With the warmest recorded summer for much of the country, and the worst drought in half of a century, soon coming to an end, summer vacations winding down, and schools about to return to session, singles for late summer and fall album releases are starting to make the rounds. There has been a flood of fresh tracks dropped in the past couple of weeks from new and established indie and alternative rock artists and bands.
[zbplayer]Since Brooklyn indie folk rock band Grizzly Bear wowed fans with a live performance of a new song, “Yet Again,” on The Colbert Report‘s ‘Colbchella’ festival last week, the song has been showing up all over the web. You can also stream or download the studio MP3 version of the track, as well as easily order the wildly popular band’s new via Amazon by clicking on the album title. This marks Grizzly Bear’s fourth studio LP, and the first since their break-through 2009 album, Veckatimest.
“Yet Again” – Grizzly Bear from Shields (pre-order CD from Amazon) – out Sept. 11th
The first track, “Sleeping Ute,” from Shields was released early this month. Daniel Rossen’s performance on vocals and guitar is particularly impressive. The song is deep but edgy at the same time, which is a remarkable thing for a musician to evoke. It demonstrates a maturation of their style and sophistication of their sound. There is every indication that when Shields is officially released next month, it’ll quickly become one of the best albums of 2012.
“Sleeping Ute” – Grizzly Bear from Shields
Poor Moon Readies Release of Debut LP on August 28th
Next week is the official release of the debut album by the new supergroup, Poor Moon. The band is a side project of Fleet Foxes‘ members Christian Wargo and Casey Wescott, and includes musician brothers Ian and Peter Murray. The band first began to get notice earlier this year with, including a couple of fantastic folk rock singles, including the track, “Birds.”
You can pre-order Poor Moon’s debut via Amazon in either MP3 or CD
“Birds” – Poor Moon from Poor Moon
Austin Instrumental Band Balmorhea Set to Release Sixth LP
Balmorhea is a six-member instrumental indie band from Austin which are known for their unique compositions. The band’s body of work – including five full-length albums – focus on motifs of the American Southwest: the folklore of Texas settlers, the emotive proclamations of the mountainous setting, and intimate studies on solitude, nature, and night time. Over the years, the band has added a string section and full percussion to create a rich and layered sound that is simultaneously concise and complex, uniting a confluence of ideas, textures, and styles into one genre-defying landscape.
The New Yorker called the band’s music “an exemplary experiment in restraint.” Balmorhea has toured the US and Europe five times each, including shows with Fleet Foxes, Mono, Tortoise, Bear in Heaven, Sharon Van Etten, Damien Jurado, and Here We Go Magic. Also, listen to the new single from Sera Cahoone‘s upcoming release, Deer Creek Canyon, set to drop on September 25th.
“Pyrakantha” – Balmorhea from Stranger – Oct. 2nd
“Naked” – Sera Cahoone from Deer Creek Canyon – Sept. 25th
The Luyas Release New Single from Album to Drop in October
Earlier this month, Montreal indie pop band The Luyas announced a new album, Animator, set to be dropped on Oct. 16th via Dead Oceans. The band’s 2011 album, Too Beautiful to Work, was their second LP, and their Dead Oceans’ debut. The Luyas share members of another popular Canadian indie band, Bell Orchestre. “Fifty Fifty” is the first single from Animator.
“Fifty Fifty” – The Luyas from Animator – Oct. 16th