Not a blockbuster week like last week was for indie album releases, but there are still some compelling new records you might want to know about. Former Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven frontman David Lowery dropped his solo debut, The Palace Guards. Is it just us or are Lowery’s vocals struggling on this track? Anyways, still good song from a gifted singer songwriter. Although we haven’t heard the entire LP from beginning to end, it’s definitely a vinyl or silicon catch that Cracker and CVB fans will want to add to their record collection.
Another release we are digging is former professional skateboarder turned musician Tommy Guerrero‘s fifth album this week. Plus, there’s a new excited song, “Buy Nothing Day” from The Go Team!, and Seattle indie pop band Ivan & Alyosha dropped their second EP this week. We also want to draw your attention to a band that we’ve been hearing out lately called Bridges & Powerlines. Featured below is the single from the band’s debut album, Eve, out this week. We’ll be interested to see people’s reaction to this new band, and whether or not they will be tagged a ‘band to watch’ in 2011.
“The Palace Guards”– David Lowery from The Palace Guards
“Mirabell” – Bridges & Powerlines from Eve
“Que S’est-il Passe” – Tommy Guerrero from Lifeboats And Follies
“Weight of the Circles” – Enjoy Your Pumas from Commonality (self-released)
“Love Belongs to Everyone” – John Shipe from Villain (self-released)
“Victory Walker (2 AM) “ – Still Flyin’ from Neu Ideas – via You Ain’t No Picasso
“Buy Nothing Day” – The Go! Team from Buy Nothing Day 7″
“Who Have You Been Loving” – Bobby Long from A Winter Tale
“Graveyard” – Giant Sand from Ballad Of A Thin Line Man
This week’s Best New Releases includes new singles from new LPs and EPs from bands all across the indie spectrum. We’ve been loving The Radio Dept.’s work for about three or four years, so it’s just fitting to include a great track from their new singles collection, available now. Following TRD is a terrific, minimalistic, psychedelic track from the new Woodsman LP; a riveting, epic track from Cloud Nothings’ debut LP. Ironically, there are two tracks titled “Bloom” in this playlist, each from a different artist. Also loving the John Vanderslice song, and can’t help but to think how much it sounds like a Sufjan Stevens song.
“The One” – The Radio Dept. from Passive Aggressive: The Singles 2002-2010
Also, check out new singles from releases by Com Truise, Iron and Wine, Gang of Four, Cold War Kids, Deerhoof, Wanda Jackson with Jack White, Destroyer, The Veils, and many others. The self-titled debut EP by the band Grouplove has renewed them as a band to watch in 2011, as they were in 2010 (listen to tracks below). One of the reasons we renewed Grouplove is because they are so incredibly talented, and have still not received the recognition we think the band deserves.
The Papercranes deliver a dreamy, even melancholy, sound on the fantastic new single from their latest release, and Paper Diamond throws it down with impressive electronica work on the track “From Now Till…”.
“Synapses” – Papercranes from Let’s Make Babies in the Woods
We could go on and on about all of the new releases this week, but, once you listen to this mix, you’ll see that the music speaks for itself. Played in one continuous stream, you’ll notice at some point or another that this playlist is just packed with awesome songs, including other artists like Say Hi, Monotonix, The Ex, Delicate Steve, Exray’s, I Was King, Lia Ices, Fujiya & Miyagi, Duke Garwood, Greater Pacific, The Chicharrons, Metal Mountains and more.
“Insects” – Woodsman from Rare Forms
When you want all the best new songs from new releases, come to IRC regularly, since we post about four features and playlists each week stuffed with music from some of the most popular ‘indie’ artists to lesser-known, but talented bands. But even if you miss a post that is a few days, weeks or months old, most of the MP3s do not expire like they do on most other sites. Use the Comments to tell us what you think about these songs or the artists that make them. Click on album titles to make a purchase from Amazon – which has more MP3s at lower prices than iTunes.
