November 2009
53 posts
5 tags
Home Video - No Certain Night Or Morning →
The vocals on this record are clearly inspired by Thom Yorke and the rest of the band oblige by creating some hissing, post-Kid A, beat-driven electronica. This is a slow-burner from 2006 that will bemuse and intrigue you in equal measures.
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Piney Gir - The Yearling →
Sweet sounding vocals and lo-fi production are all over these bouncy but poignant songs. There is too much genre-hopping, with a unique vision, to pin down in a single review but it’s a very personal and affecting record.
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frYars – Dark Young Hearts →
When I saw one-man band frYars support Of Montreal 2 years ago, he played as a virtual band - standing on stage with several keyboards and then a DVD with recordings of him on bass and drums playing in the background. His polished debut finally arrived this year and it features his deep, brooding vocals layered over ethereal glitches of 80s synth pop.
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Elliott Smith - XO →
Today I read about a new documentary soon to be released about Elliott Smith’s life and death (info here) and it reminded me what a talented musician he was. For a bit of nostalgia, here’s XO from all the way back in 1997 - still sounds just as good today.
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Art In Manila - Set The Woods On Fire →
Art In Manila is in fact a 2007 release on Saddle Creek Records with a very dreamy, indie-folk sound. From the first bars of the opening track, Time Gets Us All, it’s easy to get lost in this record.
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Megafaun – Gather, Form & Fly →
Megafaun have a band name that sounds a little goth but in fact they are a fair bit folk. Out of the ashes of Justin Vernon’s (he of Bon Iver fame) previous band comes this harmonic, laid-back delight, plucking away into the depths of that enlightened forest…
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Various Artists - Rough Trade Shops Indiepop '09 →
Fantastic compilation from Rough Trade mixing some more established indie acts like Los Campesinos, Tullycraft & The Pains of Being Pure At Heart with a few you might not have heard yet (try: Pocketbooks, Dum Dum Girls & Liechtenstein). A great way to explore some new artists.
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The Raveonettes - In And Out Of Control →
Their latest album continues the Raveonettes special brand of fuzz-induced 50s rock and roll but takes on an even darker tone this time out with tracks such as Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed), Suicide and Oh, I Buried You Today. Surprisingly danceable stuff!
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Choir Of Young Believers - This Is For The White... →
Almost-sleepily soothing, Choir of Young Believers is like a long dream - You’re floating on wispy clouds on a cool, dark night, then day breaks as your flight opens up over a deep canyon. Your depth of vision extends unexpectedly and makes you ache suddenly in the stomach like you’ve just fallen in love. You’re in love with your cloud and it’s evaporating.
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The Voluntary Butler Scheme - At Breakfast,... →
Best Albums of 2009: #10.
Not available in the UK yet but this is a sparkling gem of a pop record. Rob, the man behind VBS (which you should never refer to in its acronym-ed state in front of him), creates perfect pop nuggets out of his imagination and wraps them in charming, singalong numbers. Three thumbs up.
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Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Up From Below →
Digging up the folky, classic rock sounds of the 60s & 70s in a similar way to Dr Dog, Edward Sharpe and his troupe of 10 comrades debut with an album that defies the alleged power of their live shows. Listen to it here but see when they’re hitting your town.
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New Moon: The Soundtrack →
I really have no idea what these movies are about except from some soft vampire nonsense and misguided teenage angst. However, the soundtrack contains original songs from some top artists: Thom Yorke, Bon Iver with St Vincent, OK Go, Lykke Li, Grizzly Bear…
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The Electones – If You'll Be Null, I'll Be Void →
Snappy, sharp and full of emotion, this indie record from Norwegians Jens Petter Nilsen and Halivard Wennersberg Hagen brings life up close with animated focus. Listen to feel the flow of blood through your capillaries.
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Hot Lava – Lavalogy →
Offbeat indie pop from Hot Lava whose geeky music evokes the confusion of 60s hipsters slowly getting to grips with Garageband. Sorta like Austin Powers but with more songs about computers (see JPG In The Sun).
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Nana Grizol – "Ruth" →
Massive scoop for hotspotmusic here. This album is so hot off the press, it’s not due out until 2010 apparently. Anyway, this is classic indie stuff from Athens, Georgia (style is more Elephant 6 than REM) and all I can really do is quote their last.fm page: “Less of a band than an exuberant orbit of bright weird planets circling the joyful kinesis of main-songster Theo Hilton”
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Deerhunter – Rainwater Cassette Exchange →
Deerhunter just seem to go from strength to strength (not to mention quantity of their output) and this latest record is no exception. It’s only a few songs… so give it a listen and then exchange it for some tapes. If you want.
