Feast your ears on this: one of the best singles’ playlist of new bands so far this year. Of course, the predominant buzz about this weeks’ new releases revolves around new albums by heavy-hitter bands like Wavves, The Strokes and Depeche Mode and Wire leading the way.
Here’s where it gets even better – there is also a terrific assortment of singles from releases from artists and bands that many people have never heard of that collectively adds up to one kick-ass playlist of 2013. In celebration of spring, we encourage streaming this playlist uninterrupted from start to finish – it should run itself without having to click each song.
Once you fire it up and let it run all the way through, we think you’ll agree it’s a kick-ass playlist, and it’s a spring-feeling kind of playlist too, even while spring is still struggling to break loose to full bloom for millions of Americans this year (Ground hog ESP my ass).
Again, from our point of view, this is one of 2013’s best variety of singles playlists highlighting new album releases of the week, and there have been a lot of good Best New Music Releases (click for more) weekly playlists this year, making 2013, so far, a great year for music from lesser-known bands, and almost completely unknown, or brand new, DIY bands we’ve been profiling for months.
The firey surf rock, punk pop band Wavves has dropped “Afraid of Heights,” the band’s newest album, and perhaps the most anticipated of the week after music lovers started discovering that perhaps the top album of the week was not going to be The Strokes latest effort, as we explore in our review of Comeback Machine, an album that will likely take Strokes’ fans some time to process, including yours truly.
In fact, the Strokes mediocre paved the way for Wavves new album to clearly take the spot for Album of the Week – a review of that coming soon. Stream Afraid of Heights on Spotify.
Add it up: big new albums from Wavves and The Strokes spark some passionate debate among critics and music lovers, but overall are considered successes, and long-time veterans of the music world, Depeche Mode and Wire, also please fans with well-received new albums and the singles that have emerged from them. And then it starts to get really interesting; there are even more impressive singles of all flavors from new albums out this week by artists that many people may have never heard of before, including Little Green Cars (a favorite new folk rock band), Tartufi (amazing sonic journey), The Milk Carton Kids (Simon and Garfunkel, circa 1967), Mwahaha (celebration of love) Twinstar (dream pop groovin’) and Lapland (warm and smooth).
Plus, Julian Lynch, Crime and City Solution, Wax Idols and Warm Soda all chime in with decent singles too; obviously, can’t speak for the albums themselves, but we expect that some of these singles will compel some music lovers to get the albums.
“Demon to Lean On” – Wavves from Afraid of Heights on Mom+Pop/Warner Bros.
There’s a certain calm detachment that rules Alex Calder’s new EP, Time. It’s as if he woke up from a nap, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and decided to record some songs in his living room. It doesn’t feel forced or over complicated. The songs have a stream-of-consciousness vibe to them that makes you drop the needle on Time two or three times in a row. But under that do-what-you-feel vibe there’s also a darker, more ominous sound lurking; one that could soundtrack a stalker’s stroll through a darkened suburban neighborhood on a balmy summer night.
Calder’s calm, detached movements accompanied by a song like “Time.” The slapback echo guitar pushing the prowler’s footsteps as he inches closer to his object of desire’s bedroom window. It’s calming, cool, and discerning all at the same time. Alex Calder has recorded a series of dreamy, stoned vignettes that would go well with a beer and a couch or a disturbing nightmare. Take your pick.
Alex Calder is Canadian and calls Edmonton, Canada home. How that fact shaped the songs Calder wrote, performed, recorded, and mixed in his living room that became Time remains to be seen. The fact that he played with fellow Captured Tracks artist Mac DeMarco in Makeout Videotape may give more insight into the quirky, dreamy, and slightly psyched-out pop songs on this rather fascinating and at times hypnotic album. “Suki and Me” has a distance to it, as if Calder is recording in a vacuum; his vocals slightly overpowered by the music gives the feeling of a specter attempting communication from the great beyond. Despite the ghostly lean, there’s also a stoned ambivalence that makes you think Calder doesn’t care whether you listen or not. He’s doing this for him and no one else. Well, maybe for beer money too.
“Light Leaves Your Eyes” sounds like the latter half of Deerhunter’s Cryptograms, all shimmery guitar and hazy smiles. That post-surgery numb, well before the pain begins. You hear the joy of a young artist creating in this song. It’s as if you can see the empty beer bottles on the coffee table as he records his “oohs” into the microphone. “Location” sounds like Diiv in a sinister mood, while “Captivate” has a stoned, Real Estate sway to it. It’s as if at any moment the train could come off the tracks but never does. “Fatal Delay” has Alex Calder sounding like a cross between Kurt Vile and Joel Plaskett if both had drank a 12-pack of La Fin Du Monde. “Lethargic” is a sleepy, melancholy closer of an EP filled with sleepy, melancholy tunes.
Alex Calder is a home recording, DIY kind of guy musician. He set up shop in a living room somewhere in Canada -possibly near a lake- with some beers in the fridge and created a short and sweet stoned pop masterpiece. Next time around he should buy more beer and write more songs.
New York City DIY singer-songwriter Nathan Xander, who has opened for artists such as Delta Spirit, The Felice Brothers, Tuneyards, and Prussia, writes and records music that is introspective, emotive, and reminiscent of artists like Neil Young and Nick Drake. Over the years, Xander has moved between Union City and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and then Chicago, before settling in New York.
