It’s already time to look forward to autumn music releases, even though we’re still getting acquainted with the flood of awesome new releases that have dropped in the past couple of months. Sure, many of them have been featured in the weekly Best New Releases, and via other regular mixes like In Dee Mail and Recent Releases We Almost Missed, but there are still others, especially from bands most people have never heard of, that we’re still listening to – determining if they should make the ‘final cut’. Those that do will be published over the coming weeks.
One of the most talked about upcoming releases is Sufjan Stevens‘ The Age of Adz, which is streaming free on NPR until it’s release date, October 12th. Fans of Sufjan will soon discover yet another side to the prolific musician – his tweaked-out, electro-experimental pop side. We’ll have more to say about Adz next Tuesday.
“Too Much” – Sufjan Stevens from The Age of Adz – Oct. 12th
Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love
You can bet that a lot of Belle and Sebastian fans will be happy Tuesday to finally get their hands on the duo’s first album in four years, Write About Love. The Scottish band, led by singer-songwriter Stuart Murdoch, has built a cult-like following over the years, gaining more fans after two B&S songs were featured in the hit 2007 indie film, Juno. Those songs came from the band’s most successful LP in their 15-year career, 2006’s The Life Pursuit. That album was produced by Tony Hoffer, who guided the band’s music towards a more progressive pop sound. And, just in case you don’t know about Murdoch’s innovative film project, check it out at his God Help The Girl website.
“Write About Love” – Belle & Sebastian from Write About Love – Oct. 12th
For the memories: “There’s Too Much Love” – Belle & Sebastian from Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant (2000)
The Tallest Man on Earth – Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird
On November 9th, Swedish musician Kristian Matsson, better known by his moniker, The Tallest Man on Earth, will officially release his second EP, Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird. Matsson has often been compared to one of our favorite musicians ever – Bob Dylan. Whether by design or coincidence – or a dash of both – Matsson’s raw, nasal voice is strikingly similar to Dylan’s. Since his brilliant 2008 debut LP, Shallow Grave, and this past April’s follow-up, The Wild Hunt, it’s been a wild ride for The Tallest Man on Earth. He’s enormously popular in Europe, and increasingly so in the U.S. and Canada. We love TTMOE, and he’s getting stronger, but not taller, with each release. By the way, Matsson is 5 feet, 7 inches tall.
“Like The Wheel” – The Tallest Man on Earth from Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird – Nov. 9th
Avey Tare (Animal Collective) – Down There
The members of Animal Collective have been keeping busy this summer with solo recordings, releases and tours. Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) was on tour on the heels of his latest release, Tomboy, and now, Avey Tare, has released a new track from his upcoming LP, Down There, set to drop Oct. 26th on Paw Tracks. The new Tare single, “Lucky 1”, sounds, surprisingly, like a new AC song, which you can probably guess is a good, and maybe no-so-good, thing for him. However, until we’ve heard the entire LP, it’s hard to pass judgment. Hard-core AC fans will buy just about anything anyone from the band puts out. Avey also followed the release of that track – which has been trending at No. 1 on the Hype Machine over the past few days – with this silly video for “Lucky 1”.
The next release we are looking forward to is not likely one that many other bloggers or indie fans have marked down as an anticipated fall release. And yet the upcoming new album, Autumn Again, from Philadelphia/Sydney’s celebrated indie dream pop band, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, not only because we freaking loved their previous releases over the past two years, but also because it will be a free download (freeload) starting Oct. 19th, the official release date of the LP. The band will sell 500 vinyl copies via Carrot Top Distribution.
