We’re a bit late with the past week’s best new releases, but of course, it has to kick-off with Shabazz Palaces remix of Animal Collective‘s “New Town Burnout” from the Baltimore group’s new remix EP, Monkey Been to Burn Town. Too bad the album cover art is pretty awful. Even though it’s a reissue, one of the week’s one top singles is King Tuff‘s fun, upbeat and quirky single, “Dancing On You,” from the remastered, excellent album, Was Dead. Sticking with the zany theme, the interestingly named Alex Bleeker and The Freaks hit it on the track, “Don’t Look Down,” from How Far Away, followed by Paperhaus‘ self released Lo Hi Lo LP’s single, “Helicopters.” The goodness keeps going with singles from new releases (and one reissue) by Baths, Brazos, Hooded Fang, Damien Jurado, Kermit Ruffins, CocoRosie and Feathers, the latter two are both DIY releases. In case you missed them, definitely check out the Artist of the Week: Nick Jaina, Overseas Band to Watch Deco Pilot, the fifth installment of Bands That Rock!, plus, Best New Releases playlist for the week of May 21st.
“New Town Burnout” (Shabazz Palaces Remix) – Animal Collective from Monkey Been to Burn Town EP on Domino
“Dancing On You” – King Tuff from Was Dead (reissue) on BurgerRecords
“Don’t Look Down” – Alex Bleeker and the Freaks from How Far Away on Woodsist Records
“Helicopters” – Paperhaus from Lo Hi Lo (self-released)
This week, the long-awaited – eight years as a matter of fact – new album, Random Access Memories, from the most famous helmeted musical group on this planet, Daft Punk, saw its official release, and fans from around the world are celebrating its electro-dance pop mastery. In fact, at the time of this posting, Random Access Memories‘ CD version is the No. 1 album on the Amazon CDs chart, and No. 3 for the MP3 version. If you you don’t have a copy of this album, it’s a must-have for your 2013 music collection.
Following right behind, the MP3 version of The National’s new album, Trouble Will Find Me, is No. 2 right now on the Amazon MP3 Albums charts, while the CD version is No. 2 on the CD Album chart, while last week’s No. 1 CD album, Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires of the City is holding it’s own right behind The National at No. 3.
The latest releases from Daft Punk and The National are easily the top two albums out this week, but there are also plenty of terrific singles from a dozen other new albums by Dirty Beaches, Man or Astro-Man, Radiation City, Club 8, The Baptist Generals, Jesse Ruins, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Shannon and the Clams, Majical Cloudz, Attic Lights and the remastered release of The Talking Heads‘ classic 1980’s LP, Speaking in Tongues, while the new MP3 version includes bonus tracks, making it a no brainer purchase for die-hard Talking Heads’ fans. You can read more at the end of this post about the BNMR’s playlist.
“Get Lucky” – Daft Punk with Pharrell Williams from Random Access Memories (CD) from on Daft Life/Columbia
“Sea Of Love” – The National from Trouble Will Find Me (CD) on 4AD
The other singles from this week’s top new releases are available for streaming with the built-in player; support your favorite artists and bands by clicking on the album link to quickly and easily make a purchase via Amazon, which offers the best deals of all online music stores. By default, all album links are for the MP3 version of the album, and often, there is a separate link to click to purchase the CD version. Like all the Best New Music Releases playlists on IRC, we like to include a diversity of tracks from the week’s top releases, and where, noted also include DIY releases; however, the majority of DIY releases are usually posted in other playlists besides the weekly BNMR playlists. The great thing about the built-in Yahoo media player is that you can just click the first track and it will automatically play through all the singles, but you still have the ability to go back, pause, go forward, or simply click the play button beside only the singles you want to listen to.
No better way to end this week’s playlist of singles then with a remastered version of The Talking Head’s classic track, “Burning Down The House.”
“Burning Down The House” – Talking Heads from Speaking In Tongues(CD) on Sire Records
There have been many albums released in the past few months that we either did not have time to get to when they were initially released or that we only learned about after they were initially released. Many of the albums highlighted in this new installment of Recent Releases We Almost Missed are debut EPs and LPs from new bands and artists to watch in 2013.
Los Angeles DIY indie rock quartet Great White Buffalo have been creating a buzz in the LA scene since 2011 and are definitely a new band to watch for DIY music lovers in the L.A. basin. GWB have been mentioned often in the past year or so in the same sentence with other new artists emerging from the City of Angels, including IRC favorites Lord Huron and Father John Misty.
Great White Buffalo’s self-titled debut EP, released on January 30th, was engineered and co-produced by Grammy award-winning producer Phil Allen (Adele, Aerosmith). The heavily layered six-track EP echoes influences like The Strokes, Foo Fighters and Kings of Leon, while remaining true to their own unique style and sound that has garnered the band so much attention in the past couple of years.
The band performed at San Francisco’s annual Noise Pop Festival in February and Austin‘s famous SXSW, where bands are made overnight every year. GWB have opened for bands like The Revivalists, Harriet, Oedipus, YLUV, and their musical influences include The Strokes, The National, Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon, and Queens of the Stone Age.
“Thanks for Nothing” – Great White Buffalo from Great White Buffalo – Jan. 30th
“Teeth” – Great White Buffalo from Great White Buffalo
Tournament of Hearts is a Los Angeles based indie pop rock band that has made a name for itself creating well-produced, forward-driving, anthemic songs, featuring hi-fi vocals and choruses, guitar hooks of A-minors crashing up against D-major resolutions and reverb-drenched snares that have captivated small and large gatherings at guesthouses throughout Hollywood since their formation in 2011.
