ARTIST / BAND: Dead Heart Bloom
SONG (MP3): "Flash In A Bottle"
ALBUM: In Chains EP
FILE UNDER: Rock / Ambient / Folk
LABEL: KEI Records
INFO: Dead Heart Bloom is releasing its last music of 2008: the EP In Chains. This is the third (and last) EP of a three EP series. The new music is available now exclusively through the DHB online store and music page and will be available at other on-line and retail outlets in 2009.
ARTIST / BAND: Dirty Projectors and David Byrne
MP3: Knotty Pine
ALBUM: Dark Was the Night
FILE UNDER: Indie
LABEL: Red Hot
INFO: I recorded a couple of songs Sunday and Monday with the band Dirty Projectors for an upcoming Red Hot project. Red Hot puts out compilation albums to benefit AIDS research and I’ve been on a few of them since they started in 1990. So, who’s on this one? Feist, Sufjan Stevens, Grizzly Bear, Sharon Jones, The Decembrists, The National — jeez, what a lineup!
ARTIST / BAND: King of Spain
SONGS (MP3): Animals (Part One) and Decades
ALBUM: Entropy
FILE UNDER: Experimental / Ambient / Pop
LABEL: New Granada Records
INFO: Entropy is an artful collection of intricately crafted electro-folk songs, built with pulsating guitars, strange ambient sounds and looped vocal parts that showcase Slate's distinctively raspy voice. It's a refreshingly rich and unpredictable mix drenched in reverb and spacious effects. - NPR
ARTIST / BAND: Home Video
FREE EP: It Will Be OK
I Can Make You Feel It
Maybe What You Need
Every Love That Ever Was
You Will Know What To Do
FILE UNDER: Indie / Electro / Rock
INFO: Following their excellent self-made, no-budget music video for "I Can Make You Feel It" premiering on MTVu, being featured on the frontpage of youtube (!), and an opening gig for Justice on NYE: Brooklyn's electronic dream-pop duo unleash their eagerly awaited EP for free download. It Will Be OK is their first new material released since 2006 illustrating the bands new sonic direction and attitude, more expansive and dense while not forgetting how to move bodies on the dancefloor. The gloom and darkness of their previous output gives way to glimmerings of hope marked by sublime swells of sound.
ARTIST / BAND: The Long Lost
SONG (MP3): The Art of Kissing /Woebegone (Flying Lotus' Luckiest Charm remix)
ALBUM: The Long Lost
FILE UNDER: Psychedelic / Electroacoustic / Melodramatic Popular Song
LABEL: Ninja Tune
INFO: "The Long Lost" is the sound of love - on so many levels and in so many ways that it's hard to list them. Imagine if Nico had left the Velvet Underground and decided to relocate to California with Caetano Veloso. And imagine if, once there, the pair slipped through a time portal whilst high on mescalin and came round in the late noughties, with the kind of production twists that would allow. Imagine most of all that what they made was beautiful, an attempt to write and make a new popular music about love that was completely sincere, utterly lacking in guile and full of all the queasy, wonderful, sometimes awful emotions which overwhelm us in those times.
ARTIST / BAND: The Botticellis
SONG (MP3): Here I Go Again On My Own
FILE UNDER: Surf / Pop / Surf
LABEL: Antenna Farm Records
INFO: The Botticellis have been racking up the year-end lists with their debut album, Old Home Movies, released on Antenna Farm Records back in May of 2008. The album earned placements in the top 10s from bloggers at All Music Guide, Tiny Mix Tapes, Future Sounds, Rose Noise, the Thoroughfare, Don't Eat the Yellow Snow, the McCovey Chronicles, Traveler's Diagram....and honorable mentions from Paste, Now Hear This, The Passion of Indie Music, Indie Rock Cafe, and more.
To celebrate, we're sharing the Botticellis version of the perennial Whitesnake classic "Here I Go Again On My Own". Taking a break from the recording sessions for their upcoming sophomore effort, the Botts cranked this out on the fly and we are all the better for it. Find it and other great covers by Au Revoir Simone, Bonde Do Role, Headlights and more on an 80s covers compilation called Rewind 2.0, released by Spanish online label/weblog Buffet Libre.
You might remember this nugget from the glory days of 80s hair metal, but the Botticellis have given it a mighty melancholy twist, imagine it as a lost cut from the "All Things Must Pass" recording sessions. Writhing around on the hood of a Jaguar is recommended, but not required.
