Saturday, May 31, 2008

Soko: I’ll Kill Her

Take a listen to this. The singer's called SoKo, real name being Stephanie Sokolinski, a French actress who’s recently ventured into the music scene.

|mp3|
SoKo – I’ll Kill Her

‘I’ll Kill Her’ is the song that first brought her to fame; initially uploaded onto her MySpace for close friends, when one thing soon led to another, and she’s now bigger in Denmark than she could ever imagine. She sings the song in a cutesy French accent; words that are incredibly witty and spontaneous, it’s charming and laughable all at once. An angry girl threatening on killing someone has never sounded any less intimidating than this, I promise. The lyrics are just remarkable fun to listen to, ones which won’t tire your listen no matter how many times you play it. Coupled with catchy melodies, this is one tune and singer that deserves your utmost attention.
Her voice has a raspy edge to it and is girlishly high-pitch, like Betty Boop out on the tiles after smoking way too many fags. That voice and her delivery – sweetly-spoken smoky phrases of verse – coupled with her biting lyrics is what’s made her such a phenomenon. No one expects the doe-eyed chanteuse, singing about losing her man to another woman, to cap the thought off with a chorus of blistering revenge. Quite simply, “I’ll kill her, I’ll kill her,” trips off her tongue, vitriol dusted with sugar. The music is disconcerting in comparison to such lyrics. She strums out acoustic lullabies lightly on guitar. The stripped-down accompaniment is highlighted with soft chimes, a tambourine and the occasional floaty harmony.

She currently only owns one release, a 5 song EP called Not Sokute which is only available digitally.











:: SoKo ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy Not Sokute ]


Elsewhere...
The newly leaked Coldplay track, entitled 'Lovers in Japan' is so effing ace. Get it here»

Friday, May 30, 2008

Good Golly, By Jolly, This Is Really Good! #48

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dudes and Dudettes, I present you the number one album of 2008. Okay not really, but this album is the strongest contender yet, for never have I come across music that’s so unhinged but deeply engaging at the same time. I’m obsessed with this record, it’s ridiculous.

The Raveonettes consist of Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo, a rock and roll duo all the way from Denmark, and this album, called Lust Lust Lust is their fourth release to date. As bleak or as cold as many reviews have made this record to be (though all in a good way, mind you), I’ve formed a completely different judgment towards it, owing to the fact that I love the album for the exact opposites. The first track, ‘Aly, Walk with Me’, might just be the only song in the entire album that will scare you shitless, for its brooding basslines and menacing guitar assaults, but ahead of that, is nothing but sweet surf-pop shimmers that’s disguised in heavy layers of fuzz, guitar distortions, and noise that believe it or not, exudes warmth and a hazy feeling. Contrary to what many people have said, I think the album is beautiful; it’s hard-edged but it’s also sweet, plus it’s addicting by every succeeding listen, and in it dwells luminous pop pieces, each one containing pretty guitar melodies that’ll send hearts aflutter. The singing lightly hovers above buoyant melodies, and though perfectly harmonized between the duo, it’s lyrically hard to distinguish, which may have contributed to the fact that I find this collection neither unwholesome nor seedy. And if possible, I’d like to keep it that way.

Songs come in small, bite-size portions; hence the listening experience was as brief as it was delightful. Choosing a single track proves to be the hardest thing to do when served with so many great tracks all at one go. So, I thought, what the hell, here are two for your listening pleasure.


|mp3| The Raveonettes – Dead Sound
|mp3| The Raveonettes – Black Satin



Here’s an acoustic version of ‘Dead Sound’ without all the noise, and guess what? It’s still good!










:: The Raveonettes ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy Lust Lust Lust ]

Thursday, May 29, 2008

New: Sigur Rós - Gobbledigook

So many great releases this year, but this one release from Icelandic band phenom, Sigur Rós might just top them all; their forthcoming album, með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (with a buzz in our ears, we played endlessly) is slated to come out this 23rd of June. As always, here’s a free preview of what to expect from that new record:

|mp3| Sigur Rós – Gobbledigook

Have always loved the music of Sigur Rós, largely due to its wondrous soundscapes and spacious, pristine melodies. ‘Gobbledigook’ on the other hand, marks a departure from the group’s already stupendous repertoire; gone was all the delicate, sparse expanses, and in place of that is a more vigorous and livelier rhythm section, somewhat emanating an ethnic, tribal effect. But the song is still every bit a Sigur Rós song, proving that this band have yet to disappoint.

