Saturday, June 28, 2008

Woven

ARTIST / BAND: Woven

SONG (MP3): Prickly Pear

ALBUM: Designer Codes

FILE UNDER: Ambient / Alternative

INFO: In 2001, with the release of its debut EP titled EPrime (Interscope), the Los Angeles group Woven set out to pave new roads with their signature aesthetic blend of organic and synthetic elements. Exploring the spectrum of electronic and rock influences, the music travels a path from guitar-driven drum and bass to syncopated, sparse IDM, ending in a dark and brooding dream state. The eclectic songs from EPrime quickly made their way into heavy rotation and charted nationwide on CMJ as the 5th most added record that year for college radio then landing spots on L.A.'s groundbreaking radio station KCRW 89.9.

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Jessie Baylin

ARTIST / BAND: Jessie Baylin

SONG (MP3): Was I On Your Mind

ALBUM: Firesight

FILE UNDER: Folk Rock / Pop

LABEL: Verve Forecast

INFO: Jessie Baylin is a Los Angeles, California based singer and songwriter born in Gillette, New Jersey on April 4, 1984.

Her debut album You was produced by Grammy Award winner Jesse Harris and is available exclusively at iTunes.

Jessie and her band have toured with and performed with James Morrison, Dolores O'Riordan, Brett Dennen, ALO, and more.

Having just signed a major label record deal with Verve Forecast, Jessie is currently working on her new record which will be released in 2008.

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Cineplexx

ARTIST / BAND: Cineplexx

SONG (MP3): Espiral

ALBUM: Picnic

FILE UNDER: Pop / Indie

LABEL: portia records

INFO: Picnic, the new album is definitively pop with mix influences from the Flaming Lips, BMX Bandits, Teenage Fan club, The Ronnettes, Margo Guryan, Joe Meek, Beach Boys, Jens Lekman, Magnetic Fields, Lemans & Family, among others. An album seeking for the overall beauty, a musical reinterpretation of the simple pop melody with low-fi symphony arrangements.

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A Brief Smile

ARTIST / BAND: A Brief Smile

SONG (MP3): Never Have The Time

ALBUM: Now We All Have Horns

FILE UNDER: Rock / Indie / Alternative

LABEL: Wrecking Ball Music

INFO: The music echoes of dreamy idealism and youthful lust, blasting along in an orgiastic fire of Rhodes-driven excess and feedback heavy guitar squalls. From the stark depictions of the lonesome detached situations in their lyrics to the crashing fervor and squalor of their choruses, the New York five piece are out to rethink expectations in sound and song alike, all the while grounding their melodies in classic pop influences. Buzzing with the energy of open-eyed youth and ambition with no end in sight. A Brief Smile, I think not.

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Amos Lee

ARTIST / BAND: Amos Lee

SONG (MP3): Ease Back

ALBUM: Last Days At The Lodge

FILE UNDER: folk, soul, and jazz

LABEL: Blue Note Records

INFO: Amos Lee is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His musical style encompasses folk, soul, and jazz. He has released three albums on Blue Note Records, Amos Lee, Supply and Demand and Last Days at the Lodge. He has been on tour with musicians such as Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Norah Jones, Paul Simon, and Merle Haggard. Lee performs with drummer Fred Berman and bassist Jaron Olevsky. Some of his musical influences include Stevie Wonder, John Prine, Bill Withers, and James Taylor.

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My Education

ARTIST / BAND: My Education

SONG (MP3): Bad Vibrations

ALBUM: Bad Vibrations

FILE UNDER: Rock / Alternative / Ambient

LABEL: Strange Attractors Audio House

INFO: Formed in Austin in 1999 by Brian Purington, Eric Gibbons and Sean Seagler, three refugees from San Angelo, TX, the band flirted briefly with the idea of vocals but soon decided they were never necessary to begin with and became a purely instrumental outfit. With the addition of keyboardist Kirk Laktas (Stars of the Lid, Ultrasound, etc.), viola virtuoso James Alexander (Cinders, ecfa) and Floridian transplant guitar god Chris Hackstie (Saturated, Loring), the lineup stabilized and their first album 5 Popes was recorded at the Bubble with Chris "Frenchie" Smith (16 Deluxe, Young Heart Attack) at the helm. The self-released record peaked at number one on many college radio stations across North America. The band has toured the Midwest, East Coast, and Canada multiple times since the original release of 5 Popes along w/ showcasing at SXSW 2003-2006.

