Last week, we revved up the engines and put the pedal to the metal to set out on a road trip to gather up great songs about cars. Thanks to the help from our readers along the way – Songs About Cars (Vol. I), is perhaps the most extensive and diverse collection of songs about cars to be found on the web.
And if one mix didn’t achieve that goal, it’s a good thing that there were plenty of left-over, relevant songs to in fact put together another well tuned, all engines go mix of car songs for this week’s S-25 Mix.
Many of the songs in this second mix of Songs About Cars came from our own combined playlists, and of course the recommendations of visitors to the cafe. The songs are not in any particular order of importance, release date, artist, or any other categorization, other than they all have something to do with cars, and of course are songs we really like.
Also, as with all of the Sunday mixtapes on IRC, the featured songs are from various genres, and time periods, of music as long as they fit whatever happens to be the theme on any given Sunday.
As you can easily imagine, there are thousands of songs that span six decades of music in which cars are the central theme. Therefore, choosing which ‘car songs’ would be included in the mix, and which would not be, was accomplished through an evolution that relied heavily on a process of elimination, wherein a number of people rated the songs in iTunes from one to five stars (only songs with at least three stars are kept).
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Because there are so many fantastic songs about cars, we broke up the mix into two volumes, with the first installment published last Sunday.
Philadelphia experimental rock band Man Man will perform at Auditorium Shores Saturday night
Saturday marks the last full day of the barrage of official and unofficial South By Southwest showcases. Yesterday, we presented a gigantic musical guide to the top showcases for evening shows (not even including daytime showcases), plus mini-mixes for our favorite showcases for Wednesday and Thursday. It’s hard to believe that SXSW 2011 is winding down already. They need to make it a 10-day deal, with some kind of little break after each three days of non-stop venues and bands.
This is the 25th Anniversary year for SXSW, the largest and most popular indie music, film and interactive festival/convention/conference in the world. SXSW is the key musical event – with New York’s annual CMJ marathon running a close second – for indie music bands, fans, bloggers, press, labels, promoters and just about everyone else in the ‘alternative’ music industry.
If you’ve followed IRC for a while, you’ll probably not be surprised by our choices for the showcases and bands we recommend, which pretty much stick to the ‘indie’ side of the spectrum, keeping in mind that nowadays, indie music seems to cover everything that isn’t “mainstream,” and even some that is, which makes it confusing, but that’s a post for another day.
Whether you will be at SXSW on Saturday and Sunday, or not, here is our top showcase and band recommendations for the last two days of SXSW 2011.
You might want to keep in mind that Saturday night showcases, especially for the more ‘popular’ or ‘buzz’ bands, are usually filled to capacity in minutes, so plan to arrive early, even if that means you have to wait three hours for your favorite band of the showcase to come on. Getting in and staying is a smart strategy, even if you’re a badge holder.
You can click on artist names to see other posts in our archives for that artist, including more songs, and also click on the album titles to purchase the artists’ latest album. The recommended showcases are arranged in alphabetical order by the venue, which should make it easier to reference if you need to come back to this page later (and you can get it via RSS).
Auditorium Shores at Lady Bird Lake is SXSW’s largest venue, and its final showcase Saturday starts early. We’re only skipping the first three shows, but starting at 3:30 pm, the magnificent Philadelphia singer/songwriter, Kurt Vile, will take the stage with his band, The Violators, to perform songs from his terrific new album, Smoke Ring for My Halo, as well as some of the tracks that were his break out songs. Up next, at 4:30 pm, another Philadelphia band, Man Man, will take the stage to play their version of experimental rock.
The relatively new indie rock band from Los Angeles, simply named, Man Man (even though there are three of them), will follow-up Kurt Vile. Then, at 5:25 pm, another Los Angeles rock band, Middle Brother, will perform, followed by The Felice Brothers, and the headliner, Bright Eyes.
“Jesus Fever” – Kurt Vile from Smoke Ring for My Halo (2011)
“In My Time” – Kurt Vile from Smoke Ring for My Halo (2011)
“Engwish Bwudd” – Man Man from Six Demon Bag (2005)
“Me Me Me” – Middle Brother from Middle Brother(2011)
“Shell Games” – Bright Eyes from The People’s Key (2011)
If you’re not up for going over to Lady Bird Lake, and wish to stay downtown Saturday night, there are also some great showcases there as well.
One of the best showcases Saturday night will be at the Central Presbyterian Church at 200 East 8th Street. An artist we are not familiar with, Haley Bonar (yes, yes), will open the showcase, followed by the wonderful vocals of Sharon Van Etten.
A Brooklyn singer/songwriter, Van Etten’s splendidly diverse range of vocal styles, and warm, story-telling songs, has made her quite an indie hit in the past year. A member of the going roster at Ba Da Bing!, Van Etten performed a midnight show at Swan Dive on Wednesday. Her performance at The Central Presbyterian Church starts at 8:30 pm.
The Portland rock band Typhoon will perform next, followed by Toronto alt country rock band, The Rural Alberta Advantage. At 11:30 pm, Washington D.C.’s very own pop master Jukebox The Ghost will warm things up for the closing set by the popular indie folk band from Toronto, Great Lake Swimmers.
“CPR/Claws, Part2” – Typhoon from Hunger and Thirst (2010)
“Stamp” – The Rural Alberta Advantage from Departing (2011)
“Pulling On A Line” – Great Lake Swimmers from Lost Channels (2009)
After lunch time, early birds to Day Five of SXSW 2011, headed over to the Dot Com Day Stage at the Austin Convention Center for one-hour sets from Pete and The Pirates and the iconic indie trail blazer, Edwyn Collins, starting at 1 pm.
“Come On Feet” – Pete and The Pirates from Little Death (2008)
“A Girl Like You” – Edwyn Collins from Gorgeous George (1994)
If you like raw, lo-fi, garage rock, we recommend the Dirtnap Records showcase at the Habana Calle (607 E. 6th Street) although the SXSW schedule says the showcase is at Easy Tiger. Only from listening to a few free SXSW samplers (see below), did we first hear of most of the bands booked for this showcase. And as fans of the more raw, lo-fi sounds, it has a terrific line-up of the label’s roster, including Houston power punkers Something Fierce, Forth Worth’s pop punk band, Mind Spiders, Denton, Texas punk band, High Tension Wires, plus Memphis punk trio, River City Tanlines, two Ottawa pop punk bands, Steve Adamyk Band and White Wires, and Portland punk group Mean Jeans to close it out.
“Be True To Your School (Until You Get Out)” – White Wires
“Steve Don’t Party No More” – Mean Jeans
But of all of the showcases for Saturday, our money is down on the Sargent House/Rodriguez Lopez Productions double-header showcase at Emo’s. You really can’t beat the opportunity to see some or all of the sets of a 21 solid bands and artists. The big advantage Emo’s has on most other clubs is the two separate rooms, Emo’s (senior) and Emo’s Jr., plus the Emo’s Annex across the street. The combo of all three makes Emo’s a hard to beat destination for Saturday. It is almost guaranteed that with this line-upwill likely be crowded, if not filled to capacity, again, because of the grand slam line-up, featuring (in order of appearance).
Emo’s Main Room
In our opinion, the best shows of the night offered by the three Emo’s locales, is not in the main room, but, instead at Emo’s Jr. and Emo’s Annex. Some notable bands performing in the main room showcase include San Francisco pop duo, The Limousines and the melodic post rock of Provo, Utah’s Neon Trees.
“Internet Killed The Video Star” – The Limousines from Get Sharp (2010)
Emo’s “son” room (get it?) offers an excellent really indie showcase, and our first interest immediately is the new-to-us band Fredon, New Jersey instrumental indie folk rock band, Delicate Steve (not to be confused with Seasick Steve), followed by an IRC Band of the Week in 2010, LA’s folk pop band, Family Of The Year. Coming on next, at 10 pm, is the precious music of one of our favorite new-to-us bands, Jonquil, headed by indie star singer/songwriter, Jose Gonzalez. And if that isn’t enough, the next three bands to close out the showcase – Givers; FM Belfast and Lesands – are sure winners. However, it’ll be hard to stay put to watch FM Belfast, because IRC Band to Watch in 2011, Fang Island, will be rocking it at the Annex across the street starting at midnight.
Okkervil River return to SXSW for the fest's 25th Anniversary! Happy Anniversary SXSW!
Celebrating its 25th anniversary year, SXSW is an indie and alternative rock lover’s paradise, a non-stop marathon of venues and bands, including more top notch artists per square mile during SXSW than probably any other locale in the world, except perhaps NYC during October’s CMJ.
