Category: 7 Bands You Gotta Hear

Back by popular demand, and because we have another collection of seven amazing artists and bands in this latest installment of 7 Overseas Bands You’ve Gotta Hear takes us from Sweden and Australia to England and Portugal and Brazil.

In our last installment of the 7 Bands series, which was a hit with listeners, we featured artists and bands like The Bynars, Crash Island, Kid Cadaver and Sun Club.

In This Edition:

Gonçalo – Lisbon, Portugal
Brockley Forest – Bristol, England
Cat Dog Snake – Malmo, Sweden
John Alexander Ericson – Sweden
PFAU – Paris, France
Welcome The Wildfire – Perth, Australia
The Fake Vulgarys – São Paulo, Brazil

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Gonçalo – Portugal

We love rock, punk, classic metal, and other hard-hitting, fast, balls-to-the-wall music, whether it’s classic Led Zeppelin, The Kinks, Cream, Black Sabbath, The Clash, Nirvana, and on and on, or modern day artists like The Black Keys, Jack White, Cage The Elephant, or whether it’s under-the-radar small label and DIY rock bands.

But we also love beautiful, organic mellow music as well, from dreamy pop to touching folk ballads. In fact, we have thousands of terrific mellow songs in our personal music playlists collection (which we share pieces of sometimes when we need a break from reviewing submissions).

There are just times when the mellow greats, whether it’s Sam Cooke, Iron and Wine, Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell or The Eagles, is all you want to listen to – and great for reading or working on something.

That’s a bit of a long – but fitting – introduction for this newly formed solo project from Portugal musician Gonçalo Alvarez, on his solo path, far but always close to the warmth of his buddies that is now solidly on our radar.

As a member of the alternative Portugese band Long Way To Alaska, Alvarez decided last year he wanted to record a solo album and adopted the moniker, Gonçalo. He sent us two gorgeous singles that were so compelling that we sought out more of his music.

And yet that is one of the limitations, but also one of the hopes, that a talented artist with terrific debut album presents. The album, Quim, was dropped on February 3rd. With his main band, Long Way To Alaska, Alvarez has opened for big bands like The xx, El Guincho and The Fall.

“Criancas“ – Gonçalo from Quim

Gonçalo’s music stands out on its own because of the quality of his songwriting, singing and musicianship. You can tell Alvarez is a skilled artist with a rare ability to create and perform songs that touch the listener, and hopefully win them over as well.

We haven’t been able to find much information about him, so there’s a bit of a lack of insight as to who Alvarez is. Perhaps it’s on purpose, and if so, it may not be such a bad strategy. Raise the mystique if you will.

“Tuga“

Gonçalo on Bandcamp

Brockley Forest – Bristol, England

Sharing a bond similar to The Kills, and heavily influenced by many of the rock groups coming out of the underground scene in recent years, the Bristol indie rock duo, Brockley Forest, have been increasing their profile in the U.K.’s underground rock scene, and landed on our radar thanks to a couple of tracks they shared with us from the duo’s forthcoming E.P.

Although the two men, who we only know so far as songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, Dec, and drummer and vocalist, Seb, (and assuming perhaps one of them is actually named Brockley Forest), have been friends since the age of 11, their friendship wasn’t truly cemented until they embarked on a three- month cross-country trip in America, spanning 10,000 miles and culminating in two weeks in L.A where they ended up temporarily living in the Mojave desert, were adopted by a “hippie” commune (apparently in this decade), and hung out with celebrities at the Viper Room.

The duo got their first real big break musically after meeting two Australian millionaires who, Dec and Seb claim, “were out to blow their fortunes in Vegas.” Wait, so we deduce from that limited information that the millionaires “blew” some of their money promoting Brockley Forest? Without that backing, the band may have never launched, nor opened for artists like Fidlar, Bob Log III, and Balthazar.

There’s certainly more of a back story there than we’re willing to dig into – and to save time for reviewing more submissions – but the band has definitely earned a good deal of their praise for natural talent and hard work.

In fact, their semi-hit underground single, “Run For Your Money,” was featured in early February by BBC Introducing, a popular music series that profiles new bands, mostly in the U.K. The single is a tease for the band’s debut EP, expected to drop sometime in the spring or early summer. We were able to secure a second single, “Destroy The Room,” also from the forthcoming EP.

“Run For Your Money“ – Brockley Forest from Brockley Forest

“Out Of Control“ – Brockley Forest from Brockley Forest

See the “Out Of Control” music video

Cat Dog Snake – Malmo, Sweden

Straight outta Malmo, Sweden, the alternative rock band Cat Dog Snake, formed in 2012, got our attention with their riveting guitar riffs and American-sounding garage rock.

Ordinarily, we might have not even bothered with including the band because, as some, but few, other bands don’t do, they did not provide us with much more than a couple of lazy sentences about who they are – making, at best, a minimal effort to provide any insight as to who they are, what motivates them, what their background is, or anything else that you would think a band would want people to know about them.

Afterall, they’re certainly not at a level that anyone would ever say: “Oh, yeah, Cat Dog Snake? Everyone knows who they are.”

This is a good lesson for aspiring artists and bands – when you send a submission to any press or bloggers, make it shine. At the very least, provide the information requested; a bio/profile doesn’t need to be beautifully written with journalistic detail, but the person receiving the submission, along with hundreds of others, needs to know enough about who you are, your music, where you’re from, what notice you’ve received, how you met, and other details to write something meaningful.

A band or an artist can never build and sustain a loyal following (which is what keeps most bands afloat for many years) without being engaged with their fans and followers – through live appearances, events, and one of musicians’ best free tools – social media and the web. They’ve only posted a few times on Facebook so far this year and it’s May. All the criticism aside, these guys can rock, as the singles from their self-titled, debut album clearly show.

https://soundcloud.com/johnalexanderericson/black-clockworks

John Alexander Ericson – Sweden

John Alexander Ericson’s remarkable compilation Berlin Lullabies on Warsaw Recordings marks the culmination of a number of personal journeys, from his native Sweden via Berlin, London and back to Berlin again, where he now lives and works on his music, with a very personal blend of songwriting that draws on all these experiences.

