Best new indie rock songs, indie news, best bands, reviews
Author: Max Hammer
Discovering and sharing the best DIY/alt/indie/underground music you've never heard. I've been writing about music and other topics since the mid-1990s. We are also music industry professionals - PR; promotion; management; branding; etc.
Because there are so many noteworthy releases out this week, we divided up what would otherwise be one long post into two different playlist mixes that feature lead single MP3s (free and legal to download) from an exciting and diverse range of artists and bands who dropped new albums this week.
Just as we did for Part Oneof this week’s Best New Releases, we’ve listened to the mix below (Part Two) between three and four times all the way through. Naturally, we placed some of our favorites at the top of the mix, but really, we think all of the tracks below are worthy of inclusion, especially considering that, just like many of you, we’ve never even heard of most of these artists until this week.
Although we don’t have the time or resources right now (there’s just so much material coming from so many talented bands) to research, review and write up about all the promising bands and artists in this mix, we will definitely take note of the artists and songs that get played and downloaded (as well as hearted in Hypem) the most.
Along with Part One, it is likely that some of the songs from this mix will end up on the Top 10 Songs page, and some of the top bands – according to your ‘votes’ – will be featured in subsequent posts, and perhaps even end up on a Bands to Watch feature.
After listing to this mix a number of times in the cafe before deciding on which songs would make the final cut for Part Two (and combined with part one), we can say definitively that this is one of the best weeks of 2011 for terrific new singes from mostly new-to-us artists and bands, including Butcher The Bar (recommended for fans of Sufjan Stevens), Centro-matic, and Bobby.
“Bobby” – Butcher The Bar from For Each A Future Tethered
“Only in My Double Mind” – Centro-matic (courtesy of Aquarium Drunkard) from Candidate Waltz
“Sore Spores” – Bobby from Bobby
Indie newbies Wonderful deliver bliss pop unabashedly; the White Hills rock out; the Grown-Ups go to “Business School;” Rubblebucket demonstrate great potential their terrific new album. Plus, Cassettes Won’t Listen (who were featured in Part One) got us to listen, by sending another track to share from their album Evinspacey. The album was originally titled Kevinspacey, but the actor sued the band to stop them from using his name. That’s a little bit of interesting music trivia for 2011.
“Rainbow Colors” – Wonderful from Wake Up To Dreamland
“The Condition of Nothing” – White Hills from H-p1
“The Night Shines” – Cassettes Won’t Listen from Evinspacey (Stream)
Plus, we are also enjoying note-worthy songs from Diva, Priory, Barn Owl, Chelan, Grieves, Helms Alee, The Mast, Motorboater, Superhumanoids, Through The Sparks and Barbie Hatch. We are so interested in which songs and bands you guys and gals like the most, so please leave Comments. Your feedback is much appreciated and available to be viewed by 30,000 people a day, not to mention it helps us in deciding what to cover in the future.
Bon Iver are one of the hottest folk indie bands. Justin Vernon (with the banjo) is the band's frontman.
This is the week of Bon Iver. From the top music sites and blogs, to airplay on various television shows and movie soundtracks, and an appearance on Comedy Central‘s The Colbert Report Monday night, the band have been on a roll for the past four years, and have performed at some of the biggest musical festivals, including Bonnaroo, Sasquatch and many others, including fests in the U.K.
Bon Iver is the moniker of musician, singer and songwriter Justin Vernon. In 2007, he self-releaesd the fantastic debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, and became almost an instant ‘indie sensation.’ Interestingly, Bon Iver’s new album, which officially dropped yesterday, is self-titled. Ordinarily, artists and bands use the self-title treatment for a debut album. Perhaps it’s a statement from Vernon, the artist – a deliberate and clear message to indicate this album is what he considers to be his true debut as an artist and musician. During a brief interview before his performance Monday night on The Colbert Report, Vernon told Stephen Colbert that he secluded himself for three months in a remote cabin in the Wisconsin wilderness to write the songs that ultimately became the tracks for his two albums. Bon Iver’s other members are Michael Noyce, Sean Carey and Matthew McCaughan.
Bon Iver is available for streaming via Spinner for a limited time, and can be purchased from Amazon (#2 on Amazon charts) as a 320kps MP3 download. It’s definitely one of our top albums of 2011, and we won’t be surprised to see it listed in Top 10 albums of 2011 on music sites and blogs later this year. Here is the excellent lead single, “Calgary.”
But, first, we want to introduce you to two bands that is on our list for break-through bands of 2011; they are 1, 2, 3 – a Pittsburgh duo who dropped their debut album this week. The second band is a group of teens from Copenhagen who call themselves Iceage, and they are raising eyebrows in Europe as well as the U.S. They will be featured in an upcoming edition of 5 Break-Out Bands of 2011. Iceage dropped their debut album, New Brigade, this week. And the prospects keep piling up – another band that is new to us in 2011 is JEFF The Brotherhood; if you haven’t heard of this band in our previous posts this year, check them out. They are on fire, especially after packed performances at SXSW in March. Plus, don’t miss the new track from the latest album by Ty Seagull, who recently released an EP of T. Rex cover songs, titled Ty Rex.
The Copenhagen teenage band Iceage are an IRC Break-Out Band in 2011. Their debut LP is out this week.
“Broken Bone” – Iceage from New Brigade
“White Rune” – Iceage from New Brigade
Here’s the title track via Soundcloud: “New Brigade” – Iceage from New Brigade
“Mellow Out” – JEFF the Brotherhood – from We Are The Champions (Stream)
You Make the Sun Fry – Ty Segall from Goodbye Bread
There are many other great albums out this week that we either have already approved internally, or that we’ve put on our Summer Music Listening List (we’ll be sharing the list soon), including terrific bands like Witches, Cassettes Won’t Listen, Dananananaykroyd, FM Belfast, Yacht, Paleo, Viva Voce, and Gomez. The albums further down in the mix are simply listed because we like the lead single, but, we have not heard them, and will probably not have time to listen to (got to draw the line somewhere:). Also, make sure to check out the In Dee Mail section, which includes new releases that were sent directly to us through the submission form by the artists themselves.