Check out video and cover artwork, that's guaranteed to be 100% NSFW, and more at sigurros.com

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Thieves Like Us: Drugs in My Body

I’m not one for constantly posting on new songs by great undiscovered new bands the minute they come out. It’s usually after everyone in the music blogosphere have indulged in it, danced to it like there’s no tomorrow, created a huge hype about it, and then finally moved on to newer songs by newer undiscovered bands, will it finally have reached within my knowledge. Like this one track by NYC based trio, Thieves Like Us, called ‘Drugs In My Body’:

|mp3| Thieves Like Us – Drugs In My Body

So it’s not new, so what? Chances are most of you might’ve heard it. But chances also are, some of you still might not, and wouldn’t that be a shame-- seemingly because it’s one heck of a cool song? The track is a simple fusion of disco, electro, new wave-y kind of thing; it’s very, very fun, it’s very, very hip, but most of all it’s very, very ‘oh-so-danceable’; music that trickles with psychedelic guitar loops and filtered synths, creating a lovely swirling texture throughout.
Frail vocals aside, it's a playful going-out disco track with a catchy melody and woozy textures that fit in well beside labelmates like Simian Mobile Disco and Hot Chip. With lyrics about heartache as well as partying, the song is actually more conflicted than its drug-taking title/ mantra suggests.









:: Thieves Like Us ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy ]

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Sandhy Sondoro

Today’s post came through a recommendation from my cousin: Sandhy Sondoro is an Indonesian singer/songwriter, who currently resides in the wonderful city of Berlin, Germany. The music of Sandhy Sondoro is in essence, immaculately crafted songs that are enfolded by the structures of soul pop music. Songs contained in his latest debut, Why Don’t We, sounds no different to the generic mainstream pop that’s often getting the spin on commercial radios, but this particular live acoustic performance does have an exception for being especially excellent. Stripped off from all the glossy production, is when his talent really shines through; the music is easygoing and heartfelt, immediately captured in the warm tones, with a dripping glaze of smooth, rich, deep vocals. Do note that the performance will only take place after the first minute from the start of the video.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any mp3s, though if you’re interested, his record is already out now and is available through iTunes.


Personally, I don’t find Sandhy’s music favourable to my taste, but it doesn’t take a fan to music such as these to realize the outpouring talent coming from this 34 year old.











:: Sandhy Sondoro ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy Why Don’t We ]

Monday, May 26, 2008

Covers, B-Sides, and Rarities: All My Friends

LCD Soundsystem’s ‘All My Friends’ was dubbed the number one song of 2007 by Pitchfork in their list of top 100 tracks. And so it goes with every other number one song in a list of top 100 tracks; I never got why the song was number one. Let’s just say, both John Cale and Franz Ferdinand agreed with Pitchfork and each came out with their own interpretation of the greatly lauded tune. Both of these remakes are equally good, with both musicians bringing forth their own unique flavour and individual style, furnishing the original with much needed variation, while not completely overdoing it.

|mp3| Franz Ferdinand – All My Friends
|mp3| John Cale – All My Friends [17.52Mb]

John Cale’s version had me salivating over the violins and heavy guitar drones, which roused my craving for the music of Velvet Underground . Cale’s version couldn’t have been more perfect.
James Murphy's vocal on the original is terrific, and his singing is heartfelt, but Cale has a different quality. He sounds impatient, weary-- like he's cutting through the crap. He's got no time for niceties or cutesiness or referencing. He's got to get this thing over with; he's got shit to take care of. So he barrels through the middle of the song without worrying that his voice sounds flat and his accent sometimes sounds a little funny on the words he didn't write. Cale's performance encapsulates something we hope for from older performers: He sounds experienced and learned but still tough.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

The Twilight Sad

Scotland’s the Twilight Sad were one of the few bands that fell through the cracks and had only caught my attention late last year. If only I had encountered them sooner, the band would’ve felt right at home in my top 2007 list. Although on second thought, I might have to rethink that.