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Joe Pug

ARTIST / BAND: Joe Pug

SONG (MP3): Hymn #101

FILE UNDER: Rock / Roots Music / Americana

INFO: Joe hails from the southern streets of Maryland. He spent a few collegiate years in North Carolina but dropped out for a number of reasons (including boredom and ineptitude). Currently he resides in Chicago, where he works as a carpenter by day and a songwright by night. He's grateful to everyone listening to the songs he wrote. He apologizes to everyone living in the houses he built.

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Ndidi Onukwulu

ARTIST / BAND: Ndidi Onukwulu

SONG (MP3): SK

ALBUM: The Contradictor

FILE UNDER: Blues

LABEL: Jericho Beach Music

INFO: Ndidi has one of those voices that you can't forget. Whether she's out on the down-low with a melancholy moan, or chasing hellhounds with a strident tone, it's a voice that can stop you in your tracks.
Onukwulu's full-time guitarist and sometime co-writer Madagascar Slim -- a three-time Juno Award winner in his own right -- says her voice is outstanding. "I really got excited the first time I heard it," says Slim. "She really does have something special." Put the voice together with her graceful, casual stage presence, and it's easy to see how she lures people into her lair of song.

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The Last Town Chorus

ARTIST / BAND: The Last Town Chorus

SONG (MP3): Loud and Clear

ALBUM: Single

FILE UNDER: Indie Pop

LABEL: hacktone

INFO: The distorted cry of a lap steel guitar slices through the Brooklyn night. A voice sings with aching sweetness and strength. Caressing melodies are barbed with stinging solos. This is the sound of The Last Town Chorus - the revolving ensemble led by singer/writer/lap-steel-guitarist Megan Hickey - whose singular approach to music has beguiled writers from The Village Voice, SPIN, Marie Claire, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and ELLE among countless others. Her live shows are nothing short of revelatory, bringing audience members to tears, turning critics into fanatics and building a fiercely loyal fan base in every city The Last Town Chorus visits.

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Jon Sonnenberg

ARTIST / BAND: Jon Sonnenberg

SONG (MP3): DOA

ALBUM: Acoustic Selections

FILE UNDER: Indie / Folk /

LABEL: old man records

INFO: For more than a decade, Jon Sonnenberg has charmed listeners with an unparalleled ability to blend intricate sounds and textures with pleasant melodies.  Whether creating sounds electronically, electrically, or acoustically, the layers and quality of Sonnenberg’s work enables one’s imagination to see beyond the confines of commercial music.

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Last Shadow Puppets

ARTIST / BAND: Last Shadow Puppets

SONG (MP3): My Mistakes Were Made For You

ALBUM: The Age Of The Understatement

FILE UNDER: Indie

LABEL: Domino Records

INFO: In August 2007 NME reported that Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner and lead singer of then newly formed The Rascals, Miles Kane would be recording an album with James Ford producing and playing drums.[1] Turner & Kane became friends when Kane's previous band The Little Flames played support for Arctic Monkeys on their May/June 2005 UK tour. The Little Flames also supported Arctic Monkeys on their April 2007 UK tour, when Turner and Kane wrote songs together for a collaborative project.[2] Their collaboration extends into Arctic Monkeys material, with Kane playing guitar on "505", the closing track of second Arctic Monkeys album Favourite Worst Nightmare and on "Fluorescent Adolescent" b-sides "The Bakery" and "Plastic Tramp". Kane also guested on "505" or "Plastic Tramp" at several Arctic Monkeys gigs in 2007, including the summer mini-festivals at Lancashire County Cricket Club and Arctic Monkeys' 2007 appearance at Glastonbury.