“Creature of Nature” – Witches from Forever
“Perfect Day” – Cassettes Won’t Listen from Evinspacey (Stream)
“Muscle Memory” – Dananananaykroyd from There Is a Way
“New Year” – FM Belfast from Don’t Want To Sleep
“Dystopia” – Yacht from Shangri-La
“In the Movies” – Paleo fromFruit of the Spirit
“Analog Woodland Song” – Viva Voce from The Future Will Destroy You
“Options” – Gomez from Whatever’s On Your Mind
Albums to Stream and links to purchase albums
(don’t miss Part II of this week’s Best New Releases that will be posted in the next couple of days)
– 1,2,3 – New Heaven – Blood Orange – Sutphin Boulevard EP – Bobby – Bobby (Stream) – Bon Iver – Bon Iver (Stream) – Cassettes Won’t Listen – Evinspacey (Stream) – Digitalism – I Love You, Dude (Stream) – Gomez – Whatever’s On Your Mind – Grieves – Together/Apart – JEFF The Brotherhood – We Are The Champions (Stream) – Laurel Halo – Hour Logic EP – Liam Finn – FOMO – LMFAO – Sorry For Party Rocking – OK Go – 180/365 (Live) – Seun Kuti – From Africa With Fury: Rise – Skrillex – More Monsters and Sprites – Ty Segall – Goodbye Bread – Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Stream) – Viva Voce – The Future Will Destroy You (Stream) – Weird Al Yankovic – Alpocalypse (Stream)
Cover for Beirut's upcoming new album, 'The Rip Tide'
This week’s S-25 Mix features a random pick of 2011 songs that we really like – some are well-known, others are new material from established indie and alternative rock bands – like The Strokes, Beirut, Peter Bjorn and John, and Bon Iver – but many others are songs that we refer to as ‘rarely heard,’ because so few people – with the exception of indie music enthusiasts – have heard them. This also feels like a mix that is a good kick-off to summer. On that note, stay tuned for our Summer Songs 2011 series; in the meantime though, check out the smash hit series Songs of Summer 2010 if you want to load up your iPod with ‘summer’ songs. We hope that many of you come away with new songs that you really love from this mix. Let us know which are your favorites in the Comments section.
“East Harlem” – Beirut from The Rip Tide – out August 30th
“Breaker Breaker” – Peter Bjorn and John from single release
On their awesome 2004 album, 'Rubber Factory,' The Black Keys covered The Kinks' "Act Nice & Gentle"
We absolutely love cover songs. It’s probably because, most of the time, they are like something that is familiar but new, which is an interesting dichotomy in and of itself. Plus, recording cover songs can be a risky venture for almost any artist; the more well-known and beloved the original song, the more scrutinized any cover song will be. On the most part, at least in our experience, most cover songs just do not work, and others are absolutely dreadful. But there are others that stick out.
We have two different types of cover songs playlist mixtapes that we’ve been posting for years. We’ve put together playlists of classic cover songs, but mostly new, and lesser known, cover songs. This installment includes cover songs (except for music fanatics, of course) by The Black Keys, The Golden Bloom, The Laureates, My Jerusalem, The Afghan Whigs, Sun Kil Moon, Nada Surf, Guards and others.
Note: Many covers were not officially released, and therefore, we don’t have an album link to offer, but where they’re available, we have, including the album links for the originals as well. Enjoy.
The rather little known band, The Motion Sick, are covered by indie musician, The Golden Bloom
The original: “30 Lives” – Motion Sick from The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait… (2008)
“Baby’s On Fire” (Brian Eno) – Shearwater from unreleased single (circa 2008)
“You Got Lucky” (Tom Petty) – Setting Sun from single release (2009)
“Call Me (Blondie)” – Franz Ferdinand from War Child – Heroes Vol.1 [+Digital Booklet] (2010)
The original: “Call Me” – Blondie from Best of Blondie (1983)
“Kaleidoscope World” (The Chills) – People Press Play from Not Given Lightly – A Tribute To the Giant Golden Book Of New Zealand`s Alternative Music Scene (2009)
“66” (The Afghan Whigs) – My Jerusalem
The original: “66” – The Afghan Whigs from 1965 (1998)
As summer approaches, you’ll see a spike in posts and playlists on IRC, not to mention plenty of new releases. This week’s Best New Releases, don’t contain any big 2011 anticipated drops, but there are still some terrific singles and albums from bands like Vetiver, Dark Mean, PlanningtoRock, Woods, and many others.
But, first, we wanted to kick off this edition of Best New Releases by recommending new albums from a few bands that we featured years ago, before they broke out, and who are still satisfying; in fact, they’ve only gotten better. For example, Vetiver, who we are excited about kicking off this mix with a doubleshot of new singles from their sophomore album, plus we are digging Dark Mean‘s new DIY release. The official CD release of Woods‘ new album, Sun & Shade (just in time for summer), is out this week.
Next up, is a band we featured not long ago called PlanningtoRock (but, they’ve gone beyond planning, we should say), followed by a free EP download from Junior Boys, and the standout title track, “The Fox” from Niki and The Dove‘s new album, and loving the dream pop of 13 & God’s “Old Age” very much here in the cafe. Plus, listen to and download new tracks from Thee Oh Sees, chill out with Brice Randall Bickford and get all tranced with Botantical Bullets.
Also of interest are some fresh tracks from albums by bands that are new to us, such as the catchy electro-pop/psychedelic rock track “Walking on Eggshells” by King Post Kitsch from The Party’s Over, and the almost equally awesome new-to-us artist Joel Plaskett presents “When I Go’ from the impossibly long titled album (see name believe). Plus, there are other great singles from new releases in today’s mix that we hope you enjoy.