The five young men that make up Tournament of Hearts started out recording midnight sessions with a like-minded engineer from Interscope Records, who encouraged them to up their game by abandoning the lo-fi style they started out with and record sprawling pop songs with R&B influences and hi-fi vocals. The result of these recording sessions was the February debut of the album Local Maximum, seven songs about starting fires, peeping toms, and disposed lovers. The band has opened for artists such as Boyce Avenue, Clara C, Joseph Vincent, Jayesslee, and Satellite, and consider among their top musical influences The Killers, Oasis, and Kasabian.
Not long after creating a buzz in the LA scene, the band was invited to perform at SXSW festival in 2012, which was followed by a West coast tour of high energy shows that continued to expand the band’s fan base. The blog, Local Music Nation, picked the band as one of the ‘Top 10 Bands to See’ at SXSW. Currently, the band is signed to the DIY label Greenzone Records.
“Shake It Off” – Tournament of Hearts from Local Maximum – Feb. 14th
“Another Minute” – Tournament of Hearts from Local Maximum
Tournament of Hearts Official Website
“Indie rock is something no one is told to listen to by anyone except yourself. It’s the realest thing in music since Mozart played harpsichord with his tiny kid-fingers.” – Bryan Morton of Tournet of Hearts
Constant Supply – County Donegal, Ireland
Originating from County Donegal in northwest Ireland, the alternative rock duo Constant Supply features James Gillen (guitar, vocals, drum machine, keys) and Conal Sweeney (bass, keys), who together write and record atmospheric and melodic compositions marked by a pulsating drum machine beats. In 2011, Constant Supply dropped their debut EP, Alleviate, to critical and fan acclaim in the DIY scene, resulting in the EP being re-released by the U.K. indie label, Takeaimfire Records later that summer. Leading up to their debut EP, the duo recorded an in-studio session in 2FM’s renowned Studio 8.
As was the case with their debut EP, the duo recorded their debut LP, The Coast Ain’t Clear, with Villagers‘ band member Tommy McLaughlin in his Attica Studio in London. The LP, dropped in March, is a terrific accomplishment with heavily textured songs that feature layer upon layer of guitars and vocals, spectacular bass tracking and catchy, metronomic drum beats. Their sound has often been compared to a fusion of influences like Radiohead, Elliott Smith, Pavement, Slint, and Nirvana. Gillen wrote that “hailing from the northwest of Ireland has its advantages and disadvantages when you are in a band. On one hand, you are far from the vibrant music scenes of the larger cities and their many venues. On the other, you have freedom to develop your own unique sound free from the distractions of what everyone else is doing.”
“Capo” – Constant Supply from The Coast Ain’t Clear – March 25th
“Requisite” – Constant Supply from The Coast Ain’t Clear
Make Haste is the lo-fi, dance-driven synth pop moniker for T.K. Dallman, a Dundas, Ontario musician and producer who dropped his self-titled, debut EP in March. The songs on the EP focus on the deterioration of relationships and the heartache that comes along with such human drama. While Make Haste is only a year old, Dallman already shows great potential as an electro-pop force to be reckoned with in Canada, as well as in the States. Like so many under-the-radar artists, he simply needs more exposure. From that point on, it’s only a matter of time before a buzz is built around his music.
From the aggressive, haunting opening track, “Easier,” to the hazy, end-of-summer anthem, “In A Daze” (featuring Lesley Davies of Bad Passion) to the dance beats and shimmering synths of “Should Have Left,” Dallman taps into a number of his personal musical influences, from Crystal Castles, Sufjan Stevens, Justice, Elliott Smith, James Blake, Junior Boys and Passion Pit, in addition to the more ambient sounds of Evenings and west coast producer Teen Daze. As the engine behind Make Haste, Dallman has previously opened for artists like Sexy Merlin, Reptile Youth, and Vimes.
Dallman gave a very honest answer to the question – ‘what is indie rock?’ – that we ask all artists on the IRC submission form. “Indie rock means a bunch of different things to different people. Even my definition of it changes. Sorry.” No reason to be sorry, dude, that’s about as close to our own view of ‘what is indie rock’ that we’ve received since we started asking the question last year.
“Should Have Left” – Make Haste from Make Haste EP – March 15th
“Easier” – Make Haste from Make Haste EP
Sydney Band Crosses Radar with Debut LP
Will and The Indians is a four-piece Sydney, Australia rock band formed in early 2009 and just released their debut album, Wrong End of Town, in March via Laughing Outlaw Records. The band started out as a trio of high school buddies, consisting of members William Thackeray (guitar/vocals), Kabir Bhalla (guitar/vocals) and Matin Gouniai (drums). In 2010, the trio added bassist Michael Watson. By 2011, the new quartet began to really hone their skills when they entered the recording studio to begin laying down tracks for their debut album. Many months were spent overdubbing and mixing their tracks, and after hearing some of the track, the independent label Laughing Outlaw Records offered them a recording contract. The band draw from The Libertines and The Strokes as well as the 1960’s British Invasion bands like The Kinks and The Beatles. The band has opened for artists like SURES, Little Red, and will open for The Rubens next month. The band’s motto is “to relive the magic of the 60s in the modern world.”
“What If I Said” – Will and The Indians from Wrong End of Town – March 1st
“Resignation” – Will and The Indians from Wrong End of Town
San Francisco band Cool Ghouls - photo by Michael BordelonOn April 23rd, the San Francisco band Cool Ghouls released their self-titled debut album, featuring stand-out tracks like “Ballin,” and “Natural Life” and “In The Morning,” and we almost missed it. Even though they have a decidedly ’60’s psychedelic rock/country guitar twang sound, mixed with unmistakable hippie pop infusions and funky rhythms, Cool Ghouls don’t like to be called ‘retro.’