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Ed Harcourt

ARTIST / BAND: Ed Harcourt

SONG (MP3): Revolution In The Heart

ALBUM: The Beautiful Lie

FILE UNDER: Melodramatic Popular Song

LABEL: dovecote records

INFO: Hi there. My name is Ed Harcourt and I like writing songs, painting, fishing, cooking, cats, wolves, ducks, books, charity shop vinyl, drinking in good company, buying weird old instruments that no-one has heard of on e-Bay and starting up a myspace.com for myself because someone else has already done it. Confused? Me too. I'm married to the beautiful Gita Harcourt. That's all you need to know. Bye.

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Sunny Day Sets Fire

ARTIST / BAND: Sunny Day Sets Fire

SONG (MP3): Stranger

ALBUM: Summer Palace

FILE UNDER: Indie / Pop / Psychedelic

LABEL: iamsound records

INFO: It is a landscape that is both rich and broad. Any band can drown themselves in old vinyl for some choice inspiration, but the Sunny Day worldly influence and background provoke a top spirit and caliber to their topsy-turvy psychedelic stack-up. Collectively, the band hails from Hong Kong, Italy, Sardinia, Canada, and of course, London. The result is something of a pop hybrid in the vein of The Beach Boys, The Flaming Lips, Architecture in Helsinki, and Of Montreal. Upbeat 60's beach rock collide with new patents. Catchy melodies spill into astral instrumentation and kaleidoscopic guitar tangents. These tunes are very much alive and optical.

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Wolf Parade

ARTIST / BAND: Wolf Parade

SONG (MP3): Language City

ALBUM: At Mount Zoomer

FILE UNDER: Indie / Experimental / Other

LABEL: subpop

INFO: Singer/guitarist Dan Boeckner: “After Apologies… we wrote about four or five new songs, but we decided to throw them out because they sounded too much like what we’d already done. We could have easily made another Apologies… but what would have been the point?” Instead, the band committed itself to a period of experimentation, recording long improvisational sessions in the Montreal church owned by The Arcade Fire.

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Sergi Gvarjaladze

MUZORAMA.COM

Friday, June 27, 2008

CSS

ARTIST / BAND: CSS
SONG (MP3): Rat Is Dead
ALBUM: Donkey
FILE UNDER: Powerpop / Club / Rock
LABEL: SUBPOP
INFO: Donkey is the second album of Brazilian alternative band Cansei de Ser Sexy. The 14 songs (11 of which will be on the album) were recorded at Trama Studios, São Paulo, and will be released in July 21, 2008, succeeding the album Cansei de Ser Sexy.

Three months before the release, bassist Iracema Trevisan left the band, being replaced by then-drummer Adriano Cintra. The new drummer is American Jon Harper, formerly of The Cooper Temple Clause.


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Monday, June 23, 2008

Santogold, Casablancas, NERD

converse

ARTIST / BAND: Santogold, Casablancas, NERD

SONG (MP3): My Drive Thru

ALBUM: Converse Century

FILE UNDER: Hip Hop / Innovative Pop

LABEL: converse

INFO: The super trio teamed up for a Converse promo campaign.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Tilly and The Wall

ARTIST / BAND: Tilly and The Wall

SONG (MP3): Pot Kettle Black

ALBUM: O

FILE UNDER: Pop / Indie / Folk

LABEL: Moshi Moshi

INFO: The group formed in 2001 after the demise of several Omaha groups, including Conor Oberst's Park Ave., of which Neely Jenkins and Jamie Pressnall (then Jamie Williams) were members. Jamie brought along Kianna Alarid from another band that broke up called Magic Kiss. Derek Pressnall and Nick White, natives of Dunwoody, Georgia were drawn to the music scene in Omaha, Nebraska and moved. [1]

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Friday, June 20, 2008

Earlimart

ARTIST / BAND: Earlimart

SONG (MP3): Hymn And Her

ALBUM: Earlimart

FILE UNDER: Rock / Indie / 2-step

LABEL: MAJORDOMO & RECORDS

INFO: Earlimart is an independent rock band based out of Los Angeles, California. The name comes from Earlimart, California, a town located between Los Angeles and Fresno, California. Their sound bears heavy resemblance to Elliott Smith, The Pixies, and Sonic Youth, among contemporaries like Pedro the Lion, with whom they performed in a 2004 tour. The band's sixth full length album entitled Hymn and Her will be released July 1st, 2008.