The songs are epic sculptures of sorrow and sadness that’s designed to fill huge spaces, and even equipped with song titles that’s not afraid of going too far or just being ridiculously long, such as ‘And She Would Darken The Memory Of Youth’, or ‘Last Year's Rain Didn't Fall Quite So Hard’, and ‘But When She Left, Gone Was The Glow’ and not forgetting ‘That Summer, At Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy’. But these tunes comes attached with remarkable sweeping, soundscapes, and one that’s not overtly intense as they’re more gracefully dramatic, while inflected with vocalist James Graham’s Scottish drawls, adding a foreign charm to otherwise familiar arena-filler music. The Twilight Sad developed their music through a wide range of instruments, including the basic guitar, bass, and drums to the not so basic, such as the theremin, toy keyboards, and thumb pianos before falling into their own signature sound.

Music is sparse on ‘That Summer, At Home…’, but the sounds are beautiful and sublime, a congregation of soaring melodies, that gradually builds up and grows denser prior to bursting into an upwards surging flare of distortion, creating a spectacular sight. And on top of that, the song boasts lyrics that are profound and affecting; because not just any kind of music can be paired with lines that go: the kids are on fire / in the bedroom. A little disturbing maybe, but the music, has to be real epic right?

|mp3| The Twilight Sad - That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy
|mp3| The Twilight Sad - And She Would Darken the Memory of Youth








Friday, May 23, 2008

New: Albert Hammond, Jr. - GfC

So, here’s a taster of what the upcoming release of Albert Hammond, Jr’s new record, ¿Cómo Te Llama? will sound like:

|mp3| Albert Hammond, Jr – GfC

The song is pretty fucking fantastic, but have we ever expected less of Albert? However, after a couple of listens, ‘GfC’ does suggest a different take towards Albert’s previous workmanship, it’s a more polished production that results in a song which borders mainstream music. Not even Albert’s raggedy, howling vocals nor the Strokesy riffs could compensate for the shiny finish, save for the poignant guitar hooks that appears towards the end.

Still, the song does sound promising, and if it’s any indication to what the upcoming album is going to taste like, than I couldn’t be more excited.

And for the record, I don’t know whether Julian will or should or is feeling threatened, but this just proves how much the two needs to collaborate, especially in that fourth album. I mean, can you imagine how massively great the music will be?

¿Cómo Te Llama? comes out on 7th July with a digital release on 17th June.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Good Golly, By Jolly, This Is Really Good! #47

San Francisco’s experimental folk-duo, the Dodos, is one of those bands that are swarmed by a lot of hype, but the kind that you completely get and understand why; their second full-length release, Visiter, may just be one of the most brilliant works seen so far this year-- and I’m not even exaggerating.

The music of Dodos can sometimes, and quite often, resemble the frenetic, uneven sonic terrains of Animal Collective, although they were careful enough to create a far more diluted, subdued, and milder, version of the aforementioned band. Visiter offers an interesting walk through the record; the first four tracks are easy to fall for; amicable finger-picking guitar, vigorous drumming, unforgettable, delightful melodies, and the smooth, mellifluous voice of singer/songwriter, Meric Long all escorts you during the course, before shifting into unfamiliar territory. The album’s next phase generally encloses more dynamic, relentless instrumentations and tribal percussions at a more frantic pace. By two-thirds of the Visiter, the band continued from where it left off, bringing into focus the familiar accessibility of the songs they introduced earlier on.

‘Red and Purple’ proves to be the finest among the finest of gems that’s sustained by the Visiter; bearing breathtaking melodies constructed by superb guitar work on top of syncopated drums, and charming, clinking sounds of the toy piano, resulting as one the best songs of this year. This song just begs for repeated listens, I promise you will experience the same effect. It’s a song that’s so easy to relish in, containing such an uplifting feel, paired with Long’s, warm, reassuring vocals as he utters the line I know… / that I am yours / and you will be mine, where sweet tinkering keys will immediately ensue.


|mp3| The Dodos – Red and Purple








:: The Dodos ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy Visiter ]

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

New Release: Islands – Arm’s Way

I was really looking forward to Montreal’s sextet, Islands’ sophomore release, Arm’s Way; a judgment shaped solely on hype rather than personal experience. But that was before I discovered that Arm’s Way was in truth, not designed for the faint-hearted.

