Sun Airway – INDIE ROCK CAFE

Best New Music Releases, Week of Oct. 2nd – Why?, Matt and Kim, The Mountain Goats, How to Dress Well, Sun Airway, Beth Orton

Posted on 10/07/201207/22/2021 by Max Hammer

It took a bit longer this week to put it altogether because we’ve also been working on the Top DIY Releases of the Week playlist to be posted later today, including fantastic new singles from Moon Duo, The Valery Trails, The Ecstatics, Pontoons, My Empire of Sound, and more.

Plus, earlier in the week, we posted our Album of the Week review for The Vaccines‘ sophomore record, Come of Age, that features too excellent singles from the album, including the popular “Teenage Icon,” along with the video as well. This playlist post includes the other top non-DIY releases of the week from Matt and Kim, Why?, The Mountain Goats, How to Dress Well, Sun Airway, Will Sargeant, Beth Orton, Daugther, and Mark Eitzel, among others.

Matt and Kim pretty much stick to their branded sound on “Now” while Why? departs with a sort of fragmented hip-hop narrative mixed with indie pop on the lead single, “Jonathan’s Hope.” Reviews of the band’s newest effort are generally positive across the web, and we think deservedly so. There’s a lot of interesting material for fans of Why? to absorb, and for more casual music lovers who know some Why? songs, it’s very different then anything the band has released before.

“Jonathan’s Hope” – Why? from Mumps, etc. on Anticon

One particular lyric, among others, is: “a white dove on the hood of a two-ton truck.” Now that’s stark imagery, which is a consistent theme throughout. Mumps is a proper follow-up to the band’s superb 2009 album, Eskimo Snow, one of IRC’s favorite albums of the year – a year that was overflowing with memorable albums. Although we have Top Ten Songs playlists for 2010 and 2011, we don’t have them archived for 2009, but you can still find plenty of great music from ’09 by browsing through the archive of playlists. Unlike most other music blogs, we do not take down MP3 links – some expire or are taken down by the artist or label after some time, but surprisingly many remain intact.

Also, check out the colorful new video for Why’s track, “Strawberries.” A California cast of eccentric characters in a parade – not too quirky for California at all, but then again the rest of the country thinks Californians are nut cases when in fact they just like to have a fun. One of the online comments we read was from a Why? fan who said something to the effect that he wished he could have been there for the taping of the video while munching on magic mushrooms. We think the video is weird and wild enough that the mushrooms are not necessary, but, the point, whether joking around or serious, is understood once you’ve seen the video.

“Now” – Matt and Kim from Lightning on FADER Label

The Mountain Goats’ Drop Another Winning LP, Transcendental Youth

Needless to say, The Mountain Goats have turned out yet another impressive album of John Darnielle’s accomplished songwriting and performance skills. But, Transcendental Youth falls short of the brilliance of albums like 2005’s The Sunset Tree and 2008’s Heretic Pride. Rolling Stone wrote: “An album full of characters struggling against dead-end jobs, drug addiction and depression doesn’t exactly sound inviting, but in the hands of John Darnielle, it’s magic.” The Quietus had a different view, granting the album a 7 out of 10, and adding “Call Transcendental Youth a stumble and wait for the next Mountain Goats release next year.” We’re leaning more towards the Rolling Stone spin that “it’s magic,” but perhaps “magic” is a bit strong. Darnielle’s music is definitely an acquired taste; his fans tend to be more musically sophisticated and geeks proud to be so. No doubt Transcendental Youth is and will be accepted warmly by TMG’s most loyal fans – whether it reaches far beyond that is another matter.

“Cry for Judas” – The Mountain Goats from Transcendental Youth on Merge

2010 Listener Voted Break Out Band Sun Airway Drop Sophomore Album

Sun Airway is a Philadelphia band we first featured in 2009, and in 2010, they were voted by IRC listeners as one of the top breakthrough bands of 2010. Now Sun Airway is back with a sophomore album, Soft Fall, and the sweet new single, “Close.” Let’s see if this new single puts them back in the Top Ten Songs (September’s playlists coming up – finishing up analyzing stats to determine Top 10) for 2012. We’ll find out soon.

