family Portrait. He moved to Madison, Wisconsin in the fall of 2008 to begin a master’s program in Ethnomusicology.

“Terra” – Julian Lynch from Terra – out April 24th

Lovett Releases New Single from 2011 Release

Lovett has composed and scored a variety of independent films including The Signal which premiered at Sundance in 2007 and received the award for Best Score at the 2009 Brooklyn International Film Festival for the song, “The Last Lullaby.”

With an extensive background in film music, Lovett’s own original songs naturally possess the same kind of lush, visual translation as his previous artistry. “Eye Of The Storm” is the first of a thunderous series of nine cinematic music videos – one for each track on Lovett’s debut album Highway Collection, set for release on March 15th.

Directed by Chris Alender of Soapbox Films, the video is more accurately described as a short film, one transporting viewers into a richly detailed steam punk world where a lone skycaptain pilots an airship through the celestial heart of a raging storm.

“The Fear” – Ben Lovett from Highway Collection


Edward Sharpe Member Alexander Ebert Sets Solo Debut

Alexander Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros will release his self-titled solo debut LP on March 1st. Also check out a fresh track from singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow‘s widely praised debut album, Early in the Morning.

“Truth” – Alexander Ebert from Alexander Ebert – out March 1st

“If I Had A Boat” – James Vincent Mcmorrow


Nodzzz Return with Their Sophomore LP

The San Francisco garage rock, poppy post punk band Nodzzz spent much of 2010 writing and recording the songs for their upcoming release, Innings. The band will tour the West Coast of the U.S. in late February, and during March in the U.K. The album is expected to be released early this coming summer.

“Time (What’s It Going to Do?)” – Nodzzz from Innings

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2010, Vol. IV – Dead Weather, Foals, The Radio Dept., Beach Fossils, Weekend, The National

Posted on by Max Hammer
thedeadweather
The Dead Weather's 'Sea Cowards,' was one of the best rocker albums of 2010

Enough with 2010 already? If that’s how you feel, then you probably don’t want to listen to 30-plus more of our favorite indie rock songs of 2010. By natural extension, many of the songs featured in this series are on many of our favorite albums for 2010. So, in place of the weekly S-25 Mix, we’ve put together this playlist of some of our favorite 2010 tracks to share with you instead.

It’s now mid-February, and there have been oodles of ace songs released so far, mainly via the Best New Releases weekly series, and the regular Fresh Tracks spotlight, including the latest and best music from bands like The Decemberists, Bright Eyes, Drive By Truckers, Smith Westerns, The Strokes, Radiohead, and many others.  And so while we do our best to keep you updated on the latest most popular releases from indie bands and artists, we’re also continuing to share our favorite music of 2010, from albums and songs, to well-known artists and new bands.

“The Difference Between Us” – Dead Weather from Sea of Cowards

“Cigarettes in the Theatre” – Two Door Cinema Club from Tourist History

In addition to creating various mixes featuring our favorite songs of 2010, work continues on putting together IRC’s Best Albums of 2010. So why the wait? Well, one reason is to make sure we have listened to as many indie albums from 2010 as possible, and with perspective. Another reason is so that we can measure your favorite albums based on what songs from this series are listened to, ‘hearted’ (on our Hype page), and downloaded the most.

With that in mind, you don’t want to miss the first three volumes of Best Indie Rock Songs of 2010 because there are more than 100 killer tracks; so far, this series has been the most popular playlist series of 2011.  Also, don’t miss the Top Ten Breakout Bands of 2010, plus 50 No. 1 Songs of 2010; and check out the first installment of 5 Bands to Watch in 2011. Let us know what you think of this best indie songs fourth playlist mix, Tweet it, share it on Facebook, Tumblr or Foursquare it. Enjoy.

“This Orient” – Foals from Total Life Forever

“Boots of Danger (Wait Up)” – Tokyo Police Club from Champ

“Part Of Me” – Electric Tickle Machine from Blew It Again

“Golden Haze” – Wild Nothing from Gemini

“Collector” – Here We Go Magic from Pigeons

“Heaven and Earth” – Blitzen Trapper from Destroyer Of The Void

“Oh You, Old Thing” – Wolf Parade from Expo 86

“Distant Life” – Film School from Fission

“Afraid of Everyone” – The National from High Violet

“Never Follow Suit” – The Radio Dept from Clinging to a Scheme

“Remember Last Time” – Avi Buffalo from Avi Buffalo

“Catholic Pagans” – Surfer Blood from Astrocoast

“Bermuda” – Kisses from The Heart Of The Nightlife

“Daydream” – Beach Fossils from Beach Fossils

“Harlem River Blues” – Justin Townes Earle from Harlem River Blues [Explicit]

