Tristram Burden is a South Korean artist and ex-pat from Kent, England, who travelled the world for a number of years with his mandolin and some songs in a quest to meet other musicians who shared similar tastes in music. After numerous musical incarnations, he finally found what he was looking for in 2010 in the South Korean city of Gangneung, Gangwon-do. Burden set out to find musicians who, he said, “loved my compositions enough to learn them and play them with me.”
The members of Language of Shapes, now clearly one of the best indie bands from South Korea, include J.E. Seuk, who plays flute, mandolin, mandola and also sings, Kimberley Brigner, who plays flute and mandolin, Courtland Miles on bass and Bobby Goldberg on a djembe – a rope-tuned, skin covered, goblet-shaped drum that is played with the hands. Burden also sings and plays the mandola, bouzouki and the french horn. What Burden wanted was a band of mandolin players to perform his songs. The band’s music is truly original and unique, featuring a combination of psychedelic rock, folk and post-punk. The band’s musical Influences include Scott Walker, Wim Mertens, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Dinosaur Jr, and The Afghan Whigs.
“Our name,” Burden said “comes from a dream J.E. had about shapes talking to each other, and how she could understand and communicate with them also, but in an entirely abstract and untranslatable way.” The band’s songs are dreamy, and have a certain, stunning texture to them. Responding to ‘what is indie rock,’ Burden said: “At it’s best, raw music untainted by record company expectations, at its worst, something somebody’s already done, somewhere and somewhen else, but much better.
“Cage” – Language of Shapes from Language of Shapes
“Hidden Hand” – Language of Shapes from Language of Shapes
Since its humble beginning in 2007, Record Store Day has grown into a huge international success for independent record stores across the nation and the world. In fact, it is now considered the music holiday of the year for indie music lovers, artists, record stores and music collectors. The special day started six years ago as a way to promote independent record stores, which have been largely decimated nationwide over the past decade due to consolidation by the mega record store chains and the Internet.
The real success behind Record Store Day has been the exclusive release of rare recordings, special covers, creative formats and packaging, and limited editions, especially in regards to vinyl that are not available for purchase online; although some releases are available online after Record Store Day in formats other than the limited edition vinyls. However, for die-hard fans of particular bands and artists, eBay and other sites often have limited edition RSD releases at auction, or for instant purchase, sometimes fetching 10 or more times as much as the original price of the in-store purchase. There were more than 350 exclusive releases for the seventh Record Store Day celebration.
While The White Stripes duo of Jack White and Meg are no longer making new music together (following their 2011 disbandment of the famous garage rock duo), that hasn’t stopped them from releasing new and limited editions, as they did for RSD. Not only was Jack White the official spokesperson, or ‘ambassador,’ for RSD, but he also put together a special 10th anniversary collector’s limited edition vinyl of the duo’s breakthrough album, Elephant, for the special day. The limited edition release is available on two LPs, one a black and red vinyl and the other on white vinyl, mastered from the original analog tapes and housed in a double pocket gatefold, tip on sleeve with a MP3 download card and printed inner sleeves.
Best Coast released a special vinyl 7″ double-single for RSD, “Fear of My Identity/Who Have I Become.” Bethany Cosentino‘s father, Ricky Cosentino, plays drums on the first track. Check out a Pitchfork video of Bethany talking about her musical influences, including America, The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac.
The Black Keys released a cover of The Stooges‘ track, “No Fun,” which appeared on The Black Keys EP, The Moan. The special Record Store Day release was pressed on orange tie-dye vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies. The vinyl includes “Black Chandelier” (Live Zurich, Switzerland 1/19/13) and “City Of Dreadful Night.”
The electro-pop duo MGMT released a ‘cassingle’ (cassette single) on RSD last Saturday for the track, “Alien Days.” The track, as evidenced by the responses on the Soundcloud cut below, has received a big, warm welcoming from fans, as the first single from the duo’s upcoming album. The band also included a free MP3 download for the lucky few across the country, and the world, who were able to get their hands on the cassingle.
The popular electro-pop band Phoenix dropped a limited edition grey (why grey?) vinyl 7″ via Glassnote on RSD that features the track “Entertainment” with a B-side of the single in Korean.
Synth master Dan Deacon released “Konono Ripoff No. 1″ 7″ vinyl with only 500 copies made worldwide. The 7” features two versions of the track in a hand numbered jacket with the cover art from the winner of the Dan Deacon America Instagram contest. View the SXSW 2012 version of “Konono Ripoff No. 1” recorded at the NPR showcase.
Brian Eno teamed up with Grizzly Bear and got the remix treatment from Nicolas Jaar on a 12″ vinyl double-single featuring Eno’s “LUX 2” and Grizzly Bear’s “Sleeping Ute,” recorded on black vinyl with a large, bold typed cover sleeve.
The 70’s glam pop band, Big Star, released a limited edition (1000 copies) double LP 12′ inch, 180 gram yellow vinyl pressing, Nothing Can Hurt Me, on Record Store Day, via Omnivore Recordings, which is now available in limited quantity via Amazon – view the the track listing. The double album title is also the title of the recent Big Star documentary, that was an official selection at 2012 SXSW film festival. Big Star are best known today as the band behind the title track for the popular and long-running TV series, That ’70’s Show.
The iconic band, The Flaming Lips, released a four LP box set on RSD 2013 of the previously released album, Zaireeka. The limited edition vinyl release features multi-colored vinyls, new artwork and a booklet for die-hard fans to cherish forever. In this promo video for Zaireeka, does anyone know what happened to Wayne Coyne? He looks very different than the last time we saw him. Is it plastic surgery or something else? Regardless, the Lips remain a unique band we’ll always hold dear to our hearts for providing so many special moments over nearly two decades.
