After nearly five years since their last album, the long awaited, highly anticipated, and already wildly popular, new album by The Shins, Port of Morrow, was officially dropped this week. The release followed weeks of build-up and buzz, and was complimented by appearances on SNL, The Late Show, SXSW, and widespread coverage on mainstream media sites and countless blogs.
The first single, “Simple Song,” is an excellent choice, even though there are a number of tracks on Port of Morrow that would have served just as well as the first single. Yet, like many songs by The Shins over the past 15 years, “Simple Song” has an anthemic feel to it. The B-side to “Simple Song” 7-inch vinyl, “September” is an acoustic, ballad-leaning love song, featuring injections of electric slide guitar reverb riffs, rhythmic bass and the iconic vocals of James Mercer.
Tanlines drew enthusiastic crowds to their various performances at SXSW last week in Austin. As a result, kudos to the label, True Panther Sounds, if it was a strategic move to drop Tanlines new album, Mixed Emotions right after SXSW. The shamelessly enjoyable dance pop of “All of Me,” the album’s first single, has been getting a lot of exposure and streams at various portals on the web, and the album is also receiving good reviews.
The new album, Tiger Talk, from Yukon Blonde is among our favorite albums of the week. If you like the lead single, “Stairway,” you’ll probably love the album.
Chapel Hill‘s psych pop/folk art band Lost In The Trees upped the ante this week with the release of their new album, A Church That Fits Our Needs. The lead track, “Golden Eyelids” is unforgivingly magical.
“Shannon” – Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s from Rot Gut, Domestic on Mariel Recording Company
Fans of unabashed geek pop, and perhaps fans of Vampire Weekend (aren’t they one and the same?), may find themselves approving of the lead single, “You Think I Don’t Know (But I Know)” from Gainesville, Florida band Morningbell‘s self released new album, Bassco Profundo. The track is a bit quirky and playful, featuring an infectious upbeat.
Grizzly Bear and Department of Eagle fans have reason to be excited this week with the release of Daniel Rossen‘s new solo EP. On “Silent Song,” Rossen flourishes with guitar and vocal driven melodies and a mix of instruments that are interestingly woven throughout the song. The Wedding Present, trailblazers of the post-punk music scene of the 1980’s, follow-up their shows at SXSW last week with a new album, Valentina. The lead single, with a Tarzanesque title, “You Jane,” demonstrates that the aging veterans still have their mojo.
“You Jane” – The Wedding Present from Valentina on Scopitones
“Book Of Advice” – Solander from Passing Mt. Satu on A Tenderversion Recording
With the kick-off of SXSW, it’s no big surprise that it is a thin week for new releases. That said, there is still a good collection of new singles from just dropped albums to pick from, including the lead track from The Ting Tings’ follow-up to their acclaimed debut; Atlanta’s Tiger! Tiger!, plus, Freshkills, Say Anything, Lucero and others, including the U.S. release of Tribes‘ Baby, featuring the lead track “Sappho”. Plus, with the CD releases this week of previously released MP3 albums (last week), we have additional tracks from Said The Whale and Delta Spirit.
“Soul Killing” – The Ting Tings from Sounds From Nowheresville (track via TheBurningEar.com) Bonus:“Hang It Up” (Banana Dynamite Remix)
Atlanta-based Tiger! Tiger! is not as well-known as one would expect for a band that has opened for artists such as notable luminaries Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Woggles , and The Subsonics, superstar centurions The Fleshtones, and international big-shots Mastodon and Black Lips. Tiger! Tiger’s! new album, Cut Them Where They Bleed, features cover art by renowned illustrator John Baizley. (There is also a Sydney, Australia band called Tiger Tiger.)
“Perfume of Despair” – Tiger! Tiger! from Cut Them Where They Bleed via Chicken Ranch Records
“Sappho” – Tribes from Baby via Fairfax Recordings (song via SafetyFunandLearning.com)
Stream the album Baby via Spinner
“Positive Vibes” – Freshkills from Raise Up the Sheets via Bat Rabies Alert/The End Records
“Undefined” – The Hussy from Weed Seizure via Tic Tac Totally
“Never Go Away” – Drowner from Drowner
“Sometimes” – Lucero from Women & Work via ATO Records
“Burn a Miracle” – Say Anything from Anarchy, My Dear via Vision Records
“Spring Break-Up” – Tacocat from Take Me To Your Dealer via Hardly Art
Last week the Juno Award winning band Said The Whale released the MP3 version of their new, anticipated album (their first as a five-piece band), Little Mountain. This week is the official release of the CD version of the album for fans that prefer the sound quality of a CD over an MP3 album. Little Mountain is one of the best albums so far this year, featuring the band’s exhilarating mix of 70’s and 80’s classic post punk combined with the power pop of artists like Marshall Crenshaw and The Knack.
“We Are 1980” – Said The Whale from Little Mountain (or get the MP3 version; unfortunately, there’s no vinyl edition – song via DirectCurrentMusic.com)
Other top releases this week include the CD release of Delta Spirit‘s self-titled debut, plus the live album from The Decemberists, We All Raise Our Voices to the Air.
“California” – Delta Spirit from Delta Spirit on Rounder Records (track via TheWheelsStillinSpin)
Or get the MP3 version or vinyl edition.
Also, get the MP3 version, Audio CD, or vinyl edition of The Decemberists’ We All Raise Our Voices to the Air. For an album this great, we’re getting the vinyl – the best sound ever is vinyl and probably always will be.
In case you missed Part One of this week’s Best New Releases, you definitely what to start there first. That playlist offers terrific new singles from The Magnetic Fields, Andrew Bird, Said The Whale, White Rabbits, Bowerbirds, and many others.
For the most part, this playlist features all of the other new singles from albums dropped this week that we wanted to share with our readers. Many of the tracks are from artists that are lesser-known among indie music fans, while others that are relatively new, and a few that are popular in the ‘underground music’ circles, so to speak.
Unlike Part One, this playlist starts off with a full-on blast thanks to the blazing, raging new punk single, “Hysteria,” from the thrashing California punk rock band Ceremony (not to be confused with the shoegaze indie rock band Ceremony). The single is just a sample of the mix of styles – from 70’s punk and 80’s post punk to more mellow, atmospheric tracks – found on the band’s new album, Zoo, dropped this week via Matador Records.
Why not pair intensive and explosive punk tracks back to back? That’s where the band Nu Sensae and their new track come into the picture, although the latter’s track is more hard-core than Ceremony’s – still it’s a double treat for punk rockers. Plus, we added the new track from The Men, which is a bit less hardcore than the previous two tracks, but still fits in nicely in this trio of tracks. The Men’s “Ex Dreams” demonstrates the band’s affinity for punk/post punk revival and is clearly influenced by bands like New Order.
“Hysteria” – Ceremony from Zoo on Matador Records
“Gumbo” – Nu Sensae from Tea Swamp Park on Suicide Squeeze
“Ex Dreams” – The Men from Open Your Heart on Sacred Bones Records (track via IRockCleveland)
Crushed Stars, Nite Jewel, Bensh and Baby Eagle & The Proud Mothers
That triple-shot of hardcore tracks – which made sense to group together – combined with a couple cups of coffee is enough to make anyone well amped by now (especially if you’ve replayed them), so it’s a good time to stream through a couple of calmer singles, such as Crushed Stars‘ “Brighter Now” and Nite Jewel’s “In The Dark” (interesting with the bright to dark contrast there in the song titles). Following those songs, the mood changes to uptempo, witty, even zany tracks, like the new singles from debut LPs by Austrian band Bensh and Baby Eagle & the Proud Mothers.
“Brighter Now” – Crushed Stars from In The Bright Rain on Simulacra Record
“In The Dark” – Nite Jewel from One Second of Love [with Digital Booklet] on Secretly Canadian
“How Come Nao” – Bensh from Clues on Odd One In Records
“Brave Women” – Baby Eagle & the Proud Mothers from Bone Soldiers on You’ve Changed Records
“Changing Wind” – Elfin Saddle from Devastates
Melodramas, Dinowalrus and Dance Hall Pimps
The title track off of the new, self-titled EP from the Portsmouth, England band, Melodramas, has a college rock radio quality to it. Having previously opened for artists like New York Dolls and Taylor Hawkins, Melodramas have a pretty good following in the U.K., and now they’re hoping to break out in the U.S. The band’s new EP was produced by multi-platinum awarded producer Sam Williams (Supergrass, Plan B, Noisettes). Following Melodramas, are fresh tracks from new albums from Dinowalrus and Dance Hall Pimps.
“Kids” – Melodramas from Kids EP
“What Now” – Dinowalrus from Best Behavior on Old Flame Records
“Mommy Was A Zombie” – Dance Hall Pimps from Beast For Love on Lakeshore Records
Soundcloud Tracks from The Men Eighteen Individual Eyes, Scott Matthew, Pond, Now Now, Balkan Beat Box, Xiu Xiu
“Open Your Heart” – The Men from Open Your Heart on Sacred Bones Records
“Four Poses” – Eighteen Individual Eyes from Unnovae Nights (self-released)
“Sinking” – Scott Matthew from Gallantry’s Favorite Son on Riot Bear Recording Co.
“Mystery” – Pond from Beard, Wives, Denim on Modular
“Dead Oaks” – Now, Now from Threads on Trans Records
Balkan Beat Box mix dance, techno, raggea, African, tropical and even hip hop to create a mish-mash of styles that gives them their unique sound. However, will you really remember, or care, about this track in a month from now? But, we’re including it anyway to see how people react to it.