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Jay Farrar and Benjamin Gibbard – One Fast Move Or... →
Bit of americana for you today: a joint album from the Uncle Tupelo and Death Cab for Cutie frontmen, inspired by Jack Kerouac’s book, Big Sur. I can’t think of many other examples of classic literary works being set to music so it’s certainly a novel approach to your spin off project. It’s not quite the equal of Gibbard’s last project, the Postal Service, but...
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The Martial Arts – Your Sinclair →
Plenty of Beatles/Teenage Fanclub influence in this Glaswegian band (who are more popular in Sweden). This is their 2006 debut, hopefully we’ll see some new material soon. This album is available to download for free from the band’s myspace if you’re into that kind of old-school thing.
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Tvärvägen – Sånger Från Tvärvägen →
I think I found this one through the ever brilliant @onthespotify and it’s a beautiful album, full of echoing vocals and haunting pianos. Check out September in particular.
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The Shaky Hands – Lunglight →
With an obvious debt to post-punk and Elephant 6-era indie in equal measures, the second album by Portland’s The Shaky Hands drives like a segway over a cattle grid in an ice storm.
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Nurses – Apple's Acre →
This album almost forces you to smile as you listen to its off-kilter harmonies and sprightly rhythms. There’s not much new here but it’s a crazy, inventive, uplifting and at times even melodical record.
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The Love Language – The Love Language →
Best Albums of 2009: #15.
One-man-bander Stuart McLamb’s lo-fi laments drip with desolation, but bounce with a stronger underlying embrace of the deep feeling gained only from heartache. The vocals manage to skirt the potential melodrama, delivering no-tricks pop instead of going down a darker road, which works well. The record traverses various styles from indie pop to country with...
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Alec Ounsworth – Mo Beauty →
Speaking of CYHSY!, lead singer Alec Ounsworth’s solo record has just been released. It’s a more understated and personal affair than his work with the band (or his other spinoff: Flashy Python) but the quality of his songs transcends.
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Motel Motel – New Denver →
This album came out in 2008 but I just found it on Spotify. Difficult to pin this one down since there’s such a diverse range of influences and styles but it might be what Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! or Arcade Fire would put out if they went a little bit folk and a little bit mental.
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Memory Cassette – REWIND WHILE SLEEPY →
Couple of chilled out, indietronica (don’t you just love that term) EPs up on Spotify by New York producer Memory Cassette (who also goes by Memory Tapes and Weird Tapes).
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Playlist: Primavera Club 2009 →
Here’s a Spotify playlist with all the artists playing at Primavera Club 09 in Barcelona in one month. Includes: Cymbals Eat Guitars, Deer Tick, Beach House, Little Joy, Jeffrey Lewis, Neon Indian, The Pastels…
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Volcano Choir – Unmap →
This record features Justin Vernon of Bon Iver alongside the awesomely titled Collections of Colonies of Bees. Gone is the sparse, acoustic nature of Vernon’s solo LP and in come layers of random instruments and aural textures. A departure, sure, but a very good one.
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Brown Recluse – The Soft Skin →
Another new act to add to the B&S-alike list, this EP is an enjoyable 4 tracks of warm indie-pop goodness.
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Cold Cave – Love Comes Close →
A very dark, electro record that takes equally from Kraftwerk and Joy Division. It’s not revolutionary but it’s a sparse and curious experience.
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Morrissey – Swords →
B-sides collection recently added to Spotify. Sadly, it’s about as good as you’d expect from a collection of discarded tracks from the already patchy previous 3 albums. Even Drive In Saturday, for which you’d expect a characteristically flamboyant live performance, falls fairly flat. Oh dear Moz…
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Ramona Falls – Intuit →
Ramona Falls is the side project of Brent Knopf from Menomena. During the recording of this, his first solo record, over 20 other local musicians were invited into the studio to improvise and riff off each other and the result is quite a cohesive and noteworthy indie rock record.
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Sin Fang Bous – Clangour →
Best Albums of 2009: #9.
Another great album from our friendly neighbours to the North. Icelander Sindri Mar Sigfusson, already known for his involvement in Seabear, has released an eclectic solo effort which creates layered, experimental pop reminiscent of a folky Animal Collective.