To this day, many bands that sprout from San Francisco, especially those that embrace the “San Francisco sound” – that made the city ground zero of the 60’s music scene thanks to bands like Santana, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Starship, Janis Joplin, Quicksilver Messenger Service – are bound to be tagged with the ‘retro’ label at some point. The San Francisco Sound is embedded in the fiber of the city’s musical aura, and probably always will be. That said, we don’t think there’s anything wrong with being retro if it’s good stuff.
But Tim Cohen, frontman of the Fresh and Onlys and Magic Trick, challenges the retro label of the Cool Ghouls and their flashback sound: “First things first: Cool Ghouls are not a retro act. If you seek musical salvation in the form of mop-topped mannequins with vintage riffs and hand-me-down rags, please stop reading. Yes, the Cool Ghouls borrowed their name from George Clinton’s Funkadelic-era pre-show banter. Yes, they dwell penniless in the storied hills of culturally resurgent San Francisco. But these boys have their feet firmly planted in the soil of the now. They look not backwards for approving nods of hipster forebears, but rather skyward, hoping that the ‘supernatural forces’ they yodel for, guide them to all corners of a half-deserving world. Truth be told, this being their first official release, they may even be a bit naïve in their dogged pursuit of the true-blue, home-spun, rock and roll lifestyle.”
But, Cohen observed, if there was to be a 60’s-reverent comparison that fit the band, one would most likely find an artistic kinship with some the most inimitable, idiosyncratic, yet unmistakably influential bands of the retro-fitting oeuvre. The Troggs, The Monks, Sir Douglas Quintet come to mind immediately. (Save your Kinks and Rolling Stones references.) Like the aforementioned, the Ghouls are natural heirs to the folkloric lineage which precedes them, adding dashes of weirdness where needed. And despite their mid-fi leanings and natural fit within the current pantheon of San Francisco rock ‘n’ roll bands (Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Mikal Cronin), theirs is a timeless record, which will hopefully transcend the descriptors (garage, psych, etc.) that will undoubtedly plague it in the blogosfear. The reason being – they write good SONGS.’
Hence, the debut record, an adventurous, colorful romp seen through the eyes of old-souled youths, feels wholly coherent and intentional. The self-assuredness of their songwriting is evident. And no, the Ghouls are not afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves; this is partly what makes the record so digestible. It doesn’t claim to be anything other than what it is; a record for now, a record for then, and a record for forever.
The band has been getting some serious love from the blogosphere and the music press so far this year, and will set out on a West coast tour in June (see the tour dates on their official web page). The Bay Bridged wrote: “[The band’s debut] is uncontrived and unapologetically filled with joy in the most refreshing way.”
We surveyed IRC readers asking what’s their favorite album of the week, and not surprisingly, the vast majority picked Vampire Weekend‘s first album in three years, the just dropped Modern Vampires of the City. By the time Contra, the band’s sophomore album, was released in 2010, a backlash was already building up against the wildly popular outfit from New York by some of indie rock’s most righteous and cynical bloggers, writers and fans. The backlash, which had been brewing for at least a year by that point, was no doubt fueled largely by the over exposure of the band and their highly-acclaimed 2008 self-titled debut album that spawned a number of hit singles, like “A-Punk” and “Oxford Comma.” In a matter of months in 2008, which spilled over into 2009, it was almost impossible to escape the Vampire Weekend frenzy. And in 2010, they released Contra, which went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 – and effectively propelled the band out of ‘indie’ status to the world stage.
Whether you love Vampire Weekend, love to hate them (there are plenty of both just by the fact that they’ve been one of the most popular bands of the past five years), or you’re essentially indifferent, the fact is Modern Vampires of the City is a contemporary gem, if not a masterpiece, and will surely be at the top, or near the top, of dozens of ‘best albums of 2013’ lists that will start being published only a few months from now (usually by October and November, ‘best of’ lists start being pumped out). It shot up to No. 1 right away on the Amazon music chart. The new album is the band’s most progressive, mature work to date, offering wonderfully crafted songs with colorful and adventurous arrangements and instrumentation, and lyrical themes about the gloomy aspects of love and mortality that are expressed by strange and provocative vocal effects backed by beautiful choruses.
Our only concern about the huge splash that the official release of Modern Vampires has created in the musical world is the overshadowing of many other spectacular releases this week. Plus, listen to new singles from just dropped albums by three artists we’ve been fans of for some time now – Small Black and Wild Nothing, plus 2013 band to watch, Wampire, and The Phoenix Foundation, Pure X, and of course, post-punk legends, The Fall.
“Diane Young” – Vampire Weekend from Modern Vampires of the City [CD version] on XL Recordings
“A Dancing Shell” – Wild Nothing from Empty Estate [CD version] on Captured Tracks
“Free At Dawn” – Small Black from Limits of Desire [CD version] on Jagjaguwar
“Trains” – Wampire from Curiosity on Polyvinyl Records
“The Captain” – The Phoenix Foundation from Fandango on Memphis Industries
“Things in My Head” – Pure X from Crawling Up the Stairs [CD version] on Acephale Records
“Sir William Wray” – The Fall from Re-Mit on Cherry Red Records
Classixx, Dungeonesse, Kisses, The Features, Eluvium, Bibio and More
Put on your dancing shoes for the electro-pop single, “Holding On,” from Los Angeles duo Classixx, who mix elements of disco, funk and house, punctuated by cool grooves, breezy melodies and hi decipal synths on the lead track from their debut album, Hanging Gardens. Dungeonesse keep the beats, grooves and shimmering synths going on their new single, “Shucks.” Another debut album out this week is the self-titled album from The Features, lead by the mellow single, “With Every Beat.” The track goes along at a slow clip with a heavy bass line, airy, melodic synths, sporadic guitar notes, looping vocal repetition of ‘every beat of the heart,’ and a kind of spooky, yet dreamy, ‘oooh oooh oohh’ background vocal dubbing.
