There are quite a few fantastic albums out this week from long-time indie and alternative artists as well as new bands on the radar for 2013. The songs from this week’s carefully-selected collection of EPs and LPs make for an impressive, diverse and lively playlist that is a little over an hour long; in fact, many of the hundreds and hundreds of playlists in the IRC archives still have active song links, unlike many other websites and blogs. Therefore, IRC is not just a record of the newest indie music, but it also serves as one giant soundtrack of the best popular, and DIY, indie music since 2008. And just like this week’s Best New Music Releases playlist, all of the playlists stream automatically and uninterrupted from the first song to the last simply by clicking the play button at the top of the list one time – there’s no need to have to keep manually clicking each song to hear them all, which frees you up to do other things like browse the web, read, play games while listening to the top singles for the first week of June.
Also, because of a growing number of requests, we are including quick links to purchase, via Amazon, both the CD and MP3 versions of each album selected from this week’s batch of new releases. In case you have missed any recent posts and playlists, check out the latest DIY Artist of the Week, Nick Jaina, an amazing singer/songwriter and musician from Portland who has opened for bands like The Decemberists, as well as Volume IV of the popular Bands That Rock series and another Volume IV installment for the 7 Overseas Bands You’ve Gotta Hear series, which is sort of similar to the 5 DIY Bands to Watch series. Some of you have asked about the Top 10 Songs page, which we have not updated yet for April and May – apologies, it’s in the works. We’re looking for a way in the future to show the Top 10 Songs in real-time, which will be a really cool addition to Indie Rock Cafe.
Big Deal, Portugal The Man, Camera Obscura, and Dead Stars
Among the top releases of the week are the new-to-us band, Big Deal and their album, June Gloom, featuring the summer-feeling pop single, “Dream Machines,” followed by Portugal The Man‘s second EP, and title track, Evil Friends. Also, check out Camera Obscura‘s new album, Desire Lines (see IRC’s Devin William Daniels’ CO review), and the new-to-us indie rock band, Dead Stars‘ impressive new EP, High Gain.
“Dream Machines” – Big Deal from June Gloom [CD or MP3 version] on Mute
“Evil Friends” – Portugal The Man from Evil Friends EP [CD or MP3 version] on Atlantic
“Fifth in Line to the Throne” – Camera Obscura from Desire Lines [CD or MP3 version] on 4AD
“Waste Away” – Dead Stars from High Gain EP [CD or MP3 version] on Uninhabitable Mansions
First Future Bible Heroes Album in Nine Years; Plus, QOTSA and Rogue Wave
Merge recording artist, and long-time indie favorites in the cafe, Future Bible Heros‘ latest LP, Partygoing is yet another impressive production. Formed in 1996 by indie rock pioneer, Stephin Merritt (best known as the songwriter/singer for the band Magnetic Fields, less so for Gothic Archies and the 6ths), Future Bible Heroes have only released three albums in 16 years. Merritt’s long-time collaborators, Claudia Gonson and Chris Ewen, joined forces for the first time since 2002’s brilliant Eternal Youth, FBHs’ best of their three LPs, with 1997’s debut, Memories of Love, following at a very close second. In fact, the indie trio just released a special remastered collection of all three albums, which is available as an MP3 download or CD collection via Amazon. The remastered collection also contains FBHs’ three EPs, and is a must-have addition to the music collection of serious lo-fi indie pop lovers, and especially so for fans of Merritt’s enormous contributions to indie music during the past 15 years. Another fantastic band formed the same year as FBHs, but who pack a much harder punch, is the alternative rock legends, Queens of the Stone Age. QOTSA delivers their latest album with the drop this week of Like Clockwork. Following QOTSA is the latest effort from another long-time indie band that we have followed closely for a decade now, Rogue Wave.
“Partygoing” – Future Bible Heroes from Partygoing [CD or MP3 version] on Merge Records
“If I Had Tail” – Queens of the Stone Age from Like Clockwork [CD or MP3 version] on Matador Records
“College” – Rogue Wave from Nightingale Floors [CD or MP3 version] on Vagrant
Upbeat Melodies from Rogue Wave, Splashh, GRMLN, Little Children, Houndmouth and Jon Hopkins
Following Rogue Wave‘s lively new single, “College,” are a series of new-to-us bands that keep the upbeat vibe going with fresh album singles like “All I Wanna Do” from Splashh, the hook-heavy pop of GRMLN‘s excellent lead track, “Do You Know How It Feels?” and the foot-tapping atmospheric melodies of the band Little Children’s song, “Falling.” The playlist is closed out by the catchy track “On The Road” from the band Houndmouth, and the extended electro/trance dance recording, “Open Eye Signal,” from Jon Hopkins.
“All I Wanna Do” – Splashh from Comfort [CD or MP3 version] on Kanine Records
“Do You Know How It Feels?” – GRMLN from Empire [CD or MP3 version] on Carpark Records
“Falling” – Little Children from Falling EP [CD or MP3 version] on Declared Goods Records
“On The Road” – Houndmouth from From the Hills Below the City [CD or MP3 version] on Rough Trade
“Open Eye Signal” – Jon Hopkins from Immunity [CD or MP3 version] on Domino