Bill Densmore, the original drummer for the classic rock band The Doors, kicked off an indie record and book store author signing tour for his new book The Doors Unhinged on RSD.
Additionally, a 7″ milky translucent vinyl single of The Doors 1967 track, “Soul Kitchen” was released as part of the Side By Side series from Elektra Records.
I’ve only recently began listening to The Besnard Lakes, and I can say without a doubt that they create some of the most beautifully dense, imaginative music that’s being written today. Much like their album titles, such as The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse, The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night, and now Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO, their music can be long, labyrinthine, and open to interpretation.
As with the common long album titles, The Besnard Lakes’ album covers are also very telling of their music. Rich and dark oil paintings – often of gloomy landscapes – depict what appears to be another time and place. History trapped in dark, thick colors. Maybe not a literal history, but one that encompasses the grandiose music that is part of The Besnard Lakes’ experience. Jace Lasek and his wife Olga Goreas create worlds of expansive sound, soaring harmonies, and melancholy melodies that bring to mind what Brian Wilson might have written and recorded had he been born 20 years later. There’s been a lot of talk that The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night is the definitive Besnard Lakes’ album, and had I cut my teeth on that album, I might be obliged to agree with that statement. But as it stands, I didn’t.
My first foray into the world of The Besnard Lakes’ music was Lasek’s side band The Soft Province. That album primed me for The Besnard Lakes. Where The Soft Province was in terms of Besnard Lakes grandiosity a ‘small’ record, it still encapsulated all the wonderful and magical things that Lasek creates with his main gig. The Roaring Night was the next record I fell into, and I was completely hooked. But not more than a month later, Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO was released and cemented my love and adoration for the Canadian rockers – and they do rock. Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO is an outright masterpiece. Put it on, turn off the lights, and listen. You will see.
This album is decidedly more tempered than previous records; let’s get that out in the open right now. There’s nothing quite as raucous and rocking as “Like The Ocean, Like The Innocence Part 1: The Ocean” or “Chicago Train” on this new record. But what it may lack in bombast, it gains ten fold in dreamy textures, and miles and miles of harmony. I brought up Brian Wilson before and not out of laziness. The joy he exuded in albums like Pet Sounds and Smile is running over through the eight songs on Besnard Lakes’ masterpiece. “And Her Eyes Were Painted Gold” floats along on an unbreakable melody, as if hidden behind the very painted clouds on the album’s artwork.
“People of the Sticks” is pop music of the highest order; album opener “46 Satires” sounds like Cocteau Twins, with Goreas sounding like a reserved Elizabeth Fraser. “The Specter” opens with electric piano and has a very somber tone to it, like a funeral tome. A 21st century “Surfs Up”. There isn’t a spot on this album that needs changing or removing. Each is a piece that helps to build something beautiful. “Colour Yr Lights In” once again perfects pop music and brings it to a new level. This happens a lot on this record. “Alamogordo” ends this album on yet another masterful note. Epic and timeless.
You won’t find a better way to spend fifty minutes this year than on Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO.
J. Hubner is a music lover and blogger who frequently contributes album reviews to Indie Rock Cafe and via his blog.
In the past 18 months, the college-formed Istanbul indie dream rock band The Away Days have been on quite a whirlwind journey, performing alongside music giants like Pulp and Kaiser Chiefs (at the One Love Festival), as well as Mark Ronson and Sam Sparro (at and Adidas All Originals Party event), and Factory Floor at Newcomer’s Festival in Babylon, where they were hailed as a promising new young band. The band was also invited to perform on Okan Bayülgen’s Disco Kralı, Turkey’s most popular late night TV show watched by millions of viewers across the country.
For Disco Kralı broadcast, they performed their first single, “Dressing Room,” which was noticed by the U.K. Guardian, who mentioned The Away Days as a new band to watch. The well respected, long-running newspaper’s endorsement of the band elevated their profile in the U.K., and things really started to move fast for the pop rock quartet in a short period of time. Subsequently, The Away Days garnered praise and received support from Gary Powell of The Libertines, Ron Lewis of Sub Pop, and Simon Raymonde of Bella Union.
“Dressing Room” – The Away Days from How Did It All Start
The band ultimately released their debut EP, How Did It All Start, last October, which was well-received overseas. Within weeks of the EP’s release, The Away Days were invited to perform at South By Southwest in Austin as part of the official lineup, an honor and opportunity that has served as a launch pad for hundreds, probably thousands, of artists over the past couple of decades. An invite to SXSW is a dream come true for any band looking for their big break, especially for an overseas band that wants to build a following in the United States. In fact, there are countless bands that have worked diligently for years with the hope of getting tapped to perform at SXSW because it is the world’s most celebrated, and all-encompassing, annual music bonanza; an event that can make or break a band’s career.
Currently, The Away Days are recording their debut full-length album under the direction of Brighton producer Jag Jago, who produced the latest album by The Maccabees, and has worked with artists like The Ghost Of A Thousand, Bastions and Your Demise, among others. On May 7th, The Away Days will headline The Garage in London. Band members include Oguzcan Ozen (guitars/vocals), Sezer Koc (lead guitar), Burak Serter (bass) and Berk Tekelioglu (drums). They are signed to Noiseist Productions.
In January, their newest single, “Galaxies,” was played on the high-profile KEXP Morning Show in Seattle (official music video above). The band said about the single: “It’s a deep song that makes us feel really lost. As the song comes to the end, it feels like we found our way. We made this in the basement, no sun, no light.”
“Dear Blender” – The Away Days from How Did It All Start
During the past few months, IRC has published dozens of posts that highlight promising DIY and small label indie bands to watch, including the 5 DIY Bands to Watch series. For the fifth installment of this popular series, the focus turns to highlighting overseas unsigned bands like Copies (Brazil), Plastic Animals (Scotland); Carson (Switzerland); Monkeybird (Norway); and Sictor Valdana and The Check This Outs (Spain).