First few song starters, might leave you with the best of first impressions, as it boasts one of the best track openers I’ve heard thus far. Multitude of musical instruments can be found in ‘The Arm’; layered on top of the other are sweeping strings, catchy indie riffs, flickering keys, punctuated with frontman, Nick Thorburn’s lucid vocals. Lyrics are also well worth giving more attention to on this album; stories are spun around 'bad ass car crash', 'dogs frothing at the mouth', and just 'creepy gnomes'. Venture even deeper into it’s dark, looming, unknown expanses, that’s beyond the fifth track, you’ll find what awaits is a thrilling, if not unsettling, not to mention disorienting, adventure. Further into the record, songs are longer, scarier, and more intense; I find it hard and excruciating to sit through the first minute, let alone the 6 minutes that followed after.

This album may serve as a huge inspiration and pleasure for some, just unfortunately, not for me. I hate to admit it - although painful to say – that for the first time, I might agree with Pitchfork. Even so, these two are definitely the best out of the collection. I might just be too obvious with the song choice, but at this point, I really couldn’t give a shit.

And yes, (in case you were wondering), the illustration actually depicts a vajayjay. A little inappropriate I know, but hey, whatever works.



|mp3| Islands – The Arm
|mp3| Islands – Creeper








Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Covers, B-Sides, and Rarities: Kate Nash covers…

Much loved, much adored, British singer Kate Nash has got quite a number of covers under her belt, either that, or the tracks are just very easily accessible. Here are some that I’ve been keeping laying around the place.

I love the gentle lilt and cockney accent she introduced to Arctic Monkey’s ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, replacing guitar parts with quick tempo keys, proving that a female can also pull off this track, and at the same time make it as if it were her own. Same goes with the Black Kids’ tune; Nash softens the song’s overall tone with her very honeyed, smooth vocals. An excellent cover that’s almost as good, if not better than the original.

|mp3| Kate Nash – Flourescent Adolescent (Arctic Monkeys cover )
|mp3| Kate Nash – I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You (Black Kids cover)

Dear little sweet, little Kate Nash, although you’re dating……whoever it is that you’re dating from the Cribs, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to do a cover of their song-- because this is just one of those weak remakes that doesn’t do justice to the original.

|mp3| Kate Nash – Men’s Needs (The Cribs cover)

Monday, May 19, 2008

Strike the Colours: Bare Legs in a Storm

Strike the Colours is essentially a solo project of Scottish singer, Jenny Reeves, whose no stranger to the Scotland music scene and has often provided her vocals and string talent in the music of other bands, including Arab Strap, Snow Patrol, and Union of Knives, just to name a few. In June 2007, the band saw the release of a 6 song mini-album, called The Face that Sunk a Thousand Ship, a collection of soporific, elegiac, sad tunes adorned with Reeves’ silvery, gauzy vocals and a spectral, folky string section. One of the album’s highlight, ‘Bare Legs In a Storm’ is otherworldly and delicate, enveloping light, melancholic, keys, laced with elusive, whispering singing, giving the tune an airy, feathery-like effect. But, it isn’t until half of the song, will it only start to unveil why it’s truly worth listening to; piano section that softly builds up to a crescendo, revolving around sagely pensive lyrics-- one that’s plaintively yet beautifully sung.
|mp3| Strike the Colours – Bare Legs In a Storm










:: Strike the Colours ::

Friday, May 16, 2008

How I Became the Bomb: Killing Machine

We are big, strong men. We possess ring awareness. We have veteran presence. We have tremendous hand speed. We are long. We have wingspan. We have an EP. As we become more myspace savvy, we will change this here biography. Then we will regale you with our rapist wits.

Long? Wingspan? Rapist wits? These guys scare me. The rather short, peculiar description of the band was directly copy pasted from their MySpace, which is among some of the highly interesting things you’ll discover on their page, another one being the band citing their one and only influence as, wait for it - Clay Aiken. So, the question now is, should we be really scared, or should we be, you know, really really scared?