“Drink Drank Drunk” – A Sunny Day in Glasgow from Autumn, Again – Oct. 19th
And then there’s this: Current tourmates Active Child and School of Seven Bells have remixed each other’s tracks on a limited edition 7” project. This collaboration will be available from Lefse Records on mixed color vinyl October 26. Listen to Active Child’s remix of “Heart is Strange” here:
As summer winds down, this last week of August brings with it a truck load of great new releases, and free and legal MP3s, from a virtual crop of new LPs, EPs, and singles from artists and bands like Ra Ra Riot (#1 in Amazon), Eels, No Age, Abner Trio, !!!, Dead Confederate, The Torches, Magic Kids, The Foxymorons, Capstan Shafts, Brad Laner, Dan Mangan, Neil Nathan, New Ideal Society, Pale Sketcher, Atlantic at Pacific, Coil Sea, Bill Baird, James Blackshaw, Capstan Shafts and others.
It might just be that we are more aware of it than previous summers, but it seems like there are more solo debuts from band members of alternative and indie rock bands in 2010.
One of the most anticipated is Phil Selway‘s (Radiohead) upcoming release, Familial, due to drop August 30th. Selway collaborated with singer/songwriter Lisa Germano, ex-Soul Coughing bassist Sebastian Steinberg, Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Sansone.
Kathryn Calder, of the super Canadian indie band, The New Pornographers, will release her debut, Are You My Mother?, next week, August 10th, via Killbeat Music.
“Arrow” – Kathryn Calder from Are You My Mother?
Founding member of the Eels, Tommy Walter, has been working on a new album under the moniker Abandoned Pools (wonder if that’s reference to skateboarding). Walter recently sent this track from the album, which still does not have a release date.
“Legionnaire” – Abandoned Pools from TBA
Glasgow, Scotland has contributed its fair share to the alternative and indie rock, and one of best in the past couple of decades has been the stellar band Travis. Founding member, Fran Healy, will drop his debut solo album, Wreckorder, on October 4th.
Former Desolation Wildnerness band member Nic Zwart will officially release his solo self-titled debut album on September 7th using his music project moniker, Electric Sunset.
“Soda” – Electric Sunset from s/t debut
Musician and songwriter Alain Johannes, who has contributed to albums by Queens of the Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures, drops his debut, Spark, August 17th via Rekords Rekords/Dangerbird Records.
“Endless Eyes” – Alain Johannes from Spark
Kenseth Thibideau, former member of bands like Pinback, Three Mile Pilot, and Tarentel, released his debut solo album, Repetition, on July 20th. The LP was heavily influenced by Thibideau’s obsession with classic krautrock and European prog that is channeled through swirling keyboards, looped grooves, rich melodies, and the singer’s unique vocals.
“Moon” – Kenseth Thibideau from Repetition
In 2009, Andrew Kenny, lead singer and songwriter for the American Analog Set, started a new music project with some friends and named the band The Wooden Birds. Not long after, the band signed with the indie label Barsuk Records, and recently released the debut LP, Magnolia.
“Punk As Fu*k” – American Analog Set from Know By Heart (2001)
Last, but not least, Erik Parapazzi, bassist for Cat Power, released Rococo, his solo debut that should give CP fans something to tie them over until the next CP album release.
For a lot of indie rock fans, today marks the official release of one of the most anticipated albums of the year. That would be Arcade Fire‘s first album in three years, and the Montreal‘s band third studio LP since forming in 2002, The Suburbs.
A few advance singles from the LP have been making the rounds on the web for the past three months, but the rest of the tracks on the The Suburbs were kept under tight wraps, except for some live versions of other songs on the album recorded at recent Arcade Fire shows.
As with their previous records, the band returns again – as they had with Neon Bible and their debut, The Funeral – to the themes of suburban sprawl, the utter dystopia of modern life, a longing for another time and place, and constant critiques of the spread of strip malls, with the omni present disenchantment imposed by commercial monopolization that has over taken the American, and apparently, Canadian, landscape, forever dismantling the infrastructure of thousands of communities that once took pride in their autonomy and unique character, and a longing for a dream that slips further away with the passing of each decade. The suburbs were supposed to be a good thing.
