2013 – Page 10 – INDIE ROCK CAFE

Best New Releases, Week of Jan. 15th – Yo La Tengo, Virals, Free Energy, Christopher Owens, Pickwick & Sharon Van Etten

Posted on 01/17/201307/22/2021 by Max Hammer

The number of new album releases is now starting to pick up. In fact, this week presents a healthy dose of new drops from a variety of artists covering a wide spectrum of musical styles. Some of the more popular and well-known artists and bands with new material out this week include Yo La Tengo, The Head and the Heart, Virals, Free Energy, Christopher Owens, and Pickwick, among others. We’re also working now on a treasure trove of excellent new albums, and singles from those albums, by an array of DIY and small label artists, set to post this weekend – you’ll really want to put aside some time to read about, and listen to, nearly a dozen talented artists and bands that most of you have probably never heard of before (and many of which will only be posted on IRC).

But first, let’s give a listen to new singles from fresh albums by more widely known, signed artists, starting off with the legendary indie rock band, Yo La Tengo, who we’ve been big fans of for a long time, and who are partly responsible for popularizing indie rock. On Tuesday, the New Jersey trio dropped their 13th album, Fade. The lead single, “Ohm,” is a six-minute-plus lo-fi indie rocker with a wall of fuzzy guitar rhythms and solos.

“Ohm” – Yo La Tengo from Fade on Matador

Lovvers Former Frontman Re-Emerges With New Outfit, Virals

England’s Shaun Hencher, the former frontman behind the popular cult band, Lovvers, has re-emerged with a new music project called Virals. Apparently, he had no plans to form a new band, and even went back to work doing the 9 to 5. But what started as a “fun thing to do” a few nights a week progressed into a new band and now the release of Virals’ debut EP, Strange Fruit. The title track showcases what Hencher calls “meat and potatoes rock,” and what we call one of the best new tracks of 2013, and one of the first bands to watch of 2013. The bonus track, “Summer Girls,” is a fast, feel-good guitar rock tease for everyone who wishes it was summer right now.

“Strange Fruit” – Virals from Strange Fruit EP on Zoo Music

Bonus track: “Summer Girls” – Virals from Strange Fruit EP on Zoo Music

Free Energy Drops Sophomore LP; Stick to Their 70’s Niche

After listening to “Summer Girls,” it seems only appropriate to follow it up with the latest from 70’s pop rock enthusiasts Free Energy. In 2009 and 2010, the Philadelphia band were riding a wave of blogger love, fan approval and touring non-stop. While their 70’s Cheap Trick sound is still appreciated by many fans, their sophomore album, Love Sign, will probably not get the kind of stir of attention and love that their 2010 debut, Stuck On Nothing, garnered. Still, the band delivers what their fans expect on Love Sign, including the lead single from the album, “Girls Want Rock.”

“Girls Want Rock” – Free Energy from Love Sign on Free Energy Music

New Singles by The Capsules, The Head And The Heart, Mystical Weapons and Others

This week also saw the release of new albums by The Capsules, featuring the catchy indie single, “Across The Sky”, followed by another acoustic classic from The Head And The Heart with “Josh McBride.” Former Girls‘ frontman and now acoustic singer/songwriter Christopher Owens delivers a terrificly heartfelt, emotive hook on “Here We Go,” that flourishes with piano, flutes and electric guitar riffs, together with his whispery, dreamy vocals from Owens’ first album since leaving Girls; Parquet Courts pick up the pace with their straight away, no frills indie guitar rock single, “Borrowed Time,” followed by lead singles from new albums by Mystical Weapons and Criminal Hygiene.

“Across The Sky” – The Capsules from Northern Lights and Southern Skies on Vespera Records

“Josh McBride” – The Head And The Heart from Josh McBride/Honey Come Home 78 rpm single on Electric Records

“Here We Go” – Christopher Owens from Lysandre on Fat Possum

“Borrowed Time” – Parquet Courts from Light Up Gold on What’s Your Rupture?