“Part Of The Glory” – Balkan Beat Box from Give on Nat Geo
Lastly, while we like some of their music sometimes, Xiu Xiu‘s new single, “Hi,” from the LP, Always, just doesn’t do it for us, and it’s one of the biggest disappointing singles of the week.
This is one of the best week of new releases so far this year. If you’re having a bad day, or week, this singles playlist from the Best New Releases of the week is a damn good antidote. This is only Part One of all the singles/albums we’re reviewing for the week; Part Two will be out soon.
Still, this post is loaded with enough infectious and superb new singles from established to relatively new-on-the-scene indie artists that it should keep you busy for a while. And if you missed past Best New Releases, we encourage you to check them out.
Kicking things off is The Magnetic Fields‘ own song similar to The Kinks‘ classic hit, “Lola,” complete with a witty, gender-bending love anthem, “Andrew In Drag.”
How interesting is it that both songs – separated by 42 years – are about sexually ambiguous men who have an attraction to a man who is “a little bit of both,” as a matter of speaking.
But The Kinks’ – and with a band name like that – were way ahead of their time four decades ago, and caused controversy, no question about it. Radio stations refused to play “Lola” in the U.S., even though it was a Top 10 single here in the States and a No. 1 (or Top of the Pops, as they say) in the U.K.
The Magnetic Fields definitely take the Lola baton to the next level, since they can be more direct nowadays, and a step beyond Aerosmith‘s “Dude Looks Like A Lady” and other similar she-man songs since the days of Lola. However, the exploits of men with other men of varying degrees of feminimity is something that goes back to ancient times in texts and art.
It was completely coincidental – other than it being another great single – that Andrew Bird‘s wonderful 60’s pop style single, “Eyeoneye,” turned out as the follow-up track to “Andrew In Drag.”
“Andrew In Drag” – The Magnetic Fields from Love at the Bottom of the Sea via Merge Records
“Eyeoneye” – Andrew Bird from Break It Yourself via Mom + Pop
Great band, Good Old War, still waiting their turn
Good Old War, Said The Whale and White Rabbits’ Terrific New Singles
Continuing on, we’re loving on Philly band Good Old War‘s stand out new single, “Calling Me Names,” followed by Said The Whale indie rockers superb track, “Heavy Ceilings,” complete with a very “My Sharona” main riff-off.
Next, Brooklyn-via-Missouri’s consistently good indie rock/post punk revival band White Rabbits reset the mood with the blazing, Jack White-like ripping guitar rocker, “Temporary.”
“Calling Me Names” – Good Old War from Come Back As Rain via Sargent House
“Heavy Ceiling” – Said the Whale from Little Mountain via Hidden Pony
“Temporary” – White Rabbits from Milk Famous via TBD Records
Bowerbirds, Miniature Tigers, Yellow Ostrich and newbies Uncle Roman’s Jetboat
Interestingly, the Bowerbirds‘ latest single, “Tuck The Darkness In,” is not dark, but does have kind of a melancholy sunniness to it. In fact, it sounds a lot like Andrew Bird in some ways. Now, we start to get into some of the lesser known bands and artists to many people, and others to ourselves. We’re happy to have the fresh single from Brooklyn band Yellow Ostrich.
“Marathon Runner” – Yellow Ostrich from Strange Land via Barsuk
Miniature Tigers is a band we locked in on back in 2010, especially with the release of their album, Fortress, which contained the single,“Gold Skull,” produced by Neon Indian. This week, Miniature Tigers, released their new album, and from what we’ve heard so far, it’s a solid record. We’ve got the first single from the LP, “Female Doctors,” which is a mix between indie rock and dance pop, with an underlying Prince influence running throughout.
“Female Doctor” – Miniature Tigers from Mia Pharaoh via Modern Art
Following Miniature Tigers is a note-worthy new track from a band new to us, Uncle Roman’s Jetboat. Created from the remains of bands like The Kindness Kind from Seattle, and fronted by British singer Thomas Beecham, URJ dropped their debut EP, Floodlights In The Sunlight, this week to fairly wide coverage on indie blogs, not so much though on sites like Stereogum and SPIN.
The album is a mix of disparate influences comprising psychedelic/alternative rock, tango, raggae, indie pop and others. The title track below is easily the best new single from a debut out this week. Keep your eyes and ears open for more from Uncle Roman’s Jetboat soon.
“Floodlights in the Sunlight” – Uncle Roman’s Jetboat from Floodlights in the Sunlight via Don’t Be a Lout Music
Jack Wilson’s Debut; New-To-Us Artist Eric Chenaux
Don’t be surprised if you find yourself listening again and again to this mix of new singles – we’re on like our seventh or eighth time already. The next track, “Valhalla,” from new-to-us Austin folk-pop songwriter Jack Wilson, changes the mood a bit with a kind of alt. country mixed with folkish type of melancholy. The track is from our second favorite debut of the week – Jack Wilson via Fluff & Gravy Records. Yet another artist we were not previously familiar with, Eric Chenaux, delivers one of the surprise tracks of the week with the single, “Amazing Backgrounds.”
“Valhalla” – Jack Wilson from Jack Wilson via Fluff & Gravy Records
“Amazing Backgrounds” – Eric Chenaux from Guitar & Voice via Constellation Records
PT Walkley has opened for bands such as Coldplay and Weezer. His new album is out this week.
Wow, this is yet another great week for new releases. The singles from new albums have been sifted through and arranged into the following playlist – and it’s just one great track after another, and we hope you agree.
The lead off track for this week’s Best New Releases was not easy to pick with so many great choices, but ultimately, we decided to choose PT Walkley‘s new single, “Way That You Are,” from the album, Thriller (not sure what the decision-making was there; there can’t be another album titled Thriller, just saying).
“The Way That You Are” – PT Walkley from Thriller via Frisbie Records
While Walkley is not particularly well-known among most indie rock enthusiasts or casual listeners, we suspect that the New York City based singer/songwriter and composer for film and television, still has a fair amount of name recognition. After all, he and his live band did open for Coldplay at Madison Square Garden and Weezer at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Artists simply do not get picked for such mammoth gigs like that unless they’re damn good. Walkley is also involved with a number of musical projects, including The Blue Jackets. Plus, he has composed music for a variety of commercials, films and television shows.
Double-shot: “Go Away” – PT Walkley from Thriller
Prior to the release of Thriller, Walkley released two EPs and debut LP in 2009. Man, this guy has been incredibly busy. We first featured Walkley on IRC in February 2011 for the track, “Love You Dearly” from the EP, The Ghost of Chivalry.
Memoryhouse Release Subpop Debut and Amy Ray Drops Her Solo Debut
One of the most talked about new additions to the Sub Pop Records roster in the past year is the dream pop duo Memoryhouse. This week the Toronto musical pair released their debut album, The Slideshow Effect, to solid reviews from blogs and established music sites alike. Possessing strong songwriting, the LP’s wispy pop nostalgia makes it an exciting and uplifting listening experience from start to finish.
The lead single, “Glow” from Amy Ray‘s (Indigo Girls) new album, is an incredibly catchy pop rock track that reminds us a little bit of Paul Westernberg. But we’re a bit miffed; we can’t figure out who is the lead male singer on the track? We listened to the track a few times, and could not figure it out. There’s no way that is Amy Ray on lead vocals, right? Regardless, it’s a spunky lil one that’ll definitely have some lovers and haters, but probably not much in between. Stream Lung of Love via Spinner.
Great New Singles from Elliott Brood, Geographer, The Mary Onettes, Plants and Animals Soft Swells, Water Liars
The fresh track, “Northern Air,” from Toronto three-piece, alt-country band, Elliott Brood, is one of the best songs of 2012 thus far. It’s simply a great song with a great hook, a thumping, rhythmic bass, infusions of harmonica and energetic acoustic and mandolin guitar playing. We can see this song ending up on a soundtrack. The Canadian band kicked off their U.S. tour on February 23rd in Detroit and will wrapped it up in Philadelphia on March 17th. See Elliott Brood tour schedule here.
“Northern Air” – Elliott Brood from Days into Years via Paper Bag Records
A fitting follow-up to Elliott Brood is this latest single from the super group without a name – featuring Jay Farrar (solo artist/former member of Uncle Tupelo before founding Son Volt), Yim Yames (or Jim James; guitarist for My Morning Jacket); Anders Parker (solo musician/former member of Space Needle) and Will Johnson (member of Centro-matic and recently, Monsters of Folk) – “Old L.A.” is one of the stand out tracks on a tribute album to Woody Guthrie, New Multitudes: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie.
“Old LA” – Jay Farrar/Yim Yames/Anders Parker/Will Johnson from New Multitudes: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie via Rounder Records
Switching back to indie rock, the relatively new band Geographer, who have been steadily amassing a large following nationwide, have a terrific new song, “Life From Crime,” from the just dropped album, Myth. The track, one of many standout tracks from Myth, is epic-sounding, framed by synchronized drum beats and bass, and soaring vocals that put it in the realm of the best new songs of 2012. Myth is also streaming via Spinner, and you can click the album title below to purchase it via Amazon as an MP3 download, or you might prefer to get the CD or vinyl edition.
Following right behind is another big-sounding, heartfelt, masterfully composed and engineered track, “Love’s Taking Strange Ways,” from Stockholm indie pop band The Mary Onettes – a band that we have featured numerous times since they emerged right around 2009. This song, their previous work, and the new EP out this week are enough evidence for us that not only are TMO one of the best Swedish bands currently, but perhaps one of the most underrated indie pop bands of recent years.