Arcade Fire, probably more than any other rock band we know of, appears to be hell bent on documenting the history of the rise and fall of suburban life. In fact, every song on The Suburbs contains the word suburbs in some form, making the LP much like a modern day “soap opera”, or concept, album, a comparison the band has reportedly dismissed.
So far, reviews of the album have been largely positive. However, The New York Daily News gave it 2.5 of 5 stars; writer Jim Farber summing it up as a “new-wave symphony gets lost in musical sprawl.” Pitchfork went in the other direction, giving The Suburbs a 8.6 out of 10, observing: “The bulk of The Suburbs focuses on this quiet desperation borne of compounding the pain of wasting your time as an adult by romanticizing the wasted time of your youth. As bleak as the lyrics are, though, they’re buoyed by the band’s leanest, loosest songwriting yet.”
Watch Arcade Fire live on YouTube Thursday night, August 5, from Madison Square Garden – one of two sold out shows.
In using MetaCritic as a guiding light for the overall opinion of The Suburbs, it scores an impressive 95 out of 100, making it likely to be a huge success. Many critics are calling it the band’s best album – in totality – and that’s saying a lot.
While The Suburbs is Arcade Fire’s most rocking, and in other respects, most new wave work to date, with less emphasis on orchestra pop that propelled the band to international fame, it is also one of those albums that you wonder what how you will feel about in the years to come.
Is it possible to love this album even more a year from now, after the hype machine finally winds down? Absolutely. But, at this moment, there is no question that the three year time-span without fresh material from the band has been well worth the wait. The Suburbs is likely to be the album of the summer, if not the year.
Wavves – King of the Beach
It wasn’t long ago that some bloggers, musicians and fans were writing off one of the fastest rising one man bands of the past few years. But, after a year of rebuilding and rehabilitating – following a disturbing string of of public incidents involving drugs and alcohol, bar fights with other rock musicians, scuffles on stage with fellow band members, and a storm of bad publicity – San Diego musician Nathan Williams, the founding member of Wavves, has recruited a new band that includes former members of Jay Reatard’s band, and seems to be getting his shi*t together.
“Post Acid”– Wavves from King of the Beach
Candy Claws – Hidden Lands
Candy Claws is a Colorado-based indie duo (Ryan Hover and Kay Bertholf) that is not just another band of young guys playing around on keyboards and Macbooks to create fuzzy, amniotic dream pop. The friends who met in church have now apparently turned their attention from religion to music and science.
The duo’s second LP, Hidden Lands, is a musical companion piece to Richard M. Ketchum‘s 1970 plant-life book, The Secret Life of the Forest. In fact, there is so much happening in the music that the band has had to expand to eight members for live shows.
“Sunbeam Show” – Candy Claws fromHidden Lands
Air Conditioning School – General Mountain Time
Minneapolis band Air Conditioning School is a solo project of Chris Heidman (Sukpatch), whose releases on Sub Pop, Grand Royal and Moshi Moshi have brought him much acclaim from critics and music lovers alike. Now, Heidnam has released his anticipated debut LP, General Mountain Time, and from the little bit we’ve heard so far, it’s sounding pretty sweet.
Dark Soul of the Night, with its star-studded indie line-up, is Amazon's No. 1 at only $3.99
The album recorded last year with Danger Mouse, David Lynch and Sparklehorse finally sees the light today, a full year since legal battles prevented the original release of the album, Dark Night of the Soul, last summer. Since that time, the producer, singer-songwriter, musician and indie icon Mark Linkous (aka, Sparklehorse), and another Dark Night collaborator, and long-time friend of Linkous, musician Vic Chestnutt, both took their own lives in separate incidents in the past seven months. Other guest appearances on the LP include The Flaming Lips, James Mercer, Black Francis, and Julian Casablancas.
“Little Girl” – Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse & Julian Casablancas from Dark Night of the Soul — (stream album)
“Revenge” – Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse & Wayne Coyne from Dark Night of the Soul — (stream album)
Who's the next band to put a 70s Polaroid of a woman no one knows on their album cover?