The SXSW Experience
SXSW is where bands are born, and others fizzle away. As a participant, you can be watching a sparsely populated show with a classic rocker in his 60s doing a solo set at an alley bar, and 20 minutes later be in another venue packed with people as the buzz band of the day rips it up on stage. Ten minutes after that, you might find yourself up on a roof top watching an unofficial gig from a band who were featured on the cover of Spin six months prior.
You can then go grab a pizza and there could be singer/songwriter in the corner strumming and humming for a fraction of a fraction of attention in the whirlwind of performances in bars, clubs, hotel lounges, school auditoriums, churches, union halls, restaurants, back alleys, storefronts – just about anywhere that a band or performer can be squeezed into.
That’s the wonder and dynamic that makes SXSW such a thrill ride from start to finish. If you want, and you spend a little money, and are willing to stand in lines, you can literally attend musical performances from the late morning on a Thursday to the early morning hours on Friday. After 12 to 14 hours of mostly standing – and not seeming that long at all – your legs will be sore and your feet will ache, but you probably will have packed more into 12 hours than almost any other day of your entire life. That’s SXSW done hardcore.
Already, SXSW is in the waning days of a six-day romp, and you can bet that popular showcases that were easy to get into on Tuesday through Thursday, will be nearly impossible to gain access to on Friday and Saturday, and to a lesser extent on Sunday which is the final day, many participants have gone home, and there are many fewer shows.
So, we’ve created a list of showcases we recommend for Friday. Early Saturday morning, we’ll publish the top picks for Saturday and Sunday, the last hurrah for SXSW 2011.
But, first let’s start with shows we think will be top picks for Friday night, most of which are entire showcases, not just for the bands that are playing, but at the busiest times of SXSW, it’s best to stay where you are for a while.
The first excellent showcase line-up for Friday that we recommend is the The Billions Corporation showcase at Antone’s(213 West 5th Street) downtown. Scheduled bands include The Head and the Heart, Reading Rainbow, Yellow Ostrich, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, The Submarines, and closing out the showcase, Okkervil River. Check here for more details.
“Oh Deer Lord” – Reading Rainbow
“Know Better, Learn Faster” – Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, single (2009)
“Birds” – The Submarines from Love Notes/Letter Bombs – 12 am
“Mermaid” – Okkervil River from I Am Very Far – 1 am
If you’re one to wander instead of stay at one showcase all night, here are some of our suggestions. The Bat Bar will have Melting Season, Her Space Holiday and A Lull on stage starting at 10 pm to 2 am. The Billboard Bungalow showcase at Buffalo Billards (201 East 6th Street) will feature Beach Fossils, Screaming Females, The Joy Formidable, The Pain of Being Pure at Heart, with closing from A Place to Bury Strangers.
“Austere” – The Joy Formidable from The Big Roar (2011)
“To Fix The Gash in Your Head” – A Place to Bury Strangers from 10″ single (2008)
The Orchid showcase at Cedar Street Courtyard starting at 8 pm has one of the best line-ups of the night, starting with Keepaway, LA garage rockers and IRC Band to Watch, Generationals, the splendid music of SXSW favorites The Dodos, followed at 11 pm by Charles Bradley & Menahan Street Band, The Black Angels, and to close out the night, The Soundtrack of Our Lives.
“Doves” – The Black Angels from Directions to See A Ghost (2008)
At Kiss & Fly (404 Colorado Street), the Noisey.com showcase has a wonderful line-up featuring Dirty Beaches, Oberhofer, JEFF The Brotherhood, Yuck, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti with closer Bun B.
“Lord Knows Best” – Dirty Beaches from Badlands (2011)
“Bone Jam” – JEFF The Brotherhood fromIndie Rocks! A Benefit Album For Malaria No More (2009)
“Round and Round” – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti from Before Today (2010) – with Bonus Tracks
Baltimore post-punk, new wave band Lower Dens will bring their stellar talents to Klub Krucial (614 E. 6th Street) on Friday as the opening band for the The Mexican Summer/Gorilla vs Bear showcase. Afterall, their stunning 2010 debut LP, Twin Hand Movement, is a winner from start to finish. In fact, all 11 songs on the LP are keepers, and that’s actually a rare occurrence. In addition, bands like No Joy, Puro Instinct, Toro Y Moi, Tamryn, Games and Nite Jewel will also play until 2 am.
“Tea Lights” – Lower Dens from Twin Hand Movement (2010)
Bonus:“Hospice Gates” – Lower Dens from Twin Hand Movement (2010)
“Stilyagi” – Puro Instinct from Headbangers In Ecstasy (2011)
“Still Sound” – Toro Y Moi from Underneath The Pine (2011)
Transcontinental Collaboration Bewteen AM and Shawn Lee Results in Limited Edition Single
By Maxwell Silver
The collaboration between recording artists AM and Shawn Lee started after AM heard Lee’s Music and Rhythm album on the radio in Los Angeles (KJazz’s Miles Perlich and also KCRW). After reaching out to Lee via a now defunct social networking site, the two became quick friends sharing a common appreciation for vintage grooves of 1960’s and ‘70s soundtrack music.
After AM played guitar for some of Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra shows in the summer of 2010, the two began to record together – but not really together, only in the sense of exchanging tracks back and forth online. Lee, armed with a four-track tape recorder, and other vintage tape machines in his London studio, started sending AM drum and percussion samples in December 2010. In response, AM wrote and recorded songs over the grooves, adding vocals, guitars, Casio synths and bass. He then emailed the mixed tracks back to Lee in London.
The process evolved whereas Lee then added more instrumentation tracks with as bass, keyboards, guitars, glockenspiel and other assorted instruments, mastering the final mix. The LA-to-London cyber collaboration resulted in a completely unique brand of “electro-soul.” Also unique, AM and Lee put their notes back and forth to each other on their Facebook page so that devote fans could following the progress of the recording. This kind of creativity and engagement with fans is exactly what all artists and bands need to do with their fans and the incredible power that can be harnessed using today’s technology.
So, here is a result of these truly innovative recording “sessions,” something to behold, for sure. AM’s smooth and fine-tuned vocals soar along a driving percussion section, and straight into walls of shimmering, blissful guitars and glassy keys, resulting in a dreamy and divine example of future pop. The track is likely to get a lot of play time, and has already been compared to a diverse cross-section of artists, among them, Gary Numan, Jorge Ben, and Ariel Pink.
“Dark Into Light” – AM and Shawn Lee from – Limited Edition, gold colored, 12″ of “Dark Into Light” available on record store day April 16th.
SXSW Showcase: AM & Shawn Lee will be performing “Dark Into Light” and other tracks they’ve worked on during their set at Austin establishment, The Ale House, on Friday, March 18th.
Artist Profile: Apollo Brown
By Roberto Gomez
Admittedly, we are not huge fans of modern rap and hip hop, with some exceptions. Honestly, so much of it is just so negative and hateful, and often sounds like the same ‘ole beats, that it just doesn’t jive with us. We are old skool – big Tupac and Biggie fans, not to mention NWA. As far as modern rappers, we dig Jay-Z, but also to be fair, we don’t really keep up on new rappers. However, we do like what we hear from producer, self-described “bedroom beat maker” and rapper Apollo Brown. He performed at the Fader Fort Levi’s show on Wednesday and will appear at a number of venues on Friday, including Cielo Night Club and The Light Bar.
“Desperation” – Apollo Brown
Even for music lovers who attend SXSW only for the live shows from late morning to the wee hours of the morning the following day, it is impossible to see all the shows one would like to. That gave us a number of ideas about ways to counter that dilemma, although there is no way to be in two places at one time, or at least Google or whoever haven’t figured out how to do that yet. Of course, one remedy is to look back and fire up playlist mixes highlighting top performances and showcases. Plus, this gives the majority of our readers not at SXSW, a chance to hear just some of the talent that is doing it Austin style.
This is a mix of songs from artists who performed mostly on Wednesday through Thursday. As you probably know, we’ve put together a fairly comprehensive list of bands to see on Friday (see above) and will be publishing another post early Saturday morning highlighting bands we recommend for Saturday and Sunday shows at SXSW.
So, here are a few highlights, blogger entries, cool links, free music and more featuring Day Two* – Wednesday and Day Three, Thursday – at SXSW. First, though, you might want to check out our on-site, around-the-clock coverage of SXSW 2010, with many great songs still available. We also did a SXSW playlist mix for SXSW 2009.