For those who enjoy instrumental, atmospheric and dreamy arrangements, check out the stunningly beautiful new single from Eluvium that, to our surprise, in a way, got more thumbs up on Soundcloud than recent singles by fairly well-known artists. Warped Records recording artist Bibio dropped a new album this week, featuring the single, “A Tout A L’Heure,” that has an electro pop charm with programmed effects (there’s only so far you can go with computer generated beats and other sounds). Other tracks include new singles from MS MR and Kisses.
“Holding On” – Classixx from Hanging Gardens on Innovative Leisure
“With Every Beat” – The Features from The Features on Serpents and Snakes/BMG
“Shucks” – Dungeonesse from Dungeonesse on Secretly Canadian
“The Hardest Part” – Kisses from Kids in LA on Cascine
“Envenom Mettle” – Eluvium from Nightmare Ending on Temporary Residence Ltd.
“A Tout A L’Heure” – Bibio from Silver Wilkinson on Warp Records
“Hurricane” – MS MR from Secondhand Rapture on Columbia Records
Churches Remix: “Hurricane” – MS MR
“Magic Look” – Marques Toliver from Land of CanAan on Bella Union
Sam Amidon, The Quick and Easy Boys, The Blank Tapes
If you’re an indie folk fan, chances are you’ll enjoy the new album by Sam Amidon, lead by the single “My Old Friend.” We also have included the lead singles from new albums by The Handsome Family, and The Quick & Easy Boys. The Blank Tapes return with the band’s sophomore album this week. The single, “Coast to Coast,” is OK, but not what we expected from the band. The is indescridably flat and falls short of expectations, and likely even more disappointing to more die-hard fans of the band. When listening to the song, we kept waiting for it to break out, liven up and , but it never does. Almost any listener can hear that there is no meat on the bone with this song.
“My Old Friend” – Sam Amidon from Bright Sunny South on Nonesuch Records
“Hey Hey Hey” – The Quick & Easy Boys from Make It Easy (self-released)
“Coast to Coast” – The Blank Tapes from Vacation on Antenna Farm Records
We’ve been fans of the San Francisco band Sonny & The Sunsets since hearing their splendid single, “Too Young To Burn,” in 2010. That song, and the album it appeared on, Tomorrow is Alright, catapulted the band to indie stardom, and they’ve been riding high on that wave ever since with each recording or video they release, and each new gig or festival they appear at.
Last week, Sonny & The Sunsets dropped the new single, “Green Blood,” which features dreamy, spatial new wave synth notes, understated Joy Division-like beats (albeit with a drum machine), and the whispery, haunting singing from female vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kelly Stolz.
The restless, somewhat risky, trend of changing gears so dramatically over the past few years continues on Antenna to the Afterworld, which is based on Smith’s alleged contacts with loved ones who are no longer of this physical world, a stark departure from last year’s Longtime Companion, a country-centric album, and stylistically Smith-sonian, that chronicles the end of a ten-year relationship.
“Green Blood” – Sonny & The Sunsets from Antenna to the Afterworld
As a writer of songs, plays, and short stories, Smith has never limited himself to one style or theme as his songwriting over the past three years so wonderfully demonstrates. Antenna to the Afterworld will be officially released on June 11th in the U.S..
Another single, “Dark Corners,” that we got a hold of from the upcoming album, demonstrates how the band’s use of synths fits perfectly, and sonically, with the sci-fi narrative: “I come from the planet of dogs… / And I walk on your streets… / and I can’t wait to find / My little place in your weird world.”
“Dark Corners” – Sonny & The Sunsets from Antenna to the Afterworld
New Sonny and the Sunsets June 2013 Tour Dates
06/13 Hamden, CT The Outer Space *
06/14 Brooklyn, NY Knitting Factory / Northside Fest
06/16 Pittsburgh, PA The Smiling Moose *
06/17 Lakewood, OH Mahalls 20 Lanes
06/19 Indianapolis, IN Radio Radio *
06/20 Detroit, MI The Lager House *
06/21 Chicago, IL Beat Kitchen *
As summer approaches, the number of new releases from a variety of well-known, and some lesser-known, bands and artists, will begin to increase. This week is sort of one of those weeks because it’s still early enough in the spring to get a good roll started and ride it through the summer. IRC’s top releases this week include new albums, and the singles that accompany them, from the funky, genre-bending Los Angeles singer/songwriter and British producer/multi-instrumentalist duo, AM & Shawn Lee, and another highly regarded duo, actress Zooey Deschanel and Portland singer-songwriter M. Ward with She & Him‘s third installment of the Volume series; plus, dig the raw, psychedelic garage rock forays of Deerhunter, and the crunchy, melodic power-pop of Ty Segall collaborator and San Francisco Bay Area musician, Mikal Cronin.
“Two Times” – AM & Shawn Lee from La Musique Numerique on Park the Van
“I Could’ve Been Your Girl” – She & Him from Volume 3 on Merge Records
“Shout It Out” – Mikal Cronin from MCII on Merge Records
“Monomania” – Deerhunter from Monomania on 4AD
Lead Singles from Savages, Mother Falcon, Way Yes, Fitz and Tatrums
The rising UK buzz band, Savages dropped one of the most anticipated debut albums of 2013 this week, Silence Yourself, via Matador, fronted by the single, “Shut Up.” Interest in the debut by many music lovers was fueled by Savages appearance at Coachella last month.
Following Savages is the new track from Mother Falcon, who are, it’s fair to say, one of the buzz bands (more like collectives) of 2013, thanks to three widely praised appearances at SXSW in March. The fact that the band is based in Austin made it much easier to transport their 21 member troupe to their shows at SXSW. Mother Falcon relies solely on acoustic instrumentation – from the guitar and vocals to drums and the violin – to produce their enticing sounds. During SXSW, the band test-piloted some of the material from their sophomore album, You Knew, and launched a triumphant IndieGoGo fund-raising campaign to fund the production of the LP. And there’s more: stream new songs from freshly-dropped albums by Noah and the Whale, Fitz and Tatrums, Way Yes, Kid Congo & the Pink Monkeybirds, The Child of Lov, Lana Del Rey and Kid Congo & the Pink Monkeybirds.