Every few months or so, a music publication or blogger will tag a certain overseas country, region or city as “emerging” or “up and coming” or “place to be” for new indie and alternative rock music, and the gazillion sub-genres that branch outwards from that trunk. For a while it will be one overseas area, like, say, Manchester in the U.K., or Stockholm, and then some other critic will crown some other location, like Prague, while another insists only weeks later that it’s all happening in Melbourne.
We thought it would be much easier, and more interesting, to expand the new and wildly popular playlist series, 7 Bands You’ve Gotta Hear (or 7 Bands for short), into sub-categories, since there are so many bands and songs that we have posted and will be posting for weeks and months to come. Due to the positive response to the first installment of 7 Bands, and after we reviewed reader comments and web stats, we decided to expand the series into geographical categories.
Some people may be understandably skeptical that we have received over 1,200 submissions from bands and artists in the past six months, but it’s true. So, we’ve been going through them one by one, which can be draining and tedious at times, but it’s all worth it when we come across a fantastic artist or band that we never heard of before. In fact, we’re almost sure that this is the first “big” exposure on a U.S. indie rock music site for many of the artists in today’s 7 Bands installment.
Little by little, we’re getting through the approximate 1,200 submissions (and counting), and sorting out the bands we like the most by first listening to the songs they submitted, and if they get our attention, we then put them into a playlist which we listen to numerous times over a couple of weeks time. In that process, more songs are omitted, and others rise up, until we have a robust mix of just the songs that impressed us the most.
From there, we then go and review each chosen band’s complete submission. Really, it doesn’t change anything at this point – we don’t care where they’re from, if they’re DIY (which most are) or signed to a label, who they have opened for (or if they’ve opened for anyone before), what their bio says, and who are their biggest musical influences. All that really matters to us is the music, and that’s all we’ve ever cared about.
We don’t expect everyone to like every band we feature, but if most people come away with a couple songs added to their MP3 player, or even a new favorite overseas band, then we feel like it was a success and worth the great deal of time it takes to make these featured playlist posts possible. We can’t wait to see what all of you think of these bands, and we’ll be keeping count of which songs are played and downloaded the most. And there is SO much more to come, so stay tuned to IRC. The bands in this issue of 7 Bands are:
Last Dinosaurs – Brisbane, Australia The Black Atlantic – Groningen, Netherlands Street Chant – New Zealand Bodies of Work – London, England I Only Date Models – Nottingham, England Genuine Hamony – Karlstad, Sweden Luciano Sprovieri – Los Angeles via Sao Paulo
[zbplayer]The Last Dinosaurs are an indie rock band from Australia
Last Dinosaurs – Brisbane, Australia
In their native Australia, indie rockers Last Dinosaurs have been selling out shows all over the continent. No wonder. The band serves up brimming, energetic, blazing indie pop rock that is perfect for a summer barbie party, and even more, for live shows. We expect to see and hear more from this band in coming months, and are very interested in how IRC readers will respond to the band.
We think that others who stop by the cafe and hang out to listen to the two singles we’ve included from the band will wonder, as we have, why we haven’t heard of this band before. One would think that a band with this level of pure talent, splendid songwriting abilities, and near perfect execution would be a big deal. Maybe we can change that right here and now. What do you think? As far as we can see, they’ve only be previewed before on a couple U.S. based blogs.
It’d be great to get this band to SXSW 2012 and see what the reaction is from the attendees. Hopefully they can get visas and get booked at U.S. and European venues and festivals. It’s basically a no brainer that Last Dinosaurs have the potential to be hugely successful to an international, rock-craving populace, which has a huge appetite for new and talented bands. And the same can basically be said for most of the bands in this series. If you enjoy the music you hear in today’s post – most of which is likely new to most of you – then you will really enjoy what we’ve got in the pipeline for upcoming editions of 7 Bands Overseas.
Now, back to Last Dinosaurs. This first track, “As Far As Your Concerned,” was the band’s debut single last summer, and it really struck a chord in the land Down Under. Their debut EP, Back From The Dead is out now and the band has embarked on an extensive Australian tour.
The Black Atlantic is an acoustic indie folk pop band based out of Groningen, Holland. The Black Atlantic’s music is an introspective and intimate affair of story-telling that relies heavily on vocal harmonies, and melodies via soft strummed guitars and banjos, pianos and minimal percussion. The band often evokes natural imagery to express their stories on love, death and family.
The Black Atlantic has toured in various incarnations around the world, mostly in North America, the U.K. and Europe, and have opened for bands such as Nada Surf, Patrick Watson and Saturday Looks Good to Me. In 2009, the band released their debut album, Reverence for Fallen Trees , most of which was recorded during the autumn of 2008 in a log cabin in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. TBA are recommended if you like Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Sigúr Ros and Patrick Watson.
“Fragile Meadow” – The Black Atlantic from Reverence for Fallen Trees
“Heirloom” – The Black Atlantic from Reverence for Fallen Trees
Over the past couple of years, New Zealand indie rock band Street Chant, have made quite an impression in their homeland, and little by little, outside their Down Under domain. In fact, their mini blog hit, “Scream Walk,” made the rounds, but less so in the U.S. In fact, the single appeared on some blogs’ and music sites’ top singles of 2010 lists.
Now based in Melbourne, Australia, we think Street Chant is the only band in today’s post that has performed at CMJ. Their appearance last fall at New York‘s famous CMJ was one of the most anticipated out of hundreds of artists and bands vying for any piece of territory where they could plug in and jam. For each of Street Chant’s performances during CMJ week, the venues were packed with lines waiting outside. The track included below, “Scream Walk,” was one of the songs that propelled the band to a position of being chosen to perform at CMJ.
A few weeks ago, the band’s publicist sent us a new single, “The Fatigues” from the band’s April album release, titled Means. So, we have a newer and older track to offer. The raw talent, overwhelmingly positive press and word of mouth about Street Chant have definitely earned them a place among our 7 Overseas Bands You Gotta Hear.