Xander’s latest self-titled release, his third album, dropped in January. But it’s not the album he originally recorded and was set to release. In the summer of 2011, he was working in a New York recording studio on the finishing touches of the tracks for his new album. Than lightning struck – literally. Xander received a devastating call from the studio’s engineer who told him that lightning had struck the studio during a storm and wiped out, in one zap, all of the recordings from the hard drives; months of hard work was obliterated in a flash. Completely gone. Xander, nor the studio, had created backups (which should be a lesson to any musician – constantly create other backups of your work on an external hard drive or upload to a secure site like Dropbox because months of work can be lost in a second).
“We had everything pretty well done and I was going to mix it and do some tweaks here before releasing it,” Xander told IRC. “Then, when it was ready, it was gone…it really made mad to lose everything and start over but I write so much that it’s not a big deal.” Other than “crappy demos,” Xander had no other copies of the songs backed up anywhere. So, instead of trying to start again from the demos, he decided to move on: “So, I went in and recorded a totally new record… [the] overdubs were done over the Internet [by] sending files back and forth to my guitar player in Chicago.” No matter how you look at it, that’s an amazing story of loss, disappointment, renewal and triumph, which is evident in the songs on his new release.
(In a strange coincidence, the original post that we published a couple of days ago profiling Xander disappeared from our site for a reason that we still do not understand, and which has never happened before. Xander, noting that, said: “Someone is out to get me.”)
Xander works deliberately on his music, honing his songwriting skills, folksy, acoustic sounds and affecting vocals. He explained to IRC his songwriting process: “I just play guitar a lot and work on things as they come… I sort of sit on a guitar part and wait. I’ll usually come up with a couple lines when I walk the dog or something and then go home and write; [I] jump on things as they come.” His part-time backup band includes Brian Morrissey – guitar and keys; Ryan Juravic on percussion; Keith Rowland on bass and Nick Broste on trombone.
Xander said that he has 10 additional songs partially track for a new album and about 20 others that he is also working on. All the evidence points to a prolific artist. His next scheduled performance will be on April 14th at the Cake Shop in Manhattan with the rising indie band Water Liars.
While he is DIY, Xander is not completely off the radar; in addition to sharing the stage with some well-known and popular artists, he’s also been featured in publications like The Chicago Tribune and was invited to do a session on Daytrotter last June.
Xander’s impressive finger-picking style, along with his touching lyrics, creates a sound that is truly unique, even though he clearly draws inspiration from many of his favorite artists, from Bob Dylan and Why? to Elton John and Neil Young. Xander creates just as much variety and depth with his guitar as he does with his lyrics, and his accompanying band adds the fullness and poignancy to his songs, which helps to distinguish him from the traditional Americana singer/songwriter mold.
The blog, Slowcoustic, wrote: “If you are looking for a candidate to join the forces of today’s Indie-Americana heroes, Nathan Xander should be on your radar, hell, he should be in your ears!” Blogger Reglar Wiglar wrote of Xander’s music: “It’s sad, haunting, beautiful, universal and lingers in your brain… Nathan Xander’s songs are simple but smart, sparse but with space and definitely get to the heart of matters of the heart.”
Xander’s musical influences include Kris Kristofferson, Paul Westerberg, Mose Allison, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle , Michael Hurley, Magnolia Electric Co., Elton John, Dylan, Neil, Randy Newman, Why?, Felice Brothers, and Waylon Jennings.
“Last Day Of The Month” – Nathan Xander from Nathan Xander
Starting with their last album, Angles, before this week’s new release, Comedown Machine, The Strokes have been aiming for a new sound. But as their new album demonstrates, this was definitely not The Strokes we grew up with, but something different – they traded leather for polyester, grit for glitter. That said, the band still has balls (if you except it was artistic growth and not a coup) or else they would have never taken such a bold – some argue ill-fated – step into new wave/dance style pop – a direction many Strokes’ fans are having a hard time coming to terms with.
Within seconds of the opening track, “Tap Out,” it’s clear that the new direction first signaled on 2011’s Angles for the Strokes is now set in stone, whether fans like it or not.
As the 11-track album progresses, suspicion arises that the captain at the helm, Julian Casablancas, the band’s frontman and lead singer/songwriter, perhaps with prodding or collusion from RCA/Sony execs, has essentially written and recorded a new solo album, and the other band members somehow ended up more of a backing band then the actual members of The Strokes.
But how could our pop rock guitar heros have all capitulated to embrace this disco meets 80s pop concept, that is, in the eyes of hard-core Strokes’ traditionalists, dreadfully sinful, if not cynical? Was it in fact a Casablancas coup (hints of which were noted during the making of Angles, wherein Casablancas was rumored to have recorded some of his contributions separately) that the other members didn’t have the time or energy, or even the contractual standing, to resist?
In fact, in Rolling Stone‘s review of the new album, they reported: “Comedown Machine is basically a solo trip for singer Julian Casablancas, showing yet again how much he respects Eighties New Wave.” He may respect it, but why would he use The Strokes – and more perplexing, and disturbing, again, is why did the rest go along – as the outlet for his interest of a 30 year-old sub-genre? Why not just channel that passion for new wave into a solo effort?
