August 2010
14 posts
6 tags
Au Revoir Simone - Night Light →
If you’re anything like me, the idea of Brooklyn’s extraordinarily cool synth-pop trio, Au Revoir Simone, being remixed and re-imagined by the likes of Jens Lekman, Neon Indian and Angel Deradoorian is a pretty appealing idea. Keeping the same tracklisting as 2009’s Still Night, Still Light, this record is quite distinctively a new piece of work and the impact of each remixer...
5 tags
Magic Kids - Memphis →
You’ll struggle to find a more joyous and fun track this summer, or any other for that matter, than Magic Kids’ first single, Hey Boy. The great thing about Memphis in general is that this was just a precursor and not necessarily a lone moment of brilliance. Whilst their contemporaries enjoy a durgey renaissance of indie pop in the form of chillwave, Magic Kids hark back even further...
5 tags
Everybody Was In The French Resistance....Now! -... →
Don’t pop songs seem a bit one-sided to you? It’s almost always one person’s point of view and most of the time when you actually listen to the lyrics it’s either crazy or self-indulgent. Somebody needs to stand up to these unhinged songwriters. Enter EWITFR….N, a side project for Art Brut’s Eddie Argos and a genius concept - responses to some of the most...
1 tag
Jonathan Richman - Vampire Girl →
Sunday Sermons
When I find myself in times of trouble, Jonathan Richman calls to me, sending words of wisdom, yeah. There’s a soothing catharsis in hearing someone else’s tales of confusion, youth and exuberance and no-one, and I mean absolutely no-one, in rock and roll does that better than this guy. This might not be the best compilation of his work nor the most appropriate but...
1 tag
July Playlist
Yeah, I know it isn’t July any more, not even close. But I’ve been busy okay… that’s my excuse. But enough excuses, let’s dance! Good couple of releases on this shorter-than-usual-playlist.
My particular favourites from July were bluegrass maestros Chatham County Line, some laid back tunes from Sonny & The Sunsets and El Guincho and, of course, an insane...
4 tags
Admiral Radley - I Heart California →
Forged from the burning flames of Grandaddy and Earlimart, Admiral Radley are an effigy to laid back, bright tunes gliding over you on a warm sunny day. Therefore, the premise of this album is entirely dependent on whether you are in a summery place right now or are bounded by the constraints of your imagination. Even if the sickly sweet title track puts you off a little, keep listening as the...
4 tags
Tom Jones - Praise & Blame →
The artist formerly known as Tom Jones has donned a black suit, got all serious and seriously brushed up his Johnny Cash impression. Who’d’ve thought that this old cat could put together such a moving and thoughtful album after literally thousands of years of making music. There’s more than a mild hint of Scott Walker in this album and even just a fraction of that great artist...
4 tags
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Let It... →
This album somehow recreates the awesome parts of high school angst and rocking about with musical maturity and time appropriateness - Alive and full bodied, carefree, speeding down empty roads with the sunroof open. Don’t be blinded by the awesomeness of the first few songs, though. The album starts high, levels off and ends strongly with Made to Last. They’re only coming to Europe...
5 tags
Crowded House - Intriguer →
New Zealand’s finest return for their second album since reforming a few years ago. Neil Finn’s songwriting skills have always extremely intelligent and articulate and, in this writer’s opinion, somewhat underrated. This new album plays to their strengths as a band though and, whilst those looking for stand-out tracks like on previous works will struggle, there’s a solid...
5 tags
Seams - A Juvenile Rush →
In honour of Seams (aka none other than Mr James Welch) who will triumphantly return to Great British shores this week after a few months holding the fort at SoundCloud, I present to you A Juvenile Rush. If you like your beats glitchy and hypnotic with an extra sprinkling of real, ethereal sampling then this might very well be the walk to work album for you. Also, very much worth checking out...
5 tags
Phantogram - Eyelid Movies →
Despite being released in 2009, this album has been sitting on my Hotspotmusic to-do playlist for a while, all sad and (not very lonely). Having finally got round to it today, I was pleasantly surprised - for some reason I had this pegged as another folky, singer-songwriter affair but it’s variety and spaced out loopyness was a great blast to the headphones. You can hear the steaming mix of...
4 tags
Department Of Eagles - Archive 2003-2006 →
A selection of demos and lost tracks from Department of Eagles - the once main-but-now-side-project of Grizzly Bear member Daniel Rossen. In parts it reaches tantalisingly close to the heights of 2008’s magical In Ear Park but it also exposes a slightly different side of the duo: that of imperfection. And seeing the creative process being prematurely terminated is almost as interesting as...
7 tags
Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling & Dharohar Project →
Back in December 2009, British folkies Laura Marling and the Mumfords packed their bags and set sail (or perhaps wing?) for Rajasthan to meet some Indian folkies. Over the course of what is clearly quite a remarkable and unique tour, they recorded a four track EP with some of these musicians, under the banner of the Dharohar Project, in a local arts & culture school. The result is a...
5 tags
Best Coast - Crazy For You →
This album, more than any other, is the definitive summer record for 2010. I mean, just look at the cover art - screaming laid back days on the West coast. Best Coast’s debut is a collection of two-and-a-half minute songs that blend Shangri-Las girl pop with dirgy, indie vibes. Most of the songs are about boys, smoking weed and generally chilling out (with the occasional crazy cat...