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Robyn Hitchcock – Goodnight Oslo →
From today’s latest Spotify update: The new album by the venerated British folk musician Robyn Hitchcock, features Peter Buck on guitar and, as usual, has unmistakable (and readily admitted) nods to Bob Dylan.
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Monsters Of Folk – Monsters Of Folk →
Best Albums of 2009: #20.
Originally called the Monsters of Folk as a joke, the name kind of stuck as this supergroup (Jim James, Conor Oberst, M. Ward & Mike Mogis), who started writing songs while touring with their own bands, began to tour together. They finally cut the debut record this year and it’s a folk tour-de-force, peppered with the styles and influences of each artist.
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Jesper Norda – Little Ones EP →
Swedish artist Jesper Norda (who is somewhat reminiscent of Jens Lekman’s more subdued moments) has a number of EPs on Spotify but with song titles like “Tomorrow You Will Be Forgiven But Tonight You Will Have Your Teeth Knocked Out” this one’s probably the best
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Slaraffenland – We're On Your Side →
Their name translates to ‘Land of Milk and Honey’ and this album certainly lives up to the promise of musical abundance. Sounding like a mix between Sigur Ros and Akron/Family they create a beguiling, constantly shifting landscape of sound.
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Little Red – Coca Cola / It's Alright →
Just because they’re from Australia and are heavily influenced by British Invasion era rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t mean Little Red have to be like Jet. It’s Alright in particular jams with quite the tight harmonies and classic riffs.
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The Drums – Summertime EP →
Like Girls, The Drums are trying to ride the wave of nostalgia by bringing us another Beach Boys/The Cure mashup. There’s potential here but we’ll have to wait for the full album to see whether it gets repetitive…
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Mount Eerie – Wind's Poem →
This album opens with a wall of noise but don’t let that put you off. It’s a complex and compelling effort from Phil Elvrum of The Microphones-fame. As always, the production is beautifully textured and the songwriting is something you’ll come back to again and again.
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Girls – Album →
Best Albums of 2009: #13.
& Most Non-Googlable Album of All-Time
If you haven’t heard this one already you should listen to it right now. 60s Californian melodies with a edgy, fuzzed out side… this is a candidate for this years top 10.
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Lovvers – OCD Go Go Go Girls →
Lovvers bring less lovving and more noisy, fuzzed out rock to this album. Prepare yourself for an aural assualt of the furious but tuneful kind.
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Samara Lubelski – Future Slip →
Wistful, dreamy indie pop Samara Lubelski will appeal to fans of Sambassadeur and Belle & Sebastian. Also playing in Barcelona this week.
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Carsick Cars - Carsick Cars →
Heard about this band a while back when they played the V&A Museum in London but now seen they have an album on Spotify thanks to Spotinews. Indie rock from straight from Beijing.
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The Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage
Another great new Scottish band: The Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage: http://open.spotify.com/album/0WF378u1dCymLprelvFelQ #spotify #indie
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Let's Wrestle – In The Court Of The Wrestling...
#indie Ballboy meets Wave Pictures? Let’s Wrestle – In The Court Of The Wrestling Let’s http://open.spotify.com/album/2o3ng2VAJftE9h8XcJhk6V
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Mum – Sing Along To Songs You Don't Know
Some good song titles (&songs) in this album: Mum – Sing Along To Songs You Don’t Know: http://open.spotify.com/album/6tQshkHWNJV8CFu2ZI3pKu
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Je Suis Animal – Self-Taught Magic From A Book
Some Norwegian twee for your morning… Je Suis Animal – Self-Taught Magic From A Book: http://open.spotify.com/album/1tleRt1J39MMgcMy6kNq66
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Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young
Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas goes a little bit electro on his debut LP and, surprisingly, it’s quite listenable: http://bit.ly/40PnD7
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Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
Best Albums of 2009: #5.
The Guardian says Local Natives = (Arcade Fire+Fleet Foxes+Vampire Weekend) * Hairines
Hotspotmusic says Local Natives = one of the best albums of the year, a superb indie rock record that grows on you with every single lesson and a top tip for big things in 2010.
http://open.spotify.com/album/0r5Ish3BCwLoJ1nPtZtLbc
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Throw Me The Statue – Creaturesque
Best Albums of 2009: #18.
One of my favourite surprise albums of the year: Throw Me The Statue – Creaturesque: http://open.spotify.com/album/0dhGaBxnr3tqBfSV0PPCYu