Wednesday, September 30, 2009

T.H. WHITE

ARTIST / BAND: T.H. WHITE

MP3s: "The Darkest Horse" / "Earth Is On Fire"

ALBUM: Company Book

FILE UNDER: Electronica / Down-tempo / Classic Rock

LABEL: Sky Council

INFO: On his new album, Company Book, T.H. White continues to accomplish what a very select few are able to – record as a musician, producer, songwriter, arranger, guitarist, bassist and programmer – the New York City native does it all. His abundant versatility is in full flight, taking the listener into an ethereal world of groove, mood and song craft that nicely reflects the skills of its creator.

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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

ARTIST / BAND: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

SONGS (MP3): Mundo De Ciegos

ALBUM: Xenophanes

FILE UNDER: Experimental / Psychedelic / Jam Band

LABEL: Rodriguez Lopez Productions

INFO:

Renown guitarist and musical mastermind Omar Rodriguez Lopez is set to release perhaps his most melodic and revealing album to date worldwide on November 10th, 2009 via his own Rodriguez Lopez Productions, with European release on September 28th. The disc, titled Xenophanes is the first to feature lead vocals from the Grammy-winning guitar legend -- and we don't use the word "legend" lightly, Rolling Stone hails him among their "Greatest Guitarists of All Time", placing him on that issue's cover. Check out the first MP3, "Mundo De Ciegos" (HERE).

Wikipedia tells us that Xenophanes was a Greek philosopher, poet, and social and religious critic of the 5th century BC. His pantheistic conception of the Universe supposed that everything in existence has always existed. He rejected his contemporaries' notions of an anthropomorphic "god" (or hierarchy of gods) in favor of a concept not the least bit irrelevant to our 21st century mindset, that of a singular (and hence, all-encompassing) global consciousness. His unorthodox concepts were not widely acknowledged until many hundreds of years after his death, and suffice to say, their material concerns are primarily those which humans wage war over two-and-a-half millennia later. Little surprise, then, that this iconoclastic anomaly of a man should lend his name to a new concept album by The Mars Volta's hyper-prolific mastermind, Omar Rodriguez Lopez.

The inaugural recording from Rodriguez Lopez's low-profile compound in Zapopan, Mexico,Xenophanes is the first album which finds him at the helm vocally and lyrically, as well as musically. Sung entirely in Spanish, Xenophanes showcases a side of Omar rarely seen before, allowing for a much more gestural experience of the man rather than simply the musician, and truly distinguishing this album from its myriad predecessors. Equal parts Volta bombast, El Grupo Nuevo... technicality, and a textural richness unequaled on prior solo releases, Xenophanes is a triumph of imagination and an inspired, concise statement. A conceptual journey through life, death, and re-birth, the album tells the story of a selfish and judgmental female caseworker who falls in love with a male client, only for him to die soon thereafter. Over the course of eleven subsequent lifetimes, the woman experiences life from every conceivable vantage point as her soul evolves, thereby allowing the maturity and eventual letting-go of her ego which in turn enables the realization that the man was, and always has been, her father spirit. Suggesting the fractal and holographic nature of both consciousness and physical reality, the concepts embraced on Xenophanes will appear at least vaguely familiar to anyone with experience in the psychedelic and/or shamanic realms; concepts which Xenophanes himself was likely the first to express within the confines of Western philosophy.

In order to execute the unpredictable, emotionally-charged compositions on Xenophanes, Rodriguez Lopez once again enlists his veteran co-conspirators: bassist Juan Alderete de la Peña, drummer Thomas Pridgen and keyboardist/percussionist Marcel Rodriguez Lopez. Additionally, the album includes contributions from Mark Aanderud (additional keyboards), as well as the notable voice of Ximena Sariñana, doubling and backing Rodriguez Lopez's vocals. As Sariñana's presence on Omar's recordings and during live performances has already been a cause for much speculation, it should be made clear that Xenophanes does not feature the accomplished and versatile singer's own vocal compostions. Subsequent releases (the forthcoming Los Suenos De Un Hidago and Ciencia De Los Inutiles albums, for instance) will fully showcase Sariñana's penchant for infectious melody and engaging lyrics.