The LP’s second song, and the most obvious single, “All The Time,” is like an antidote that takes effect just in time after the shocking transformation of the album’s opening new wave/dance track. “All The Time” is much more the sound we expected from The Strokes.
“One Way Trigger” is yet another dance/new-wave track, and while the reaction for many may be acceptance by that point, after multiple spins, “One Way Trigger” is a pretty solid song. Still, it’s hard to shake the fact that the band sprung this radical shift in sound and style (and delivered more of a Casablancas solo effort) away from the pop rock they’re known for to dance and electronic music.
Perhaps, over time, we’ll come to appreciate Comedown Machine more, but at the moment, we’re, like so many Strokes fans, simply disappointed and confused. In all, one gets the sense that Casablancas and the band really don’t care that much about letting down their long-term die-hard fans, especially in light of the fact that they have not spoken with the press, are not touring and haven’t even put together an original music video for any of the tracks on Comedown – the video “All The Time” is spliced together with archival footage.
Clearly, the band is at a crossroads – either this is it or the band has committed to a new direction, shedding their leathery rock and roll skin that made them international rock stars worldwide following their legendary debut album, 2001’s masterful Is This It?. Some hardcore fans, especially those who have an unhealthy infatuation with the band, will struggle with reconciling this new direction that started with Angles, and we suppose there will be a few really hardcore, traditionalist type fans who will retreat to the band’s first three albums before Angles, as their Strokes mainstays, and largely disregard the last two LPs, as a coping mechanism.
Different people react in different ways, but when a wildly popular and accomplished band fundamentally changes their sound in a direction that many fans are not entirely comfortable with, all kinds of things can happen. In the end, however, there are likely few die-hard Strokes’ fans who are going to abandon the band for ‘mixing it up,’ and, in fact, with Angles and now Comedown Machine, The Strokes are gaining entire new legions of fans that they never had before. new demographics of music lovers who otherwise would not be Strokes your they’ve grown accustomed to over many years, and that expect to hear more of, all kinds of crazy things can happen.
Clearly, some fans, bloggers and music critics, have welcomed and applauded this radical change of direction. The New Musical Express (the UK’s equivalent of Rolling Stone), observed: “It’s flawed, it’s imperfect and it’s downright odd at points, but it is packed with belting tunes. Most of all, it’s fun.” Well, OK, if you’re looking for a ‘fun,’ then perhaps you’ll be satisfied. IRC album reviewer, J. Hubner had a different conclusion about the newest Strokes’ LP: “Comedown Machine is a great pop album. This should come as no surprise because The Strokes are a great pop band. They’ve always written pop songs. Sometimes they’re disguised as gritty CBGBs-era post punkers. Sometimes they put on their best Cars moves and plunk the synths a bit.” Read Hubner’s full review of Comedown Machine.
He makes some good points, and as time goes on, we can see a process where we, and other initially disappointed fans, eventually warm up to the album and maybe even come to love it – music has an odd way of being distasteful to the ears at one point and then turning out to be enjoyable later on.
But for now, we’re just let down, and hold firm to the belief that the album ultimately falls flat, that it is short on ideas and simply does not measure up when compared to the band’s first three amazing albums.
Still, there are some tracks on Comedown that long-time, rock-loving Strokes’ fans can cling to, including “50/50,” “Partners in Crime” and the afore-mentioned “All The Time,” which seems to be perhaps the only song on the album that most people will remember a year from now.
The Boston Globe – who gave the album a failing grade of 5 out of 10 – penned: “The Strokes’ hallmarks – those lean melodies, that steely interplay among guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. and bassist Nikolai Fraiture, the urgency of Julian Casablancas’ vocals – are largely absent,” concluding, “In their place is a looseness that’s refreshing, until you realize these guys are perhaps running short on ideas.” Other critics were less forgiving. The UK Independent concluded: “They’re virtually unrecognisable as the band that made their game-changing debut, save perhaps for [the track] “All The Time.'”
Fortunately, Comedown is not a total loss for traditional fans and new fans alike. But it’s like someone who you had a crush on in high school and when you meet again for the first time a decade later at your 10th high school reunion, you’re a bit disappointed. Leading up to the reunion, you had hoped perhaps the old flame could be reignited. And then it doesn’t happen; it’s completely different than you imagined. You both still had a good time, but it wasn’t anything like you hoped, and yet you’re not exactly sure how to explain it all.
Paste, in their review, also raised this point: “Comedown Machine [is] reliably solid, mostly enjoyable, slightly disappointing for reasons that are difficult to articulate.” All said, Comedown Machine is not what we expected from the Strokes, but at the same time, it has its moments; we just wonder if most Strokes’ fans are going to stay on board after the band has substantially changed the flight plan. Is this a new direction, or, is this it?
Anyone who has been following IRC for some time knows that we roll differently than most indie and alternative music blogs and sites. In a given year, we feature hundreds of DIY and small label bands and artists that are not as well-known as they should be compared to their talents. Having listened to thousands of bands via our submission box, or that we’ve come across on the web and been referred to by others, in the past five years, we’re constantly blown away by how much under-the-radar talent there is in the States and around the world. Many of these bands get their first significant exposure on IRC.