“Love’s Taking Strange Ways” – The Mary Onettes from Love Forever via Labrador Records
Next, the lead single, “Lightshow,” from Montreal indie rock band Plants and Animals‘ new album, The End of That, creates a sombre mood, driven predominantly by spirited, mostly acoustic guitar riffs, spunky drum beat rhythms and the somewhat discordant folksy vocals of Warren Spicer. However, while still a solid song – one of week’s best – it would be even a better track if it had a hook to it. The End of That may be the band’s best album since their 2008 debut, Parc Avenue, which was nominated for the Polaris Music Prize and the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year.
On March 8th, Plants and Animals will kick-off a 35-city North American tour that will take them until the end of May to complete, with a couple of breaks in between. Check out Plants and Animals’ 2012 tourdate schedule.
“Lightshow” – Plants and Animals from The End of That via Secret City Records
While the East Coast transplanted L.A. indie rock duo Soft Swells officially dropped its self-titled debut album this week, there was plenty of build-up prior to its long-anticipated release. In fact, last summer, Soft Swells released the perfectly bright indie pop-sounding tracks, “Every Little Thing” and “Lifeboats” on 7,” and with that received airplay on MTV Hive and Los Angeles radio stations, KCRW and KROQ, helping the duo to build a strong West Coast fan following. The duo consists of longtime indie lyricist Tim Williams and Matt Welsh of the popular Brooklyn band, Phonograph.
“Every Little Thing” is uplifting, even infectious, while the double-shot track, “Put It On The Line,” has a power pop hook that sounds like a summer track. Check out Soft Swells 2012 tour schedule that includes a number of dates at South By Southwest in less than two weeks from now.
Double-shot: “Put It On The Line” – Soft Swells from Soft Swells
“Paint My Picture on the Thick Shell” – Stars in Coma from Midnight Puzzle via KinGem Records
Mind Spiders rip out a perfectly garage rock/surf pop track on their new lead single “On The Radio;” England in 1819 take things down a few notches with the slower, mellow composition, “Air That We Once Breathed” that has includes some interestingly chilled guitar riffs and moments of commendable singing. The track is from England 1819’s new album, Alma. Plus, listen to a new track from Xiu Xiu’s latest; the boy/girl 60′s garage pop of Eux Autres; the indie rock of Sourpatch and the new 2012 radar band X-Ray Eyeballs.
“On the Radio” – Mind Spiders from Meltdown via Dirt Nap Records
Double-shot:“Wait For Us” – Mind Spiders from Meltdown
“Air That We Once Breathed” – England In 1819 from Alma (self-released)
“Right Again” – Eux Autres from Sun Is Sunk via Bons Mots Records
“Cynthia Ann” – Sourpatch from Stagger and Fade via HHBTM records
“X” – X-Ray Eyeballs from Splendor Squalor via Kanine Records
Other Worthy Lead Single MP3s from New Albums Out This Week
“Standing on the Edge” – Cuff the Duke from Morning Comes via Paper Bag Records
“The World Unfolds” – Gabriel of the Hounds from Kiss Full of Teeth
“You New Web” – First Person Shootr from Mobility For Gods via Lefse Records
“The World Unfolds” – Gabriel and the Hounds from Kiss Full of Teeth via Ernest Jenning Record Co.
“Always Forever” – Hunx from Hairdresser Blues via Hardly Art
“Close to Me” – Sophia Knapp from Into the Waves via Drag City
“Shepherd” – Anaïs Mitchell from Young Man in America via Wilderland Records
“Dirt” – Andre Williams from Hoods and Shades via Bloodshot Records
“Squawk” – Y La Bamba from Court the Storm via Tender Loving Empire
“Rising Below” – Dirty Three from Toward the Low Sun via Drag City
File Under Disappointing New Singles: School of Seven Bells and Fanfarlo
The new track from School of Seven Bells sounds too over produced and perfected for our tastes; it sounds much more like a ‘mainstream’ pop track. We were never really big fans of the band since they blasted their way into the spotlight a few years ago, but at least back then their sound was, well, more authentic. “The Night” is an OK song that will appeal to a certain demographic (including some of our listeners), and that’s just fine, but compared to all of the other amazing tracks in this week’s playlist, it’s forgettable.
“The Night” – School of Seven Bells from Ghostory via Vagrant Records/Ghostly International
Much of what we pointed out about School of Seven Bells also, to our surprise, applies to the new single, “Replicate,” from Fanfarlo. There’s nothing about the track that would make it even remotely memorable other than the fact that it’s a disappointment compared to the band’s widely-acclaimed debut album, Wolfgang Amadeus – one of the top indie rock albums of 2009. If the band’s newest track, “Replicate” is indicative of their new album, Rooms Filled With Light, we’ll pass, thanks anyways. There’s just way too much other fantastic music out now to give any preference to a band that may turn out to have hit their peak. We just can’t understand how “Replicate” is the lead single – perhaps the rest of the album is better; if we hear people saying that, we’ll probably check it out. In the meantime, if you are a Fanfarlo fan, you can stream XXXXX via Spinner.
“Replicate” – Fanfarlo from Rooms Filled With Light via Canvasback Music
Sneak Peak at Upcoming Big Edition of In Dee Mail Highlighting Top DIY Releases
The number of DIY and unsigned artists and bands that we receive official music submissions from each week builds and builds. We’ve been sifting through them, and have some great tracks from artists most people have never heard of that we’re preparing for the first massive In Dee Mail DIY Releases of 2012 – hopefully to published by next week. You probably don’t want to miss that playlist post when it comes out because, for some of the bands, we’ll be the only and/or first high visibility indie site that we know of to feature them, which in some cases is really surprising.
In the meantime, here are a few tracks from new albums out this week by DIY and unsigned artists, and who will be featured (with an additional song or two) in upcoming editions of In Dee Mail DIY Releases depending on the number of streams and downloads of each song. For example, if artist has close to, as many, or more streams and downloads of their song than the more well-known artists and bands featured higher in this post, that’s a good indicator that listeners like what they hear, and therefore, makes sense to include in the upcoming edition of In Dee Mail DIY Releases.
It will be interesting to see which of these tracks IRC listeners stream and download the most. If you have something particular to say about one of these – or any other – tracks, let everyone know via the Comments section below, Twitter or Facebook.
“Bygger Stegar Upp Till Himmelen” – Laike from Långt Från Stadslivets Dån – Feb. 27th
“Safe to Say” – Russell Howard from City Heart – Feb. 28th
“You’re My Anchor, Baby” – The Anchor Babies from The Anchor Babies EP – March 2nd
“IAF” – Graffito from The Seasons of Our Youth – Feb. 28th
“Madness Dream” – No Offense Intended from Ashes From The Sun – March 1st
“Our Time Is Now” – Outlook from Our Time is Now – Feb. 28th
“Pedro” – Sol Cat from The Jungle Sessions EP – March 1st
“Fatherland” – Mr. Dream from Fatherland EP – Feb. 28th
Soundcloud Only Singles
“Polaroyced” – Mouse on Mars from Parastrophics via Monkeytown Records
“Get a Room”Rotary Club from Second Year in Swine via Woodside Records
“Malibu Rum” – The Wooden Sky from Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun via Black Box Recordings/Fontana North
In Part One of this week’s Best New Releases, there are many lead singles off of new albums, bonus tracks and flashback tracks from artists like fun, Princeton, Grimes, Wild Nothing, Dirty Ghosts and Perfume Genius. We decided to split last week’s new releases into two posts, since we wanted the Part One installment to focus on profiles and songs of our favorite releases of the week.
Today’s post, Part Two, contains many worthy lead tracks from new albums out now covering a wide range of styles and genres from singer/songwriter to alternative rock, punk to pop. The artists include Damien Jurado, Terry Malts, Lampchop, Tindersticks, Sara Radle, Inca Gold, Archers of Loaf, and a few IRC exclusives from DIY artists like Minneapolis alternative rock bands Jean George and Vague-à-Bonde, and Mexico‘s rockers Nousis. Each of these artists independently dropped their albums in the past week, but had no coverage on the web that we could find in a Google search.
“Like Rain” – Ducky from The Whether EP (self-released)
“Loose Ends” – Damon Moon and the Whispering Drifters from Lungs, Dirt, and Dreams
IRC DIY Releases Out This Week: Jean George, Vague-a-Bonde and Nousis
“Vietnam” – Jean George from – (DIY) – IRC Exclusive
“Voices” – Vague-à-Bonde from Involution/Evolution (DIY) – IRC Exclusive
“Stoplight” – Nousis from single demo (DIY) – IRC Exclusive
Indie Folk, Singer/Songwriter Songs from New Albums Out Week of Feb. 21
We thought it would be a cool idea to create a mini-playlist by itself that focused on this week’s most note-worthy country, folk and singer/songwriter MP3 singles from new albums by Barna Howard, Water Tower Bucket Boys (only in America, could you have a band name like that), Guy Capecelatro III, and others. Sound off in the Comments section, via Twitter (@indierockcafe) or Facebook.
“Promise, I Won’t Laugh” – Barna Howard from Barna Howard
This week’s Best New Releases is an interesting mix of anticipated new releases from artists such as Fun, Princeton, Grimes, Perfume Genius, Wild Nothing, and Dirty Ghosts. We wanted to focus on the top releases in this post, so there will be a Part Two shortly that contains all of the other top singles from new albums out this week, including songs from Archers of Loaf, Lambchop, Tindersticks, and many more.
With February rapidly coming to a close, bands and music fans are gearing up for the beginning of the festival season – SXSW in March; Coachella in April. With winter (what winter?) soon to transition to spring, artists and labels are rolling out more new albums, EPs and singles.
