Passion Pit officially release today. White Rabbits release today. Mat Kearney releases today. This is just the beginning of a huge week. Huge.
Michael Angelakos' musings continue to draw attention. Not only was the Loose Change EP stellar, but with a five-man traveling band on salary, Passion Pit should be on everyone's calendar and in everyone's compact disc player, especially with the release of Manners.
Fort Nightly earned high honors in 2007 for White Rabbits. It has gently swept into indie-lovers' libraries as a favorite. With It's Frightening, perhaps even more music reviewers can start to see what has made the New York crew so astounding.
Tomorrow we will see Keane, The Helio Sequence and Mat Kearney, so the release of City of Black & White has us perusing the artist at an accelerated rate. For those who have previously heard Mat Kearney, he occasionally staggered into poetry during his music. The new album is heads above his previous work.
Female vocalists have the major role in this year's releases. Polly Scattergood and Alela Diane are phenomenal. Scattergood's playful singing and catchy accompanying instrumentals undoubtedly hit us a bit different than most singer/songwriters. For Alela Diane, the mass artist project of Headless Heroes carries the folk music pace this week while still harnessing the impressive singer's ability, much like that of Zooey Deschanel.
We've only hit the tip of the iceberg, so dig in and have a wonderful week!
MP3: Passion Pit - Smile Upon Me (buy)
MP3: Iron and Wine - Belated Promise Ring (buy)
MP3: Jarvis Cocker - Angela (buy)
MP3: White Rabbits - Kid On My Shoulders (buy)
Apostle of Hustle - Eats Darkness (Official) (MySpace)
Federico Aubele - Amatoria (Official) (MySpace)
Clues - Clues (Official) (MySpace)
CKY - Carver City (Official) (MySpace)
Drive A - Loss of Desire (Official) (MySpace)
Ear PWR - Super Animal Brother (Official) (MySpace)
Elfin Saddle - Ringing for the Begin Again (Official) (MySpace)
The Field - Yesterday & Today (Official) (MySpace)
Green Day - 21ST Century Breakdown (Official)
Headless Heroes - Silence of Love (Official) (MySpace)
Hedley - Never Too Late (Official) (MySpace)
Iron & Wine - Around the Well (Official) (MySpace)
Jarvis Cocker - Further Complications (Official) (MySpace)
Jason Lytle - Yours Truly (Official) (MySpace)
Jeffrey Lewis - 'Em Are I (Official) (MySpace)
Karate High School - Invaders (Official) (MySpace)
Kronos Quartet - Floodplain (Official) (MySpace)
Mat Kearney - City of Black & White (Official) (MySpace)
Miss Kittin & The Hacker - Two (Official) (MySpace)
Parachute - Losing Sleep (Official) (MySpace)
Passion Pit - Manners (Official) (MySpace)
Polly Scattergood - Polly Scattergood (MySpace)
Settle - At Home We Are Tourists (Official) (MySpace)
Tartufi - Nests of Waves & Wire (Official) (MySpace)
Tori Amos - Abnormally Attracted To Sin (Official) (MySpace)
John Vanderslice - Romanian Names (Official) (MySpace)
White Rabbits - It's Frightening (Official) (MySpace)
Another week is upon us as the summer nears closer and we are all gearing up to see our favorite bands play in the warm weather. Perhaps this week is the week you find your new favorite band?
First off, Maximo Park is out with their fourth album since forming in 2005. The release of their 2007 album, Our Earthly Pleasures, had their fan base grow at an alarming rate and Quicken The Heart should be no exception.
Does the name Andrew Kenny ring a bell? It should if you have ever listened to American Analog Set, since Kenny's vocals were the foundation of a group people still talk about fondly. After several years off of the music radar, Kenny is back - this time with The Wooden Birds and their album Magnolia. Very exciting stuff.
With the amount we cover Bloc Party, its safe to say we are quite antsy to listen to Intimacy Remixed, which actually came out yesterday. Bloc Party never seems to dull us with their vast amount of remixes to compliment some great artists and DJs who mixed them up.
One of the all-time kings of electonica, The Crystal Method, are back with their fourth studio album since 1997. Their latest release is called Divided by Night.
Lastly, if you're looking for some pop/punk, Crisis In Hollywood is out with Safe and Sound which was produced by Anthony Raneri of Bayside. Also along the heavier path are The Datsuns with Headstunts. Enjoy the new music this week!