Huge list of free SXSW events through Sunday
Spin‘s Best and Worst of Day Two, SXSW
Official List of Showcase Bands for SXSW 2011
Download a free 29-track sampler from Tunecore, Experience Austin – Check back tomorrow for more free samplers from SXSW 2011.
A couple of announcements from SXSW official site: Lupe Fiasco and Cee-Lo Green have canceled their SXSW performances.
The Owl Magazine has a Day Two SXSW spread featuring photos and mini reviews of bands like Canada’s Gobble Gobble, the duo of Das Racist; not-from-Canada band The Rural Alberta Advantage, Britian’s rising band Grouplove, Austin locals My Jerusalem, Washington state’s The Lonely Forest, and buzz band Friendly Fires.
“Lawn Knives” – Gobble Gobble from deBonton 2nd Grab Bag (2010)
“Jump in the Pool” – Friendly Fires from Friendly Fires (2008)
“Colours” – Grouplove from Grouplove EP (2010)
Bonus:“Naked Kids” – Grouplove from Grouplove EP (2010)
“I Blame Us” – The Lonely Forest from The Lonely Forest EP (2010)
While Day One is the official kick-off of SXSW, historically things don’t start to really ramp up until Day Two through Day Five
The band Hooray For Earth
Other Friday showcases we recommend include
Great Songs from Bands That Played on Day Two SXSW
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“Austin’s Birthday”– The Burning Hotels from Novels (2010)
“Surrounded By Your Friends” – Hooray For Earth from Momo (2010)
Bonus: “A Place We Like”-Twin Shadow vs. Hooray for the Earth
“I Have Laid in the Darkness of Doubt” – Mazesfrom s/t debut
“Unpredictable” – Tahiti 80from Activity Center (2009)
Club de Ville – This was the showcase of the day in our opinion, just based on the line-up itself, featuring three newly breaking out bands that released their debut albums in the past few months – The Vaccines, Tennis and Yuck.
“Post Break Up Sex” – The Vaccines from What Did You Expect From The Vaccines (2011)
Bonus: “If You Wanna” – The Vaccines from What Did You Expect From The Vaccines (2011)
“Take Me Somewhere” – Tennis from Cape Dory (2011)
Small Black at Red 7 Wednesday. Photo by Andy Martin
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p style=”text-align: left;”>Red 7 – What a stellar showcase from Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar/Dead Oceans at the Red 7. Kicking it off was the band Suuns, followed by IRC Band to Watch in 2011, The Luyas, followed at 10 pm by the mellower band, Little Scream. At the 11 o’clock hour one man Philadelphia band – an IRC Break Out Band of 2010 – Sun Airway, got up and did his thing. If you don’t have his recent debut, strongly recommended. And then it just got better when another IRC Band to Watch in 2011 (coming up in next special feature), Small Black, cranked it up and went to work on the midnight shift. Small Black were also included in our Break Out Bands of 2010 series.
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p style=”text-align: left;”>In an act of brilliance, the organizers closed out the night with a 1 am show from another band that just released a spectacular album, Parts & Labor. Plus, the Red 7 Patio, with it’s own showcase, included performances from John Vanderslice, The Cave Singers and Okkervil River.
Other shows on Wednesday worth noting (at least from our POV) were J. Mascis, The Black Angels and Queens of the Stone Age at La Zona Rosa; Houses, Brahms, The Delta Mirror, Dinosaur Feathers and New Villager at Maggie Mae’s (inside and roof); Davila 666, The Baseball Project and The Soft Moon at Nuvola; 1,2,3, Young Man, The Vandelles, Twin Tigers, The Antlers and The Dodos at The Parish.
“Tiny Spiders” – The Soft Moon from The Soft Moon (2010)
“Passive Idol” – Twin Tigers from Gray Waves (2010)
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At the Red Eyed Fly on Wednesday, artists like New Zealand singer/songwriter Liam Finn, plus Leeds, England band, Pulled Apart By Horses, and Reading, England’s indie pop/post-punk band, Pete and the Pirates closed out the night set.
“Winter 1” – Pete and The Pirates from One Thousand Words – out May 20th
Bonus:“Eyes Like Tar” – Pete And The Pirates from Little Death (2008)
“The Struggle” – Liam Finn from Struggle (2011)
At the Soho Lounge, avant experimental band from Copenhagen, Denmark, Chimes and Bells started at 10 pm, followed in succession by the terrific post-psychedelic Denver band, Woodsman; the Brooklyn one-man electro-pop artist Warm Ghost, and Houston’s indie rock band, Indian Jewelry closed out the set.
“Open The Wormhole to Your Heart” – Warm Ghost from Claws Overhead EP (2010)
“Zing Zang” – Indian Jewelry
Over at St. David’s Historic Sanctuary, bands like Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Lost in The Treeskicked off the all-night showcase, followed by Montreal band Valleys, and later, Minnesota indie stalwarts, Low.
Double-shot: “Fireplace” – Lost in the Trees from All Alone in an Empty House (2010)
“Ordinary Dream” – Valleys from Stoner EP (2010)
“Try to Sleep” – Low from C’mon
At Austin’s famous Stubb’s bar, the Time Out North America showcase included IRC favorites like London rising band Yuckand Denver’s teenage trio Smith Westerns, not to mention a closer from Duran Duran. Concurrently, bands like breakout Canadian rockers Bikini, plus two San Francisco indie rock bands – Geographer and The Fresh & Onlys, plus New York rockers Cults and Asobi Sesku at The Windish Agency House.
“Weekend” – Smith Westerns from Dye It Blonde(2011)
The Strokes on stage at Auditorium Shores Stage - from HoustonPress.com
Day Three at SXSW in Review: The Strokes, The Black Lips, The Kills, Owen Pallett, Twin Tigers and More
Traditionally, by the third day of SXSW, the festival really begins to ramp up big-time as more visitors and participants stream into Austin, and peaking on Friday and Saturday, especially for the free shows. That was evident as on Thursday as thousands of concert-goers poured into Lady Bird Lake, causing traffic jams, to see The Strokes free set at the Auditorium Shores Stage. You can watch the show on Levi’s Facebook page. The Strokes’ show will be their first at SXSW in 10 years, ever since their 2001 now-legendary performance at the Iron Cactus.
Update 3/18/11 – The Strokes broadcast at SXSW Thursday, complete with fireworks (watch here), still hasn’t been posted on the Levi Facebook page, and we’ve not been able to find it anywhere else. Hmm…
You can also download new tracks for free from The Strokes new album, Angles.
Gear Alley at SXSW
Another aspect of SXSW is the conference itself, held at the convention center downtown, where there is a full-on bonanza of exhibits, vendors, galleries, expos, and more. The Gear Alley Expo, following a successful debut in 2010, is a candy store and Willy Wonka’s equivalent of musical hardware, including guitars, keyboards, amps, effects pedals, mics, mixing software, DJ equipment, and so much more. There are also gear pros and presentations everyday , 10-minute sets from artists like Ringo Deathstarr and Natural Child, plus artist interviews from a former Sex Pistol.
More bands that played shows on Thursday
From Atlanta, Georgia, Vice Records recording artist The Black Lipsperformed an 11 pm show at Club de Ville (900 Red River Street), following bands like OFF! and the 2011 break out band from Puerto Rico called Davila 666.
“Starting Over” – The Black Lips from 200 Million Thousand (2009)
“Esa Nena Nunca Regreso” – Davila 666 from Tan Bajo (2011)
There were also individual shows within showcases on Thursday that featured lesser-known artists like Milan, Italy funk band Calibro 35 at the Scoot Inn (1308 E. 4th Street); grab a final show of the night by Baltimore recording artist J. Roddy Walston and the Business at Soho Lounge (217 E 6th Street) at 1 am; if you can’t get into that show, cross the street to Friends (208 E. 6th Street) to see a 1 am set from Dublin, Ireland singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow.
Over at one of our favorite SXSW venues, Emo’s Main Room, on Thursday, had a 11 pm show by The Kills, followed by Cass McCombs, and Owen Pallettclosed out the night. On the other side of the venue, in Emo’s Jr., participants were treated to Castanets, Magic Bullets, Royal Thunder, She Keeps Bees, and the Retribution Gospel Choir.
The venue Easy Tiger Patio had a showcase from Team Clermont/Greyday that included performances from bands like Gospel Claws, Kids of 88, The Heligoats, and a closing 1 am show from rising band Twin Tigers, who made a splash on IRC when we featured them last year.