“Mechanical Mammoth” – Mystical Weapons from Mystical Weapons on Chimera Music

“Rearrange Me” – Criminal Hygiene from CRMNL HYGNE on Small Smile Records

Swedish DIY Indie Outfit Marching Band

Marching Band is Swedish duo that have been playing music together for nearly a decade. This week the band released their self-produced EP, And I’ve Never Seen Anything Like That. Previously, the duo have released two critically acclaimed albums, one with Adam Lasus, and one with Jari Haapalainen. They’ve opened for bands like Loney Dear, Wildbirds and Peacedrums, and comedian Adam Green. The duo has previously been featured in Rolling Stone magazine, Pitchfork, and the AllMusic Guide.

“And I’ve Never Seen Anything” – Marching Band from And I’ve Never Seen Anything Like That EP – Jan. 15th

“Artistic Man, Shaved Head” – Marching Band from And I’ve Never Seen Anything Like That EP

DIY Drops from Pickwick, Midnight Spin and Reissue from Punksters Vampire Lezbos

Although we still have an entire separate post of new albums from a variety of DIY artists and bands that will be published this weekend (see the most recent DIY releases, featuring a great selection of relatively unknown, but talented bands), here are a couple of others worth checking out in the meantime, including the popular unsigned band Pickwick‘s self-released Covers EP, featuring the super talented Sharon Van Etten. The three-track EP is a precursor to the band’s much anticipated DIY full-length album slated for release in March while they’re on tour and gearing up for a number of appearances at SXSW 2013. Also check out the lead single from the new DIY drop by Midnight Spin . To close out this playlist post, veteran punk rockers Vampire Lezbos reissued their self-titled debut this week via Flat Field Records.

“Lady Luck” (feat. Sharon Van Etten) – Pickwick from Covers EP

“Lion Run” – Midnight Spin from Don’t Let Me Sleep

“Plasma” – Vampire Lezbos from Vampire Lezbos (reissue) on Flat Field Records

Don’t miss this week’s bonanza of new releases from DIY artists, coming up this weekend, featuring many artists slated to get their first ‘big’ (or their first at all) write-up on the web. In the coming weeks, in addition to our ‘best of 2012’ playlists, will be a flurry of fantastic music from artists and bands from around the world. Anyone that follows indie, or has been visiting IRC for years, knows that some of the best music you’ve ever heard came from artists that you had never heard of before, but are so glad you did. We have that Eureka moment many times a week.

2013 DIY Releases – We’re Not Heroes, Service Animal, Dead Recipe, Ugly Thrash Demon, Neo Star Nova-Z, Luck & Senses

Posted on 01/13/201307/22/2021 by Max Hammer

On Thursday, the first Best New Releases playlist post of 2013 was published, featuring tracks from Pere Ubu, The Wooden Wand, Broadcast, Colin Davis, as well as new singles from fresh albums by Alex Vans, Ceremonies, and The Agreeables. This post features all DIY/unsigned artists and bands, including releases that were dropped in the past two weeks. Little by little, we’re also putting together and publishing our and your top songs, albums, bands and videos of 2012. The first volume of the Best Songs of 2012 (featuring all No. 1 songs from the weekly Top 10 Songs playlist published throughout 2012) highlighted the top songs for the months of January, February and March. Volume II is already in the pipeline, as are many other posts, including Bands to Watch in 2013, starting with the first band featured below.

The rising Cardiff, England rock trio, We’re Not Heroes, dropped a freshly mastered single yesterday – “Distort The Air,” from a forthcoming album, expected to be released sometime this summer, according to the band. The band consists of three 23-year-old musicians – Tom Collins, Luke Llewellyn and Michael ‘Dewey’ Owen. Llewellyn explains: “I named the band after a dream I had where i got up in the middle of the night and wrote it down then went back to sleep. It worked for us and what we represent in many ways.”

