Category: 2011 Best New Releases

The international musical duo Cardinal caught our attention the first time we heard a couple of their orchestra pop and folk art tracks from the just-released album, Hymns. The duo – comprised of musicians Richard Davies and Eric Matthews – qualify for a series we started a while ago called Way Back Now – which highlights bands and artists who’ve released a new album of original fresh music 10 or more years since their last release.

So, nearly 18 years since the release of their stunning, self-titled debut album, Davies and Matthews reunited last year to record Hymns for the indie label, Fire Records. For fans of indie chamber pop, Hymns is definitely one of the first albums of 2012 that should be in your collection.

In 1994, at a time when grunge was the flagship genre of the alternative music scene, and a few years before Belle & Sebastian, among other musicians, raised indie chamber pop to new heights, Cardinal released their eponymous debut, which unfortunately did not have the benefit of the Internet to spread their ground-breaking music the way it did in the late 1990’s to today.

The duo’s label, Fire Records, wrote: “[The duo’s debut] ushered in an era of renewed appreciation for the orchestrated pop music of the 1960s, and at the same time inspired and influenced a host of modern artists, who followed in Cardinal’s footsteps, endeavoring to duplicate its majesty and sound so classic.”

Even though Cardinal’s debut largely flew under the radar, PopMatters, recently wrote: “…it ended up becoming one of those hidden pop gems. Its understated, lush yet gauzy orchestration, its penchant for near-neo-classical flourishes, and its bittersweet, dreamy feel made it an often arresting listen.” Whether, over time, Hymns, achieves the same admiration among indie pop fans and historians as the duo’s first release, remains to be seen, but it’s doubtful.

Consequence of Sound, which gave Hymns three out of five stars, recently wrote in its review: “Now facing a musical landscape in which orchestral elements are commonplace [Editor’s note: Arcade Fire being among the most famous], Cardinal’s newest album is worth revisiting but ultimately doesn’t break any memorable ground.”

That said, we can say with some confidence that Hymns, in many respects, picks up where Cardinal left off 18 years ago – lush chamber pop, masterfully composed and executed, and evidence that even nearly two decades later, these unsung heroes of the orchestral pop, haven’t lost their skill. The popular Seattle radio station, KEXP FM, wrote of Hymns on their blog: “an impressive set of psych-tinged chamber-pop with a variety of well-crafted, beautifully textured songs.” If you are a fan of chamber pop, or even just great music, you’ll want to get yourself a copy of Hymns (purchase via Amazon ), but perhaps you’ll want to start first with the duo’s masterful debut (which includes 11 additional tracks not on the original release thanks to Amazon’s special, limited time offer), which was reissued in 2005. We’ve included a track from Cardinal as well just to give our listeners an idea of just one of the great tracks on the album.

“Love Like Rain” – Cardinal from Hymns

“Silver Machines” – Cardinal from Cardinal

Earlier this month, another Way Back Now band, Guided By Voices, reunited  the “classic lineup” of the band to release its first album in 16 years! It’s not the first Guided By Voices’ album since that time, but the first with the classic lineup that was originally formed in 1984.

In September 2011, original GBV singer and band lead man, Robert Pollard, announced on his website that the band would release the new album, Let’s Go Eat The Factory, on January 1, 2012, the first album from the “classic lineup” since 1996’s Under The Bushes, Under The Stars.  The lineup includes Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Greg Demos, Mitch Mitchell and Kevin Fennell, who also spent most of 2011 on a reunion tour. The new album is surely a bonus gift for new and long-time GBV fans.

Read more of our review of Let’s Go Eat The Factory (get it from Amazon for great price!), published earlier this month, and watch this video of the classic lineup

For many people, 2012 arrives with much uncertainty. But one thing we can pretty much always look forward to is music. There will be great music that gets a lot of buzz, and other terrific music that, for the most part, flies under the radar. There will be the predictable hype of new albums by some over-rated artists, and the surprise singles and albums from new artists.

We have dozens and dozens of DIY, unsigned bands already in the pipeline to profile in 2012, loads of other bands that broke out in 2011 that we will be watching throughout the year, and of course an ever-growing folder of new 2012 singles to sort through and feature in various playlists and mixes, band profiles and new releases. Simultaneously, at least through February, we will also be highlighting the Best Songs of 2011, Best Albums of 2011 and the Best Bands of 2011.

Plans are already in the works for major music festivals, such as South By Southwest (SXSW) and Coachella. Bands are announcing major tours to all corners of the globe, while others are heading back to the studio. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be publishing polls that we really hope to get thousands of people to participate in so that we can get the best possible gauge among a large sampling of the best of 2011:  best new songs, best cover songs, best albums, best breakout bands, best debut albums, as well as, of course, the on-going month-by-month review of the Best Songs of 2011.

In fact, production of Vol. VI, highlighting the best songs of June 2011, is already underway.  But first, we have to start off the new year with a playlist mix of New Year-related (some loosely so) songs.  At least half of the songs below are from 2011; do you know which ones?

“Happy New Year” – Camera Obscura  

“New Years Eve” – The Walkmen

“A Conversation About Death on New Years Eve” – Scattered Trees

“April New Year” – The Melody Unit

“Happy New Year, Dear” – The Hush Now

“New Year” – FM Belfast

“New Year’s Eve” – Tom Waits

“All Night” – The Distractions

“Christmas In California” – Ash Reiter

“In the New Year” – The Walkmen

“Are We Lovers or Are We Friends” – Acid House Kings

“Black Night” – The Dodos

“Tijuana Christmas” – The Border Brass

“A Hard Year” – Jon Hardy and the Public

“End Of The Party” – Oy Vey

We initially thought that last week’s Best New Releases was thin on new albums. But now we’re going to have to eat our words. This week is thin on new releases, really thin. This is probably the shortest BNR posting this year, and for those of you who check out the BNR posts each week, you’re sure to notice.

In a way it’s good for us that this is a slow week for releases because we’re working on a new edition of Fresh Tracks, but more importantly, on volumes IV and V of Best Songs of 2011 mixtape series – which so far has been crazy popular.

