New Releases – Page 16 – INDIE ROCK CAFE

Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band’s Free Rockumentary ‘One Of My Kind’ and New Album

Posted on 05/01/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

No longer known as Bright Eyes, frontman Conor Oberst and his new band, The Mystic Valley Band, have released a fresh documentary called One Of My Kind, featuring the band’s journey around the world during the past 18 months.

Originally, Conor Oberst started off in the music world in Bright Eyes and released as many as seven albums, most of them full of ‘keeper’ music.

Then, in January 2008, following a tour to support the brilliant album Cassadaga, Oberst went to Mexico to record a solo album and “accidentally” ended up forming a band – The Mystic Valley Band. The name of the band, according to the band members in One Of My Kind, came from the Mystic Valley where they were staying and rehearsing.

The documentary release, and an advanced track from next week’s release of the band’s new album, Outer South, have created a good deal of anticipation among fans. The band is asking people who download the film to make whatever donation they can to a charity of their picking at Cause Cast.

Conor Oberst Donates Music Video To Charity

The documentary is available as a free download in HD quality. Simply sign up for a drawing to get a free movie poster signed by the band and you’ll receive a link to download the film.

“Nikorette” – Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band from Outer South (May 5th)

Not a bad tune, huh? I still can’t get 2008’s “Cape Canaveral” out of my head. It’s definitely one of Oberst’s best songs and it’s the opening song in this hour-long and entertaining “rockumentary”. Interesting metamorphosis for Conor Oberst in a relatively short period of time.

Sin Fang Bous: Great Indie Album Releases of 2009

Posted on 04/15/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Eccentricity, creativity and raw talent all mixed together sometimes reveal pure artistic brilliance that is immediately addictive. If you haven’t heard Sin Fang Bous yet, now’s the time. Sin Fang Bous is the moniker of the young musician Sindri Mar Sigfusson from Reykjavik, Iceland.

Whatever the case, his debut album Clangour is a brilliant treasure chest full of musical treats, and thus far, one of the best indie releases of 2009, yet the album has not received the attention you would expect.

Maybe Sigfusson should join the growing Animal Collective family? Well, maybe not; he’s doing well on his own as evidenced on Clangour. The music is rich with textures of ‘noise’ synth pop layered with choruses, orchestrated embellishments, lo fi and hi fi weaves, sunny and watery sound effects found on songs like “Lies” and “The Jubilee Choruses”.

Other tracks like “Poi Rot” suggest an intrinsic gift to create lush ballads with gorgeous vocals, interspersed with whistling and string plucking similar to Andrew Bird’s signature sound. Yet other songs like “Fa Fa Fa” mix lo fi with rock elements and acoustic guitar before reaching a climax of “oh oh ohs” that soar higher with each note.

One of things that is magnificent about Sigfusson’s musical abilities is his penchant for creating songs that stand on their own, and with the exception of some commonalities, are individualistic in style, delivery and content. An example of this is the song “We Belong” full of xylophones, echoed vocals, driving beats and electronica pop influences. Another good example is the noise pop track “Melt Down The Knives”, one of the album’s standout songs.

Sigfusson is not a newbie to the indie music world. In fact, his previous band, Seabear, established themselves as a buzz band with their magnificent debut The Ghost That Carried Us Away in 2007. As of today, Seabear’s MySpace page has over one million views – that’s no small accomplishment.

By comparison, popular singer-songwriter M. Ward has 700,000 more views but has had his MySpace account twice as long as Seabear. Sin Fang Bous MySpace page, opened in January of 2008, has had slightly over 107,000 views.
Read more and listen to songs.

The following YouTube video of the song “I Sing I Swim” has been viewed nearly a quarter of a million times and has 4.5 stars. So, clearly, Seabear is not unknown in the indie music world.

After parting ways with Seabear, Sigfusson cut out on his own to develop his musical career on his own terms. What came of that brief time with a full band was the seeds for his new solo release under the unusual moniker Sin Fang Bous. It’s hard for me to see this album not being in my personal list of the best indie albums of 2009 at the end of the year.