Taking a distinctly European approach to his craft, which both recalls, and gives new perspective, to his musical influences such as P.J.Harvey, Jacques Brel and David Bowie and Brian Eno’s collaborations, it’s appropriate that Berlin is the central theme of the album.

In fact, Ericson wrote many of the songs during his stay in the Berlin, including standout tracks like “Black Clockworks” and “Cyanide.” The cover art of his album is a photograph of the bar Oberbaum Eck in Kreuzberg.

“I wanted to take the best piano ballads I’ve written for solo albums and various other projects and put them out as one independent album,” Ericson wrote. “You probably won’t get up and dance to this one (‘Black Clockworks’), but I’m very proud of this collection of songs and think it’s some of the best work I’ve ever done.”

Ericson is no stranger to the world of indie rock. In fact we’ve featured his band, My Empire of Sound (with collaborator Sidsel Marie), on the ‘7 Bands’ series before, and listeners really liked the band’s tracks.

In the later half of the last decade, he toured with his brother’s band, the popular Alberta Cross, and performed more than 150 shows in the U.K., including the V and Reading festivals. He has previously opened for Bat For Lashes and Edison Woods, and considers among his top musical influences artists like Lou Reed, Fever Ray, David Bowie and Leonard Cohen.

“Black Clockworks“ – John Alexander Ericson from Berlin Lullabies

“Midnight Warriors“ – John Alexander Ericson from Berlin Lullabies

PFAU – Paris, France

Gregopfo (cannot track down his last name), aka, Cousin Machewbacca, is a lo-fi, folk pop guitarist, songwriter and vocalist from Paris, France, who plays in a number of bands – Wonderflu, Sluggish and now, PFAU. Last fall, PFAU dropped its self-titled solo debut via Influenza Records.

“I was already in two bands,” Gregopfo wrote, “but I wanted people to hear my solo work, which is nothing too complicated or sophisticated, but it’s honest and from the heart.”

Although PFAU is considered a solo project, Gregopfo did have some help from other musicians in recording the songs, including ‘Marco’ (no last name provided) on drums; Raphael Zweifel on cello, and Antoine “Sulfateuse” Poncet mixed and mastered the songs.

Although we think the music is terrific, we hate the name; it means nothing, is impossible to remember or to say, and makes it very difficult to brand. In fact, we’re a little surprised that the folks at Influenza Records did not demand a better name before signing on to release the EP.

However, as we mentioned, the music is great, so we can see why they overlooked the terrible name. In addition to the fact that it’s an impressive debut, we’re partly featuring Gregopfo’s songs because he also is the lead vocalist in the French indie band, Wonderflu, which we have previously featured on IRC.

“Don’t Trust“ – PFAU from PFAU

“Fog“ – PFAU from PFAU

Welcome The Wildfire – Perth, Australia

In the Land Down Under – or more exactly Perth, Australia – is a new indie rock band, Welcome The Wildfire, which aims to make exceptional music that dynamically fuses together “smooth and melodic with hard and heavy.”

On the catchy, well-received single, “Making Mona Lisa,” which saw regular rotation on Triple J Unearthed radio last fall, the band crafts memorable indie rock arrangements that stick in your head.

Earlier this year, the quartet recorded five tracks at Fat Pig Studios (which produced such quality acts Mandalay Victory and Saviour) to release their debut, Where I Ignite, dropped in January, and includes the two singles below.

The band features Joel Bradbury (vocals); Dwayne Scott (guitar); Chris Dyson (guitar); George Hadnett (bass) and Aaron Muller (drums). Welcome The Wildfire have opened for bands like Black Birds, HYTE, and Calm Collected, and count among their top musical influences Karnivool, Emarosa, Birds Of Tokyo, Dead Letter Circus, and Incubus.

“In The Street Light“ – Welcome The Wildfire from Where I Ignite – Jan. 17th

“Curtains Closed“ – Welcome The Wildfire from Where I Ignite

Bonus: “Making Mona Lisa“ – Welcome The Wildfire from Making Mona Lisa 7″

Welcome The Wildfire on Facebook

The Fake Vulgarys – São Paulo, Brazil

The following double-shot is from a new alternative rock band from Itatiba, São Paulo, Brazil, the The Fake Vulgarys, which only formed less than a year ago and just released their debut EP in the U.S., A Man Who Says, which the band says pays homage to different influences from The Beatles to The Foo Fighters and from Oasis to Metallica. You can’t get any more DIY than these guys.

The four band members, Rafael Amaral Cataldo (vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Diego Machado (vocals, guitar, cello), Caio Guttner (bass) and Eduardo “Dú” (drums) built a home recording studio and wrote, recorded, tracked, mixed and mastered the EP themselves, putting in their own money, not to mention blood, sweat and tears.

The songs featured below confirm the band’s proclamation that they enjoy experimenting with sounds and constructs to blaze a path for their own music, which is stirring up a bit of a buzz in the Sao Paulo underground rock scene. Will they get a following in the U.S.?

“In Any Life With Her“ – The Fake Vulgarys from A Man Who Says

“A Man Who Says“ – The Fake Vulgarys from A Man Who Says

The Fake Vulgarys on Facebook

There’s going to be a rush of 2013 DIY, small label and under-the-radar releases in the coming weeks, and perhaps even into the first couple of months of 2014. It all goes by so fast. But we have some great songs from recent drops in September and October for you – altogether, 17 new songs. Stream all of the songs like a podcast by simply clicking the play button of the first song on below from Gang of Brothers.

This is the latest installment of 7 Bands You’ve Gotta Hear; the last ‘7 Bands’ was published in June. Another terrific series, with amazing bands making first-rate music, is a variation called 7 Overseas Bands You’ve Gotta Hear.

Both series have been incredibly popular, and thus, the newest installment with: Australian funky R&B band, Gang of Brothers; Baltimore orchestra pop band Sun Club; Boston electro dance band, The Bynars; St. Louis indie rock band The Union Electric; Los Angeles indie pop trio Kid Cadaver; London tropical rock band Crash Island; and Los Angeles pop band Ocelot Robot.