As for new releases, our top pick of the week goes to the self-released EP, Paint The Town, from the band David Newton & Thee Mighty Angels. The quartet consists of The Mighty Lemon Drops‘ band member David Newton, plus musicians Daniel Harshman and Joel Wall of Kissing Tigers, and Brian Reyes of The Little Ones. The southern California band musical project has been building a quiet following in the LA-Long Beach area for a couple of years now. We haven’t heard the EP yet, but plan to soon. Based on the title track, it wouldn’t be a big surprise if the EP ended up on our Best Debut EPs of 2011 list.

“Paint the Town” – David Newton & Thee Mighty Angels from Paint The Town EP

Additionally, there are a number of reissues and compilations out this week, including reissues of Smashing Pumpkins‘ first two albums – Gish and Siamese Dream, featuring bonus material that includes rare and previously unreleased recordings, plus each re-issue contains a DVD featuring never-before-released live shows recorded at the Metro in Chicago.

“Cherub Rock” – Smashing Pumpkins from Siamese Dream

Additionally, Gorillaz‘ singles collection (stream it on Spinner) was released this week featuring a decade of the band’s top tracks. Check out the trailer promo for the singles collection above.

“Feel Good Inc.” – Gorillaz from The Singles Collection: 2001-2011
They Might Be Giants released a new video this week featuring the fresh electronic version of their most well-known hit single, “Istanbul (Constantinoble).” The video is trippy and reminds us a bit of Animal Collective‘s “My Girls,” but, in the end, we prefer the original version of the song a hundred times more. Still, the video is a must-see for die-hard fans of the band’s 30-year career.

The next batch of songs from albums released this week are likely to only be found on IRC, including relatively unknown and DIY artists like My Empire of Sound, Jaybee, Moe’s Implosion, Desmond Grundy, San Serif, and Cuban Cigar Crisis.

From Sweden and Denmark, the electronica pop band My Empire Of Sound released their self-titled debut album earlier this week. The band is John Alexander Ericson´s (The Northern Territories, Stjarna, Alberta Cross) latest music project, with Sidsel Marie on vocals. The album was released by the indie label, Warsaw Recordings. My Empire of Sound’s most influential artists include Portishead, Fever Ray, PJ Harvey, and The Knife.

“Early Morning (A New Beginning)” – The Empire Of Sound from The Empire Of Sound

Jaybeemusic, the musical moniker of Brighton, UK musician James Bennett writes and produces quirky, original songs, covering themes such as angels, vampires, cowboys and pussy cats in what he refers to as a “vaguely pop idiom, all brewed in a studio-formerly-known-as-garage, from equal parts technology and inspiration.”

“Found on Putney Bridge” – Jaybee from Found on Putney Bridge

“Jump You Bastard” – Jaybee from Found on Putney Bridge

Moe’s Implosion, a five-piece rock band from Portugal, released their debut album this week, Light Pollution. The band got a lot of love in 2009 and on in Spain and Portugal thanks to their acclaimed debut. The band toured extensively throughout the region, including slots at the Avante Music Festival and Musa Festival, and opened for artists like Asian Dub Foundation, The Get Up Kids, and Linda Martini.

“FM” – Moe’s Implosion from Light Pollution

“Doctor” – Moe’s Implosion from Light Pollution

It’s been a while since there’s been a band from the northeastern city of Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada, that has appeared on our pages, but the folk pop of Sans Serif has earned the band some accolades, mostly on Canadian blogs, plus gigs opening for artists like Rich Aucoin and Cousins. On Saturday, they released their new album, I’m Not in Love (I’m in Dartmouth). We think the band has promise, if you like folk pop, but we’d suggest they work with a really good producer and engineer who can hone the band’s sound. The tracks the band sent us are worth the listen, but whether or not they end up in your MP3 player is a different matter.

“Smoke Detectors” – Sans Serif from I’m Not in Love (I’m in Dartmouth)

“Let’s All Redistribute Wealth” – Sans Serif from I’m Not in Love (I’m in Dartmouth)

The San Francisco DIY band Cuban Cigar Crisis also released a new album this week, titled Sourpuss. We don’t know much about the band at all, but we thought the two tracks they sent in are worth including in this post. We do know that they once opened for Xiu Xiu. It’s tough for bands to get attention in a city like San Francisco, but these are not amateurs.

“Love Between The Sheets” – Cuban Cigar Crisis from Sourpuss
“Wuthering Heights” – Cuban Cigar Crisis from Sourpuss

Canadian DIY indie singer/songwriter Desmond Grundy sent in a couple of songs from his new album. Songs like “Took A Bus” make it easy to see why he considers among his top influences Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Brian Eno and one of rock’s most iconic brother bands – Ray and Dave Davies of The Kinks. Grundy has performing shows in Toronto and the outlying areas of the city for more than a decade, and describes it as such: “My show is a combination of gritty, toe-tapping favorites and melodic, fearless originals delivered with spirit and taste.”

“Took A Bus” – Desmond Grundy from Tiles from the Amber Room

“Black Fly” – Desmond Grundy from Tiles from the Amber Room

Not surprisingly, it is a thin week for new releases. Many record companies hold off on releasing albums during the week of Thanksgiving because it’s so much more difficult to get the attention of media and music consumers due to the holidays. That said, there are a few albums out this week that we highly recommend, including the new debut LPs from Sunbears and Sea Lions.

Since 2008, Jacksonville, Florida musicians Jonathan Berlin (vocals, bass, guitar, keys, synth) and Jared Bowser (drums, percussion) of Sunbears have been wooing and wowing audiences with their own brand of psychedelic indie rock. To date, the band has released a handful of EPs and singles, including a song for the hit kids’ TV show, Yo Gabba Gabba, followed by a short stint on their Super Music Friends Show tour in the fall of 2010. In addition, Sunbears have also toured with Mates of State, Black Kids and Dredg, among others.