“Melt Down The Knives” – Sin Fang Bous from Clangour (released in Feb. 2009)

“Poi Rot” – Sin Fang Bous from Clangour

“Nothings” – Sin Fang Bous from Morr Music compilation Not Given Lightly: A Tribute To The Giant Golden Book Of New Zealand’s Alternative Music Scene (out May 25)

“I Sing I Swim” – Seabear from The Ghost That Carried Us Away

Sin Fang Bous on LastFM

Sin Fang Bous on MySpace

Indie Album of the Month: The Law of the Playground by The Boy Least Likely To

Posted on 04/01/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

It’s not a surprise at all nowadays to discover another great indie band that I was unaware of previously – there are dozens of them that I hope to introduce you to in the coming weeks.

In this case I’m talking about the English pop/country duo The Boy Least Likely To comprised of composer and multi-instrumentalist Pete Hobbs and songwriter/singer Jof Owen. Earlier this month they released their new album The Law of the Playground.

Owen and Hobbs attended school together in the village of Wendover, Buckinghamshire in England. While classmates in school they began to write music together. In 2003, they released their first record in 2003. The duo’s eclectic sound features pleasing blends of banjos, pianos, guitars, bass, drums, chimes, violins and electronic sound effects accented by dynamic vocal arrangements.

BLLT have a real knack for creating totally unique, upbeat songs that thoroughly explore the landscape of musical possibilities, ranging in sounds similar to obvious influences from The Beatles (i.e., “The Boy Least Likely To Is A Machine”) to ELO (“Every Goliath Has Its David), and more modern bands like Camera Obscura and Architecture in Helsinki.

Buy this album. If you like the songs below, you’re sure to like just about every track on this album including songs like “The Boy With Two Hearts,” “A Fairtale Ending” and “A Balloon On A Broken String.” The track “Saddle Up” is a perfect example of BLLT’s pure and original talent to mix country and pop and make it sound really good.

The Law of the Playground is one of the most masterful pop albums of 2009 hands down, and likely to be one of IRC’s best albums of 2009. Sure, it’s early still to say that, but this one is a guarantee.

“Saddle Up” – The Boy Least Likely To from The Law of the Playground
“A Balloon On A Broken String” – The Boy Least Likely To from The Law of the Playground

Get the album

Logan Lynn Releases New Singles Ahead of Upcoming Album

Posted on 03/24/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Having surfaced to the indie music scene for all the right reasons in recent years, and now signed with the Dandy Warhols‘ label Beat The World, Logan Lynn has released a set of new singles from his anticipated third album release, From Pillar to Post, due out later this year.

Lynn teamed up with producer Carlos Cortes of the Portland DJ collective Assemble The Empire to record From Pillar to Post. The result: An amazing collection of upbeat, sprawling electro-pop tracks that are not over-produced but engineered to be original and free-flowing.

There’s a lot of musical experience and talented wrapped neatly in this well packaged upcoming release. The guys sent these fresh tracks to share with all of you. Enjoy.

“Feed Me To The Wolves” – Logan Lynn off From Pillar to Post
“Burning Your Glory” – Logan Lynn off From Pillar to Post

‘Just OK’ Album Releases of 2009: The Decemberists

Posted on 03/23/200902/27/2016 by Max Hammer

This week you’ll see some reviews of much talked about recent releases by groups like The Decemberists, Beirut and U2. I’m probably going to get some spitfire emails, but just trying to keep it real (one person’s opinion). Let’s start off with a band that was a favorite of mine for years.

Then, not so long ago, The Decemberists ‘crossed over’ and signed with a major label – Capitol Records. That was a bit hard to take for a band that helped boost the popularity of true indie labels. Anyways, my fear that their music would change has come true, and not in the best way.

And so what is the freaking hype for? First off, I have been a huge Decemberists’ fan since first hearing The Crane Wife. After hearing that record, I immediately bought everything they ever released – and I was hooked man. The upcoming release of The Hazards of Love marks a new direction for the band that personally I am not a fan of.

There are really only a handful of songs on Hazards that are keepers for me, among them “The Rake Song” and “The Wanting Comes in Waves”. I am more inclined to go back and listen to their merchant sailing songs and bucolic ballads from bygone days.

The NPR music dudes from All Songs Considered recently “bet” after The Decemberists’ SXSW show last week in Austin that Hazards will be the best album of 2009.

What?! First of all guys, it’s only freaking March. Secondly, I’ve heard dozens of better albums so far this year from bands few have heard of. Sometimes NPR irks me. For the last few years, NPR’s musical staff druels over a handful of bands and commonly declare, prematurely notwithstanding, the contenders for ‘best albums of the year’, and eagerly enough, the sure-fire, got-to-be, hands down winner – with an entire freaking nine months in the year left.