MP3: Maximo Park - Roller Disco Dreams (buy)
MP3: The Wooden Birds - False Alarm (buy)
MP3: Hanne Hukkelberg - Midnight Sun Dream (buy)
MP3: Bloc Party - Ion Square (Bright Lights Don't Bore Me Yet Version)
Acid Mothers Temple - Lord of the Underground: Vishnu and the Magic Elixer (Official) (MySpace)
Banjo or Freakout - Upside Down 12" (Official) (MySpace)
Better Than Ezra - Paper Empire (Official) (MySpace)
Big Business - Mind The Drift (Official) (MySpace)
Bloc Party - Intimacy (Remixed) (Official) (MySpace)
Caethua - Village of the Damned (Official) (MySpace)
Cause Co-Motion! - Because Because Because 12" (Official) (MySpace)
Children - Hard Times Hanging At the End of the World (Official) (MySpace)
Crisis In Hollywood - Safe And Sound (Official) (MySpace)
Evanscapps - Last Time (Official) (MySpace)
George McConnell - Singles Only (Official) (MySpace)
Hanne Hukkelberg - Blood From a Stone (Official) (MySpace)
Jeremy Enigk - Ok Bear (Official) (MySpace)
Jim O'Rourke - I'm Happy, And I'm Singing, And A 1, 2, 3, 4 (Official) (MySpace)
Little Girls - Thrills 12" (Official) (MySpace)
Mark Kozelek - Lost Verses Live (Official) (MySpace)
Maximo Park - Quicken the Heat (Official) (MySpace)
Meanderthals - Desire Lines (Official) (MySpace)
Meat Puppets - Sewn Together (Official) (MySpace)
Mokira - Persona (Official) (MySpace)
Sebastien Tellier - Reworked by Strangelets 12" (Official) (MySpace)
SND - Atavism (Official) (MySpace)
Steve Earle - Townes (Official) (MySpace)
The Church - Untitled #23 (Official) (MySpace)
The Crystal Method - Divided by Night (Official) (MySpace)
The Datsuns - Headstunts (Official) (MySpace)
The Durutti Column - Love in the Time of Recession (Official) (MySpace)
The Wooden Birds - Magnolia (Official) (MySpace)
Torngat La Petite - Nicole (Official) (MySpace)
Trainwreck Riders - The Perch (Official) (MySpace)
Weinland - Breaks in the Sun (Official) (MySpace)
Wooden Shjips - Contact 12" (Official) (MySpace)
Hola. Conor Oberst, Fleet Foxes on 7" and The Vaselines provide the unusual lineup of releases for Cinco de Mayo. Those artists do interest us, but a group from Vagrant Records gets us the most.
Vagrant Records is a label that might take a while to get into. From Appleseed Cast to Thrice to French Kicks, the quality of artists definitely speaks for themselves and in turn do the label justice. This week, Electric Owls should turn heads and produce smiles from everyone at the table with their album Ain't Too Bright. We're pretty new to them, so give their song "Two Stories" a listen and let us know what's up.
For Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, no introduction is needed. Outer South is the second album in less than a year for the talented man from Nebraska, yet the buzz remains. The site has a few better than average videos on it that are worth watching to get in the right mindset.
From Sub Pop, The Vaselines provide a rough sound much like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, yet one carries a UK (TPOBPAH) feel while the other has the Scot's tatt all over it. Also from the label, Fleet Foxes have their 7" of "Mykonos" and "False Knight on the Road". Head here to buy.
Stay tuned for summer tour schedules from some of our most recommended artists to see live.
MP3: Peaches -Downtown (Simian Mobile Disco Remix) (buy)
MP3: Deradoorian - High Road (buy)
MP3: The Vaselines - Son of a Gun (buy)
MP3: Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band - Nikorette (buy)
A Camp - Colonia (Official) (MySpace)
Acid Mothers Temple - Lord of the Underground: Vishnu and the Magic Elixer (Official) (MySpace)
Akron/Family - Set Em Wild, Set Em Free (Official) (MySpace)
Alasdair Roberts - Spoils (Official) (MySpace)
Anathallo - Canopy Glow (Official) (MySpace)
Bob Dylan - Together Through Life (Official) (MySpace)
Christopher Tignor - Core Memory (Official) (MySpace)
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - Outer South (Official) (MySpace)
Cracker - Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey (Official) (MySpace)
Deradoorian - Minde Raft EP (Official) (MySpace)
Disciplines - Smoking Kills (Official) (MySpace)
Double Dagger - More (Official) (MySpace)
El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Cryptornnesia (Official) (MySpace)
Electric Owls - Ain't Too Bright (Official) (MySpace)
Fischerspooner - Entertainment (Official) (MySpace)
Fleet Foxes - Mykonos b/w False Knight on the Road 7" (Official) (MySpace)
Halestorm - Halestorm (Official) (MySpace)
Hopewell - Good Good Desperation (Official) (MySpace)
Isis - Wavering Point (Official) (MySpace)
Jon Hopkins - Insides (Official) (MySpace)
Jon Mueller - Physical Changes (Official) (MySpace)
Kiila - Tuota Tuota (Official) (MySpace)
Kiki - Kaiku (Official) (MySpace)
Magik Markers - Balf Quarry (Official) (MySpace)
Melody Gardot - My One And Only Thrill (Official) (MySpace)
Mika Miko - We Be Xuxa (Official) (MySpace)
New York Dolls - Cause I Sez So (Official) (MySpace)
Niobe - Blackbird's Echo (Official) (MySpace)
Our Brother The Native - Sacred Psalms (Official) (MySpace)
Peaches - I Feel Cream (Official) (MySpace)
Pink Mountaintops - Outside Love (Official) (MySpace)
Shout Out Out Out - Reintegration Time (Official) (MySpace)
St. Vincent - Actor (Official) (MySpace)
Tara Jane O'Neil - A Ways Away (Official) (MySpace)
The Vaselines - Enter The Vaselines (Official) (MySpace)
If death metal is your thing, then MUF just wants to let you know that a ton of that slashing metal released this week, yet we didn't post any of it. We will not be covering that music genre at this moment. What can be said about this week is that a few gems are out there and we only were able to brush the surface.
