After championing ‘Animal’ as one of my favourite tracks of last year, I’ve finally got a copy of Joseph Childress’ debut album, The Rebirths, and have barely stopped playing it all week. It’s difficult to make an album with just an acoustic guitar and still absorb the listener right the way through, but there’s such a variety of so ideas and styles in here that it stays fresh and engaging. The Rebirths was recorded with Mike Coykendall (engineer behind M. Ward’s early albums) in a bathroom over the course of a week and, though it doesn’t have a label behind it yet, there should be a limited vinyl pressing of 500 in spring 2010. Continue Reading »
A third album from Beach House is on the way and after a couple of listens, I can already tell that there are some future classics on there: namely ‘Zebra’, ‘Norway’ and ‘Walk in the Park’ (songs you’ll have heard if you’ve seen Beach House in the last six months). In fact all the strongest tracks come in the first half, which will make for a great Side A, before the momentum slows and tapers off somewhat into the band’s template of old. In that sense Teen Dream is more of a renewal than a departure, but this one might be their best yet. Continue Reading »
Marvins Revolt are a Danish trio with just the kind of bubbly pop-rock you need to race through to the weekend. Their third album, Patrolling the Heights, will be released next week on Richter Collective with an extensive European tour about to get underway. In the meantime you can grab this tune as a free download here. Continue Reading »
Fan-made video for my favourite track on the Atlas Sound album, Logos, which is definitely worth tracking down. It almost seems Deerhunter cast-off; maybe that’s why I like it. A European tour begins in London’s Cargo on November 15th, concluding in Whelan’s in Dublin on 21st.
A nice cover version by a band you’re sure to hear more of. Seven Swedish friends who met at summer camp when they were 14, tackling a classic made famous by the Flamingos. They’re living in London now, apparently, so hopefully there’ll be a show or two on the horizon. In the meantime it won’t be winter as long as we keep playing songs like this; promise. Continue Reading »
Though I caught these guys last night, picked up their 7″ and will be seeing them again tomorrow, so far I am more intrigued than anything else. A male/female duo from Brooklyn by way of Virginia, Von Haze are one of those acts where the few people who have heard them seem smitten. They produce languid, drone-driven sequences of decay and beauty; breathy vocals distorted so you can barely hear a word, but backed by a fizzing drum machine, thrashy guitar and a sultry-sounding keyboard. The single in question is called Sad Girls, out now on AITBF. You’ll find two videos after the jump, but I can’t promise it’ll be more than a tantalising tease. Continue Reading »
The power of the voice, unadorned. If your week needs a little lift already, look no further. I was lucky enough to see Smokey perform live in a relatively small room last week, and while he didn’t sing this one, he’s still got it.
I can’t remember the last time I got ‘in the spirit’ for Halloween, so I thought I’d make this mixtape: a collection of spooky, autumnal tunes for walking ’round the suburbs after dark, through the leaves, discarded fireworks and candy wrappers. But I also wanted it to be a half-decent mix for anytime of the year. Continue Reading »
Dan Michaelson and the Coastguards - Thirteen [Exclusive]
Bit of an honour for the blog today as Dan Michaelson kindly took the time to cover this classic ballad about teenage romance by America’s finest power-pop group, Big Star. It has always been a cult favourite, covered by the likes of Wilco, Elliot Smith, and Garbage, but Michaelson’s gentle growl adds a warmth and intimacy that does it justice. Dan Michaelson and the Coastguards begin a UK tour next week, starting in Southampton Joiners on October 4th and concluding in London’s Luminaire a month later (full dates below). Meanwhile Big Star’s entire discography is about to be expanded and reissued in the form of a box set entitled Keep an Eye on the Sky. Continue Reading »
Writing a catchy song about falling in love with a ghost can’t be the easiest thing, but there’s so much in this song to like: the structure, the imagery, the way the hooks link in together, the use of ‘dearly departed’ - damn! There are only two tracks to speak of so far (the equally catchy ‘Beachy Head’ being the other), but they’ve played a handful of shows with fellow twee tappers the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and the Pastels - with talk of an imminent 12″ EP. Continue Reading »
Fucked Up’s Ben Cook, the manbehind this blast of woozy lo-fi garage, has just announced a new 7″ entitled East which will ship from Captured Tracks on Monday - you can even get all six new releases the label has in one bargain swoop. In the meantime you can read a recent Q&A with the duo where Cook explains how he has put his kleptomaniac ways behind him. Continue Reading »
Speaking of Animal Collective, this trio from New York have had to deal with their fair share of comparisons to AC; but when I saw them live the other night, it didn’t even cross my mind. The encounters of Twi, an “interstellar adventurer” are mapped out by three classical guitarists whose hushed and hocketing vocals absorb you into the trail. Their album Music for Spaceships & Forests is out now on Friendly Ghost Recordings. Continue Reading »
YouTube is full of well-intended but utlimately awful-sounding cover versions by overzealous fans. This intrumental take on AC’s ‘Bluish’ was inspired by someone else’s particularly cringe-worthy attempt and it does what all good covers should do: accentuate the best parts of the original in a way that will make you appreciate it differently.