“Round and Round” – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti from Before Today

“King of Spain” – The Tallest Man on Earth from The Wild Hunt

“Forever and Ever Amen” – The Drums from The Drums

“Two Lives at the End of the Night” – The Henry Clay People from Somewhere on the Golden Coast

“Twenty Two” – Wakey! Wakey! from Everything I Wished I Said The Last Time I Saw You

“Lady in the Light Lines” – Auto Body from Priest Party

“American Slang” – The Gaslight Anthem from American Slang

“Born Stoked” – Wet Illustrated from Academy Annex

“Written in Reverse” – Spoon from Transference

“All-American” – Weekend from All American split single

“Weird Feelings” – Male Bonding from Nothing Hurts

“What A Drag” – Bear Hands from Burning Bush Supper Club

“Head of Steam” – The Fresh and Onlys from split 7″

“Restoration” – The Acorn from No Ghost

“Dirty Cartoons” – Menomena from Mines

“Kill Joe Arpaio” – Crocodiles, single release

Best New Releases from Bright Eyes, Drive-By Truckers, The Dears, East River Pipe, Moving Units, Asobi Seksu, La Sera, The Babies

Posted on by Max Hammer
brighteyespeopleskey
Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes hits a grand slam with The People's Key

This week’s Best New Releases include some big time albums, including the newest LP from one of our favorite bands, Bright Eyes. After having listened to The People’s Key a number of times, not only is it Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes in true form, The People’s Key may be their best album of all.

You can click on the album title below to order and download the album now, or you can stream The People’s Key entirely before deciding if you want to purchase it.

“Shell Games” – Bright Eyes from The People’s Key

In addition to Bright Eyes, we’re also super stoked about the self-titled debut album from the rising indie band Yuck. On Tuesday, we published 5 Bands to Watch in 2011, with Yuck leading the way. Over the past couple of days there have been hundreds of streams of Yuck’s songs.

oldmonkband

There’s plenty of more new singles from fresh releases included below. But first, we want to introduce you to Brooklyn band Old Monk, who are making their web debut exclusively on IRC with two new songs from their latest album, Birds of Belize.  The track “Butter and Toast” is one of those pop tunes that gets in your head and stays there all day, but not in a bad way. The band describes its sound as garage rock mixed with art prog. They include among their influences The Kinks, Frank Zappa, Pavement and Deerhoof. Surprisingly, they’ve never opened for another band, so we can only hope the band get some of the love we think they deserve.

“Butter and Toast” – Old Monk from Birds of Belize

“Warm Moustache” – Old Monk from Birds of Belize

Also, check out fresh tracks from the latest albums by The Dears, Drive-By Truckers, East River Pipe, Moving Units, Asobi Seksu, Mogwai, Lifeguards, La Sera, The Babies,  La Sera, and many others.

“Omega Dog” – The Dears from Degeneration Street

“Cold Ground” – East River Pipe from We Live in Rented Rooms

drivebygogoboots

“Used to Be A Cop” – Drive By Truckers from Go-Go Boots

“Trails” – Asobi Seksu from Fluorescence

“Super Disease” – Jay Crocker from Co-Stars

“Until She Says” – Moving Units from Tension War EP

“San Pedro” – Mogwai from Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

Bonus: “Rano Pano” – Mogwai from Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

“Run Me Over”– The Babies from The Babies

“Devils Hearts Grow Gold” – La Sera from La Sera

“The Cake and Eating It” – Zoey Van Goey from Propeller Versus Wings

“Cherry Delicious” – Poor But Sexy from Hotter Than A Poptart

More New Releases This Week You May Enjoy

“You Know I Did” – The Liptonians from Let’s All March Back Into The Sea

“Paradise Is Not So Bad” – Lifeguards from Waving At The Astronauts

“Found in Benson” – Gwyneth & Monko from Gwyneth & Monko

“Paint Your Lips” – Wake Up Lucid from Sugar

5 Bands to Watch in 2011, Vol. I: Yuck, The Pass, Watch Out For Rockets, We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves, Church of the Very Bright Lights

Posted on by Rick Sosa

Yuck has members from locales such as New Jersey, London, Scotland, and Hiroshima.

