Sharon Van Etten – INDIE ROCK CAFE

The number of new album releases is now starting to pick up. In fact, this week presents a healthy dose of new drops from a variety of artists covering a wide spectrum of musical styles. Some of the more popular and well-known artists and bands with new material out this week include Yo La Tengo, The Head and the Heart, Virals, Free Energy, Christopher Owens, and Pickwick, among others. We’re also working now on a treasure trove of excellent new albums, and singles from those albums, by an array of DIY and small label artists, set to post this weekend – you’ll really want to put aside some time to read about, and listen to, nearly a dozen talented artists and bands that most of you have probably never heard of before (and many of which will only be posted on IRC).

But first, let’s give a listen to new singles from fresh albums by more widely known, signed artists, starting off with the legendary indie rock band, Yo La Tengo, who we’ve been big fans of for a long time, and who are partly responsible for popularizing indie rock. On Tuesday, the New Jersey trio dropped their 13th album, Fade. The lead single, “Ohm,” is a six-minute-plus lo-fi indie rocker with a wall of fuzzy guitar rhythms and solos.

“Ohm” – Yo La Tengo from Fade on Matador

Lovvers Former Frontman Re-Emerges With New Outfit, Virals

England’s Shaun Hencher, the former frontman behind the popular cult band, Lovvers, has re-emerged with a new music project called Virals. Apparently, he had no plans to form a new band, and even went back to work doing the 9 to 5. But what started as a “fun thing to do” a few nights a week progressed into a new band and now the release of Virals’ debut EP, Strange Fruit. The title track showcases what Hencher calls “meat and potatoes rock,” and what we call one of the best new tracks of 2013, and one of the first bands to watch of 2013. The bonus track, “Summer Girls,” is a fast, feel-good guitar rock tease for everyone who wishes it was summer right now.

“Strange Fruit” – Virals from Strange Fruit EP on Zoo Music

Bonus track: “Summer Girls” – Virals from Strange Fruit EP on Zoo Music

Free Energy Drops Sophomore LP; Stick to Their 70’s Niche

After listening to “Summer Girls,” it seems only appropriate to follow it up with the latest from 70’s pop rock enthusiasts Free Energy. In 2009 and 2010, the Philadelphia band were riding a wave of blogger love, fan approval and touring non-stop. While their 70’s Cheap Trick sound is still appreciated by many fans, their sophomore album, Love Sign, will probably not get the kind of stir of attention and love that their 2010 debut, Stuck On Nothing, garnered. Still, the band delivers what their fans expect on Love Sign, including the lead single from the album, “Girls Want Rock.”

“Girls Want Rock” – Free Energy from Love Sign on Free Energy Music

New Singles by The Capsules, The Head And The Heart, Mystical Weapons and Others

This week also saw the release of new albums by The Capsules, featuring the catchy indie single, “Across The Sky”, followed by another acoustic classic from The Head And The Heart with “Josh McBride.” Former Girls‘ frontman and now acoustic singer/songwriter Christopher Owens delivers a terrificly heartfelt, emotive hook on “Here We Go,” that flourishes with piano, flutes and electric guitar riffs, together with his whispery, dreamy vocals from Owens’ first album since leaving Girls; Parquet Courts pick up the pace with their straight away, no frills indie guitar rock single, “Borrowed Time,” followed by lead singles from new albums by Mystical Weapons and Criminal Hygiene.

“Across The Sky” – The Capsules from Northern Lights and Southern Skies on Vespera Records

“Josh McBride” – The Head And The Heart from Josh McBride/Honey Come Home 78 rpm single on Electric Records

“Here We Go” – Christopher Owens from Lysandre on Fat Possum

“Borrowed Time” – Parquet Courts from Light Up Gold on What’s Your Rupture?

“Mechanical Mammoth” – Mystical Weapons from Mystical Weapons on Chimera Music

“Rearrange Me” – Criminal Hygiene from CRMNL HYGNE on Small Smile Records

Swedish DIY Indie Outfit Marching Band

Marching Band is Swedish duo that have been playing music together for nearly a decade. This week the band released their self-produced EP, And I’ve Never Seen Anything Like That. Previously, the duo have released two critically acclaimed albums, one with Adam Lasus, and one with Jari Haapalainen. They’ve opened for bands like Loney Dear, Wildbirds and Peacedrums, and comedian Adam Green. The duo has previously been featured in Rolling Stone magazine, Pitchfork, and the AllMusic Guide.