ARTIST / BAND: Friendly Foes
SONGS (MP3): My Body (Is A Strange Place To Live) /Get Yr Shit Together
ALBUM: Born Radical
Label: Gangplank Records
INFO: Inspired as equally by 70s punk-songwriters like Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello as they are the glory days of 90s indie rock (Superchunk, Guided By Voices, Chisel) – with a healthy dose of Husker Du and Replacements-style bash ‘n pop thrown in for good measure – Friendly Foes craft rag-tag, rough around the edges rock songs that do away with pretense. Instead, they choose quick routes to get to the gooey guts of what makes for rock-solid jams: whip-smart lyrics and anthemic melodies delivered at an unrelenting pace.
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ARTIST / BAND: Of Montreal
SONG (MP3): "An Eluardian Instance (John Brion Remix)"
ALBUM: John Brion Remix EP
FILE UNDER: Indie Pop
LABEL: polyvinyl
INFO: Grammy-nominated producer Jon Brion has worked with Spoon, Kanye West, Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple as well as scored the films Magnolia, Synechdoche NY, andEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
An Eluardian Instance AKA The Jon Brion EP is Brion’s most recent masterpiece and finds him reinterpreting two cuts from of Montreal’s most recent album Skeletal Lamping. These are by no means remixes as Brion literally reinterprets the songs by taking the basic tracks and adding more instrumentation and backing vocals – including the work of Nickel Creek vocalist and mandolin-player Chris
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ARTIST / BAND: Lukestar
SONG (MP3): "White Shade"
ALBUM: Lake Toba
FILE UNDER: Indie Pop
LABEL: Flameshovel Records
INFO: White Shade is a great song from a great Norwegian band. And no, that isn’t Danielson you hear singing on this track. Lukestar’s pop sound is an otherworldly one; seemingly taking as much inspiration from Mediaeval mythical creatures as they do from power-math-rock. Riffs and fairies never sounded so good together as they do here.
ARTIST / BAND: THE NAKED HEARTS
SONG (MP3): “CAT & MOUSE“ | “CALL ME“
ALBUM: These Knees
FILE UNDER: Alternative
LABEL: Self-Released
INFO: Songwriters Amy Cooper (San Francisco) and Noah Wheeler(St. Louis) met in NYC while both playing the same night at the same club. Soon after Noah joined Amy on the road promoting her second solo release. While on the road, they began writing songs together; the first was called "Naked Hearts." They recorded the first few songs onto a 4-track (Tascam 246). Soon after releasing the recordings they began setting up shows with like-minded bands and played over 30 shows in 2008 as The Naked Hearts.
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ARTIST / BAND: THE SAFES
SONG (MP3): “TROUBLEMAKER” | “THE SKY IS FALLING”
ALBUM: Sight of All Light
FILE UNDER: Hardcore / Powerpop
LABEL: O’ Brothers
INFO: Brothers Frankie, Michael and Patrick O'Malley are The Safes. Growing up, these sons of Irish immigrants were surrounded by music. Their father Frank O'Malley, a working musician, record collector and all around music lover, filled the house with live sounds, great records (Fats Domino, Magic Sam, Hank Williams) and an array of instruments: an environment that led to the development of this very special band. Having played in groups together and apart since they were kids, The Safes have that unique chemistry that comes when talented siblings form a band (think Kinks, CCR, AC/DC). This chemistry fuels The Safes’ records as well as their characteristically kinetic live shows.
ARTIST / BAND: Black Peter Group
SONG (MP3): Goody Two Shoes / Its F**ked Up
ALBUM: Its F**cked Up EP
FILE UNDER: Electro / Indie / Pop Punk
LABEL: Gulp Communications
INFO: Black Peter Group are a New York/ London based band which is formed and fronted by multi media artist Gio Black Peter. They make booty bass electro. What does this mean? Nothing. Because they don't let labels restrict them from making hits like "It's Fucked Up!"- a fusion of hillbilly two-step and punk. Or for that matter "Goody Two Shoes", a cover of the Adam Ant 50’s inspired rockabilly pop, which suits Gio’s distinctive vocal perfectly.
ARTIST / BAND: Emiliana Torrini
SONG (MP3): Me and Armini
ALBUM: Me and Armini
FILE UNDER: Indie / Acoustic / Folk Rock
LABEL: Rough Trade
INFO: Following on from her critically acclaimed sets 'Love In The Time Of Science' and her first for Rough Trade 'Fisherman's Woman', the forthcoming 'Me And Armini' (released 8th September) sees her working once again with her long time producer/collaborator Dan Carey resulting in what we feel is destined to be one of the albums of 2008.