The bands to watch in 2011 queue is already filling up fast, and it’s only the second week of February. Right now, we are in a weird push-and-pull situation, in which we’re trying to wrap up all of the ‘best of 2010’ music playlists as well as stay on top of highlighting the best new 2011 music that we are hearing.  This is the first installment of IRC’s Bands to Watch in 2011 series.

We hope that you discover some bands that you dig but have never heard until now.  Of course, we’ll be looking for your comments and tallying the songs that are played and downloaded the most from this post to see which make the Top Ten Songs list and which bands our readers like the most from this post and all the upcoming posts that will feature new bands. In fact, volume two of this series will be published this coming weekend. But first, we introduce you to Yuck, The Pass, Watch Out For Rockets, We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves, and Church of the Very Bright Lights.

Yuck is the appropriate title for this cover art, but the album inside is amazing

Yuck – Various Locations

Obviously not concerned with some marketing director’s advice to consider a different name, the indie band, Yuck, are defying their namesake. In recent months, Yuck have been building the vital blogger buzz, if you will, and are now getting noticed by mainstream music critics.

Yuck’s MySpace page lists the band’s “location” as New Jersey, Hiroshima, London, Scotland, and United Kingdom. Now that’s an eclectic mix of musicians almost sure to produce some interesting musical results. And so they have with the upcoming release of their debut, self-titled album. Yuck are talented, fun, daring and obviously influenced by different genres and eras of rock, including alternative rock and post punk. Spin this blazing pop rock song, “Holing Out” to get the engines fired up.

In a recent profile of the band in the U.K. Guardian, writer Dave Simpson described Yuck’s sound this way: “the sound a band of indie-loving kids who weren’t interested in dance music would have made 20 years ago: a cocktail of Dinosaur Jr noise, Lemonheads melody and Teenage Fanclub‘s wistfulness.”  We can almost guarantee that you be hearing more about this band in 2011.  If you thought rock was dead, Yuck is one example it’s here to stay.

“Holing Out” – Yuck from Yuck (Amazon Exclusive)

“Rubber” – Yuck from Yuck (Amazon Exclusive)

“Coconut Bible” – Yuck from Coconut Bible 7″

Yuck are scheduled to perform a number of shows next month during Austin’s famous South by Southwest festival.

The Pass – Louisville, Kentucky

If we could go back and re-do it, we would have listed The Pass among the 50 break-through bands of 2010. The Louisville, Kentucky indie rock band have been stirring things up, by their packed live shows, blogger love and a growing fan base. However, The Pass are not as well known as other break-through bands of 2010 like Broken Bells or Local Natives. The first song we want you to hear from The Pass is the single that really got the ball rolling for the band on their debut album, Burst. Plus, check out a couple of songs from the band’s 2010 EP, Colors. Keep an ear out for The Pass this year.

“Trap of Mirrors” – The Pass from Burst – Sept. 21st

“Crosswalk Stereo” – The Pass from Colors EP – Feb. 23rd

“Colors” – The Pass from Colors EP

Watch Out for Rockets – Austin, Texas

Watch Out for Rockets are an Austin-based punk psychedelic pop band, who really are all of those things and more.  One thing that you can’t do with this talented, but relatively unknown, band is to categorize their style. As the introduction indicates, they cover a wide range of genres and styles, literally from song to song. That’s a risky thing for a band to do, but WOFR pull it off impressively, on the free EP, Telepathic War Machine.The song that would probably connect with most people is the upbeat, almost 100% pure pop track, “Ghetto and Rye”.

“Ghetto and Rye” – Watch Out For Rockets from Telephatic War Machine – Nov. 16th

The opening track, “Banshee on the Water”, is a low-fi psychedelic track that is creepy and catchy at the same time. It wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that the band are influenced by artists like Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd, Built to Spill, The Beatles and Janes Addiction. Those are the bands that popped into mind while listening to Telephatic War Machine. The title track is another stand out on the EP, with its psychedelic tinged pop song that sounds like it could have been a hit record on underground radio stations in 1969.

You can’t go wrong with this EP; afterall, it’s free. We’ll be watching out in 2011 for more from Watch Out For Rockets. And yes, they are also a band to watch in 2011.