Last year, The Love Language‘s self-titled lo-fi debut was a spectacular album that did not get the love it so deserved. If the band were not a band to watch in 2009, they surely are in 2010 thanks to the release today of their gorgeous, genre-bending, orchestra-synth retro, lo-fi pop album, Libraries. If this album doesn’t propel the band into another realm of notoriety and critical acclaim, then we have no idea what’s up with that.
We’ve spun Libraries numerous times in recent weeks, and it an accomplished work, and definitely one of the best albums of 2010. Libraries is full of glorious, upbeat, sunny songs, and has its share of more sombre moments. Yet it doesn’t matter, this band is so fuc*ing amazing. In fact, there is not one song from their now two albums that we could possibly delete from the iPod; file under, ‘Must Have.’
“Heart to Tell” – The Love Language from Libraries
The song arrangements are genius, the musical talent stunning, and the impressive lyrics and vocals of Stu McLamb make him, in our book, one of the most important indie singer and songwriters of 2010. The LP is a wonderful experiment (without sounding experimental) where a confluence of music styles, genres and eras are so well woven together that it’s mind-blowing: there’s compelling psychedelic rock (“Horophones”), lo-fi synth folk (“Wilmont”), indie retro ballroom music (“This Blood Is Our Own”) and a perfect summer 2010 love song (“Summer Dust”). Is it obvious yet that we love this album and are urging you to get it?
Probably (because it’s impossible to listen to them all) the second best album of the week is the School of Seven Bells‘ sophomore LP. The band was formed by Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines with twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza. The trio broke through in 2008 with one of that year’s best debut LPs, Alphinisms, and are now back with the equally rewarding follow-up, Disconnect From Desire. Still have not had enough spins to absorb this LP, but it’s another contender for the end of the year lists. The band embarks on a mini tour of Europe and Australia this Thursday, followed by a massive, six-week cross-country U.S. tour that kicks off September 9th at the Brooklyn Bowl.
“Windstorm” – School of Seven Bells fromDisconnect from Desire
Unlike most of the weeks of 2010 so far, this week’s new releases are not stacked with big-time, highly anticipated works, but there’s plenty of great MP3s to download online for free from new singles, LPs and EPs out this week.
The LA band Fol Chen continue to explore their mysterious, sinister musical pursuits, building on an on-going narrative established with their debut, Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made. Expect thick synth keys and steady beats immersed in electro-pop and garnished with new wave influences. Fol Chen has won praise from Los Angeles Magazine, SPIN, NPR, Brooklyn Vegan, LA Times and many others. Add us to the list.
An amazing line up of artists came together to create remixes of Au Revoir Simone‘s 2009 LP, Still Night, Still Light, including Neon Indian, Jens Lekman, Max Cooper, Aeroplane, Punches, Tanlines and more.
“Likely Story” (Aeroplane Remix) – Au Revoir Simone from Night Light
There are also some interesting new releases this week from lesser known, but very talented, musicians who sent music in for review. First to catch our attention was the band Mobile Wash Unit from New York. The band is the moniker for what was originally the one man music outfit Andy Snyder, who currently teaches philosophy at City University in New York.
The two tracks here are from his fresh album, Tent, which officially drops today via Astraea Records.
San Francisco rock band The Stone Foxes release their second album today, Bears and Bulls, DIY style. The band have previously opened for The Mother Hips and been hailed in publications like LAist, San Francisco Chronicle and Classic Rock Magazine. The Stone Foxes’ influences include The Band, Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin.
Well, who knows what these folks had in mind when they named their band, but it’s not exactly one that a booking agent would have an easy time with. Perhaps the single from Richard Laviolette & The Oil Spills‘ new LP, “Funeral Song”, is fitting, all things considered. And of course one more semi oil related reference, the title of the band’s new album, out today, is Raw Materials.