'Me And Armini' is a hugely ambitious and aspirational pop record with Emiliana’s soaring voice centre stage, bolstered by a rich gamut of musical styles. From the summery skank of the title track (released 18th August on limited 7 inch vinyl) to the yearning, spine-tingling single 'Big Jumps' (due mid October) to the surging, breathless 'Jungle Drum' and much more in between 'Me And Armini' is a truly fantastic album.
ARTIST / BAND: The Rockwells
SONGS(MP3): "Microkorg" / "The Quarterback"
ALBUM: Place & Time
FILE UNDER: Rock / New Wave / Powerpop
LABEL: Migrant Records
INFO: Hailing from Knoxville, Tennessee, The Rockwells is made up of two sets of of brothers: Fred and Jonathan Kelly, and Tommy and Trace Bateman. Place & Time was recorded entirely by The Rockwells in both Knoxville and Memphis, Tennessee. More than half a dozen locations were used, including various houses, a cabin, and local rock club The Pilot Light. The record was mixed by Howard Redekopp, who has mixed such artists as The New Pornographers and AC Newmann. Place & Time is releasing on Migrant Records tomorrow! Paperthin Magazine callsPlace & Time "deeply textured and rich in its thoughtfulness. "
ARTIST / BAND: Kyle Andrews
SONGS (MP3): "Naked In New York" / "Sushi" / "Wavering Between The Real And The Abstract"
ALBUM: Real Blasty!
FILE UNDER: Alternative / Acoustic / Electronica
LABEL: Elephant Lady Record
INFO: Real Blasty takes Andrews’ homespun tunes to a happier place—the words still tell their fair share of sad tales, but the sound is brighter, dancier and crackles with more mature technical dexterity. The opener, "Sushi," has evolved over the years into a fuzzed-out club track; as the emotional intensity rises he implores the object of his affection, "You gonna save me or not?" The irresistible, synth-heavy "Naked in New York" adds a slight edge to the proceedings, as waves of noise crash and recede, revealing a narrator desperate to hang onto an unstable woman.
ARTIST / BAND: DEASTRO
MP3s: "The Shaded Forests"
ALBUM: Keeper's
FILE UNDER: Indie Pop
LABEL: Ghostly International
INFO: When Randolph Chabot first began recording his own albums at age 12, he discovered a means of living out his fantasies. Using whatever instrument he could find, Chabot began constructing hyper-emotional dream worlds—teenage symphonies peopled by superheroes, aliens, lost souls, and star-crossed lovers. He’s been zipping through the clouds ever since, streaking the skies as his superhuman alter-ego, Deastro
ARTIST / BAND: PADRE PIO
MP3s: “MADELINE” | “HIGH FIVES” | “COMMON DAY”
ALBUM: The Madeline EP
FILE UNDER: Pop / Glam / Indie
LABEL: Self-Released
INFO: Padre Pio was started in 2006 in a run-down carriage house turned living and rehearsing quarters in Bushwick, Brooklyn. In spite of, or perhaps because of the leaking ceilings, as-of-yet unidentified species of spiders and constant hum of diesel engines, The Madeline EP was written.
ARTIST / BAND: GREAT NORTHERN
SONGS (MP3): Home /Low Is A Height
ALBUM: Trading Twilight For Daylight
FILE UNDER: Screamo / New Wave / Showtune
LABEL: EENIE MEENIE RECORDS
INFO: Great Northern: The name evokes a feeling of a place and time in which . . . to dream, perhaps, to get away from it all, or away from one’s self. It’s late afternoon, strolling into night. There’s a slight breeze – but you’re warm in your coat, or bundled in cotton as you gaze out the window…
ARTIST / BAND: BON IVER
SONG (MP3): Blood Bank
ALBUM: Blood Bank EP
FILE UNDER: Singer Songwriter
LABEL: Jagjaguwar
INFO: Bon Iver has grown to include more than what was available at the much-fabled Wisconsin cabin, such as piano, slide guitar, and vocoder. As Justin layers on harmonies in the meditative R&B a capella "Woods", he declares "I'm building a still to slow down the time." It is as poetic as it is necessary. Both expansive and intimate, these four songs explore the darker and lighter natures of the seasons and what they signify, and offer a dynamic glimpse into the natural energy and refined craftsmanship that characterize Justin Vernon's music.