Gang of Brothers – Sydney, Australia

A new Australia that crossed our radar with a submission of two singles is the soulful, R&B, funky band Gang of Brothers from Sydney. They blew us away with their retro late 60’s, early 70’s sounds.

The first track “Get Up On Ya Feet N’ Testify” is a straight out, fast moving, big bouncing R&B and soul music extravaganza that sounds so so good that if these guys were around 40 years ago, they could have been competition for Sly and the Family Stone – for reals. No wonder that the single has been No. 1 on some online charts (they didn’t tell us which ones though) for weeks.

With one exception, they really are a gang of brothers, and it came as no surprise when we read more about them that they all were born into, and raised around, music. Brothers Andro, Dauno, Fenix and Banel Martinez hail from “the prestigious musical” Martinez family (Martinez Akustica).

On the drums and lead vocals is a brother to the family (not genetically though) Buddy Siolo, whose talents have taken him around the globe to perform, and we can certainly see why.

While the band remains unsigned, MGM is in charge of their distribution. All we can say about that is they should have a big-time distributor because they belong in the big time. While there is yet no indication of when a debut album should be expected, we at least hope that it is coming soon.

Gang of Brothers have also performed at a number of jazz and rock festivals in Australia and New Zealand; somebody needs to book them to perform at a festival in the U.S. if they can bring it like they do on “Get Up On Ya Feet N’ Testify.”

The second track the band sent us, “She’s Gone,” is the polar opposite, a much slower, heartfelt track that furthers the band’s status as an excellent soul and funk band the soul is still there. Even though we know otherwise, it’s still hard to sink in that these cats are from Sydney – they sound like they’d be from New York, Philly, LA, Oakland, Chicago or some other big U.S. music city with a tradition of soul, R&B and funk. But the fact that they’re from Australia, you gotta say, is even more impressive.

“Get Up On Ya Feet N’ Testify” – Gang of Brothers from Gang of Brothers – Sept. 8th

“Shes Gone” – Gang of Brothers from Gang of Brothers

Sun Club – Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore band Sun Club creates upbeat indie orchestral pop tunes with flourishing, bright instrumentation, a series of musical stops and starts along with delirious stomping, joyful ohh-ohh choruses, melodic hooks and animal calls and howls (“Language Juice”) reminiscent of Brad Oberhofer (of Oberhofer).

We knew that someday we’d hear someone else emulate Oberhofer’s wild howls he so wonderfully mixed into his songs dating back to when we were the first blog to publish his demos in 2009, and part of what catapulted he and his band’s popularity.

Sun Club, formed in 2012, live up to their name; their songs are sunny, shiny and deliciously upbeat. They have toured as far north as Toronto and as far south as Austin. In May of 2012 the band released their debut LP and now they’re following up with this new double-track 7″ release.

Sun Club has opened for bands like The Spinto Band, Fang Island, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Morning Teleportation, The Weeks, and The Front Bottoms, and count among their biggest influences The Beach Boys and Animal Collective.

Kid Cadaver – Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles alternative pop rock trio Kid Cadaver, has been on regular rotation in the cafe for weeks. The band members all grew up in San Fernando Valley area and got together in 2010 thanks to friends. According to their profile, they “draw inspiration from girls, dread growing older, mask their emotions, and are constantly seeking to maximize their fun.”

Kid Cadaver released their debut EP, New Modern, in September 2011 and just dropped their sophomore, self-titled EP on September 23rd. The band has previously opened for bands like The Black and The White and Escondido and listed their top musical influences as Passion Pit, MGMT, Grimes, Bad Suns, Vampire Weekend, and Tokyo Police Club.

“Stable” – Kid Cadaver from Kid Cadaver EP – Sept. 23rd

“Stick Around” – Kid Cadaver from Kid Cadaver

The Bynars – Boston, Massachusetts

Put on your dancing shoes for the undeniably addictive electro pop dance single, “Dancing on a Dream,” from the Boston DIY band The Bynars. As with do with all posts featuring talented new artists and bands that are inexplicably under the radar for too long, we’ll watch the feedback and numbers to see how all of you take to this promising new band. Their sophomore album, X vs. X, officially dropped on September 17th. Good thing is that, judging the reactions of friends of the cafe, the cloak of obscurity is lifting off of The Bynars. In listening to X vs. X, we get the sense that this band is going to start breaking out soon.

“Dancing on a Dream” – The Bynars from X vs. X – Sept. 17th

It’s not really clear how to put a genre on the album’s second track, “Tired of Hooking Up With You,” featuring ATM. It’s a beat pop framework – that’s the best way to put it – with rolling waves of 80’s new wave synth coupled with 80’s electric guitar riffs, as if Prince, OMD and Eddie Van Halen were put into a blender.

There are times, on standout songs like “All I Wanna Do is Have Some Fun Tonight,” that you link you hear some Passion Pit, MGMT and New Order, but the truth is, and it becomes clear (although ultimately not) as you progress through each track that this band thrives off of experimental and taking a dabble from the spectrum of music genres to create an original, and interesting, musical journey.

On “All I Wanna Do…” a nearly 12-minute track, the band breaks out into an interesting and colorful free form-style jam somewhat characteristic of jazz jams, as well as some late 1960’s and early 1970’s rock, where players and their instruments, in intervals lead the song and step into the spotlight for a couple of minutes.

“All I Wanna Do is Have Some Fun Tonight” – The Bynars from X vs. X

The Union Electric – St. Louis, Missouri

The Union Electric, a St. Louis DIY band, has released four 7″s and their debut LP, Time Is Gold (2011), since their 2009 inception. Time Is Gold was the first record on the Rankoutsider label to make the CMJ Radio 200 chart.

The band has previously opened for artists like Deer Tick, Dax Riggs, Murder By Death, Puerto Muerto, and Gringo Starr, and their influences include Woody Guthrie, Nick Cave, Handsome Family, Richard Buckner, and Calexico.