Copies – Sao Paulo, Brazil
Copies is a DIY garage rock/punk trio from São Paulo, Brazil, consisting of Christian Fontana on drums, Thiago Carvalho on vocals and guitars, and João Caetano on bass. On February 4th, the band released their debut EP, All The Clichés You Can Eat, that was mixed and mastered by legendary producer Ed Stasium (The Ramones, Mick Jagger, Talking Heads, The Misfits). When any band has someone of Stasium’s caliber at the helm, that’s a good indication of a band’s talent and promise, and one can only imagine that they will continue to get better with such valuable, expert input that someone like Stasium offers. There are not many bands that can say they recorded their debut EP with the former producer of The Ramones and Mick Jagger.
“Dial M For Motherfu*ker” – Copies from All The Clichés You Can Eat – Feb. 4th
“One Together” – Copies from All The Clichés You Can Eat
Plastic Animals is an alternative punk band from Scotland. Formed in Edinburgh in 2006, the band began to play local gigs and soon established a name for themselves in the local scene and eventually throughout the U.K. Their sound is heavy, melodic and atmospheric. Plastic Animals has previously opened for bands like P.S. I Love You, Milk Maid, The Scottish Enlightenment, Molly Wagger, PAWS, and The Douglas Firs, and consider among their top musical Influences artists like Grandaddy, Dinosaur Jr, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Kurt Vile, My Bloody Valentine, Guided By Voices and Deerhunter.
“Ghosts” – Plastic Animals from Automaton EP – June 6th
“Yellowcraig” – Plastic Animals from Automaton EP
Plastic Animals Official Website
Carson – Luzern, Switzerland
Carson is an alternative stoner rock trio based in Luzern, Switzerland, but originally hails from Auckland, New Zealand, where it was founded by frontman Kieran Mortimer-Jones in 2009. The line-up was tweaked a few times before the then four-piece band went on tour throughout the small island nation. Throughout 2010, they built a reputation as a buzz band across New Zealand. But it was in 2011, when Carson released a seven-track EP, that they began to receive extensive national radio exposure.
Without explanation, Jones suddenly moved to Switzerland at the height of the band’s popularity, where he constructed a completely new trio of musicians, and kept the band name Carson, which is an unusual move since the original band was fairly popular in New Zealand, only includes the founding member and they’re based in Europe. Plus, it makes it that much harder to search for information online about the band. Nevertheless, the new Carson has found some success in Switzerland, an endeavor that was recently enhanced with the release of their self-titled album last December. The band’s influences include Truckfighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Led Zepplin, Kyuss, and Soundgarden.
“Come” – Carson from Carson
“I Guess” – Carson from Carson
Triple-shot: “Chlorine Boogie” – Carson from Carson
Monkeybird – Harstad, Norway
From northern Norway comes the indie folk rock duo, Monkeybird, who are surprisingly practically unknown to even hard-core DIY indie music listeners. Formed in late 2011, the duo features Polarfox Records‘ founder Dan Slettevolden, along with his long-time creative cohort, producer and multi-instrumentalist Paal André Brekkaas. Their debut album, Born to Roam, was released on September 21, 2012 in the Europe. We got a hold of two of the tracks from the album, which you can stream below. Monkeybird has real potential and is now a bright blip on our indie music radar. The duo list among their main musical influences as Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Kinks, Fleetwood Mac, Sparklehorse, The Beatles and Daniel Johnston. That’s a solid and diverse compendium of artists and bands to draw inspiration from for any musician, and you can hear hints of some of those influences in “Born to Roam” and “Release.”
“Born to Roam” – Monkeybird from Born to Roam – Sept. 21st
“Release” – Monkeybird from Born to Roam
Monkeybird on Facebook
Sictor Valdana and The Check This Outs – Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona DIY lo-fi band Sictor Valdana and The Check This Outs deliver their unique brand of genre mixing by blending indie rock, chill wave, folk, punk and garage on their sophomore album II, creating spacious, dynamic, enthralling and rhythmic music on studio recordings and during live performances. Síctor Valdaña and The Check This Outs was born in January 2010 as a one-man project that soon evolved into a trio. Only months after forming, the band was tapped to perform at the A Viva Veu showcase (Primavera Sound) and were even featured in the Festival Hoteler’s promotional video. True to form, the band embraces DIY ethos, recording tracks in their basement with clunky gear, shoe-string budgets and endless hours of rehearsals. One clear indication of their independent status is the unconventional duration of their songs, ranging from 20 seconds to six minutes. The band listed their top musical influences as The Replacements, Jawbreaker, NOFX, The Who, Bauhaus, and Eels.
“I’m Drying Up” – Sictor Valdana and The Check This Outs from II
“Spark” – Sictor Valdana and The Check This Outs from II
The ferris wheel at Coachella Valley in Indio, California. Coachella 2013 starts today.
The 2013 music festival season gets under way in just a few hours with the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California.
While last month’s South By Southwest in Austin is the biggest musical event each year in sheer numbers, it is not a musical festival per se.
Coachella is considered the crown jewel of the big outdoor music festivals in the U.S., followed by Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and Sasquatch. Over the past five years, as the popularity of music festivals has soared, spawning many new festivals (including Outside Lands in San Francisco) Coachella marks the beginning of the outdoor music festival season.