“And I’ve Never Seen Anything” – Marching Band from And I’ve Never Seen Anything Like That EP – Jan. 15th

“Artistic Man, Shaved Head” – Marching Band from And I’ve Never Seen Anything Like That EP

DIY Drops from Pickwick, Midnight Spin and Reissue from Punksters Vampire Lezbos

Although we still have an entire separate post of new albums from a variety of DIY artists and bands that will be published this weekend (see the most recent DIY releases, featuring a great selection of relatively unknown, but talented bands), here are a couple of others worth checking out in the meantime, including the popular unsigned band Pickwick‘s self-released Covers EP, featuring the super talented Sharon Van Etten. The three-track EP is a precursor to the band’s much anticipated DIY full-length album slated for release in March while they’re on tour and gearing up for a number of appearances at SXSW 2013. Also check out the lead single from the new DIY drop by Midnight Spin . To close out this playlist post, veteran punk rockers Vampire Lezbos reissued their self-titled debut this week via Flat Field Records.

“Lady Luck” (feat. Sharon Van Etten) – Pickwick from Covers EP

“Lion Run” – Midnight Spin from Don’t Let Me Sleep

“Plasma” – Vampire Lezbos from Vampire Lezbos (reissue) on Flat Field Records

Don’t miss this week’s bonanza of new releases from DIY artists, coming up this weekend, featuring many artists slated to get their first ‘big’ (or their first at all) write-up on the web. In the coming weeks, in addition to our ‘best of 2012’ playlists, will be a flurry of fantastic music from artists and bands from around the world. Anyone that follows indie, or has been visiting IRC for years, knows that some of the best music you’ve ever heard came from artists that you had never heard of before, but are so glad you did. We have that Eureka moment many times a week.

One of Philly's finest, Dr. Dog, dropped their new album this week, 'Be The Void'

With February already in full swing, the 2012 music release calendar is really starting to shape up thanks to a jackpot of new albums released this week, and over the past couple of weeks. There are so many new albums that have released this week that decided to split this installment of the Best New Releases playlist series into two parts.

Part One, here within, features fantastic new singles from an impressive variety of indie bands and genres, including Dr. Dog, of Montreal, A Place to Bury Strangers, Bahamas, Blondes, The Duke Spirit, Ben Kweller, Sharon Van Etten, The Twilight Sad, Fredrik, Dada Trash Collage, and Chuck Prophet. We’ve already streamed all of the singles in the two parts of this week’s new releases and enjoyed it thoroughly. It’s an impressive variety of excellent tracks by an array of talented artists, both familiar and obscure.

Part Two, set to be published on Saturday, contains even more lead tracks from new releases by Lightouts, Wire, Big Sir, Mux Mool, and The Plimsouls, among others.

The lead track, “That Old Black Hole,” from the latest album by Philly’s rock band, Dr. Dog, is our favorite single of the week, even though there is stiff competition from of Montreal, A Place to Bury Strangers, Fredrik, Bahamas, and many others. “That Old Black Hole” is a catchy, but edgy rock song, featuring memorable melodies and hooks, well honed percussions, and the unique vocals of lead singer/guitarist Scott McMicken – the kind of song you can play again and again, and still love it.

Note: We were surprised how many people commented about no longer being able to click on album titles to buy them from Amazon. Last fall, Amazon, in a dispute about a California Internet tax, suddenly shut down affiliations with all California publishers (including us). But, the state recently reversed that decision, and so we can once again provide album title links that make it fast and easy to purchase them from Amazon. Plus, compared to iTunes, Amazon’s prices and overall experience is better, so we use them. Back to the music.

“That Old Back Hole” – Dr. Dog from Be The Void (limited time MP3 album special only $5.99 via Amazon)

The second featured track, “Warrior Man,” together with the terrific lead track, is perfect bait for anyone who is undecided about purchasing Be The Void. We think it’s one of the band’s best albums, and one of the best albums of 2012 (so far). In regards to “Warrior Man,” 365 Days of Music, wrote: “[it] embodies everything I love about the psychedelic rock genre…odd-textured production, electric guitars, mesmerizing vocals. This whole album does that actually.”

Bonus Track: “Warrior Man” – Dr. Dog from Be The Void

The A.V. Club made it clear what they think of Be The Void, writing: “That Dr. Dog has written some supremely catchy tunes isn’t too surprising, but few would expect its (or any band’s) fifth record to be every bit as exciting as its first.” Even though the majority of online reviews we read or scanned ranged from enthusiastically positive to commendable; there were also a few that were not feeling it, like Exclaim and Pitchfork.

Dr. Dog 2012 Tour Dates from their website, DrDogMusic.com

Note: The band was forced to cancel a show on Feb. 3rd in Boulder due to the snowstorm that closed roads around the region. Still no info yet on when that date will be rescheduled.