“Close” – Sun Airway from Soft Fall on Dead Oceans

How to Dress Well, the moniker of experimental pop producer and R&B artist, Tom Krell, has a new album out, Total Loss. The LP’s lead single, “Ocean Floor For Everything,” has been out for five months, and during that time has amassed over 115,000 plays on Soundcloud. The song is a tranquil, relaxing composition with calming synth notes, a delayed, elongated beat, and sensual, harmonic lead vocals – altogether creating a dreamy landscape where you can imagine yourself watching a glorious, firey sunset in total peaceful quiet. If Krell’s goal was to paint a beautiful picture with minimal musical input, he was successful.

It is only fitting to include the lead Balmorhea single from the album, Stranger, back-to-back with “Ocean Floor For Everything” because they flow together perfectly. Balmorhea takes the listener on a sonic journey that of peace and tranquility, and it seems to us the song also has an optimism to it as it picks up a bit in the last two minutes. Musician Mark Eitzel changes the mood with a fairly ‘bummed out’ love song – such is love; that wonderful and painful thing we can’t live without. There is nothing more painful than a lost love. Just by coincidence, Mark Eitzel‘s new album is titled Don’t Be A Stranger – which also implies a yearning for love, and an interesting contrast to Balmorhea’s Stranger.

“Ocean Floor For Everything” – How To Dress Well from Total Loss on Acéphale

“Pyrakantha” – Balmorhea from Stranger on Western Vinyl

“I Love You But You’re Dead” – Mark Eitzel from Don’t Be a Stranger on Merge

ERAAS pumps up the drum machines bass on “Fang,” creating a shifty, throbbing and deep beat, sprinkled with tambourines, infusions of ghostly pop spurts and echoey, soft, melodic vocals that altogether give the song a sense of psychedelia with a haunting overtone. “Fang” is the lead single from the interestingly-name band’s self-titled debut album.

“Fang” – ERAAS from ERAAS on Felte

Echo and The Bunnymen’s Will Sergeant Drops Instrumental Solo Album

As the founding member of the popular Liverpool post punk band, Echo and the Bunnymen (1978-present), guitarist Will Sergeant sent IRC a couple of songs from his new solo album, Things Inside. The songs, “Into The Seventies” and “Dragonflies” are a departure from what fans are used to in regards to his work with the Bunnymen. Sergeant explores the world of experimental, ambient instrumental music on his latest effort, featuring calming, presumably Far Eastern-influenced guitar work exhibiting a skill that only someone who is a master guitarist can achieve. While it’s not necessarily indie rock, we still dig it, and great for when you just want to hear music without words, like while reading or what have you. On the subject of indie rock, Sergeant, and his long-time bandmate, Ian McCulloch, have as much to do with the birth of indie back in the early 1980’s as any other band can claim.

“Into the Seventies” – Will Sergeant from Things Inside

“Dragonflies” – Will Sergeant from Things Inside

Orphan track meant to post last week, via ThisWheelIsinSpin “Sirens” – Satellite Stories

Quick Picks: Tilly and the Wall, Beth Orton, Immigrant Union, Maserati, Team Genius, Flying Lotus

As promised, there was a lot to cover this week, so in order to get back to finishing the upcoming Top DIY Releases of the week, here are quick picks of other MP3singles released this week by Tilly and the Wall, Team Genius, Flying Lotus, Beth Orton, Immigrant Union, Maserati, and Ken Stringfellow, and other tracks to pick and chose from, spanning the musical landscape from country to electronic. The Top DIY Releases of the Week playlist for this past week includes terrific singles from Moon Duo, The Valery Trails, Pontoons, My Empire of Sound, The Ecstatics and others that we think many listeners are going to like, especially since many are not really posted anywhere else online and easily accessible.

“Love Riot” – Tilly and the Wall from Heavy Mood on Team Love

“Everything’s Alright” – Team Genius from Loud Songs EP on Paper Garden Records

“Putty Boy Strut” – Flying Lotus from Until The Quiet Comes on Warp Records

“Magpie” – Beth Orton from Sugaring Season on Anti-

“Doesn’t It Remind You of Something (feat. Charity Rose Thielen)” – Ken Stringfellow from Danzig In The Moonlight on Spark & Shine