Great Northern, a group we will be catching next week with Eulogies and The Dears, released their grunge pop album Remind Me Where The Light Is this week. We really look forward to Rachel Stolte's vocal presence and some crafty guitar play from Solon Bixler (30 Seconds To Mars, Earlimart, Sea Wolf).
On a much more downtempo wavelength is Tosca. The Austrian duo of Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber have been the vanguard for melodic trance since the release of Opera in 1996 and their latest efforts should be no less impressive.
Other notable artists releasing this week includes: Ben Lee (The Rebirth Of Venus), The Disciplines (Smoking Kills) and Halestorm (Halestorm). We previously got into Ben Lee when he dd a cover of Modest Mouse's "Float On". His music has also appeared in a Dell commercial. Enjoy the new music.
MP3: Great Northern - Houses (buy)
MP3: Tim Easton - Weight of Changing Everything (buy)
MP3: Tosca - Oysters In May (buy)
A Camp - Colonia (Official) (MySpace)
Ben Lee - The Rebirth Of Venus (Official) (MySpace)
Ben Folds - Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella! (Official) (MySpace)
Black Crowes - Warpaint Live (Official) (MySpace)
Bob Dylan - Together Through Life (Official)
Diamond Watch Wrists - Ice Capped at Both Ends (Official) (MySpace)
The Disciplines - Smoking Kills (Official) (MySpace)
Great Northern - Remind Me Where The Light Is (Official) (MySpace)
Halestorm - Halestorm (Official) (MySpace)
Jimmy Bosch - Million (Official) (MySpace)
Kevin Devine - Brother's Blood (Official) (MySpace)
Los Straitjackets - The Further Adventures of Los Straitjackets (Official) (MySpace)
Melody Gardot - My One And Only Thrill (Official) (MySpace)
Mr. Doc - Beat Salad Vol. 1 (MySpace)
Selfish Cunt - English Chamber Music (MySpace)
Tim Easton - Porcupine (Official) (MySpace)
Tosca - No Hassle (Official) (MySpace)
Art Brut looks so dapper. How can you pass up such a polished look like that? So the initial review of their latest work, Art Brut vs. Satan, doesn't exactly gleam like we hoped, but courtesy of Eddie Argos' erratic storytelling/singing style, we thought you might like to investigate for yourselves.
Sticking to a U.K. theme, although far from there, are Manchester Orchestra. Mean Everything To Nothing from the Atlanta five piece could just be the reason why you decide to check out the group's tour dates after just a few listens.
Okkervil River really deserve more press on our end (they did make it in Rolling Stone though). Multiple layers of trying lyrics cued alongside the perkiest of melodies should have been a red flag waving in our daily music lives. Alas, today the group releases the positively elaborate folk fix you desire with their Pop Lie EP.
Other artists of note releasing this week include the experimentally smart Dirty Projectors, Super Furry Animals and The Brakes. Dirty Projectors carry a smart experimental sound with them unlike anyone else we run into. The Brakes bring a really juiced live act, so even if the album doesn't do it for you, perhaps the live show will. Enjoy the week's music and let us know what you're digging.
