Indie Record Labels – INDIE ROCK CAFE

Indie Record Label Spotlight: Standard Recording’s Everthus The Deadbeats, Amo Joy, Everything, Now! and Big Big Car

Posted on 02/05/201012/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Today we feature a number of relatively unknown bands from the Standard Recording label, a little known, small indie label with some big talent.

Up first is the band Everthus The Deadbeats, followed by the whistling, skipping melodies of Amo Joy; “King Basement” from Thunderhawk‘s upcoming release, VI; the alt country rock of Kentucky Nightmare; the White Stripes-sounding garage rockers, Big Big Car; and, Everything Now‘s semi-sordid story of life in a trailer park.

“Organic Mechanics” – Everthus The Deadbeats from John Kill & The Microscopic Lullaby

“A Regal Tomorrow” – Amo Joy from The Sane Design

“King Basement” – Thunderhawk from VI

“Caroline & I” – Kentucky Nightmare from Take Her Favour

“The Limestone Stomp” – Big Big Car from Limestone Throne/Kid Fight

“I Live in a Trailer Park” – Everything, Now! from Police! Police!

Get the Standard Recordings sampler in zip format for free, and check out the label’s website.

Swedish Record Label Labrador Spawns Impressive Line Up of Indie Bands and New Singles

Posted on 05/29/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

The music on Dare is a million times better than the album cover

Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Labrador Records, is one of my favorite overseas independent record labels. Over the years, they have assembled an impressive line up of bands, including The Radio Dept, Sambassadeur, The Mary Onettes, The Legends, Club 8 and Acid House Kings.

Fast forward to right now. Labrador has released a fresh batch of superb new songs from The Radio Dept., The Mary Onettes, Pallers, The Legends, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names and The Sound of Arrows. Altogether, this is some of the best indie music out right now, thanks to the smart people with very keen ears for good music at Labrador Records.

In addition to the new releases listed below, you can download a zip file of all of Labrador’s free songs, stream them on LastFM and buy the albums of your favorite Labrador bands on Labrador’s website. Find the release dates for the following list of new songs. Cheers to a great indie label!

“Dare” – The Mary Onettes from Dare EP
The Mary Onettes on MySpace

“David” – The Radio Dept from upcoming David EP
The Radio Dept on MySpace

“1999” – Suburban Kids With Biblical Names from #4
SKWBN on MySpace

“Humdrum” – Pallers from Humdrum EP
Pallers on MySpace

“Always The Same” – The Legends from Over and Over
The Legends on MySpace

“M.A.G.I.C.” – The Sound of Arrows from M.A.G.I.C.
The Sound of Arrows on MySpace

Get more songs from the Swedish label by downloading the Labrador Spring Sample via Pirate Bay.

Cool Indie Record Labels: Barsuk Records

Posted on 03/04/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Seattle’s Barsuk Records is the mother label of indie bands like Ra Ra Riot, Death Cab for Cutie, Mates of State, Rilo Kiley, Nada Surf and The Long Winters, and the list goes on. From time to time, we like to give shout-outs to record labels that we like – so cheers to Barsuk!

The cleanly designed site features MP3s, albums, artist profiles and more, including a Flash rendition of the Barsuk Records Songwriters Show from April 2005 featuring Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, Matthew Caws of Nada Surf, John Roderick of The Long Winters, John Vanderslice and Jesse Skyes.

“November Was White, December Was Grey” – Say Hi from new release Ohhs and Ahhs
“Soul Meets Body” – Death Cab for Cutie from 2005 release Plans
“See These Bones” – Nada Surf from 2008 release Lucky

Check out more free MP3s of artists in the Barsuk Records line-up and get some of the albums to hear all of the great songs from your favorites.

Free Indie Album Download from Ashtmatic Kitty Records: "Interoceans" – Various Artists

Posted on 09/04/200812/18/2019 by Max Hammer

A number of musicians and bands contributed to this free MP3 album download available from Asthmatic Kitty Records, a label that has produced favorite indie artists like Sufjan Stevens and Half Handed Cloud.

The album mainly consists of various remixes of the I Heart Lung’s song “Interoceans” from artists like SugarLoaf, Strategy and Omid.

Download Interoceans from Asthmatic Kitty Records. You can also stream the album and buy the original from I Heart Lungs.

Indie Alternative Record Label of the Month: Dead Oceans Records

Posted on 08/18/200812/18/2019 by Max Hammer

There are few things more enjoyable regarding online music experiences then to discover a great record label that you didn’t already know of. This month’s indie label honor goes to Dead Oceans Records.

The label is based in Austin, one of the country’s top indie/alternative rock cities, where each year two of the music industry’s biggest events – the South-by-Southwest Conference and the Austin City Limits Music and Arts Festival – are held. Smart place to start a record label if you don’t mind the Texan heat.

Dead Oceans has a great line-up for a relatively small and new label, including indie and alternative rock bands like Explorers Club, Bishop Allen, White Hinterland, The Bower Birds and Evangelicals.

The label has just released The Explorer’s Club new debut album, Freedom Wind. This is an interesting album and definitely worth a try, especially if you enjoy the following free track from the album.

MP3: Do You Love Me – Explorers Club

You can purchase Freedom Wind at from Dead Oceans

MP3: Skeleton – Evangelicals

Another recent release from the Dead Oceans indie record label worthy of checking out comes from The Bower Birds. This is a new and pleasant discovery here at IRC. Many fans are enticed by the band’s Middle-Eastern influenced tracks that are adeptly mixed with a kind of indie rock that is rarely heard.