Recorded at New York City’s Singing Serpent Studios with producer Jeremy S.H. Griffith, You Will Live Forever channels the ghost of The Dakota, conjuring equal parts Plastic Ono Band, Dark Side Of The Moon and Quadrophenia. On “Dying Alone, Without Yourself,” electronic creations are intricately layered upon a gorgeously strummed acoustic guitar, accompanied by haunting choral back-ups. “Give Love A Try” is the album’s infectious “feel good” first single, and in our opinion, one of the best indie songs of the second half of 2011.

“Give Love a Try” – Sunbears from You Will Live Forever

The album is full of songs that explore all kinds of musical styles and themes, and at times you swear you were hearing different artists you already know being channeled through the incredibly talented duo. Sunbears is a band we will be watching in 2012. There are many fantastic songs this year that we’ve heard from relatively unknown artists and band.  Sunbears now occupies two or three, maybe more, of those slots, thanks to what is also one of the best debut albums of 2011, You Will Live Forever.

Stream the album via Spinner

We’re not going to list all of the songs from the album, but a couple more to add include The Flaming Lips-sounding, “They Think They Are Sooo Philosophical,” and the sorta John Lennon like, “Together Forever.”

“They Think They Are Sooo Philosophical” – Sunbears from You Will Live Forever

You Will Live Forever is a colorful, psychedelic sonic journey through various musical landscapes, marked by introspective, superbly written, amazingly arranged, and wonderfully produced songs that leave the listener with the sense that they just experienced something special. If you dig these three tracks – and it was a challenge to pick only three – then you’re probably going to really enjoy the album.

Having somehow just made it through the appalling 2011 American Music Awards when we first listened to You Will Live Forever, it was so refreshing to hear original, dynamic music created by talented musicians almost no one has ever heard of.   If all the right pieces fall into place in the next few months, Sunbears could be one of the biggest indie bands of 2012.

The long-awaited debut album from the post punk/60’s pop Oxnard, California indie quartet, Sea Lions, officially dropped this week, and is being welcomed with a decent number of encouraging reviews. AbsolutePunk gave the album a 7-star rating, stating, “Despite the occasional flat execution, Sea Lions’ knack for constructing timeless melodies is undeniable, and the golden oldies era is obviously a pervading influence on the album.” There is no doubt about that, from the vintage pop of “I Don’t Wanna Go Out” to the C-86 guitar jangling of the album opener, “I Should Be Sleeping,” this debut album is a formidable release, and definitely among the top indie pop – if we were to pick one genre to describe it – debut albums of 2011.

“I Should Be Sleeping” – Sea Lions from Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sea Lions But Were Afraid To Ask

If you’re a sucker for golden oldies, the C-86 post punk movement of the 1980’s, and jangly guitar pop, you will probably enjoy Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sea Lions But Were Afraid To Ask from start to finish (with a couple of small exceptions). We certainly have.

That said, none of the 15 tracks are over three minutes long, and the problem with that is that it makes it harder for the songs to stick in your head afterwards; in fact, there are many terrific songs, unfortunately, on this album that, just as you’re getting into them, end too soon.

“Grown Up” – Sea Lions from Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sea Lions But Were Afraid To Ask

“As Times Change” – Sea Lions from Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sea Lions But Were Afraid To Ask

This next cluster of great tracks from new albums out this week is really an excellent collection of songs that really exemplifies the talent of all of these artists who have very different musical styles, from country rock to punk rock, and electro-pop to hard rock.

Eddy Current Suppression Ring belts out some raw garage punk rock – somewhat reminiscent of early Arctic Monkeys meets Beastie Boys – on the single “You Don’t Care”; Trentemøller delivers a slow, haunting, semi-industrial track with “Neverglade”; Wooden Wand and the Briarwood Virgins slug through a 70’s style country rock song, “Big Mouth U.S.A.,” that would be perfect on the soundtrack of a road trip movie or an Almost Famous 2;  Fonda‘s “Better Days” is a charged, guitar buzzing track from the just-released EP, Better Days; and Toronto house mavens Azari & III‘s new dance single, “Into the Night,” was officially released this week.

“I Don’t Wanna Go to the Party” – Marvelous Darlings from Single Life

“You Don’t Care” – Eddy Current Suppression Ring from So Many Things

“Better Days” – Fonda from Better Days EP

“Neverglade” – Trentemøller from Reworked/Remixed

“Big Mouth U.S.A.” – Wooden Wand and the Briarwood Virgins from Briarwood

“Into The Night” – Azari & III from single

Calexico’s Road Atlas, The Antlers Cover The xx, Orange Juice in a Box, Giant Sand Reissue

Other releases this week include some singles, box-sets and re-issues. First, The Antlers released their (together) EP, featuring a cover of The xx‘s track “VCR”; one of our favorite alt. country rock bands, Calexico, released their compilation, Selections from Road Atlas, 1998-2011; the band Giant Sand reissued an expanded version of its 2000 alternative country rock album, Chore of Enchantment; the indie pop rock pioneers Orange Juice officially released their Coals to Newcastle box set this week.

“VCR” (The xx) – The Antlers from (together) EP

“Glowing Heart of the World” – Calexico from Selections from Road Atlas, 1998-2011 (stream album)

“Music Arcade” – Giant Sand from Chore Of Enchantment (expanded reissue)

“Rip It Up” – Orange Juice from Coals to Newcastle

Way Back Now: Magazine Releases First LP in 30 Years, No Thyself

The Way Back Now segment is a new addition to the Best New Releases series that highlights bands who have released their first album in more than a decade. In the case of the Manchester, England post-punk gods Magazine, the release this week of their fifth album, No Thyself, might not be as big of a deal if it wasn’t for the fact that it marks the band’s first album in 30 years – since 1981’s fairly disappointing, Magic, Murder and The Weather, which lacked the departed John McGeoch.