“Big Lies” – Watch Out For Rockets from Beasts with Hearts of Gold (2009)

We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves – Brooklyn, New York

We’re assuming that the band name for Brooklyn‘s twee pop trio, We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves, is intended to be ironic because the band seem to be enjoying themselves just fine. And, so are the folks who’ve been digging their tunes. In past couple of weeks, we’ve been enjoying their free BandCamp LP, most particularly the two songs featured here. Lead singer Giovanni Saldarriaga demonstrates great control and range, and has been compared to the likes of Colin Meloy (The Decemberists). Comprised of a bass, drums, and a guitar/singer, WCEO weaves simply structured, and incredibly catchy, pop songs.

“Hang Back with The Brutes” – We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves from One Belongs Here More Than You

“A Charming Man” – We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves from One Belongs Here More Than You

“Miss Maris Morris” – We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves from One Belongs Here More Than You

The Church of Very Bright Lights – Calgary-Montreal, Canada

Last fall, Montreal-via-Calgary indie rock band The Church of Very Bright Lights quietly released their terrifically warm and mellow debut album, Gang Crimes, on the web a few weeks ago. Along with Calgary musician James Cullen, two members of the popular Canadian indie band, Women – Chris Reimer (drums) and Matt Flegel (bass) – spent the past year writing and recording songs for the album, which is available as a free download.

“Words” – Church of the Very Bright Lights from Gang Crimes

“Bone/Muscle” – Church of the Very Bright Lights from Gang Crimes

Church of the Very Bright Lights Debut Album

Note: The next installment of 5 Bands to Watch will be published this coming weekend.

Most Popular Posts and Playlists on IRC Right Now:

The S-25 Mix with Songs of Love from Belle & Sebastian, Bright Eyes, Blake Mills, Beach House, Tallest Man on Earth, Broken Social Scene and others

40 Love Songs We Love with Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, The Pixies, Wilco, New Order, Portishead and more.

Best New Releases with Cut Copy, Akron/Family, Young Galaxy, James Blake, Class Actress and Campfire OK.

Fresh Tracks from Fleet Foxes, Beach Fossils, The Dodos, The Kills, Panda Bear, Times New Viking and others.

Love Songs We Love – Film School, Gang of Four, Radiohead, New Order, Eels, The Flaming Lips, Portishead, Tupac, The Pixies, Wilco

Posted on by Max Hammer

Click play on this streamer to play the entire playlist uninterrupted.
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For all of you who follow us regularly, you may have noticed that yesterday’s Sunday 25 Mix was appropriately dedicated to indie, alternative and class rock songs about love. Because there were so many left over terrific love songs left over from yesterday’s mix, it only made sense to make a Valentines mix with the rest.

Of course these are not all of the love songs we love, but combined with yesterday’s Songs of Love, and last year’s Valentines Mix Vol One and Vol. Two, we hope that you’ll find plenty of songs that you come to love, whether for a couple of weeks, or the rest of your life.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s post of 10 Bands to Watch in 2011, and also the latest Best New Releases of the Week, including fresh tracks from Yuck, East River Pipe, Mogwai, PJ Harvey, Telekenesis and many others.

“Heart Full Of Pentagons” – Film School

“I Really Love You” – Paul McCartney

“I Love A Man In Uniform (Long Version)” – Gang of Four

“Love Songs On The Radio” – Mojave 3

“Summer Of Love” – The Fresh & Onlys

“I Don’t Need Love, I’ve Got My Band” – The Radio Dept.

“Love Untold” – Paul Westernberg

“Lovestain” – Jose Gonzalez

“Stand Inside Your Love” – The Smashing Pumpkins

“Strange Love” – Sonny & The Sunsets

“Love Ruins Everything” – Lloyd Cole

“Power Of Love” – Jimi Hendrix

“Love and Death” – The Stills

“Love of the Loveless” – Eels

“Isn’t She Lovely” – Stevie Wonder

“The Lovecats” – The Cure

“You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” (The Beatles) – Pearl Jam

“I Love Nye” – Badly Drawn Boy

“I’m The Man Who Loves You” – Wilco

“Lover Lover Lover” – Ian MCulloch

“Bizarre Love Triangle” – New Order

“Gangster of Love” – Steve Miller Band

“Love Explosion” – The Lightning Seeds

“Love Is No Big Truth” – Kings of Convenience

“Love” – John Lennon

“The One I Love” – R.E.M.