“Understand At All” – Cloud Nothings from Cloud Nothings
“Under The Gun” – Apex Manor from The Year of Miracle Drinking
“Give Me More” – Monotonix from Not Yet
“Slow Peels” – Com Truise from Cyanide Sisters EP
“Tree By The River” – Iron & Wine from Kiss Each Other Clean
It’s safe to say that among the biggest new releases this week The Decemberists‘ follow-up to the success of Hazards of Love in 2009, The King Is Dead. The band turn towards a more American folk style rather than the more-English folk that propelled the band from the fame within the indie rock world to the Billboard charts and the ‘mainstream’ rock world.
“January Hymn” – The Decemberists from The King Is Dead
However mainstream The Decemberists are, or how much they don’t deserve to be ‘indie’ anymore (since signing with Capitol Records in 2009), are legit discussions, but the point is, they have managed to keep their branded sound uniquely their own, and continue to release awesome, ballad-heavy folk pop songs that appeal to a wide audience of music lovers.
The first single release, “Down By The Water”, was played live for the first time last September when we saw the band performed it at their sold out performance in Pioneer Courthouse Square during NWMF, Portland‘s biggest annual musical festival.
One of the world’s greatest rock bands of the past 30 years, R.E.M., have just made available the first single from their first album in since 2008’s Accelerate. The legendary band’s 15th studio album, Collapse Into Now, is set to drop in March.
The new single, “Mine Smells Like Honey” (purchase MP3 via AMZ for 99 cents) is R.E.M. in true fashion – upbeat, hooklicious pop rock with a catchy beat, soaring, jangly guitar work from Peter Buck, the ironic lyrics and unforgettable nasaly and grumbling voice of Michael Stipe, and the sweeping chorus heights, preempted by the wild “call-and-response” backup vocals of Mike Mills.
You can pre-order the master CD for Collapse Into Now for a discounted $14.99.
The Debut Album from Husband and Wife Duo, Tennis, Officially Out Now
By Emma Majerus
After creating a buzz with the single, “Marathon,” college sweethearts turned husband and wife duo, Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore, along with band mate James Barone, have just officially released their debut LP, Cape Dory. The songs on Cape Dory are not a departure from the summery sound of “Marathon,” as Tennis demonstrates a knack for the beachy pop music that so many bands have attempted to perfect over the past year or so.
In fact, with their breezy vocals and jangly percussions, Tennis seems to have made themselvess fore runners of setting the tone for the indie beach sound of 2011. And that seems only fitting; afterall, the husband and wife duo spent seven months sailing on the Atlantic Ocean. The sounds and musical influences of the ocean, the wind and the sun are well within their grasp.
In large part, Cape Dory is reminiscent of an earlier, simpler time, while maintaining a refreshingly relevant sound. With all of Moore’s “Oh oh’s” and “sha-la-la’s”, there are songs that conjure up images of 1960’s girl groups, but this time around, singing on a sailboat. With rhetorical lyrics like: “Do you wanna go where it never snows and the mid-60s are the extreme lows?” from the album’s title track, Tennis doesn’t attempt to go far beyond the realm of beach music, but they do it so well that it would be difficult to fault them for it.
“Take Me Somewhere” – Tennis from Cape Dory
Chicago’s Smith Westerns Announce Debut LP for January Drop
The year 2010 was a grand year for Chicago’s rising band, Smith Westerns, whose name recognition and fan following grew by leaps and bounds, due in part to a wildly successful cross-country tour and plenty of blogger and social media love.
Today the band released its sophomore album, Dye It Blonde. Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach House), produced the new LP. The short indie film, Friends Forever, features a performance of the band playing the track, “All Die Younger”.
“Weekend” – Smith Westerns from Dye It Blonde
The film was shot by popular indie artist and photographer, Ryan McGinley, who captured Smith Westerns’ performance at this year’s Pitchfork Festival. In addition, the film also features footage from San Francisco rising indie band, Girls‘, gig at Pitchfork. Interestingly enough, both bands will be featured in IRC’s Best Bands of 2010.
California indie band Braids are an IRC band to watch in 2011.