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Richard Walters & Faultline

ARTIST / BAND: Richard Walters & Faultline

SONG (MP3): Be My Wife

FILE UNDER: Indie

INFO: Very romantic cover of David Bowie's song

Mostly Bears

ARTIST / BAND: Mostly Bears

SONG (MP3): The Pharmacist

ALBUM: The Ed Mitchell Clinic

FILE UNDER: Rock / Experimental / Psychedelic

LABEL: funzalo records

INFO: Formed a little over one year ago, this eclectic and lively trio merged right into the Tucson music scene and seemingly took it over. Talent like this doesn’t stay a secret for long.  What takes most bands years to achieved seemingly occurred overnight for Mostly Bears.  They scored a record deal, signed with booking agency Lost Barrio Artists, began to chart on college radio with an E.P. and served as the supporting band for indie rockers And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead.

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The Weeks

ARTIST / BAND: The Weeks

SONG (MP3): Buttons

ALBUM: Comeback Cadillac

FILE UNDER: Indie

LABEL: esperanza plantation

INFO: From the punchy staccato chords of opening title track "Comeback Cadillac" to the arena rock posturing of epic closer "The Ballad of Tonto Higgins", The Weeks' debut album (recorded by former Squirrel Nut Zipper Jimbo Mathus) displays the talents of a band playing at a musical level that eclipses many of the bands’ peers who clock in at twice the collective age of the band (the average age of the five-piece is a tender eighteen).  Comeback  Cadillac will see release via Esperanza Plantation (first home of Colour Revolt) on July 8th, 2008!Musically, the band taps into Southern roots (and their parents' vinyl collection) for influences.  Raised on a Deep Southern fried diet of the Marshall Tucker Band, the Allman Brothers and Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Weeks proudly hail from the rich musical heritage of their home state, a pride that burns proudly through the taut rhythm section and soaring leads of "Mississippi Rain".  Sonically akin to Southern neighbors the Kings of Leon, the Weeks are roaring out of the garage, and are ready to take the stage as a Southern juggernaut to be reckoned with.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Apollo Sunshine

ARTIST / BAND: Apollo Sunshine

SONG (MP3): 666The Coming Of The New World Government

ALBUM: Shall Noise Upon

FILE UNDER: Soul / Psychedelic

LABEL: Headless Heroes / Black and Greene (Vinyl)

INFO: Members Sam Cohen, Jesse Gallagher, and Jeremy Black originally met at Berklee College of Music. Since then, they have recorded two full length albums and attained a national cult following. Sean Aylward was added to the lineup in 2004 in order to fill out the band's live sound. He also played on their second, self-titled album. In 2006, Sean left due to the band's desire to continue as a trio, though he still remains a close friend.

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Nik Freitas

ARTIST / BAND: Nik Freitas

SONG (MP3): All the Way Down

ALBUM: Sun Down

FILE UNDER: Indie / Pop / Other

LABEL: team love

INFO: You could tell he wasn’t a hyphenate. Not a waiter-guitarist-painter, web designer-sommelier-racecar driver, lifeguard-director-pilates instructor, or one of the countless other combinations you meet on a normal day in Los Angeles. Nik was just a musician-musician, who hung TVs for entitled meanies on the West Side when the rent demanded immediate action.
Nik was putting together a studio in the back shed. Now, when a neighbor tells you this, this news can either be very good or very bad. In my experience, there’s not really a lot of middle ground. Would I "mind the noise?" Of course, you always say "of course not," but you’re grinding your teeth on the inside.