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ARTIST / BAND: Modern Skirts
SONG (MP3): "Soft Pedals"
ALBUM: All Of Us In Our Night
FILE UNDER: Alternative / Indie / Pop
LABEL: Unsigned
INFO: Ordinary music tends to get classified by genre. Some of this stuff is quite exciting, really. It does what you expect it to, but it follows the formula well enough that its derivative nature doesn't matter. We call it indie, or pop, or modern rock, and we recommend it to listeners who enjoy those styles. But every now and then, a band reminds us that when the songs are good enough, and innovative enough, genre is the last thing that matters. You don't need to be a music major to recognize that the twelve tracks on Modern Skirts' sophomore album, All Of Us In Our Night, are unusually constructed. They have unexpected twists and turns, chords that startle with their novelty, and melodies that feel refreshingly original. And you don't need to be an aficionado to get excited by such infectious choruses – they'll get stuck in the heads of neophyte listeners and super-hipsters alike. So call it "pop", call it "rock", call it "indie", call it "classic" if you must. Better yet, call it what it is- a collection of fantastic, irresistible, entirely unclassifiable songs.
ARTIST / BAND: Little Joy
SONG (MP3): No One's Better Sake
ALBUM: Little Joy
FILE UNDER: Indie Pop
LABEL: Rough Trade Records
INFO: Little Joy is Binki Shapiro, Rodrigo Amarante and Fabrizio Moretti, three friends who dropped their routine at their respective hometowns to make a record in Los Angeles, California.
Through a chance encounter at a Portuguese festival in Lisbon, where both Amarante (Singer/Guitarist of Los Hermanos) and Moretti (drummer of The Strokes) had performed, the two chatted well through the night and into the morning by the side of the river, humoring the idea of working together on music that had no affiliation to their particular bands.
ARTIST / BAND: Thursday
SONG (MP3): As He Climbed The Dark Mountain (Edit)
ALBUM: Split
FILE UNDER: Indie / Screamo / Alternative
LABEL: Epitaph Records
INFO: Thursday have always been difficult to categorize. Although they famously rose out of New Brunswick, New Jersey’s basement culture they’ve always been far too cerebral to be considered a traditional hardcore band. Over their eleven-year career they’ve toured with everyone from the Cure to Cursive, but have retained an inherent aggressiveness that can only come from being weaned on similarly independent nineties acts like Ink And Dagger and Lifetime. All of these references to other bands only serve as guidelines-and with Common Existence Thursday have finally reconciled all of their seemingly disparate literary and musical influences into a collection of songs that span the spectrum of human emotions from frustration to hope and, above all, love.
ARTIST / BAND: Castanets
SONG (MP3): All That I Know
ALBUM: Castanets Collection
FILE UNDER: Indie / Blues
LABEL: Asthmatic Kitty
INFO: Castanets is the musical project of Raymond Raposa, a San Diego native currently residing in New York City. While Raposa is the only constant member of the band, his records and live performances often feature a seemingly never ending rotating cast of musicians, the line-up often changing from night to night in a single tour. First touted by Pitchfork Media, Castanets were one of the more prominent proponents of the so-called freak folk movement (also known as psychedelic folk and New Weird America) that took place in the U.S. music scene in 2003-04.
ARTIST / BAND: Here We Go Magic
SONG (MP3): Tunnelvision
ALBUM: Here We Go Magic
FILE UNDER: Indie
INFO: To date, Luke Temple has been unconfined by genre. His full-length debut Hold a Match for a Gasoline World presented heartfelt folk tunes and expansive pop numbers filtered through a unique outsider perspective. Last year's follow-up Snowbeast was an avant statement full of interwoven light and dark imagery recorded entirely in his Brooklyn bedroom. Developed over a two-month period of stream-of-consciousness recording in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Luke's self-titled debut under his new moniker Here We Go Magic is a remarkable departure from his signature singer-songwriter material. Luke recorded the album at home using analog synths, a cassette 4-track, and his trusty SM-57 mic, coloring the sound with warmth and creating textures you want to wrap yourself in.
