The one great thing about JUNK magazine is the free CD compilations that they give away, that are jam-packed with fresh new music of this region. It’s one of the best ways for me to stay intact with the underground music scene that’s closer to home, rather than just sit around and watch it go by, while solely keeping my eyes on tunes that come from far yonder. This month’s issue’s compilation blew me away yet again; originally I had no intention of posting these up, but after fully listening to them, I couldn’t contain myself, so here they are.
As usual, the songs are posted up for a limited time only, so get ‘em while you can.
I’m not so much in favor of what the Malaysian band, Ben’s Bitches music and everything that comes with it, has to offer. But, they are a band that has heaps of potential, and heaps of talent, therefore they automatically deserve a mention. Call me old-fashioned, but I’m the type of person who, when it comes to music or art, I simply draw the line when it contains crude sexually-related contents. The band Ben’s Bitches however, do not. This is pretty much evident in their track-list to their new album called, Mamak Conspiracy, and by naming one of their EPs, well – simply, nipple. This song is a lot more toned down, and suitable for all groups of ages; I particularly love the Malaysian flavor that’s been infused into it.
|mp3| Ben’s Bitches – The Cha Cha Ska of Amber Chia
One of the bands of the moment, that’s been heavily surrounded by hypes and buzzes, although I didn’t really hear anything owing to the fact that I haven’t been keeping in touch with Indie music that inhabits the Singaporean part of the region. ‘Late Night Request’, becomes an instant fave of mine, it’s on heavy rotation here at DBaC. It’s good to know that there’s an Asian band that could really live up to all the other excellent music out there and wouldn’t look out of place. The band truly lived up to the hype, plus with a new album just released titled, Flower Show Riot, there’s definitely going to be more of that great music from this Singaporean power pop band.
|mp3| The Great Spy Experiment – Late Night Request
The band Furniture, have been dabbling their feet in the indie music arena for quite some time now. I am literally shocked that I have never heard of this band. But seriously - no, actually I’m not surprised. In their MySpace page, they claim that they’re music sounds like, ‘a terrifyingly fluffy death struggle’ (??), but it’s mainly music of the shoegaze, post-rock, and avant-pop genre, that the band so carefully carves out. This track was recorded especially for JUNK, so you won’t be able to find it anywhere else.
|mp3| Furniture – Infinite Impossibilities
**Here’s a bonus song but not included in the CD compilation. It’s a track called ‘Safe’ by Moscow Olympics, an indie-pop band from Philippines, which I’m completely enthralled by, from how wonderful their sound is. They’re entirely a new band with a future release single coming out on Sweden’s Fraction Discs. I’m a sucker for the shoegaze slash indie-pop genre akin to the immaculate music of the Radio Dept. therefore I have great hopes for this band.
|mp3| Moscow Olympics – Safe
Remember guys; to take a listen to other songs by the featured bands, make sure to visit their Channel V Amp page or MySpace page, and to listen to the whole compilation, click here to go to JUNK’s official site.