“Words That Maketh Murder” – The Union Electric from Cover Charge – Sept. 24th

Crash Island – London, England

Dark tropical indie rock from London comes to us from the unsigned band Crash Island. The band gathers indie punk ethos with 80’s nostalgic synths, reggae rhythms and melodic vocal lines. They have so far played in the U.K., Germany, Switzerland and France.

The band’s debut studio EP, Strange Shores, was mixed by the famous Strokes‘ producer Gordon Raphael in Seattle and Buenos Aires, and released on October 21st. Crash Island’s top influences include Fatboy Slim, We Heart Sharks, Jack Savoretti, The Clash, College, !!! and Bloc Party.

Today’s post containing selected artist and their music is the first edition of the ‘7 Bands You’ve Gotta Hear‘ series that features overseas artists. This post begins with an incredibly diverse and talented artist, Justice Aaron, better known as Metaform. Other artists featured below include James Kerr of London; Matt Churchill of London; Heifervescent of Lancashire, England; Flat Ed of Carcassonne, France; Lillian Todd-Jones of Oxford, England; and Reebosound of Hannover, Germany.

Metaform – Tokyo, Japan

Metaform is the DIY music project, launched in 2005, of Tokyo-via-Los Angeles music producer and songwriter Justice Aaron. Metaform’s music has been compared to artists like Massive Attack and Tears for Fears, even though to his earlier fans he is considered to be a hip-hop artist. Aaron’s musical influences include Neil Young, Deftones and DJ Shadow. He’s also been featured in Remix and DJ magazines, among others. In 2008, he released his debut album, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, constructed entirely from dusted off vinyl samples. The album spent an entire month on the College Music Journal’s Top 20 and Alternative Press Magazine listed it as one of the Top 10 records of 2008, calling it “one of the best instrumental hip-hop records in years.”

Two years later, Metaform released the highly controversial album, The Electric Mist, which isolated a big portion of the fans he made from his debut because the newer album was largely synth-based. While he isolated many of his early fans with the release of The Electric Mist, he also picked up a whole new group of fans who praised the album’s dark and sexy electro-pop sound. Interestingly, the album was one of the most popular music torrents on the site Demonoid, where it remained in the Top 10 music torrents list for two years with a total of more than 300,000 downloads. Earlier this month, Metaform released Act 1 of his sci-fi opera trilogy, The Midnight Machine, that had been in the works since 2009.

“Winter City” – Metaform from The Midnight Machine – June 4th

Metaform’s Official Website

Matt Churchill – London, England

Originally from Watford, Matt Churchill is a singer/songwriter based in London and a former member of the band Cedar. On May 6th, Churchill released his first EP, Cause/Affect. The EP contains three songs, two of them included below, which demonstrate Churchill’s accomplishments as an acoustic folk musician and a songwriter. He shared two of the songs with us, the EP’s title track and “Of My Time.” The EP is also available in a limited edition cut cover package, available via his website. Produced, mixed and mastered by Hyperlion from Pariis Opera House, the three tracks are layered with dreamy vocals and intricate counter melodies. His musical influences include Nick Drake, Buffalo Springfield, Elbow, Neil Young, and Beth Orton.

“Cause/Affect” – Matt Churchill from Cause/Affect EP

“Of My Time” – Matt Churchill from Cause/Affect EP

James Kerr – London, England

London singer/songwriter James Kerr (not the Jim Kerr of 80’s super band Simple Minds) played in various bands over the years and opened for artists like The Bluetones, The Feeling, The Paddingtons, Wendy James (Transvision Camp), and Glen Matlock (The Sex Pistols). But a couple of years ago, Kerr decided to strike out on this own, stating: “I’ve decided to go it alone and do everything myself, thus, removing the need to argue or get annoyed with anyone other than myself. I can cope much better this way.”

Last spring, Kerr released his debut album, from which we have two impressive singles, including the touching, rhythmic song of longing, “When We Were Young,” complete with hand-claps, a thumping bass, and a catchy, sing-a-long chorus. The second single, “The Ship,” has a dreamy, peaceful quality to it, and is more stripped down than the first single, consisting only of Kerr’s agreeable vocals and an acoustic guitar, with a brief infusion of an electric guitar solo and sparsely planted xylophone keys. His musical influences range from Bach to The Beatles and Jefferson Airplane to Jeff Buckley. We can only hope that more people will see the talent and potential that we do in Kerr’s solo project. We’re keeping our ears open for the next release from Kerr.

“When We Were Young” – James Kerr from James Kerr

“The Ship” – James Kerr from James Kerr

Heifervescent – Lancashire, England

Heifervescent is the Lancashire, England musical project of artist Andy Doran, who wrote, performed and produced each track from the May release of the album, Sheepyhead. Heifervescent’s songs are highly-charged pop rock tracks that overflow with electronic-influenced melodies and bright guitar hooks with moments of ambient string arrangements – all accompanying Doran’s fine vocal work. Long before he set out on his own to create Heifervescent, Doran was a singer/songwriter with Monkeyland, a fairly popular four- piece indie guitar band. In fact, Monkeyland, during the 1990’s BritPop craze, played alongside UK bands like Shed Seven, The House of Love, Power of Dreams and The Railway Children. However, when the decade came to an end, Monkeyland disbanded. Doran lists his major musical influences to be the Eels, Elbow, Doves, The Pale Saints, Susanne Sündfor and The Beatles.

In response to our question, ‘what is indie?,’ Doran wrote: “Music that retains all the original sentiments of the artist, in the recording, the mix and the presentation, with nothing taken out or added by corporate bystanders. Music that hasn’t perverted the course of justice.”