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Taylor Hollingsworth

ARTIST / BAND: Taylor Hollingsworth

SONG (MP3): Damn Boy (What's Wrong With You)

ALBUM: CD Master

FILE UNDER: Country / Zouk / Black Metal

LABEL: Mass Music, Brash, Skybucket

INFO: It's been happening for decades. Some guitar-slinging kid emerges out of the South with a blues rock soul sound that is more born out of the South than out of the kid. The family tree for this has branches that reach from Macon to Memphis, and Taylor Hollingsworth makes sure that the Birmingham thumbtack is on the map. Taylor is just another skinny punk-attitude kid drinking next to you at the bar, until he straps on a guitar, takes the stage, and rivets your attention with equal arsenal songwriting and hot guitar licks. Your music memory tells you that you've seen this before, but it is also not quite like anything you know. It's just the latest progeny from a long line of guitar-driven deep South rock & roll DNA. You won't forget Taylor Hollingsworth.

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The Saint Alvia Cartel

ARTIST / BAND: The Saint Alvia Cartel

SONG (MP3): Don't Wanna Wait Forever

ALBUM: The Saint Alvia Cartel

FILE UNDER: Rock / Punk / Reggae

LABEL: STOMP RECORDS

INFO: The Saint Alvia Cartel is Burlington Ontario’s latest contribution to [good] music…. And these guys are no strangers to the music scene as they have all enjoyed success with former and current projects including: Boys Night Out, Jersey, The Video Dead, and hardcore legends Grade. ‘Nuff said.

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Charles Bradley & The Bullets

ARTIST / BAND: Charles Bradley & The Bullets

SONG (MP3): Now That I'm Gone

ALBUM: Daptone 7 Inch Singles Collection, Vol. 2

FILE UNDER: funk

LABEL: daptone records

INFO: All the 45 only jams that your hipper friends with record players have been so smarmy about for so long. I’m sure you would have bought them on vinyl if your apartment wasn’t so small, right? Or maybe you already did, but want these handy digital ones so you can listen to them on your telephone when you’re not near enough to your dear old turntable.

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Peter Von Poehl

ARTIST / BAND: Peter Von Poehl

SONG (MP3): A Broken Skeleton Key (alternativ version)

ALBUM: Going to Where the Tea Trees Are

FILE UNDER: Folk / Acoustic / Pop

LABEL: Graefe Recordings

INFO: Going to Where the Tea Trees Are is the outstanding debut album by Peter von Poehl.
Recorded partially in the Swedish countryside and in Peter’s Berlin apartment, Going to where The Tee Trees Are shows no signs of the shiny shell or overblown workings of many pop productions. Instead, the music takes advantage of the basic surroundings it was recorded in, to emerge as a lively, vibrant recording, loaded with inspiration.

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

System and Station

ARTIST / BAND: System and Station

SONG (MP3): The Magnetic North

ALBUM: A Nation of Actors

FILE UNDER: Rock / Indie / Progressive

LABEL: Latest Flame Records

INFO: System and Station is from Portland, OR. The band first started in 1998 in Idaho as Dave Wall, RFK Heise and Mike Rundle and then moved to Wisconsin until 2001. After that System and Station came to Portland and became RFK Heise, Palmer Cloud, Josh Vasby and Bryan Fairfield and later Levi Cecil until 2005. At that point System and Station became RFK Heise, Palmer Cloud, Adam Draper, Mark Matterey and later Ed Cugguda until 2007. Now System and Station is once again RFK Heise, Palmer Cloud, Adam Schultz and Bryan Fairfield, get all of that?

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Catherine MacLellan

ARTIST / BAND: Catherine MacLellan

SONG (MP3): The Long Way Home

ALBUM: Church Bell Blues

FILE UNDER: Folk / Acoustic / Indie

LABEL: True North Records

INFO: It is Catherine MacLellan's voice that strikes you first. Pure and haunting, it caresses softly, insinuating itself into your heart, and just won't let go. Then, the subtle strengths of her deeply confessional, powerfully poetic songs emerge, revealing hidden layers with every listen. It is this combination that makes Church Bell Blues, MacLellan's sophomore album, a bona fide roots music gem. The disc was released independently on the East Coast last year, but Catherine's recent signing to True North Records will bring it much wider exposure.