We’re simply convinced after listening to these tracks over and over again during the past few weeks that this band, and the others featured in any number of profiles and playlists, are making great music that more people need to hear. Every time we feature a largely unknown, and totally DIY, artist or band, and they get a positive response from readers (via views, Likes and Tweets), we feel like we’re making a little tiny bit of indie history (how pretentious!). And so, here is the fourth edition of 5 DIY Bands to Watch in 2013 – White Like Fire, Aware Wolf, Peace Arrow, Raheem Cohen, and Spoons & Chopsticks.
See this little embedded player right here? If you click that, it’ll play all the songs on this page. We’ll have a new player soon.
[zbplayer]Pittsburgh DIY band to watch White Like Fire
White Like Fire – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Fans of Elvis Costello, Billy Joel, Joe Jackson, and Jackson Browne take note. But fans of Matt & Kim, The Killers and Weezer also take note. Pittsburgh DIY quartet, White Life Fire, consists of brothers, Blake and Tyler Clawson, Evan Cresswell and Joe Killian, a new wave/pop rock band worth taking note of. They create heavily melodic, spirited, fast-driving pop rock tracks that sound like they should be on the radio 30 years ago, as the track “Dead People” demonstrates, as well as the Weezer and The Killers-sounding melodies of the track, “Lies.” Three of the band members moved from the hinterlands of the Pennsylvania countryside to set-up shop in Pittsburgh, where they met Killian to form WLF and attend school at U of Pitt. The band suddenly attracted a local following and in late January released their second EP, Lies. “We love playing as hard as we can for our fans and our fans love it when we light things on fire,” Clawson said.
The band has shared the stage with All Time Low, Hounds Below, the Von Bondies‘ side project as well as Black Kids‘ side project, Alex Goot and Brian Olive (Greenhornes), and name bands like The Chariot and The Cribs among their favorites.
“Dead People” – White Like Fire from Lies – Jan. 29th
From New York, DIY duo Aware Wolf. Having met in school, the members of Aware Wolf started writing songs together with a simple mission of being “a kick-ass rock band.” AW’s style combines the grungy color of garage rock with the catchiness of indie pop. Recently, they wrote, recorded and self-released a three-song debut EP and are currently working on another EP and planning live shows. We’ll definitely keep you informed of updates from the band; in the meantime, check out these two attention-getting singles.
“Skummy Skummy Skam Guy” – Aware Wolf from Aware Wolf EP
Peace Arrow is the solo project of Gainesville musician Mitch Myers, who has been active in experimental band Hear Hums since 2009. Peace Arrow borrows from the same sound palette of Hear Hums’ recent output, which is no doubt heavily influenced by Animal Collective, as the spacey, experimental sounds and effects on tracks like “Gems” and “Doors” from his debut album ↑↓↑↓, demonstrate. Myers’ view on indie rock is that it’s “rooted in DIY attitudes, letting the touring band who booked their own tour crash on your floor, [it’s] music that won’t necessarily come find you.” Let us know what you think of his synth bliss.
The three brothers, and two childhood friends, who make up the Los Angeles DIY band Raheem Cohen have spent most of their adolescence playing local gigs at L.A. hotspots like the Roxy Theatre, Satellite, and Silverlake Lounge. During the past decade, they honed their skills and developed a unique multifaceted sound – one that deftly blends the funky, soul-based rock of yesterday with the alternative rock sounds of today, leaning towards the music of The Strokes, The Black Keys, My Morning Jacket, Dr. Dog, and TV on the Radio.
When the youngest brother entered his final year of high school, Raheem Cohen took their songs to the studio to record their first singles, and prepare for their introduction to the world outside of Silver Lake. On “Simpler,” the band’s debut single released last December, the young men (all still under drinking age) boldly deliver the carefree spirit of youth, the grit of city mayhem, and the confidence and musicianship of a band many years in the making. Their newest single, “Roads,” released on Feb. 28th, is new evidence that this close, young group of musicians is collectively a DIY band to watch, and on the IRC’s radar for 2013.
“Roads” – Raheem Cohen, sophomore single – Feb. 28th
“Simpler” – Raheem Cohen, debut single – Dec. 5, 2012
Raheem Cohen on Facebook
Spoons and Chopsticks – Elk River, Minnesota
Elk River, Minnesota DIY indie rock band Spoons and Chopsticks is has a well-honed pop rock style consisting of soaring guitars and vocals, melodic hooks, catchy rhythms and a driving beat. Other words that express their style and sound are passionate and humble, soft and outspoken – a paradox that works well, despite its obvious conflicts. The band is by no means cookie cutter.
Spoons and Chopsticks started their musical journey in mid-2010 as an acoustic three-piece fronted by a jazzy female singer, although you’d never know this by listening to their debut, self-titled album, released in late January. The thirteen tracks, totaling over an hour in length, are all different shapes and sizes, much like the band members themselves.
In addition to their new lineup, acquired fully in late 2010, their sound has changed dramatically from their beginnings, taking on a decidedly harder, more driving flavor. A new tour took them to several venues within Minnesota such as Station 4, The Fine Line Music Cafe, The Depot Coffeehouse, and The Garage in nearby Burnsville. The band has opened for artists like Carbon Tigers, Marah in the Mainsail, and Cosmonaught, and their major musical influences include Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Ling Tosite Sigure, Manchester Orchestra, Now Now, Periphery, Veil of Maya.