MP3: Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move (buy)
MP3: Pterodactyl - First Daze (buy)
MP3: Art Brut - The Passenger (buy)
MP3: Manchester Orchestra - Shake It Out (buy)
MP3: Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream (buy)
Art Brut - Art Brut vs. Satan (Official) (MySpace)
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - How Big Can You Get?: The Music Of Cab Calloway (Official) (MySpace)
Big Fresh - B.F.F. (Big Fresh Forever) (Official) (MySpace)
Black Math Horseman - Wyllt (Official) (MySpace)
Booker T. Jones - Potato Hole (Official) (MySpace)
Brakes Brakes Brakes - Touchdown (Official) (MySpace)
Camera Obscura - My Maudilin Career (Official) (MySpace)
Cloud Cult - No One Said It Would Be Easy DVD (Official) (MySpace)
Cryptacize - Myhomania (Official) (MySpace)
Depeche Mode - Sounds of the Universe (Official) (MySpace)
Dirty Projectors - Byond Uquafina (Official) (MySpace)
Dubious Ranger - Uneasy Truce At The Watering Hole (Official) (MySpace)
Eddi Reader - Love Is The Way (Official) (MySpace)
Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream (Official) (MySpace)
Floating Action - Floating Action (Official) (MySpace)
Janes Addiction - A Cabinet of Curiosities Box Set (Official) (MySpace)
Katie Herzig - Apple Tree (Official) (MySpace)
King Khan and the Shrines - What Is? (Official) (MySpace)
LANDy - Everything Must Go (Official) (MySpace)
Lucuna Coil - Shallow Life (Official) (MySpace)
Okkervil River - Pop Lie EP (Official) (MySpace)
Pepper - Kona Gold (Official) (MySpace)
Pet Shop Boys - Yes (Official) (MySpace)
Polly Scattergood - Polly Scattergood (Official) (MySpace)
Pterodactyl - Worldwind (Official) (MySpace)
Still Flyin' - Never Gonna Touch The Ground (Official) (MySpace)
Super Furry Animals - Dark Days/Light Years (Official) (MySpace)
The Atomic Bitchwax - Tab 4 (Official) (MySpace)
The Brakes - Touchdown (Official) (MySpace)
The Breeders - Fate to Fatal EP (Official) (MySpace)
The High Strung - Ode to the Inverse of the Dude (Official) (MySpace)
The Horrors - Primary Colours (Official) (MySpace)
The Jesus Lizard - Inch (Official) (MySpace)
The Urgency - The Urgency (Official) (MySpace)
Tinted Windows - Tinted Windows (Official) (MySpace)
Wildbirds & Peacedrums - Snake (Official) (MySpace)
Willie Isz - Georgiavania (Official) (MySpace)
When Carnavas initially hit stores three years ago, Silversun Pickups hadn't yet gained enough notoriety to set themselves up as headliners. Now with Swoon's official release today SSPU are seen in a different light and have blossomed in the process. We highly recommend picking Swoon up and checking out their first single, "Panic Switch".
Also releasing this week is a band MUF has been following for quite some time - Jeniferever. The subtle melodies of this Swedish group have put them on the map and are set to go with their latest album, Spring Tides. You might also want to know that Death Cab For Cutie's The Open Door EP is out today in physical form as well as Dntel's Early Works For Me If It Works For You.
There's almost too much good music this week! If you're looking for some chill down-tempo, check out Prefuse 73's latest, Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian. If you're looking for the some indie rock, then check out Pomegranates, who have grown in their music style since we discovered them in 2007. The Twang are back, so are Mates of State! Be sure to take some time listening to this week's new music...
MP3: Jeniferever - Green Meadow Island (buy)
MP3: Prefuse 73 - Choking You (buy)
MP3: Dntel - Roll On (buy)
MP3: Wooden Shjips - Shrinking Moon for You (edit) (buy)
Amen Dunes - Dia (MySpace)
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle (MySpace)
Bricolage - Bricolage (Official) (MySpace)
Crippled Black Phoenix - 200 Tons of Bad Luck (Official) (MySpace)
Death Cab For Cutie - The Open Door EP (Official) (MySpace)
Dengue Fever - Sleepwalking Through The Mekong (Official) (MySpace)
Dntel - Early Works For Me If It Works For You (Official) (MySpace)
FACT - FACT (Official) (MySpace)
Fastball - Little White Lies (Official) (MySpace)
Grand Duchy - Petits Fours (Official) (MySpace)
Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart (Official) (MySpace)
In Flagranti - Brash & vulgar (Official) (MySpace)
Jeniferever - Spring Tides (MySpace)
Life On Earth! - A Space Water Loop (MySpace)
Mates of State - Re-Arranged: Remixes Volume 1 (Official) (MySpace)
Metric - Fantasies (Official) (MySpace)
No Neck Blues Band - At 6AM We Become The Police (Official) (MySpace)
Papercuts - You Can Have What You Want (Official) (MySpace)
Pomegranates - Everybody, Come Outside! (Official) (MySpace)
Prefuse 73 - Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian (Official) (MySpace)
Radio Moscow - Brain Cylces (Official) (MySpace)
Scout Niblett - It's Time for My Beloved 7" (Official) (MySpace)
Silversun Pickups - Swoon (Official) (MySpace)
Sun City Girls - Napoleon & Josephine (Official) (MySpace)
The 5, 6, 7, 8's - Bomb The Rocks: Singles (Official) (MySpace)
The Boy Least Likely To - The Law Of The Playground (Official) (MySpace)
The Datsuns - Headstunts (Official) (MySpace)
The George-Edwards Group - 38:38:00 (Official)
The Twang - Love It When I Feel Like This (Official) (MySpace)
The Life and Times - Tragic Boogie (Official) (MySpace)
Wooden Shjips - Dos (Official) (MySpace)
Yonlu - A Society In Which No Tear Is Shed (Official) (MySpace)
This week we have a host of great musicians who we have either been following or waiting patiently for their album to come. First and foremost, The Doves are hot on the trail to make a stunning addition to their catalogue with their Kingdom of Rust album. For more of our Top 20 Artists To Look For In 2009, ckick right here.