“Love At First Feel – Mark Kozelek

“True Love Waits” (Acoustic Live) – Radiohead

“I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song” – Jim Croce

“La La Love You” – The Pixies

“Love Reign O’er Me” – The Who

“Love in Vain” – The Rolling Stones

“Chains Of Love” – The Dirtbombs

“Strychnine_Peace, Love, and Understanding” – The Flaming Lips

“Whole Lotta Love.mp3” – Led Zeppelin

“Sour Times” – Portishead

“Unconditional Love.mp3” – Tupac Shaker

“”Lover I Dont Have To Love” – Bright Eyes

“There’s Too Much Love” – Belle and Sebastian

The S-25 Mix, Vol. X – Love Songs from Blake Mills, Beach House, Belle and Sebastian, Tallest Man on Earth, Broken Social Scene

Posted on by Max Hammer
Blake Mills, one of LA's most in-demand session guitarists, released his brilliant debut LP, Break Mirrors, in 2010. He has collaborated with Band of Horses, Julian Casablancas, and Andrew Bird.

By Maxwell Silver

Without love, who would we be? The greatest human aspiration, and our most important asset, is arguably not money or power, but in fact, love. People of great power and wealth do not necessarily find love, and we know that love cannot be bought and sold.  Our troubled world needs as much love as it can get.

In a week in which the world witnessed the liberation of 80 million Egyptians, achieved by the mainly non-violent protests of millions of people, a love of country, and a yearning for the sweetness of democracy, it’s safe to say that the forces of love, and of good, conquered the forces of evil and hate. In Tahrir Square, Christian Egyptians protected their Muslim neighbors during prayers, and vice versa. Now, a country in the cradle of civilization, a culture of 7,000 years old, begins the difficult, but necessary work of creating a democratic government, and a life free of tyranny and full of promise.

With Tunisia leading the way, the people of Egypt have triumphantly unseated a corrupt and brutal regime that lasted decades. The first social media revolution, or as Google’s Wael Ghonim called it, “Revolution 2.0,” of the new century is now spreading to Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Algeria and other countries. Across the Middle East, an entire generation, 65% who are under the age of 30, are standing up to take control of their futures and breaking the chains of oppression that have kept them from fulfilling their natural born rights to life, liberty and happiness.

“Hey Lover” – Blake Mills
“Lover Of Mine” – Beach House
“Popular Mechanics For Lovers” – Beulah
“Write About Love (Feat. Carey Mulligan)” – Belle and Sebastian
“Love is All” – The Tallest Man On Earth
“Love You Madly” – Cake
“Spread Your Love” – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
“Don’t Fall In Love If You Want To Die In Peace” – Comet Gain
“Lover’s Spit” – Broken Social Scene
“All is Full of Love” – Bjork
“(David Bowie I Love You) Since I Was Six” – Brian Jonestown Massacre
“30-Megaton Love” – The Skinnys
“I Love Rock n’ Roll” – Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
“Love Songs On The Radio” – Mojave 3
“Save Your Love For Me” – Suckers
“The Things We Do For Love” – 10cc
“Young Love” – Moto Boy
“Blame Love” – Boy Genius
“Crazy For You” – Best Coast
“Hot Love (T. Rex)” – Elf Power
“I Love My Car” – Belle and Sebastian
“Robots In Love” – Beautiful Small Machines
“No One’s Gonna Love You” – Band of Horses
“Patriots Of Love” – The Catholic Comb
“Skinny Love” – Bon Iver
“Lonesome Co.” – Admiral Bradley
“Love Song” – Army of Me
“Let’s Not Shit Ourselves (To Love And Be Loved)” – Bright Eyes
“She Loves You” – The Beatles
“Every Love That Ever Was (Montauk’s Vacation Mix).mp3” – Home Video
“Lovers” – Brothertiger

Note: There were so many other songs that we wanted to include in this mix. So, check back tomorrow because we’re going to publish them in our special Valentines mix.

Note No. 2: Last week there was no Sunday 25 Mix for a variety of reasons. One reason was the fact that much time was put into sifting through a pile of songs for the latest Fresh Tracks mix, one that people seemed to like quite a bit. Another Fresh Tracks mix will be out later this week.

Best New Releases – Cut Copy, Akron/Family, J. Mascis, Trail of Dead, Young Galaxy, District Attorneys, Class Actress

Posted on by Max Hammer

Among this week’s best new releases is the new Cut Copy album, Zonoscope. Right around Thanksgiving time of last year, Cut Copy released the first single from the new LP, “Take Me Over.”

The song was a huge hit with IRC readers and visitors, taking the No. 1 spot on the Top Ten Songs page for that week, and continuing to be one of the most popular songs on IRC for weeks afterwards.