“Shut Up” – Savages from Silence Yourself on Matador Records
Leading of this week’s new releases are two blockbuster albums from veterans of rock and roll, two bands that no doubt have been, and continue to be, an inspiration to countless popular and obscure alternative and indie rock artists. First up, is the latest album from Iggy Pop and The Stooges, and it sounds excellent. As life-long fans of The Stooges, we’ve been impressed with their comeback since 2005. At first, like any die-hard fans of an aging rock band, we feared the band just could not possibly sound as great as they did during their hey days four decades ago – a time in which they were known as the crazy punk rock band with a skinny, shirtless Iggy Pop at the helm, belting out songs like, “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and “Lust For Life.” Nowadays, Iggy is not only an iconic figure in the world of rock, and in the culture as a whole, but he is often referred to as the “godfather of punk,” a title he definitely earned.
And yet all these years later, with most of the band members well into their 60’s (Iggy is 66), they’ve only gotten better as punk rock musicians. Iggy has always been in amazing shape and a ball of energy on stage, and still kicks it out on stage. The Stooges new single, “Burn,” sounds like a track that could have appeared on one of their three classic albums released between 1969 and 1973. The band never reached the level of success they deserved during that time span because the uptight music industry of those days thought they were too weird and dangerous to put serious money behind to promote. History now shows what a poor decision that was; Iggy Pop and The Stooges have been more popular and successful in the past 20 years than they were in their first 20 years, albeit they were not actively a band from 1973 to 2005.
“Burn” – Iggy and the Stooges from Ready To Die on Fat Possum Records
Despite that, The Stooges were an underground punk-rock sensation whose music over time is as much a part of the story of punk rock in America as any other band; in a way, Iggy and his bandmates practically invented punk. Unfortunately for the band’s die-hard fans at the time, The Stooges called it quits in 1973, oddly enough following the release of their most critically-acclaimed album, Raw Power, and one of the most important albums in the history of punk music, if not rock music as a whole. Over the ensuing decades since their disbanding, their music became more popular as time moved on, which was in part why they decided to regroup and release a new album in 2005. The album cover for Ready To Die is bound to be problematic for some people, especially considering the timing of it.
In addition to Iggy Pop and The Stooges, there were two other big-name, highly anticipated new albums dropped this week – veteran post-punk band Guided By Voices‘ new album, English Little League, led by the single, “Noble Insect,” and Akron/Family‘s Sub Verses, featuring the spectacular track, “Until The Morning.”
“Noble Insect” – Guided By Voices from English Little League on GBV, Inc.
“Until The Morning” – Akron/Family from Sub Verses [includes digital book] on Dead Oceans
Daughter’s Debut Plus Cayucas, El Khatib, Wolf People and Hands
With Iggy Pop and The Stooges proving once again their never-ending lust for punk rock, the pioneering GBV’s post-reunion wellspring of terrific songs resulting in another terrific album, and indie rock/experimental pop band, Akron/Family‘s latest collection of superbly crafted and executed songs, attention now turns to the exciting and impressive debut from buzz band Daughter, followed up by standout singles from new albums by Cayucas, Hanni El Khatib, Wolf People and Hands. A couple of days ago we asked all of you to name the best album for the month of April, and while Kurt Vile ultimately took the No. 1 prize for his amazing LP, Walkin’ On A Pretty Daze, right on his heels was Daughter’s If You Leave.
The trio actually began as the solo project of musician Elena Tonra, until guitarist Igor Haefeli and drummer Remi Aguilella jumped aboard in 2010. In 2010 and 2011, the trio dropped three well-regarded EPs before being signed by the top-notch record label 4AD, whose roster includes a stunning line-up of some of the best indie and alt. rock artists and bands of recent years, including Bon Iver, Ariel Pink, The National, St. Vincent, Purity Ring, Deerhunter, Camera Obscura, Iron & Wine, Grimes, Twin Shadow and Grimes, among others. Now 4AD can boast about the newest member of their musical family, Daughter. Here’s the lead single, “Smother,” from the band’s new debut. The album, easily one of the best debuts of 2013, is available as an MP3 download for only $6.99 or $7.99 for the CD version.
“Smother” – Daughter from If You Leave on Glassnote Records
“East Coast Girl” – Cayucas from Bigfoot on Secretly Canadian
“Family” – Hanni El Khatib from Head In The Dirt on Innovative Leisure
“All Returns” – Wolf People from Fain {+digital booklet} on Jagjaguwar
“Sun Medallion” – King Tuff from Was Dead (reissue) on Burger Records
“Trouble” – Hands from Synethesia on Kill Rock Stars
“Happiness” – Adventure from Weird Work on Carpark Records
“Staying In” – Ola Podrida from Ghosts Go Blind on Western Vinyl
“Brother in the Night” – The Weeks from Dear Bo Jackson on Serpents and Snakes Records
“Twin Peaks” – Alice Russell from To Dust on Tru Thoughts
This past week’s batch of the best new albums, and the lead singles from those albums, added more great music to 2013’s already impressive, and diverse, collection of alternative and indie music. Last week’s top indie songs playlist of new releases, like many so far this year, features an amazing diversity of excellent songs, from Wavves to Depeche Mode and Little Green Cars to Twinstar.