“Holy Dotage” – Magazine from No Thyself

Last year, Howard Devoto, who started out with Buzzcocks before he founded Magazine in 1977, dialed up guitarist Noko and bassist John “Stan” White (who replaced the unavailable Barry Adamson) to make another Magazine. What No Thyself proves is that the band have not lost their edge after such a long hiatus, that they are more talented than ever before, and Devoto still has great vocals that sound as good or better than they did three decades ago. A few of the standout tracks include the dark rock grind of “The Burden of a Song,” the urgent, synth rocking post punk of “Holy Dotage” and the unusually uptempo and catchy, “Physics.”

“Physics” – Magazine from No Thyself

New Releases from In Dee Mail: Wait For Green, Fires in France,

We receive literally hundreds of music submissions a month, and it’s near impossible to keep up with them all. One way to make it easier to manage is that we started highlighting new releases we receive via our submission form for the week in which the album, EP or singles are officially released.

We don’t receive much indie music from Boise, Idaho, but this week the unsigned indie band from Boise, Fires In France, released their self-titled, debut album and sent along these two tracks to post. Their sound is big, shimmering, more pop than rock, and we think, promising.  Perhaps Fires in France’s overall sound is a bit more leaning to the side of polished Hollywood rock radio, but we’re confident some of you will find it worthy of downloading to your MP3 player.

Among the bands they list as their biggest influences include Jimmy Eat World, The Beatles, The Smiths, Awolnation, Neon Trees, The Format, Coldplay, Nirvana, and Edward Sharp.

“Love Is Strong” –  Fires In France from Fires in France

“Sing” –  Fires In France from Fires in France

Also, in the past week, on Nov. 16th, the unsigned Austin indie pop/alternative rock band Empire Machines released their self-titled EP, which arrives two year after the band first formed. Now, we say it all of the time, but to be an unsigned indie band in places like Austin, or Brooklyn, or San Francisco, or Portland, is quite the challenge these days.

In order to stand out among the thousands of DIY artists and bands in cities where the competition among bands is fierce, bands need to come up with one or two hot singles that get people’s attention, not just with deejays and music consumers, but also with their peers – who are often times simultaneously rooting for, and against them – artists need to make a splash.

We are a little surprised that Empire Machines have not played live in Austin. In fact, they consider themselves a studio band, but we think it would be a good idea if they got some gigs.

“Never Enough” – Empire Machines from Empire Machines EP

“Sweet Teeth” – Empire Machines from Empire Machines EP

Wait For Green is a Go For Broke Records’ indie band out of Venice, California that sent in some tracks from their self-titled debut release, but failed to provide us any details about who they are other than to describe their music style as alternative, funk, pop, reggae, and hiphop.

“Let The Record Play” – Wait For Green from Wait For Green

“Slow Riding” – Wait For Green from Wait For Green

This week’s Best New Releases includes a bounty of new singles from bands we never heard of before, but are so glad we have. First, we start off with the most obvious lead singles from new albums by Crystal Stilts and Los Campesinos. Although Crystal Stilts released their CD and MP3 version of their new EP, Radiant Door, last week, this week marks the release of their vinyl EP release. Plus, we have an additional track – the title track – from the EP that we didn’t feature last week.

“Radiant Door” – Crystal Stilts from Radiant Door EP

“Dark Eyes” – Crystal Stilts from Radiant Door EP

Other top tracks from new albums include the incredibly enthusiastic popper, “School Glue,” from Pterodactyl, the equally upbeat bliss of Carter Tanton‘s “Horrorscope,” and the riveting Races‘ track, “Big Broom.” While those five tracks make a sah-weet mini-mix of this week’s best new releases all by themselves, there are other releases highlighted in today’s mix that we think you’ll enjoy as much as we have.

“By Your Hand” – Los Campesinos! from Hello Sadness

“Horrorscope” – Carter Tanton from Freeclouds

“School Glue” – Pterodactyl from Spills Out

“Big Broom” – Races from Big Broom EP

New Albums from Sigur Ros, The Do, Ex-Norweigan, Blackout Beach and Ice Choir

This week Sigur Ros‘ new live album, Inni, was released. The live album is more than just a collection of great Sigur Ros songs from live shows, it’s also a movie (see trailer below). The 105-minute double live album is also a 75-minute film that captures the band’s tour from three years ago, in November 2008.  Fans can get a special deal on purchasing the album and the film via iTunes (buy now).

“Ný Batterí “ – Sigur Ros from Inni

The new live album and film are a follow-up to the band’s 2007 live film, Heima (watch the film in HD here), which was filmed in the band’s home country of Iceland.The film was directed over two nights at the Alexandra Palace director Vincent Morisset, best known for directing Arcade Fire‘s Miroir Noir.  The double LP features 15 tracks, with songs taken from all five of Sigur Rós’ studio albums, plus there is also a bonus of an unreleased studio track of “Lúppulagið’.” Also, check out fresh tracks from new releases by The Do, Ex-Norweigan, Blackout Beach, and Ice Choir.

“Slippery Slope” – The Dø from Both Ways Open Jaws

“Be Forewarned, The Night has Come “ – Blackout Beach from Fuck Death

“Upper Hand” – Ex Norwegian from Sketch (self-released)

“Two Rings” – Ice Choir from Two Rings

Boston’s DIY Artist Matty Sorono and Austin Band Whalers

Now, let’s turn to DIY and unsigned bands we like a lot who released new albums in the past week. Of all the unsigned, DIY artists that we never heard of before with new releases out this week, perhaps our favorite is Boston musician Matty Sorono. While he did not provide us very much information at all, what we do know is that Sorono started recording his own material about three years ago. By that time, he already had more than a decade of piano playing to draw from.

“All my songs start out on an acoustic piano,” Sorono told IRC. “I begin by brainstorming melodic, harmonic or rhythmic ideas around until I find something substantial. Then i start coming up with vocal ideas to fit over the top. Usually I have a rough idea of at least some part of the melody before I step back from the keyboard and really work out some lyrics. I like lyrics that are fun to say and pleasing to listen to. When it comes time to produce the song, I strive to create a unified track with musical direction by layering sounds that add depth to the sound.”