The lead single, “Wintered Debts,” from of Montreal‘s new album, is also a top track of the week, and proof that the band is getting better with age. “Wintered Debts” is a new song to add to of Montreal’s extensive discography in which musical creatively, talent and infusions of various genres and styles produce memorable results – in this case, the weaving of psych pop and indie rock that produce one of the best album singles of 2012, so far. Part of the reason that the band has been one of the most consistently popular indie bands since 1996 is the continuous experimentation with various sounds and styles – from blends of twee pop, psychedelic rock and electronica to funk, glam rock, R&B and Afrobeats.

The Athens, Georgia band took from almost all of these influences to produce the new album, Paralytic Stalks, with enthralling and infectious results. We wouldn’t be surprised at all if of Montreal add thousands of new fans to their already huge following, based solely on the release of Paralytic Stalks. The only downside is that there hasn’t been an official video released that we could find for either one of the tracks below, or any of the other songs on the album. Hopefully one is in the works.

“Wintered Debts” – of Montreal from Paralytic Stalks

Bonus Track (via Pitchfork): “Dour Percentage” – of Montreal from Paralytic Stalks

of Montreal’s 2012 Tour Dates

A Place to Bury Strangers bring on the high-octane dark rock that we expect with the blistering track, “So Far Away” from the new EP, Onwards to the Wall EP . It is a bit strange, but the first 15 seconds of the track are nearly silent, and then the song builds into a the full-on rocker. Following APTBS, are tracks from artists like Fredrik, Bahamas, Blondes and Sharon Van Etten.

“So Far Away” – A Place To Bury Strangers from Onwards to the Wall EP

“Fever and Foam” – Fredrik from Ornament EP

“I Got You Babe” – Bahamas from Barchords via QuickBeforeItMelts

“Wine” – Blondes from Blondes – via MyOldKentuckyBlog

“Serpents” – Sharon Van Etten from Tramp

Singles from The Twilight Sad, Ben Kweller, The Duke Spirit, Dada Crash Collage and Chuck Prophet

The Twilight Sad first caught our attention in 2007 with their widely praised album, Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters, and since then, they’ve been building a following of pretty dedicated fans. This week, the band released their third album, which like their 2008 debut follow, is a stylistic departure. Interestingly, the band has embraced a darker, more sparse krautrock and industrial sound with some moments of 1980’s synth-pop throughout No One Can Ever Know. Credit has to be given for taking such a risk, and pulling it off. Chromewaves wrote of the album: “It’s an unexpected turn from the Scots, but a rewarding one – and that’s coming from someone who loved their guitar-centric approach.”

Part of what makes the band interesting to a lot of music lovers is the fact that they cannot be pinned down, even though they are often categorized genre-wise as “indie rock” and “shoegaze.” Last week, The Twilight Sad had the unique honor of being the musical guest on the 30th anniversary of The Late Show with David Letterman. That’s an impressive notation in the history of any band, but especially for a band that is not yet widely known.

“Another Bed” – The Twilight Sad from No One Can Ever Know

Bonus Track: “Kill It In The Morning” – The Twilight Sad from No One Can Ever Know

See Chromewaves review, additional tracks and the video for “Another Bed”

The Twilight Sad 2012 Tour Dates

Ben Kweller returns with his fairly well received new album, Go Fly A Kite, the follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2009 album, Changing Horses, which was one of our, and other music sites’, favorite albums of 2009. The lead track from Kweller’s new album is the ’70s-sounding pop rock track, “Mean To Me.” There are also some catchy guitar riffs, melody-driven choruses and Jerry Lee Lewis-style piano playing. This song could have fit in perfectly on an episode of That ’70s Show. There is also a flashback track, “Sundress,” from Kweller’s eponymous 2006 debut.

“Mean To Me” – Ben Kweller from Go Fly A Kite

Flashback Track: “Sundress” – Ben Kweller from Ben Kweller (2006)

London alternative rock band, The Duke Spirit, won critical acclaim as far back as 2003 for their debut EP, but since then has only released three albums. While their latest album may not win the same level of acclaim as their previous two releases, it definitely has its notable moments. it is encouraging to see the band is still together and releasing new music.

“Procession” – The Duke Spirit from Bruiser

One of our favorite new DIY bands of the past 18 months, Dada Trash Collage, dropped a new EP this week, Fun Fund. And finally, none other than Chuck Prophet closes out Part One of this weeks’ Best New Releases playlist with the terrific, and entertaining, “Castro Halloween” from his new album, Temple Beautiful. A Bay Area music legend, Prophet said of the new LP: “made in San Francisco, by San Franciscans about San Francisco.”

“Migraine” – Dada Trash Collage from Fun Fund EP (self-released)

Flashback Track: “Glowing Wires” – Dada Trash Collage from Neighbors (2010)

“Castro Halloween” – Chuck Prophet from Temple Beautiful

Tag: Sharon Van Etten

Best New Releases, Week of Jan. 15th – Yo La Tengo, Virals, Free Energy, Christopher Owens, Pickwick & Sharon Van Etten