“Passive Idol” – Twin Tigers from Gray Waves (2010)
Also on Thursday evening, the Karma Lounge and the Bond Music Group/Self Titled Magazine held a showcase bands like Vancouver electronic musician Teen Daze, Brooklyn-via-New Orleans‘ duo Home Video, the one-man electro band Blackbird Blackbird starting at 9 pm. The Lustre Pearl features the Dickies Sounds showcase that includes bands like Denver gypsy rock band, DeVotchKa, upstate New York duo, Phantogram, and popular Long Beach rockers, Cold War Kids.
“Smoke” – Home Videofrom The Automatic Process (2010)
“Summer Heart” – Blackbird Blackbird from Summer Heart (2010)
“100 Other Lovers” – DeVotchKa from 100 Other Lovers (2011)
At the Red Eyed Fly, there’s an awesome showcase from Barsuk Records featuring the following artists in order of show time starting at 8 pm with Vancouver pop band, Dizzy Eyes; plus, Spokane rockers The Globes; Austin’s rock band, The Wooden Birds; Seattle‘s terrific pop group, Say Hi; Chicago‘s progressive art rock band Maps & Atlases, and another Northwest legendary indie rock band, Menomena, from Portland will close out the night with a 1 am show.
“Let’s Break Up The Band” – Dizzy Eyes from Let’s Break Up The Band (2011)
“Stay Awake” – The Globes from Sinter Songs (2010)
“Solid Ground” – Maps & Atlases from Perch Patchwork (2010)
Stubb’s bar, and Austin landmark, held the AOL Music showcase that featured, in order that they played, Los Angeles post punk band Foster The People; plus, London’s indie folk rock band, Noah and The Whale; the popular band from Wasilla, Alaska, Portugal. The Man; Brooklyn’s R&B champions, Charles Bradley & Menahan Street Band, and closer, and another Brooklyn band, and indie legends, TV on the Radio.
“Helena Beat” – Foster The People from Foster The People EP (2011)
“Five Years Time” – Noah and The Whale from Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down (2009)
The Dodos prove once again on 'No Color' why they're a hit with fans and critics
With the exception of The Dodo‘s awesome new album – No Color ($2.99 on Amazon for limited time with bonus track) – there really isn’t any big release this week in terms of music that is mainly identified as “indie” – depending on what indie really means to you. Releases that are in the running for the next most notable new album of the week is among a number of artists, including former Dinosaur Jr. founding member and current Sweet Apple member J. Mascis‘ Several Shades of Why; Lovett’s Highway Collection; The Idle Hands’ Life Is Beautiful; The Fleshtones’Brooklyn Sound Solution.
“Don’t Stop” (with Neko Case) – The Dodos from No Color
Bonus:“Black Night” – The Dodos fromNo Color (Bonus Version)
Also available in CD and vinyl
“Socialite Death Squad” – The Idle Hands from Life Is Beautiful
“The Fear” – Lovett from Highway Collection
“Mynah Birds Call” – Mathew Sawyer and The Ghosts from How Snakes Eat
“Not Enough” – J Mascis from Several Shades of Why
Before we get going on today’s Fresh Tracks mix, we would like to give our condolences to the victims of the catastrophic earthquake/tsunami in Japan last Friday. The videos we’ve seen on TV and the web, plus images in print, are almost impossible to comprehend. If you would like to contribute any amount to the relief efforts in northeastern Japan, we always recommend sending donations to the American Red Cross or text 90999 for an automatic ten-dollar donation.
In celebration of SXSW‘s 25th Anniversary, which is happening all this week in Austin, Texas, we’re putting out a number of post mixes highlighting some of our most recommended Bands To See at SXSW 2011. In this first SXSW mix, listen to bands we recommend you check out if you happen to be in Austin for the festivities. And, see Friday’s Fresh Tracksmix – it’s a not-to-miss mix, and features some other highly recommended artists performing this week at the world’s largest and longest-running music fest and conference – SXSW.
The build-up to The Strokes’ new LP, Angles, out March 22nd, (and streamable from their website) has been just crazy, and fans have had a limited opportunity to hear tracks from the album, seeing that there are no album streams out there that we know of. Until last Friday, the band had only officially released one track, “Under Cover of Darkness,” and premiered the song, “Life is Simple in the Moonlight,” on Saturday Night Live earlier this month. But late last week, The Strokes released two more tracks, “Taken For A Fool” and “Machu Picchu.” Pre-order Angles on CD and vinyl via Amazon.
“Life Is Simple in the Moonlight” (Live on SNL) – The Strokes from Angles
here we go magic
Fresh Tracks From Here We Go Magic, and SXSW Showcasers Generationals and The Dodos
The Brooklyn indie band Here We Go Magic will release The January EP on May 10th, featuring leftover songs from the studio sessions for their LP, Pigeons. Plus, New Orleans‘ garage rock band Generationals’ will release their sophomore LP, Actor-Caster on March 28th, and The Dodos will drop their long-anticipated LP, No Colors, on April 12th. In fact, the first single from No Colors, “Black Nights,” has been a leading track on IRC for a few weeks now.
On Friday, Generationals and The Dodos will be performing during the same showcase at the Cedar Street Courtyard in Austin for SXSW.
“Hands in the Sky” – Here We Go Magic from The January EP – out May 10th
“Greenleaf” – Generationals from Actor-Caster(Exclusive MP3 version only on Amazon) – out March 28th
“Don’t Stop” – The Dodos from No Colors – April 12th
TODAY ONLY: Download now The Dodos New Album for only $2.99 via Amazon
Plan for Yuck’s SXSW Shows to Be Filled To Capacity
Last month, IRC featured Chicago rising indie band Yuck in the Bands to Watch in 2011 series. In the past couple of weeks, yet another single from Yuck’s debut album has been hitting the blogs and music sites. At this rate, the entire track listing of the band’s recently released, self-titled LP, is going to end up a “web hit,” if you will. The latest track making the rounds, and hearting in the Hype Machine, looks to be the sweet lo-fi track, “Get Away.” After listening to Yuck’s debut, we spotlighted them last month in a Bands To Watch in 2011 post.
Yuck are scheduled to play three shows – Club Deville, Stubb’s and Kiss & Fly – this week at SXSW in Austin, and we can guarantee they’ll be packed, if not sold out. Checked the official date and time for Yuck’s SXSW shows.
One of the best indie debut albums of 2010, in our books (Q: Where is that playlist mix? A: It’s in the works), was Secret Cities‘ spectacular LP, Pink Grafitti (vinyl edition). In fact, just hearing that the band were already prepping the release of a sophomore LP, Strange Hearts, for sometime this summer, was enough to spur us to go back and spin Pink Grafitti again – it’s that good. If this is your first introduction to the band, “Crime Love,” the first single from the new LP, might be all you need to get hooked into buying Pink Grafitti. Either way, you’re probably going to hear more about Secret Cities this year, as we can spot a break-out band in-the-making when we see one. And, hey, how often is it that we get anything good coming from Fargo, North Dakota? Still, in the beautiful big town you never hear about, Secret Cities are the shit right now for the local indie scene, and we can’t thank them enough for exporting their goods to the rest of the country. The mayor should declare the release date of Strange Hearts, March 22nd, as “Secret Cities’ Day” and give the boys the keys to the city. We’re sure if that really happened in the span of a week, it would get some press coverage.
Secret Cities will perform at Lambert’s in Austin on Saturday, March 18th in a showcase set with other notable artists like Botany, Callers and Wires Under Tension.
Natural Child and The Strange Boys Release Split Single
As part of the Scion A/V Garage 7″ Series, two of our favorite modern southern garage rockers, The Strange Boys and Natural Child, recently got together to record this split single. Living up to their namesake, Texas’ Strange Boys created “American Radio,” an audio collage that features clips of everything from jazz and bluegrass, to Delta blues and funk with a couple of incomprehensible voice recording samples for a nearly five-minute long sonic tour de force. But just before you throw your hands up and say, ‘what’s the point?” you realize that the whole thing is a clever accurate portrayal of the mish-mash of musical styles that have come from the American South.
On the much shorter track, “The Jungle,” Nashville‘s Natural Child present a stripped-down, sing-along jem with unified voices and warm acoustic strumming. The nostalgic lyrics call upon iconic American images, like boxcar travelers and 1980s optimism. The only thing we don’t like about this track is that it just suddenly stops at a place where it sounds like the song is prematurely cut off. But, we checked to make sure, and that’s the way they released it. Hmm…
“American Radio” – The Strange Boys from Scion A/V Garage 7″ Series (2011)
The Strange Boys will be playing shows at The Mohawk Patio and The Bat Bar in Austin this week for SXSW. Check their times here.