Please guys. Time for a reality check at NPR music. If you don’t believe me, dig through the IRC archives for this year and check out some of the other albums on the list to the right of this page; I promise there are better albums in that list than The Hazards of Love.

Next up in “Just OK” New Releases: Beirut and U2

New Royksopp’s Album "Junior" Triumphs Swedish Pop with Techno Twist

Posted on 03/16/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

At first I wasn’t impressed. Strange how that happens on first listen with albums that on second listen reveal their relevancy. The upcoming release from Royksopp’s titled Junior (due out March 24), offers a fine collection of dance-driven pop with lush vocals and tight arrangements and moments of ambient genius. Although Royksopp’s music is not so much my thing – it’s a bit too Madonna-esque for my tastes, Junior has some standout tracks.

Sounding more like Swedish charged pop, Junior features infectuous dance beats, intricate mixes and spot on vocals like are found on tracks like “Tricky Tricky”. This is sure to be a memorable track. The heavy and slow flows of evolving keyboard arrangements on the instrumental “Silver Cruiser” would be perfect in a movie sequence. The opening track “It’s What I Want” is reminiscent of the new wave sound of the 80s draped in a 2009 dance track.

Also, “This Must Be It” is another catchy, awesomely arranged and executed track and will likely be playing in clubs worldwide not long from now. “One Vision” oozes with techno grinds, digs and curls that remind me of Daft Punk at times. All in all, Royksopp fans, your Norweigen peeps haven’t let you down. This will be one of the biggest dance/techno pop albums of 2009.

“Tricky Tricky” – Royksopp from Junior
Get the album from the band’s website

New Indie Songs of 2009: Wolves in the Attic, Jason Zumpano, Go West Young Man and more

Posted on 02/23/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

New music is here, there and everywhere, so please bare with me while I try to catch up.

Here are some other great indie songs that have come out in the past six weeks, including fresh tracks from San Francisco’s Leopold and His Friction, Jason Zumpano, Iowa rock from Wolves in the Attic, LA’s Go West Young Man and Henry’s Funeral Shoe.

“Loss of God” – Wolves in the Attic from Electronic Hearts – Jan. 5
Bonus: “Electronic Hearts“

“Come Back (Now That I’m Here)” – Leopold and His Fiction from Ain’t No Surprise – Jan. 14

“Beggars of Blue Sky” – Jason Zumpano from Roses $9.99 a Dozen – Jan 17

“Chinatown” – Go West Young Man from self-titled release – Feb. 17

“Henry’s Funeral Shoe” – Henry’s Funeral Shoe from Everything’s for Sale – Feb. 17

M. Ward’s New Release ‘Hold Time’

Posted on 02/18/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

By the time the best indie albums of 2009 lists start coming out later this year, today, February 17th, will surely be a day to remember.

That is because today marks the official release of a number of high anticipated, and for the most part, rewarding albums by some of indie music’s most popular artists, including M. Ward, Beirut, Morrissey, Robyn Hitchcock, Sing Fan Bous and Architecture in Helsinki, among many others. The most anticipated in my world was M. Ward’s newest release.

Wow! Brilliant! Addictive! Those are my initial reactions after listening to M. Ward’s new release (today, Feb. 17) Hold Time. If there is one album every music lover should hear in 2009, it is this one.

I’ll hedge a bet and say right here, right now that Hold Time will be, as the months pass, considered one of the best, if not the best, album of the year. Tonight he also appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman.

M. Ward is a genius. His songs are masterfully composed and executed. He has splendid vocal capabilities and is clearly one of the best singer songwriters of the past decade. With Hold Time, Ward definitely locks in that honor.

One of the things I love about this album is that every song is brilliant and memorable, spanning an entire field of genres and styles that is a cornerstone of Ward’s musical appeal.

Whether they are upbeat country rock songs or dreamy folk pop ballads, Ward’s songs jump out and attach themselves to your ears, guiding you to turn up the volume, sit back and soak them up.
Rarely does an album come along in which every song on it is precious in it’s own way. Hold Time does just that. It is simply a masterpiece.

From beautiful duets on songs like “Oh Lonesome Me” with Lucinda Williams to “Rave On” with Zooey Deschanel, and catchy pop songs like “Stars of Leo” to country rock songs like “One Hundred Million Years” to the magical and dreamy love song and title track of the album.