“Liberty Girl” – Heifervescent from Wake Up Sheepyhead – May 1st

“Try Again” – Heifervescent from Wake Up Sheepyhead

Heifervescent’s Official Website

Flat Ed – Carcassonne, France

Flat Ed is the one man band project of musician Stephane Iserable from Carcassonne, France. On June 21st, Flat Ed released his DIY debut album, Clapped Out, even though he began recording in 1995, releasing his first solo cassette that year. In addition to creating experimental and interesting pop, electro, folk and rock-inspired songs, Iserable has recorded and performed with various artists, and undertaken engineering, production and mixing for a variety of artists and bands for more than a decade. Clapped Out was recorded in France, England and Wales during an eight-year period that stretched from 2005 to 2013. With a couple of minor exceptions, Flat Ed played all of the instruments and did all of the vocals. “There’s a lot of care put into the words as well as trying to always get a unique and different sound for each track. I try to never repeat myself, if I do, I don’t release those tracks.”

“Late Autumn Walk” – Flat Ed from Clapped Out

“24 Hours” Flat Ed from Clapped Out

Check out Flat Ed’s website and Bandcamp page

Lillian Todd-Jones – Oxford, England

Lillian Todd-Jones is an unsigned indie solo artist from Oxford, England who made a little splash on some indie blogs recently with her single, “Butter Soul,” that highlights her haunting vocals and demonstrates her skills as a talented songwriter. She has also been working closely during the past year with producer Gordon Mills Jr. (Ed Sheerhan, Newton Faulkner) since launching her music career late in 2011. Of this partnership, she commented: “It has been an amazing experience working with Gordon. When working together in his studio, the world seems to disappear, when it returns… there’s a new song.” The video for “Butter Soul” was shot by director Garry Wood in a dilapidated mansion and sees Lillian in various montages, mostly bedraggled in her own nightmare.

“Butter Soul” – Lillian Todd Jones

Lillian Todd Jones Official Website

Reebosound – Hannover, Germany

John Reebo, a musician from Hannover, Germany, who has recorded under the moniker, Reebosound, for the past seven years, dropped his third album, Juicy Black, back in October, which also features a few of Reebo’s favorite guest musicians. Here are two tracks from the album that we think more people will want to hear. Reebo listed his biggest musical influences as the Eels, The Melvins, The Flaming Lips, David Bowie and Tribe of Noise.

“Lick My Blood” – Reebosound from Juicy Black

“The Ocean” – Reebosound from Juicy Black

Every few months or so, a music publication or blogger will tag a certain overseas country, region or city as “emerging” or “up and coming” or “place to be” for new indie and alternative rock music, and the gazillion sub-genres that branch outwards from that trunk. For a while it will be one overseas area, like, say, Manchester in the U.K., or Stockholm, and then some other critic will crown some other location, like Prague, while another insists only weeks later that it’s all happening in Melbourne.

We thought it would be much easier, and more interesting, to expand the new and wildly popular playlist series, 7 Bands You’ve Gotta Hear (or 7 Bands for short), into sub-categories, since there are so many bands and songs that we have posted and will be posting for weeks and months to come. Due to the positive response to the first installment of 7 Bands, and after we reviewed reader comments and web stats, we decided to expand the series into geographical categories.

Some people may be understandably skeptical that we have received over 1,200 submissions from bands and artists in the past six months, but it’s true. So, we’ve been going through them one by one, which can be draining and tedious at times, but it’s all worth it when we come across a fantastic artist or band that we never heard of before. In fact, we’re almost sure that this is the first “big” exposure on a U.S. indie rock music site for many of the artists in today’s 7 Bands installment.

Little by little, we’re getting through the approximate 1,200 submissions (and counting), and sorting out the bands we like the most by first listening to the songs they submitted, and if they get our attention, we then put them into a playlist which we listen to numerous times over a couple of weeks time. In that process, more songs are omitted, and others rise up, until we have a robust mix of just the songs that impressed us the most.

From there, we then go and review each chosen band’s complete submission. Really, it doesn’t change anything at this point – we don’t care where they’re from, if they’re DIY (which most are) or signed to a label, who they have opened for (or if they’ve opened for anyone before), what their bio says, and who are their biggest musical influences. All that really matters to us is the music, and that’s all we’ve ever cared about.

We don’t expect everyone to like every band we feature, but if most people come away with a couple songs added to their MP3 player, or even a new favorite overseas band, then we feel like it was a success and worth the great deal of time it takes to make these featured playlist posts possible. We can’t wait to see what all of you think of these bands, and we’ll be keeping count of which songs are played and downloaded the most. And there is SO much more to come, so stay tuned to IRC.   The bands in this issue of 7 Bands are:

Last Dinosaurs – Brisbane, Australia
The Black Atlantic – Groningen, Netherlands
Street Chant – New Zealand
Bodies of Work – London, England
I Only Date Models – Nottingham, England
Genuine Hamony – Karlstad, Sweden
Luciano Sprovieri – Los Angeles via Sao Paulo

Last Dinosaurs – Brisbane, Australia

In their native Australia, indie rockers Last Dinosaurs have been selling out shows all over the continent. No wonder. The band serves up brimming, energetic, blazing indie pop rock that is perfect for a summer barbie party, and even more, for live shows. We expect to see and hear more from this band in coming months, and are very interested in how IRC readers will respond to the band.

We think that others who stop by the cafe and hang out to listen to the two singles we’ve included from the band will wonder, as we have, why we haven’t heard of this band before.  One would think that a band with this level of pure talent, splendid songwriting abilities, and near perfect execution would be a big deal. Maybe we can change that right here and now. What do you think? As far as we can see, they’ve only be previewed before on a couple U.S. based blogs.

It’d be great to get this band to SXSW 2012 and see what the reaction is from the attendees. Hopefully they can get visas and get booked at U.S. and European venues and festivals. It’s basically a no brainer that Last Dinosaurs have the potential to be hugely successful to an international, rock-craving populace, which has a huge appetite for new and talented bands. And the same can basically be said for most of the bands in this series. If you enjoy the music you hear in today’s post – most of which is likely new to most of you – then you will really enjoy what we’ve got in the pipeline for upcoming editions of 7 Bands Overseas.

Now, back to Last Dinosaurs. This first track, “As Far As Your Concerned,” was the band’s debut single last summer, and it really struck a chord in the land Down Under. Their debut EP, Back From The Dead is out now and the band has embarked on an extensive Australian tour.