“The Fatigues” – Street Chant from Means
“Scream Walk” – Street Chant from Street Chant EP (2009)
Bodies of Work – London, England
Since forming in 2009, London DIY band, Bodies of Work ,have created a small discography of dark and glittery alternative pop music, capturing melodrama with flashbulbs and sequins. Lead by compulsive frontman, Martin Bjorck, Bodies of Work has found common ground alongside Lizzie Holdforth (synth/vox), Chris Morgan (drums), and Andy Wright Becker (bass), thriving on musical extremes, as evidenced on the band’s EP debut, Flyers, which features soaring synths and gritty guitars intertwined with a powerful and sophisticated rhythm section.
The band’s musical skills and talent are showcased throughout Flyers. On the stand-out track, “Feathers”, by the second time the chorus came around we found ourselves singing along and tapping our feet. But the EP’s most accomplished track, “Flyers,” features a minor, catchy synth riff accompanied by the Interpol-esque guitar driven chorus.
We think Bodies of Work are just waiting to be discovered by indie fans everywhere, including the all-important U.S. market. Surprisingly, not much has been written about Bodies of Work on music sites or blogs in the U.S., and their band name is not particularly search engine-friendly. But, we’re hoping that today’s post will bring the U.K. band more interest from across the pond.
What others are saying: “Expect big things from Bodies of Work” – Richard Bowes, London Tourdates
“With songs of this caliber they won’t be quiet for long” – Record Collector
“Bursts with vim and vigour and unabashed catchiness… performed with conviction and passion” – God is in the TV
I Only Date Models – Nottingham, England
In October 2010, the Nottingham UK indie pop band I Only Date Models dropped their debut LP, This End Tomorrow. It’s no surprise that less than a year since forming they’ve become one of the most popular new bands in Nottingham and were recently featured on the BBC, the all-important foot-in-big-door broadcast for aspiring young UK bands since the 1960s. Based on these two songs alone, we’re listing I Only Date Models as a UK Band to Watch in 2011.
The track “This Ends Tomorrow” is almost immediately an instant indie hit if there ever was one, so we would not be surprised if it ends up on the upcoming Top Ten Songs mixes. Since today is Saturday, the track doesn’t quite qualify for inclusion on this week’s Top Ten, so we’ll have to wait a week to see, but we’ll be watching the numbers all week and will let you know via our Twitter Glitter.
In edition to “This Ends Tomorrow,” the boys also sent us the riveting guitar-drive rocker, “Tunnels,” another track that is not hard to imagine as a hit single. While the argument could be made that the sound is a bit too polished to be “indie” we beg to disagree – the band are unsigned. That makes them much more indie-legit, if you will, then many other bands that are labeled indie.
We can hear the comparisons already (so we won’t even mention them), but we were surprised to find out that no one in the cafe has ever heard of I Only Date Models before, especially for our readers in the U.K., where IODMs are building a growing audience of fans.
“This Ends Tomorrow” – I Only Date Models from This Ends Tomorrow
“Tunnels” – I Only Date Models from This Ends Tomorrow
IODM list among their musical influences deadmau5, Skrillex, Biffy Clyro, Phoenix, and Phil Collins.
Genuine Harmony – Karlstad, Sweden
From the city of Karlstad, Sweden, the four-member, unsigned indie pop outfit, Genuine Harmony, formed in 2008 and recorded their first demo in the autumn of 2009. About a year later, after winning two music contests and playing at different venues around Sweden, the band released their EP, A Thousand Times Before.
The band has had some good press coverage in Sweden and in scattered areas across Europe, but not much at all in the U.S. Maybe we can help change that. While most bands do not list their band members’ names in their submissions, even though we highly recommend it, Genuine Harmony did; the band is made up of Simon Öman (vocals, guitar, songwriting), Christoffer Zetterlund (guitar, vocals, songwriting), Ola Nilsson (bass) and Jakob Bäckman (drums).
Genuine Harmony have opened for bands we’ve never heard of like The Fast Forwards, Magnus Weideskog, Starboys, Snowstorm, and Jacks n’ Jokers, and consider among their biggest musical influences bands like The Beatles, Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks, The Kinks, The Libertines, First Aid Kit, Those Dancing Days, Mando Diao, and more.
“Flowsnakes” – Genuine Harmony from A Thousand Times Before
“You, Me & Coco” – Genuine Harmony from A Thousand Times Before
From São Paulo, Brazil, DIY singer/songwriter and pop musician Luciano Sprovieri wrote his first song when he was only eight years old. As a self-proclaimed lover of melodies, Sporvieri continued to pursue a passion for music, and a penchant for songwriting, from that moment to the present day.
In 2005, he fulfilled a personal dream to move to California. Since then, he turned his attention to releasing a debut album last fall called Drifting By. In the box on the submission form for ‘Bands Opened Up For,’ Sprovieri indicated none, but did not elaborate. His personal musical influences include Return to Forever, Weather Report, Marisa Monte, Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, George Benson, Luis Gonzaga, Jethro Tull, Eric Clapton, Air, Marvin Gaye, Pearl Jam and many others
The Black Keys rocked the packed crowds at Bonnaroo on Saturday. Photo by David Hall for OC Register.
Rap rules Bonnaroo? That was the headline grabber from ABC News’ coverage for Day Tree of the popular music festival located on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee.
But, we hardly think that, in a musical context, or any other context we can think of, that rap is ‘ruling’ a music festival where the majority of bands and artists fall within the realms of alternative rock, indie, folk and a hodge podge of other genres like blues, jazz, funk, gospel, country, electronica, pop, and world music. Just because a couple of the world’s most famous rappers, Eminem and Lil’ Wayne, to be precise, performed as headliners this weekend does not make Bonnaroo a rap festival.
