Drive-By Truckers – INDIE ROCK CAFE

Best New Songs and Albums of March 2014, Vol. I – Ghost Beach, Real Estate, The Men, Eagulls, Eternal Summers, Drive-By Truckers

Posted on 03/28/201412/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Ghost-Beach-band — The New York electro duo's new album, 'Blonde,' is one of 2014's hottest new indie releases

The first week of March was a hot one for standout, memorable singles from that week’s top album releases, and easily one of the best sets of 2014’s top indie songs released so far this year, featuring a treasure trove of electrifying, original, infectious and amazingly diverse tunes. So, we’re just going to skip all of the talk and let the music speak for itself. The songs are somewhat in order of our – and others’ – favorites, including an emphasis on the tracks that have already produced a good buzz from indie music lovers across the states, and around the world. This playlist is meant, as they all really, to be listened to all the way through from the first to the last track. If you like to dance, there are some gem songs in that category as well. Enjoy.

We listened to this playlist of singles from March at least a half dozen times in the cafe; hopefully, it will be equally addicting to many of you. Highlighted artists and bands include Ghost Beach, Real Estate, The Men, Cataldo, Eagulls, Nothing, Eternal Summers, WhoMadeWho, Drive-By Truckers, We Are Scientists, Axxa/Abraxas, Lushes, Sally Seltmann, Each Other, Fenster, Trust, Mount Salem, and Ava Luna. More singles’ playlists of the top tracks of March 2014 are on the way. If you need one resource where you can always stop in to get the best of popular and DIY indie music, you found it. First up, the popular electronic rock duo, Ghost Beach, featuring musicians Josh Ocean and Eric “Doc” Mendelsohn, and their smoking new single, “Miracle,” from the guys’ terrific new album, Blonde.

“Miracle” – Ghost Beach from Blonde on Nettwerk

“Slow the Time” – Cataldo from Gilded Oldies on Red Pepper Records

“Wearing The Changes” – Bart Davenport from Physical World on Lovemonk

“Possessed” – Eagulls from Eagulls on Partisan

“Talking Backwards” – Real Estate from Atlas on Domino
Watch the “Talking Backwards” video

“Gouge” – Eternal Summers from The Drop Beneath on Kanine

“Pearly Gates” – The Men from Tomorrow’s Hits on Sacred Bones

“Hiding in Darkness” – WhoMadeWho from Dreams (self-released)

“Bent Nail” – Nothing from Guilty of Everything on Relapse

“Pauline Hawkins” – Drive-By-Truckers from English Oceans on ATO

“Are We Arc?” – Trust from Joyland on Arts & Crafts

“Return the Favor” – We Are Scientists from TV en Français on Dine Alone Records

“Daydream” – Ava Luna from Electric Balloon on Western Vinyl

“Send Your Signals” – Each Other from Being Elastic on Fat Possum/Lefse Records

“Mirrors” – Fenster from The Pink Caves on Morr Music

“I Almost Fell” – Axxa/Abraxas from Axxa/Abraxas on Captured Tracks

“Catch of the Day” – Sally Seltmann from Hey Daydreamer on Arts & Crafts

Best New Releases from Bright Eyes, Drive-By Truckers, The Dears, East River Pipe, Moving Units, Asobi Seksu, La Sera, The Babies

Posted on 02/17/201112/18/2019 by Max Hammer

brighteyespeopleskey — Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes hits a grand slam with The People's Key

This week’s Best New Releases include some big time albums, including the newest LP from one of our favorite bands, Bright Eyes. After having listened to The People’s Key a number of times, not only is it Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes in true form, The People’s Key may be their best album of all.

You can click on the album title below to order and download the album now, or you can stream The People’s Key entirely before deciding if you want to purchase it.

“Shell Games” – Bright Eyes from The People’s Key

In addition to Bright Eyes, we’re also super stoked about the self-titled debut album from the rising indie band Yuck. On Tuesday, we published 5 Bands to Watch in 2011, with Yuck leading the way. Over the past couple of days there have been hundreds of streams of Yuck’s songs.

There’s plenty of more new singles from fresh releases included below. But first, we want to introduce you to Brooklyn band Old Monk, who are making their web debut exclusively on IRC with two new songs from their latest album, Birds of Belize. The track “Butter and Toast” is one of those pop tunes that gets in your head and stays there all day, but not in a bad way. The band describes its sound as garage rock mixed with art prog. They include among their influences The Kinks, Frank Zappa, Pavement and Deerhoof. Surprisingly, they’ve never opened for another band, so we can only hope the band get some of the love we think they deserve.

“Butter and Toast” – Old Monk from Birds of Belize

“Warm Moustache” – Old Monk from Birds of Belize

Also, check out fresh tracks from the latest albums by The Dears, Drive-By Truckers, East River Pipe, Moving Units, Asobi Seksu, Mogwai, Lifeguards, La Sera, The Babies, La Sera, and many others.