ARTIST / BAND: KILLOLA
SONGS (MP3): CRACKS IN THE ARMOR|
THIS IS HOW THE WORLD ENDSALBUM: I AM THE MESSER
FILE UNDER: Rock / Idol / Garage / Cult
LABEL: Self-Released
INFO: Killola is three boys and one girl, making rock music out of Los Angeles, California. The band's brand of garage pop (described as "Blondie for the 21st Century" or a derivation thereof by many) enjoys an internet presence that can best be described as 'cultish' with 1.5 million Myspace plays from over 80,000 friends, any of whom add the band's familiar "K))" symbol to their screename as a show of allegiance. Others who go as far as to tattoo themselves with the band's logo. Don't beieve it??? Believe it!!!
ARTIST / BAND: David Byrne and Brian Eno
SONG (MP3): Strange Overtones
ALBUM: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
FILE UNDER: David Byrne and Brian Eno
LABEL: self-released
INFO: Brian Eno and I recently finished our first collaboration in about 30 years. The name of the new record is Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. For the most part, Brian did the music and I wrote some tunes, words and sang. It's familiar but completely new as well. We're pretty excited.
ARTIST / BAND: Air France
SONG (MP3): Collapsing at Your Doorstep
ALBUM: No Way Down EP
FILE UNDER: Indie Pop
LABEL: Sincerely Yours
INFO: Air France is a band from Gothenburg, Sweden.[1] Their music has been described as "post-rave bliss",[2] "beach foam pop",[3] and "balearic disco".[4] Their No Way Down EP received a Best New Musicinclusion from Pitchfork Media and a rating of 8.6.[4]
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ARTIST / BAND: Fleet Foxes
SONG (MP3): White Winter Hymna
ALBUM: Sun Giant
FILE UNDER: Indie folk
LABEL: Sub Pop
INFO: Fleet Foxes is a five-piece Seattle based band signed to the labels Sub Pop and Bella Union.[1] The Fleet Foxes' first release was a self-titled EP in 2006. The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of a second EP, Sun Giant, and their debut full length album Fleet Foxes. Both Sun Giant and their eponymous debut album received much critical praise and reviewers often noted their use of refined lyrics and vocal harmonies. The quintet describe their music as "baroque harmonic pop jams".[2]
ARTIST / BAND: J*DaVeY
SONG (MP3): No More / Mr. Mister Future Screw Remix
FILE UNDER: Hip Hop, Soul, Funk
LABEL: Im culture
INFO: With production ranging from the spastic, space-age drums of "Mr. Mister" to the celestial keys of "Might As Well," The Beauty In Distortion plays with the variance and depth of a polished, full album. On The Land of the Lost, producer-extraordinaire ?uestlove and Renaissance emcee Phonte of Little Brother contribute in an equally holistic compilation of futuristic records. Throughout the 23 tracks, two constants bind the project together in a mystical fashion: the steamy vocal musings of Jack Davey and the bleeps, drums, and melodies of Brook D'Leau.
Heralded as a cross between Prince and the B-52s, J*DaVeY is in fact influenced by too many genres to count. A fusion of funk, surf, soul, hip-hop, and electronic secret sauce, the J*DaVeY EPs will satiate starving fans from all ends of the musical spectrum. Already featured everywhere from Fader to Allure to CSI: New York, Jack and Brook are prepared to smoothly swagger into the limelight with their first major release. All ears not finely tuned to the freshly paved street will ring come July. The Beauty In Distortion / The Land of the Lost EP is in stores now.
ARTIST / BAND: MARK MALLMAN
SONG (MP3): DO YOU FEEL LIKE BREAKING UP?
ALBUM: Loneliness in America (Best of 1998-2008)
FILE UNDER: Rock / Alternative / Pop
LABEL: Badman/Guilt Ridden Pop/Susstones/Eagles Golden Tooth
INFO: Unlike ANY other artist however, he’s performed the longest rock song ever written, a piano solo with the rear tire of a full sized motor scooter, and for ten hours inside of a refrigerator box. Mallman’s songs have been featured on This American Life, Public Radio International, MTV, the Oxygen Network, and most recently as the theme song to The Bank of New York Mellon.
ARTIST / BAND: Lady Sovereign
SONG (MP3): I Got You Dancing
FILE UNDER: Pop / Hip Hop
LABEL: Def Jam
INFO: Louise Amanda Harman (born 19 December 1985),[1] known as Lady Sovereign, is an English rapper[2][3]. Lady Sovereign is unique as the only white female artist in the primarily black British Grime scene.[4] As a white MC, her authenticity has been contested within the that scene, "even though she grew up in the same kind of public-housing project - Chalk Hill estate, now demolished - that many grime artists did."[4]