As of 7 a.m. Friday morning, thousands are streaming into the camp grounds and parking lots for this weekend’s big music and arts party in the middle of the southern California desert east of San Diego and just down the road from the Palm Springs city limits. Over the past few years, Coachella has become so big, and the demand for tickets so overwhelming, that organizers from Golden Voice Productions added a second weekend starting in 2012. That move was a huge success that organizers announced within weeks of last year’s event that there would be two weekend festivals for 2013 as well. If you’re going to Coachella for the first time, either this weekend, or next weekend, it is strongly advised to read the rules about passes, will call, wristbands, vehicles, camping and parking. Over the years, we’ve heard plenty of unfortunate stories about people not being able get in to the campgrounds or the festival grounds themselves. For example, if you purchase a pass from a third party source (like online ‘ticketing’ sites) or scalpers, you won’t get in.
If you’re one of the millions that wish they could go to Coachella this year, but can’t, the next best thing is available – Coachella Live on YouTube!
In celebration of Coachella 2013, IRC has put together a special and extensive Coachella 2013 Headliners Spotify Playlist of headliners. The embedded playlist below features many of the other great bands playing this weekend.
The opening day of Coachella 2013, today, Friday, April 12th (and April 17th), includes headliners like Blur, The Stone Roses, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Modest Mouse, Lou Reed, Jurassic 5, Grinderman, as well as artists like Bassnectar, Dog Blood, How to Destroy Angels, Passion Pit, Tegan and Sara, Band of Horses, Beach House, Metric, Local Natives, Of Monsters and Men, Japandroids, Divine Fits, Stars, Johnny Marr, and Alt-J, to name just a few.
For Saturday, April 13th (and April 20th), headliners include Phoenix, the XX, the Postal Service, Sigur Ros, New Order, Hot Chip, Grizzly Bear, along with secondary acts like Knife Party, Two Door Cinema Club, Moby, Descendents, Yeasayer, Franz Ferdinand, Violent Femmes, Portugal, the Man, Bat for Lashes, Richie Hawtin, Major Lazer, Fedde Le Grand, Dropkick Murphys, FOALS, and many others.
For Sunday, April 14th (and April 21st), headliners include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Vampire Weekend, Social Distortion, Wu-Tang Clan, and non-headliners like Pretty Lights, Tame Impala, the Lumineers, Dead Can Dance, La Roux, James Blake, Excision Grimes, the Gaslight Anthem, the Faint, Hardwell, Paul Oakenfold, Dinosaur Jr., OMD, Airborne Toxic Event, Father John Misty, Tanlines, Rodriguez, Mimosa, Cloud Nothings, and many, many more.
View the entire lineup by clicking on the official 2013 Coachella poster
Thom Yorke's side project Atoms For Peace had a hit single on IRC in March with "Default" - Photo by Spin
March was a fantastic month for new album releases, and for the singles from those albums, which makes this preview of the top three songs from each week of March’s Top 10 Songs playlists, a real treat, not only because there is so much terrific music, but also because the playlists reflect which songs – out of nearly a couple hundred singles altogether – were the favorites of IRC listeners.
It turns out that there are actually five weeks (the first playlist starting on Feb. 26th and the last ending on April 1st) of Top 10 Songs for the month of March. This unusual outcome happens a few times a year because of overlapping weeks that include days from the previous month and from the following month (since Tuesdays are when most albums are officially released). That said, March started off with a bang. Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke‘s musical side project, Atoms for Peace, produced the first No. 1 song of the month, “Default,” according to which songs were streamed and downloaded the most by IRC listeners.
Trailing close behind “Default,” the new single, “Blue Ice,” from Shout Out Louds‘ new LP, was only two ‘votes’ behind to finish in the No. 2 slot for the week. Also, The Smiths‘ guitarist Johnny Marr dropped his debut solo album – easily one of the best debut solo albums of the year – and captured the No. 3 position with the catchy pop rock single, “Upstarts.”
“Default” – Atoms For Peace from AMOK on XL Recordings (CD)
“Blue Ice” – Shout Out Louds from Optica (MP3 album)
View, listen to and download the other seven Top 10 singles for the week of Feb. 26th – March 4th, featuring more great songs from The Mavericks, Ivan & Alyosha, Deathfix, Gold Fields, and another from Johnny Marr.
Trevor Powers, aka Youth Lagoon, released his new LP in March - Photo by Amanda Hatfield
March 5th – March 11th
The first full week of March, but technically the second week for March 2013 Top 10 Songs playlists – March 5th through March 11th – was dominated by one of our favorite artists of recent years, Treavor Powers, known by many as simply Youth Lagoon. The lead single, “Dropla,” from his swirling synth-centric sophomore album, Wondorous Bughouse, was, by far, the No. 1 song of the week. At quite a distant No. 2 was the magnificent single, “Good Friend,” from Cloud Cult‘s fresh release, Love, released by Earthology Records. Coming in at No. 3 was the terrific track, “See Me On My Way,” by the new-to-us indie band Superhuman Happiness. The Top 10 Songs for this week also include singles by artists and bands named after the artist (or a moniker that looks like a person’s name), as well as short, easy-to-remember band names like Hey Marseilles, Hollis Brown, Bill Baird, Helado Negro, Cy Dune, John Murry, and Water Liars.
“Dropla” – Youth Lagoon from Wondrous Bughouse on Fat Possum
“Good Friend” – Cloud Cult from Love on Earthology Records
“See Me On My Way” – Superhuman Happiness from Hands on The Royal Potato Family
The return of David Bowie was the big news in music this week. This is also where the dilemma came in for us. Bowie is a commercial artist with extraordinary name recognition, so one can’t call him indie. However, one could equate him with being alternative. There are quite a few younger music lovers that are all into the alt. and indie rock thing, but don’t know who Bowie is. And yet his influence on today’s indie artists is enormous. He is one of the most cited names in music that bands who submit to IRC write down as a major influence on their music. On March 12th, Bowie released his first album in a decade, and the lead single, “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” immediately shot up to the top of the list to become the No. 1 song of the week, beating out by far the No. 2 song, “Window Sill” by Pickwick. Swedish indie pop band, The Mary Onettes, scored the No. 3 song of the week with their single, “Hit The Waves.”
