Considering I’ve spent the last two days listening to nothing but the Uptown Saturday Night collection from Time-Life, it’s safe to say even the most seasoned blogger hits low spots with new music. Ever the optimist, I’d like to believe there’s music out there that’s flying below the MGMT/Vampire Weekend level on the radar. Here’s where you come in, our clever comment section. Have at it…tell us what’s out there that we’re missing. I might not give up the eighteen discs of Uptown Saturday Night, but a little variety would be nice. Just don’t try to sell me on El Guincho, for pete’s sake.
tell me something good
For Once, We’re Going To Value Your Input (Don’t Screw It Up)
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tell me something good
tell me something good
Have you downloaded the new Resident Advisor podcast from Kevin Saunderson? HAWT.
My favorite albums of the last couple months that I haven’t seen much internet chatter about: Evangelista’s Hello, Voyager, Blake Leyh’s X-Ray Yankee Zulu Tango and Grand Buffet’s King Vision.
I’ve been spinning the Neon Neon record for the last couple of weeks, even though it strays dangerously toward Thompson Twins business toward the end (the ep-only instrumentals are nice, too). And I finally caught up on Matthew Dear’s lp from last year, Asa Breed (the Black Edition, with remixes), which is totally stellar, along with Fred Frith’s Back To Life, creepin’ up on me and tapping me on the shoulder.
British group the Jane Bradfords have a record coming out in the next few weeks. Very C86!
Some good bands:
Sleepy Rebels (www.myspace.com/sleepy rebels)–The singer in this band, whoever it is, has one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard
Galvaden (www.myspace.com/galvaden) Their debut album is only pretty good, but the song on the myspace, I Am A Shock, is pretty wonderful. I’ve listened to it like 130 times.
Margot & the Nuclear So-And-So’s (www.myspace.com/margotandthenuclearsoandsos) You guys may have already heard of this band. I’m surprised they haven’t become a huge hit in the indie community, the debut album is excellent.
http://www.myspace.com/hotelalexis This is kind of an ambient country-folk thing, really good band.
http://www.myspace.com/devinemoore Sheets is really good. In the interest of full disclosure, this is actually a friend of mine, but she really is good.
On the heels of Finney’s balearic piece, the upcoming Quiet Village record Silent Movie is fantastic. Half of it consists of most of the singles & b-sides they released in ‘05 and ‘06 (including the great giallo/funk/psych “Circus of Horror”), and the other half is all-new; I’ve read people gagging over “Pacific Rhythm” but their idea of Chic going reggae strikes me as wonderfully ridiculous.
ALESTORM! (True Scottish Pirate-Metal!) [www.myspace.com]
FINNTROLL! (Hel Vete!) [www.myspace.com]
Dawn Landes. (singer-songwritery chick) [www.myspace.com]
Emmanuel Jal (African hip-hop) [www.myspace.com]
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (Japanese Ska hotness) [www.myspace.com]
i’ve been crazy over the pine hill haints recently, tho i don’t think they’re all that new or obscure (beyond that it’s been nothin but dr. buzzard’s original savannah band, blackfoot, and surf punks in rotation here)
The Frequency: http://www.myspace.com/thefrequencymusic
(or http://www.thefrequencymusic.net)
appearing 4/5 at Irving Plaza.
I hear Tokio Hotel is pretty rad. And their fans are so erudite!
Aside from records I’m actually working, I love that Glass Candy disc from like November, Beat Box. Also, BBC World Service Podcast! 8 PM GMT edition for realz!
I would tout the records I’m working right now, but I would feel dirty so I will say that I love Megafaun and Kirsten Ketsjer the Rock Band.
I have no idea what the street date is, but what I’ve heard from the upcoming Does It Offend You, Yeah? album sounds really promising. Swarthy electronic ‘post-punk’ with more of a nod to early Section 25 or Devo. I hope it’s just more than the one song I heard.
They sound like they could destroy Ghostland Observatory. <—– VERY GOOD THING.
the mets’ catcher today helped me get this song in my head. it’s not new, but, you know, it is still awesome.
Not new, nor, really, all that good, I’ve been enjoying Brit-pop era also-rans stragglers Earl Brutus, who counted as a member ABC singer Martin Fry’s brother Jaime:
+ Watch video
One of the charts reads:
“Warm lager + Filey Butlins (1977) + Mick Ronson + Formula One Motor Racing + Cheap Pies + 5 = (pound sign)[theory remains unproven]“
Otherwise, new Supergrass. And the Veils.