New Releases from Braids, David Gergen, Oh No Oh My, Modern Skirts and others
In addition to the new and terrific debut album from Tennis, other recommended releases include Braids, Dolorean, Seafarer and Modern Skirts. After a four year recording hiatus following their indie-hit debut, the band Oh No Oh My just dropped their sophomore album, People Problems, and the lead single below, just makes it more probable that we’ll get around to listening to all of People Problems.
Also, check out other recommended releases, including two DIY from Seafarer and David Gergen, plus LPs from Dolorean, Eulogies, Modern Skirts, Only Sons, Fergus & Geronimo, and others.
In addition to this week’s highlighted releases, you can also still stream and download singles from our first Best New Releases of 2011, last week’s installment that we were admittedly a couple of days late with.
“Plath Heart” – Braids fromNative Speaker
“The Streets I’m Walking” – David Gergen from The Nearer It Was…The Farther It Became
“Walking Into Me” – Oh No Oh My from People Problems
“You Hide” – Eulogies fromTear the Fences Down
“The Unfazed” – Dolorean from The Unfazed
“Magic” – Only Son from Searchlight
“Noise Floor” – Seafarer from Hiding Places (self-released)
“Bumper Car” – Modern Skirts from Gramahawk
“Powerful Lovin'” – Fergus & Geronimo from Unlearn
“Superstition” – Disappears from Guider
Other New Releases – Hip-Hop, Country, World Music, Trip Jazz
We didn’t do any other real reviews this week other than what’s on this page. The reason why is because we’re so busy still compiling and rolling out ‘best of 2010’ playlists. In fact, on Wednesday, we’ll publish the first installment of our top songs for 2010, which will be different from the Top 50 No.1 Indie Songs of 2010 that you guys all voted for throughout the year on the Top Ten Songs page.
Since 2009’s Best Songs series was such a big hit, we had to put one together for 2010, right at the same time that the first best new songs of 2011 are coming out.
Also, don’t miss our Winter/Spring 2011 Anticipated Releases Guide, hopefully to hit the site next weekend. In the meantime, enjoy. When you run out of great songs, just remember that all you have to do is click around the site a little to find hundreds of more songs to stream and listen to online and/or download to your MP3 player.
Cage The Elephant are off to a spectacular start for 2011 with Thank You Happy Birthday
This is the first Best New Releases of 2011. Most of these records were officially dropped on 1.11.11. There are some really exciting, interesting releases this week, good ones to use those left over iTunes or Amazon gift cards on.
The newest album from Cage The Elephant is already on our best albums of 2011 list, and doubt it will come off by the end of the year. If you’ve not yet one of the wicked, it’s time to turn on to CTE. Also, British Sea Power‘s new LP is something else; listen to the lead single here. Plus, Cake drops their first album in seven years today, Showroom of Compassion, and new releases from Tapes N Tapes, Tape Deck Mountain, Broken Records, Birds of Avalon, and many others. Short on the words this week, but there’s a bunch of posts lining up on the runaway, waiting for their turn to bring you sah-wheat music.
“Around My Head” – Cage the Elephant from Thank You Happy Birthday
“Living Is So Easy” – British Sea Power from Valhalla Dancehall
“Sick of You” – Cake from Showroom of Compassion
“It Goes Down” – Tape Deck Mountain from Secret Serf
“Cemetery Rain” – Minks from debut LP, By The Hedge
“Freakout” – Tapes N Tapes from Outside
“A Darkness Rises Up” – Broken Records from Let Me Come Home
“Invasion” – Birds of Avalon from Birds of Avalon
“A World From Our Sponsor” – Heligoats from Live Free and Let Loose
“Zulu Bounce” – Georgia Anne Muldrow from VWETO
“Discipline Your Hands” – Dearling Physique from DeadEye Dyealer
“Don’t Know About You” – Bardo Pond from Bardo Pond
Not a blockbuster week like last week was for indie album releases, but there are still some compelling new records you might want to know about. Former Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven frontman David Lowery dropped his solo debut, The Palace Guards. Is it just us or are Lowery’s vocals struggling on this track? Anyways, still good song from a gifted singer songwriter. Although we haven’t heard the entire LP from beginning to end, it’s definitely a vinyl or silicon catch that Cracker and CVB fans will want to add to their record collection.