The newest single, “Let The Day Begin,” from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, was by far the No. 1 song for the third week of March, beating out the No. 2 song of the week, “Just Make It Stop,” from Low‘s latest album, The Invisible Way, released by Sub Pop Records. After more than a decade without a new single, Suede demonstrated they’re still loved, capturing the No. 3 spot of the week with their new single, “It Starts and Ends With You.”
“Let The Day Begin” – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club from Specter At The Feast on Vagrant Records
“It Starts And Ends With You” – Suede from Bloodsports on Ingrooves/Fontana
View and listen to the rest of the most popular singles for the week of March 19th to March 25th via the Top 10 Songs page.
March 26th – April 1st
Even though we wrote a lukewarm review of The Strokes‘ new album, Comedown Machine (the raw, initial reaction to a band we’ve followed for over a decade), we’ve actually started to warm up to it more after repeated spins during the past week. That said, we still prefer the ‘old’ Strokes near perfect pop rock songs of yesteryear, and are therefore happy to see that one of the more traditional sounding tracks – “All The Time” – from Comedown Machine came out on top, by a huge margin, to become the No. 1 song of the week, bypassing Wavves‘ terrific new single, “Demon to Lean On,” which finished the week at No. 2.
Even more pleasing, simply because they were a new-to-us band, and their new album is amazing, was the fact that the band Little Green Cars‘ new single, “The John Wayne,” scored the No. 3 slot for the week to round out the top three songs for the last week of March 2013. While that trio of tracks is a great start, you’ll definitely want to listen to all of the Top 10 Songs of the week by clicking through to the Top 10 page, which now has all of the most popular singles for each week of March ready to stream and download. Plus, don’t forget to check out the original Best New Music Releases post playlist for the week, and in case you missed them, the latest installment of 5 DIY Bands to Watch (which was a hit with IRC listeners), as well as the Artist of the Week, Nathan Xander, and
“All the Time” – The Strokes from Comedown Machine (CD)
“Demon to Lean On” – Wavves from Afraid of Heights on Mom+Pop/Warner Bros.
“The John Wayne” – Little Green Cars from Absolute Zero on Glassnote Records
This past week’s batch of the best new albums, and the lead singles from those albums, added more great music to 2013’s already impressive, and diverse, collection of alternative and indie music. Last week’s top indie songs playlist of new releases, like many so far this year, features an amazing diversity of excellent songs, from Wavves to Depeche Mode and Little Green Cars to Twinstar.
We streamed all 17 tracks, from start to finish, at least seven to nine times in the cafe because it’s just that good. We’ll soon be publishing the popular singles on IRC during the month of March via the weekly Top 10 Songs playlists that highlight the most streamed and downloaded tracks from the Best New Music Releases posts, as well as recent DIY posts, Artist of the Week, and many others, which are all accessible from the March 2013 posts page.
The first week of April 2013 has been yet another great week for rock and roll, as demonstrated by the lead singles from new alt. and indie rock drops released by popular, talented bands like Generationals, The Black Angels, Mudhoney (a double-dose from the punk rock legends), Alkaline Trio, among others. Plus, there are plenty of amazing, new-to-us bands with even more new albums out this week, most notably a fresh 2013 band to watch called Hookworms, whose first single, “Form and Function,” is a blistering, infectious guitar rock blazer from their debut LP, Pearl Mystics – one of the best debut albums of 2013, so far, and one of many albums dropped in the past week that we recommend purchasing for your permanent collection, especially if you’re a rocker at your core.
“Put A Light On”* – Generationals from Heza on Polyvinyl Records (Please see the note at the end of this post about the album cover art for Heza).
“Don’t Play With Guns”* – The Black Angels from Indigo Meadow (CD) on Blue Horizon (Read J. Hubner’s album review)
Leeds, U.K. spacey psych-rock band Hookworms - Photo by Bart Pettman
“Form and Function”* – Hookworms from Pearl Mystic on Gringo
Spring Is Crazy Busy for New Releases and Music Festival Announcements
Because there were so many releases worth highlighting this week that we didn’t have time to get to, some will appear in the next edition of the popular Recent Releases We Almost Missed playlist series. Spring is traditionally the busiest time of the year in the cafe because there is a flood of new releases that emerge from the post-winter thaw, in addition to SXSW, and coverage of other music festival line-up announcements (and accompanying playlists), preparation for Record Store Day, emerging new bands to watch, and rushing streams of summer and fall album releases. For this installment of Best New Music Releases, you’ll notice asteriks next to some song titles, which indicates those songs’ music videos will be added to the Best New Videos page. But first, fire up this playlist to stream all the way through by clicking on the first song. Unlike Spotify – which often does not have new album releases available right away – IRC’s playlists of new music stream commercial free all the way through, and allow you to right click to save MP3s to whatever device you choose to create your own favorites song of 2013 playlists. Here’s the new single from the Velvet Funkmaster himself, Charles Bradley, who is the subject of a separate post that will be published in the next few hours.
“Strictly Reserved For You” – Charles Bradley from Victim of Love on Dunham/Daptone Records on Dunham/Daptone Records
More Rock: Milk Music, Kinski and Bleached; Rebuttal to ‘Rock Is Dead’ Critics
Another new-to-us outfit is Washington state band Milk Music, who blaze Husker Du-style on the fuzzy, distorted guitar rock of “I’ve Got Wild.” And the guitar rock continues with Kinski‘s latest single, “Conflict Free Diamonds,” from the album, Cosy Moments. “Conflict Free Diamonds” is a fired up rocker, marked by power chord guitar riffs, a catchy beat and a transfixing groove, haunting synths and soaring, reverb-heavy vocals. Next, Bleached‘s track, “Next Stop” is a female vocal garage rocker mixed with elements of punk pop from the band’s new album, Ride Your Heart.