Monday, September 28, 2009

GLOBES ON REMOTE

ARTIST / BAND: GLOBES ON REMOTE

MP3: "Space Camp"

ALBUM: The Woo Hoo Hoo

FILE UNDER: Psychedelic / Pop

INFO: Based in Los Angeles, California, Globes on Remotewas formed in 2008 and named after an event that can never be retold in print.

The music of Globes on Remote is dancy, anthemic, and full of energy, instruments, and voices.

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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Laarks

ARTIST / BAND: Laarks

MP3: “All the Words You Can’t Say Right”

ALBUM: An Exaltation of Laarks

FILE UNDER: Indie / Pop

LABEL: Absolutely Kosher Records

INFO: Based out of Eau Claire/Minneapolis, Laarks is a band that features current and former members of Amateur Love, DeYarmond Edison, Land of Talk, Echo Bravo, The Softrocks, Laughing Bell, Sic Transit Gloria, and The Shouting Matches. Their debut album, An Exaltation of Laarks, will be released on Absolutely Kosher Records on November 3, 2009 (but is currently available at shows). They are looking to play shows in a town near you.

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Saturday, September 26, 2009

Language Arts

ARTIST / BAND: Language Arts

MP3: Where Were You in the Wild

ALBUM: Where Were You In The Wild?

FILE UNDER: Alternative / Indie / Electroacoustic

LABEL: Independent Recording

INFO: With its genre-defying qualities, Vancouver’s Language-Arts’ sophomore release “Where Were You in the Wild?” is expected to turn ears to a new side to indie rock; celebrating obscurities and word entanglements with poetic poise, paired with an alt-rock foundation yet fleshed out with classical instrumentation. Confused? Don’t be- it all comes about very naturally, aided in part by Cudmore’s vast reserve of words and ideas, delivered with a “clarion-like voice”.

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Friday, September 25, 2009

Bear In Heaven

ARTIST / BAND: Bear in Heaven

MP3s: "Wholehearted Mess" / Lovesick Teenagers

ALBUM: Beast Rest Forth Mouth

FILE UNDER: Psychedelic / Minimalist / Idol

LABEL: HomeTapes

INFO: Bear in Heaven started out as Jon Philpot, alone, in a studio, after hours, in Atlanta Georgia. Then he moved to New York and it was him, all alone, in his room, unemployed, trying to figure out how to make music in his bedroom and get a job. Then comes along James Elliott, a friend of friends from Table of the Elements. They became friends, drank many drinks and went to Europe with Presocratics. James started The Social Registry with Rich Zerbo, left TSR and made music under the name Ateleia. Around that same time, Sadek Bazarra moved to New York with his company GHAVA.

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Wiretree

ARTIST / BAND: Wiretree

MP3: "Back In Town"

ALBUM: Luck

FILE UNDER: Indie / Rock / Powerpop

LABEL: Cobaltworks Music

INFO: Wiretree, an indie-pop rock outfit from Austin, Texas, will release its second full-length, Luck, on October 20th, 2009. Fronted by Kevin Peroni, the quartet also includes Joshua Kaplan, Rachel Peroni and Daniel Blanchard. Hot on the heels of its debut, a self-titled EP released in 2005 under their own independent label, Cobaltworks Music, Wiretree released its first LP, Bouldin, in early 2007.

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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

THE ELEPHANTS

ARTIST / BAND: THE ELEPHANTS

MP3: Nothing But Clues

ALBUM: Take It!

FILE UNDER: Pop / Alternative / Surf

LABEL: tapete records

INFO: Denmark‘s The Elephants are great fun. Their music is so infused with an uplifting, sunny vibe that it instantly puts a smile on your face. This is Brian Wilson-esque power pop awash in gorgeous melodies, harmonies, backing vocals and quirky instruments.
The Elephants‘ debut album had come out in 2007 to ecstatic reviews all over Europe, in Japan and even in the Philippines. Followed by a string of impossibly great live shows. I fondly remember them blowing away the crowd at a tapete party here at our office in Hamburg just after we had signed the band. The smiles on the faces of the people there was a sight to behold indeed!