“Happy Song” – Spoons and Chopsticks from Spoons and Chopsticks – Jan. 25th
“1993” – Spoons and Chopsticks from Spoons and Chopsticks
“Indie rock is an unclassifiable sound. Music thats influences are so vast and endless that it defies comparison and cannot be categorized in less than a paragraph.” – Spoons and Chopsticks
The world of alternative and indie rock would not be the same today if Jimi Hendrix had never been discovered at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1968, which was the first time he really broke out in the U.S. Sadly, after changing rock and roll radically and forever in a whirlwind of fame over the course of just a few years, Hendrix died suddenly in 1970 at the age of 27.
Well, Hendrix and guitar rock fans everywhere have something to celebrate this week thanks to a special feature from NPR’s World Cafe series, ‘The Jimi Hendrix You Never Knew.‘ David Dye, the host of World Cafe, presents a two-hour audio stream showcasing new Hendrix music that only surfaced in recent years. The songs were tracks that Hendrix was working on following his epic 1968 rock and roll classic, Electric Ladyland.
While the master tapes of these long-lost recording sessions were eventually recovered by Hendrix’s family members, the public only heard them for the first time upon the release the post-humous album, People, Hell and Angels (get CD version, #8 on Amazon, MP3 version, the vinyl or the limited deluxe edition), an LP consisting of 12 previously unreleased recordings released earlier this month.
In this special, Dye includes many of the original recordings, as well as interviews with Hendrix’s sister Janie, his original engineer, Eddie Kramer, and bass player, Billy Cox, in addition to musicians like Taj Mahal, Billy Gibbons, Angela Davis, Steve Winwood and Bootsy Collins.
Suede – Bloodsports Unlike many bands that seem to reunite cynically for the allure of the dollar, Suede (or The London Suede, depending on which side of the Atlantic you’re reading this) genuinely have unfinished business.
Often credited with kick-starting the mid-1990s musical movement known as Britpop, their impressive back catalog was tarnished by the appalling A New Morning (2002), an album not even released in the States, before their extended hiatus that began in 2003.
Fortunately, Bloodsports, released 11 years since their last album, does a great deal to rehabilitate the band’s legacy. Everything is energetic, honed and effortlessly melodic, while retaining that crucial edginess and noir that Suede’s fans so adored them for.
Lead single “It Starts And Ends With You” is the perfect illustration, all dramatic and FM-friendly. The remainder of the tracks do not deviate very far from this template, making Bloodsports a consistent and enjoyable collection that stands shoulder to shoulder with material from their commercial heyday.
With the end of South By Southwest last weekend, the flow of new albums and EPs from well-known, popular and signed artists and bands has resumed, with releases such as our Album of the Week, Specter at the Festival by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and new drops from long-time slowcore favorites Low and Phosphorescent, plus check out singles from albums by UK psych rocker Palma Violets, who made their presence know at SXSW; Los Angeles electro-pop outfit, Fol Chen; two reissues from James McNew‘s music project, Dump, and the third album from And So I Watch You From Afar, among others.
The track, “Fire Walker,” opens quietly. It’s like opening a long forgotten book and beginning what would be many incredible chapters. “Fire Walker” is the opening sentence to a band’s reawakening. Robert Levon Been doesn’t come out swinging, but swaying ever so lightly. Tension and sadness permeate his voice as he sings lines like ‘Your soul was only yours to keep/It’s buried in me now/A bullet from the shell it leaves/It strips it to the ground’. The song never gets above a masterful solemnity, and that’s how Specter At The Feast, released on Monday, begins a new chapter for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, one of their best albums in years. (MP3 version only $5 at Amazon; CD is $8.99).
“Fire Walker” – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club from Specter At The Feast
Then comes the rock. That familiar fuzzy bass, the straining guitar squalls, and the tribal drums return in full bombast form on “Let The Day Begin,” an instant BRMC classic. It encapsulates all the things BRMC have used to build their sound since forming in 1998; tension, gutter grime, and a fist-pumping bravado. At the heart of this leather-clad band, there is a straight-up rock ‘n roll band that wants nothing more than to make an arena filled with fans scream at the top of their lungs and sing along. They’re the U2 of the black leather jacket union. They’re the saviors of the freaks and geeks.
A song like “Returning” is a scratched and bleeding open hug for the disenfranchised. “Lullaby” has the feel of a lost classic. Been has never sounded this earnest and, well, lovely. The death of Robert Levon Been’s father in 2010 has given Specter At The Feast an ample amount of heartache and reflection that – for good or bad – has never been so present on any previous BRMC album. “Returning,” “Lullaby,” “Some Kind Of Ghost,” and “Sometimes The Light” bring an air of remorse, introspection, and ultimately redemption to this record.
“Returning” – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club from Specter At The Feast
Listen to the full album on Spotify.