“Funeral Song” – Richard Laviolette & The Oil Spills from Raw Materials
Other singles we like from new releases this week include fresh tracks from Crocodiles, Big Boi, Jay Bennett (RIP), Modern Skirts, What Laura Says, Loom, Mystery Jets, Luke Wesley and more.
“Sleep Forever” – Crocodiles fromSleep Forever 7 inch
“Shutterbug” – Big Boi fromSir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
“Flash a Hungry Smile” – Mystery Jets from Serotonin
Next week: New releases from Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, School of Seven Bells, The Innocence Mission, MIA, Sun Kil Moon and The Love Language, to name a few.
Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse – Dark Night of the Soul [EMI, July 13]
School of Seven Bells – Disconnect From Desire [Vagrant, July 13]
M.I.A. – // / Y / [Interscope, July 13]
Sun Kil Moon – Admiral Fell Promises [Caldo Verde, July 13]
Many of you have already enjoyed our Anticipated Summer Releases Volume One with Japandroids, Arcade Fire, Panda Bear and others; and, Volume Two, featuring singles from upcoming albums from Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Oberhofer, and Wavves.In this third installment of the series, we bring you five more upcoming releases we are looking forward to from Washed Out, Sparklehorse & Danger Mouse, Chief, Jaill and Menomena.
On the morning of the third day of South by Southwest in Austin last March, there was a line a block long outside of Emo’s of folks who were waiting to see Neon Indian and Washed Out perform. And the wait was worth the achy legs and sunburned necks.
Washed Out is the moniker of Ernest Greene, who moved back home to rural Georgia last summer, and began recording songs in his bedroom studio and posting them on his MySpace page. A few bloggers got wind of his songs via his MySpace page, and before long, Washed Out was everywhere on the web.
Greene’s style has often been referred to as the “chillwave movement”. The new song featured here, “You and I”, was performed at SXSW and has been making its way around the web in recent weeks. The track features Caroline Polachek of Chairlift. No word yet on a release date for Washed Out’s debut LP.
P.S. This song reminds us so much of the 1990’s pop sensation, Enigma.
“You and I” – Washed Out (featuringCaroline Polachek) from TBA (TBA)
One of the greatest losses in the music world this year has been the untimely death of alternative rock icon Sparklehorse. Also known by his birth name, Mark Linkous, Sparklehorse was one of the most influential alt rock artists of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Only months before his tragic death in March, Linkous recorded an album with Danger Mouse and director/producer David Lynch. Other collaborators on the project include The Flaming Lips, Black Francis, Suzanne Vega, Julian Casablancas, and Vic Chesnutt, another influential musician who died tragically in the past year. The LP was supposed to be released last summer but squabbles over copyright terms kept the release of the LP in limbo, until now. Dark Night of the Soul will be released on July 19th.
“Little Girl” – Sparklehorse & Danger Mouse (with Julian Casablancas) from Dark Night of the Soul (pre-order) – out July 19th
Chief is a four-piece band out of Santa Monica, California comprised of 20-somethings Evan Koga, brothers Danny and Michael Fujikawa and Mike Moonves. The band has garnered the attention of praise of music writers and fans across the country, and should continue on that course following the August 20th official drop of their debut album, Modern Rituals.
“Night and Day” – Chief from Modern Rituals – out August 20th
“Breaking Walls” – Chief from Modern Rituals – out August 20th
Like fellow Brew City rockers the Goodnight Loving, Jaill brings a healthy dose of jangle to their punchy garage-rock, topped with a distinct mid-western flare. The Milwaukee-based quartet’s debut, There’s No Sky (Oh My My) was self-released in 2009. Later, it was reissued on vinyl and cassette this year by Burger Records.