Despite of all that, never has a band’s idiosyncrasies ever seem so appealing. The Tennessee band may not have the name to fulfill and may lead to the wrong impression, but this eccentric bunch come prepared and equipped with some of the most remarkable, rollicking fun tunes-- oh wow, are they good. Combining simple pop structures with incredibly catchy, frantic melodies, How I Became the Bomb managed to create fun, enjoyable pieces, meant to get people up on their feet and put them in a bright, buoyant atmosphere. If you’re not saving this, then I can’t begin to even describe what you’re missing out on.

|mp3| How I Became the Bomb – Killing Machine






:: How I Became the Bomb ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy Let’s Go ]

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Great Lake Swimmers

In their third album, Ongiara, Canada’s ambient folk outfit, Great Lake Swimmers crafts out the kind of music and songs that’s set to soothe you and evoke quiet, pristine landscapes of Canada’s very own majestic nature and scenery-- something like these:

|mp3| Great Lake Swimmers – Your Rocky Spine
|mp3| Great Lake Swimmers – There’s a Light

The songs can be rather haunting, but beautiful and engaging all the same; employing weary sounds of the old banjos and dusty acoustic guitars, with vocals of singer/songwriter Tony Dekker that’s been aptly described as a concoction of yearning fragility and breathless wonder, hovering above it all.
Dekker uses this knowledge to paint haunting vignettes that linger long on your brain. Warm, lo-fi, and magical describes this listening session. Listen closely and you hear the hurt. Listen a little longer to decipher the beautiful despair. The sparse, acoustically inclined recordings allow the sound of each instrument to be heard behind Dekker’s delicate delivery

Beautiful stuff.







:: Great Lake Swimmers ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy Ongiara ]

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Covers, B-Sides, and Rarities: Weird covers

These are some cover songs that I just find 'weird'. Do bear in mind, that it’s to no account, that these remakes are bad, just that it’s weird.

I don’t know who the few people that control the incoming music to Malaysia are, but one thing I do know is those guys sure have a lot of love for the British singer/songwriter, Duffy. With her batch of fresh 60’s soul throwback, Duffy has been known to many as the next Amy Winehouse. When it comes to covers though, this 24 year old didn’t go with the obvious, instead opting for something more modern day, electropop number, specifically by a British band called Hot Chip and their song called ‘Ready for the Floor’. If you’ve listened to the original, you’ll know what I mean, and if you ever want to listen to Duffy’s version, you know what to do.

|mp3| Duffy – Ready for the Floor (Hot Chip cover)


Don’t mind my ignorance, but Pelle who? Clearly, there’s nothing much for me to say about the Swedish singer, Pelle Carlberg, but the guy’s got balls to do a cover of possibly one of the hardest songs to do, I mean that high note is extreme!

|mp3| Pelle Carlberg – Grace Kelly (Mika cover)

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Good Golly, By Jolly, This Is Really Good! #46

Much reveling has been done in Death Cab for Cutie’s latest album, Narrow Stairs; this latest offering from Ben Gibbard and co is yet another morsel of Death Cab goodness that you definitely wouldn’t want to miss out on. Although having said that, the record does have some few prominent standouts, with an exception of some other few that just sounds weak in comparison.

Call me crazy, but I find Narrow Stairs rather a pleasant album albeit the dark, serious, somber lyrics that dwells in most of it. It’s practically hard not to, especially when served with songs such as ‘No Sunlight’ that contains some of the most charming chords and sweetest melodies you’ll ever hear. It’s no doubt quite an odd pairing, but one that leaves me intrigued to no end. ‘Grapevine Fires’ is another one of the more startling tunes in the record, deftly sketching out ethereal images with and undertone of hushed mystery surrounding a tale where a man brings his lover, and daughter to a cemetery, where they observe the flumes painting the skies grey and the girl dance against a back drop of brush fires-- that is some pretty profound stuff, that is.