No doubt when you listen to the two singles released on Saturday, November 12, that Sorono’s music is influenced by his mentors The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Animal Collective. If you’re still loving the hazy, lo-fi, “chillwave” sound, than Sorono may be one of the latest artists to earn a place on that list, perhaps even more. We shall see.

“Sunside Trails” – Matty Sorono from single release

“Skydream” – Matty Sorono from single release

Sorono is also a member of the Boston band Fork, which will release their debut EP, Fenway Winds, on December 8th. Here’s an advanced track:

“I See You” – Fork from Fenway Winds

Before we get back to the other previously unknown In Dee Mail releases, we first want to present Austin’s under-rated indie band Whalers, who dropped their second EP, Paddle Easy. Among the best songs on the album are “Cheat On Each Other,” an infectious ode to surf rock from the landlocked Texans, and “Pixel Your Picture,” a perfectly poplicious track that should be an ‘indie hit’ song, and reminds us of The Walkmen. While it was difficult to pick which songs to present from the newest EP – because there are so many great tracks – we’re also including the melodic, dreamy duet, “Lighthouse,” featuring Whaler’s lead singer, Kyle Rother, together with White Dress vocalist Arum Rae Valkonen.

Of all the artists in this In Dee Mail feature, the Whalers are the best known. In fact, even though they’ve only been together for two years, they have a loyal and growing fan base in Austin, and increasingly, around the nation, with profile spots on Daytrotter and Rollo Grady “Artist to Watch.” The band’s debut EP, How The Ship Goes Down, was mixed by My Morning Jacket’s sound engineer, Kevin Ratterman, and mastered at Jim Eno’s (Spoon) Austin studio, Public Hi-Fi.

“Pixel Your Picture” – Whalers from Paddle Easy

Double-shot: “Cheat On Each Other” – Whalers from Paddle Easy

Bonus Track: “Lighthouse” – Whalers from Paddle Easy

Another artist that dropped a new release on 11-11-11 is the unsigned electro-pop/new wave band, The New Division, from Riverside, California. Their new album, The Rookie, demonstrates the band’s admiration for groups like New Order and Depeche Mode, and more recently, Cut Copy. The New Division have received some note-worthy press, but they still have yet to get the recognition we think they deserve. See what you think of these two synth-laden tracks from The Rookie, “Starfield” and “Festival.”

“Starfield” – The New Division from The Rookie

“Festival” – The New Division from The Rookie

Narrow Sparrow, Caveman, Churches, Korallreven and Others

We have even more impressive lead tracks from other artists with new albums and EPs out this week, including Caveman, Annie Williams, Churches, Korallreven, as well as lesser tracks by Rah Rah and Poor Boy’s Soul. The track “Shenandoah,” is a very tranquil, but not new age, instrumental that simply paints a picture of a serene and beautiful place within the natural world. A perfect close to this week’s top releases. But first up, is the catchy, acoustic-electro pop track “Joe Meek’s Dream” from Narrow Sparrow‘s DIY album, Synthworks.

“Joe Meek’s Dream” – Narrow Sparrow from Synthworks (self-released)

“Thankful” – Caveman from CoCo Beware

“Roll on Hills” – Annie Williams from This Mountain EP (self-released)

“Save Me” – Churches from “Save Me” single (self-released)

“Sa Sa Samoa (ft Julianna Barwick)” – Korallreven from An Album By Korallreven

“Parkade” – Rah Rah from Breaking Hearts

“Burn Down” – Poor Boy’s Soul from Poor Boy’s Soul

“Shenandoah” – Goldmund from All Will Prosper

In Dee Mail Releases This Week: Big Lake, Sissy Menai, Gene Wildest and Noel Carlon

One of the longest running playlist series on IRC, In Dee Mail, highlights only artists and bands that send us their new releases directly. Thankfully, it has also been one of the most popular playlist series, probably because the songs we choose for the In Dee Mail mixes are from DIY and unsigned artists. Lately, we’ve been calling out new releases that In Dee Mail by creating a separate section in the weekly Best New Releases.

It’s a great feeling to know that over the years, we’ve helped to launch relatively unknown artists into the spotlight, with some even telling us that IRC was their first big break. But the credit there really goes to our readers/listeners, because it is all of you who ultimately drive what music makes it onto the site, and more importantly, what music becomes the most popular. This is evident by the weekly Top Ten Songs mixtapes (based on number of listens/downloads a song gets), and more recently, the Best Songs of 2011 mixtape series.

Big Lake is an indie/shoegaze band from Jersey City, New Jersey, led by New York City musician Lysa Opfer. The band’s debut EP, Do You Love Me? Yes/No?, officially dropped this week via Evil Island Fortress Records. Opfer sent us a couple of tracks from the EP to share with IRC. Just some of the many bands that Big Lake are influenced by include Broken Social Scene, Local Natives, Album Leaf, Maps, Arcade Fire, Battles, Beach House, My Bloody Valentine, The Ramones, Joy Division and The Walkmen.

“Homecoming Game” – Big Lake from Do You Love Me? Yes/No

“The Longest Day” – Big Lake from Do You Love Me? Yes/No

Sissy Menai is a three-piece DIY Chicago-based indie rock/shoegaze band who, like many of the In Dee Mail artists, have never opened for another band (yet), but we think show some promise thanks to their engaging and explosively driven songs, like “Soon Speeding Gear,” and the more pop-oriented title track from their new debut LP, Record Machine. Their 2009 EP, Young Girl, received some positive press from Chicago bloggers and sites like Timeout Chicago, as well as outside of Chicago, including a thumbs up in the popular blog, The Onion.

“Soon Speeding Gear” – Sissy Menai from Record Machine

“Record Machine” – Sissy Menai from Record Machine

Gene Wildest is an unsigned Philadelphia band headed by songwriter and musician Brian Corbett, who were recently profiled in The Signal and Philadelphia Weekly, among other write ups. In fact, the band has previously opened for Titus Andronicus, Guerilla Funk, Human Sounds, and Axis. Gene Wildest recorded all the tracks from the new album, self-titled debut LP in Corbett’s apartment.