The band’s debut caught the ears of the respected indie label, Sub Pop Records, based in Seattle, and birthplace of bands like Nirvana, Mudhoney, as well as for newer bands like Beach House, Blitzen Trapper and No Age. Last December, Jaill signed to Sub Pop will issue Jaill’s follow-up LP, That’s How We Burn, says a whole bunch about the band, since Sub Pop is famous for recognizing, cultivating and succeeding with promising artists.
Positive and early reviews of Portland, Oregon-based indie rockers Menomena‘s new LP, Mines, have been building momentum in recent months. Our own cursory listen of an advance copy make it easy to say this belongs in the category of one of the summer’s most anticipated releases. We believe Mines will solify Menomena’s credibility and fan base, building off the well received releases of I Am The Fun Blame Monster and Friend and Foe.
“Five Little Rooms” – Menomena fromMines– out July 27th
The best new album releases for the week of June 29th features Wolf Parade‘s Expo 86, Wavves, Maps & Atlases, plus Electric Tickle Machine, Hey Marseilles, Cap’n Jazz, Invisible Elephant, Alejandro Escovedo, Philip Clark, and Avi Wisnia.
The diversity of styles and sounds are remarkable, and yet all of the songs fit together when you listen to this mix as one, uninterrupted stream – sort of like how folks listened to LPs from start to finish in the old days. Just in case you may not know this, it is possible to stream this entire mixtape simply clicking on the first song – then you can go back to whatever you were doing and let it play like a radio broadcast without the commercials.
We’ve listened online to this mixtape a few more times today, and love it. Perhaps a lot of people will be amazed by the talent of some of the lesser-known, more obscure bands featured below. First, though, some great new tracks from the more well known, popular bands.
Perhaps taking advantage of the relatively few number of ‘big’ new releases this week, San Diego buzz band Wavves moved the digital release date for their new album, King of the Beach, to this week, specifically, Thursday, July 1st. For all we know, word of this change in release date of an anticipated release has not been well covered by the blogs and music press. Here are two tracks from the LP, lead single, “Post Acid”, plus the track, “Idiots”. So far, the new Wavves sound is pretty sah-weet.
“Post Acid” – Wavves from King of the Beach
“Idiot” – Wavves from King of the Beach
Wavves on MySpace
“Solid Ground” – Maps & Atlases from Perch Patchwork
Yesterday, we published a mega mix of singles from our favorites new releases, including fresh tracks from Teenage Fanclub, Here We Go Magic, Yo La Tengo, Suckers, Villagers, Light Pollution and many others. This is such a big week for new releases that in addition to yesterday’s song list, we have more today, including songs from Tokyo Police Club, Delta Spirit, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, The Young Veins, Wye Oak, Olafur Arnalds, The Henry Clay People, Wild Moccasins and What Laura Says. Some of the album titles click through to full streams courtesy of Spinner. Enjoy.
Music lovers have many choices this week as far as new releases go. It’s a quite compelling selection spanning the spectrum of indie music, including anticipated releases from veteran and new indie rock artists. As we do every week, we’ve picked our favorite new releases which include Here We Go Magic, Teenage Fanclub, Villagers, Suckers, Ariel Pink, Deer Tick, Nada Surf, Yo La Tengo, Ratatat, Blitzen Trapper, BLK JKS, The Moondoggies, The Dig, Light Pollution, Casiokids and The Wailing Wall. Also, see details below about how to enter to win a CD of The Marching Band’s new album, Pop Cycle.
One of our favorite 1990’s pop bands, Teenage Fanclub, return to their roots with the release of their new album, Shadows. Teenage Fanclub broke through in Glasgow during the C86 (a collection of post punk music that was distributed underground on cassette tapes during the late 80’s and early 1990’s, mostly in the UK) craze, eventually transforming from a noisy and rough sound to a more cheerful, harmonic and melody lush pop, drawing comparisons with The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Neil Young and even Big Star.