“The Jungle” – Natural Child from Scion A/V Garage 7″ Series (2011)
Guards Cover Vampire Weekend, Phil Cook Goes Solo, White Denim Drop New Single, The White Wires’ Question
In preparation for another edition of IRC’s mix series, Indie Cover Songs, we thought you might be interested to hear this recent release from the band Guards putting their own spooky spin on Vampire Weekend‘s “Taxi Cab.” Plus, Megafun guitarist Phil Cook shows off his slide guitar skills in this nice little instrumental from his upcoming debut solo album under the moniker, Phil Cook & His Feat. Is there a joke in there somewhere? Perhaps only his closest friends would know (even though it might be easier to guess if it was “feet”). Moving on, the psychedelic rock band White Denim will drop their fourth album, D, on May 24th via Downtown Records. The first single, “Drug,” from D is a bit more mellow, but somehow rugged at the same time. Also, the Ottawa, Canada punk pop band The White Wires just released this single, “Did You Forget My Name?” based on a bad dream the guitarist had one night.
“Ballad of a Hungry Mother” – Phil Cook & His Feat from Phil Cook & His Feat – No Known SXSW Shows
Last Sunday, at the end of the mix for “Red Songs” (songs with ‘red’ in the title), we asked for song suggestions to help us create today’s S-25 Mix, “Songs About Cars.” IRC readers stepped up and provided more than a couple of dozen prime picks, ranging from Arcade Fire and David Bowie, Radiohead and Blind Melon, R.E.M. and Built to Spill, and Tom Waits to Beck, to name just a few. While some of IRC readers’ suggestions were already on our draft list, many others were not.
In our own playlist collections, we have hundreds of songs about cars – and activities commonly related with cars – so it was a challenge, to say the least, to choose which would be included in this playlist mix. Some artists have more than one song about cars that will be featured – like Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Cake, Belle and Sebastian, The Kinks – and in those cases, there will be just one in each installment. In fact, there are so many excellent car songs, that we had to break this mix into two volumes. The second mix will be posted next Sunday, so make sure to check back for that.
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For the most part, we decided to focus on songs that actually have the words ‘car’ or ‘drive’ or ‘automobile’ in the title (with a few exceptions like Led Zeppelin and Tom Waits) since, as you can imagine, there are loads of songs about cars, driving, road trips, racing, plus not to mention dozens upon dozens of songs about non-car vehicles (depending on your definition of what is and isn’t a car), like trucks (including pick-ups, trailers and 18-wheelers), vans, jeeps, limousines, and other ‘vehicles’ like motorcycles, scooters, and even some bicycles.
One of the best parts of the S-25 Mix series is that it’s not restricted to just indie music, but can include songs from any genre, and any era, of music. Every Sunday, we post a S-25 mix that is centered around a subject or theme, and then scour our music collections to find the best songs we can related to whatever the theme is.
Over the past few months, there have been very popular S-25 Mixes about Egypt, Love, Winter, and others.
Other popular S-25 Mixes have not had a theme, but instead featured a profiled band, along with a mix of various favorite songs from classic rock and punk, folk and new wave, alternative rock and golden oldies. Some of those S-25 Mixes highlighted bands like The Strokes, The Clash, The Decemberists and Beach House. But for right now, it’s all about cars.
This single from Paul McCartney followed not long after The Beatles announced to the world that they would be disbanding. As he apparently felt about many of the songs on RAM, John Lennon is said to have believed the protagnonists’ lines: “We believe that we can’t be wrong” in “The Back Seat of My Car” were directed by McCartney at him and Yoko Ono. The song peaked at No. 39 on the U.K. charts.
Yesterday, we dropped the first volumeof a two-part playlist mix highlighting our favorite new releases of the week. In that post, we debated whether R.E.M. are a mainstream rock band, or an alternative rock band. We unveiled a new track from the band’s latest album – Collapse Into Now – which critics and fans alike are calling R.E.M.’s return to their roots, a resurrection of the “original sound” that made them popular on college campuses before breaking into mainstream radio with the 1987 hit single, “The One I Love.”
The first volume of this week’s Best New Releases also includes lead singles from new recommended releases by Beach Fossils, Dinosaur Bones, Alexi Murdoch, Parts & Labor, Wye Oak, The Megaphonic Thrift.
Wolf People’s New Single Blazes a Line in the Sand
If anyone thought that solid psychedelic/blues rock was a thing of the past, the new lead single from Wolf People, “Silbury Sand,” proves otherwise. The London band that spans many genres from blues and folk to psychedelia and progressive rock, conjure up memories of 1960’s bands like Traffic, Blind Faith and The Yardbirds on “Silbury Sand,” complete with kick-ass guitar riffs, punchy percussion and the Stevie Winwood-style vocals of front man Wesley Eisold. We’re also including a track from their 2010 LP, Steeple; the track is definitely recommended for Jethro Tull fans.
Kurt Vile has been one of our favorite singer/songwriter’s of recent years. His 2010 EP, Square Shells, received a good amount of blogger buzz, and so is his follow up album, Smoke Ring for My Halo. There is a decidedly more upbeat feel to this album, with bright acoustic guitar-playing and clever use of reverb on vocal tracks, as demonstrated on these two tracks.
“Jesus Fever” – Kurt Vile from Smoke Ring for My Halo
“In My Time” – Kurt Vile from Smoke Ring for My Halo
Starf*cker’s New LP, Reptilians; Plus, Name-Calling
It’s interesting how different blog’s treat band names with swear words in them. Here’s an example of how two of our favorite blogs deal with one band’s name. The blog for Large Hearted Boy publishes this band’s name as ‘Starf**ker,’ while the blog for the popular Seattle indie radio station KEXP, uses a radically different treatment, opting for ‘STRFKR,’ which is not easily deciphered without some frame of reference. We use just ‘Starf*cker‘.
Some of you may wonder why there is avoidance of just spelling out the whole name. The answer varies, and even has multiple reasons, but the main one, at least for us, is not to get into trouble with Google. KEXP, because it has a radio license, is probably keeping the FCC in mind more than the web audience in how it handles such cases. LHB, on the other hand, is being extra careful with the use of two ‘stars’ in place of the ‘offending’ word, but at least it’s making the name understandable. It’s all kind of stupid in the final analysis; we all know what it should say. It’s also the title to a popular Rolling Stones‘ song. Anyways, here is the newest single from Starf*cker’s new album, Reptilians, which can be streamed in full via Spinner.
Sebastian Zimmer is the one-man band behind the music ofOne in a Googolplex. While that is also the name of Google’s headquarters in Mt. View, California, but spelled “Googleplex,” the term “googolplex,” as defined by the late Carl Sagan, is “precisely as far from infinity as is the number one.” That said, Zimmer sent us his latest single, “Lilly,” out this week. At first we weren’t sure if we liked it, but the more we listened to it, the more it grew on us. As part of a double-shot, check out the dynamic track, “Monolith,” from Zimmer’s October 2010 release, The Dropout Cats.
“Lilly” – One In A Googolplex from Lilly/My Sister’s Poem Double-shot: “Monolith” – One In A Googolplex from The Dropout Cats
Plenty of Notable Songs from Relatively Unknown Bands
This week, there are also many terrific new singles from artists and bands that are virtually unknown to most music lovers, including a good number of bands that we’d admittedly never heard of until this week. , but who will definitely be on our radar.
The jangly indie pop track, “Bells Ring,” from the band Empress Hotel‘s self-titled debut EP, is another surprise song that sounds so much like another band that we can’t quite put our finger on. Do you know who we might be thinking of? If so, please tell us in the comments. The band will be performing a number of shows at next week’s SXSW fest. Next, the single “Jericho” from the band Jamaica sounds nothing like reggae, but instead has the makings of a summertime hit with its catchy rhythm and 1970’s style pop radio appeal. Plus, long-time indie rockers Buffalo Tom return with a new album, Skins, and the lead track, “Arise, Watch.”
“Bells Ring” – Empress Hotel fromEmpress Hotel EP
“Jericho” – Jamaica from No Problem
“Arise, Watch” – Buffalo Tom from Skins
G00d-to-Hear Singles from Artists We’ve Never Heard Of…Until Now
It’s probably becoming evident at this point just why we split up this week’s Best New Releases into two parts. While many of you are probably familiar with our long posts – more is better, right? – we are making efforts to keep them shorter without shorting you on music we think you should hear. It’s a difficult task because the truth of the matter is that there is so much terrific music that we’re hearing on a weekly basis that we feel like we have to share as much of it as possible. Believe it or not, there are plenty of songs that we don’t post.