After making big waves in the U.K., We’re Not Heroes also has growing fan bases in countries like Mexico, Trindad & Tobago, Indonesia, France, and are poised to break out in the United States. As far as we know, IRC is the first major U.S. indie site to publish this smoking new single. We’ll have more about Cardiff’s hottest new indie rock band in an upcoming post, Overseas Bands To Watch in 2013, scheduled for next week, and which will include an exclusive new single as well as a track or two from their self-released 2012 debut EP.

“Distort The Air” – We’re No Heroes – Jan. 11th, 2013

Note: Look out for IRC’s first Band of the Week posting for 2013, and, as mentioned above, the premiere of the new series, Bands to Watch in 2013, which will highlight some fantastically talented bands, most of which are DIY, and that have, so far, flown under the radar – at least in the U.S.

Speaking of which, there is a terrific, new signed band from Helsinki who dropped a new album on Friday, Jan. 11th, the same day as We’re Not Heroes dropped their new single. The Finnish band s really good, so we made them the first band of the week profile of 2013.

London Band Rising: Youthband

There is not very much information about the fresh London indie rock group Youthband at the moment, other than to report that we’re digging their debut single, and its provocatively clever title, “The Future Is Not What It Used To Be.” Just about everyone should be able to figure out the deeper meaning behind that title. The song “officially” dropped the first week of the new year. More from and about Youthband soon. Use the Comments to tell us what you think.

“The Future Is Not What It Used to Be” – Youthband from single

Buffalo DIY Bedroom Artist Go Exploring

Matt Scime,aka, Go Exploring, is a young one man band artist from Buffalo who dropped his debut EP earlier this week. The lead single, “Today,” is lively, catchy pop with synths and horns and a memorable chorus you’ll probably get stuck in your head. The follow-up track, “Friends,” has a similarly upbeat rhythm, more choruses, drum machines, synth effects and a very pronounced electric guitar jam. In fact, his sound reminds us a bit of another artist that you’ll probably on hear on IRC, Opus Orange.

For someone who only started out less than a year ago, it’s obvious that Scime has a number of talents that he draws from writing, playing a range of instruments, vocals and recording. to make unique, multi-layered tracks of pop in the realm of Matt & Kim , minus Kim. Expect to hear more about Go Exploring throughout 2013. Apparently Scime, who is in college, is planning to put together a band to tour with and work on a debut album. In reIndie rock is the culmination of past present and future rock ideologies. It is the progression of creative music fused with the roots of rock & roll.

New Seattle Band, Service Animal, Unleash Debut

Drawing on over three decades of combined musical experience, members of the relatively new Seattle DIY band, Service Animal, joined forces in 2012 to create “a positive and uber-creative environment with the goal of making beautiful, haunting and inspiring alternative rock music.” The band’s founders, Andrew Bailey (vocals, guitars) and Jordan Cassidy (vocals, bass), who honed their skills in various Seattle bands over the years, recruited musicians Keith Greer (drums) and Justin Joyce (guitars/keys) to complete the band and “to cover the entire spectrum of energy and flow,” they said. On the two tracks below, the band mix melancholic and upbeat rock and roll oozing with emotions, chaos, energy, and the fine talents of all four band members.

“Hearts Start Beating” – Service Animal from The Gravity Bear Demonstration – Jan. 3, 2013

“A Slow Release of Nothing” – Service Animal from The Gravity Bear Demonstration

Austin Multi-Genre Trio Comprised of Three Multi-Instrumentalists

In 2009, friends Kyle Albrecht and Camille Lewis met and began writing and recording after discovering their shared love of folk, rock, blues, vintage pop music and other genres. No long after, Lewis met Andrew Davis at work and the three multi-instrumentalists formed Dead Recipe and started rehearsing in Davis’s garage. Last year, the band began to play more gigs in Austin (get in line as they say down there), and during the summer enter the studio with producer and engineer Shawn Jones to record their self-titled debut album, released last week.