One of the things that is so magnificent about Bonnaroo is it’s eclectic and all-inclusive theme, which runs true through everything from the line-up to the participants. So, we thought this Sunday’s S-25 playlist mix should celebrate and reflect the diverse line-up of Bonnaroo 2011. This is the final day of the famous four-day camping fest, which is now in its tenth year, and one of North America’s most popular music festivals.
It wasn’t easy to pick just 25 artists to represent some 200 bands at Bonnaroo this year, but that’s the point of the weekly S-25 mix, so we have to stick to it (even though we’ll sometimes go over the 25 quasi limit as you’d see if you browse through the S-25 archives).
“Modern Art”– The Black Lips from Arabia Mountain
“Under Cover of Darkness” – The Strokes from Angles
“Little Kin” (Live 2008) – Widespread Panic
Cover art for the new single by Beirut, "East Harlem" from The Rip Tide, out Aug. 30th
“East Harlem” – Beirut from The Rip Tide – due out Aug. 30th
It’s another strong week for new indie rock releases with fresh albums from the Black Lips, Arctic Monkeys, Cults, F*cked Up, Dawes, Hooray For Earth, Almost Free, Hospital Ships, Givers, and many others. There’s no shortage of great indie releases this week, so we hope the singles will help you decide which albums you want to add to your collection.
We liked the Cults the first time we heard them, but here’s where the proverbial ‘indie question’ comes into play. Now that the Cults have signed to Columbia – one of the major record labels (considered for years as the ‘enemy’ by some musicians and music lovers, and as result, helped spawn the indie, or ‘independent,’ music movement, even though few people agree nowadays exactly what is and isn’t ‘indie’) – some fans are not exactly happy with the band’s decision.
The same question can be applied to so many bands. The Decemberists started out really indie, if you will, and then signed to Capitol. But some people still consider them to be ‘indie,’ while others have called them ‘sell-outs.’ It is a bit hard to ignore the fact that one of the most popular indie bands of the past decade have signed to a major record label.
That aside, here are the top 25 MP3 singles from new releases out this week. It must be said that we are not really ‘feeling’ the new Arctic Monkeys‘ of recent years – we absolutely love the old guitar-blazing riffs, roaring drum playing, excited bass thumping and overall rawness of AM pre-2009 back. Also, the album cover for The Coathangers‘ new album is definitely likely to turn some heads and get people talking, but we’d rather not showcase it prominently because it is a bit scandalous. If the band or label intended to do so to create some chatter regarding the band, then, kudos to them.
“Modern Art”– Black Lips from Arabia Mountain
“Don’t Bother Me Now“ – Almost Free from In/Out (self-released)
“Trailer Park Boneyard “ – The Coathangers from Larceny & Old Lace
The Strokes rocked Mt. View, California, Sunday night at the BFD Festival. Photo by Philip E. Daoust
Tens of thousands of festival goers packed into the Shoreline Ampitheatre Sunday to mark the annual Bay Area BFD Live 105 Music Festival in Mt. View, California.
Crowds were treated to headliners that included The Strokes, Snoop Dog, Linkin Park, Cage The Elephant, Bad Religion, Neon Trees, Manchester Orchestra, Foster The People and many others. By the time the famous New York City rockers, The Strokes, took the main stage, the ampitheatre, from the box sets all the way to the top of the lawn, was packed with people.
Once The Strokes broke into “Under Cover of Darkness,” from their latest album, the crowd was cheering, applauding, yelling, standing and dancing. The energy was thick and it got even thicker as the band broke into hit after hit. Julian Casablancas and the band also banged out “Take It Or Leave It,” among other classic Strokes’ hits, and a few other singles from their recent, highly acclaimed album, Angles.
However, the biggest disappointment came when The Strokes ended their set almost 10 minutes before the scheduled end time. For folks who paid upwards of $80 to see the band, that wasn’t very cool, especially without explanation.
But the entire place really went wild when the hiphop icon himself, Snoop Dog, took the stage, complete with his MCs and some old guy who danced around the stage the entire set. In addition, the stage was set up with two drummers, dancing girls, a live DJ, a keyboardist, and the wafting waves of smoke.
Snoop Dog and his crew hopped the house Sunday night in Mt. View, California at BFD Festival.
This made for a big extravaganza in true Snoop fashion, complete with the hand bling, shades and apparently smoking of marijuana on the stage during the set. Snoop Dog fired up some of his old skool classics, including “Gin and Juice,” “Sensual Seduction” and “Nuthin But A G Thang” during the hour-long set.
Snoop Dog and crew also busted out covers of legendary hiphop songs like the classic, “Jump Around,” which got tens of thousands of people up and jumping and dancing. There were also two tributes during the show. The most notable was Snoop’s tribute to Tupac, our personal favorite hiphop artist of all time. In tribute to Tupac, Snoop Dog broke into “Gangsta Party.” The other tribute went to Nate Dogg, who passed away in March at the age of 41 from complications stemming from a stroke.
“Gin and Juice” – Snoop Dog from Doggy Style (2009)
“Jump Around” – House of Pain from House of Pain (2005)
Snoop and his crew wrapped up their set with “Who Am I (What’s My Name)” before the stage was set up for the festival’s closing act, Linkin Park, who rocked through a set of older classics and newer songs from their latest album. Throughout the band’s hour-long set, the still going festival goers – some of who had been there for nine-plus hours, were still rocking and having fun.
Thankfully, even with uncommonly damp conditions – including a day-long rainstorm on Saturday – the rain held out on Sunday at the Shoreline, situated only a few hundred feet from Google headquarters.
Throughout the day, there were also terrific performances from Cage The Elephant, Bad Religion, Manchester Orchestra, Foster The People, Airborne Toxic Event, and many others. Wish we had more time to write about them all, but need to update the Top Ten Songs page. Get more information and photos from San Francisco’s Live 105 website.
Thanks to Jess Cluster and Live Nation for their assistance in making this event possible.