“As Far As Your Concerned” – Last Dinosaurs from Back From The Dead

“Honolulu” – Last Dinosaurs from Back From The Dead

Last Dinosaurs on MySpace

The Black Atlantic – Groningen, Holland

The Black Atlantic is an acoustic indie folk pop band based out of Groningen, Holland. The Black Atlantic’s music is an introspective and intimate affair of story-telling that relies heavily on vocal harmonies, and melodies via soft strummed guitars and banjos, pianos and minimal percussion. The band often evokes natural imagery to express their stories on love, death and family.

The Black Atlantic has toured in various incarnations around the world, mostly in North America, the U.K. and Europe, and have opened for bands such as Nada Surf, Patrick Watson and Saturday Looks Good to Me. In 2009, the band released their debut album, Reverence for Fallen Trees , most of which was recorded during the autumn of 2008 in a log cabin in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. TBA are recommended if you like Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Sigúr Ros and Patrick Watson.

“Fragile Meadow” – The Black Atlantic from Reverence for Fallen Trees

“Heirloom” – The Black Atlantic from Reverence for Fallen Trees

Download Reverence for Fallen Trees for free.

The Black Atlantic on Myspace

Street Chant – Melbourne via New Zealand

Over the past couple of years, New Zealand indie rock band Street Chant, have made quite an impression in their homeland, and little by little, outside their Down Under domain. In fact, their mini blog hit, “Scream Walk,” made the rounds, but less so in the U.S. In fact, the single appeared on some blogs’ and music sites’ top singles of 2010 lists.

Now based in Melbourne, Australia, we think Street Chant is the only band in today’s post that has performed at CMJ. Their appearance last fall at New York‘s famous CMJ was one of the most anticipated out of hundreds of artists and bands vying for any piece of territory where they could plug in and jam. For each of Street Chant’s performances during CMJ week, the venues were packed with lines waiting outside. The track included below, “Scream Walk,” was one of the songs that propelled the band to a position of being chosen to perform at CMJ.

A few weeks ago, the band’s publicist sent us a new single, “The Fatigues” from the band’s April album release, titled Means. So, we have a newer and older track to offer.  The raw talent, overwhelmingly positive press and word of mouth about Street Chant have definitely earned them a place among our 7 Overseas Bands You Gotta Hear.

“The Fatigues” – Street Chant from Means

“Scream Walk” – Street Chant from Street Chant EP (2009)

Bodies of Work – London, England

Since forming in 2009, London DIY band, Bodies of Work ,have created a small discography of dark and glittery alternative pop music, capturing melodrama with flashbulbs and sequins. Lead by compulsive frontman, Martin Bjorck, Bodies of Work has found common ground alongside Lizzie Holdforth (synth/vox), Chris Morgan (drums), and Andy Wright Becker (bass), thriving on musical extremes, as evidenced on the band’s EP debut, Flyers, which features soaring synths and gritty guitars intertwined with a powerful and sophisticated rhythm section.

The band’s musical skills and talent are showcased throughout Flyers. On the stand-out track, “Feathers”, by the second time the chorus came around we found ourselves singing along and tapping our feet. But the EP’s most accomplished track, “Flyers,” features a minor, catchy synth riff accompanied by the Interpol-esque guitar driven chorus.

We think Bodies of Work are just waiting to be discovered by indie fans everywhere, including the all-important U.S. market. Surprisingly, not much has been written about Bodies of Work on music sites or blogs in the U.S., and their band name is not particularly search engine-friendly. But, we’re hoping that today’s post will bring the U.K. band more interest from across the pond.

“Flyers” – Bodies of Work from Flyers EP

“Feathers” – Bodies of Work from Flyers EP

Bodies of Work on MySpace

What others are saying:

“Expect big things from Bodies of Work” – Richard Bowes, London Tourdates

“With songs of this caliber they won’t be quiet for long” – Record Collector

“Bursts with vim and vigour and unabashed catchiness… performed with conviction and passion” – God is in the TV

I Only Date Models – Nottingham, England

In October 2010, the Nottingham UK indie pop band I Only Date Models dropped their debut LP, This End Tomorrow. It’s no surprise that less than a year since forming they’ve become one of the most popular new bands in Nottingham and were recently featured on the BBC, the all-important foot-in-big-door broadcast for aspiring young UK bands since the 1960s.  Based on these two songs alone, we’re listing I Only Date Models as a UK Band to Watch in 2011.

The track “This Ends Tomorrow” is almost immediately an instant indie hit if there ever was one, so we would not be surprised if it ends up on the upcoming Top Ten Songs mixes. Since today is Saturday, the track doesn’t quite qualify for inclusion on this week’s Top Ten, so we’ll have to wait a week to see, but we’ll be watching the numbers all week and will let you know via our Twitter Glitter.

In edition to “This Ends Tomorrow,” the boys also sent us the riveting guitar-drive rocker, “Tunnels,” another track that is not hard to imagine as a hit single. While the argument could be made that the sound is a bit too polished to be “indie” we beg to disagree – the band are unsigned. That makes them much more indie-legit, if you will, then many other bands that are labeled indie.

We can hear the comparisons already (so we won’t even mention them), but we were surprised to find out that no one in the cafe has ever heard of I Only Date Models before, especially for our readers in the U.K., where IODMs are building a growing audience of fans.

“This Ends Tomorrow” – I Only Date Models from This Ends Tomorrow

“Tunnels” – I Only Date Models from This Ends Tomorrow

IODM list among their musical influences deadmau5, Skrillex, Biffy Clyro, Phoenix, and Phil Collins.

Genuine Harmony – Karlstad, Sweden

From the city of Karlstad, Sweden, the four-member, unsigned indie pop outfit, Genuine Harmony, formed in 2008 and recorded their first demo in the autumn of 2009. About a year later, after winning two music contests and playing at different venues around Sweden, the band released their EP, A Thousand Times Before.