“Getting To My Head” – Dead Recipe from Dead Recipe – Jan. 5th

“Flowers” – Dead Recipe from Dead Recipe

Additionally, Haden Hunt (drums) and Kirby Sims (keyborswere recruited to play drums and keys, respectively. Dead Recipe’s top musical influences include The Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac, Animal Collective, The Velvet Underground, and The 13th Floor Elevators

Virginia Chamber Pop Band Ugly Thrash Demon

Virginia DIY chamber pop band Ugly Thrash Demon was formed among a group of friends who wanted to “do something constructive while hanging out aside from playing video games and watching bad horror films.” The five-piece band consider among their musical inspirations bands they all “grew up with” in high school, including Arcade Fire, Belle and Sebastian, and Beirut. But their band name choice is baffling considering they’re a chamber pop band; Ugly Thrash Demon is a name for a metal band. So, as far as promoting the band, especially since they’re unknown to most of the country, the band name is the antidote of indie chamber pop, and we wouldn’t be surprised if metal heads who see the band name only would think they definitely have a catchy, unique thrasher rock name. Yet these dudes are kind of nerdy 20-somethings who play trumpets, saxophones and ukuleles. Anyways, that said, UTD’s debut song is “You, Me and FCC.”

“You, Me, and FFC” – Ugly Thrash Demon from single – Jan. 12th

Louisiana Metal Rock Artist Neo Star Nova-Z

If your’e a fan of progressive metal rock, you’ll probably want to check out this new single from Baton Rouge, Louisiana artist Brian Waymire who performs under the moniker Neo Star Nova-Z. The 19-track album is available on Bandcamp, but Waymire is asking $9 “or more,” which, for an unknown solo artist that is just starting out, seems a bit much. Many artists with significant critical acclaim offer their albums on Bandcamp, and other music sites, for less than that, and often for the “name your price” option.

“Into the Darkness” – Neo Star Nova-Z from Omega Factor – Jan. 8th

Brooklyn Band Drops Sophomore Album, Speed of Life

Brooklyn DIY band Luck & Senses dropped their sophomore album, Speed of Life on January 1st, bucking the industry rule of never releasing an album during the week before, during and after Christmas. Why? Because just about no one is paying attention to new releases during those three weeks. We’re a bit on the fence, but one never knows how others feel.

The band states in their bio: “Art and life mix and mingle [via] quirky and sultry vocals driven by electric guitar and backed by a killer rhythm section make this band’s sound an amalgam of the past and the future.” Started in 2007 as a “romantic symbiosis” between Lisa Jubilee and Andy Barbera, their relationship evolved into a musical acoustic folk duo. In 2010, they revamped their acoustic-folk sound by recruiting Sam Minaie (bass) and Andrew Munsey (drums). The Speed of Life, from which they sent in two tracks, “marked a shift from earlier folk-pop stylings to a sound [that] is unique indie roots-rock,” claiming artistic influence from with Corrine Bailey Rae, Whinehouse, Feist amalgam vocals.” It shouldn’t be any surprise that the band’s major influences include artists like Little Dragon, Gotye, Feist, Bjork and Radiohead. We asked the band what does ‘indie rock’ mean to them; Barbera answered: “Music informed by any mix of the many forms of “rock”, communicated with originality and creativity, served locally with all organic musical ingredients.”

“Speed Of Life” – Luck & Senses from Speed Of Life – Jan. 1st

“What’s Going To Be Your Move” – Luck & Senses from Speed Of Life

Luck & Senses Official Website

Best New Music Releases, Week of Jan. 8th – Broadcast, Pere Ubu, Wooden Wand, plus DIY Artists Alex Vans, Colin Davis, Ceremonies

Posted on 01/10/201307/22/2021 by Max Hammer

The first new releases of 2013 are slowly starting to trickle in, as they often do at the beginning of a new year. To fill the void of well-known artists and bands with new releases, we have a number of new and recent releases from DIY bands and artists from across the country, and around the world – hopefully, you’ll find some new bands and songs to stream or download. But before we get to the DIY artists, check out new drops this week from soundtrack creators, Broadcast; rock veteran Pere Ubu; artist to watch, Alex Vans; and the indie band Wooden Wand. DIY releases include new singles from bands and artists most people have never heard before (and many of which only appear on IRC, which is the case with hundreds of musicians we feature each year), such as Ceremonies, Colin Davis, The Agreeables and a few others that are featured below.