So, we’ll skip writing anything about these additional songs in the interest of simply letting the music speak for itself. Each of these bands are completely new to us. Don’t hesitate to let the world know what you think of any of the songs in this mix by leaving a Comment below.
“Already In Love” – Exene Cervenka from The Excitement of Maybe
“Geisha Means Open Minded” – Carol Bui from Red Sea
“I Led Three Lives”– Grails from Deep Politics
“The Kite” – The Sound Of Growing Up from Drifting EP
“The Wake” – The Albertans from New Age“Dog Years” – Luke Rathborne from Dog Years EP
“So High” – Ringo Deathstarr from Colour Trip
“Worldwide” – Ancient Astronauts from Into Bass and Time
Don’t miss R.E.M., Beach Fossils, Wye Oak, and many others in part oneof this week’s Best New Releases. You might also want to browse through all the playlist mixes for the Best New Releases of 2011 (so far). This year is already going fast.
Is R.E.M. an alternative rock band, or a mainstream rock band? The argument could be made either way, but R.E.M. are definitely not an indie band, despite their significant influence on many indie artists during the past three decades.
Clearly, R.E.M. was one of the most important bands of the early alternative rock movement that was in large part spurred by the popularity of college rock. R.E.M. was a refreshing sound in the early to mid 1980’s when there wasn’t much of an alternative to the hair metal bands, commercial rock and the new wave music craze.
Back then, we found out about up and coming bands from college radio stations, friends, hanging out at the record shop, and reading rock publications like Rolling Stone, not to mention a bunch of other ‘underground’ mags and college newspapers that were covering bands like R.E.M., The Replacement, The Smiths, and before they hit it big in the mid to late 1980s, Talking Heads.
Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) have fantastic new albums out now with their legendary bands.
Even though R.E.M. rocketed from underground music fame to the music charts and mainstream rock radio in 1987 with “The One I Love,” and the following year, disappointed many fans by signing with Warner Bros., we still like to think of them as an alternative rock band, and one of the greatest American rock bands of the past three decades. We have to say that we’re excited by the new release, Collapse Into Now, from the band that put Athens, Georgia on the rock and roll map. Since we’ve only spun it once as of this posting, it’s impossible to give a legitimate assessment, but based on a ‘first listen’ impression, it really does sound great, and is what so many have been saying – R.E.M. has returned to their roots.
“Discoverer” – R.E.M. from Collapse Into Now
Moving on, there are other releases that we are excited about this week, most notably Alex Murdoch, Wye Oak, Beach Fossils, Dinosaur Bones and Parts & Labor‘s fifth album, Constant Future. We are still surprised that a lot of people who are really up on their indie are not familiar with Parts & Labor. The three-piece band from Brooklyn have quietly – for the most part – been one of the best trios in the crowded indie scene of NYC over the past few years.
Beach Fossils were unquestionably one of the biggest breakout bands of 2010, as our own band poll showed. So far, what we’ve heard of the album, is very promising. We’re also glad to see Dinosaur Bones back again with the release of My Divider. The band The Megaphonic Thrift are popping up more and more in the past year, and we can understand why. At SXSW 2010, the band were voted best show; that’s a pretty big deal when you think about how many shows are at SXSW each year – easily thousands.
Over the years, IRC’s In Dee Mail series has become one of the most popular regular playlist series with readers and visitors. In Dee Mail, which is a play on “in the mail,” is a special feature on IRC in which we spotlight the best artists and bands who submit their music directly to us unsolicited. Some of our favorite artists and bands of the past few years have come to us by way of our mailbox, and in turn we package it all up and post it for our readers to enjoy. Of course, we’re also very interested to see what people think of these artists, and therefore, strongly encourage posting comments on what you think of a particular band or song.
So, to kick-off this special 2011 series of In Dee Mail, we are spotlighting some of our favorite artists out of the hundreds who have sent their music to us over the past few months. None of these artists have been previously featured on IRC, and many have never been profiled on a popular indie blog. For those artists, we’re changing that today. And, in the coming weeks and months, we’ll be publishing some of the best music (in our opinion) you’ve never heard.
Hopefully, many of the highlighted artists in this series will begin to build upon their exposure on IRC (as various other bands have in the past) and attract more fans, and blog and press coverage. All of the bands that are featured in this series are bright blips on our music radars, and many of them are, by default, bands to watch in 2011. We’re also introducing a new and permanent feature to band profiles that we’ve never had previously – at the end of each profile, there is a website, label information (where applicable), music genre(s), artists that bands have opened for or shared the stage with and finally, each band’s musical influences. All of this information comes directly from the submission forms that bands fill out on our About page.
Finally, we are going to record which of the artists our readers and visitors like the most (based on number of streams and downloads of songs, Hype hearts, comments, etc.). For the most popular bands, we’ll be asking them to send in new songs as they become available. We are really interested to hear what you guys think of the artists and bands in this first installment of a special edition of In Dee Mail.
Secret Knives – Wellington, New Zealand
The band we are kicking off this special 2011 edition of In Dee Mail with is New Zealand‘s magical shoegaze outfit, Secret Knives. As with many of the artists we feature throughout the year, Secret Knives are, somehow, still relatively unknown in the U.S. But for a band as talented as they are, it’s still surprising. So, let’s see if we can change that.
Formed in 2008, Secret Knives found success quickly in Wellington following the release of their debut EP, The Wolves. In New Zealand, when a good band pops up, they are pretty much well known quickly throughout the small country. And no wonder Secret Knives became popular in New Zealand, even signing to A Low Hum records. The band’s sound is probably best described as shoegaze mixed with pop.
After listening to their debut album, Affection, we knew immediately the band needed to be heard by more people. In no way related to, or resembling, the famous Stanley Kubrick horror movie of the same name, the sah-weet track, “The Shining,” starts out mellow, and slowly builds up into an epic, atmospheric pop song that you just want to play again, and again. On the other featured track here, titled “The Garden,” the members of Secret Knives, demonstrate their talent with another gorgeous song that fits the whole shoegaze atmosphere, right up to the airy guitar licks, steady, amplified percussion and layered choruses.
Affection is steeped deep in magical tracks brimming with mystery and intrigue – music that you truly can get lost in because it is so atmospheric. From song to song there are gorgeous rhythms and sweet melodies that weave together beautifully throughout Affection and The Wolves EP. Luckily, the band has made both their debut album and debut EP available as a free download via A Low Hum’s label website (if that link doesn’t work, click on the album title to download from BandCamp instead).
Website:Secret Knives on MySpace Label: Black Cactus Records Genre: Shoegaze, pop, alternative rock Opened For: The Chills, Daedalus, Die!Die!Die! Influences: Slowdive, The Chameleons, Why?, Burial, Wolf Parade
With the unlikely name, Lisa Savidge, former military serviceman, Dan Somers, returned to Phoenix, Arizona after years of deployment in the Middle East with “cynical, and hopeful eyes.” Somers’ experiences overseas were an inspiration for his songwriting. He then set out and recruited local musicians to “push the boundaries of what can be done with rock music,” bringing together Ellery Keller, James Krehbiel, Nick Gortari, and Patrick Lamaide. And the results are remarkable as evidenced on the band’s September 2010 eponymous sophomore LP, Elk Cloner. From start to finish, Elk Cloner is a fascinating, genre-bending mix of raw power pop, post-rock and shoegaze; a thrill ride from start to finish.
The band have attracted quite a bit of praise from Phoenix area press and beyond. In fact, Bruce Repologle, the former publicist of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, said that Lisa Savidge’s music “rains down in a minimalism revved up again with a neo-Echo & The Bunnymen chorus.”
Website:Lisa Savidge on MySpace Label: Black Cactus Records Genre: Indie Rock, Noise Pop, Prog, Post Rock Opened For: Kinch, What Laura Says, Black Carl , Kirkwood Dellinger, Peachcake Influences: Pink Floyd, The Pixies, Explosions in the Sky, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead
Charlie Khan – London, England
Musician Charlie Khan from London definitely stood out among hundreds of submissions we’ve received in recent months. Backed by a clattering cacophony of weird and wonderful instruments, including his trusty two-string stick bass (which handily doubles as a weapon), and a host of decrepit guitars and vintage keyboard instruments, his brand of demented skiffle-esque diatribes are a truly unique proposition.
The first track Khan sent, “The Mortal Coil Shuffle,” is such a fun and engaging song; we can totally imagine it being on the soundtrack of some Johnny Depp movie because of it’s quirky, carnivalesque style and Tom Waits-on-speed flare – a musical vaudeville and dark cabaret that takes the listener on a rambunctious audio thrill ride. The only thing that is missing is the lion’s roar.