We streamed all 17 tracks, from start to finish, at least seven to nine times in the cafe because it’s just that good. We’ll soon be publishing the popular singles on IRC during the month of March via the weekly Top 10 Songs playlists that highlight the most streamed and downloaded tracks from the Best New Music Releases posts, as well as recent DIY posts, Artist of the Week, and many others, which are all accessible from the March 2013 posts page.
The first week of April 2013 has been yet another great week for rock and roll, as demonstrated by the lead singles from new alt. and indie rock drops released by popular, talented bands like Generationals, The Black Angels, Mudhoney (a double-dose from the punk rock legends), Alkaline Trio, among others. Plus, there are plenty of amazing, new-to-us bands with even more new albums out this week, most notably a fresh 2013 band to watch called Hookworms, whose first single, “Form and Function,” is a blistering, infectious guitar rock blazer from their debut LP, Pearl Mystics – one of the best debut albums of 2013, so far, and one of many albums dropped in the past week that we recommend purchasing for your permanent collection, especially if you’re a rocker at your core.
“Put A Light On”* – Generationals from Heza on Polyvinyl Records (Please see the note at the end of this post about the album cover art for Heza).
“Don’t Play With Guns”* – The Black Angels from Indigo Meadow (CD) on Blue Horizon (Read J. Hubner’s album review)
Leeds, U.K. spacey psych-rock band Hookworms - Photo by Bart Pettman
“Form and Function”* – Hookworms from Pearl Mystic on Gringo
Spring Is Crazy Busy for New Releases and Music Festival Announcements
Because there were so many releases worth highlighting this week that we didn’t have time to get to, some will appear in the next edition of the popular Recent Releases We Almost Missed playlist series. Spring is traditionally the busiest time of the year in the cafe because there is a flood of new releases that emerge from the post-winter thaw, in addition to SXSW, and coverage of other music festival line-up announcements (and accompanying playlists), preparation for Record Store Day, emerging new bands to watch, and rushing streams of summer and fall album releases. For this installment of Best New Music Releases, you’ll notice asteriks next to some song titles, which indicates those songs’ music videos will be added to the Best New Videos page. But first, fire up this playlist to stream all the way through by clicking on the first song. Unlike Spotify – which often does not have new album releases available right away – IRC’s playlists of new music stream commercial free all the way through, and allow you to right click to save MP3s to whatever device you choose to create your own favorites song of 2013 playlists. Here’s the new single from the Velvet Funkmaster himself, Charles Bradley, who is the subject of a separate post that will be published in the next few hours.
“Strictly Reserved For You” – Charles Bradley from Victim of Love on Dunham/Daptone Records on Dunham/Daptone Records
More Rock: Milk Music, Kinski and Bleached; Rebuttal to ‘Rock Is Dead’ Critics
Another new-to-us outfit is Washington state band Milk Music, who blaze Husker Du-style on the fuzzy, distorted guitar rock of “I’ve Got Wild.” And the guitar rock continues with Kinski‘s latest single, “Conflict Free Diamonds,” from the album, Cosy Moments. “Conflict Free Diamonds” is a fired up rocker, marked by power chord guitar riffs, a catchy beat and a transfixing groove, haunting synths and soaring, reverb-heavy vocals. Next, Bleached‘s track, “Next Stop” is a female vocal garage rocker mixed with elements of punk pop from the band’s new album, Ride Your Heart.
“I’ve Got a Wild Feeling”– Milk Music from Cruise Your Illusion on Fat Possum
“Conflict Free Diamonds” – Kinski from Cosy Moments on Kill Rock Stars
“Next Stop” – Bleached from Ride Your Heart on Dead Oceans
To the rock naysayers: If you’ve been following our weekly new releases playlists this year, the refrain that ‘rock is dead’ is simply bogus; you just need to know where to find it (i.e., on IRC). This point is also reaffirmed by the huge positive responses to recent profile posts like 5 Bands That Rock and 5 DIY Bands to Watch. If anything, at least in the alternative music scene, rock is enjoying an unquestionable revival. And as this playlist charges forward, with one fantastic track after another, there are three common stylistic themes going on that we’ve organized into consecutive sets, consisting of rock, synth-heavy music, and dreamy, even melancholic grooves and instrumentals.
Fresh Tracks from Popular Bands Telekinesis, Cold War Kids, Alkaline Trio
The list of notable, and diverse, releases dropped in the past week keeps growing with singles from new albums by Telekinesis, Cold War Kids, British Sea Power, Alkaline Trio, and the last record from the now defunct Rilo Kiley. Each of these tracks, and the albums which they appear on, speak for themselves.
“Ghosts and Creatures” – Telekinesis from Dormarion on Merge
“Miracle Mile” – Cold War Kids from Dear Miss Lonelyhearts on Downtown Records
“Machineries of Joy” – British Sea Power from Machineries of Joy on Rough Trade
“I Wanna Be A Warhol” – Alkaline Trio from My Shame Is True
“Let Me Back In” – Rilo Kiley from Rkives on Little Record Company
Synth-fully Delicious: Caveman, Dutch Uncles, Pick A Piper
Brooklyn band Caveman released their sophomore album earlier this week, featuring the synth-rich, atmospherically melancholic (which is a commendable accomplishment in itself) song, “Over My Head,” followed by a more upbeat, higher octane synth track, “Bellio,” from Dutch Uncles‘ album, Out of Touch in the Wild. Sticking with the synth and electro sounds, check out Pick A Piper‘s “All Her Colours,” featuring John Schmersal.