As we do at the beginning of each year, we’ll be posting more playlists and profiles highlighting the best songs, albums, bands, artists and videos of 2012. In fact, earlier this week, we posted the first volume of the Best Songs of 2012.

Note: There were not many new releases for the month of December, 2012, so it makes it a bit trickier to do the Top 10 Songs playlists for each week of December. But, we’ll manage to find a way to get that done, although some of the Top 10 playlists for December may not have a full list of 10 songs. Stay tuned for that.

“Free White” – Pere Ubu from Lady From Shangai on Fire Records

“Southern Colorado Song” – Wooden Wand from Blood Oaths Of The New Blues on Fire Records

“The Equestrian Vortex” – Broadcast from Berberian Sound Studio on Warp

“Good Enough” – Alex Vans from DJ Booth (self-released)

New Swedish Duo Drops DIY Debut

From Gothenburg, Sweden, the DIY indie pop/rock duo Ceremonies recently released their dark, brooding, debut singles, “Black Wings” and “Promises” from their self-titled, debut album. The duo was founded by musicians Malin Dahlberg and Marcus Bergman in mid-2012o. Their aim is to make “distinct songs that don’t hide behind concepts, ideas or too many layers.”

“Black Wings” – Ceremonies from Ceremonies – Jan. 3rd

“Promises” – Ceremonies from Ceremonies

California ‘Super Hero’ Duo The Agreeables

The DIY indie rock duo, The Agreeables, from Santa Barbara, California, started out as a musical, and two of those involved, who we only know as Rick and Camille, gradually into a musical duo. On Jan. 8th, they released their debut EP, Bonus Tracks (not quite clear on why a debut EP would be called ‘Bonus Tracks’). Surely some people will roll their eyes, but the duo are branding themselves as ‘superheroes’ whose mission, they say, is ‘saving the world one melody at a time.’ They consider among their top influences The Beatles, Elton John, Cat Stevens, Wilco, and Cracker.

“I’d Fly Away” – The Agreeables from Bonus Tracks – Jan. 8th

“Place Called Home” – The Agreeables from Bonus Tracks

Ithaca Musician Drops Debut EP of ‘Soulful Folk’

Colin Davis is a 20-year-old DIY singer/songwriter from Ithaca in upstate New York. Performing in local bars and coffee shops for the past couple years, Davis dropped his debut EP, The Restless and The Wicked on the first day of 2013. He performs soulful indie folk with a “touch of unashamed pop influence.” In response to ‘what is indie rock?’ Davis replied: “Not necessarily independant, which the term probably intended for, but more so an Innovative, interesting take on traditional rock/folk styles. ” His top musical influences include Ray LaMontagne, Wilco, AA Bondy, Father John Misty, Jeff Buckley, and Otis Redding. The album cover, however, is just all wrong – it looks like a wallpaper photo taken off some other site somewhere (if even it’s not). For an album titled The Restless and The Wicked, the last album cover in the world that should be used is this one. The problem with lazy, unimaginative and terrible album covers in recent years has gotten way out of hand. Artists and bands, especially DIY, need to understand that the album cover is so important, even in the digital age, and music lovers have good reason to scold artists for many of the album covers we’ve seen over the past five and more years.

“Unsustained” – Colin Davis from The Restless and The Wicked EP – Jan. 1st

“The Restless and The Wicked” – Colin Davis from The Restless and The Wicked EP

Colin Davis’ Bandcamp Page

Check back in a few hours for even more featured DIY artists and bands that you’ll likely only hear on IRC.