But, the award of best track, hands down went to the song ‘Cath’, although I was more prompted to award it to the other more popular 8 minute length song, but changed my mind after realizing that most people didn’t prefer and appreciate the extensive width of the tune. Guitar chords are sent ricocheting across ‘Cath’ at the beginning, with infectious stuttering drums that follow after-- seriously good.


|mp3|
Death Cab for Cutie – Cath










:: Death Cab for Cutie ::

[ Official website | MySpace | Buy Narrow Stairs ]

Monday, May 12, 2008

DBaC Turns 1

I never imagined for this day to come; on several occasions, there were quite a few number of times when I felt like quitting, but things were going pretty good, and-- what’s that other thing that bloggers always say… oh yeah, also thanks to you guys for the um, support. Really though, thanks to everyone, you guys are pretty awwthum.

Looking back a year ago when I first started, it began from a pretty rough start, but since then the blog has evolved and improved through time-- well at least I think so. Thoughout this blogging venture, I’ve displayed a healthy pattern of multiple personality disorder by jumping from one genre to the other, always managing to confuse my readers and surprise them with what to expect. Or not. Either way, it’s been fun.

During those first few couple of weeks in May 2007, I started off with these specially selected tunes. These songs are no exception to one of the best that I’ve posted on, but these are the ones that I’ll always cherish the most, because every time I listen to it, I can remember exactly how it was, during those first few of couple weeks when it first started.

None of these mp3s are new, I guess we’ve already established that, but in case you still haven’t tasted any of these delectable songs, right now would be that perfect time to do so.
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I started off with these guys, which was a pretty unexpected choice. The first post was dedicated to friends, using this blog as a platform to easily exchange music and report on any interesting new findings. But, my friends being my friends; I could only hold their interest for so long, but they’ve been supportive enough and I couldn’t be more grateful. Both these songs, are by far my most favorite of the Arctic’s; basic pop rock tunes, yet both so wonderfully executed. And the guitar sections, is just so achingly gorgeous.

|mp3| Arctic Monkeys – A Certain Romance
|mp3| Arctic Monkeys – Leave Before the Lights Come On

++ Official website | MySpace | Buy
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Don’t be misguided by the picture, Au Revoir Simone is not a band from 1987, they formed in late 2003, and since then have been spreading their perfectly crafted hushed electronic pop combined with minimal yet soothing vocals. I can’t help from being more and more in love with the music of these girls (women??). Here are two sweet tunes to accompany your day.

|mp3| Au Revoir Simone – Through the Backyard
|mp3| Au Revoir Simone – Sad Song

++ Official website | MySpace | Buy
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Fields is the band that doesn’t get enough mention, which is quite surprising considering their brilliant works particularly in their 2007 debut, Everything Last Winter. Blending grating, harsh instrumentation with lush, haunting, spacious melodies is truly their forte. This one track though has the least amount of harshness, and is their best to date. As the song veers towards the end, introspective, sumptuous riffage appears, taking the song to even greater dimensions.

|mp3| Fields – You Brought This On Yourself

++ Official website | MySpace | Buy
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I’ve mentioned Mumm-Ra more than a couple of times; last month marked their departure as a full band, and although I’m sadden by the news, I’m still eager to see what the band members will singularly pursue in the nearest future. ‘These Things Move In Three’ is that track that I’m most fond of by the guys; a fun pop number with charming guitar parts.

|mp3| Mumm-Ra – These Things Move In Threes

++ Official website | MySpace | Buy
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It wasn’t until much later in the following weeks, that I finally did a write up on the best Swedish band ever, the Radio Dept. This particular song by the band have yet to tire my listen, in fact I imagine I never will. ‘Where Damage Isn’t Already Done’ is most probably one of the best tunes I’ve heard in my entire life; it’s simple, short, and sweet, it has one of the most beautifully awe-inspiring guitar melodies I’ve heard, and most of all, it makes you feel all happy and good inside. Absolute bliss.

|mp3| The Radio Dept. – Where Damage Isn’t Already Done

++ Official website | MySpace | Buy
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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Delorentos: Stop