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Sunday, September 20, 2009

Chet

ARTIST / BAND: Chet

MP3: “The Night The Night”

ALBUM: Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home

FILE UNDER: Soul / Rock / Indie

LABEL: Absolutely Kosher

INFO: What if I told you one of Canada’s greatest living song writers is a vineyard field hand and postal worker living in rural Western Canada? Ryan Beattie has been quietly making records on the in the city of Victorian (on Vancouver Island), recording both as Himalayan Bear (his solo work) and Chet, the band he formed with his brother Patrick and some friends. Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home is Chet’s fourth album in seven years and first to receive release outside of western Canada. It was recorded over a hot weekend in a barn in Victoria last summer by Colin Stewart. You can hear the warmth of the rural summer setting resonate throughout the album, the sound of the instruments hitting the fir floors as the music traveled through the hay bails used as separation for the amplifiers.

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Saturday, September 19, 2009

Wolfmother

ARTIST / BAND: Wolfmother

MP3: New Moon Rising (Yacht Remix)

ALBUM: Cosmic Egg

FILE UNDER: Rock

LABEL: Modular/ Interscope Records

INFO: New LP from these Aussie stomp-rockers, who recently overhauled their lineup. Recorded with My Bloody Valentine producer Alan Moulder.

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Friday, September 18, 2009

Dial M For Murder!

ARTIST / BAND: Dial M For Murder!

MP3: NYC (Now You Care)

ALBUM: Fiction of her dreams

FILE UNDER: Indie / Punk / New Wave

LABEL: tapete records

INFO: ”Fiction Of Her Dreams” is a powerful and dark manifesto celebrating the everyday highs and lows of life in Europe‘s North in the first decade of the new millennium. Winter‘s anxieties, summer‘s confusing adrenaline rush and springtime‘s yearly hopeful new beginnings are all part and parcel of this multifaceted album.

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Thursday, September 17, 2009

NEW ROMAN TIMES

ARTIST / BAND: NEW ROMAN TIMES

MP3: Smoke In Your Disguise / VCR

ALBUM: On the Sleeve

FILE UNDER: New Wave / Concrete / Minimalist

LABEL: New Granada Records

INFO: Austin indie quartet (led by collaborator-husband/wife team Daniel Owens and Josie Fluri) follow-up dance/rock-tinged long-player with strong collection of driving indie rock with a flair for 80's inspired dark-wave.
Few new-millennium acts seem to have gotten the balance of familiar '80s-club emotional throb and original contemporary energy just right, but this Austin-by-way-of-Orlando quartet is one of 'em. Songs from the group's upcoming full-length On The Sleeve sacrifice neither groove nor heft to their quest for resonant quality songcraft. There's an earnestness to their tunes that defies the over-it, overly detached posturing of so much danceable rock, that pairs the cool with an engaging humanity. Also, of course, they kill it.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Warpaint


ARTIST / BAND: Warpaint
MP3s: Elephants /Billie Holiday
ALBUM: Exquisite Corpse
FILE UNDER: Psychedelic / Melodramatic Popular Song
INFO: Los Angeles' mystical Warpaint weave majestic, haiku-like guitars, hypnotic vocals, and driving post-punk rhythms into gorgeous, sprawling songs that skirt the line between the soundscapes of psychedelia/shoegaze, the haunting intimacy of folk, and rock's primal heaviness.
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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Parlour Steps

ARTIST / BAND: Parlour Steps

MP3: "Little Pieces"

ALBUM: The Hidden Names

FILE UNDER: New Wave / Rock / Progressive

LABEL: Nine Mile Records

INFO: The keen intelligence, the ambitious ideas, the pride in tackling heady, and cerebral concepts that has characterized the band from Vancouver, British Columbia from the get-go remain intact. But a newfound musical confidence gives a carefree flow to the band’s music, with a vivacious presence and palpable warmth.

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Monday, September 14, 2009

60 Watt Kid

ARTIST / BAND: 60 Watt Kid

MP3: “We Come From the Bright Side”

ALBUM: We Come From the Bright Side

FILE UNDER: Other / Neo-soul /

LABEL: absolutely kosher

INFO: 60 Watt Kid has crossed into a new dimension with the release of their latest album We Come From the Bright Side. The band has reinvented itself once again and fully embraced its unique "intergalactic pop" flavor with this conceptually cohesive full-length.