There’s also still plenty of fire and grime in tracks like “Hate The Taste,” “Rival,” and the excellently Jesus and Mary Chain-like “Teenage Disease,” one of the best rock ‘n roll screeches you’re likely to hear this year. I hear a song like “Teenage Disease” and I can’t help but be reminded of New York by way of Detroit punk metal rockers Warrior Soul. Though only prominent for maybe a five-year span, Warrior Soul’s Korey Clarke had a voice that sounded battered, bruised and bloody, yet still retained a soul and power that kept you enthralled. Robert Levon Been has that same ability. Check out 1991’s Drugs, God, and the New Republic for proof of Warrior Soul’s short-but-sweet moment of rock ‘n roll glory. Specter At The Feast‘s closer “Lose Yourself” is a long and bittersweet goodbye, with a melancholy sound that hints at early British band Straitjacket Fits.
“Teenage Disease” – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club from Specter At The Feast
After a mid-2000s lull with albums like Howl, Baby 81, and the straight up bizarre The Effects of 333, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club seemed to be on the road to healing with 2010’s Beat The Devil’s Tattoo. With Specter At The Feast BRMC have proven to us once again they are one of the best rock ‘n roll bands working today. Robert Levon Been has also proven the best way to healing is through songs. This is a raucous rock ‘n roll comeback, and a bittersweet goodbye. The best kind of book.
8 out of 10 – J. Huber is a freelance music writer and music fanatic
Los Angeles 'gloom-pop/mope-rock' band to watch, Ballerina BlackThe first two editions of ‘5 DIY Indie Bands to Watch’ featured a number of talented, under-the-radar bands that most people had never heard of before, but based on the response to those posts, they’re sure glad they had, just as we were when we first reviewed the bands in this, the third edition. [zbplayer]
In Volume II of 5 DIY Bands, readers were introduced to the latest singles from unsigned bands like Umbrella Cult, Roadkill Ghost Choir, No Shoes, Hints, and The Hoot Hoots. In the debut post of the 5 DIY Bands to Watch series, which has received, to date, over 35,000 views, 225 Likes on Facebook, and 35 Tweets, we profiled DIY bands like Hemmingbirds, Jumpiter, Cloud Lantern, The Jesus Rehab and Appalachians.
In Volume III, we are excited to present bands that we’ve received submissions from in recent weeks that we think people should hear. This series, and related posts, such as Recent Indie Bands; 7 Indie Bands You’ve Gotta Hear; In Dee Mail, Artist of the Week, among others, highlights indie rock bands that stand out among hundreds of submissions we’ve reviewed. Four of the artists featured below originally dropped their latest albums in February, while one band is set to release a new album in late April.
Ballerina Black – Los Angeles, California
It’s always amazing to us the numbers of talented bands and artists that we would have probably never heard if they hadn’t sent their music in for review. Those of you who’ve been reading (and listening) to IRC posts for any length of time know that we regularly post DIY bands that are largely unknown, under-the-radar bands. Add to that gigantic, and ever-growing list the Los Angeles DIY ‘gloom pop/mope rock’ band Ballerina Black, formed in 2009. While the band is not as obscure as other bands we feature all of the time (afterall, they’ve opened for Interpol and Silversun Pickups), they surely are not as widely known as their talents dictate they should be. Let’s change that.
The band has a couple of unique ways to describe their sound, consisting of three sub-genres we’d never heard of before – driving mope-rock, gloom pop and grave-wave. Well, that got our attention. In 2007, singer-songwriter Moynahan teamed up with bassist Sugich (we could not find full names for the band, interestingly enough) and immediately, we’re told “a telepathy was forged.” In 2010, after considerable work writing, recording and mixing songs, the duo completed and self-released their debut LP, Cattle Arithmetic, which caught on quickly in LA, which is in and of itself impressive for a city over-flowing with talented musicians and bands. In fact, the duo’s debut was so well-received by the local scene that they were booked to open for Silversun Pickups and Interpol at the famed Greek Theater.
Not long after, the duo sought a fuller sound and recruited two more members, a drummer (Anthos) and an additional guitarist/keyboardist (Eton). In 2012, the new band released a series of EPs titled Injureless Blå. One writer familiar with the band inked the following description: “Maybe if Nirvana had decided to do covers of The Cure might come close to hitting some planet of reference in the [Ballerina] Black universe surrounding these guys sound. What is apparent [is] the refreshingly austere catchy-ness of Ballerina Black’s message. But the biggest mystery still remains.” The first track was recently highlighted on the BBC.
“Birth Of A Felony” – Ballerina Black from Injureless Blå – Feb. 14th
Cursed Arrows is the unisex rock duo Ryan and Jack E. Stanley from Brantford, Ontario that we were blown away by the first time we heard their bluesy rock guitar and drum romp, “Little Girl Blue,” that sounds like Jack White and PJ Harvey’s long-lost offspring. The track was IRC’s Song of the Day for March 11th.
Proclaiming that they “ain’t goin’ nowhere but up” and “won’t stop until we’re dead,” the duo are set to release their new album, Sonic Union, on April 30th via Ford Plant Recording Company. Not surprisingly, their musical influences include Patti Smith, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Jack White, to name a few.
“We have seen so many people and bands and buildings and pieces of land come and go, but we will never go away,” Jack E. Stanley told IRC. “As tempting as it is to disappear at times, that is simply impossible. If we knew we weren’t supposed to be making music for the rest of our lives, we would have quit a decade ago. If we could stop making music, we would [because] it’s tiring as hell.”
