# Best New Music Releases, Week of June 18th – Sigur Ros, Austra, Beach Day, Mark Mulcahy, Primal Scream, EOTS, Said The Whale

- Link: https://indierockcafe.com/2013/06/best-new-music-releases-week-of-june-18th-sigur-ros-austra-beach-day-mark-mulcahy-primal-scream-eots-said-the-whale/
- Published: 2013-06-23T05:56:32-04:00
- Author: Max Hammer

The long-awaited new album, _Kveikur_, from **Sigur Ros** dropped this week to wide
praise and excitement from fans and critics alike. _Spin_ magazine said the following
of _Kveikur_, “It’s initially unnerving to witness indie’s most celebrated airy 
faeries butch it up, but the result ultimately satisfies their what-the-the-hell-
do-we-do-next dilemma better than any record single _Agaetis Byrjun_.” Amen.

Sigur Ros fans have largely embraced the band’s maturation in recent years, as was
evident with last year’s album, _Valtari_, which turned out to be a calmer and more
placid play on the band’s unique ambient post-rock sound. This time around, however,
the band leans more on the rock and less on the ambience, demonstrating once again
that no matter what stylistic change-ups they ultimately produce, they can still
create the dreamy sonic landscapes of yesteryear while forging ahead to express 
more aggressive tendencies with a rock swagger in a way that only Sigur Ros can 
do, blending, as Don Yates of _KEXP_, said: “an ominous blend of rumbling electric
guitars, atmospheric synths, mournful strings, fuzzy bass and clattering drums accompanying
Jonsi’s ethereal vocals.”

[“Brennisteinn”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/Sigur-R243s-Brennisteinn.mp3)–**
Sigur Rós** from _Kveikur_ on XL Recordings

#### Austra’s New New Wave and Beach Day Summery Sounds

**Austra** get the blood flowing on their single, “Painful Lake,” from the album
_Olympia_. The track has a definite influence of 80’s new wave mixed with techno
and house dance beats, frigid synth notes and the Bjork-like vocals of Katie Stelmanis.
The band **Beach Day** echo the sounds of fuzzy guitars and sunny rhythms of Phil
Spector-like 60’s surf pop/garage rock in the song, “Stay.”

[“Painful Like”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/Austra-Painful-Like.mp3)–**
Austra** from _Olympia_ on Domino Record Co.

[“Stay”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/Beach-Day-Stay.mp3) – **Beach
Day** from _Trip Trap Attack_ on Kanine Records

![](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/41HokPzDIaL.jpg)

#### Mark Mulcahy Strikes Again; Empire of the Sun is ‘Alive’ and Kicking

The bluesy, folk rock track, “Let The Fireflies Fly Away,” by **Mark Mulcahy** reminded
us a lot of **Rodriguez**, the long forgotten, but then rediscovered, singer/songwriter
and guitarist from Detroit who was the focus of the 2012 Oscar winning documentary,
_Searching For Sugarman_ (a great documentary if you haven’t seen it). But Mulcahy
definitely has a stye all of his own. As the former frontman for the group Miracle
Legion in the 1990’s, Mulcahy has been praised by artists like **Michael Stipe, 
Dinosaur Jr., Thom Yorke, The National** and others. **Empire of the Sun** new album,
_Ice On The Dune_, includes the hypnotic single, “Alive.”

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[“Let the Fireflies Fly Away”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/Let%20The%20Fireflies%20Fly%20Away-markmulcany.mp3)–**
Mark Mulcahy** from _Dear Mark J Mulcahy, I Love You_ on Mezzotint

[“Alive”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/Empire-Of-The-Sun-Alive.mp3)–**
Empire Of The Sun** from _Ice On The Dune_ on Astralwerks

#### Primal Scream Drops No. 10; Said The Whale’s Self-Release

Long-time hard rockers out of Scotland, **Primal Scream**, return with their 10th
album full of politically dense songs that blend dance-pop, psych-rock, dub, jazz,
and blues. **Said The Whale** dropped a new EP this week, simply titled, _I Love
You_. he band self-released the EP and offered up the title track as the EP’s single.
The song is not a dreamy, mushy ballad as the title might suggest, but instead a
fast, upbeat, incredibly catchy pop-rock track filled with melodic guitar hooks,
80’s like new wave keyboard riffs, and double-dipped vocals. It’s difficult to miss,
however, the similarities of “I Love You” with **The Knack**‘s hit song, “My Sharona,”
that was one of the biggest radio songs of 1979 (and of all time), not just in the
U.S. where it was a #1 gold record, but around the world. Despite the obvious influence
of The Knack, Said the Whale managed to make “I Love You” a great song largely on
its own merit.