Outside of indie music, the guys at Paper Route Recordz (www.myspace.com/paperrouteenterprise) from Huntsville, Alabama are doing some ridiculously interesting things with the southern rap aesthetic. Their song “Rollin” samples a 90s techno track, and not in the Wiz Khalifa way. Also Diplo’s new protege DJ Sega is making some of the most exciting and interesting Baltimore club style tracks right now. His Hollertronix 8 record with Blaqstarr was pretty quality.
There’s a self titled album coming out from Fern Knight (the nom de band of Margie Wienk) in May. It’s dark, spooky noir folk. Her first album, Seven Years of Severed Limbs (2003), is one of the greatest things I’ve ever heard.
[www.myspace.com]
You should also check out Through the Sparks album “Lazarus Beach” which came out last year. Great indie, it still exists.
Two great country duos:
The Ginn Sisters [www.myspace.com]
The Wrights [www.myspace.com]
I plug Great Lakes Myth Society whenever I get a chance. I’m a bigger fan of their debut than their new album, which falls more on the pop side of folk-pop. Lyrics have lots of allusions to Michigan locals and folklore, but they have plenty of fans from outside The Mitten.
grind mode- “i’m so high”– a miami rap & b group, song’s great in a “shouldn’t be this easy” type of way
She & Him
Mieka Pauley
Caitlin Hessell
Black Fortress of Opium get my vote for best new band I’ve heard this week. Martin Bisi engineering never hurts!
The new album from the Ruby Suns has been growing on me big time. Not sure where they fly in relation to MGMT on the radar.
My recommendations (note: all Canadians, since that’s pretty much all I ever listen to or write about)
- Black Hat Brigade (they only have an EP, but they remind me of the Spencer Krug half of Wolf Parade)
- These Electric Lives (very polished U2-ish rock, minus the preachiness)
- i see rowboats (very similar to Beirut, but a bit noisier)
- Plants and Animals (prog-jam-jazz-rock; I know that sounds awful, but it’s amazingly good. I think it’s got a lock on a Polaris Prize nomination, at the very least)
- The Burning Hell (a countrified version of Leonard Cohen)
- Laura Barrett (she plays the kalimba — an African thumb piano — but somehow doesn’t sound nearly as pretentious as you’d expect)
- The Rural Alberta Advantage (like a twangier Neutral Milk Hotel)
- Jenn Grant or Basia Bulat (both girls with guitars and amazing voices, both very worth investigating if you like that kind of thing)
Gotta rep LA. The HEALTH LP that came out last year is amazing. It’s always nice when you get that kick of electricity that tells you there’s still somewhere for shit to go.
Crystal Castles new one is quality, more subdued than I expected. The new Kills record is hella great, and despite the slam on Pitchfork this morning, that new Does It Offend You, Yeah? record is hot stuff.
Toumast - more rock and roll from the Sahara Desert a la Tinariwen. But less spaced out and more guitar-y: [www.toumast.com]
Les Amazones de Guinee - All female Afropop guitar band from Guinea, West Africa. Active in the 60s - 80s, recently unearthed and reformed. Got the advance from Stern’s UK, not sure if it’s out in the States yet: [www.sternsmusic.com]
“The Mande Variations,” a new solo recording by Malian kora master Toumani Diabate. Stream samples here: [www.worldcircuit.co.uk]
I wrote this long beautiful thing about a bunch of new Americana artists and fucking Mozilla crashed and ate the whole thing.
I’m not going to retype it except to say that there’s a bunch of great new songwriters in Americana right now that you should get hip to (if you like folk/Americana influenced by John Prine and Townes Van Zandt that doesn’t feature Ryan Adams).
Albums you need to hear –
[1] Meg Hutchinson - Come Up Full
[2] Anthony da Costa - Typical American Tragedy
[3] Graham Weber - The Door To The Morning
[4] The Hereafter (john eliott) - Before We Fall
[5] Raina Rose - The Prophet, The Panhandler and The Moon
[6] Rachel Ries - Without a Bird
If there is a current triumvirate of youth in Americana, it’s da Costa, Rose and John Elliott — and pay special attention to 17-year-old Anthony da Costa, whose songs leave you wondering how someone so young can have such a deep understanding of heavy themes.
How he’s like Conor Oberst: they both developed mature songwriting styles at an early age.
How he’s not like Conor Oberst: he’s following more in the direct tradition of songwriters like John Prine or Townes Van Zandt.
Ok so there you go.
ALSO:
Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground — featuring members of Gatsby’s American Dream, they’ve crafted an essentially perfect psychedelic indie pop album this year that I have not been hearing enough about. You really gotta get this and listen to it all the way through. Exceptional.
Why do the comments always stick on Idolator?