I think this song perfectly encapsulates my mood right now: dizzily tired and looking forward to the rest of the weekend. I’m on the cusp of a lie-in, followed by a small festival, followed by an all-night party. When I blogged about Beach Fossils back in June, little was known about Dustin Payseur but he’s had a hand in soundtracking the summer just gone for all those hooked on the best new music the blogosphere can turn up. Since then New York Magazine has profiled the 23-year-old, revealing that he was about to throw in his minimum-wage job at Urban Outfitters to return home to North Carolina when Captured Tracks stepped in with some well-timed love for his demos. All we need now is the Long Player and it can be summer all over again. Continue Reading »
This is the sound of the weekend fading out into slumber: like the wispy coda to a classic Neil Young song or a lethargic take on those classic dad rock anthems about sunny open freeways, girls and everything being all right now. I have it on good authority that the forthcoming album from Alex Bleeker and the Freaks, a splinter project of Real Estate’s bassist, is killer. And you can hear an extreme lo-fi cover of Mountain Man’s ‘Animal Tracks’ (posted earlier in the week) on their MySpace. Continue Reading »
Headed to Ten Years of ATP in December? Then you’re likely to enjoy the sounds of Pushkin, a five-piece from the backwoods of Wicklow, Ireland, whose fiddly instrumental jams are about synchronising seamlessly into the one groove. None of that tired build-up-to-a-crescendo-and-break nonsense, this is pin-point accurate post-rock that never tires. For the time being, their five-song EP is only available at shows but a gig with the Redneck Manifesto is on the horizon - so there’s no better opportunity to check them out. Continue Reading »
‘Come Over in Your Silver Car’ has become a firm favourite since I blogged about it February but already the band are back with a new album, New Universe, their second for K Records - and it makes for hazy nap-time music just as well. The trio will hit the UK next month, taking in London, Leeds, York, Nottingham and Belfast. Continue Reading »
It’s been five years since Autolux made their debut with Future Perfect but they’re currently on tour around the States and today announced that a 7″ of ‘Transit Transit’ will available to buy online in the forthcoming weeks. Hopefully this isn’t just another tease and we are edging that bit closer to long-awaited album, on which this track will feature It’s a good one - let it light up your night. Continue Reading »
Not a lot is known about Nice at Home, a loose collective from different countries with nothing in common, as the little information available is in Croatian. But they describe themselves as experimental bedroom-pop - the pop element being difficult to discern, if not entirely debatable, save for that gentle melody coming through these cold, industrial sounds from the distance. Continue Reading »
Just in case you’ve resigned yourself to the onset of autumn, this is the perfect pick-me-up: ushering in the charms of crinkling leaves, thick jumpers and foggy breath. Mountain Man is a trio of women from Bennington, Vermont who write songs about the sound of redwood pines in the night and who are willing to play at your house. Their physical ‘tour’ album is sold out but you can listen to songs that are set to be released next year here. Thanks to Chocolate Bobka for this one. Continue Reading »
It’s the energy and naivety, the disregard for prodution particularities that makes this pure fun. You may have to overlook the midi-like keyboard bass to let that guitar line/melody take over. The Shackles are a power-pop quartet who play house parties around Seattle and have a 7″ out on Sweet Rot records (Meth Teeh, Blank Dogs). They also have even catchier songs on their MySpace. Continue Reading »
If this brings to mind Nick Cave’s duet with Kylie on Where the Wild Roses Grow, it’s probably because you don’t often hear voices paired together with such contrast, spookiness and quality. This is Dan Michaelson (of Coastguards fame) joined by Sharon Lewis and an ensemble of friends for a new album entitled The Good Ship, which will be out on Willkommen in March. You can download the song for free here. Continue Reading »