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Windmill

ARTIST / BAND: Windmill

SONG (MP3): Tokyo Moon

ALBUM: Puddle City Racing Lights

FILE UNDER: Alternative / Experimental / Indie

LABEL: Melodic/H.Party/Gronland/Beat/Friendly Fire

INFO: Windmill was born from the hidden four-track recordings of Matthew Thomas Dillon. The buzz surrounding Windmill began in the alternative, underground scene with a ltd 7” release on the highly respected indie label ‘Static Caravan’.

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Golden Shoulders

ARTIST / BAND: Golden Shoulders

SONG (MP3): Everybody's Trying To Be My Villain

ALBUM: Friendship Is Deep (Reissue)

FILE UNDER: Pop / Rock / Other

LABEL: Welcome Home

INFO: Golden Shoulders is a musician's collective from Nevada City, California. Formed in 2001 by songwriter Adam Kline, the group has featured significant contributions by such notables as Joanna Newsom, Kyle Field (Little Wings), Neal Morgan, Todd Roper and Greg Brown (Cake, Deathray), Rich Good (the Pleased), Dan Elkan (Pocket for Corduroy), Josh Klinghoffer (John Frusciante, Vincent Gallo, Beck, PJ Harvey), Rusty Miller (Jackpot), Rob Kieswetter (Bobby Birdman) and more. This rotating cast and the accompanying stylistic restlessness has naturally led to an organic sense of variety from performance to performance, and recording to recording.

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CENTRO-MATIC

Artist / Band: CENTRO-MATIC
Song (MP3): I, The Kite
Album: Dual Hawks
File Under: Indie
Label: Misra Records
Info: Centro-matic is an indie rock band based in Denton, Texas. It started in 1995 as a side-project for Will Johnson. It released a few singles that year and grew into a full-fledged group in 1997. The initial 60 songs recorded in a Millstadt, Illinois studio supplied the matierial for the quieter, more emotional Navigational on Idol Records and the louder, lo-fi The Static vs. the Strings, Vol. 1 on Quality Park Records.

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Gentleman Auction House

ARTIST / BAND: Gentleman Auction House

SONG (MP3): We Used to Dream About Bridges

ALBUM: Alphabet Graveyard

FILE UNDER: Indie / Pop / R&B

LABEL: Emergency Umbrella Records

INFO: Gentleman Auction House initially began as a new musical endeavor for St. Louis native singer/songwriter Eric Enger, but has gradually blossomed into a seven-piece ensemble, providing a sonically saturated accompaniment featuring a variety of instrumental textures - from piano, organ, and auxiliary percussion, to flute, trumpet, and xylophone. Ranging from spirited guitar romps and unrestrained percussive fanfare, to down-tempo introspections and swelling declarations, each song claims its own identity amidst a laundry list of lyrical poignancies.

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SANTOGOLD

ARTIST / BAND: SANTOGOLD

SONG (MP3s): Your Voice / Creator

ALBUM: SANTOGOLD

FILE UNDER: New Wave / Dub / Psychobilly

LABEL: Downtown/Lizard King, Atlantic Records (UK)

INFO: Santogold was lead singer of the Philadelphia-based punk rock/ska band Stiffed,[4] whose 2003 album, Sex Sells, and 2005 album, Burned Again, were produced by Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer.[5] While in this group, she was offered a solo contract by Martin Heath of Lizard King Records.[6] Her initial singles succeeded based on heavy attention from Internet media.[7] White also appeared on Mark Ronson's 2007 album Version, performing on a cover of The Jam's "Pretty Green".