I like Kelley Polar’s new album a lot. I’ve also been listening to Hercules and Love Affair nonstop but they are buzzed about (and that 9.1 on Pitchfork didn’t hurt any!). Most of the new Europop coming out is good-to-great, too: Alphabeat, Sébastien Tellier, Kleerup- all worth checking out.
@cassidy2099: The Crystal Castles LP is SO good. I really like the new (to me) extended version of Air War.
These New Puritans finally made an album, and it is amazing. i haven’t listened to something new this much in ages. it kinda has all the working parts post-post-punk should have, yet placed completely out of order. the result is some straight up pop that is still interesting and engaging to listen to. like bands used to be for more than one song.
@kisskisskiss:
I want to truly enjoy Hercules and Love Affair so bad, but I can’t seem to go ga ga over them yet. It’s not a bad album, and they’re not a bad act [DFA stand up!] but 9.1 still seems a little high to me, it’s warranted to few repeat listens, and when I do play it, I never make it past tracks four or five. But what do I know. If I were to make some recommendations to this list right here, I would come off as some pop loving/what’s hot on the charts enthusiast, cause that’s the just the groove I’m in right now.
@cassidy2099:
Big ups on that Kills call. Midnight Boom is straight fire, baby.
And since I have already gone and gotten the party started, I’m also digging that She & Him album, the new Why? disc knocks, if you ain’t copped Miss Erykah Badu’s new disc, you should, and when all else fails press play on Mario’s Go or the Dream’s Love/Hate. But that’s just me. I can’t speak for everybody.
Just discovered this band when I saw them open for Tokyo Police Club last week. The Knaves. [www.myspace.com]
I’m with Matthew on the Plants & Animals. I’d leave “prog” and “jazz” out of it, but yeah. The jam of my spring so far.
Robes.
http://www.myspace.com/robesphiladelphia
Primal Scream meets JAMC meets Right Brigade.
@Tauwan: Co-sign on The-Dream album, I don’t think I’ve listened to anything else as much this year.
Has anyone else heard this song “Handlebars” by the Flobots? It’s so horrible in every way except for being a funny reminder of novelty one hit wonders from the previous decade. It would’ve been huge circa ‘95.
@Tauwan: Is pop/chart music bad? I love pop music. My favorite website is Popjustice. There is no shame in liking music DESIGNED to appeal to people.
(Unless you mean “pop” in the stupid rockist sense of the word, where Animal Collective is pop music or whatever, in which case I have words for you.)
Anyway yeah the H+LA album took a lot of time for me to get into but I think the latter half is a lot better than the opening half. “Time Will”, “Iris”, “Blind”, and “True False Fake Real” are my favorite tracks- three of those tracks are in the second part of the album. Put it on while you work, not at full volume- I did that and the following day all the hooks were stuck in my head. I was a little annoyed, but then I realized that I’d ordered the album off Amazon UK a while back on the strength of “Blind” and then I felt better because my money hadn’t been wasted.
Jay Electronica. Don’t think he has a myspace page. He’s like if Nas and Black Thought had a kid. I mean they might have to go to Massachusetts to do that but whatever. Look for the Style Wars EP. Brilliant. Rumored to be dating Ms. Badu, so he may he be soon wearing crocheted Air Force Ones.
@kisskisskiss:
No, I didn’t want to be the odd man out and list what’s really getting me going these days, all of which just so happens to be NOT under the radar. Don’t get me wrong, what I posted is grooving just fine as well, but I thought said answers fit better with the comment thread we got going here. So that’s what I meant, since it seemed that every comment I caroused before mine was dropping many a name that made me go “DAMN! guess I am out of the loop.” I am all about the pop music/”music DESIGNED to appeal to people.” TRUST. [One look at the last.fm profile would prove this with a quickness!]
P.S. thanks for the listening advice. Gonna keep trying with that album.
@AL: If I may provide an addendum, here’s an excellent description of what Nat Baldwin does: [www.saidthegramophone.com]
I like Nat Baldwin. [www.myspace.com]
Shocking Pinks!!!!!
[www.myspace.com]
They are so this blog. super shoegaze revival they even have breakbeat remixes that remind me of like bowery electric or those post mbv kevin shields remixes.
and Faux Fox. they are amazing
[www.myspace.com]
@liquid444: re: Fischerspooner
“The Best Revenge” is amazing. “Danse en France” is horrible. Y/N? I was so disappointed by Danse en France- I hope the album skews more toward “The Best Revenge” than the alternative (which is ecky).
They broke up ages ago but The Geraldine Fibbers were criminally ignored and better than the best thing ever.