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Sunday, September 13, 2009

Manic Street Preachers

ARTIST / BAND: Manic Street Preachers

MP3: “Virginia State Epileptic Colony” (Fuck Buttons Remix)

ALBUM: Journal For Plague Lovers

FILE UNDER: Rock

LABEL: Sony Music

INFO: Last night at some ungodly hour, the entire FADER staff worked away to create the next issue of our magazine. Somewhere close to midnight, someone put on Fuck Buttons‘ undeniably epic Tarot Sport, their new Andrew Weatherall-produced record that sounds like a bunch of vampires having a rave in a church (see also: the first two Blade movies).

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Saturday, September 12, 2009

Supercluster

ARTIST / BAND: Supercluster

MP3: I Got The Answer 

ALBUM: Waves

FILE UNDER: Experimental / Rock / Psychedelic

LABEL: Cloud Recordings

INFO: With a blast of creative energy fueled by an enthusiasm for making music together, a fantastic combination of Athens, Georgia musicians formedSupercluster, the brainchild of Pylon vocalist Vanessa Briscoe Hay and Hannah Jones of The New Sound of Numbers. Spanning the history of Athens music from the early days of the B-52s and R.E.M. to the present, Supercluster is a collaborative effort, featuring the talents of members of Pylon, The Olivia Tremor Control/Circulatory System, Deerhunter, Casper & The Cookies, The New Sound of Numbers/Sound Houses, Instruments/Gnarls Barkley/Lil' Wayne, and Bob Hay & The Jolly Beggars/Squalls.

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Friday, September 11, 2009

KATASTROPHE


ARTIST / BAND: KATASTROPHE
MP3: "Till It's Gone"
ALBUM: The Worst Amazing
FILE UNDER: Alternative / Hip Hop / Progressive
LABEL: 307 knox records
INFO: Katastrophe (aka Rocco Kayiatos) is a San Francisco based rapper and producer. He’s a seasoned vet on the mic and got his start competing in poetry slams in 1997. Combining his love of music and language, he started rapping and making beats in 2002. He uses his poetic grasp of language to weave dense tales of lives lived outside the mainstreams of education, gender, and culture. He makes hip-hop that explodes with dangerous and ebullient passion. Crafting both dark anthems of anxiety and righteous rage, and sexy, flirtatious, booty-shaking pop/rap bangers. Katastrophe is a wonder – both authentic and audacious, emitting enough raw energy to electrify Las Vegas and enough earnest analysis to save you years of therapy.
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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Massive Attack


ARTIST / BAND: Massive Attack
MP3: Pray For Rain (feat. TV On The Radio's Tunde Adebimpe)
ALBUM: Splitting the Atom
FILE UNDER: Electronica / Experimental / Hip Hop
LABEL: Virgin
INFO: Massive Attack, known for their downtempo, apocalyptic trip-hop, and Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, known for their downtempo, apocalyptic indie rock, have collaborated on a track for Massive Attack’s latest EP, Splitting the Atom. And surprisingly, the result – titled “Praying for Rain” – isn’t the most depressing thing ever.
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Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Circulatory System

 

ARTIST / BAND: Circulatory System

MP3: "Round Again" (featuring Jeff Mangum) /"Overjoyed"

ALBUM:  Signal Morning

FILE UNDER: Psychedelic / Pop / Electronica

LABEL: Cloud Recordings

INFO: After The Olivia Tremor Control went on hiatus, songwriter W. Cullen Hart's first step was to create the Circulatory System. Featuring members of the former Olivias and other notable Elephant 6 luminaries, the Circulatory System's self-titled first album explored themes of the larger and the smaller, the here and the far away, and the now and the forever.

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Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Little Dragon


ARTIST / BAND: Little Dragon
MP3: "Feather"  / "Looking Glass"
ALBUM: Machine Dreams
FILE UNDER: soul, electro, pop
LABEL: Peacefrog
INFO: Little Dragon is a music group based in Gothenburg, Sweden.
YUKIMI NAGANO on vocals together with her close high-school friends Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrick Källgren (bass), and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards), Little Dragon’s first release was a double-A-side 7” single on Off The Wall and then signed to Peacefrog (home to José and Findlay Brown)
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Monday, September 07, 2009

Eva & The Heartmaker

ARTIST / BAND:  Eva & The Heartmaker

MP3: "Superhero"

ALBUM: Let's Keep This Up Forever

FILE UNDER: Pop

LABEL: SIN/Sony Norway

INFO: Eva & Thomas might be the 21st century’s answer to Sonny & Cher, Ike & Tina, Paul & Linda, Womack & Womack, and Anita Skorgan & Jahn Teigen. Together they are Eva & The Heartmaker, a duo that is so ready to be stars that your eyes hurt. On September 22nd, they are releasing their album Let’s Keep This Up Forever, and all their dreams will come true.