The Flaming Lips brough the extravaganza to Sasquatch Sunday night. Photo from KEXP.
Day Three of Sasquatch Festival started with overcast, windy and cool weather, and big, dark clouds that seemed impossibly calm; and while they threatened rain, just like Saturday, the rain stayed away. However, the skies soon turned from mostly cloudy to partly cloudy just in time for the first shows of the day.
Note: Because we, and some other media outlets, were unable to get a reliable signal at Sasquatch, we were unable to blog from the festival as we had planned.
On the main stage, Smith Westerns got things going with a rocking set, even though the crowd was light. But that’s typical at music festivals. It’s almost impossible to draw a large crowd at noon-time.
However, as their set winded down, the crowd began to grow larger fairly fast apparently with many showing up to see The Drums, who we saw later on hanging out in the media room not long after we had spotted Wayne Coyne giving an interview.
The Brooklynindie pop surf rock band (they are given so many genre labels it’s ridiculous), The Drums, delivered their typical mix of sixties jukebox pop mixed with elements of new wave and rock with the same energy and enthusiasm they’ve put into every show we’ve seen them perform during the past 18 months or so.
The Drums whipped up the crowd as they plowed through one after another of their popular songs that have become recognizable to music fans around the world, most especially the anti-anthem “Let’s Go Surfing,” a great track that has gone a long way in making The Drums so successful, but, at the same time, a song that we’re sure they must be sick of playing knowing that thousands of teeny boppers are waiting to hear that one song in particular.
We’ve seen it – the teeny boppers are barely listening while the band plays their other tracks, but when “Let’s Go Surfing” starts up, they all stop talking and texting and start screaming and singing. OMG. But still, The Drums always put on a good set and their Sasquatch performance was no exception.
“Let’s Go Surfing” – The Drums from The Drums (2010)
“I Felt Stupid” – The Drums from The Drums (2010)
Up next was the band Fitz and the Tantrums, but we needed to head out to get some food and drink, and catch some other artists on smaller stages, like the unexpectedly large crowd for Basia Bulat, who we’ve featured previously on IRC. But we only had about 20 minutes before we needed to head back to the main stage for the stellar afternoon and evening line-up: Tokyo Police Club, Beach House, Cold War Kids, Flogging Molly, The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse.
Modest Mouse closed out Day Three of the SasquatchFestival. Photo for Brooklyn Vegan by Josh Darr.
The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse Headline Day Three
For fans of 1990′s alternative rock, Sunday’s two big headliners – The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse – were quite the treat, and the fact that they played back-to-back was simply golden.
Once The Flaming Lips hit the stage, and predictably so, Sasquatch got it’s first showy extravaganza, as balloons, confetti, stunning video screen images and pink and purple lights came together all at once as Wayne Coyne emerged in his famous plastic bubble to roll over the audience. Meanwhile, the band played the first minute or so of “Race for The Prize” to huge roars and cheers from the quickly expanding crowd.
“Race For The Prize” – The Flaming Lips from Soft Bulletin (1999)
In fact, Lips fans would have no idea until the first few songs in that the band were indeed performing their blockbuster 1999 album, Soft Bulletin, nearly from start to finish. Next, the band ripped through “A Spoonful Weighs A Ton” and then “The Spark That Bled,” both delivered with the predictable spectacle and glam. Yet, when the band broke into “The Spiderbite Song” the Lips seemed to lose a good amount of the festival goers, at least from our vantage point up on “the hill.”
As Coyne went on and on talking about spiders and hands, the folks far from the stage could not really understand what he was saying anyways, and we watched as dozens and dozens of people just got up and left. That was hard to see for dedicated Lips fans. In fact, we heard people – just as we had with Bright Eyes the night before – say things to the effect of “shut the f**k up and play,” and even some scattered boos as Coyne went on for what seemed like 15 minutes of babbling about the anecdotes behind the song’s lyrics.
The Flaming Lips performed most of their legendary LP, Soft Bulletin, at SasquatchFestival.
But, just in time, the Lips broke into “Buggin’” and the crowd came back to life, and from then on, the set moved along nicely afterwards, including “What is The Light?” and “Waiting for a Superman.” The Lips also paid tribute to the icon Elliott Smith and were graced with the task of honoring Sasquatch’s 10th birthday, that even included cake. By the time they finished with “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate,” the crowd quickly grew more and more packed in for the night’s closer from alt rock legends Modest Mouse.
“Buggin’” – The Flaming Lips from Soft Bulletin (1999)
Modest Mouse were more than a half hour late (as Das Racist were earlier in the evening on the Yeti stage) which didn’t go over well with some folks, especially those who were visibly cold as the wind picked up and the temperatures dropped across the wild badlands of central Washington.
In true fashion, Modest Mouse delivered a bristling and energized set that, with the exception of a few newer songs, was chock full of alt-indie hits from the band’s first three albums. During their one hour and 40-minute set, the band ripped through track after track, opening with a trio of songs – “Sh*t Luck,” “Gravity Rides Everything” and the iconic “Dashboard” that really got the huge crowd of tens of thousands of festival goers really going.
“Dashboard” – Modest Mouse from We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank [Explicit]
It didn’t take long for people to forget that one of the Pacific Northwest’s most famous bands of the past two decades got a late start. At the other end of the set, the band closed with songs like “Poison,” their classic “Float On,” “Here It Comes,” and the show closer, “Spitting Venom.”
“Dramamine” – Modest Mouse from This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About(1996)
“Float On” – Modest Mouse from Good News For People Who Love Bad News (2004)
Tokyo Police Club put on one of the best indierock sets of Sasquatch. Photo from Beatcrave.com
Tokyo Police Club, Beach House and Cold War Kids
One of our favorite Canadian indierock bands, Tokyo Police Club, kicked off the marathon of terrific bands on the main stage with easily one of the best all around performances of SAS 2011 that we experienced.