As surprising as it may be to some music nerds, Spin Magazine‘s 1991 reader’s poll for best album of the year went to Teenage Fanclub’s album, Bandwagonesque (a must-have 90’s indie record), beating out Nirvana‘s legendary Nevermind, which is still one of the top-selling albums in rock history. Bandwagonesque also beat My Bloody Valentine‘s Loveless and REM‘s worldwide smash LP, Out of Time.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t until TF’s fifth album, Grand Prix, that the group had their first top ten album in the UK. Interestingly, at the height of the Britpop craze in the mid 1990’s, the notoriously outspoken Liam Gallagher, of Oasis (both bands were signed to Creation Records), called Teenage Fanclub, “the second best band in the world” (of course, only after Oasis). Following the demise of Creation, Teenage Fanclub continued to build on their critical acclaim, but were shifting between labels – from Columbia to Sony – until they launched their own PeMa label in 2005 to release the album Man-Made.
Today marks the release of Teenage Fanclub’s ninth studio LP, Shadows, via Merge Records, in the U.S. The single below, “Baby Lee”, clearly demonstrates the band still has the magic they had 15 years ago to craft perfectly simplistic, hi-fi pop jems that appeal to a wide audience.
“Baby Lee”– Teenage Fanclub from Shadows
Teenage Fanclub on MySpace
Brooklyn indie rock band Here We Go Magic, originally the one-man moniker of singer Luke Temple, officially release their debut album, Pigeons, today, via one of the best indie labels, Secretly Canadian. Temple had previously released two folk LPs under his own name, but it was when he released a self-titled LP as Here We Go Magic in February 2009 – produced in his home with a 4-track recorder – that he hit almost instant fame within the ‘indie music scene’. Pitchfork wrote that the LP features “hazy electronic textures, endlessly-spiraling lyrical loops, occasional forays into extended sections of ambience and noise.” Within weeks, Temple had been booked for tours with Grizzly Bear and The Walkmen, and recently completed tours with White Rabbits and The New Pornographers. Music writer Jeremy Medina, comparing Pigeons to last year’s self-titled HWGM debut, observed: “The music is richer, more atmospheric and stranger than ever [with] catchy choruses and dance-ready beats.”
The Irish indie rock band Villagers are definitely one of the ‘break-through’ artists of 2010. Today marks the official U.S. release date of the group’s debut album, Becoming A Jackal. Villagers are fronted by former The Immediate band member Conor O’Brien. Villagers formed, ironically, immediately after the breakup of The Immediate, and within a relatively short period of time have become one of the most talked about overseas artists of 2010.
O’Brien said his lyrics are “transcendental darkness” and “dark imagery or feelings alongside really mundane domestic everyday things.” This will be a busy month for the band; this weekend they are booked for two festivals in the Netherlands, and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London at the beginning of next week before flying to New York to kick-off their U.S. tour at the legendary Knitting Factory and Union Hall in Brooklyn. You can get more information via the band’s pages on Twitter, MySpace, YouTube and Facebook.
In February 2009, Stereogum named Brooklyn’s Suckers a band to watch. And no wonder. Their debut self-titled EP, which was co-produced by Anand Wilder of Yeasayer and Chris Moore (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV On The Radio), is spectacular. Today the band officially releases their debut LP, Wild Smile. This month, the band has four big shows, including two shows in Brooklyn with Passion Pit, Tokyo Police Club and We Were Promised Jetpacks; the June 29th show at Prospect Park is sold out, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the June 18th record release party at the Music Hall of Williamsburg sells out as well. If you are in LA, Suckers are set to perform a 7 pm in-store show tonight at Amoeba Records.
Deer Tick has been on the uptick as far as a growing fanbase and respect from music professionals over the past couple of years, due in part to the band’s 2009 indie folk/country rock album, Born on Flag Day. Today, the Rhode Island band officially drop their third album, The Black Dirt Sessions. The Dirt LP is the most progressive album – full of darker, rougher ballads about growing up and the pain and challenges that love and life present.