The first track we received is the Ben Folds-sounding piano-dominant track, “George Carillo,” followed by the quirky track, “Weird Guy at a Bar in Bethlehem, PA.” The band’s biggest influences include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Parliament Funkadelic, Electric Six, Pearl Jam, and The Smiths.

“George Carillo” – Gene Wildest from Gene Wildest

“Weird Guy at a Bar in Bethlehem, PA” – Gene Wildest from Gene Wildest

After a year and a half in the making, Los Angeles singer/songwriter Noel Carlon completed and released his debut album, Lonely Stranger. Carlon’s songs weave tales of despair, broken dreams, longing, love, and loneliness. It is a heartfelt debut told through the words of a working man in a city where hopes and dreams rarely come to fruition.

“Insecure” – Noel Carlon from Lonely Stranger

“Dreams are Cruel” – Noel Carlon from Lonely Stranger

Noel Carlon is the former lead singer of Delarosa and Noel Carlon and the Dead Poets. New band mates include fellow friends Joel Herr (guitars, backup vox), Joseph Yabao (Drums), Nikko Menichini (guitars), and Rosco Bustillo (Keys, Backup Vox).

This week, Atlas Sound officially released Parallax, an album we are keen to hear right away. What we have heard so far sounds like another fine release from Cox. It is much more stripped down Cox, with a handful of meandering, somber tracks dominated by guitar, vocals and synths. The official lead single from the LP, “Terra Incognita” is a mellow – some might say melancholy – acoustic guitar and vocals dominated composition, and much the same with the more drifty “Te Amo.”

“Terra Incognita” – Atlas Sound from Parallax

Double-shot: “Te Amo” –  Atlas Sound from Parallax (via Rawkblog.net)

One for the Road: “Flagstaff” –  Atlas Sound from Parallax (via Minneapolis Fuc*ing Rocks)

Juno’s New Group of the Year Said The Whale

2011 has been a good year for Vancouver indie folk pop band Said The Whale. In March, the band won the honorary Juno Award for New Group of the Year, and four months later Canada’s CBC premiered a tour documentary about the band’s rise to ‘indie’ fame . Today the band officially released their four-track New Brighton EP, the first offering from the band since their widely-acclaimed 2009 album, Islands Disappear. Here is the title track via the blog Consequence of Sound. Also, listen to a couple of tracks from the March 2012 LP, Little Mountain.

“New Brighton” – Said The Whale from New Brighton EP

Built Like Alaska: Band to Watch in 2012

In kind of keeping with the northern wilderness theme for a bit here, the Oakdale, California band Built Like Alaska‘s new single, “Antique Love,” from their new, and third, album, In Troubled Times, is a perfectly simple folk pop track that really exemplifies not just the musical talent of the band, but also the vocals of lead singer Neil Jackson. We have yet to hear the entire album, but what is clear to us is that 2012 could be the best year yet for Built Like Alaska, just based on the double-shot of “Antique Love” and “John Henry.” BLA are an IRC Band to Watch in 2012.

“Antique Love” – Built Like Alaska from In Troubled Times

“John Henry” – Built Like Alaska from In Troubled Times

Crystal Stilts Drop new EP; Kurt Vile Releases Deluxe of ‘Smoke Ring’ and Summer Camp’s Latest Album

We’ve been fans of Crystal Stilts from the first couple of singles we heard a few years ago, and so we’re always happy when the band releases new material, even if it is only a EP – we’ll take it. Here’s the lead track, “Dark Eyes” from Crystal Stilts Radiant Door EP, out now on Sacred Bones. Plus, a new deluxe edition of Kurt Vile‘s recent Smoke Ring For My Halo is out this week with the lead single, “The Creature,” plus the latest song from Summer Camp‘s new LP, Welcome to Condale.

“Dark Eyes” – Crystal Stilts from Radiant Door EP

“The Creature” – Kurt Vile from Smoke Ring For My Halo (deluxe edition)

“Better Off Without You” – Summer Camp from Welcome to Condale

New Singles from Bear & Moose, A Band of Bees, Shy Mirrors, 13Ghosts, ARMS and Dad Rocks!

Well, here we go with another band name that connotes images of the life in the northwestern U.S. and Canada – Bear & Moose; plus, the title of their new single, “Wear the Wolf,” is just more wild imagery.  Plus, a new single, “I Really Need You,” from A Band of Bees new album reminds us so much of Van Morrison‘s Astral Weeks period – songs that are a cross between R&B, folk and rock, and yet manage to sound so organic and free-spirited at the same time.  Also, new singles from Shy Mirrors, 13Ghosts, ARMS and Dad Rocks!

“Wear the Wolf” – Bear & Moose from Bear & Moose

Double-shot: “I’m Back” – Bear & Moose from Bear & Moose

“I Really Need Love” – A Band of Bees from Every Step’s A Yes

“Breakout” – Shy Mirrors from Sailed Blanks

Double-shot: “Track Changes” – Shy Mirrors from Sailed Blanks

“Dr. Bill” – 13Ghosts from Garland of Bottle Flies

“Fleeced” – ARMS from Summer Skills (self-released)

“Weapons” – Dad Rocks! from Mount Modern

“Sucker Punch” – Jonathan Coulton from Artificial Heart

“Hexagons II (The Flight)” – Esben and the Witch from Hexagons EP

“The Same Thing” – Cass McCombs from Humor Risk

“No Place Like Home” – Owen from Ghost Town

“Movimento Perpetuo” – Carlos Paredes from Movimento Perpetuo

“Stitches”– Polinski from Labyrinths

“Endless Summer” – The Jezabels from Prisoner

“The Vision (Let Me Breathe)” – Joker with Jessie Ware & Freddie Gibbs from The Vision

“Facing the Sun” – Treefight For Sunlight from A Collection of Vibrations For Your Skull

“On Call” – Zambri from Glossolalia EP

“Crazy Clown Time (download) – David Lynch from Crazy Clown Time

In Dee Mail Releases of the Week: Vanasprasta & Adam Hoffman Revival

If you listened to last week’s Best New Releases, then you know we had a lot of releases sent to us directly by artists and bands themselves. In fact, we covered more new releases from DIY bands than any other major ‘indie’ site on the web, highlighting not only the bands that get profiled on nearly every blog and music site, but many artists that get zero, or near zero, coverage by music bloggers and especially not mainstream sites like SPIN, Rolling Stone, Spinner and others.