“I’ve Got a Wild Feeling”– Milk Music from Cruise Your Illusion on Fat Possum
“Conflict Free Diamonds” – Kinski from Cosy Moments on Kill Rock Stars
“Next Stop” – Bleached from Ride Your Heart on Dead Oceans
To the rock naysayers: If you’ve been following our weekly new releases playlists this year, the refrain that ‘rock is dead’ is simply bogus; you just need to know where to find it (i.e., on IRC). This point is also reaffirmed by the huge positive responses to recent profile posts like 5 Bands That Rock and 5 DIY Bands to Watch. If anything, at least in the alternative music scene, rock is enjoying an unquestionable revival. And as this playlist charges forward, with one fantastic track after another, there are three common stylistic themes going on that we’ve organized into consecutive sets, consisting of rock, synth-heavy music, and dreamy, even melancholic grooves and instrumentals.
Fresh Tracks from Popular Bands Telekinesis, Cold War Kids, Alkaline Trio
The list of notable, and diverse, releases dropped in the past week keeps growing with singles from new albums by Telekinesis, Cold War Kids, British Sea Power, Alkaline Trio, and the last record from the now defunct Rilo Kiley. Each of these tracks, and the albums which they appear on, speak for themselves.
“Ghosts and Creatures” – Telekinesis from Dormarion on Merge
“Miracle Mile” – Cold War Kids from Dear Miss Lonelyhearts on Downtown Records
“Machineries of Joy” – British Sea Power from Machineries of Joy on Rough Trade
“I Wanna Be A Warhol” – Alkaline Trio from My Shame Is True
“Let Me Back In” – Rilo Kiley from Rkives on Little Record Company
Synth-fully Delicious: Caveman, Dutch Uncles, Pick A Piper
Brooklyn band Caveman released their sophomore album earlier this week, featuring the synth-rich, atmospherically melancholic (which is a commendable accomplishment in itself) song, “Over My Head,” followed by a more upbeat, higher octane synth track, “Bellio,” from Dutch Uncles‘ album, Out of Touch in the Wild. Sticking with the synth and electro sounds, check out Pick A Piper‘s “All Her Colours,” featuring John Schmersal.
“Over My Head” – Caveman from Caveman on Fat Possum
“Ice Dime” – Gems from Tall Mountain on Don’t Be a Lout Music
Ambient, Mellow and Melancholic Singles from Bonobo, Olafur Arnalds, Hem and Others
The ambient electro band Bonobo, produced a bizarre, but interesting video, for the lead single, “Cirrus,” off their new album. Other softer singles representing new album releases this week include Olafur Arnalds‘ mesmerizing instrumental, “Only The Wind”; Port St. Willow‘s majestic “Soft Light Rush”; Hem‘s “Tourniquet”; The Besnard Lakes‘ gently hazy, “People of the Sticks”; Hiss Golden Messenger‘s folksy “I’ve Got A Name For The Newborn Child”; Melbourne bandLower Plenty‘s “Nullarbor,” among others. By clicking the album titles, you can quickly and easily purchase either the MP3, CD (where applicable) and vinyl (where applicable) editions of any album in this playlist.
“Cirrus”* – Bonobo from The North Borders on Ninja Tune
“Only The Winds” – Ólafur Arnalds from For Now I Am Winter on Mercury Classics
“Tourniquet” – Hem from Departure And Farewell on Waveland Records
“People of the Sticks” – The Besnard Lakes from Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO on Jagjaguwar
“Bellio” – Dutch Uncles from Out of Touch in the Wild on Memphis Industries
“Nullarbor” – Lower Plenty from Hard Rubbish on Fire Records
Did Not Get To: The following artists released new LPs, EPs and singles this week, but we simply didn’t have time to review them all: Artists such as Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba, Bombino, Bring Me the Horizon, EmptyMansions (the side project of Interpol drummer Sam Forgarino), Heavy Hawaii, The Band, The Mongoloids, Transit, Tyler, the Creator and Wolf Willy Moon also released new LPs, EPs and singles this week.
Note: We would have used the Generationals’ new album cover as the main photo of this post except that it’s so damn ugly we’re not showing it at all. Somehow, the interested parties, decided to do whatever they could to discourage people from buying the album at face value. Now it will exist for eternity. Our reaction: “Are you joking? Like, seriously?” It’s insulting to fans. A photo of an elephant’s ass would have been more acceptable. Worst album cover so far in 2013. We’d like to propose a challenge: Create your own alternative cover art for Heza and then Tweet a link to it @IndieRockCafe and include the hashtag #hezacoverart
Funk, soul and R&B, especially in the traditional, more organic blends, are important musical genres in the history of modern American music, and have made significant contributions to the culture during the past 40 to 50 years, producing hundreds of chart-topping singles, of which there are dozens and dozens of the most revered songs ever recorded. Veteran musician Charles Bradley, 62, is at the center of the funk/soul/R&B revivalist movement in recent years, and his latest album, Victim of Love, pays homage to the roots of these uniquely American genres as the single, “Strictly Reserved For You,” so magically demonstrates.
In 2012, Bradley was the subject of the well-regarded music documentary, Soul of America, that premiered at the prestigious SXSW film festival (see trailer below) in March of last year. If you enjoy funk, soul, and to a lesser extent, R&B, the documentary is a must-see, and Victim of Love is definitely worth adding to your music collection. And as part of the revivalist movement of recent years, Bradley, and his label, Daptone Records (a spin-off label of Deuham Records), deserve the good reviews his albums, and the label’s efforts, have been racking up. Bradley is likely the best funk and soul male artist around today, and we predict his popularity will continue to grow.