“Twenty Miles” – Deer Tick from The Black Dirt Sessions
Nada Surf are nowadays pretty much veteran rockers (wow time goes fast), but the band are not stuck in the past, offering up their latest LP, if i had a hi-fi, to fans with the official release today. We haven’t heard it, but here is the lead single, a Bill Fox cover. Nada Surf head out on an European tour next month.
“Electrocution (Bill Fox cover)”– Nada Surf from if i had a hi-fi
Another veteran indie rock group, Yo La Tengo, are also appealing to 2010 with their first ever EP featuring remixes of their songs; quite surprising for a band so long associated with anything but techno music. Here we have a Pete Rock remix of “Here to Fall” from the like-titled Here to Fall Remixes. Lo Ya Tengo fans: dilemma, huh?
Subpop recording artist Blitzen Trapper, who have been important to the success of the Portland, Oregon indie rock scene, drop their fifth studio album today, Destroyer of the Void. The LP was recorded over a period of a year, from January 2009 to January 2010, with the assistance of Portland musician and engineer Mike Coykendall (Bright Eyes, M. Ward, She & Him). Subpop calls the album “an otherworldly experience”; a full albumstream of Destroyer of The Void is available via Blitzen Trapper’s MySpace page.
One of the best alernative bands to come out of South Africa in recent years is the Johannesburg Soweto-rock (hear that Vampire Weekend?) group BLK JKS (pronounced Black Jacks). The guys broke through in 2008 to a U.S. audience even though they officially formed in 2000. Can’t wait to hear Zol! especially after listening to title track available below.
The prolific duo from the electronic outfit Ratatat, consisting of Mike Stroud and Even Mast, drop their ironically titled LP4 today. Stroud told Paste magazine “most of it was recorded during the same studio sessions that yielded LP3.” Why is that so believable?
The fact that these last five songs are featured at the end of this week’s best new releases should not in any way be misconstrued as inferring that they are any less amazing as the numerous other songs listed in today’s mixtape. In fact, the first three bands – Light Pollution, The Moondoggies, and The Dig – are IRC Bands to Watch in 2010. Both albums, and the one EP, are worth checking into further if you like the singles.
As usual, we are stoked to be sharing all of this great music with as many people as possible, especially if we help turn you on to music and artists you had previously not been aware of, or just made it easier and more convenient to decide which albums you want to add to your collection, or what artists you hope to see live this summer. The whole thing about sharing great music, and turning people on to music they might not otherwise know about, is the fuel that drives our desire to keep doing this. In addition to the three BTW mentioned above, we are including new tracks from Casiokids and The Wailing Wall.
CD Contest: Easily enter to win a free CD of The Marching Band‘s latest release, Pop Cycle.Just pick a song from today’s new releases that you like the most and in the Comments write a 50 to 75 word review. Even if someone else is selected, your review will be seen thousands – potentially tens of thousands – of people from around the world who visit IRC every day. We’ll pick a winner at the end of the week, and announce his or her name (unless he/she asks not to) via our Twitter and Facebook pages.
This week’s best new releases includes two new songs from the debut LP of the wildly popular band, The Drums. The LP will not be officially released in the U.S. until June 15th, but officially dropped in the UK on May 31st. Looking very forward to hearing the entire LP. Also, among this week’s best new releases includes the first album from The Get Up Kids in six years, plus fresh tracks from Active Child, Teenage Fanclub, The Futureheads, Born Ruffians, The Melvins, Elk City, Big Tree, Television Personalities, Coltrane Motion, Hooray for Earth, Woodsman.
“Forever & Ever Amen” – The Drums from May 31st UK release; June 12 in US – Preorder vinyl
You can get a free MP3 of “It Will All End in Tears” from The Drums official website, and the official music video for the single “Forever & Ever Amen”. Pre-order The Drums’ debut, self-titled LP digitally on iTunes, or digitally, on vinyl or CD from Amazon or CD Baby.