For example, the week of Feb. 14th new releases, brought amazing new albums from bands like Shearwater, Band of Skulls, Phenomenal Handclap Band and Young Magic; and the week of Feb. 7th, there were acclaimed new albums from Dr. Dog, of Montreal, The Twilight Sad, Sharon Van Etten, Ben Kweller and more.
The lead-off song for this week’s Best New Releases is by the band Fun, featuring special guest Janelle Monae on vocals. The track, “We Are Young,” keeps circling back and finding it’s way onto IRC’s Twitter and Facebook – mostly because it’s so incredibly infectious, we love it, and so do a lot of listeners, just based on how many times it’s been streamed and downloaded. “We Are Young” really took off in large part because it is featured in a series of new Chevy Sonic commercials, which ran twice during the recent Superbowl broadcast. Well, this week is the official release of the album, Some Nights, that the song appears on. But it’s not the only great track on Some Nights. Currently, it’s the No. 1 MP3 on Amazon.
“We Are Young” – fun. (featuring Janelle Monáe) from Some Nights
Good to great new album; pretty bad album cover (album covers matter even in the 'digital' age)
L.A. Indie Pop Band Princeton Release Follow-Up to 2009 Acclaimed Debut
Los Angeles band Princeton has been a favorite ‘indie’ pop band at IRC for a number of years, especially thanks to their spectacular 2009 debut album, Cocoon of Love. Princeton consists of twin brothers Jesse (guitar, vocals) and Matt Kivel (bass, vocals), plus members Ben Usen (keyboard) and David Kitz (drums). The commonalities between Princeton and some of the other highlighted bands in this week’s Best New Releases, are interesting, to say the least. Together with Wild Nothing, Perfume Genius, and to some extent, Grimes, there are similarities in style, time lines of the artists’ ascent, and when they released their official first albums.
In fact, Princeton’s first lead single, “Shout It Out,” off their ’09 debut album, seems on the surface to be the original question to Dirty Ghosts‘ (artist featured below) new lead single, “Shout It In.” Now Princeton has released their new, sophomore album, with the title track, “Remembrance of Things to Come,” as the lead single. The song has all the elements of a great indie pop song that fans have come to expect from a clearly talented, and increasingly popular, band.
Bonus Track: “Florida” – Princeton from Remembrance of Things to Come
Flashback Track:“Shout It Out” – Princeton from Cocoon of Love
Flashback Track: “Clamoring For Your Heart” – Princeton from 2011 single
Princeton’s 2012 Tour Date Schedule
One-Gal Band Grimes Officially Drops Her 4AD Records Debut LP
From Montreal-via-Vancouver, Grimes, the moniker of the one-woman musical dynamo Clarie Boucher, officially dropped her third album, and debut LP with 4AD Records this week. After the re-issue of her first two albums, and a successful North American tour opening for Lykke Li, last year, Grimes built up a strong fan following that continues to grow. Increasingly known for her ethereal and electro pop fusion of contemporary instrumentation with classical, lush vocals, synths and choppy beats, Grimes new album, titled Visions.
“Oblivion” – Grimes from Visions
Double-shot: “Vowels = Space and Time” – Grimes from Visions
Wild Popularity of Wild Nothing Gets New Boost from New Single, “Nowhere”
Musician Jack Tatum is the man behind Wild Nothing from the college town of Blacksburg, Virginia, and one of our favorite one man bands of the past few years. In the summer of 2009, he began recording dream pop demos at home during a time when the C86 movement was experiencing yet another revival that produced a sleuth of new one man bands, duos and groups across the United States playing lo-fi, raw dream pop.
Some of his demos, including a cover of Kate Bush‘s “Cloudbursting,” made the rounds on the important ‘indie’ music blogs, and within weeks Wild Nothing signed with Captured Tracks. Prior to the release of “Cloudbursting,” Wild Nothing’s first single, “Summer Holiday,” was all over the place during the summer of 2009, including right here on IRC. As with many one-man, or one-woman, bands in recent years that quickly became popular on the blogs, and beyond, the label wasted no time getting Tatum hooked up with a live band.
Flashback Track: “Summer Holiday” – Wild Nothing from Gemini (2010)
As one of the most anticipated debuts of 2010, Gemini, was released in the spring of 2010, paired with appearances at SXSW that made Wild Nothing, along with other relative newbies like Washed Out, Beach Fossils and Memory Tapes, one of the most talked about bands at the annual music event in Austin, an event, not unlike CMJ in New York, that can launch artists from relative obscurity to the lime-light of the indie music, and even mainstream music, press and blogosphere.
In October of 2010, Wild Nothing released the Golden Haze EP, that was well received, but the tour following its release was considered by many to be lackluster Sometimes that’s what happens when a so-called ‘bedroom’ artist gets overly hyped fast, and with no live performance experience set out on a cross-country tour. On top of that are the pressures to do more and more tours and performances because, for many artists, that’s where the money is made – it’s certainly not flowing in like it did in the days of vinyl. Put it altogether and it really wasn’t a surprise to see 2011 go by without another album or EP from Wild Nothing. People simply wanted more great new songs fast, but that’s not how the truely genius magic happens for most artists.
That said, there are sure to be a lot of WN fans happy with the official drop off the new single, “Nowhere.”
Seattle’s Perfume Genius Follows Up Acclaimed 2010 Debut
Yet another one-man band project, Perfume Genius, is the moniker of Seattle solo artist, Mike Hadreas, who we featured in December 2010 upon the release of his widely praised debut album, Learning. Like Wild Nothing, Hadreas started out with home-made recordings a few years ago and fairly quickly shot up into the indie rock stratosphere, thanks to coverage on many influential blogs that featured Perfume Genius’ lo-fi, DIY taped demos, such as “Mr. Peterson” and “Learning.” Matador Records wrote of their relatively new roster addition, “[Hadreas is] one of the most endearing and quietly forceful performers today.”
While the name is not as ‘cool’ as Wild Nothing, Dirty Ghosts or Grimes, Perfume Genius already has a successful musical career, especially since he writes his own tortured lyrics, piano and other notes for his songs, performs them and sings. A talented artist, which Hadreas clearly is, naturally gets more credit for writing his own lyrics and song compositions, but also deserves even more points for playing an instrument and singing at the same time.
In both the blogosphere and mainstream media, Hareas’ lyrics and voice have been compared to Elliott Smith, Cat Power and Sufjan Stevens. We can definitely hear the Elliott Smith in the painful writing; Cat Power in the heartfelt vocals and sad piano melodies and a likeness in the singing of Sufjan Stevens. This week, Perfume Genius, released his sophomore album, Put Your Back N 2 It, and the lead single, “Hood,” clearly show a maturation in his abilities as a singer/songwriter and musician. The album title below links to the buy page for the MP3 Amazon Exclusive Version of the new Perfume Genius album via Matador Records.
“Hood” – Perfume Genius from Put Your Back N 2 It (Exclusive Amazon Version)
Dirty Ghosts One-Woman Band Project of Allyson Baker Drops New LP
In 2006, Allyson Baker, a fairly well-known punk and hardcore teenage Toronto guitarist, and later one-half of San Francisco‘s sludge-blues combo Parchman Farm, recreated herself, along with her musical duo partner, Carson Binks, to create a new entity, Dirty Ghosts. Together they changed things up a bit, writing rhythmically driven new songs built around intricate drum loops pieced together by Aesop Rock.
Because they couldn’t find a vocalist they agreed on, Baker decided to get the nerve up to be a vocalist for the first time in her musical career that started when she was only 17 years old. But in 2011, Binks broke off from Dirty Ghosts to join another band.
With little other choice, Baker took over Dirty Ghosts on her own, and with help of a drummer, began experimenting with other sounds – discordant disco mixed with dub funk, such as on the lead track, “Shout It In,” from the just-released new album Metal Moon. viaLast Gang Records.
Dirty Ghosts performed live last evening for San Francisco’s Noise Pop Festival, which will also includes shows from The Flaming Lips, Built to Spill, Princeton, Grimes, and Cursive, to name a few.
Upcoming: Other New Releases for Week of Feb 21st including Lamchop, Damien Jurado, Tindersticks, Archers of Loaf, and many others, plus the Best DIY Releases of 2012 (So Far) and the VII installment of Best Songs of 2012.
The past week’s best new releases include singles and albums from Shearwater, Oy Vey, Unicycle Loves You, Band of Skulls, Young Magic, Phenomenal Handclap Band, and others.
Shearwater‘s indie psych rock mixed with folk art and powerful lyrics on the newest album, Animal Joy, is stunning, exciting, enjoyable and yet another big, bold step forward for the admired Austin band. Animal Joy is blended with dense orchestrations and progressive, expansive soundscapes that “comes close to the classic album Shearwater surely has in it.” (The A.V. Club Feb. 14, 2012). The praise is overwhelmingly positive for Animal Joy.
The track below, “You As” You Were,” is provided by Subpop Records (label kings in the ‘indie’ and alt. rock circles). The lead single is a modernized folk art rocker mixed with elements of electronica; hypothetically, if the vocals were removed (which would be insane), and a few minor tweaks made, it could easily be a dance track. The second track offer by Subpop, “Breaking The Yearlings,” is more evidence of the brilliance of Animal Joy, a must-have for almost any music lover’s collection. Finally, listen to the Shearwater bonus track, “Whipping Boy” from the just reissued Winged Life, provided by Misa Records, the band’s first label, prior to their signing with Matador Records.