“Little Girl Blue“ – Cursed Arrows from Sonic Union – April 30th
Skylight Avenue is a good name for the Eugene, Oregon DIY band headed by Jordan Poet. Formed only last year, the band produces well-written, wonderfully composed, expertly recorded and finely mixed songs that have a ‘skylight’ sense about them, which is evident when listening to the four songs on the band’s debut EP, The View From Here, that was self-released on February 18th.
On the song “Home,” the first minute in is a celestial sonic experience, and then again towards the end of the song, with the full involvement of the band, Poet’s impressive vocals, masterful, overlapping choruses, jubilant drumming, a grooving bass, and shimmering, soaring guitar playing signal that Skylight Avenue has the potential to go far beyond being a mostly under-the-radar band, and are definitely on our list of the Best New DIY Bands of 2013. As the second single, “This City Never Sleeps” demonstrates, the band’s sound is similar to artists like The Classic Crime, Go Radio, Thrice, Mayday Parade, Emery, and Relient K. We’d love to hear what you think via the Comments box below, on Facebook or Twitter.
“Home” – Skylight Avenue from The View From Here – Feb. 18th
“This City Never Sleeps” – Skylight Avenue from The View From Here
Mike Ness (Social Distortion) and Lucero fans are the most likely music lovers to dig the sounds of Vancouver band Virginia Leaves on their debut LP, Portrait. The band initially was an acoustic venture put together by long time friends, Mike West on guitar and vocals, and Mike “Strides” Brown on guitar. Later, Glenn Kelly on bass and Brian Michals on drums, joined to complete the formation of Virginia Leaves.
The band’s sound is a raunchy mix of DIY rock, country and punk. Producer Pierre Fraser of Resonant Mind Productions describes it as “elements of rock, with a thick mist of country blowing its way up from the south” with saccharine harmonies and catchy sing-alongs. The singles, “No Where’s Worse” and “Growing Older” are the kind of songs that make you want to crank it up, especially if you’re a fan of Mike Ness style music. The band’s top musical influences include Nirvana, Beatles, Deer Tick, and Sparta.
“No Where’s Worse” – Virginia Leaves from Portrait – Feb. 20th
After airplay on Los Angeles radio station KROQ‘s (106.7), Long Beach, California DIY band One High Five were invited to perform their first show at the famous Viper Room. For any band, especially a rather new DIY band (formed in 2011), to perform their first show at a legendary venue like The Viper Room is a big, big deal. A representative from High Voltage Magazine was at the show and Tweeted: “There’s a party on the stage, and it’s called ‘One High Five!'”
Singer and songwriter David Sauer‘s writes about life experiences – love, loss, hope and despair, and combines them with layered guitars, well-honed orchestration and appealing harmonies are at the core of its spell-bounding sound. While One High Five is in theory a one-man band, Sauer demos are recorded at his studio with collaboration from other musicians, “a rotating crew of friends and strangers” that also join Sauer on stage in performances around southern California, across the states and even China, of all places. Sauer’s songs draw off of some of his favorite bands like Green Day, The Beach Boys and CAKE. The track, “Tear Down The Wall,” on the debut release, Here, Hear!, reminds may remind some listeners ofus a bit of Jack White – the White style of vocals and guitar/drumming are there.
“Tear Down the Wall” – One High Five from Here, Hear! – Feb. 19th
“Fully Operational” – One High Five from Here, Hear!
A couple of days ago, we featured our first SXSW 2013 Spotify playlist comprised of excellent songs from just some of our favorite bands and artists performing at SXSW 2013, including Alt-J, Why?, Shout Out Louds, Major Lazer, PS I Love You, Surfer Blood, Third Eye Blind, Toro Y Moi, Telekinesis, Thurston Moore, Kendrick LamarRhye, Gliss and many others. In addition, the 2013 Top 10 Songs for February and January (determined by which songs listeners download and stream the most), also feature amazing new singles from a variety of SXSW artists and bands .
In addition to the first volume, we produced three other SXSW 2013 playlist mixes via Spotify for a total of 120 outstanding songs by over 100 artists, from some of the most popular indie and alt. bands on the planet, to more obscure, DIY and breakout artists creating a buzz in the past six months or so.
In volume two of IRC’s SXSW 2013 Best Bands Spotify Playlists series (featured to the right), listen to new, and some older, choice tracks from artists like DIIV, Atlas Genius, FIDLAR, Boats, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Braids, Small Black, Deer Tick, The Away Days, Guards, Lord Huron, Everything Everything, Skrillex, Dent May, and Talib Kweli, among others.
But wait, it gets even better. We’ve carefully assembled a list of 10 Free SXSW 2013 Samplers, plus, a compendium of the world’s largest collection of SXSW torrents, consisting of over 9,000 songs dating back to 2005. You’ll also find volume three of our SXSW 2013 Best Bands Spotify Playlists, highlighting another set of 30 selected tracks from some of our favorite SXSW 2013 bands and artists.
The Don’t Mess With Texas SXSW 2013 New Music Sampler is a free download on Amazon of 20 MP3 songs from artists such as Local Natives, The Virgins, The Ocean Blue, Young Galaxy, Ra Ra Riot, Parenthetical Girls, and PAWS.