The band’s song “In Our Talons” embodies this ecelectic offering of influences on The Bower Birds sound.

MP3: In Our Talons – The Bower Birds

View amazing artistic, albeit low budget, music video for “In Our Talons” featured on MTV2 and YouTube.

Canadian Director Alan Poon describes the making of the video to subterraneanblog:

“The images were created by taking individual snapshots of each animal in each position [for] approximately 5 seconds…per day…features three different nature vignettes – a crow (we think), a pair of preying mantises and a crab – and there are three members of Bowerbirds.”

In a way coming upon the Dead Oceans Record label was a bit jarring and coincidental for me . Only two days earlier, I had heard a report on NPR about “dead ocean zones” increasing worldwide. The dead zones, a major concern of enviornmentalists and governments worldwide, are growing at an alarming rate worldwide.

The dead ocean zones take over when high concentrations of oxygen-sucking algae form at the mouths of major rivers. Fertilizer run-off from farms flow into streams and then major rivers where they amass in piles, choking the ocean zone’s oxygen and killing marine life.

In places like Florida, Japan and Europe, there have been an alarming increase in the number and size of dead ocean zones during the past four decades. Marine environmentalists and oceanographers around the globe say that dead ocean zones are the greatest threat to the world’s already threatened oceans.

Hopefully bringing this issue to your attention might get a few people to write their Congressional representatives (it’s our democracy if we want to take it).

Deerhoof’s New Album "Friend Opportunity" and New Tour Dates

Posted on 01/29/200712/18/2019 by Max Hammer

The progressive indie rock band Deerhoof has released its new album, Friend Opportunity, on Kill Rock Star/DRA Records, to high critical acclaim.

Fans of the group will likely not be let down. The band shines on this album in a way they have not before.

But don’t worry – they have preserved their mysterious complexity of song writing and musical mood changes while at the same time cranking it up a notch on experimental rock pop songs like “Matchbook Seeks Maniac”, ” +81” and “Cast Off Clown.”

Much of the album is representative of their musical styles, and experimentation with different textures and some engineering tricks and switches that give the songs a polished quality while not sounding overly produced or mainstream Top 40.

First time listeners of Deerhoof are encouraged to listen to the bands other albums like Apples O’ or The Runners Four first for a better context for which to listen to Friend Opportunity.

The songs featured here are for listening only. You can buy Deerhoof’s music from any number of downloading sites or buy their CDs online or in the stores.

If you are already a new fan, or a long-time fan, make sure not to miss the band if they are playing near you.

Deerhoof’s Concert Dates 2007

Jan 30 2007
8:00P
Great American Music Hall
San Francisco, California

Feb 1 2007
8:00P
Neumo’s Crystal Ball Reading Room
Seattle, Washington

Feb 2 2007
8:00P
Richards On Richards
Vancouver, British Columbia

Feb 3 2007
8:00P
Wonder Ballroom
Portland, Oregon

Feb 4 2007
8:00P
W.O.W. Hall
Eugene, Oregon

Feb 11 2007
8:00P
Black Cat
Washington, DC, Washington DC

Feb 12 2007
8:00P
Cat‘s Cradle
Carrboro, North Carolina

Feb 13 2007
8:00P
Grey Eagle
Asheville, North Carolina

Feb 14 2007
8:00P
Cumberland‘s
Charleston, South Carolina

Feb 15 2007
8:00P
Headliners
Columbia, South Carolina

Feb 16 2007
8:00P
Jack Rabbits
Jacksonville, Florida

Feb 17 2007
8:00P
Poplife
Miami, Florida

Feb 18 2007
8:00P
Crowbar
Tampa, Florida

Feb 19 2007
8:00P
The Social
Orlando, Florida

Feb 20 2007
8:00P
Common Grounds
Gainesville, Florida

Feb 21 2007
8:00P
40 Watt Club
Athens, Georgia

Feb 22 2007
8:00P
Mercy Lounge
Nashville, Tennessee

Feb 23 2007
8:00P
The Warehouse
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Feb 24 2007
8:00P
Sattellite Ballroom
Charlottesville, Virginia

Feb 25 2007
8:00P
Ottobar
Baltimore, Maryland

Mar 2 2007
8:00P
The Epicentre
San Diego, California

Mar 3 2007
8:00P
Club Congress
Tucson, Arizona

Mar 4 2007
8:00P
Rhythm Room
Phoenix, Arizona

Mar 7 2007
8:00P
Conservatory
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Mar 8 2007
8:00P
Gypsy Tea Room
Dallas, Texas

Mar 9 2007
8:00P
Emo‘s
Austin, Texas

Mar 10 2007
8:00P
Numbers
Houston, Texas

Apr 1 2007
8:00P
The Rosemount
Perth, Western Australia

Apr 3 2007
8:00P
The Annandale
Sydney, Australian Capital Territory

Apr 4 2007
8:00P
The Zoo
Brisbane, Australian Capital Territory

Apr 6 2007
8:00P
Great Escape Festival
Sydney, Australian Capital Territory

Apr 7 2007
8:00P
Corner Hotel
Melbourne, Australian Capital Territory

Deerhoof Official website There are some videos, news and tour information, but not much more than that. A little surprising for a great band that has been around for a while.

Deerhoof Lyrics