Remastered Bonus Track: “Whipping Boy” – Shearwater from Winged Life (reissue)
Watch the just released (Feb. 15th) official video* of Shearwater’s “Breaking The Yearlings” – fantastic!
New Riffs from Band of Skulls; Introducing Taiwan’s Half-Mile Radius
Chances are that if you’re an alternative rock lover, you’ve heard at least one song from Band of Skulls, a talented alternative rock band that rocketed out of relative obscurity to quickly become a fairly well-known band with a strong fan following and successful tours. Of course, Band of Skulls’ best known song, “In The Morning,” received so much play in 2010 that even people who don’t know who it’s from have heard it. The track is a classic and will be one of the most memorable rock songs of this decade.
Now the band has released their new album, Sweet Sour, which is a delight for fans of good ‘ole American rock and roll, smartly s. Band of Skulls are taking that track, and the songs from the new album, on the road; check out Band of Skulls 2012 tour dates.
From Taipei, Tiawan, the rock band Half Mile Radius' new CD
Another band that can belt out some sharp, splintering rock is Taiwan‘s very own DIY rockers, Half Mile Radius. If you didn’t know it, you naturally wouldn’t think that the band is from Taiwan, but more likely from any small or big city in the U.S. Rather, Half Mile Radius are practically unknown in the States. In 2009 through last year, they grew from playing gigs in Taipei to embarking on a successful tour of Asia last summer that included dates in Shanghai, Beijing, and Tokyo. Following the tour, the band went into the studio to record Ethyl, from which the following tracks are taken.
“Airtender” – Half Mile Radius from Ethyl
“Save As” – Half Mile Radius from Ethyl
In 2011, they were the Band of the Week on jango.com, which describe their music as “cultivated a unique sound characterized by shifting time signatures, complex arrangements, and heavy grooves.” They include among their top musical influences are The White Stripes, Mars Volta, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin John Frusciante and The Doors, among others.
The new album from Tennis is certainly not what we expected and seems to lack a certain determination that was evident on their self-titled debut LP. The disconnect with their different approach and style on Young and Old is reflected on the lead track, “Origins.” It’s a catchy song, and has a few notable moments, but it’s likely not going to be a track you remember a month from now.
The Brooklyn Band Young Magic's new album, Melt, out this week
Singles from New Releases by Young Magic, Oy Vey, Unicycle Loves You
Has anyone else noticed the explosion of popular artists with the words “young” or “youth” in their band names in recent years? There’s Young The Giant, Young Buffalo, Young Man, Eli Young Band, Youth Lagoon, Youth Group, Young Knives, Fresh Young Fellows, The Young Veins, and, of course, Young Magic.
The band has risen in popularity in the past couple years thanks to their creative mix of various styles from indie rock to folktronica, psych pop to traditional tribal influences. On the lead single, “Night in the Ocean,” the band employs layers of blissful psych pop synths, dub and reverb-heavy vocals, swirling sound effects, muted beats, intervals of bass thumping, and dreamy, weaves of hazed out choruses. The bonus track, “You Are Air,” leans more towards upbeat, tripped out dub step mixed with tribal electro-pop. Although we’ve listened to Melt twice through in the cafe, with bands like Young Magic, it will take many subsequent spins to fully appreciate one of the best albums released this week.
Interesting fact: In this mix alone, there is a song, album and band title/name containing the word “young” – ahh, yes, the quest for eternal youth is a never-ending human quest. Plus, the song “We Are Young” by the band fun (featuring Janelle Monae on vocals), has received a lot of buzz lately due to a Chevy Sonic commercial that was also run during the Superbowl.
Note: Young Magic’s most recent tour, that ended on Jan. 21st, featured a number of appearances where the opening band were IRC favorites, Youth Lagoon.
Unicycle Loves You changes it up from Young Magic’s electro psych pop to the more indie pop style that ULY have built their brand around, and which is a big part of the reason for the band’s relative success, and higher visibility, during the past couple of years few years since the 2008 release of their highly regarded, self-titled debut album.
With the release of that album, and their successful 2012 sophomore release, Mirror, Mirror, Unicycle Loves You have enjoyed a steady upward trend of coverage on blogs and music sites, as well as more fans following them and coming to see the band on tour.
This past week the band have released their follow up album Failure. But it only takes a few spins of the album to come to the realization that it definitely is not a failure.
In addition to the interesting name – “Wow Wave Cinema” – is definitely a good choice for a lead track to represent the album’s overall pure pop theme, complete with hummable melodies, uptempo instrumentation, and memorable hooks. You can just tell that their having a good time. The second track, “Sun Comes Out (And I Don’t Care),” follows a theme of of a discography full of unusually titled songs and quirky lyrics.
Islands Return with New Album of Dreamy Tunes; Plus, Dance with Oy Vey, Rock with Tennis and Chill with Heartless Bastards
This next single is the dance-pop oriented track, “When I Was Young” from rising indie band Oy Vey. We have been keeping tabs on Oy Vey since we first heard their 2008 debut, followed by 2010’s fantastic Mirror, Mirror. With the success of those two albums, their fan base grew and the band has completed a number of tours. Based on what we heard of Recession Girls so far, the band has earned their place within the indie pop domain. Following right behind are excellent new tracks off new albums by Tennis, Field Music, and Heartless Bastards.
“(I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing” – Field Music from Plumb
“Parted Ways” – Heartless Bastards from Arrow Phenomenal Handclap Band said about the video for the song “The Unknown Faces at Father James Park” :
As a teenager, Father James Park was the local park where my friends and I were able to go and not be bothered by our parents or other authority figures. We used to meet there as often as possible to hang out and clear our minds, and since there were no adults around, it also became the place we’d go to expand our minds. “The Unknown Faces at Father James Park” is about the inherent peer pressure, confusion, and tumultuous times that teenagers have.
For the video, we thought the best way to reflect this subject matter would be to edit together found footage along the lines of the various PSA’s we were subjected to in high school. They were so humorless and terrifying at the time, but looking back, it was a lot of unnecessary warning against what turned out to be healthy experimentation.
Phenomenal Handclap Band has finally released the follow-up to their acclaimed, self-titled debut album. With their new release, Form & Control, PHB took on an ambitious, and daring, new challenge – to cleverly fuse genres like psych, R&B, soul, and cosmic disco. With co-founders Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand at the production helm, Form & Control finds the band once again deftly mixing and matching seemingly disparate musical genres, with a musical palette that now includes prog-pop, new wave and modern leftfield dance.”
“The Right One” – Phenomenal Handclap Band from Form and Control
“Lions” – The Just Barelys from Mad Bits
“Eleven A.M”. – Bears from Greater Lakes
“My Before and After” – Cotton Mather from Kon
The songs in this section are not our top picks, but still worthy of presenting. Actually, we’re going to leave it up to you guys to decide if the following songs are so-so, good, or great and we just failed to hear the greatness. Please leave a comment – that could be read by thousands of people – regarding what you think of a particular song.
“Turnaround” – Barry Adamson from I Will Set You Free
“The Lawn” – Exdetectives from Take My Forever
“Song of the City” – sidore from Life Somewhere Else
“Where Was I” – Rosie Thomas from With Love
“Blackhole Waltz” – Ticktockman from Ticktockman (self-released)
On Friday, we posted the first part of a two-part installment highlighting this past week’s Best New Releases. The first installment includes a jackpot of solid singles from new albums by bands like Dr. Dog, of Montreal, A Place to Bury Strangers, The Twilight Sad, The Duke Spirit, Ben Kweller, Sharon Van Etten, Bahamas, and many others. We strongly recommend listening to both parts of this BNR edition all the way through; from the first, to the last, track. One way to do Plus, there are also a few bonus tracks, flashback tracks, tour information links, videos and direct links to purchase any of the albums directly from Amazon.
As more people listen to both parts of this week’s Best New Releases, the statistics will begin to reveal which songs are accumulating the highest number of streams, downloads, Tweets, Retweets, Likes, comments and mentions. By analyzing that data, we’re able to create a reliable list of what the listeners are indicating are their favorite songs featured for that week. This method is the entire basis for the popular weekly Top 10 Songs playlist series. Artists and bands that rise to the top of the lists are likely to start picking up more fans, coverage and requests to open for other bands.
Part One of the Best New Releases for the Week of Feb. 7th, featuring Dr. Dog, of Montreal, A Place to Bury Strangers, and many others, contains 15 new singles, and is, song-for-song, one of our favorite 2012 playlists, so far. For this second installment, artists like Capybara, Dirty Ghosts, Lightouts, Elliott Brood, and The Valery Trails, are all DIY recording artists, or signed to small labels, thereby providing plenty of new music to listen to, albums to consider buying, bands to watch out for, and concert listings to keep an eye on.
Radar Bands with New Singles and Albums: Capybara, Dirty Ghosts, Lightouts, Elliott Brood, and The Valery Trails
The first track, “Late Night Bikes,” by Kansas City indie rockers Capybara is a wonderfully memorable track, layered with hooks, melodies and dubbed vocals. The song begins with an uplifting synth pop oriented sound with a touch of folk art that gradually builds into a full fledged blissful composition.
“Late Night Bikes” – Capybara from Dave Drusky
In early 2009, four lifelong friends slipped away from jobs and leases in Portland, Brooklyn, and Kansas City to form a band in a frozen pueblo in Taos, New Mexico. The result was Try Brother, Capybara’s delicate, introspective debut that initiated a flood of opportunity: signing to The Record Machine, a nod on Spike Jonzes official mixtape for Where the Wild Things Are, an invitation to compose the feature-length soundtrack for Sundance 2010 pick One Too Many Mornings, and the honor of backing legendary cult songwriter Daniel Johnston. The band definitely has an interesting bio and list of credits under its belt in just three years. Here is the second track from the album, “Neighbor Crimes.”