After performing their opening track, “Nature of the Experiment,” which simply sounded amazing, singer and bassist Dave Monks shouted into the microphone proudly, “We’re from Canada,” and the presumably mostly Canadian crowd roared in approval.
During the early part of TPC’s set, the crowds around the main stage and adjoining hillside filled up fairly fast. In between the two-second pauses of the infectious track, “Elephant Shell,” the crowd screamed and applauded, which is no surprise since the track is easily one of the songs that catapulted the band to international indie acclaim and fame. The band also played “Breakneck Speed” and “Your English Is Good.” We think that TPC have been one of the best Canadian indie bands of the past decade.
“Breakneck Speed” – Tokyo Police Club from Champ (2010)
“Your English is Good” – Tokyo Police Club from Elephant Shell (2008)
One of the lighter moments of the entire festival occurred when a friend of the band, Taylor proposed to his girlfriend Emma, on stage. An interesting note about that was we never heard Emma say ‘yes’; she simply embraced Tyler and the two walked off stage arm in arm.
Following Tokyo Police Club were the warm, mellow and fuzzy pop sounds of Beach House, who delivered a predictably laid-back and beautiful performance, sailing steadily through songs we love so much, like “Walk in the Park,” “Norway,” and “Zebra.” After Beach House, California popular indierock/blues Cold War Kids came on and picked things up with their predictably uptempo, crowd-pleasing set that included “Robbers & Cowards” and “Hospital Beds.”
We are not really fans of CWK’s new album, but definitely dig their earlier records. Unfortunately, there are no streams available from NPR for Tokyo Police Club, Beach House or Cold War Kids. If anyone hears of any from somewhere else, please let us know using the Comments.
“Norway” – Beach House from Teen Dream (2010)
“Zebra” – Beach House from Teen Dream (2010)
“The Soloist in the Living Room” – Cold War Kids from Mulberry Street
“Hang Me Up to Dry” – Cold War Kids from Robbers & Cowards (2006)
Gold Panda performing in the Banana Shack at Sasquatch, Day Three. Photo by Brittney Bush Bollay for KEXP
Das Racist, Flogging Molly, Reggie Watts, Gold Panda and More
While we needed to leave for other events – most notably Das Racist and Archers of Loaf – we did catch the last couple of songs from Flogging Molly, who predictably delivered their uptempo, Celtic-centric Irish-American punk as thousands of people danced around from the top of the hillside to the pit in front of the stage. Flogging Molly warmed up the crowd for the top two headliners of Day Three of Sasquatch – The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse (see above).
Other performances that we did not get to see but really wanted to on Sunday included sets from Other Lives, Reggie Watts, Gayngs, Gold Panda, MSTRKRFT, City and Colour, and many others. As many people we talked to expressed, the line-up was so amazing all day on each stage, and just about every day of the festival (with the predictable exception of Day One), that it was really difficult sometimes to decide which to attend.
We were able to catch a little bit of Yeasayer and Flying Lotus in between The Lips and Modest Mouse, and earlier in the day, The Moondoggies (who were camped right next to us).
“Snow and Taxis” – Gold Panda from Lucky Shiner (2010)
“Ambling” – Yeasayer from Odd Blood (2010)
“Piece” – Reggie Watts and Yungchen Lhamo from Antibabel (2006)
“The Gaudy Side of Town” – Gayngs from Relayted [+Digital Booklet]
“Black Tables” – Other Lives from Other Lives (2009)
Canadians Don’t Get Cold and Other SAS Observations
One of the things that was so evident to us by Day Three was the fact that many festival goers – especially teens and young adults from Canada and northern states like Washington, Idaho, Oregon and even Montana – appear to be mostly impervious to the cold wind blowing and the near freezing temperatures that the later evening hours brought. Another impossible thing to miss at Sasquatch was the huge numbers of Vancouver Canucks fans celebrating as their team advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
We were a bit surprised by the amount of trash that festival goers left all over the place each day of the festival; not sure why that was so, but maybe Sasquatch folks need to put out more trash and recycling bins and emphasize more during the festival to keep the grounds as clean as possible. It’s strange to us, because at other festivals, most notably Outside Lands Fest in San Francisco, there was very little litter and plenty of focus from the organizers and the festival goers on keeping Golden Gate Park clean and using the recycle bins.
Another thing that must be pointed out is the food issue. We think there is plenty of room for improvement on supplying better food vendors at Sasquatch in the years to come. Oh, yes, and then there were the hugs: total strangers would just come up and hug you, and there were even long lines for “free hugs.”
We also recommend checking out KEXP’s Sunday Sasquatch photo post.
Check back as we will be adding more songs, photos, links and other goodies.
Coming Up: Day Two and Day One of the 10 annual SasquatchFestival 2011.
Already posted: Closing Day of theSasquatch with headliner Wilco, plus stream full streams, view photos, and MP3 Mix of artists for Day Four.
Between returning from the trek up to Sasquatch in central Washington, and catching up with everything since then, we are a ‘lil late with this week’s Best New Releases. Apologies on that. That said, of all the week’s new releases, The Vaccines‘ What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? is definitely our top album pick, and one of our favorite LPs of 2011, so far. We’ve already spun the whole disc about five or six times. The Vaccines are one of the biggest breakout bands of 2011, and their debut album, out now, proves over and over again why that is so true.
And, there are some really excellent singles this week from new releases by Kids on a Crime Spree, Mando Diao, Robert Pollard, Seapony, and others. Plus, don’t miss new releases this week from artists and bands you’ve probably never heard of before. Each of the artists featured in the In Dee Mail section sent their music to us directly via our submission form. We think you might be surprised at how good some of the music that you probably haven’t heard before really is. :)
“If You Wanna” – The Vaccines from What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
“Norgaard” – The Vaccines from What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
“Sweet Tooth” – Kids On a Crime Spree from We Love You So Bad
“Dance with Somebody” – Mando Diao from Give Me Fire!