Daptone co-founder Gabriel Roth first saw Bradley perform in 1996 under the moniker Black Velvet and introduced Bradley to Tom Brennek’s band. They recored together, largely ad-lib and on the fly, with Bradley making up lyrics to grooves right on the spot. Eventually those recordings were released on his 2011 debut, No Time For Dreaming. The commendable reception of his debut led to demand for him to tour across the United States as well as to Europe, Australia and Asia. On the heels of his sophomore release, Bradley is scheduled to perform next week in Maryland and Virginia, with more dates expected this summer. Spin wrote: “Charles Bradley’s rise to the limelight is utterly amazing.”
“Strictly Reserved For You” – Charles Bradley from Victim of Love on Dunham/Daptone Records on Dunham/Daptone Records
As soon as those tribal drums start in, and that psycho-esque dissonance pipes up, you pretty much know what you’re in for throughout the next 45 minutes or so. Indigo Meadow isn’t any great leap for The Black Angels. Did you like Phosphene Dream? Well you’re probably going to like Indigo Meadow just fine. All the hallmarks of a Black Angels album are here; BRMC posturing, Nuggets borrowing, cult-ish vibe and dark psychedelia. Add just a touch of pop seasoning and you have yourself a plate full of goodies that aren’t good for you, but they taste pretty decent going down.
“Indigo Meadow” starts things off like a Black Angels’ album should start; complete with big drums, “evil”-sounding guitars, and Alex Maas singing “Lay your hands, on my chest girl, you’ve been a problem since the moment I met ya”. It’s a sound that’s permeated every album The Black Angels have put out since 2006. Nothing more, nothing less. A noticeable difference is the production. It’s much cleaner and polished than previous albums. This may be good or bad, depending on how you like your psychedelic rock delivered to your ears. “Evil Things” goes a little more metal with an almost Black Sabbath feel until the bridge when it stops momentarily for a quick ‘flower power’ moment. Pretty soon the organ comes in and it sounds like Tony Iommi jamming with The Doors. “Don’t Play With Guns” is the biggest change in their sound, with an almost pop feel to it and Maas sounding as if the spirit of Black Francis took over his body for the recording. This song at times has a Pixies sound to it, though I don’t think that was a conscious decision on The Black Angels part. Just happenstance I suppose.
A band that never seems to get mentioned as an influence on so many of these stoner/space/psych rock outfits is The Doors. Maybe it’s just not cool to mention the ‘Lizard King’ anymore, I don’t know, but listening to quite a few of these songs on Indigo Meadow I’m reminded so much The Doors that I feel I must mention them. “Holland” would’ve fit just fine on Waiting For The Sun, for example. And “Always Maybe”? There’s an empty spot on Strange Days where it could’ve sat. But The Doors aren’t the only band I hear in the distant and gloomy echo of the Fulltone Tape Echo and the Electro Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb.
“Holland” – The Black Angels from Indigo Meadow
“Love Me Forever” sounds like a Byrds and The Animals collaboration until the fuzzed-out riff comes in to remind us that these guys like things loud, too. And there’s still plenty of Strawberry Alarm Clock and 13th Floor Elevators acid-tinged tracers, err, I mean traces. Closing track “Black Isn’t Black” is the best of the lot. A doom and gloom dark blues psych monster of a track that -to my ears- sounds like a band not wearing their influences on their sleeves, but a band taking their influences and making something completely their own. Here’s hoping “Black Isn’t Black” is the jumping off point next time around.
The Black Angels have taken their sound not a step up, but a good few steps forward at least. The sound is brighter, but the haze lingers.
Austin is a city over-flowing with talented musicians, which makes it difficult for accomplished artists to stand out. Nevertheless, local singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and prolific musical collaborator David Thomas Jones is a rising DIY musician within Austin’s city limits, and increasingly, beyond. Less than a year since he officially launched his solo effort, Jones has been featured on a number of popular blogs and news sites and has opened for big-time bands and artists, including Cake, Local H and fellow Austin musician Ben Kweller.
In addition to his relatively fresh solo efforts, Jones has, or had, a role in various other bands, including, Watch Out For Rockets, which we featured on IRC a couple of years ago. WOFR started out as a bedroom project of Jones’ and quickly evolved into a full-blown lo-fi pop band, which has released six albums since it’s inception. Jones was also the drummer for the band The Murdocks, the bassist for psychedelic rock band, Scan Hopper, as well as the band Les RAV, a rising indie band from Austin that made quite a splash at last month’s SXSW.
Jones’ debut solo LP, Comfort Creatures, was recorded in his friend, James Jones‘ (Love Inks, TV Torso, and Hundred Visions), living room. It’s a great record as the two songs featured below clearly demonstrate. His musical influences include Guided by Voices, Sebadoh, Sonic Youth, Diamond Rugs, T. Rex and King Tuff.
“Our Lives” – David Thomas Jones from Comfort Creatures
“Butcher in the Sky” – David Thomas Jones from Comfort Creatures
Recently we asked all of you via our Facebook page and our Twitter feed what genre of indie and alternative music do you want to hear more of. The overwhelming response echoed a call for more rock and punk.
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So, we dusted off an old rock-centric playlist series and dug through our submissions database to unearth more bands and singles featuring various sub-genres of rock – from alternative and classic rock-inspired to garage rock and surf rock, and in the process resurrected the Bands That Rock! playlist series that specifically highlights DIY and small label rock bands, mostly from submissions we’ve received over the past year or so. But we switched it up to ‘5 Bands’ like the 5 DIY Bands to Watch playlist series.