The band has had some good press coverage in Sweden and in scattered areas across Europe, but not much at all in the U.S. Maybe we can help change that. While most bands do not list their band members’ names in their submissions, even though we highly recommend it, Genuine Harmony did; the band is made up of Simon Öman (vocals, guitar, songwriting), Christoffer Zetterlund (guitar, vocals, songwriting), Ola Nilsson (bass) and Jakob Bäckman (drums).

Genuine Harmony have opened for bands we’ve never heard of like The Fast Forwards, Magnus Weideskog, Starboys, Snowstorm, and Jacks n’ Jokers, and consider among their biggest musical influences bands like The Beatles, Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks, The Kinks, The Libertines, First Aid Kit, Those Dancing Days, Mando Diao, and more.

“Flowsnakes” – Genuine Harmony from A Thousand Times Before

“You, Me & Coco” – Genuine Harmony from A Thousand Times Before

Genuine Harmony on MySpace

Luciano Sprovieri – Los Angeles via Sao Paulo

From São Paulo, Brazil, DIY singer/songwriter and pop musician Luciano Sprovieri wrote his first song when he was only eight years old. As a self-proclaimed lover of melodies, Sporvieri continued to pursue a passion for music, and a penchant for songwriting, from that moment to the present day.

In 2005, he fulfilled a personal dream to move to California. Since then, he turned his attention to releasing a debut album last fall called Drifting By. In the box on the submission form for ‘Bands Opened Up For,’ Sprovieri indicated none, but did not elaborate. His personal musical influences include Return to Forever, Weather Report, Marisa Monte, Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, George Benson, Luis Gonzaga, Jethro Tull, Eric Clapton, Air, Marvin Gaye, Pearl Jam and many others

“Ocean” – Luciano Sprovieri from Drifting By

“Shattered” –  Luciano Sprovieri from Drifting By

Luciano Sprovieri on Facebook

As we disclosed earlier this year, we got behind on the In Dee Music series for one simple reason – the number of submissions coming in has nearly tripled in the past 16 months, which almost perfectly coincides with the rise in overall monthly visitors during the same time period. IRC is receiving up to 400 submissions a month, and we’re backlogged.

So, here we are playing catch up, and for very good reasons. We have received a practical treasure chest of good to absolutely fantastic music to share with you from bands and artists most of you have never heard of before. Although it is tempting to just bite the bullet and scrap the backlog, that would be a disservice to our readers, the artists who sent in their music, and ultimately, to ourselves. The music that is coming in dee mail is, again, simply that good, and we think that not to share it would be just wrong all around.

Rather than using the rather non-descript, but ‘creative’ post title, In Dee Mail, we decided to make it more luring by creating a title that creates an immediate connection to readers, listeners and visitors. If you love hearing new music from talented artists you are unfamiliar with, we think we have a treat just for you today.

In this special edition of In Dee Mail – 7 Bands You Should Hear – we’ve put together profiles with music of seven bands that stood out for one reason or another among hundreds of music submissions. To some degree, some of these bands, perhaps all of them, could be Bands to Watch, but we want to make the distinction that they are known to us only because they sent us their music.

The Golden Dogs – Toronto, Canada
Rec Centre – Vancouver, Canada
Smoke and Feathers – Austin, Texas
The Wind – Long Beach, California
Boogie Monster – Vancouver, Canada
Me And Joan Collins – Cambridge, Massachusetts
El Santo Nada – Pescara, Italy

El Santo Nada – Pescara, Italy

El Santo Nada is a collective of musicians from Pescara, Italy which forged an eclectic identity through their exploration of Ennio Morricone‘s spaghetti western soundtracks, Mexican traditional music, instrumental and surf rock of the late ’50s and early ’60s, italian and balcanic popular music as well as British psychedelia and contemporary alternative rock.

In addition, they blend styles of sci-fi sound effects with instrumental guitar, bass and drum work that by themselves would be great for the soundtrack of a Quentin Tarantino flick with the flavor of Ennio Morricone and spaghetti westerns. Anyone who knows well the award-winning work of Tarantino as a director, and Morricone as a composer, will be able to easily hear the musical styles that appear in many of Taratino’s films, most especially Kill Bill.

The collective have opened for artists such as Damo Suzuki, Gang Of Four, and Stan Ridgway, to name just a few. He lists among his biggest influences Ennio Morricone, Santo &Johnny, Ry Cooder, Marc Ribot, Calexico, Earth, and Wall Of Voodoo. The released the album Tuco in December. We will keep an eye and ear out for more of El Santo Nada.

The Golden Dogs – Toronto, Canada

Toronto indie pop band, and Nevado recording artist, The Golden Dogs, caught our attention right away after sending in these two terrific singles – “Cheap Umbrellas,” followed by a second single, “Darkroom.” Both songs are off their most recent album Coat of Arms and were sent to IRC unsolicited.

It wasn’t much of a surprise when we found out that The Golden Dogs have opened for an impressive list of bands, to say the least, including Feist, Sloan Zeus, Bloc Party, Razorlight, Thurston Moore, Roky Erikson, and The Libertines. You know how many bands out there would kill to open for just one of those big-hitters? Thousands.

The band have been praised in The New York Times, Q Magazine, various Toronto weeklies and a number of blogs like Pop Matters. But, they haven’t really “broken out” yet in the U.S. in the big way that they deserve to. So, we’re going to do our best to help that along.

The Golden Dogs’ musical influences range from alternative and indie rock – Radiohead, Ween, Wilco, New Pornographers – to classic rock giants like The Beatles, The Kinks and Neil Young.

We’re really interested to hear if you knew of The Golden Dogs before, or if this is your first time, what you think.  Oddly, the band has been around for 10 years – a bit surprised they’re not well-known. First up, is the Spoon-sounding rocker, “Darkroom,” a song that we’ve played over and over again in recent weeks. And, of course, the fascinating tack, “Cheap Umbrellas,” helps make the case further as this being a band to watch in 2011 and beyond.

In Their Own Words: “We have a great live band made up of our dearest friends who are insanely talented musicians and incredibly impressive to watch. We’re sort of known in Canada for our wild live performances.”