So, it’s probably no surprise that Zonoscope is the featured pick of the week. And it’s no surprise that the album is also No. 1 on Amazon as we write this. Listen for yourself with a full album stream via Spinner or grab your MP3 album download with the album title link below.

“Take Me Over” – Cut Copy from Zonoscope – (#1 on Amazon – get it for only $5.99 – limited time offer)

Bonus Track: “Take Me Over” (Loving Hand Remix by Tim_Goldsworthy) – Cut Copy

We’re really excited by Akron/Family‘s new LP, the oddly titled,  S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT. So far, we’ve heard enough of  Shinju to suggest that it might be already a 2011 best album. The lead track, “Silly Beans” is a wildly upbeat and romping pop song injected with waves of synth-oozing keys and punctured by blistering ’70s prog rock guitar jams.  Play and repeat.

“Silly Beans” – Akron/Family from S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT (with Digital booklet)

So, we’re a little late to, and not fully on, the James Blake happy train of bloggers, media and fans  who have been praising the British dubstep producer and musician’s debut, self-titled LP. His music is OK, but not comparable to the hype. That said, we know of so many other artists that are equally, or more, talented and yet get very little notice. One is ironically a near namesake. We’re talking about the music of Blake Mills. His 2010 album was picked as the best album of the year on the blog, Everybody Taste.

James Blake by JamesBlake

For us, Cut Copy, Akron/Family, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, J. Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) are the big releases for the week of February 8th, followed by impressive singles, EPs and LPs from indie bands who are not as popular as those two big acts, but who are definitely worth listening to, including Lull Water, Young Galaxy, Over The Rhine, OK Campfire, Creeping Weeds, The District Attorneys, La Resistance.

“Weight of The Sun” – …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead from Tao Of The Dead

“One More Time” – Lull Water from Silhouette

“Peripheral Visionaries” – Young Galaxy from Shapeshifting

J Mascis – Not Enough

“Outsiders” – Creeping Weeds from See Through (self-released)

“Understanding” – La Resistance from Philosophy

“Splitsville” – The District Attorneys from Orders From… (self-released via MOKB

okcampfire

“Strange Like We Are” – OK Campfire from Strange Like We Are

“The King Knows How” – Over the Rhine from The Long Surrender

“Careful What You Say” – Class Actress from Journal of Ardency EP

“Point Break II” – U.S.F. from Jamaica Plain

“They Wake” – Virgin of the Birds from Fugitive Works EP

“Blue” – Salva from Complex Housing

“Drifter” – Religious to Damn from Glass

Other Singles from New Releases

“When You Knew Me When”– Emily Arin from Patch of Land (self-released)

“Headlands” – The Union Trade from Why We Need Night EP

“Ignition Slated for Eight” –The Asteroid No. 4 from Hail To The Clear Figurines

“Run Me Over” – The Babies from The Babies

“Tryin’ to Have a Good Time”– The O’s from Between The Two

“Motion Pictures” – Jon McKiel from Confidence Lodge

Fresh Tracks from Fleet Foxes, Beach Fossils, The Dodos, The Kills, Panda Bear, Real Estate, Times New Viking, Holy Ghost, Cold Cave

Posted on by Max Hammer

fleetfoxeshelplessness

New 2011 songs are coming at us from all directions, and we’ve been filtering them out so that we can bring you only the best (well, our favorite new tracks is more accurate). Anyways, here are some awesome fresh tracks from Fleet Foxes, Beach Fossils, The Kills, Real Estate, Toro Y Moi, Holy Ghost, and others. The next Fresh Tracks mix that we’re going to publish on Saturday includes new material from R.E.M., Toro Y Moi, White Lies, Lovett,  and The Luyas, to name a few.

From the first few seconds of the new single, “Helplessness Blues”, from indie folk icons, Fleet Foxes, all of the immense love and high praise we’ve always had for the band came rushing back with true enthusiasm and adoration. This is the first new single from Fleet Foxes since 2009, and it’s safe to assume that it will be on the next LP. In fact, the album (or just song?) cover art shown above is from the band, so it’s safe to assume that is the new album’s cover art and title, Helplessness Blues. Still trying to confirm this.  Although we usually do not publish SoundCloud embeds (they often cause pages to slow down), when they’re all we can get our hands on from an anticipated release, then we’ll definitely include them in posts – but as a general rule we stick to MP3s because they work with the neat little Yahoo Media player, and via RSS and podcasts.