Label: Villainous Records Genre: Dark Cabaret, Carnivalesque Opened for: None Influences: Amanda Palmer, Can, Captain Beefheart, EELS, Frank Zappa, Nick Cave, Tom Waits
Indie Folker – Cluj, Transylvania, Romania
With nasally, Dylanesque vocals, and a stripped down acoustic guitar playing along to the refrain, “I see monsters in Rome,” are some of the reasons we love “Monsters In Rome,” one of the best indie folk songs we’ve heard so far this year. Interestingly, Indie Folker, are a band are from Cluj, Transylvania in Romania.
Last May, the band released their debut album, Monsters in Rome. In the band bio box on the IRC submission form, Indie Folker claims to be “very much like Iron & Wine, without the iron, or Noah And The Whale, without the whale…Tom Waits on high heels, a more scrupulous and much younger Bob Dylan, a low-tuned Elliot Smith with an aching throat, a less-British Damien Rice – but longing to be more like David Gray on a regular day.”
Label: Unsigned/DIY Genre: Indie Folk Rock Opened for: None Influences: David Gray, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Iron & Wine, Rufus Wainwright, Leonard Cohen, M. Ward, Alexi Murdoch
Micheal Silversmith – Riverside, California
This next song sent to us by Riverside, California singer/songwriter Michael Silversmith. Again, another artist that we’d never heard of previously, and who turns out to be wonderfully talented.
This is a grower song, and it definitely has a catchy title. Silversmith is a new-to-us addition to the Americana and folk end of the musical spectrum. Not surprisingly to us, Silversmith has opened for bands like Crystal Antlers and Delta Spirit. His album, Life is Beautiful, was originally released last November.
Website: MichaelSilversmith.com Label: Unsigned/DIY Genre: Singer/Songwriter Americana Opened for: Crystal Antlers, Delta Spirit, Jay Buchanan, Richard Swift Influences: Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Iron and Wine
Jangula – New York, New York
For a band that we’ve never hear of before, New York band Jangula have a matured indie rock sound as evidenced on “Genji Glove.” With it’s driving beat, jangling guitars, thick melodies and bold vocals, the track seems to have all of the ingredients of a college radio hit. We know that band comparisons can be tricky, sometimes risky, but we think Jangular sounds a little like Spoon, and a bit more like the Editors. Combining Joy Division’s driving skeletal rhythms, Brian Eno’s colorful harmonics and Bowie’s imaginative lyrics, their dynamic, genre-bending style is powerful enough to get people dancing and singing along.
Website: Jangula on MySpace Label: Unsigned/DIY Genre: Dance Rock, Electro, Experimental, Post punk Opened for: Didi of Brazilian Girls, The Postelles, Free Blood Influences: Joy Division, Roxy Music, The Beach Boys
The Hollow – Rockaway, New Jersey
Of all of the bands featured in this post, The Hollow are probably the most polished-sounding. But, in their case, it’s not a bad thing; although their songs, at least the two tracks featured here, are more likely to be played on college radio alongside bands like My Morning Jacket and 3 Doors Down.
That said, The Hollow are an unsigned band; whether they progress more towards the modern rock sound, and away from alternative or indie rock, remains to be seen. Of course, they didn’t do themselves any favors as far as the band name, when you consider that there are numerous bands with the same or similar name. Luckily, it was easier to find them in a Google search then it is for other bands with common names – especially over-used favorites like bear, deer, shark, and so on.
The Hollow’s first single, “Run Away,” with it’s opening atmospheric guitar lick (which sounds remarkably like the intro on U2‘s “Where The Streets Have No Name”) has the makings of a college radio hit, even though it could benefit from a little better mixing on the percussion.
The second single, “Move On Past,” is another solid modern rock track, elevated by high-octane guitar licks (and a not too shabby solo) and soulful lead vocals. The band have received numerous accolades on rock radio in New Jersey and in the local media. Apparently, they have only opened for one band, The Marshall Tucker Band. We’re not sure how an alternative rock band in the 2000s got paired up with a classic southern rock band from the 1970’s; but, you know, strange bedfellows and all that.
Website: TheHollowBand.com Label: Unsigned/DIY Genre: Alternative Rock Opened for: The Marshall Tucker Band Influences: Perpetual Groove, 311, My Morning Jacket, Incubus, Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, MuteMath, Phish, The Grateful Dead, Stone Temple Pilots
Did you dig one or more of these virtually unknown bands? If so, you’ll definitely want to keep checking back for the subsequent installments of this special series that will put the spotlight on a whole bunch of other super talented artists and bands who somehow, and for the most part, remain under the spotlight.
In the meantime, we recommend these popular posts and playlist mix series featuring thousands of free and legal MP3s for your computer, mobile phone or MP3 player.
A few months ago we launched a new weekly playlist series called The Sunday 25 Mix, aka, S-25. The idea behind the playlist mix is to choose 25 songs we love that are not necessarily “indie,” thereby giving us the chance to share music from any era and genre of music, including, but not limited to, classic rock, pop, new wave, psychedelic rock, punk, post punk, folk, jazz, blues, hiphop, and so on. Many of the S-25 mixes (dig the archives and find music jems) also included a spotlight band, and in the future, many others will. If you’re a regular listener/reader of IRC, you’ve probably already streamed some of the S-25 mixes, such as the special mix, or the Love Songs We Love, and Winter Songsmixes.
The first few S-25 mixes were randomized, and well-received. Yet, in subsequent weeks, we found that our regular visitors were showing even more interest for songs in a playlist mix that share a common characteristic or theme – whether implied or direct. Therefore, the weekly S-25 mixes from here on out will have specific subject matter that is reflected (often, not always) in the song title of every track in the playlist. A couple of good examples would be one of the most popular S-25 mixes so far this year, the Egyptian Revolution mix. For that mix, the songs were not directly related to each other, but when put together, tell a bigger story.
The other type of S-25 mix is much more targeted and granular when it comes to the theme or the subject matter, and it requires that whatever the subject matter is – from something completely mundane to something gripping – each song title in the mix must share the same highlighted word. This week’s S-25 theme is the color red. It’s always fun to put together playlist mixes, but the best part is sharing them with other hundreds of thousands of other people across the globe.
In the meantime, enjoy these 25 – plus some extras for good measure – songs that have ‘red’ in the song title, ranging from UB40 and The Decemberists to Jimi Hendrix and Nick Cave. The live version of “Red House” is a bootleg from the old Winterland Theatre in Palo Alto (today ijust another piece of evidence, even 40 years later, of why Hendrix is considered one of the – if not the – best electric guitarists ever. Let’s kick off this mix with one of our favorite songs from one of our favorite albums by one of our favorite bands of 2008, “Red and Purple” by The Dodos.
You may notice some other common themes in this playlist mix other than the fact that all of the song titles have the word ‘red’ in them; notice the number of songs about ‘red ankles’ and ‘red hands,’ plus ‘red rain’ and ‘red wine’.
Note: You can click on the artist/band name to see another post playlist and click on the album title to purchase the entire album directly from Amazon on a secured server. Often times, Amazon’s prices are lower than iTunes, and each time you make a purchase using our link, we get a small referral fee which doesn’t amount to much, but helps pay our server costs.
Originally, we were going to post a list of songs with any color in the song title. The problem is that there are so many great songs with a color in the title that we needed to get even more granular and simply pick a color. The choice of going with a specific color – in this case, red – is not meantto be symbolic at all for anything other than the fact that it is one of many naturally occurring colors; red is found deep in the oceans, in the veins that travel throughout of our bodies, across the great expanse of the universe, and in countless other forms, shades and designs, from rocks and flowers to feathers and fruits.
We scoured our music collections to gather up, filter out, and post 25 great songs containing the word ‘red’ in the song title. We realize the whole idea might be a little corny to the oh-so-serious among you, but come on, man, we’re just trying to make sharing great music just a little more playful and interesting. Afterall, it’s Sunday.
Among our personal music playlists – which have been under development for years – are many different categories and themes; dozens upon dozens of intriguing playlists, spanning the gamut of themes, ranging from Songs About The Moon, Songs About New York City, and Songs For Moms, to genre-based playlists, like dream-pop, garage rock, Americana and post punk, to name a few. As we’ve done in the past, more of these mixes will be posted in the ensuing months, including the weekly S-25 Mix. Of the many playlist categories in our iTunes is one of our favorites themes: ‘Songs About Colors’ which contain literally hundreds of great songs with at least one color in the song title. Still sounds corny? That’s cool, we totally get it, but hopefully you’ll enjoy this mix even if you think it’s corny.