“Neighbor Crimes” – Capybara from Dave Drusky
We first heard Lightouts last year and the band immediately became one of our favorite new-to-us groups of 2011 after featuring Lightouts in both a Fresh Tracks mix and in a Recent Releases We Almost Missed mixtape. The band’s new single, “The Cure For Shyness,” is a notable indie lo-fi pop track with a heavy bassline, a good track, but since there is only one song, and a B-side, and not an album to compare to, there’s not much else to say other than to keep an eye out for the band by following IRC on Twitter or Facebook. We are excited about the future prospects of Lightouts, which is commonly misspelled as Lightsout – a mistake we made when we first featured the band last year via the links above.
“The Cure For Shyness” – Lightouts from The Cure For Shyness Single
Flashback Track: “All I Want/Heroes” (LCD Soundsystem/David Bowie) – Lightouts from The Eloise Suite
“Seven Stars” (ft. Victoria Legrand) – Air from Le Voyage Dans La Lune
Dirty Ghosts is a new SF project from Allyson Baker, guitarist for beloved ’00s rock band Parchman Farm. The funky “Shout It In” is the first single from the Aesop Rock-co-produced Metal Moon, which will be released on February 21st.
“Shout It In” – Dirty Ghosts from Metal Moon
“Northern Air” – Elliott Brood from Days into Years
“Horizon” – The Valery Trails – from Ghosts and Gravity (self-released)
“This Town” – The Valery Trails – from Ghosts and Gravity (self-released)
“Class War” – Silverhawk from The Forest for the Trees (self-released)
“Always Sad“ – Drunken Prayer from Into the Missionfield
“The Official Ironman Rally Song (Guided By Voices cover)” – Lightouts from The Cure For Shyness EP
…More Singles from New Albums Out This Week, including SoundCloud Downloads
We started adding this section to the Best New Releases post playlists to present new singles from new albums that are so-so to us, albums that we haven’t heard and don’t plan on hearing (got to cut somewhere), plus Soundcloud links that do not automatically stream with the tiny, cool Yahoo Media Player that allows listeners and visitors to play an entire playlist just by clicking the first track. From there, the player will automatically stream each track on after another in the order they are presented on the page, meaning that you can just let it rip and listen while you do others things.
Unlike other built-in players, all the tracks are downloaded free and legal MP3s, there are no commercials or pop-up ads, and it also includes other features such as the ability to view the entire condensed playlist in a pop-up menu on the player itself, plus a link to automatically purchase any song or album that you like from Amazon (all Amazon singles and MP3 albums work perfectly with iTunes).
The tracks in this section, which some of our listeners will likely enjoy more than others, have been included exactly for that reason – we are striving to include more music because the demand from all of you continues to rise, and not just for the music we like. Still, to indicate that we don’t really endorse them, or they require going to a Soundcloud link to listen to, we’ve separated them out to be in this special section of Best New Releases.
Big Sir is the longtime collaboration between Lisa Papineau and Juan Alderete (The Mars Volta). Album features artists from The Mars Volta, Broken Bells, RX Bandits and more. Big Sir has sold over 1.7K albums and 21K tracks LTD.
The veteran British post punk band, Wire, dropped a new live album, The Black Session: Paris 10 May 2011, this week that representing a range of the band’s music over their four-decade long career. We have not heard the live album, but have to wonder if the lead track, “Drill” was the best representation of the album itself. It’s a fine live track for die-hard fans, but not necessarily memorable for a wider audience that have never heard of Wire before. We’d actually recommend listening to some of their most popular albums (see rated discography from All Music Guide) , only because it is less accessible to a wider audiencefelt another track – and perhaps not as long – than “Drill” would good news for long-time fans of Wire, and younger fans who may have not even been born during the band’s heydays in the 1980’s.
“Drill” – Wire from The Black Session: Paris 10 May 2011
“Ready On The Line” – Big Sir from Before Gardens After Gardens
The Unthanks – preview
from The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & the Johnsons: Live at the Union Chapel (Diversions Vol. 1)
“De Javu“ – Lindstrom from Six Cups of Rebel on Smalltown Supersound
“Undertow” – Robert Deeble from Heart Like Feathers
Last week, there were fantastic albums dropped by Imperial Teen, Pacific UV, Leonard Cohen, Hospitality, The Library is on Fire; the week before that were some of the best albums of 2012 so far – Cloud Nothings’ new album, Nada Surf, Big Deal, Chairlift and the debut from an IRC Band to Watch in 2012, Porcelain Raft. Plus, check out the other Best New Releases for the first two weeks of January here.
One of Philly's finest, Dr. Dog, dropped their new album this week, 'Be The Void'
With February already in full swing, the 2012 music release calendar is really starting to shape up thanks to a jackpot of new albums released this week, and over the past couple of weeks. There are so many new albums that have released this week that decided to split this installment of the Best New Releases playlist series into two parts.
Part One, here within, features fantastic new singles from an impressive variety of indie bands and genres, including Dr. Dog, of Montreal, A Place to Bury Strangers, Bahamas, Blondes, The Duke Spirit, Ben Kweller, Sharon Van Etten, The Twilight Sad, Fredrik, Dada Trash Collage, and Chuck Prophet. We’ve already streamed all of the singles in the two parts of this week’s new releases and enjoyed it thoroughly. It’s an impressive variety of excellent tracks by an array of talented artists, both familiar and obscure.
Part Two, set to be published on Saturday, contains even more lead tracks from new releases by Lightouts, Wire, Big Sir, Mux Mool, and The Plimsouls, among others.
The lead track, “That Old Black Hole,” from the latest album by Philly’s rock band, Dr. Dog, is our favorite single of the week, even though there is stiff competition from of Montreal, A Place to Bury Strangers, Fredrik, Bahamas, and many others. “That Old Black Hole” is a catchy, but edgy rock song, featuring memorable melodies and hooks, well honed percussions, and the unique vocals of lead singer/guitarist Scott McMicken – the kind of song you can play again and again, and still love it.
Note:We were surprised how many people commented about no longer being able to click on album titles to buy them from Amazon. Last fall, Amazon, in a dispute about a California Internet tax, suddenly shut down affiliations with all California publishers (including us). But, the state recently reversed that decision, and so we can once again provide album title links that make it fast and easy to purchase them from Amazon. Plus, compared to iTunes, Amazon’s prices and overall experience is better, so we use them. Back to the music.
“That Old Back Hole” – Dr. Dog from Be The Void (limited time MP3 album special only $5.99 via Amazon)
The second featured track, “Warrior Man,” together with the terrific lead track, is perfect bait for anyone who is undecided about purchasing Be The Void. We think it’s one of the band’s best albums, and one of the best albums of 2012 (so far). In regards to “Warrior Man,” 365 Days of Music, wrote: “[it] embodies everything I love about the psychedelic rock genre…odd-textured production, electric guitars, mesmerizing vocals. This whole album does that actually.”
Bonus Track:“Warrior Man” – Dr. Dog from Be The Void
The A.V. Club made it clear what they think of Be The Void, writing: “That Dr. Dog has written some supremely catchy tunes isn’t too surprising, but few would expect its (or any band’s) fifth record to be every bit as exciting as its first.” Even though the majority of online reviews we read or scanned ranged from enthusiastically positive to commendable; there were also a few that were not feeling it, like Exclaim and Pitchfork.
Dr. Dog 2012 Tour Dates from their website, DrDogMusic.com
Note: The band was forced to cancel a show on Feb. 3rd in Boulder due to the snowstorm that closed roads around the region. Still no info yet on when that date will be rescheduled.
The lead single, “Wintered Debts,” from of Montreal‘s new album, is also a top track of the week, and proof that the band is getting better with age. “Wintered Debts” is a new song to add to of Montreal’s extensive discography in which musical creatively, talent and infusions of various genres and styles produce memorable results – in this case, the weaving of psych pop and indie rock that produce one of the best album singles of 2012, so far. Part of the reason that the band has been one of the most consistently popular indie bands since 1996 is the continuous experimentation with various sounds and styles – from blends of twee pop, psychedelic rock and electronica to funk, glam rock, R&B and Afrobeats.
The Athens, Georgia band took from almost all of these influences to produce the new album, Paralytic Stalks, with enthralling and infectious results. We wouldn’t be surprised at all if of Montreal add thousands of new fans to their already huge following, based solely on the release of Paralytic Stalks. The only downside is that there hasn’t been an official video released that we could find for either one of the tracks below, or any of the other songs on the album. Hopefully one is in the works.
Bonus Track (via Pitchfork): “Dour Percentage” – of Montreal from Paralytic Stalks
of Montreal’s 2012 Tour Dates
A Place to Bury Strangers bring on the high-octane dark rock that we expect with the blistering track, “So Far Away” from the new EP, Onwards to the Wall EP . It is a bit strange, but the first 15 seconds of the track are nearly silent, and then the song builds into a the full-on rocker. Following APTBS, are tracks from artists like Fredrik, Bahamas, Blondes and Sharon Van Etten.