“Helplessness Blues” – Fleet Foxes from TBA – released date: TBA

P.S. – If you missed any of the Best New Releases from January, they’re still available for you to stream or download, including January 26th new releases – featuring, The Radio Dept., Woodsman, Cloud Nothings, Iron & Wine, Gang of Four, Deerhoof, Destroyer, The Veils, Grouplove.

Beach Fossils Follow-up Hit Debut with New EP

After publishing one of the best debut albums of 2010, and perhaps one of the best of the century (so far), Brooklyn‘s lo-fi popsters, Beach Fossils, have just released a new singles from their new EP, What a Pleasure, slated to drop February 22nd. We have two of the songs here.

“Calyer” – Beach Fossils from What A Pleasure – out Feb. 22nd

The Strokes Prepping First LP in Years

One of our favorite rock bands of all time, The Strokes, have set March 22nd as the release date for Angles. Here is a clip of the song “Under Cover of Darkness” (demo). While it is only a clip, any clip from a new Strokes’ tune is gratefully received.

In a couple of months, the legendary New York garage rock band will headline at Coachella to a sold out in hours mass of humanity. If that appearance is anything like The Strokes amazing performance last summer in San Francisco‘s Golden Gate Park during Outside Lands festival, then loyal fans and newbies are in for a truly remarkable experience. Angles will be the band’s first album since 2006’s First Impressions Of Earth.

The Strokes – Under Cover Of Darkness (Clip) by TheMusic.FM

thedodosnocolor

The Dodos Drop Their First Single of 2011

Over the years, The Dodos have been high on our lists for their experimental pop songs that are not easily forgotten. After two wildly popular idnie albums – Visiter (2008) and Time To Die (2009) – it was great news when we got this new track from The Dodos over the weekend. The track, ironically titled, “Black Night,” starts with a heavy romp of a bass drum, almost like Iron Man stomping down a street.

Seconds into the song, the acoustic guitars build up a nice, hazy melody, followed with splashes of hoots, reverb-heavy harmonies, and buzzy synth injections. If this song is indicative of the rest of the album, we’re officially begging the band and their label to release an album stream ASAP.  “Black Night” is the first single from their upcoming third LP, No Color.

“Black Night” – The Dodos from No Color (Bonus Version) – out March 15th

The Kills’ New EP Doesn’t Sound Like TWS

On April 5th, bluesy garage rock duo The Kills will drop their new album, Blood Pressures, on Domino Records. Although the two members that make up The Kills, American Alison Mosshart and British guitarist Jim Hince (“Hotel”). The first single from Blood Pressures, “Satellite”, will be officially released on March 28th.

Notice that we didn’t compare The Kills to The White Stripes – apparently, the former detest the media’s persistent comparisons with The White Stripes. But isn’t there good reason to? Afterall, they’re a male and female garage rock duo who have even recorded in the same studio as the Stripes. Most rockers would love being compared to TWS.

The Kills – Satellite by DominoRecordCo


Panda Bear Pushes Tomboy to April Release Date

One-third Animal Collective, and 100% Panda Bear, aka, Noah Lennox, and his record company, Paw Tracks, have moved up the release date for the long awaited Tomboy to April 12th. Looking forward to it.  As for the album cover, we hope it’s not going to be the one example above that is being passed around as the official cover. There’s got to be a better album cover than that, just like there’s got to be a better sounding band to play the Super Bowl than Black Eyed Peas.

“Slow Motion” – Panda Bear from Tomboy – April 12th

Here’s the full track listing:

Track list:
01 You Can Count on Me
02 Tomboy
03 “Slow Motion”
04 Surfer’s Hymn
05 Last Night at The Jetty
06 Drone
07 Alsatian Darn
08 Scheherezade
09 Friendship Bracelet
10 Afterburner
11 Benfica

timesnewviking

Times New Viking’s Anticipated New LP Out in April

It was no surprise to us when Matador Records – one of the best alt rock labels ever – signed Times New Viking to their impressive roster. The band were legitimized for eternity when they toured with Pavement, and Guided By Voices, the latter of which is still on-going. TNV’s newest single, “No Room to Live,” is being sold as a limited 7-inch record at shows on their current tour. Here’s a demo of the track.

“No Room to Live” – Times New Viking from Dancer Equired – out April 26th

realestatetheband

Real Estate Drops a Demo We Can Dig

During the last quarter of 2009, and the first half of 2010, the New Jersey indie band Real Estate were buzzing with plenty of blogger love and media praise. But the band seemed to fade into the background in the latter half of 2010, mostly because there were just so many other great acts emerging. Nevertheless, we are happy to have a new and likable track from the band ahead of their upcoming EP.