The first band is Vanasprasta is an unsigned Silver Lake-L.A. experimental rock band released the long awaited debut album, Healthy Geometry, on Nov. 1st to much less fanfare then we think it deserves.  Just for perspective, however, Vanasprasta are not exactly unknown. The band has been featured   blogs such as Consequence of Sound, L.A. Weekly, and Purevolume.

They have shared the stage with artists like Free Energy, Young The Giant, Yuck, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and Linda Perry’s Deep Dark Robot. Vanasprasta have been compared to Mars Volta, Kings of Leon, the Killers and Jeff Buckley. On Healthy Geometry, Vanaprasta have culled all of their influences, ranging from Modest Mouse to Pink Floyd, into a sound that can only be described as their own.

“Nine Equals Nine” – Vanaprasta from Healthy Geometry

Up next is piano-led from Sandwich, Massachusetts band,  Adam Hoffman Revival, who released their new album, You’ll Get There, on Nov. 10th, featuring the lead single, “You & I.” It’s not hard to see why they include Ben Folds and The Beatles among their biggest influences. You can check out more songs and other band information at the band’s Facebook page.

“You & I” – Adam Hoffman Revival from You’ll Get There – Nov. 10th

Album Releases for the Week of Nov. 8, 2011

Atlas Sound – Parallax
Birdy – Birdy (U.K.)
Brian Eno – Panic of Looking
Brooke Fraser – Flags (Deluxe Edition CD/DVD)
Built Like Alaska – In Troubled Times
Caithlin De Marrais – Red Coats
Camille Bloom – Never Out of Time
Cass McCombs – Humor Risk
David Lynch – Crazy Clown Time
Edward Rogers – Porcelain
Fay Wolf – Spiders
Garrett Anderson – Within and Around (11/11)
High Highs – Ivy (11/11)
Hussey-Regan – Curios (Covers) (UK)
Jonathan Coulton – Artificial Heart
Laura Veirs – Tumble Bee/Folk Song For Children
Lissie – Covered Up With Flowers (Covers EP)
Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood – In Case the World (Live)
Meshell Ndegeocello – Weather
Nils Lofgren – Old School
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – S/T (U.S.)
Ólöf Arnalds – Ólöf Sings (Covers EP)
Owen – Ghost Town
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (Deluxe)
Rascal Flatts – Live
Rush – Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland
Said The Whale – New Brighton EP DC
Sigur Ros – Inni (Live CD/DVD)
Summer Camp – Welcome to Condale
The Bees – Every Step’s A Yes (US)
Thea Gilmore – Don’t Stop Singing (Lyrics: Sandy Denny)
Young Statues – S/T

Another week, another set of new albums. But firstly, this week saw the official release of a new live album from a musical genius that some people consider one of the forerunners of indie rock – the prolific Peter Gabriel. This week, Gabriel released New Blood, an album recorded live in London with an orchestra, no guitars and no drums – playing alternative versions of many of his best-known songs, and of course Gabriel on piano. 

“Red Rain” (Instrumental) – Peter Gabriel from New Blood

This week’s Best New Releases offers a diversity of music styles, artists and subjects.There is a good number of truly ‘indie’ and DIY bands – such as Color Radio, Casiokids, High Places, Future Islands – and more well-known artists, like Andrew Bird, Ben Lee and John Wesley Harding.

But first, we want to introduce you to a band that you may have not heard of before, but it would not be for a lack of press and accolades. Enation is an anthemic indie rock band from Washington state fronted by Jonathan Jackson. Their music has appeared on film and television soundtracks, including One Tree Hill and Stephen King‘s Riding the Bullet. Enation broke into the Top 10 on iTunes‘ Rock Charts. CDBaby picked the band as a Notable Artist and The New Music Seminar nominated Enation to the prestigious “Top 100 Artists on the Verge” for 2011In fact, CDBaby praised the band enthusiastically, stating that “Enation is fast becoming recognized as one of the best epic rock bands around.” Judge for yourself. Here are two tracks the band set to us to share with you from their new album out this week,

“Prodigal” – Enation from My Ancient Rebellion

“The Rushing Wind” – Enation from My Ancient Rebellion

Enation have previously opened for artists like Angels & Airwaves, Kate Voegele, Everly, Dustin Ruth, and House of Heroes, and list among their influences Coldplay, U2, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Snow Patrol, and Switchfoot.

Another band that sent us tracks directly is the newly formed eclectic Baltimore band, Drunk Monk. Infusing a combination of rock, “surf doom” (their words), psychedelic and jazz, Drunk Monk describe themselves like so: “Guitar, bass, drums. Very few words. We like to record live. We don’t know how to surf…overwhelmingly positive response at every show.”

“Woefully Intentional” – Drunk Monk from Drunk Monk

“Dorothy vs. The Shadow People” – Drunk Monk from Drunk Monk

We’ve also included nearly two dozen MP3s of new singles from new releases by bands and artists like High Places, Sun Hotel, T.W. Walsh, Yukon Blonde, Extra Arms, Casey Shea, Rocket from the Tombs, Crooked Fingers, Savaging Spires, The Morning Clouds, Rachael Yamagata, Gill Landry, Library Voices, and Hess Is More.