Delorentos is a four piece band from Ireland that presents listeners with their breed of basic, straightforward indie-rock-- pretty similar to most, but probably slightly more melodic. The quartet combines infectious hooks, great drum patterns, and thriving melodies in their collection, thus creating flourishing pop rock pieces. ‘Stop’ is that nice tune to put on, simply for the pleasure of listening to it; encapsulating riveting guitar line and swaying vocals - literally swaying vocals - that skillfully swerves into all the nooks and corners of the song. This is one track where vocals go hand in hand with music, neither one has the tendency of tilting slightly forward than the other. Plus, it’s remarkably easy to like, so what’ve you got to lose?

|mp3| Delorentos – Stop








Friday, May 09, 2008

Good Golly, By Jolly, This Is Really Good! #45

I be won’t quick to say that No Age’s Nouns is the best album of the year, but I do looooove No Age, therefore I’ll only say that Nouns is a pretty darn, fantastically superb album. This latest release by the LA duo is simply chock-full of lo-fi goodness; songs that visibly traces the outlines of punk-rock definitions. Despite that, the two piece are better known as an art/noise rock outfit owing to the super-thick, fuzzy distortions that never seem to leave any of their music.

Most who are still new to the music of No Age might take a listen to the record and will most probably be left feeling confused, shocked, or even a little scared. I won’t lie to you, at first listen, it’ll probably give you the good old-fashioned headache initiated by the blaring noise of discordant music, heck probably even during the following subsequent listens. But truth is, its incredibly refreshing to hear something unpolished, stripped down of any grand production, left as it is, still sounding quite un-produced with edges still raw and all. Swathed in trebly noises, heavily distorted guitar riffs, and throbbing bass-less drum, after which is layered on generously on top of vocals buried so deep, that it also acts as another accompanying instrument. The real trick is to see past all those hazy, incongruous noise, and pay focus on the lovely melodies cleverly interwoven among all the clamors. You’ll probably soon realize that the fuzz and effects complement those mesmerizing harmonies, giving listeners something to contrast against. I like it, because it brings to mind the diy musical feel in garage-rock, although I know some will say, ‘But, this isn’t garage-rock, my dear...”, and I do realize that. The music of No Age is more technical, more skilled, there’s more aesthetics, its more... ‘music’. Or something.

‘Eraser’ is the name of the tune that you must listen to and here’s why:
"Eraser" is a summer song in the sweatiest, most realistic sense-- it's not the Beach Boys' gooey, über-idealized, convertibles-and-beach-volleyball version, it's the waiting-for-the-bus, sweaty and desperate but still-sorta-excited-about-all-that-sunshine take.

Neat, huh?


|mp3|
No Age – Eraser








:: No Age ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy Nouns ]

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Covers, B-Sides, and Rarities: Jens Lekman's “Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death”

In this cover of Scout Niblett’s ‘Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death’, Jens Lekman completely rendered the tune into his own, erasing any traces of it ever being Niblett’s originally. This is a really clever and wonderful version of the song, conjured by Lekman; from the arrangement to the backup choral singers, everything perfectly falls into place and coincides with Lekman’s own collection of works.

Sweet, shimmering, sparkly intro kicks off the track, leading no one to expect that the next continuation of the song, would start off with words like these: We’re all gonna die / we don’t know how / we don’t know when. It’s an odd pairing, clearly; cheery melodies with somber, grave lyrics, in addition to Lekman’s nonchalant style of singing, which also makes you nonchalantly taking in the lyrical content, “We’re gonna die? Oh, that’s fine – wait, what?”. Only towards the end, when Lekman applies his own personal touches to the tune by inserting a whistling section, during which he casually utters, “Whisper along if you’re not immortal…”, is when I really start to crack up, because try as I might I can’t whistle, and Lekman uttering the line almost sounds like he’s mocking me-- as though he’s well aware of my whistling disability.

|mp3| Jens Lekman – Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

White Rabbits: Kid On My Shoulders

Something about listening to White Rabbits’ ‘Kid On My Shoulders’ that just makes you want to let loose and punch someone. ‘Kid On My Shoulders’ overflows with intense rhythms and tremendous energy: multi-layered vocals on top of cascading piano stumbles, reminiscent of 50s styling while emanating a sense of danger and menace. The pulsating music, punctuated with aggressive tones creates a sense of the song charging directly at you. It’s immense fun to listen to; you’ll either feel like you want to move to the music, or like I said, punch someone.