“Over My Head” – Caveman from Caveman on Fat Possum
“Ice Dime” – Gems from Tall Mountain on Don’t Be a Lout Music
Ambient, Mellow and Melancholic Singles from Bonobo, Olafur Arnalds, Hem and Others
The ambient electro band Bonobo, produced a bizarre, but interesting video, for the lead single, “Cirrus,” off their new album. Other softer singles representing new album releases this week include Olafur Arnalds‘ mesmerizing instrumental, “Only The Wind”; Port St. Willow‘s majestic “Soft Light Rush”; Hem‘s “Tourniquet”; The Besnard Lakes‘ gently hazy, “People of the Sticks”; Hiss Golden Messenger‘s folksy “I’ve Got A Name For The Newborn Child”; Melbourne bandLower Plenty‘s “Nullarbor,” among others. By clicking the album titles, you can quickly and easily purchase either the MP3, CD (where applicable) and vinyl (where applicable) editions of any album in this playlist.
“Cirrus”* – Bonobo from The North Borders on Ninja Tune
“Only The Winds” – Ólafur Arnalds from For Now I Am Winter on Mercury Classics
“Tourniquet” – Hem from Departure And Farewell on Waveland Records
“People of the Sticks” – The Besnard Lakes from Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO on Jagjaguwar
“Bellio” – Dutch Uncles from Out of Touch in the Wild on Memphis Industries
“Nullarbor” – Lower Plenty from Hard Rubbish on Fire Records
Did Not Get To: The following artists released new LPs, EPs and singles this week, but we simply didn’t have time to review them all: Artists such as Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba, Bombino, Bring Me the Horizon, EmptyMansions (the side project of Interpol drummer Sam Forgarino), Heavy Hawaii, The Band, The Mongoloids, Transit, Tyler, the Creator and Wolf Willy Moon also released new LPs, EPs and singles this week.
Note: We would have used the Generationals’ new album cover as the main photo of this post except that it’s so damn ugly we’re not showing it at all. Somehow, the interested parties, decided to do whatever they could to discourage people from buying the album at face value. Now it will exist for eternity. Our reaction: “Are you joking? Like, seriously?” It’s insulting to fans. A photo of an elephant’s ass would have been more acceptable. Worst album cover so far in 2013. We’d like to propose a challenge: Create your own alternative cover art for Heza and then Tweet a link to it @IndieRockCafe and include the hashtag #hezacoverart
Funk, soul and R&B, especially in the traditional, more organic blends, are important musical genres in the history of modern American music, and have made significant contributions to the culture during the past 40 to 50 years, producing hundreds of chart-topping singles, of which there are dozens and dozens of the most revered songs ever recorded. Veteran musician Charles Bradley, 62, is at the center of the funk/soul/R&B revivalist movement in recent years, and his latest album, Victim of Love, pays homage to the roots of these uniquely American genres as the single, “Strictly Reserved For You,” so magically demonstrates.
In 2012, Bradley was the subject of the well-regarded music documentary, Soul of America, that premiered at the prestigious SXSW film festival (see trailer below) in March of last year. If you enjoy funk, soul, and to a lesser extent, R&B, the documentary is a must-see, and Victim of Love is definitely worth adding to your music collection. And as part of the revivalist movement of recent years, Bradley, and his label, Daptone Records (a spin-off label of Deuham Records), deserve the good reviews his albums, and the label’s efforts, have been racking up. Bradley is likely the best funk and soul male artist around today, and we predict his popularity will continue to grow.
Daptone co-founder Gabriel Roth first saw Bradley perform in 1996 under the moniker Black Velvet and introduced Bradley to Tom Brennek’s band. They recored together, largely ad-lib and on the fly, with Bradley making up lyrics to grooves right on the spot. Eventually those recordings were released on his 2011 debut, No Time For Dreaming. The commendable reception of his debut led to demand for him to tour across the United States as well as to Europe, Australia and Asia. On the heels of his sophomore release, Bradley is scheduled to perform next week in Maryland and Virginia, with more dates expected this summer. Spin wrote: “Charles Bradley’s rise to the limelight is utterly amazing.”
“Strictly Reserved For You” – Charles Bradley from Victim of Love on Dunham/Daptone Records on Dunham/Daptone Records
Feast your ears on this: one of the best singles’ playlist of new bands so far this year. Of course, the predominant buzz about this weeks’ new releases revolves around new albums by heavy-hitter bands like Wavves, The Strokes and Depeche Mode and Wire leading the way.
Here’s where it gets even better – there is also a terrific assortment of singles from releases from artists and bands that many people have never heard of that collectively adds up to one kick-ass playlist of 2013. In celebration of spring, we encourage streaming this playlist uninterrupted from start to finish – it should run itself without having to click each song.
Once you fire it up and let it run all the way through, we think you’ll agree it’s a kick-ass playlist, and it’s a spring-feeling kind of playlist too, even while spring is still struggling to break loose to full bloom for millions of Americans this year (Ground hog ESP my ass).
Again, from our point of view, this is one of 2013’s best variety of singles playlists highlighting new album releases of the week, and there have been a lot of good Best New Music Releases (click for more) weekly playlists this year, making 2013, so far, a great year for music from lesser-known bands, and almost completely unknown, or brand new, DIY bands we’ve been profiling for months.
The firey surf rock, punk pop band Wavves has dropped “Afraid of Heights,” the band’s newest album, and perhaps the most anticipated of the week after music lovers started discovering that perhaps the top album of the week was not going to be The Strokes latest effort, as we explore in our review of Comeback Machine, an album that will likely take Strokes’ fans some time to process, including yours truly.
In fact, the Strokes mediocre paved the way for Wavves new album to clearly take the spot for Album of the Week – a review of that coming soon. Stream Afraid of Heights on Spotify.
Add it up: big new albums from Wavves and The Strokes spark some passionate debate among critics and music lovers, but overall are considered successes, and long-time veterans of the music world, Depeche Mode and Wire, also please fans with well-received new albums and the singles that have emerged from them. And then it starts to get really interesting; there are even more impressive singles of all flavors from new albums out this week by artists that many people may have never heard of before, including Little Green Cars (a favorite new folk rock band), Tartufi (amazing sonic journey), The Milk Carton Kids (Simon and Garfunkel, circa 1967), Mwahaha (celebration of love) Twinstar (dream pop groovin’) and Lapland (warm and smooth).