[“Invisible City”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/Primal-Scream-Invisible-City.mp3)–**
Primal Scream** from _More Light_ on First International

[“I Love You”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/Said-The-Whale-I-Love-You.mp3)–**
Said The Whale** from I Love You EP (self-released)

![natashaportrait41813](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/natashaportrait41813.
jpg "natashaportrait41813")

#### Rising Artist Natasha Kmeto and the Brillance of Lemuria

With a wall of guitars, upbeat rhythm, melodic change-ups, choruses dripping with
harmonies, and the lovely voice of **Natasha Kmeto** on her new single, “Idiot Proof,”
it’s not a stretch to say that Kmeto is one of the newer indie female vocalists 
that is catching the attention of music lovers everywhere.
 At about the 1:20 mark
on “Idiot Proof” the sound changes up to more of a techno dance track, but Kmeto’s
vocals dominate through each new transition; there really is a lot of music experimentation,
beats, samples, effects, synths, dubs, double-tracking, hi-fi reverb and theatrics
packed into the four minutes and five seconds of “Idiot Proof.” Kmeto’s new album,
_Crisis_, is available now via Dropping Gems Records. Following Kmeto is the blissful
indie pop/rock song, “Brilliant Dancer” from the band **Lemuria**, from the album,
_The Distance Is So Big_ via Bridge Nine Records.

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[“Idiot Proof”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/Natasha-Kmeto-Idiot-Proof.mp3)–**
Natasha Kmeto** from _Crisis_ on Dropping Gems

[“Brilliant Dancer”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/Lemuria-Brilliant-Dancer.mp3)–**
Lemuria** from _The Distance Is So Big_ on Bridge Nine

![the-mantles-long-enough-to-leave](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/
2013/06/the-mantles-long-enough-to-leave.jpg "the-mantles-long-enough-to-leave")

#### The Mantles Folk Garage Pop and Tunng’s Genre Blending

San Francisco Bay Area band **The Mantles** have been blazing an interesting path
through the Bay Area’s storied indie pop circles – indirectly aligning with artists
like **Ty Segall, Mikel Cronin** and **White Fence** – since their humble beginning
five years ago. The band’s folk pop tendencies are found through their new album,
_Long Enough to Leave_, and evident in lo-fi garage pop tracks like “Hello,” with
it’s unabashed quirky, yet charming, presence. By foregoing the theater of retro
psychedelia, The Mantles end up innovating in an area of guitar music where many
bands get lost fawning over fashions, styles and trends. **Tunng** offers an understated
upbeat single, “The Village,” that sounds like a mash of 60’s-tinged pop with elements
of dance and psych; the lead single from their new album, _Turbines_, released via
Full Time Hobby Records.

[“Hello”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/02%20Hello.mp3) – **The Mantles**
from _Long Enough to Leave_ on Slumberland Records – upload song to BNMR-June2013

[“The Village”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/Tunng-The-Village.mp3)–**
Tunng** from _Turbines_ on Full Time Hobby

#### The Spectrals ‘Sob Story,’ Slaid Cleaves’ ‘Still Fighting The War’

**The Spectrals** dive into the slow-poke country rock spectral with the twangy,
melancholic single “Sob Story,” from the album of the same name. The song is one
that you’d expect to hear playing over the loud speakers of an interstate truck 
stop in Texas country. But in the reality is that nowadays you could also hear it
playing in a bar in New York City. It’s unmistakeable how popular country music 
has become in the past 30 years. **Austin** artist **Slaid Cleaves** turns in another
solid performance of heart-felt, finely crafted art folk-rock on the new album, 
_Still Fighting The War_, with the title track as the LP’s lead single. We thought
of **Gin Blossoms** with more of a country twang when listening to the single.

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**The Purrs** jump in the mix with their latest indie rock single, “Rotting on the
Vine” from the uniquely storied title of _The Boy With Astronaut Eyes_. **Los Angeles**
rock band **Crash Kings** scored a spot on the _Billboard Alternative Songs_ chart
in November of 2009 after sending out the single to radio stations across the U.
S. thanks to the release of the single, “Mountain Man,” from their self-titled debut
album released earlier that spring. The band is known for using analog keyboards
such as the Clavinet with distortion effects and a whammy bar in place of a typical
lead guitar.

[“Sob Story”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/sobstory.mp3) – **Spectrals**
from _Sob Story_ on Slumberland Records

[“Still Fighting the War”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/slaid-cleaves-still-fighting.mp3)–**
Slaid Cleaves** from _Still Fighting the War_ on Music Road

[“Rotting on the Vine”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/rottingonthevines-the-purrs.mp3)–**
The Purrs** from _The Boy With Astronaut Eyes_ on Fin Records

#### Crash Kings “Hot Fire”

**Los Angeles** rock band **Crash Kings** scored a spot on the _Billboard Alternative
Songs_ chart in November of 2009 after sending out the single to radio stations 
across the U.S. thanks to the release of the single, “Mountain Man,” from their 
self-titled debut album released earlier that spring. The band is known for using
analog keyboards such as the Clavinet with distortion effects and a whammy bar in
place of a typical lead guitar. Crash Kings new single is “Hot Fire.”

“Hot Fire” – **Crash Kings** from _Dark of the Daylight_