“In A Circle” – Robert Pollard from Lord of the Birdcage
“Dreaming” – Seapony from Go With Me
Double-shot: “Blue Star” – Seapony from Go With Me
“Goodnight Trail” – Miwa Gemini from Fantastic Lies of Grizzly Rose
When applicable, we include new releases from relatively unknown artists and bands that we like who specifically sent us their music via the submission form on the About page. It will be interesting to see how listeners react to the songs below. We’ll be looking at the number of downloads to gauge which of these bands people seem interested in, and please definitely leave some comments. The artists below, including Nashville’s I Believe In Hotpants, San Francisco band Charlottesville, Swiss band Costa, Inc., that get the largest overall response will be featured in upcoming posts of In Dee Mail.
The first thing we thing we thought of was Arctic Monkeys when we heard the following two tracks from Manchester rock band The Stand. Could be a band to watch?
Jeff Tweedy of Wilco performs Monday night at Sasquatch Fest - Photo by James Bailey
Wilco ceremoniously closed the 10th annual Sasquatch Festival Monday evening after four days of one of the best line-ups we’ve seen so far for a 2011 music festival.
Jeff Tweedy and the band rocked through a two-hour set in front of a crowd of thousands of weary, chilly and wet Wilco fans who were nonetheless enthusiastic and visibly enjoying the final performance at the Gorge Ampitheatre in Quincy, Washington.
The celebrated Chicago alternative rock band (even though they covered so many genres over the years), and one of America’s finest musical exports of the past 15 years, Wilco was the final performance of a festival that is increasingly one of the top U.S. festivals along with the more recognized fests like Coachella, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. Here are a couple of the original tracks the band played on Monday night, plus a full stream of Wilco’s entire set.
“A Shot In The Arm” – Wilco from Summerteeth (1998)
Hear Wilco’s entire Sasquatch set via NPR.
Note: Make sure to check back for more of our post Sasquatch coverage during the next couple of days.
Colin Meloy of The Decemberists performs Monday night at Sasquatch Festival in Washington state. Photo by James Bailey
Previous to Wilco, The Decemberists rocked and swooned the crowd with a set list featuring indie classics from their earlier folky maritime-themed albums to songs from their latest, and number one album, The King is Dead, which has clearly catapulted the band out of indie realm and into the world of mainstream rock. But labeling did not matter to the thousands of festival goers who were treated to an electrifying performance, starting off with the dramatic saga, “The Infanta.” After The Decemberists, catch some of Deerhunter‘s set on the Bigfoot stage.
“The Infanta” – The Decemberists from Picturesque (2005)
“June Hymn” – The Decemberists from The King is Dead (2011)
Surfer Blood were one of the big attractions on the Yeti stage on Monday during Sasquatch
Part of what made Sasquatch so amazing, and yet so challenging, was the fact that the line-up was smoking hot nearly all day and all of the night on each of the four stages. For example, prior to Deerhunter, the Bigfoot stage hosted performances on Monday from !!!, Surfer Blood, Black Mountain, Noah & The Whale, Twin Shadow, Givers and others.
“Druganaut” – Black Mountain from Black Mountain (2005)
“I Have Nothing”* – Noah and The Whale from The First Days of Spring (2009)
Note: As much as possible, we only use .mp3 links from record labels, publicists, box.net and blogs that make there own .mp3 links available to Hype Machine and other music services. If we have a song link to your own blog but you want us to remove it, please leave a comment and we’ll get it much faster than our email, which is spammed to kingdom come.
– Stream and download partial sets from Black Mountain, City and Colour and Foster The People.
Best Coast performed the last show on the Yeti stage for Sasquatch Fest on Monday. Photo via Line Out.
Meanwhile, on the Yeti stage Monday, festival goers were treated to sets from indie artists like Jaill, The Young Evils, White Denim, Foster The People, and Best Coast. The latter two bands drew good-sized crowds as the afternoon wore on. In and of itself, that line-up on just one rather small stage is a winner for any indie festival.
“Boyfriend” – Best Coast from Crazy For You (2010)
“The Stroller” – Jaill from That’s How We Burn (2010)
“Houdini” – Foster The People from Torches (2010)
Wavves lit up the Yeti stage on Monday to kick-off Day Four of Sasquatch. Photo from James Bailey
Earlier in the day, on the main stage, Sasquatch, a gigantic platform set far down the bottom of a hillside, and , there were awesome performances from Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (stream), Guided By Voices, Chromeo, Old 97s, Young The Giant, and Wavves (stream) kicked it off with the first show of the day on the Yeti stage at lunch time.
“Diablo Rojo” – Rodrigo Y Gabriela from Rodrigo Gabriela (2007)
“June Salutes You” – Guided By Voices from The Official Ironmen Rally EP (2006)
“King of the Beach” – Wavves from King of the Beach (2010)
If you are a fan of Guided By Voices, Major Lazer, Noah and the Whale, Old 97s and Rodrigo Y Gabriela you can stream via NPR to hear parts of their sets from Sasquatch on Monday.
Check back, and refresh this page, for further updates, plus, don’t miss our Sasquatch Festival reviews for Sunday, Saturday and Friday, featuring coverage of even more performances and songs from Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, Bright Eyes, Death Cab For Cutie, Tokyo Police Club, Beach House, J. Mascis, Yeasayer, Sleigh Bells, The Radio Dept , The Globes, The Head and The Heart, Local Natives, Sharon Van Etten, Wolf Parade, Wye Oak, The Antlers, Iron & Wine, The Thermals, Washed Out, and it simply goes on and on.
Modest Mouse closed out Day Three of the Sasquatch Festival. Photo for Brooklyn Vegan by Josh Darr.
The Flaming Lips performed most of their legendary LP, Soft Bulletin, at Sasquatch Festival.
Gold Panda performing in the Banana Shack at Sasquatch, Day Three. Photo by Brittney Bush Bollay for KEXP
Photo Credit: Brittney Bush Bollay for KEXP