“Never Had Nobody Like You” – M. Ward from Hold Time (song Ward played on Lettermen tonight)

“Oh Lonesome Me” – M. Ward from Hold Time on Merge Records

Other songs that are infectious and get better with each listen include “Shangri-La”, “Epistemology”, “Jailbird” and “For Beginners”, each of which could be a hit song on their own.

It’s hard to imagine that enough mind-blowing albums will be released in the next 9 plus months that will keep Hold Time out of the majority of Top 5 and Top Ten albums of 2009 lists that come out later this year. I would not be surprised at all if Hold Time is widely considered the best album of 2009 months from now.

New Indie Songs & Releases: The Antlers, Say Hi and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Posted on 02/09/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

“Two” – The Antlers from upcoming release Hospice

“Bear” – The Antlers from Hospice

“November Was White, December Was Grey” – Say Hi from Oohs & Aahs

“Everything With You” – The Pains of Being Pure At Heart from their self-titled debut

New Indie Songs of 2009: AC Newman, Mazes, Peasant and More

Posted on 02/03/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Today’s new indie songs feature the latest from The New Pornographer’s A.C. Newman, plus Peasant and Findlay Brown with advance songs from upcoming releases by Mazes and Broken Spindles.

“There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve” – A.C. Newman from Get Guilty

“Introvert” – Broken Spindles from Kiss/Kick out Feb 17

“I Have Laid in the Darkness of Doubt” – Mazes from s/t debut out March 3

“Exposure” – Peasant from On the Ground

“Holding Back the Night” – Findlay Brown from Love Will Find You

New Indie Songs from New Villager, The Sea Lions and Suburban Kids With Biblical Names

Posted on 01/27/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Brooklyn’s New Villager caught attention recently by performing with High Places and are set to release their new 7 inch. Take a listen.

“Rich Doors” – New Villager

Pre-order the Rich Doors 7″ at twosyllable Records via their MySpace page.

The Sea Lions, out of Oxnard, California, north of Los Angeles, dish out fast and excited dance-pop. Check out their debut new single from YAY! Records.

“Beautiful Day” – The Sea Lions

Fans of Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, especially their album 3, and now the band is back with a new EP titled 1999. Hey guys, you can do better, but sharing with SKWBN fans and the curious anyways.

“1999” – SKWBN from 3

Andrew Bird Raises The Sword with Noble Beasts

Posted on 01/26/200912/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Andrew Bird has done it again. Bird’s 2007 album Armchair Apocrypha was widely hailed as one of the best albums of that year. It’s almost a sure bet that his newest release, Noble Beast, will go down as one of the finest albums of 2009. I’ve had the album on a near loop for days, and it’s a grower – the more I listen to it, the more I am sure it will probably remain on my essential albums list years from now.

Bird, who is currently on tour, really expands as an artist on Noble Beast and yet manages to perfect the framework that made him famous and keep his compositional idiosyncrasies that so many fans treasure still interesting, such as his signature whistling.

Few artists can get away with as much whistling as Bird spreads throughout this work because it is always appealing and woven in with the music just perfectly. For example, on the track “Take Courage” Bird whistles like a musician, not just some guy walking down the street.

“Souverian” is a love song that would go well with a road trip through quiet places. It’s also a split single in that it transforms in to another style of music half-way through. Split singles are becoming a trend in recent years, and Bird is a natural when it comes to creating such a song. Other album highlights include “Oh No”, “Anonanimal” (see new video above) “Fitz and the Dizzyspells” and “Tenuousness”.

There is a limited edition double CD version called Useless Creatures, a collection of new instrumental works. Orders for the limited edition are being taken at http://fatpossum.com.

Please note: I have not heard the bonus CD except for one ten-minute track titled “The Barn Tapes”. Let’s just say that song is not a keeper – an unusual occurrence with Bird’s music catalog.

It must also be noted that some critics will argue Noble Beast is not as ground-breaking as Armchair Apocrypha, or as accessible, but the overall collection of songs on Noble Beast is a solid follow-up to AA and will easily survive any nit-picking.

“Tenuousness” by Andrew Bird from Noble Beast

Stream songs from Noble Beast at Andrew Bird’s MySpace page.

Get Noble Beast at Emusic.com or iTunes
Official Release for Europe: Feb. 15 (how romantic)

Bird is performing Monday night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn and the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City Wednesday night.

With the exception of a two-week break in early March, Bird will be touring until the end of April. Chances are he will sell out just about everywhere he plays, especially as word about his newest release spreads.