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ICARUS

ARTIST / BAND: ICARUS

ALBUM (Free): Monologues

FILE UNDER: Alternative / Hip Hop / Shoegaze

LABEL: TapeDekRok

INFO: ICARUS is escape. Escape from the various systems of control that hang over our heads; spiritual, physical, social or otherwise. ICARUS is about freedom to see the world through your own interpretation, not just being forced into a certain direction through the unshifting opinions of others. ICARUS is about presenting different viewpoints, challenging ideology and identifying opinion when it is often mistaken for hard fact. ICARUS is the musical manifestation of the human spirit. It is the balance, the journey, the irony, the scribe and, ultimately, the warning.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Love Is Chemicals

ARTIST / BAND: Love Is Chemicals

SONG (MP3): Our Darkest Days and Nights

ALBUM: Song of the Summer Youth Brigade

FILE UNDER: Indie / Rock / Pop

LABEL: Near Earth Objects

INFO: With their second album, San Francisco's Love is Chemicals extend and broaden their sound, marrying knotty, meandering guitars and shoegazer atmospherics to a songwriting sensibility informed equally by bright, tuneful west coast indie and moody Brit-pop.

The Long Blondes

ARTIST / BAND: The Long Blondes

SONG (MP3): Here Comes The Serious Bit

ALBUM: Couples

FILE UNDER: New Wave / Idol / Pop

LABEL: Rough Trade

INFO: Musically, "Couples" sees The Long Blondes stepping, dancing, falling and laughing into BRAVE NEW WORLDS; the crystalline 'Century' fuses the lyrical collages of Bryan Ferry and the musical cut-and-paste of Saint Etienne. The glacial, minimal 'Too Clever By Half' contrasts with the dark murmurs of 'Round The Hairpin', essentially a 1950s teen death-disc taking an unsettling turn via drummer Screech's Krautrock rhythms and Kate's backwards singing.

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Friday, June 06, 2008

The Dandy Warhols

ARTIST / BAND: The Dandy Warhols

SONG (MP3): The World the People Together (Come On)

ALBUM: Earth To The Dandy Warhols

FILE UNDER: Rock

LABEL: beat the world

INFO: ...Earth To The Dandy Warhols... is an album by alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols, released for download and streaming on Monday 19th May 2008. The CD version of the album will be released Fall 2008. It is their first record since leaving Capitol Records. On May 5, the band gave away the song "The World The People Together (Come On)" as a free download on their website along with announcing that the album was available to play on over 10,000 AMI Jukeboxes.

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Brendan Canning

ARTIST / BAND: Brendan Canning

SONG (MP3): Hit The Wall

ALBUM: Something For All Of Us

FILE UNDER: Indie

LABEL: arts and crafts

INFO: Brendan Canning (b. 1969) is a founding member of Broken Social Scene and a veteran indie rock performer who has been a member of various notable bands including By Divine Right, Blurtonia, Valley of the Giants, hHead and Len. He is of Irish descent. He is currently working on a new solo album, which will be the next release in the "Broken Social Scene Presents" series. It is to be fittingly titled "Something For All Of Us". The first single from his solo album is titled "Hit The Wall" and was released on May 5, 2008. It is available as a free download on the Arts & Crafts website.

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Blackstrap

ARTIST / BAND: Blackstrap

SONG (MP3): Winning Speech

ALBUM: Steal My Horses And Run

FILE UNDER: Pop / Psychedelic / Thrash

LABEL: Tee Pee Records

INFO: "Steal My Horses And Run" the sophomore album from Stockholm 5-piece Blackstrap.
This is an album to fall in love with, to cherish and to tell all you're friends about. Its blissfully fucked up rock n roll drenched in fuzzed out guitars and atmospheric shared lead vocals from Jonatan Westh and Maria Lindén.

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Tuesday, June 03, 2008

RATATAT

ARTIST / BAND: RATATAT

SONG (MP3): Mirando

ALBUM: LP3

FILE UNDER: Rock / Electronica / Hip Hop

LABEL: beggars group

INFO: Tucked away in a private studio named Old Soul, in Catskill, NY the two musical forces behind Ratatat, Evan and Mike, have collaborated yet again to redefine the current state of instrumental music. This time, the album is called LP3 and though it doesn't use much in the way of hi-tech recording equipment it's still laced with a unique balance of penetrating beats and ethereal riffs. However they broaden their palette of sounds this time around by relying more on keyboard instruments than guitars. Don't worry, Mike's characteristic guitar style is still present on this record but there are also an abundance of new textures emanating from the likes of a harpsichord, a wurlitzer, a mellotron and even a grand piano.

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