SPIN spun up a mega zip of 60 tracks highlighting a broad genre and geo diversity of artists at SXSW 2013, including The Coathangers, Beach Fossils, California X, Wavves, Toro Y Moi, The Soft Moon, Generationals, Lightouts, Dent May and dozens of others.
Paste put together a SXSW 2013 free download in conjunction with HGTV, and made available via NoiseTrade, titled The Stages on Sixth (referring to 6th Street, the heart of Austin’s downtown music scene), featuring 25 artists booked for appearances at the Paste/HGTV showcases during SXSW, like Billy Bragg, Social Studies, City and Colour, Easter Island, Ron Sexsmith, Josh Rouse, The Virginmarys and many more.
Emusic.com has assembled a sweet collection of 35 free tracks in their eMusic SXSW 2013 Sampler, available to be downloaded as one entire album, or by selecting individual tracks. Artists featured include FIDLAR, Nu Sensae, Waxahatchee, Pissed Jeans, The 1975, Flume, Parquet Courts, King Tuff, Royal Baths, and Dana Falconberry, to list just a few.
As they have done every year for more than a decade, NPR has put together an extensive SXSW artist and music guide. This year, NPR put together The Mix: The Austin 100, a collection of 100 songs from 100 artists from SXSW 2013, representing a diverse selection of talented musicians and bands. The 800+ MB zip includes tracks from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Cafe Tacvba, Alt-J, Youth Lagoon, Waxahatchee and Le1f.
The website SXSW Baby! has put an 80 song 314 MB SXSW 2013 sampler broken into 8 songs with 10 tracks apiece, with categories like The British Sound Invasion, This Land Is Your Land, and A Little Bit of Rock With Your Roll. Bands include Conveyor, The Crookes, Roadkill Ghost Choir, LIttle Green Cars, Jack Bugg, Foxygen, Delta Rae, The Little Ones, Desert Noises and Reptar.
Little Brother Music Publishing released the Little Brother SXSW 2013 Sampler of 25 songs you can either listen to online and/or download for free. Artists include Yellow Red Sparks, Babybird, Flogging Molly, The Tricks, Shurman, The White Buffalo, Baron Sisters, among others.
Polyvinyl Records released a free Amazon SXSW 2013 Sampler of its artists booked for SXSW 2013, such as Generationals, STRFKR, Of Montreal, Japandroids, Deerhoof, Psychic Twin, Painted Palms and five others.
Texas-based blog CultureMap‘s Texas Showcase Showdown sampler includes songs from 15 of the Lone Star state’s own official South by Southwest showcase bands, including Wild Child, Dana Falconberry, The Crooks and Band of Heathens, to name a few.
Note: By the way, we need to put this out there. No one actually says “S-X-S-W” in a conversation – it’s either South By Southwest, which is actually respectful if you think about it, or ‘Southby,’ which is a hipster phraseology that we’re just not going to say. Simply put, “South By Southwest,” in conversation is the way to go.
The We Can Only Be The Future website’s Future Sounds SXSW 2013 Spotify Sampler is a 20-song playlist with tracks by FIDLAR, Spider Bags, Foxygen, Blue Hawaii, Bleached, Pissed Jeans, The Warlocks and The Afghan Whigs.
If you’re set up for torrents, and have disk space and time, you can go to town on the website SXSWTorrent.com – The (Unofficial) SXSW Torrents. SXSWBaby houses nine years and more than 9,000 songs, totaling 45 gigs of SXSW samplers, beginning in 2005 right through to this year. In fact, the 2013 torrent (in two parts) includes over 1,200 songs and 7.4 gigs in total size.
Each year, the SXSW film and music festival in Austin, Texas hosts a blockbuster bonanza of music performances from roughly lunch time to as late as 3 or 4 a.m. the following morning. And each year, literally hundreds upon hundreds of artists and bands of every imaginable genre, from locales all across the United States and Canada, and cities and town on six continents around the world, descend on Austin during the second week of March for the largest annual gathering of musicians anyway on the planet.
From popular indie bands to DIY alternative rockers, celebrity artists and obscure musicians, from electro pop duos to folk music collectives, masters of punk to veterans of classic rock, and every other type of configuration and style of music you can possibly think of (and those which you never knew existed), SXSW has it all.
They perform in bars, clubs, theaters, music halls, churches, school gyms, hotel lobbies, restaurants, auditoriums, outdoor stages, street corners, vacant lots, rooftops, bicycle shops, pizza joints, alley ways and homes – it doesn’t matter where you go – for four to five days, Austin is home to a non-stop music marathon. Bands are made and broken; artists rise and fall; dreams are launched or crushed each year at SXSW.
The music industry, including CEOs of the biggest record companies and owners of the smallest labels, plus scouts, A&R reps, producers, engineers, managers, publicists, PR executives, among others, from around the world come out in full force; as do gaggles of reporters, writers, photographers, editors, and columnists from the largest to the smallest newspapers, magazines and blogs; not to mention hosts, anchors, correspondents, cameramen, and sound engineers from hundreds of TV and cable news and entertainment outfits, as well as deejays, program directors and staff from radio stations across the globe.
If you’re somehow involved in music, the journey to and through Austin’s city limits each March for the experience of a lifetime.
And then of course there are the music lovers, who flock by the thousands to make the pilgrimage, even if only once in their lives,