In recent months, we have gone through hundreds of submissions from mostly unsigned/DIY artists and bands, and filtered out the best among those submissions, which have been featured in a number of DIY and related posts – such as Top DIY Releases, Artist of the Week, 7 Bands You’ve Gotta Hear, DIY Bands to Watch.
By having so many artists and bands from the submission box to profile, it is increasingly necessary to group them into specific categories, and thus, the reasons for the newer series displayed above. Bands That Rock is fairly self-explanatory – the bands that are profiled have one thing in common: they are focused on writing, recording and performing primarily rock music. Anyone who has followed music for a decade or more has heard the erroneous lament, or proclamation, that “rock is dead.” That is just pure nonsense; absolute hogwash and dead wrong – as this profile/playlist demonstrates. Usually when people proclaim that ‘rock is dead,’ they say so within the confides of popular, mainstream corporate-driven music, not at all indie or alternative music, because those are two less commercially-driven genres where much of the best rock over the past 15 to 20 years has come from.
So, to discover talented, original rock music from small label and DIY bands as an alternative to the major label cookie-cutter ‘rock,’ we thankfully have the Internet, so that bands can send in their music to be reviewed. We aim to highlight the best among the submissions – talented, unsigned, largely unknown DIY rock bands, and ‘bedroom’ musicians or one-man bands, who write and record original, raw, lo-fi, low-budget (and untainted by industry hacks) rock, often without the help of a top-notch producer and engineer, or the backing of a big budget.
Sunday Kids – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Formed in 2012, Sunday Kids is an Amsterdam roots rock band signed to a small label, Undertow Recordings. We really don’t have much information about them because the band didn’t provide many details. Their sound is retro alternative rock with some elements of country rock mixed in here and there, although the name – Sunday Kids – is not exactly indicative of a rock band; in fact, it sounds much more like the name of an indie twee pop band. According to band member “Mr. Harmen,” the band’s musical influences include BRMC, The Stooges, Velvet Underground, Creedance Clearwater Revival, Black Crowes, and Captain Beefheart. As these two tracks demonstrate, and despite the silly band name, Sunday Kids can rock.
“Goin’ Home” – Sunday Kids from Twang Wolf Sessions – Jan. 18th
In the city of Wilmington, North Carolina, the DIY rock trio Great Zeus’ Beard are fairly well known within the local music scene for their experimental indie rock styles. GZB was founded in 2008 by group of experienced musicians who have performed with previous bands in some of the most legendary venues in the U.S., like New York‘s famous CBGB’s (sadly, the club closed in 2012), DC’s popular 9:30 Club, TLA in Philadelphia and the Middle East Club in Boston. Band members include Zack Williams (guitar), and brothers John Mousseau (drums) and Steve Mousseau (bass, keys, vocals).
GZB released their self titled EP in early 2009, their debut in 2010 and their sophomore album Symposium late last year. We think of their sound sort of like Pearl Jam mixed with Yes. Great Zeus’ Band has opened for bands like Big Wreck, Yellowcard, Blindside and OURS, and their top musical influences include The Mars Volta, Yes, Local Natives, Led Zeppelin, The Police, Rival Sons, Pink Floyd, Dust, and The New York Rock Ensemble.
Formed by members from Australian grunge band Kitto and Swedish metal band Netherbird in 2011, Stockholm band Flower Punch sound like a band that has been playing together for a decade. Their expansive yet controlled rock sound is dynamic and mixes haunting Hindu rhythms to down tuned stoner rock, which is why they decided to plug their sound as Hindu-rock/grunge. The band’s musical influences include Wovenhand, The Melvins, and High on Fire. The lyrics are often dark and gritty, inspired by the mental struggles frontman Pna experienced during adolescence, as the amazing track “Blueprint” demonstrates. Without even having so much as released a demo, the band found themselves being booked for shows around Scandinavia, the U.K. and Australia, and are currently touring in support of their debut album, released in February.
“Blueprint” – Flower Punch from Flower Punch – Feb. 26th
“Lewis” – Flower Punch from Flower Punch
Flower Punch’s Official Website
Discount Guns – Louisville, Kentucky
Discount Guns is a garage rock/blues duo from Louisville, Kentucky that formed in the spring of 2011 to record a DIY EP in their basement, from which a couple songs saw local airplay on 91.9 WFPK. DG’s members, John Ford and Edward Vincent, switch between playing guitar and drums during live shows across Louisville and throughout southern Indiana. Their latest EP, Odessa, was released in August of 2012. Odessa was recorded in less than 18 hours, and then mixed and remastered in a couple of weeks. The duo are now working with DeadBird Studios and producer Kevin Ratterman (Wax Fang, My Morning Jacket) on their debut full length. The band’s influences include Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, Marc Bolan and T.Rex, Noel Gallagher, and Jack White.
“The Water” – Discount Guns from Odessa – Aug. 10th
Anchor Thieves is a three-piece alt rock band from Nashville, Tennessee that performs minimalist arrangements and buried harmonies with firm roots planted in alternative rock, solid pop songwriting and familiar fuzzy guitar tones. Their newer material “flirts with a broader array of styles and thicker arrangements. If you listen carefully, you might even detect a cautious optimism for the future of rock ‘n’ roll.'”
“Unusual” – Anchor Thieves from Malefactors – Sept. 4th
Tristram Burden is a South Korean artist and ex-pat from Kent, England, who travelled the world for a number of years with his mandolin and some songs in a quest to meet other musicians who shared similar tastes in music. After numerous musical incarnations, he finally found what he was looking for in 2010 in the South Korean city of Gangneung, Gangwon-do. Burden set out to find musicians who, he said, “loved my compositions enough to learn them and play them with me.”
During the past few months, IRC has published dozens of posts that highlight promising DIY and small label indie bands to watch, including the 