Also on our radar is Junior Boys who's Begone Dull Care has already been listened to over and over. We can assure you that there are a few tracks on this album that will make their way to the top of your recent music collection. Also on the list is Gliss, who we discovered last year. Their album Devotion Implosion is on our queue to be heard.
Also on our list this week is Bat For Lashes' Two Suns album, the Pitchfork-praised Arcade Fire, Youth Group, I Was King and Pele. Much much more to listen to this week, so give our list a good look-through! Enjoy this week's new music.
MP3: Bat For Lashes - Daniel (buy)
MP3: Gliss - Blue Sky (buy)
MP3: Doves - Black And White Town (live) (buy)
MP3: Youth Group - Shadowland (buy)
Alligators - Piggy & Cups (Official) (MySpace)
Arcade Fire - Miroir Noir DVD (Official) (MySpace)
Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Official) (MySpace)
Black Dice - Repo (Official) (MySpace)
Bob Mould - Life And Times (Official) (MySpace)
Bricolage - Bricolage (Official) (MySpace)
Buraka Som Sistema - Black Diamond (Official) (MySpace)
Chain and The Gang - Down With Liberty… Up With Chains (Official) (MySpace)
Circus Devils - Gringo (Official) (MySpace)
Coathangers - Scramble (Official) (MySpace)
Crystal Antlers - Tentacles (Official) (MySpace)
Dan Zimmerman - Cosmic Patriot (Official) (MySpace)
Death Set - Rad Warehouse To Bad Neighborhood (reissue) (Official) (MySpace)
Doves - Kingdom of Rust (Official) (MySpace)
Eat Skull - Wild and Inside (Official) (MySpace)
Eulogies - Here Anonymous (Official) (MySpace)
Gliss - Devotion Implosion (Official) (MySpace)
Harvestman - In A Dark Toungue (Official) (MySpace)
I Was A King - I Was A King (Official) (MySpace)
It Hugs Back - Inside Your Guitar (Official) (MySpace)
Jason Aldean - Wide Open (Official) (MySpace)
Joker's Daughter - The Last Laugh (Official) (MySpace)
Juan Maclean - Future Will Come (Official) (MySpace)
Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care (Official) (MySpace)
Kevin Blechdom - Gentlemania (Official) (MySpace)
Lady Sovereign - Jigsaw (Official) (MySpace)
Loaded - Sick (Official) (MySpace)
Mia Doi Todd - Morning Music (with Andres Renteria) (Official) (MySpace)
Micachu & The Shapes - Jewellry (Official) (MySpace)
Neil Young - Fork In The Road (Official) (MySpace)
Pele - A Scuttled Bender In A Watery Closet (Official) (MySpace)
Pontiak - Maker (Official) (MySpace)
Qemists - Join The Q (Official) (MySpace)
Richard Swift - The Atlantic Ocean (Official) (MySpace)
Sara Watkins - Sara Watkins (Official) (MySpace)
So Many Dynamos - The Loud Wars (Official) (MySpace)
Spokes - People Like People Like You (Official) (MySpace)
Storsveit Nix Noltes - Royal Family-Divorce (Official) (MySpace)
Superchunk - Leaves in the Gutter EP (Official) (MySpace)
Telekinesis - Telekinesis (Official) (MySpace)
The Bigger Lights - Fiction Fever (Official) (MySpace)
The Blue Van - Man Up (Official) (MySpace)
The Thermals - Now We Can See (Official) (MySpace)
The Veils - Sun Gangs (Official) (MySpace)
Venetian - Snares Filth (Official) (MySpace)
Wildbirds & Peacedrums - Snake (Official) (MySpace)
William Fitzsimmon - The Sparrow And The Crow (Official) (MySpace)
Youth Group - The Night Is Ours (Official) (MySpace)
This week the in-store version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz is finally out while Death Cab For Cutie's Open Door EP is being released digitally. Both should provide quite a spark for any fan of their previous works.