“My Heart’s A Joke” – Immigrant Union from Immigrant Union

“The Eliminator” – Maserati from Maserati VII on Temporary Residence

Amazon Quick Clicks to Purchase This Week’s MP3s, CDs and Vinyls

Tori Amos – Gold Dust | CD Deluxe CD/DVD MP3

Angel Snow – Angel Snow | CD MP3

Angels Heart – Tattoos and Cigarettes | MP3

AxeWound – Vultures | CD MP3

Balmorhea – Stranger | CD Vinyl MP3

Beacon – For Now [EP] | Vinyl MP3

Big Cats – For My Mother | MP3

Brainstorm – Heat Waves | MP3

Dance for the Dying – Puzzles for the Traveler [EP] | MP3

Iris DeMent – Sing the Delta | CD Vinyl MP3

Mark Eitzel – Don’t Be a Stranger | CD Vinyl MP3

Eraas – Eraas | CD Vinyl MP3

Faith Evans – R&B Divas | CD MP3

Flying Lotus – Until the Quiet Comes | CD Vinyl

The Giving Tree Band – Vacilador | MP3

Guerilla Speakerz – Holla [EP] | MP3

Hammock – Departure Songs | CD MP3

John Wort Hannam – Brambles and Thorns | CD MP3

Heart – Fanatic | CD Vinyl MP3

The Hood Internet – Feat | CD MP3

Charlie Hunter & Scott Amendola – Not Getting Behind Is the New Getting Ahead | CD Vinyl MP3

Jets Overhead – Boredom and Joy | MP3

Jeanne Jolly – Angels | CD MP3

Diana Krall – Glad Rag Doll | CD Deluxe CD Vinyl MP3 Deluxe MP3

The Last Names – Wilderness | MP3

Lightning Bolt – Oblivion Hunter | Vinyl MP3

The Lone Wolf Project – Old Words, New Chapters | MP3

Marillion – Sounds That Can’t Be Made | CD MP3

Maserati – Maserati VII | CD Vinyl MP3

Matt and Kim – Lightning | CD Vinyl MP3

Maus Haus – Light Noise | CD MP3

Maybeshewill – I Was Here For a Moment, Then I Was Gone | CD Vinyl MP3

Tift Merritt – Traveling Alone | CD Vinyl MP3

Miguel – Kaleidoscope Dream | CD Vinyl MP3

The Modern Airline – The Modern Airline | CD MP3

Moon Duo – Circles | CD Vinyl MP3

Van Morrison – Born to Sing: No Plan B | CD MP3

The Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth | CD Vinyl MP3

Muse – The 2nd Law | CD Deluxe CD/DVD Vinyl MP3 Deluxe MP3

Lindi Ortega – Cigarettes and Truck Stops | CD MP3

Beth Orton – Sugaring Season | CDVinylMP3Deluxe MP3

Andrew Osenga – Leonard the Lonely Astronaut | CD MP3

Papa Roach – The Connection | CD Deluxe CD Vinyl MP3

Charlie Peacock – No Man’s Land | CD Vinyl MP3

Tristan Prettyman – Cedar + Gold | CD MP3

Rah Rah – The Poet’s Dead | CD MP3

Rupa & The April Fishes – Build | CDMP3

Jake Shimabukuro – Grand Ukulele | CD MP3

b>Skyzoo – A Dream Deferred | CD MP3

Sun Airway – Soft Fall | CD Vinyl MP3

Taken By Trees – Other Worlds | CD Vinyl MP3

Three Days Grace – Transit of Venus | CD MP3

Tilly and the Wall – Heavy Mood | CD Vinyl MP3

The Tins – Life’s a Gas | CD MP3

The Tragically Hip – Now For Plan A | CD MP3

Frank Turner – Last Minutes & Lost Evenings | CD/DVD MP3

Two Fingers – Stunt Rhythms | CD Vinyl MP3

Ultraísta – Ultraísta | CD Vinyl MP3

The Vaccines – Come of Age | CD Vinyl MP3

The Valis – Minds Through Space and Time | MP3

Bry Webb – Provider | CD Vinyl MP3

Why? – Mumps, Etc. | CD Vinyl MP3

Andre Williams – Life | CD Vinyl MP3

Z-Ro – Angel Dust | CD MP3

Zion I – Shadowboxing | CD MP3

The Break-Through Bands of 2010 Reader’s Poll, No. 4: Weekend, Beach Fossils, Small Black, Titus Andronicus, Tennis, Sun Airway

Posted on 12/03/201010/16/2021 by Max Hammer

It’s been a while since we published the last Break-Through Bands of 2010. So, now it’s time to play catch up. Employing a similar concept as IRC’s Top Ten Songs lists, it is in fact the readers – all of you – who are deciding the top new, or ‘break-through’, bands and artists of 2010.