“Omega Dog” – The Dears from Degeneration Street

“Cold Ground” – East River Pipe from We Live in Rented Rooms

“Used to Be A Cop” – Drive By Truckers from Go-Go Boots

“Trails” – Asobi Seksu from Fluorescence

“Super Disease” – Jay Crocker from Co-Stars

“Until She Says” – Moving Units from Tension War EP

“San Pedro” – Mogwai from Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

Bonus: “Rano Pano” – Mogwai from Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

“Run Me Over”– The Babies from The Babies

“Devils Hearts Grow Gold” – La Sera from La Sera

“The Cake and Eating It” – Zoey Van Goey from Propeller Versus Wings

“Cherry Delicious” – Poor But Sexy from Hotter Than A Poptart

More New Releases This Week You May Enjoy

“You Know I Did” – The Liptonians from Let’s All March Back Into The Sea

“Paradise Is Not So Bad” – Lifeguards from Waving At The Astronauts

“Found in Benson” – Gwyneth & Monko from Gwyneth & Monko

“Paint Your Lips” – Wake Up Lucid from Sugar

Bonnaroo Music Festival 2008 Kicks Off Thursday with Superdrag, Vampire Weekend, Battles and MGMT

Posted on 06/12/200812/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Jack Johnson performing at the second annual Bonnaroo (2003). Photo courtesy of evilvince.com

Thousands of music and arts enthusiasts are gathering in the beautiful foothills of Tennessee to enjoy four days of music, arts and plenty more. Bonnaroo is one of the largest festivals in the United States and the first major festival of the 2008 summer season.

In recent years, Bonnaroo has become as well known as other big music and arts festivals like Lollapalooza, Coachella and Austin City Limits.

But Bonnaroo does not start of with a bang. The line up for the first day of the festival pales in comparison to the artists and bands set to perform this weekend.

For the Thursday kick-off, bands like Vampire Weekend, Superdrag, Battles, and MGMT are scheduled to play – all of these in the so-called “This Tent”. The other ‘stages’, or tents, feature lesser known artists, or bands and musicians that have a comparably small or local following, such as Lez Zeppelin, Dark Star Orchestra, Grand Ole Party and The Felice Brothers.

MP3: MGMT – “Destrokk”

For music fans that have never heard The Battles, check out this driving electronic rock video titled “Atlas”. It has been viewed over one million times.

It’s not much of a surprise that the first day of the festival, being that it is a Thursday, is not loaded up with must-see bands. Furthermore, the music doesn’t even get started until early evening.

Nevertheless, on Friday, June 13, Bonnaroo becomes the epicenter of a wide array of impressive bands and artists, including The Raconteurs, Metallica, My Morning Jacket, Drive-By Truckers, Steve Marley, Jose Gonzales, Rilo Kiley, Willie Nelson, Tegan and Sara, MIA, The Swell Season, !!!, MSTRKRFT, Tiesto, Les Claypool, Minus The Bear and almost a dozen others.

Tegan and Sara performing “Back In Your Head” (YouTube video)

The only problem, and this is the problem with most festivals that have multiple stages, is that you are almost guaranteed to miss some of your favorite artists or bands because they perform simultaneously in different locations. That’s why pouring over the schedule in advance and mapping where you want to be and when is so important to maximizing your musical experience.

With that said, and to the credit of the organizers, Bonnaroo is one of the top music festivals at which who plays where and when has been scheduled in such a way that most festival goers will have the opportunity to see most of the ‘big name’ performers in their genre (i.e. indie rock) without too much overlap.

Another cool thing about Bonnaroo is that headliners play very long sets (Metallica is playing for 2 1/2 hours and My Morning Jacket is playing for three hours) and the music goes well into the wee hour mornings, when the summer sky is full of stars and the cooler night time air makes for a wonderful experience.

Check back for more Bonnaroo coverage or subscribe to the IRC RSS Feed (Feed Me Indie!)

Beck, Wilco, BSS, Andrew Bird and Devendra Banhart Added to Outside Lands Lineup

Posted on 03/24/200812/18/2019 by Max Hammer

(click image for official festival poster in PDF)

Organizers of Outside Lands, San Francisco’s three-day music festival taking place in Golden Gate Park this August, are beefing up the lineup for the west coast’s newest outdoor music festival.

Today’s new additions to the SF Outside Lands Festival include Beck, Wilco, Andrew Bird, Broken Social Scene, Drive-By Truckers, M. Ward, Cold War Kids, Two Gallants, Black Mountain, Devendra Banhart, Ben Harper, Galactic, Widespread Panic, Primus, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Bon Iver, Nellie McKay, Little Brother, Manu Chao, Regina Spektor, The Coup, The Cool Kids, Steel Pulse, Lyrics Born, Café Tacuba and the Felice Brothers.

Here’s a few featured artists and groups:

MP3: Wilco – Muzzle of Bees
MP3: Radiohead – Jigsaw Falling Into Place
MP3: Andrew Bird – A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head to Left
MP3: Galactic – Bongo The Dog
MP3: Broken Social Scene – Anthems for a 17-Year-Old Girl

The latest lineup news for Outside Lands 2008 lineup adds to previous confirmed performances from headliners Tom Petty, Jack Johnson and Radiohead. More news updates as they come in.