Peter, Bjorn & John also hit shelves today as Living Thing marks another chapter in the Swedes' collection of new wave pop recordings. We previously jammed to Writers Block from the trio.
Although not anticipating warm weather since they reign from L.A., The Faraway Places have released a groovy psychedelic album (Out of the Rain, the Thunder & the Lightning) worthy of sunny days and multiple listens.
MP3: Faraway Places - Run While True (buy)
MP3: Peter Bjorn & John - It Beats Me Every Time (buy)
MP3: Death Cab For Cutie - I Was Once A Loyal Lover (clip) (buy)
Burn Halo - Burn Halo (Official) (MySpace)
Death Cab For Cutie - The Open Door (digital release) (Official) (MySpace)
Diana Krall - Quiet Nights (Official) (MySpace)
Faraway Places - Out of the Rain, the Thunder & the Lightning (Official) (MySpace)
Gomez - A New Tide (Official) (MySpace)
Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels (Official) (MySpace)
Leonard Cohen - Live In London (Official) (MySpace)
Ministry - Adios... [Live] (Official) (MySpace)
Pansy Division - That's So Gay (Official) (MySpace)
Peter Bjorn & John - Living Thing (Official) (MySpace)
Queensryche - American Soldier (Official) (MySpace)
Sarazin Blake - The Air Your Lungs Forced Out (Official) (MySpace)
Steve Forbert - The Place And The Time (Official) (MySpace)
The Answer - Everyday Demons (Official) (MySpace)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz! (Official) (MySpace)
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Thanks in part to a weekend that didn't end until Monday night, our list for this week lacks as many links and artists being highlighted as we would normally like.
After spending the weekend up in Boston and taking in the sights (see photo above) and sounds (bagpipes) of one of the country's largest parades, we just couldn't pull ourselves to do anything other than relax. Please let us know if any artists from this week jump out to you. Cheers!
MP3: Superdrag - Sold You an Alibi (buy)
MP3: Violens - Violent Sensation Descends (buy)
An Horse - Rearrange Beds
Annie Lennox - The Annie Lennox Collection (2-CD and DVD Deluxe Edition)
Band Called Quinn - Sun Moon Stars
BoA - BoA
Bonnie Prince Billy - Beware (vinyl)
The Boy Least Likely To - Law of the Playground
David Grissom - 10,000 Feet
Decemberists - Hazards of Love (vinyl)
Dylan in the Movies - Feel the Pull EP (reissue)
Eleni Mandell - Artificial Fire (vinyl)
Gabriella Cilmi - Lessons to Be Learned
Joshua James - Joshua James
Joy Division - Leigh Rock Festival 1979 (vinyl)
Kelly Joe Phelps - Western Bell
Les Claypool - Of Fungi and Foe
Little Walter - The Complete Chess Masters (1950-1967) (5-CD box set)
The Love Willows - Hey! Hey!
The Loved Ones - Distractions EP (vinyl)
Marianne Faithfull - Easy Come, Easy Go
moe. - Instant Live - Electric Factory
NOFX - Backstage Passport (dvd)
Paramore - The Final Riot! (Blu-ray DVD)
Pet Shop Boys - Love Etc. Remixes
Principles of Geometry - Interstate Highway System (vinyl)
Ruth Ruth - Live in Toronto
Sam Bisbee - Son of a Math Teacher
Sara Lov - Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming
Say Hi - Oohs & Aahs (vinyl)
The Script - The Script
Starsailor - All the Plans
Static-X - Cult of Static
Superdrag - Industry Giants
Susumu Yokota - Mother
Tom Waits - Romeo Bleeding - Live From Austin
U2 - 7 EP (reissue)
Violens - V EP
Wavves - Wavvves (vinyl)
White Lies - How to Lose My Life (vinyl)
Willie Nelson - Naked Willie
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero (single)
The experimental giddy-up from artists this week should help shed some light on what this year has really been for us - a constant relearning of what good music is.
Health//Disco and Tim Hecker fit the bill at the electronica end while Bishop Allen and Elvis Perkins in Dearland headline the indie section.
Don't blame Health//Disco for any lack in remixes in your collection, as most of the top 8-bit and blipping programming experts have added to the extensive list of songs remastered. On the solo side of electronica, Tim Hecker, Pictureplane and Julien-K add their own flavor to this genre.