This, however, is lo-fi and very, very catchy. I was once on a long Greyhound ride through upstate New York, stopping in Albany (where this three-piece are from), with mostly Amish men who preferred to sit alone in silence. If this tune had been stuck in my head, it would have made the journey a lot more fun. It’s the perfect bust of energy to get the week going. You can buy this track as a 7″ for $5 or their limited edition EP for $7 by emailing them - both are limited edition and beautifully packaged (see pics below). Continue Reading »
Anoher good find by Julie which I’m compelled to endorse - a poppy garage outfit (without the lo-fi element, this time) from New York whose debut album, Blew It Again, is graced with a provocative cover bound to be blogged about. They’ll be sweeping across America from October to November, starting with a show with the excellent tUne-YaRdS in Philadelphia’s Danger Danger Gallery - sounds like an unmissable combo to me. Continue Reading »
It’s release day for Girls’ debut, one of my favourite albums of the year - and they’re playing at the Lexington tonight, followed by an in-store at Rough Trade tomorrow, a European tour, and then back for a show in Hoxton and an another in-store at Pure Groove by the end of October. When I saw them in May, I was only familiar with the songs I had been blogging and they performed to an apathetic, chattering crowd. Now that I’ve had the album on repeat for a while, I’m hoping tonight will be a completely different live experience. This is one of the better cuts from the album…perfect for staving off the changing seasons. Continue Reading »
Kurt Vile is the man behind one of my favourite songs of 2009, ‘Beach on the Moon (Recycled Lyrics)’, and this is the stand-out track on his third album in the space of a year, Childish Prodigy, which is about to be released on Matador. There’s something about that echoing strum that captivates me, and though the line “To get up on top these days you gotta be a lowlife drifter/ so slither up just like a snake upon a spiral staircase,” appears again elsewhere on the album, these two songs seem to have a way of naturally feeding into each other. Listened back to back, it’s a good way to bring the weekend to a close… Continue Reading »
Isaac Russell was 15 when he wrote this - 15! The next year, he recorded a full album by the same name, which was dedicated to his mother who passed away some years earlier, and gradually made the transition from playing back-up guitar for his brother Mudbison to having his own band (which recently signed a deal with Columbia). Continue Reading »
There may be no better music for a Sunday: the tranquil, reflective sound of a beautifully played piano, recorded in a church in Berlin as Peter Broderick lay mesmerised on a pew. Nils Frahm’s gorgeous neo-classicism has undergone a slow process of discovery, going from a Christmast gift for friends to a limited release that pummels the expectations of those who reluctantsee what you hear.com › Add New Post — WordPressly give it a chance. Continue Reading »
I’ve had this one on repeat for weeks - in fact it guaranteed itself a place on my next mix the minute I played it. It’s not just the general summer kickback ambience, but the inventive re-use of the bassline from Lowrell’s 1979 funk classic ‘Mellow Mellow Right On’ (listen below). The two tracks not only compliment each other, but will make for the right sounds to kick off your weekend - especially when the tail end of summer is still showing signs of life. Washed Out’s Life of Leisure EP is out now digitally and on 12″ early next month, with the cassette-only High Times released this week too. Continue Reading »
A London six-piece battling hard against every comparison to bearded, multi-harmonising folk bands by just writing simple, uplifting songs that have already won them slots at Glastonbury, Reading, Latitude and Leeds this year. Forget about them meeting while working as zookeepers, all you need to know is they use drums for doors and were snapped up by indie aficionados Fierce Panda. No album out as yet, but there is a 7″ available (link below) Continue Reading »
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