For this, the fourth poll in this series, we’ve put together another playlist mix for the latest round of nominees. Each nominee has earned their place among the top new bands of 2010 due to critical and fan approval following the release of new or debut releases, relentless touring, and music festival appearances.

Cast your vote for the best new band in the poll shown below. Also, there is a complete overview of the previous poll winners. Note: The sequence of bands presented in this playlist mix is completely random.

Bikini – New York City

Nigel Diamond and Olivier Olivier met at Canada’s Glen-Lyon Norfolk School of music, and began to collaborate as Bikini. Just a couple of week’s ago, we were unable to find a MySpace page for New York experimental indie band, Bikini. But a lot has happened in just the short period of time.

Last week, right before the Thanksgiving holiday, Bikini released their debut EP, RIPJDS, which includes the awesome singles featured here, “American Mourning” and “ACheerleader.”

“American Mourning” – Bikini from EP RIPJDS

“ACheerleader” – Bikini from EP RIPJDS

Braids – Montreal, Quebec, Canada

This Montreal indie pop band shed their old skin as the Calgary band The Neighborhood Council and headed east to Quebec in 2008. They honed their skills, tweaked their sound, re-defined their image, and to complete the transition, changed their name to Braids. After a summer of touring, Kanine Records signed the band this past September, right before their premiere at the all-important CMJ in New York.

Kanine has announced that Braids’ debut album, Native Speaker, will be released in January. Their big sound, sculpted from pianos and synthesizers, glimmering guitars and ambient intermissions, is evidenced on the track featured here, “Lemonade.” Tonight the band kicks off yet another tour, this time with Sweden‘s hugely popular indie pop band, The Radio Dept.

“Lemonade” – Braids from Native Speaker (or TBA) – Jan. 12th 2011

Weekend – San Francisco, California

San Francisco’s rising indie band, Weekend, released their debut album, Sports, this month to wide acclaim, and now they are on the rip, increasing their profile across the country with touring and winning big endorsements for their debut. The LP’s lead single, “Coma Summer,” was by far, the top song of the week for the second week in November.

“Coma Summer” – Weekend from Sports

Beach Fossils – Brooklyn, New York

Last May, the Brooklyn buzz band Beach Fossils released their self-titled, debut LP to the open arms of adoring critics and admiring bloggers. The band had been building momentum in late 2009, but with their multiple, packed appearances during South by Southwest 2010, and the release of their acclaimed debut – one which has already made a number of top albums of 2010 lists – the band are on a roll. Check out these tracks if you somehow haven’t heard of Beach Fossils yet.

“Face It” – Beach Fossils from Face It/Distance 7″

“Youth” – Beach Fossils from Beach Fossils

Titus Andronicus – New Jersey

One of our favorite shoegaze bands, Titus Andronicus, released the follow up album to their widely acclaimed debut, The Airing of Grievances, earlier this year at about the same time that they were blowing away fans and bloggers and mainstream music press at shows and festivals, like SXSW, including some good ‘ole jamming rock and roll that has a clear theme related to American history, which make their songs all the more interesting.

“Four Score and Seven (Part One)” – Titus Andronicus from The Monitor

“Four Score and Seven (Part Two)” – Titus Andronicus from The Monitor

Sun Airway – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Like so many others, when we first starting hearing songs from the Philadelphia indie band Sun Airway, we thought we were hearing an Animal Collective unreleased track, even though we knew it wasn’t. Isn’t that weird? But Sun Airway do pour on the synth heavy hooks and pop psychedelics quite richly indeed.

Plus, it’s only been little more than a month (Oct. 26th) since they dropped their oddly titled debut LP, Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, and Sun Airway are already known coast to coast for the delicious singles that came over in recent months ahead of the official street date.

“Put the Days Away” – Sun Airway from Nocturne Of Exploded Crystal Chandelier

Sun Airway is Jon Barthmus and Patrick Marsceill, both ex-members of the defunct emo band the A-Sides. They started work on Nocturne during the summer of 2008.

“Infinity” – Sun Airway from Nocturne Of Exploded Crystal Chandelier

Women – Calgary, Alberta, Canada

While Calgary‘s art rock/no wave band Women are hardly a new band, it’s fair to say that the band didn’t really start to break out until late 2009 and for much of 2010. The band’s 2008 self-titled debut LP received great reviews from Pitchfork and All Music, among other influential publications.

But it was after some heavy touring and advanced singles from their recently releases sophomore album, Public Strain, that catapulted the band into a whole other ball game, and made our Best New Releases (one of our fav BNR mixes of 2010) post for the last week of September.