Bishop Allen sounds like a solo act, but the Brooklyn bunch led by Christian Rudder and Justin Rice have a quirky quality that's enjoyable at any track. Elvin Perkins in Dearland caught us with their self-titled release and the folksy breath of life it offered.
Handsome Furs, one of the more experimental groups on Sub Pop, has been hit or miss for us. Each album from the Quebec couple has a conceptualized idea rigid with emotion and an almost tangible aura that can exceed expectations from the get go.
Lastly, if Eddie Vedder's rock style moves you, check out Baltimore's Arbouretum. Enjoy the week in music.
MP3: Arbouretum - False Spring (buy)
MP3: Razorlight - Wire to Wire (buy)
MP3: Handsome Furs - Cannot Get, Started (buy)
MP3: Bishop Allen - Dimmer (buy)
31 Knots - Climax Anti | Climax (Official) (MySpace)
Abstract Rude - Dear Abby (Official) (MySpace)
Anarbor - Free Your Mind EP (Official) (MySpace)
Anni Rossi - Rockwell (Official) (MySpace)
Arbouretum - Song of the Pearl (Official) (MySpace)
Architecture in Helsinki - That Beep (Official) (MySpace)
Ballas Hough Band - BHB (Official) (MySpace)
Bell Orchestre - As Seen Through Windows (Official) (MySpace)
Bishop Allen - Grrr (Official) (MySpace)
BLK JKS - Mystery EP (Official) (MySpace)
Blktop Project - Lane Change (MySpace)
Blue Giant - Target Heart (vinyl) (Official) (MySpace)
Calexico - Spoke (U.S. LP issue) (Official) (MySpace)
Capracara - King of the Witches (MySpace)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Advance Base Battery Life (Official) (MySpace)
Chris Cornell - Scream (Official) (MySpace)
Clipd Beaks - Visions 7" (MySpace)
Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen (Official) (MySpace)
Elvis Perkins in Dearland - Elivs Perkins in Dearland (Official) (MySpace)
Extra Golden - Thank You Very Quickly (Official) (MySpace)
Flower-Corsano Duo - Four Aims (Official) (MySpace)
From Monument to Masses - On Little Known Frequencies (Official) (MySpace)
Handsome Furs - Face Control (Official) (MySpace)
HEALTH//DISCO - HEALTH//DISCO (vinyl) (Official) (MySpace)
Hopewell - Good Good Good Desperation 7" (Official) (MySpace)
Julien-K - Death To Analog (Official) (MySpace)
Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - Dracula Boots (Official) (MySpace)
Long Lost - Long Lost (Official) (MySpace)
Luka Bloom - Eleven Songs (Official) (MySpace)
Madeleine Peyroux - Bare Bones (Official) (MySpace)
Mark Sultan - Hold On b/w I Hear A New World 7" (Official) (MySpace)
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band - Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band (MySpace)
My Cat is an Alien & Zaffiri - Through The Looking Glass of Tomorrow (Official)
New Found Glory - Not Without A Fight (MySpace)
Number Twelve Looks Like You - Worse Than Alone (Official) (MySpace)
Peter Walker - Spanish Guitar (MySpace)
Pictureplane - Trance Doll 7" (Official) (MySpace)
Razorlight - Slipaway Fires (Official) (MySpace)
Roxy Epoxy And The Rebound - Band-Aids For Bullet Holes (Official) (MySpace)
Swan Lake - Enemy Mine (MySpace)
The Bats - Don't You Rise 7" (Official) (MySpace)
The Mummies - Play Their Own Records (Official) (MySpace)
The Weight - Are Men (Official) (MySpace)
Thermals - Now We Can See 7" (Official) (MySpace)
Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country (Official) (MySpace)
Zoroaster - Voice Of Saturn (Official) (MySpace)
This week's music releases are particularly exciting since one of our favorite Irish bands, Bell X1 are finally here with their follow up their attention-grabbing Flock album, Blue Lights On The Runway. We were able to get a quick interview with the band, you can check that out here. We've given this album a preview over the last month or so and can already give this a high recommendation.
Also this week, Say Hi are back with their follow-up to 2007's The Wishes and the Glitch with Oohs & Aahs. Jesse Harris has some nice singer/songwriter talent with his album Watching The Sky tuning his music to the pleasant mellow side.
On the pop/punk side, Call The Cops have some infectious techno pop with their album Motion Sickness. But when it comes down to it, Neko Case may be our most unique pick this week with her latest album Middle Cyclone. Lastly, U2 is out with their much talked about, No Line on the Horizon, which we've heard mostly mundane reports about, but are yet to check it out ourselves.
There's lots to go through this week, so take your time and enjoy!