Plus, Julian Lynch, Crime and City Solution, Wax Idols and Warm Soda all chime in with decent singles too; obviously, can’t speak for the albums themselves, but we expect that some of these singles will compel some music lovers to get the albums.
“Demon to Lean On” – Wavves from Afraid of Heights on Mom+Pop/Warner Bros.
There’s a certain calm detachment that rules Alex Calder’s new EP, Time. It’s as if he woke up from a nap, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and decided to record some songs in his living room. It doesn’t feel forced or over complicated. The songs have a stream-of-consciousness vibe to them that makes you drop the needle on Time two or three times in a row. But under that do-what-you-feel vibe there’s also a darker, more ominous sound lurking; one that could soundtrack a stalker’s stroll through a darkened suburban neighborhood on a balmy summer night.
Calder’s calm, detached movements accompanied by a song like “Time.” The slapback echo guitar pushing the prowler’s footsteps as he inches closer to his object of desire’s bedroom window. It’s calming, cool, and discerning all at the same time. Alex Calder has recorded a series of dreamy, stoned vignettes that would go well with a beer and a couch or a disturbing nightmare. Take your pick.
Alex Calder is Canadian and calls Edmonton, Canada home. How that fact shaped the songs Calder wrote, performed, recorded, and mixed in his living room that became Time remains to be seen. The fact that he played with fellow Captured Tracks artist Mac DeMarco in Makeout Videotape may give more insight into the quirky, dreamy, and slightly psyched-out pop songs on this rather fascinating and at times hypnotic album. “Suki and Me” has a distance to it, as if Calder is recording in a vacuum; his vocals slightly overpowered by the music gives the feeling of a specter attempting communication from the great beyond. Despite the ghostly lean, there’s also a stoned ambivalence that makes you think Calder doesn’t care whether you listen or not. He’s doing this for him and no one else. Well, maybe for beer money too.
“Light Leaves Your Eyes” sounds like the latter half of Deerhunter’s Cryptograms, all shimmery guitar and hazy smiles. That post-surgery numb, well before the pain begins. You hear the joy of a young artist creating in this song. It’s as if you can see the empty beer bottles on the coffee table as he records his “oohs” into the microphone. “Location” sounds like Diiv in a sinister mood, while “Captivate” has a stoned, Real Estate sway to it. It’s as if at any moment the train could come off the tracks but never does. “Fatal Delay” has Alex Calder sounding like a cross between Kurt Vile and Joel Plaskett if both had drank a 12-pack of La Fin Du Monde. “Lethargic” is a sleepy, melancholy closer of an EP filled with sleepy, melancholy tunes.
Alex Calder is a home recording, DIY kind of guy musician. He set up shop in a living room somewhere in Canada -possibly near a lake- with some beers in the fridge and created a short and sweet stoned pop masterpiece. Next time around he should buy more beer and write more songs.
We’re a bit late with the past week’s best new releases, but of course, it has to kick-off with Shabazz Palaces remix of Animal Collective‘s “New Town Burnout” from the Baltimore group’s new remix EP, Monkey Been to Burn Town. Too bad the album cover art is pretty awful. Even though it’s a reissue, one of the week’s one top singles is King Tuff‘s fun, upbeat and quirky single, “Dancing On You,” from the remastered, excellent album, Was Dead. Sticking with the zany theme, the interestingly named Alex Bleeker and The Freaks hit it on the track, “Don’t Look Down,” from How Far Away, followed by Paperhaus‘ self released Lo Hi Lo LP’s single, “Helicopters.” The goodness keeps going with singles from new releases (and one reissue) by Baths, Brazos, Hooded Fang, Damien Jurado, Kermit Ruffins, CocoRosie and Feathers, the latter two are both DIY releases. In case you missed them, definitely check out the Artist of the Week: Nick Jaina, Overseas Band to Watch Deco Pilot, the fifth installment of Bands That Rock!, plus, Best New Releases playlist for the week of May 21st.
We surveyed IRC readers asking what’s their favorite album of the week, and not surprisingly, the vast majority picked Vampire Weekend‘s first album in three years, the just dropped Modern Vampires of the City. By the time Contra, the band’s sophomore album, was released in 2010, a backlash was already building up against the wildly popular outfit from New York by some of indie rock’s most righteous and cynical bloggers, writers and fans. The backlash, which had been brewing for at least a year by that point, was no doubt fueled largely by the over exposure of the band and their highly-acclaimed 2008 self-titled debut album that spawned a number of hit singles, like “A-Punk” and “Oxford Comma.” In a matter of months in 2008, which spilled over into 2009, it was almost impossible to escape the Vampire Weekend frenzy. And in 2010, they released Contra, which went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 – and effectively propelled the band out of ‘indie’ status to the world stage.
We’ve been fans of the San Francisco band Sonny & The Sunsets since hearing their splendid single, 
As summer approaches, the number of new releases from a variety of well-known, and some lesser-known, bands and artists, will begin to increase. This week is sort of one of those weeks because it’s still early enough in the spring to get a good roll started and ride it through the summer. IRC’s top releases this week include new albums, and the singles that accompany them, from the funky, genre-bending Los Angeles singer/songwriter and British producer/multi-instrumentalist duo, AM & Shawn Lee, and another highly regarded duo, actress Zooey Deschanel and Portland singer-songwriter M. Ward with She & Him‘s third installment of the Volume series; plus, dig the raw, psychedelic garage rock forays of Deerhunter, and the crunchy, melodic power-pop of Ty Segall collaborator and San Francisco Bay Area musician, Mikal Cronin.