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Saturday, September 05, 2009

Beastie Boys’ Mash Up Album by Mike Tannone

 

ARTIST / BAND: Mike Tannone

ALBUM: Doublecheck Your Head

FILE UNDER: Hip Hop / Mash Up

LABEL: Web Exclusive

INFO: If you are a fan of the Beastie Boys then this is a must have. Hell, even the Beastie Boys think so, they have already featured four of the songs on www.beastieboys.com. You can stream online or download the album for free in it’s entirety at www.doublecheckyourhead.com.

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Lullwater

ARTIST / BAND: Lullwater

MP3: "One More Time"

ALBUM: Forest For The Trees

FILE UNDER: Rock / Folk Rock / Alternative

INFO: Named for the street address of the basement where the band first began, Lullwater is an up beat alternative/modern rock band from Athens, Georgia. Having released their debut album, Faithful Sinners in January 2008, the guys of Lullwater spent time promoting the album, connecting with fans, and preparing for their upcoming EP Forest For The Trees. Recorded by Asa Leffer (Dark Meat) and Eric Friar in DARC studios, the songs on Forest For The Trees range from folk-inspired rock to heavier, melodic, modern rock riffs that appeal to music lovers of all tastes.

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Friday, September 04, 2009

THE MARY ONETTES

ARTIST / BAND: THE MARY ONETTES
SONG (MP3): Puzzles
FILE UNDER: Indie / Pop / Rock
LABEL: Labrador
INFO: Starting out in the Swedish town of Jönköping in 2000, The Mary Onettes has since then been on a long journey containing a few downhill slopes and a lot of brick walls. The band was drawn together much due to their common interest for the 80´s and the 90´s music, with bands such as the Stone Roses and the Cure. The band first years weren’t unlike most bands, members came and went and their sound changed from one week to another.
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Thursday, September 03, 2009

Matias Aguayo

ARTIST / BAND: Matias Aguayo

MP3s: Bo Jack (feat. Lady Bumbox)

ALBUM: Bo Jack

FILE UNDER: Electronica

LABEL: Kompakt

INFO: …lives between Buenos Aires and Paris, djing, making music, performing concerts alone and together with Marcus Rossknecht with their project “BROKE!”.
Born 73 in Santiago de Chile he musically grew up in Cologne, Germany,

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Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions

ARTIST / BAND: Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions

MP3s: Blanchard / Trouble

ALBUM: Through The Devil Softly

FILE UNDER: singer-songwriter, Dream pop, shoegazer

LABEL: Nettwerk

INFO: Hope Sandoval comes from a large Mexican-American family in East Los Angeles, California.

Hope attended Mark Keppel High School. In 1986 she formed a folk music duo called Going Home with Sylvia Gomez, and recorded one album produced by David Roback which was never released.

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Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Sargent House FREE sampler


ALBUM: Sargent House FREE sampler
MP3s: Good Old War "Looking For Shelter" (MP3)
RX Bandits "My Lonesome Only Friend" (MP3)
FILE UNDER: Indie
LABEL: Sargent House
INFO: Now you can get the FREE Sargent House Sampler at Amazon.com, why? Because our bands rule and now you have no excuse to not have them up on your Ipod. Once you fall madly in love with each band feel free to go buy the whole album, because we like to keep putting out records for them and it really helps us all to keep doing so.
Sargent House Keepin' It REAL Mix 1
(click on their links to hear each of their whole albums )
Good Old War - Looking For Shelter
RX Bandits - My Lonesome Only Friend
Maps & Atlases - Ted Zancha
bygones - Click On that (smash the plastic death)
This Town Needs Guns - Chinchilla
Tera Melos - A Spoonful of Slurry
Fang Island - Vlad
Native - Ride the Tide
Red Fang - Sharks
Love You Moon - David's Birthday
Red Sparowes - The Fear is Excrutiating, But Therein Lies the Answer
the source...