MP3: Say Hi - November Was White December Was Gray (buy)
MP3: Holy Rolling Empire - Robot Command (buy)
MP3: Neko Case - This Tornado Loves You (buy)
Bell X1 - Blue Lights On The Runway (Official) (MySpace)
Bosque Brown - Baby (Official) (MySpace)
Call The Cops - Motion Sickness (Official) (MySpace)
Coheed and Cambria - Neverender: The Children of the Fence (Box Set) (Official) (MySpace)
Grandmaster Flash - The Bridge: Concept of a Culture (Official) (MySpace)
Harmonic 313 - When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence (Official) (MySpace)
Holy Rolling Empire - Gigantis (Official) (MySpace)
Jesse Harris - Watching The Sky (Official) (MySpace)
Justin Townes Earle - Midnight At The Movies (Official) (MySpace)
Kurt Vile - God Is Saying This To You... (Official) (MySpace)
Laura Gibson - Beasts of Seasons (Official) (MySpace)
Making April - The Egg Hunt (Official) (MySpace)
Marissa Nadler - Little Hells (Official) (MySpace)
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone (Official) (MySpace)
Of Machines - As If Everything Was Held in Place (Official) (MySpace)
Revolting Cocks (RevCo) - Sex-O Olympic-O (Official) (MySpace)
Saturday Night Shakedown - Better Than Hollywood (Official) (MySpace)
Say Hi - Oohs & Aahs (Official) (MySpace)
Seams, The - The Seams EP (Official) (MySpace)
Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Communion (Official) (MySpace)
Svarte Greiner - Kappe (Official) (MySpace)
The Whip - X Marks Destination (Official) (MySpace)
Thin Lizzy - Still Dangerous: Live At The Tower Theater Philadelphia 1977 (Official) (MySpace)
U2 - No Line on the Horizon (Official) (MySpace)
Valet - False Face Society (Official) (MySpace)
Who Made Who - The Plot (Official) (MySpace)
This week we're more at a loss than anything because the amount of unknowns seems to heavily outweight the knowns. But alas, there is nothing like a fresh album that must be checked out. On the forefront of our album mentions is Gentleman Reg, a soft-natured singer inspired by Sufjan Stevens and The Smiths, who has several great songs such as "Coastline". We recommend picking up his fifth studio album, Jet Black.
If you're looking for an indie rock group with some raw kick to their sound, then Black Lips are your band. Their fifth album 200 Million Thousand may be their best yet. Green River Ordinance marks one of the stand out pop-rock bands this week with their album Out Of My Hands.
Also, not to be missed is The Alternate Routes, the Bridgeport Connecticut band under Vangard Records. If you're into lyrically pensive songwriting and melodically constructive rock, these guys have it with their latest, A Sucker's Dream. School of Seven Bells' highly acclaimed album Aplinisms is out on vinyl as well! Lastly, if you're looking for some pop-punk, Marianas Trench has it with their album Masterpiece Theatre. If you're looking for some mellow rock, then Copeland has it with The Grey Man.
Enjoy this week's music!
MP3: La Strada - Starling (buy)
MP3: Laura Gibson - Spirited (buy)
MP3: The Lovetones - Journeyman (buy)
MP3: Gentleman Reg - To Some It Comes Easy (buy)
Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand (Official) (MySpace)
Clem Snide - Hungry Bird (Official) (MySpace)
Copeland - The Grey Man (Official) (MySpace)
Data.Select.Party - Hanging Out With Humans (Official) (MySpace)
Gentleman Reg - Jet Black (Official) (MySpace)
Green River Ordinance - Out Of My Hands (Official) (MySpace)
Husband and Wife - Dark Dark Woods (MySpace)
Jake Owen - Easy Does It (Official) (MySpace)
JJ Cale - Roll On (Official) (MySpace)
Kinky - Barracuda (Official) (MySpace)
K'Naan - Troubador (Official) (MySpace)
La Strada - La Strada EP (Official) (MySpace)
Laura Barrett - Victory Garden (Official) (MySpace)
Laura Gibson - Beasts of Seasons (Official) (MySpace)
Marianas Trench - Masterpiece Theatre (Official) (MySpace)
Mister Owl - All My Friends (MySpace)
Nosound - Lightdark (Official) (MySpace)
Pan American - White Bird Release (MySpace)
School of Seven Bells - Aplinisms (vinyl version) (Official) (MySpace)
Steve Wilson - Insurgentes (Official) (MySpace)
The Alternate Routes - A Sucker's Dream (Official) (MySpace)
The Bran Flakes - I Have Hands (Official) (MySpace)
The Lovetones - Dimensions (Official) (MySpace)
The Picture - Bluebirds EP (Official) (MySpace)
Tom Rush - What I Know (Official) (MySpace)
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl (Official)