Rec Centre –  Vancouver, Canada

Rec Centre is the moniker of Eh Jay, a ‘bedroom musician’ from Vancouver. We’re opting to let Jay tell the story of Rec Centre himself: “I had been playing folk music in my bedroom for years, and got tired of writing cutesy acoustic music that sounded nothing like the music I listened to. So I start programming electronic beats, ditched my acoustic guitar for an electric, and used a vintage Casiotone that my friend found in a Salvation Army.

“I recorded on my computer and made everything loud. I was aiming to make a C-86-sounding indie pop record, but I think the results probably sound closer to ’90s slacker rock. I’ve been working with a keyboardist and a drummer to turn Rec Centre into a real band, but up until now it’s just been a solo project.” Long Weekend! is a free EP, and Eh Jay is apparently working on new material now.

Rec Centre include among musical influences of The Velvet Underground, Jesus and Mary Chain, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, early Weezer, Apollo Ghosts, Little Girls, Black Tambourine, the Cure, and Pavement.

https://soundcloud.com/frenchiesmithrecords/blue-skies

Smoke and Feathers – Austin, Texas

Austin based psychedelic rock/southern indie rock band Smoke and Feathers sent in a couple of very good tracks from their recent self-titled, debut album. We were floored. This band rocks! Sorry for the cliche, but it’s so applicable, both in the actual music itself, and in the way to describe the band to others.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that Smoke and Feathers are gaining ground in the local Austin alternative rock scene, which says much when you consider that great bands are a dime a dozen in one of the musical capitals of the world. So, to standout in Austin, is a huge deal for any band.

And it brings along with it many opportunities. Aside from the annual SXSW music fest, and Austin City Limits, not to mention an array of other music festival and events in the city, rising bands in Austin often get a chance to open for some well-known, international artists. Smoke and Feathers have ceased those opportunities, opening for bands like The Black Angels, The Whigs, Sleepy Sun, Dead Meadow, Alberta Cross, Indian Jewelry, and The Entrance Band.

In Their Own Words: “Smoke and Feathers takes you carelessly away on heavy guitar rifts to a place in your psyche, where the angel and devil inside argue; soulful human drama, eerie, compelling wizardy, desire, temptation – nothing close to innocent, but perfectly and beautifully balanced contradictions.”

On “Blue Skies,” we dig the lo-fi guitar punk sound that’s going on, and on “Wicked Ways,” the track has an appropriately southern rock style with a bit of swagger and some definite Led Zeppelin influences. We recommend Smoke and Feathers if you like bands such as Cage The Elephant, Wolfmother, and Them Crooked Vultures.

The Wind – Long Beach, California

What is this? Another promising DIY band that almost no one has ever heard of? Yes, it does look that way. And it’s no surprise that they, who call themselves The Wind, are based by the oceanside in Long Beach, California. It’s also fitting that their most promising single, “Hathor,” sounds like a spring or summertime song.

The second track, “Monsters,” isn’t as menacing as the title suggests; instead, it’s a kind of day-dreamy type of mellowed out track flushed with globs of Beach Boys-style harmonies, and interludes of background voices and slow-hand mini-guitar solos. The Wind have opened for awesome bands like Delta Spirit, Local Natives, Dawes, and Cold War Kids and include among their major influences – and not surprisingly –   The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Band, Grizzly Bear, Radiohead, Danny Elfman, The Kinks, and Cat Stevens. Their debut double CD, Harum Scarum, was released in November of 2010.

Boogie Monster – Vancouver, Canada

Calling all head bangers and noise rock lovers; the Boogie Monster is real, frantic, and loud. At least in Vancouver.

Woven in between the searing guitar riffs, floor-thumping bass, dynamo drum explosions, and lack of vocals (instrumental only band), there are tiny hints of classical music that jump out as if from behind corners and trees as the song plows forward through your mind and body.

From the first few seconds of “Lost in Bollywood,” Boogie Monster comes at you with an all-out blitz and barrage of metal, rock, and experimental sounds that are heavily charged, aggressive, and immensely noisy – great stuff; let it rip.

We also dig, “Castle In The Clouds,” a more tamed outburst, and like all of the band’s songs, completely instrumental.

Like bands such as The White Stripes, The Raveonettes and Japandroids, this Canadian duo consists of just a guitarist, Ben Fussel, and drummer, Tony Dallas (of the SSRI’s, Supercassete and “at least five other bands”).

They tear out tornado riffs inspired by many disparate artists (At The Drive-In, Rage Against The Machine, Lightning Bolt) and many different styles (from “metalic bhangra” to “proggy celtic jigs”).

Me and Joan Collins – Cambridge, Massachusetts

This Cambridge, Massachusettes band does get some attention with its alluring name – Me and Joan Collins. But gimmickry is not the measure of a good band (although some have done well at it, and not much else, for whatever reasons). Full of 60’s-pop-by-way-of-80’s-college-rock hooks, Me and Joan Collins exhibit a love for prickly post-punk, glam rock riffing, and shoegazing grandeur, and have been compared to groups likes Spoon, Pulp and Of Montreal. And on top of all of that, we have yet another boy/girl rock duo.

As evidenced by the first single here, “Crime of the Century,” the band has a quirky rocking attitude reminiscent in a way to the B-52s or Southern Culture on the Skids. And yet the song is addictive, in a kind of half-cool, half-geek way; it’s hard to explain (obviously – lol). The second track also has a gimmick-like aspect to it, but also does well in standing on its own merits. Every teenager can probably relate to any song with the title, “(I Masturbate) A Little Too Much.”

Me and Joan Collins has opened for The Cliks and Bettie Serveert, and include among their influences Bowie, T. Rex, Velvet Underground, Phil Spector, Blondie, Pulp, Spoon and the Zombies.

“Crime of the Century” – Me and Joan Collins from Love.Trust.Faith.Lust.

“(I Masturbate) A Little Too Much” – Me and Joan Collins from Love.Trust.Faith.Lust.