“Red Right Hand” – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds from Let Love In (1994) – special: only $5.99 on AMZ Cover Version: “Red Right Hand” – Arctic Monkeys* from Cryin’ Lightning
“Red Berries” – Angus & Julia Stone from Hollywood (2008)
Don’t miss new songs, videos, news, contests and giveaways, plus other cool stuff and links that we often post only via our Twitter and Facebook accounts – it’s a way to stay in touch with what’s happening on a hourly and daily basis.
“Red House” (Live) – Jimi Hendrix from Live at Winterland (1971)
“Red Red Wine” – The Russian Futurists from The Method of Modern Love (2010)
“Red” – Miles Davis from Aura (1985)
“Red Sky” – Please The Trees from Please The Trees (2009)
Lastly, we need your help. We want you guys to pick the songs for the next S-25 Mix using the Comments box below. The theme will be cars. Do you have one or more songs about cars that you really dig? Remember, for this mix series, your song suggestions are not restricted to the indie genre – whatever that means to you.
Even though 2010 is over, it’s not long gone. So, we can’t see anything wrong with sneaking in just a couple of additional installments of the popular playlist series, Recent Releases We Almost Missed. The Almost Missed playlist series offer an eclectic array of tracks from 2010 albums, EPs and singles, many of which were largely overlooked, but, in our opinion, deserve some coverage.
Because there were so many good-to-amazing releases in 2010, it was only inevitable that a number of otherwise strong releases – at least based on the lead single in many cases – would slip through the wide net cast out by the weekly Best New Releases series. Over time, these releases piled up in a folder, until we recently got a chance to listen to them again, and decide which should be included in this last (maybe second to last) installment of the ‘Almost Missed’ highlighting 2010 music.
“Rattle Your Bones” – Black Whales from Rattle Your Bones 7″ – Nov. 17th
“Bon Koum” – Sidi Toure from Sahel Folk – Jan. 25th
“Stand In The Water” – Wildlife from Strike Hard, Young Diamond EP – Nov. 16th
“Giraffe’s Kiss” – Sore Eros from Know Touching – Nov. 23rd
“Begs Me Not To Beg” – Brass Bed from Melt White – Sept. 21st
This week’s Best New Releases is interesting in that there is no release from an A-list ‘indie’ artist, if you will, but instead an eclectic gaggle of mostly new and relatively unknown artists, like That Ghost, Davila 666, Papercuts, Dum Dum Girls, DeVotchka, Raised by Tigers, and many others.
Perhaps the biggest new release is the debut album from Beady Eye. We were surprised to learn how many people don’t know who they are. Well, all band members of Beady are former-members of the super popular Brit pop band Oasis, including Liam Gallahger, plus Ride frontman Andy Bell, and guitarist Gem Archer, and tour drummer, Chris Sharrock. We haven’t heard the whole album yet, but we like what we’ve heard so far, including songs like “The Beat Goes On” and “The Roller,” to name a couple tracks right off the bat. What do you think? There have got to be some, admittedly aging, Oasis fans out there.
“The Roller” – Beady Eye from Different Gear, Still Speeding
“Four Letter Word” – Beady Eye from Different Gear, Still Speeding
That Ghost – Sonoma County, California
Over the past few months, we’ve listened to the sounds of artist Ryan Thomas Schmale aka That Ghost. Over the past year, there’s been a good amount of blogger buzz about That Ghost, and the more we listened to his songs, the more we agreed with the blogger buzz. This week, That Ghost releases his Twosyllable debut, Songs Out Here, an album of intrigue and dark optimism. We absolutely love the track, “To Like You,” and also like very much the other single from the album, “The Red Bow.”
“To Like You” – That Ghost from Songs Out Here
“The Red Bow” – That Ghost from Songs Out Here
Papercuts – San Francisco, California
In addition to That Ghost, there are also a number of other one-man bands and solo artists with new releases this week, including San Francisco Bay Area songwriter, and Subpop artist, Jason Quever, who goes by the moniker, Papercuts. If you like hazy bedroom pop, this is definitely a band that you want to keep an eye and ear on. Papercuts has expanded into a full band, adding Graham Hill (drums), David Enos (keys), and Frankie Koeller (Bass). In 2008, Michael Partington, the former frontman and guitarist of Head of Femur, left behind most of his belongings in the U.S. and moved to Taiwan, which he says influenced much of the content on the album.
Also this week: Alex Ebert, lead singer for the band, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, drops his debut solo album; the acclaimed Swedish singer/songwriter, Lykke Li releases her new album, and Jad Fair, founder of one of the earliest, and best, indie bands, Half Japanese, and a prolific musician, has a new album, His Name Itself is Music.
“The Best Ever” – Jad Fair from His Name Itself Is Music
Raised By Tigers – Denton, Texas
Raised By Tigers is an indie rock band hailing from the musically vibrant college town of Denton, Texas. Mike Canzano, Jason McMullen, Rob Peters, and Tyler Walker comprise the group. Their sound ranges from post-punk leanings with swooping guitar textures to ambient acoustic/electronic pops and buzzes.
Aside from a few compilation inclusions, the band’s first proper album, LED, was released in 2007. Now they are back with their follow-up sophomore album, Reunion Parts, drops this week. RBT has shared with bands like Karate, Dismemberment Plan, Les Savy Fav, The Paper Chase, Deerhoof, and many others.
“Song for Bob” – Raised By Tigers from Reunion Parts
Here’s a relatively new indie rock band from Puerto Rico that we think are In 2010, Davila 666 released an EP on Rob’s House Records, singles on Vice Records (split with Detroit’s Dirtbombs), and Norton Records covering “She’s a Rainbow” by The Rolling Stones in Spanish with other Latin bands (Buenos Aires’ Los Peyotes and Fellow P. R. band Los Vigilantes).
Now managed by Vice Music, Davila 666 continues to release music and tour around the world, rapidly gaining notoriety as “The World’s Greatest Party Band.” Keep your eyes and ears open to when DAVILA 666 comes to your neck of the woods, full U.S. tour in support of Tan Bajo, including SXSW!
“Esa Nena Nunca Regreso” – Davila 666 from Tan Bajo
DeVotchKa, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Dum Dum Girls and More
Listen to even more songs from Gypsy punk rockers, DeVotchKa, Toronto’s folk pop band, The Rural Alberta Advantage, the popular indie punk girl band, Dum Dum Girls; and an absolutely amazing post-punk style instrumental track from the band Codes in the Clouds.
“100 Other Lovers” – DeVotchKa from 100 Other Lovers
“Look Back, Look Up” – Codes in the Clouds from As The Spirit Wanes
Two Super Groups Release New Albums
Super groups, as they are called, is a theme in this week’s best releases. The first, The Baseball Project, features Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Scott McCaughey (The Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5), Linda Pitmon, and Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate), whose release Volume 2: High and Inside is something we hope to get to listen to soon in its entirety. The next release is the self-titled debut from Middle Brother, which joins John McCauley (Deer Tick), Matt Vasquez (Delta Spirit), and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes) in effort to capture the magic of their 2010 SXSW debut performance.
“Don’t Call Them The Twinkies” (with Craig Finn) – The Baseball Project from Vol. 2: High and Inside
“Me Me Me” – Middle Brother from Middle Brother (full album stream)
Easter Island is a progressive rock band re-forging middle-class angst pop of the mid 90s and early 2000s. The band’s balance of calculated chaos, yuppie adulthood and love gone awry, creates an addictive sound reminiscent of 1990’s pop, as evidenced on the lead single, “Proud,” from their new album, Better Things.
“Proud” – Easter Island from Better Things
Also, we recommend at least listening to new singles from bands like Siriusmo, Acrylics, Buried Beds, C0lumboid, and others. We wish there was more time to dig deeper into some of these bands, but we’re sure you guys can figure out for yourselves which of these following tracks you like, and which you don’t. In fact, if you want to do a mini-review of any song, album, or band (or a combo of), please do so in the Comment space below. If your review is fitting, we might even re-publish it to this post and give you credit.
“Mosaik” – Siriusmo from Mosaik
“Sparrow Song” – Acrylics from Lives & Treasure
“Nightwatch” – Acrylics from Lives & Treasure
“Breadcrumb Trail” – Buried Beds from Tremble The Sails
“Dog Years” – Luke Rathborne from 
Is R.E.M. an alternative rock band, or a mainstream rock band? The argument could be made either way, but R.E.M. are definitely not an indie band, despite their significant influence on many indie artists during the past three decades.