“Blue Lebaron” – Real Estate – date TBA

Holy Ghost Prep Debut LP for April

Holy Ghost are not yet as popular as we think they deserve to be. But we’re confident 2011 is going to be their year. The track, “Do It Again,” demonstrates why the duo are building a loud buzz on indie blogs and music sites. For their self-titled debut, due out April 12th, Holy Ghost scored guest vocals from Luke Jenner (Rapture), Chris Glover (Penguin Prison), and Michael McDonald; the Michael McDonald of The Doobie Brothers.

“Do It Again” – Holy Ghost from Holy Ghost

Cold Cave’s New Single Signals Industrial Rock Heyday

Wesley Eisold, better known in the indie world as Cold Cave, has a blistering, epic new single that’s throttling on high aggression mixed with electro pop backing. The song, “The Great Pan Is Dead” may remind some indie heads of Eisold’s involvement with Give Up the Ghost, and it echoes the 1980’s industrial rock heyday. Based on this blazing, melodic track, Cold Cave’s new album, Cherish The Light Years, could be one of the best LPs of 2011.

“The Great Pan Is Dead” – Cold Cave from Cherish The Light Years – out April 5th

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2010, Vol. III – Two Door Cinema Club, Dolorean, Dead Weather, Mumford & Sons, Joze Gonzalez

Posted on by Max Hammer

two-door-cinema-club-best-band
Ireland’s Two Door Cinema Club were one of the biggest new bands of 2010.
After two wildly popular installments of Best Indie Rock Songs of 2010, the message from our readers and visitors is clear: give us more songs. Sure, why not. Therefore, without spending valuable time writing overviews of all of the songs in this third volume of the best indie songs of 2010, here is the next bunch of tracks. Here are the links for Best Indie Rock Songs of 2010 Vol. One and Vol. Two. Enjoy. Watch out for Best Albums of 2010 and the Best Rarely Heard Songs of 2010, plus the upcoming Anticipated Albums of 2011.

[zbplayer]

“Do You Want It All?” – Two Door Cinema Club from Tourist History

“Pink Graffiti” – Secret Cities from Pink Graffiti

“Slow Motion” – Panda Bear from new 7″ single

“Hospice Gates” – Lower Dens from Twin Hand Movement

“Latin America”- Holy Fu*k from Latin

“Trust” – Generationals from Trust EP

“Most Wanted” – Cults from Cults 7′

“I’m Not Gone” – Woods from Welcome Home / Diggin’ The Universe Compilation

“Summer Holiday” – Wild Nothing from Gemini

“The Pan”– Goodnight Loving from The Goodnight Loving Supper Club

“Tiny Circle” – Wolf People from Steeple

“Yes Yes Yes” – Elsinore from Yes Yes Yes

“Sigh No More” – Mumford and Sons from Sigh No More

“Breakneck Speed” – Tokyo Police Club from Champ

“Your Hands” – The New Pornographers from Together

“Far Away” – Jose Gonzalez from Red Dead Redemption


“Boyfriend” – Best Coast from Crazy For You

“Twenty Miles” – Deer Tick from The Black Dirt Sessions

“A Tunnel Into Your Dreams” – The Band in Heaven from Demos

“Fighting Smiles” – Jonquil from One Hundred Suns

“Home Together” – White Denim

“Hustle and Cuss” – The Dead Weather from Sea of Cowards (vinyl)

“Always” – In These Woods from In These Woods

Cotton Jones' 2010 album cover is oddly similar to The Morning Benders Big Echo

“Somehow To Keep It Going” – Cotton Jones from Tall Hours in Glowstream

“Almost There” (with Lauren Hillman) – Opus Orange from Opus Orange EP

“Oh, Ivory” – Light Pollution from Apparitions

“Mirror, Mirror” – Unicycle Loves You from Mirror Mirror

“Forever Now” – Auto Body from Priest Party

“Younger Us” – Japandroids from new 7″ single

“About My Girls” – Dominant Legs from Young at Love and Life

“Change of Time” – Josh Ritter from So Runs The World Away “Plastic Slides” – Winter Gloves from All Red

“Stay Close” – Dolorean from Subiza (import)

“Slow Man” – Sage Francis from Li(f)e

“I Was Denied” – Thee Oh Sees from Warm Slime