“Narrow with the Hall” – Women from Public Strain

But the band, and their fans, suffered a major blow in October, when Women band members ironically lived out the title of their latest album by getting into a fight on stage in Victoria, Canada. While rumors swirled that the band was going to break up, but those rumors where squashed. However, the actual result was not much better. Women canceled the remainder of their tour. Although it is a setback for the band, we don’t think it should adversely affect anyone’s perception of Women as a break-through band in 2010.

“Eyesore” – Women from Public Strain

Yours Truly Presents: Tennis “Pigeon” from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Tennis – Denver, Colorado

Everyone likes a good love story. But this love story is a unique one that found husband and wife team Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore sailing the eastern seaboard of the U.S. for seven months. During that time, the college sweathearts began writing songs that eventually evolved into a full album worth of songs, and officially made them, Tennis, the band (helps with Google searches). The couple’s debut LP, Cape Dory, will be released on January 18th via Fat Possum Records.

“Marathon” – Tennis from Cape Dory

“Take Me Somewhere” – Tennis from Cape Dory

A letter from Patrick to Alaina while he was in Florida preparing for their seven-month excursion

“South Carolina” – Tennis from Cape Dory

Look for Cape Dory, set to drop Jan. 18th

Small Black – Brooklyn, New York

The easiest bands to like are those that connect with you within the first 20 seconds of a song, and then keep luring you in as the song progresses, so that before it even ends, you’ve already made up your mind to play it again, and again. And then you listen to a second track from the same artist, and it’s the same, if not more, intense experience. And the third single, and so on. That’s been our experience with Brooklyn band Small Black. The band’s debut single, “Photojournalist”, is joyously mellow and layered with synths, masterful vocals, and rich percussions holding it all together. Repeat.

“Photojournalist” – Small Black from s/t 7″ single

Thanks to that first ‘hit’ single, Small Black have been gaining ground and growing a fan base across the U.S. and Canada, and parts of Europe as well. Subsequent singles – like the addictive “Despicable Dogs” and the dreamy “Pleasant Experience – were released throughout the summer to wide approval. And for good reason, they’re just so damn good, easily one of the top bands in the wildly popular ‘chillwave’ movement that is revolutionizing alternative music.

“Despicable Dogs” – Small Black from 12″

Cults – New York City

When we went to see The Morning Benders in Santa Cruz, Calif. a couple of months ago, we noted afterwards that the crowd seemed more interested in the evening’s first two openers – Cults and Twin Sister – than in the headlining band. Cults is a boy/girl duo and students at a New York film school. They quickly spread on the web with the release of their debut 7 inch single, “Go Outside”, which became a favorite for plenty of summer mixtapes. Ther are a few more songs from the Cults’ BandCamp page.

“Go Outside” – Cults from s/t 7-inch

“Most Wanted” – Cults from s/t 7-inch

Pick Your Favorite Among These Ten Bands

Previous Polls Reveal Other Top Break-Through Bands of 2010

Now that you’ve taken the poll, here’s the low-down on the previous polls. Click through to the article of the poll results for more details and to stream or download songs from most of the bands in each poll.

Poll One – In the first poll, IRC readers picked the Local Natives and Surfer Blood as the top two break-out of 10 presented. Click here to see the poll, and listen to or download songs from each of the bands featured in Poll One, including Delorean, Real Estate, Sleigh Bells, Free Energy, and Crystal Castles.
Poll Two – In the second poll, readers overwhelmingly selected The Drums, followed far behind in second place by the Freelance Whales. Click here to listen to and download tracks from each of the bands in Poll Two, including Wild Nothing, Ganglians, Warpaint, Cymbals Eat Guitars, and Washed Out.
Poll Three – In the third poll, the new supergroup Broken Bells and Ireland’s Two Door Cinema Club took the top spots. Click here to view the article and playlist mix that includes 2010 songs from Tame Impala, The Middle East, Fang Island, Film School, and Suckers, among others.

In case you wanted to vote for any of the bands or artists presented in the first three polls, you will have a chance to at the end of the year. At that time, the top two winners from each poll (poll five will be published in a couple of weeks) will be included in one final poll where thousands of people from around the world will choose ‘the’ Top Break-Through Bands of 2010.

Nigel Diamond and Olivier Olivier met at Canada’s Glen-Lyon Norfolk School of music. The band have become well-known for their electro-pop dance music