“So Far Away” – A Place To Bury Strangers from Onwards to the WallEP
Singles from The Twilight Sad, Ben Kweller, The Duke Spirit, Dada Crash Collage and Chuck Prophet
The Twilight Sad first caught our attention in 2007 with their widely praised album, Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters, and since then, they’ve been building a following of pretty dedicated fans. This week, the band released their third album, which like their 2008 debut follow, is a stylistic departure. Interestingly, the band has embraced a darker, more sparse krautrock and industrial sound with some moments of 1980’s synth-pop throughout No One Can Ever Know. Credit has to be given for taking such a risk, and pulling it off. Chromewaves wrote of the album: “It’s an unexpected turn from the Scots, but a rewarding one – and that’s coming from someone who loved their guitar-centric approach.”
Part of what makes the band interesting to a lot of music lovers is the fact that they cannot be pinned down, even though they are often categorized genre-wise as “indie rock” and “shoegaze.” Last week, The Twilight Sad had the unique honor of being the musical guest on the 30th anniversary of The Late Show with David Letterman. That’s an impressive notation in the history of any band, but especially for a band that is not yet widely known.
See Chromewaves review, additional tracks and the video for “Another Bed”
The Twilight Sad 2012 Tour Dates
Ben Kweller returns with his fairly well received new album, Go Fly A Kite, the follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2009 album, Changing Horses, which was one of our, and other music sites’, favorite albums of 2009. The lead track from Kweller’s new album is the ’70s-sounding pop rock track, “Mean To Me.” There are also some catchy guitar riffs, melody-driven choruses and Jerry Lee Lewis-style piano playing. This song could have fit in perfectly on an episode of That ’70s Show. There is also a flashback track, “Sundress,” from Kweller’s eponymous 2006 debut.
“Mean To Me” – Ben Kweller from Go Fly A Kite
Flashback Track: “Sundress” – Ben Kweller from Ben Kweller (2006)
London alternative rock band, The Duke Spirit, won critical acclaim as far back as 2003 for their debut EP, but since then has only released three albums. While their latest album may not win the same level of acclaim as their previous two releases, it definitely has its notable moments. it is encouraging to see the band is still together and releasing new music.
“Procession” – The Duke Spirit from Bruiser
One of our favorite new DIY bands of the past 18 months, Dada Trash Collage, dropped a new EP this week, Fun Fund. And finally, none other than Chuck Prophet closes out Part One of this weeks’ Best New Releases playlist with the terrific, and entertaining, “Castro Halloween” from his new album, Temple Beautiful. A Bay Area music legend, Prophet said of the new LP: “made in San Francisco, by San Franciscans about San Francisco.”
“Migraine” – Dada Trash Collage from Fun Fund EP (self-released)
There have been so many notable new releases that dropped in the past week that music lovers have plenty of great, new music to keep them busy, and which explains partly why we’re late with this post (this week’s releases will be posted soon, but first the really good stuff).
The quantity and quality of releases over the past couple of weeks, plus the releases that drop tomorrow, Jan. 31st, are helping to kick 2012 off to a pretty good start music-wise.
The new albums and singles profiled in this playlist post include Cloud Nothings, Porcelain Raft, Cardinal, Rodrigo y Gabriela, First Aid Kit, Nada Surf, and many others. This post features 20 MP3s from these new releases. For more releases, plus links to band sites, see the end of this post.
Fans of Cleveland indie band Cloud Nothings are likely to be baffled by the bands’ choice to release the track “No Future/No Past” as the first lead single from their new, and highly anticipated, album (Pitchfork’s first “Best New Music” designation of 2012). Officially released last week, Attack of Memory is the band’s third album since they became an indie rock sensation in 2009 with the single, “Hey Cool Kid.”
Actually, the seedling of Cloud Nothings started with Dylan Baldi‘s recording of the track on his computer in the basement of his home in Westlake, Ohio, while he was attending Case Western Reserve University. The track went viral on the web and within weeks, “Hey Cool Kid,” was as close to a hit record as a DIY indie track could be.
When a concert promoter in New York City asked Baldi to play a gig in the city in December of 2009, Baldi hurriedly put together a band together and it just snowballed from there.
Cloud Nothing’s first album, Turning On was really more of a compilation, but in January of 2011, the band released their first proper, self-titled album with the help of Baltimore producer Chester Gwazda.
It was a huge success. By the time the band entered the studio to record their new album, they were one of the biggest fresh indie rock bands in the world. While Attack of Memory is significantly different – it’s a heavier, darker, harder than the catchy melodic tracks of the previous albums. The twee poppers will just have to love or leave it – and if they leave it, then they don’t deserve to be a fan of the band anyways. We know who you are.
For a limited time, you can get the MP3 album of Attack on Memory from Amazon for only $5.99
Double-shot: “Stay Useless” – Cloud Nothings from Attack on Memory
The Big Pink Drop Follow-Up Album Album to Stunning 2009 Debut
British synth rock duo The Big Pink took the indie music world by the horns in 2009 when they released their spectacular debut LP, A Brief History of Love , which was easily one of the best debut albums that year, and arguably one of the best overall albums of 2009 – a year that was full of impressive releases from bands like Phoenix, Animal Collective, The xx, The Flaming Lips, Grizzly Bear, Grils, Real Estate, Neon Indian, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bon Iver, Neko Case, Yo La Tengo, and so on.
Last week, The Big Pink released their long-awaited follow-up sophomore album, Future This . One of the things that we realized after hearing the album a couple of times is that it will not reach the fame that their debut did. There is a sense that the band are perhaps trying too hard to replicate their debut success, and for the most part, they fall short of the target. Future This is packed with electronica synth rock that fans have come to expect from the duo, heavy bass lines and lyrics that, in many places, show less imagination and creativity than its predecessor. But it’s more uptempo and sunnier than A Brief History of Love
That said, it’s incredibly difficult for a band to follow-up the success of a widely acclaimed debut, and that’s what The Big Pink are, in part, up against. Still, the first official single, “Stay Gold,” that was originally released back in November as a 7-inch, is worth adding to your MP3 player if you’re a fan, and another track, “Hit The Ground Superman,” is also worth mentioning. Ultimately, no matter what the critics and bloggers say – whether they love it, or are indifferent – it’s the fans’ call, and we think it’s worth purchasing.
New IRC Artist to Watch, Porcelain Raft, Releases Brilliant Debut LP
Brooklyn music prodigy Mauro Remiddi really has a lot of people talking about his just-released debut album as Porcelain Raft, the 10-track LP, Strange Weekend. In fact, Porcelain Raft is easily one of our first ‘new’ Artists to Watch in 2012, thanks not only to the two singles featured below, but, more extensively, the amazing and talented artistry of Remiddi’s brilliant musicianship, from the opening track, “Drifting In and Out” to the last track, “The Way In.”
If you love the synth-soaked lo-fi, you’re going to enjoy, perhaps cherish, this album. Don’t just take our word for it; the thumbs up reviews of Strange Weekend are popping all over the web. From Drowned in Sound and Consequence of Sound to NME and All Music Guide, the consensus is pretty much the same. In our opinion, it’s a must-have album, and will probably be on many year-end ‘best albums’ lists for 2012.
Strange Weekend is the kind of album that gets played and played and played; it’s so rich, enticing, and caked with layers of instruments, sounds and choruses that you’ll hear different elements and lyrics stand out each time it’s spun. KEXP, the popular Seattle radio station, wrote on its blog: “[Porcelain Raft is] psych-tinged electro-pop, with a woozy, reverb-drenched sound combining trippy synth textures, glitchy beats, shoegazerish electric guitars and strummed acoustics with Remiddi’s high, layered vocals and dreamy pop melodies.”
Perhaps as interesting as his musical past is the life experiences Remiddi has had. From CMJ: “…Remiddi traveled from his native Italy to London, Berlin, North Korea, and finally New York. Along the way, he caravanned with the Berlin Youth Circus performing gypsy Klezmer music, created reinterpretations of traditional North Korean folk songs and played piano for an Off-Broadway tap show. He hasn’t even had his 30th birthday yet, but Remiddi has more musical experiences under his belt than many artists attain in the length of an entire career.”
The first single, “Put Me to Sleep” is not really the dreamy, mellow track that the title suggests; instead, it’s a song with a big sound and a lot going on: dripping with hazy, melodic synthesized pop, strong, regular drum beats and reverb-laden, high-pitched vocals, among other sonic elements, and just one of the album’s numerous highlights.
On “Unless You Speak From Your Heart,” there are swirling synths, steady, hard beats crashing together with cymbals and tambourines that blend with angelic-like choruses.
Unsung Pop Heroes Return with Sophomore Album After 18-Year Hiatus; First Aid Kit and Nada Surf
We are so thrilled with the surprise return of the little known duo, Cardinal, the unsung chamber pop heroes of the mid-1990’s, that we created a separate post to review their sophomore album, Hymns, arriving nearly 18 years after their stunning 1994 self-titled debut. Click here to read about Cardinal’s latest release and hear some tracks from their now legendary debut.
Swedish sister act First Aid Kit are back with The Lion’s Roar, the title track from their forthcoming record. Slightly more country-influenced than their previous work, The Lion’s Roar features the band’s trademark vulnerable-yet-world-weary vocals, a reminder of just how young this obscenely talented pair are. Perfect for fans of Fleet Foxes and Laura Marling, The Lion’s Roar [was first] available [as a MP3] download November 8 [2011]. via MusicNinja.net
“When I Was Young” – Nada Surf from The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy
Fresh Tracks from New Albums by Rodrigo y Gabriela, Chairlift. Pop. 1280, Laura Gibson and Others
The following tracks are also great singles from new albums out this week from artists like Rodrigo y Gabriela, Chairlift. Pop. 1280, Laura Gibson, Big Deal, Dana Falconberry, Cheyenne Marie Mize,
From Belfast, Ireland, indie rock band Unquiet Nights sent us a couple of tracks from their new album, 21st Century Redemption Songs. In 2011 they enjoyed considerable national radio airtime in the UK on Absolute/Virgin Radio, Amazing and the BBC, and opened for popular bands like Bloc Party in London, Toploader and The Answer. The band names among their top musical influences Tom Petty, The Hold Steady!, Gaslight Anthem, Springsteen, Rolling Stones, The Verve, Bobby Womack, Roy Orbison.