“Balance” – Future Islands from On the Water

“Golden Years” – Casiokids from Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen

“Quiet House” – Color Radio from Architects

“Year Off” – High Places from Original Colors

“Fire” – Yukon Blonde from Fire/Water EP

“Creation Keeps the Devil Away” – Hess is More from Creation Keeps the Devil Away

“Sing Your Own Song” – John Wesley Harding from The Sound of His Own Voice

“Typhoon” – Crooked Fingers from Breaks in the Armor

“Annie” – Gill Landry from Piety & Desire

“Traveller’s Digest” – Library Voices from Summer of Lust

“The Wrong Things” – The Morning Clouds from Wasted Youth Blues EP

“Little Eyes” – Radio Moscow from The Great Escape of Leslie Magnafuzz

“Bending the Rules of Time” – Savaging Spires from Savaging Spires

“Starlight” – Rachael Yamagata from Chesapeake

“Alchemy” – Sun Hotel from Gifts (self-released)

“Make It Rhyme” – T.W. Walsh from Songs of Pain and Leisure

“Race to Sleep” – Extra Arms from In Parallel

“Best Disguise Is No Disguise” – Extra Arms from In Parallel

“Jennifer” – Casey Shea from In Your Head

“Sundowner (featuring Jason Collett)” – Danielle Duval from Of the Valley

“I Sell Soul” – Rocket from the Tombs from Barfly

As far as the quality of the individual lead singles from this week’s Best New Releases, this is a great mix of fantastic tracks – the type of singles that make you want to hear the whole album. In fact, we partly put them in the order we have below to highlight the best singles. Of course, Wilco’s “I Might” gets the top spot for all of the obvious reasons, but more so because it’s such a killer song. Listen to a few other tracks live from Wilco via Yahoo.

Not only are we stoked to finally have Wilco‘s fantastic new album, The Whole Love, but there are a bunch of new releases this week from so many hot indie bands, like Dominant Legs, Young Lagoon, Twin Sister, Young Man, VHS or Beta, and Warm Ghost.  At the end of this post, don’t miss new singles from lesser-known bands who sent their tracks to us directly.

It’s practically impossible to contain yourself listening to Dominant Legs‘ incredibly uptempo track, “Hoop of Love,” from the band’s sophomore album, Invitation, which you can stream in full for a few more days via Spinner. Next, blaze it for a few minutes with the dreamy, hazy verses of Youth Lagoon‘s ode to the ‘silver and gold’ state on the lead single, “Montana.”

Radiation City channel the sounds of 1960’s girl-group blues choruses with a heavy bass line and tambourines on the lead track “The Color of Industry.” Plus, the Dum Dum Girls offer up two singles from their latest album – the power pop song “Bedroom Eyes” and the more somber, fittingly named “Coming Down”. Interestingly, the next two tracks from Vanish Valley and The Gift both revolve around the central theme of racing, and each is a fantastically upbeat song, perfect for listening to while you’re driving, jogging or biking.  While we have heard, and covered, before The Gift, this is our first exposure to Vanish Valley, and we’re guessing the same is true for most of you as well.

Dan Mangan‘s new single, “Post War Blues” continues to add value to his talents as a well-respected songwriter and musician. The track is almost spoken prose for the first half of the song, but the choruses and climaxes are gorgeously uplifting and delivered with gusto.  You can listen to the entire album via Spinner for a few more days.

The mood mellows out a bit for the next single by Alessi’s Ark, but not for long because Kasey Anderson and The Honkies rip it up with a blistering, Kills-style garage rocker, “The Wrong Light.”  But that’s not all, this mix also features lead singles from

“I Might” – Wilco from The Whole Love

Double-shot: “Art of Almost” –  Wilco from The Whole Love (via Visible Voice)

“Hoop of Love“ – Dominant Legs from Invitation

“Montana“ – Youth Lagoon from The Year of Hibernation

“The Color of Industry” – Radiation City from The Hands That Take You

Double-shot: “Park” – Radiation City from The Hands That Take You

“Coming Down” – Dum Dum Girls from Only in Dreams

Double-shot: “Bedroom Eyes” – Dum Dum Girls from Only in Dreams

“Races” – Vanish Valley from Get Good

“Race Is Long“ – The Gift from Explode

“Post-War Blues“ – Dan Mangan from Oh Fortune

Wire – Alessi’s Ark from Time Travel

“Nothing” – Young Man from Ideas of Distance (album stream)

I Found a Reason – VHS or Beta from Your Light Like White Lightning, Your Light Like A Laser Beam (album stream)

The Wrong Light– Kasey Anderson and The Honkies from Heart Of A Dog

Geeshie – The Mekons from Ancient & Modern

Double-shot: “Space in Your Face” – The Mekons from Ancient & Modern

“Breakers – Gem Club from Breakers

“Gone, Gone, Gone”– Nikki Lane from Walk of Shame

“Opium” – The New Division from Shadows

“Whatever Leads Me To You” – Geoffrey O’Connor from Vanity Is Forever

“Come Rain, Come Sunshine” – Pallers from Sea of Memories

” I’ll Down” – Sóley from We Sink

“Bad Street” – Twin Sister from In Heaven

Double-shot: “Peaches” – Twin Sister from In Heaven

“Eyes Like Pearls” – Van Hunt from What Were You Hoping For? (album stream)

New Releases from In Dee Mail – The Janks, Little Fish

Los Angeles indie rock band The Janks sent us a couple of tracks from their new release this week, Hands of Time. The band has been featured in People magazine, USA Today and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications and blogs such as The Deli, The Acorn, and now, Indie Rock Cafe. The Janks have opened for bands such as Hot Hot Heat, The Shivers, Carney, and Fishbone.

“Dead Man” –  The Janks from Hands Of Time

“You Can’t Give Up” –  The Janks from Hands Of Time

From Oxford, UK, Little Fish dropped a new single this week, “Wonderful,” with engineering help Gaz Coombes of Supergrass. The B-side “Invisible Dreaming” was also sent out by the band just for IRC Best New Releases mix. Little Fish have opened for some rather big fish in the music world, including Blondie, Them Crooked Vultures Placebo, Hole, Alice in Chains and Eagles of Death Metal. They’re major influences include Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, Velvet Underground, and Jack White in his many incarnations.

“Wonderful” – Little Fish from single

“Invisible Dreaming” – Little Fish from single