Miscellaneous Singles from New Releases Dropped Jan. 24 – Jan. 30
This section of Best New Releases contains tracks from new releases that we are either on the fence about, indifferent to, or just not “feeling it,” however, we are including them anyways because it’s ultimately up to the individual listeners to decide.
“Gimme A Kiss” – Madi Diaz from Plastic Moon
“Berlin Heart” – Brokaw from Interiors
“Josie” – The Darcys (via Rolling Stone) from AJA
“Honolulu Blues” – Craig Finn from Clear Heart Full Eyes
“Heir Looms” – Imbogodom from And They Turned Not When They Went
Jan. 24 – Jan. 30th New Releases and Band Links
Al Jardine (Beach Boys) – A Postcard from California
The reunited line-up of Guided By Voices released their new album on Jan. 17th, and the single, "Doughnut for a Snowman"
Now that we’re coming up on the end of the first month of 2012, the number of new releases from indie and alternative rock artists and bands are starting to stack up. Last week, we featured new releases from a bunch of DIY bands – most of who sent us fresh, legal tracks from just dropped albums, EPs and singles, and were not posted anywhere else online but IRC.
Based on the number of page views, streams and downloads, plus, ‘Likes’ and Tweets for that first Best New Releases post of 2012, it is fair to say that many IRC listeners and new visitors were giving the thumbs up to fresh drops from artists and bands like The Sanctuaries, Paper Lights, Tito Ramsey, Gary Go, The Set, Graham Repulski, Songs for Sleepwalkers, and Mythologies, among others. If you missed that playlist post, we recommend giving it a spin.
Now on to the week of Jan. 17th releases; we’re playing catch up, and we’ve mustard up our resources to do a complete review of the best releases dropped last week. It was definitely a meatier week for new releases; there are a number of drops in particular that caught our attention from the start, including fresh tracks from Paul Brill, Howler, The Breakups, The Duke Spirit, Frankie Rose, and of course, the first album of two planned for 2012 from the reunited and legendary lo-fi trail-blazers, Guided By Voices, dropped last week via their own label, GBV Inc. In addition to the songs themselves, we dig the eccentric naming conventions that Robert Pollard and his GBV band mates employ for the album title – Let’s Go Eat the Factory – and song titles, including tracks like “Doughnuts for a Snowman,” and the lead single below, “The Unsinkable Fats Domino.”
The Unsinkable Fats Domino – Guided By Voices from Let’s Go Eat the Factory
The new track from the Rough Trade Records recording artist, Howler, “Back of Your Neck,” is one of the more memorable tracks out this week. With full force rock guitars blazing and drums and cymbals crashing, intertwined with “oo-oooo-ooo” choruses and the almost punk style lead vocals, Howler is definitely in our scope as an IRC Radar Band of 2012. Looking forward to listening to the full album, America Give Up. Expect to hear more about Howler on IRC in 2012.
Louden Swain is a Los Angeles indie band that we are really digging after hearing the two tracks below that the band sent directly to us to share with IRC listeners. On January 17th, the band released the album, Eskimo, via the indie record label Carwreck Records. Eskimo isn’t what you might think of when you think of ‘indie rock’. The songs are well-crafted with accessible lyrics and melodies, layered with harmonies, and full of sonic clarity thanks to the contributions of renowned mixer Joe McGrath (Ryan Adams, Morrissey) and Grammy-winning master engineer Gavin Lurssen (Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz, Ben Harper) after producing the album themselves. With that kind of talent helping them out, it’s nearly impossible not to end up with some great tracks, two of which are featured below.
“Eskimo” – Louden Swain from Eskimo
“Cigarette” – Louden Swain from Eskimo
Swain’s influences include Wilco, Dr. Dog, Tom Petty, Spoon, Kings of Leon, The Beatles, and they have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, CMJ, Music Connection, and Popmatters.
Paul Brill, an indie pop artist who is making waves as of late, delivers the two most upbeat tracks of the week, which are perhaps better suited for a summer time release. But at the same time the two tracks, “Sunny Side” – a melodic, sing-a-long song that is hard to get out of your head, and “The Royal Oui,” the second released single from Breezy, is short and memorable. We hope to hear the entire album sometime soon.
“Sunny Side” – Paul Brill from Breezy
“The Royal Oui” – Paul Brill from Breezy
Stream Breezy via Spinner
The Duke Spirit Release New Album – Bruiser, plus, Frankie Rose, The Breakups and More
Ever since they broke out as an increasingly popular indie band during 2009 and 2010, The Duke Spirit have been increasing their fan following, blogger love and even mainstream press coverage – something that only happens for a relatively small percentage of the thousands of bands trying to get noticed. The Duke Spirit don’t need to get noticed, but just like every band that is popular nowadays, they have to keep working hard to remain relevant because there are new, talented bands breaking out all of the time (we’ll continue doing our part to expose talented, ‘new’ bands throughout 2012).
This week the band officially released the MP3 edition of their new album, Bruiser, and what we’ve heard so far, we are digging it. However, the CD version of the album was released last November; some of you probably have seen an increasing trend in recent years in which bands have multiple release dates for a new album – one date for the CD; another date for the MP3 version, and sometimes, another date for the vinyl edition. This practice is done for a variety of reasons by labels, but it makes it difficult for bloggers and web publishers to decide what qualifies as the actual release date. Bruiser is one of those cases, but since the promotion of the album has more often mentioned Jan 17th, 2012 as the release date, that’s the one we’re going with.
The album, which was mixed by Alan Moulder (U2, My Bloody Valentine, TPOBPAH), and is another solid collection of big riffs, anthemic choruses and the powerhouse vocals of pistol Liela Moss. To hold you over, at the top of this post there’s a live MP3 of new single “Don’t Wait” recorded for Later With Jules Holland. Additionally, The Duke Spirit are also have a track on the soundtrack of the new Dark Night: Arkahm City videogame, which also includes songs by Noel Gallagher, MGMT, Florence and the Machine, and Adele.
“Don’t Wait” (Live) – The Duke Spirit from Bruiser
Worth noting is the fact that a number of the lead singles from new releases dropped last week feature female vocalists. Brooklyn songwriter and vocalist Frankie Rose is definitely one of the best female singers in last week’s new releases, as the short-but-sweet lead single, “Know Me” demonstrates – an airy pop track with the perfect amount of reverb and lo-fi for Rose’s impressive vocals.
Old Monk, Paul Brill, Lunarin, Buried Beds, Ani DeFranco, Cate Le Bon, and More
A few months ago we profiled Brooklyn artist Old Monk and the release of the album, Birds in Belize, released via Eenie Meenie Records. However, last week was the official U.S. release of the MP3 version of the album. This is a new single that we did not have available for the original release of the CD.
“Sacred Birds” – Old Monk from Birds of Belize
It’s not often that we receive submissions of new releases from bands in Singapore, but the DIY alternative rock band Lunarin sent in a couple of tracks from their new album dropped last week, The Midas Sessions. Formed in 2003, Lunarin consists of an unholy trinity of Linda Ong, Ho Kah Wye and Loo Eng Teck. They have been playing together for more than 15 years. Initially inspired by grunge bands such as Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, the band has since expanded their musical horizons to create a soundscape reminiscent of the progressive art-rock/heavy metal stylings of Tool, A Perfect Circle and PJ Harvey.
“Right of Sleep” – Lunarin from The Midas Sessions
“Wednesday” – Lunarin from The Midas Sessions
Other singles from new albums dropped last week include MP3s from Rags & Ribbons, Walter Rose, Ernest Gonzales, Matthew Dear, Ani DiFranco, Cate Le Bon, Herman Dune. But first, we’ll kick off this mini-playlist with a new track from the debut album from Buried Beds, an indie Americana band that is completely new to us, and have quickly become, at the least, an IRC Radar Band of 2012. The EP is also the soundtrack to an indie movie they produced. The lead track, “Ivory Towers” is wonderfully crafted and performed, uplifting at times, full of masterful drumming mixed with a horn section, and impressive vocals and choruses; at other times, the song mellows out considerably, at which time the vocals carry the tune
“Ivory Towers” – Buried Beds from Small Stories EP
“The Glass Masses” – Rags & Ribbons from The Glass Masses (self-released)
“Drive South” – Walter Rose from Cast Your Stone (self-released)
Last week the Juno Award winning band Said The Whale released the MP3 version of their new, anticipated album (their first as a five-piece band), Little Mountain. This week is the official release of the CD version of the album for fans that prefer the sound quality of a CD over an MP3 album. Little Mountain is one of the best albums so far this year, featuring the band’s exhilarating mix of 70’s and 80’s classic post punk combined with the power pop of artists like Marshall Crenshaw and The Knack.
Phenomenal Handclap Band has finally released the follow-up to their acclaimed, self-titled debut album. With their new release, Form & Control, PHB took on an ambitious, and daring, new challenge – to cleverly fuse genres like psych, R&B, soul, and cosmic disco. With co-founders Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand at the production helm, Form & Control finds the band once again deftly mixing and matching seemingly disparate musical genres, with a musical palette that now includes prog-pop, new wave and modern leftfield dance.”