New York’s White Rabbits’ debut, Fort Nightly, was released to quite a number of favorable reviews. The album is an eclectic and vivid mix of tunes, distinctive from the rock expanses of music by most typical New York bands.

|mp3| White Rabbits – Kid On My Shoulder









::White Rabbits ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy Fort Nightly ]

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

New Release: Animal Collective – Water Curses

Songs from this newly released EP by Animal Collective called Water Curses, has been floating around the internet for quite awhile now. Water Curses is a four song EP, comprised mostly of Strawberry Jam leftovers, though that still taste just as good-- I mean sound as good. The musical texture and varying depth of the organic sounds employed in the sonic dominion of Animal Collective is what really makes music by this foursome a journey of its own kind. There’s a part of the review in Pitchfork which has a description to the music that's pretty spot on, like this one:
There's again plenty of intriguing sonic detail, and the track sounds especially good on headphones; with its bright, tactile production, the whole record is very visual, sometimes feeling like a series of weird scenes glimpsed through the glass of an aquarium

I particularly love the dreamy, almost fantasy-ish feel that occurs all through the record, with a recurring theme of an underwater, oceanic effect. This song, ‘Water Curses’, which carries the same title as the EP is the most accessible and upbeat out of the four: a gorgeously pure pop song, driven by vocals sloshing amidst a veritable sea of electronic chirping.


|mp3|
Animal Collective – Water Curses










:: Animal Collective ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy Water Curses ]

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Covers, B-Sides, and Rarities: The Last Shadow Puppets' "In the Heat of the Morning"

Really loving this Last Shadow Puppets’ cover of David Bowie’s rare track, ‘In the Heat of the Morning’. The guys never fail to deliver their bestest, and this cover is no exception. The song has this what I call, the ''swoon factor"-- trust me, you will love.

|mp3| The Last Shadow Puppets – In the Heat of the Morning

Friday, May 02, 2008

Coconut Records: West Coast

All this while I’ve been listening to Coconut Records, and I just recently found out that the Los Angeles based band, is actually the solo project of Jason Shcwartzman, whom I previously knew as the former love interest of one half of She and Him, the lovely actress who we all know as, Zooey Deschanel. Plus, although Scwhartzman is a pretty accomplished actor having appeared in several films, I only recognized him from Shopgirl (Shopgirl??), but turns out he’s also appeared in Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited and Dewey Cox, playing the role of Ringo Starr. And I didn’t even notice.

For the sake of all things coconut though, Schwartzman did good in his first release as a solo pop/rock outfit entitled Nighttiming, with special guests including Incubus, Rooney, Zooey Deshanel and Kirsten Dunst. I have to admit, I was more drawn to the band’s name more than anything, and upon listening to this one track, ‘West Coast’ was a tune that didn’t disappoint: sweet-sacharine, summery pop. Very nice indeed.

|mp3| Coconut Records – West Coast








:: Coconut Records ::
[ Official website | MySpace | Buy Nighttiming ]

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Good Golly, By Jolly, This Is Really Good! #44

One of the genres that have been associated to the music of Oxford band, Foals, is ‘math-rock’, and by math, I mean the math that we all learn at school. ‘Math-rock’ may seem a little too random, but that’s maybe because the music they project onto the scene, sounded too planned, too calculated, moreover the band did state that they wanted to create music that sounded technical, and as far as ‘technical’ goes, this is as technical as 'technical' can get.

Foals completely blew me out of the water, with their ambitious debut Antidotes, comprising songs that wonderfully blends electronic nuances and rock elements. Laid down in their latest album, are tracks that are stylishly orchestrated, with a touch of sophistication that I wouldn’t expect to come from five young outlandish lads. Sophistication aside, more grating tunes with a slight post-punk mannerism do take place in this record, but it’s the slower, dreamier, spacious ones that makes Antidotes such a treat. It’s in this album, where you get to witness the band liberating their relentless youthful energy in upbeat songs, and draw in listeners to dulcet electronics in more ambientsy tunes. Needless to say, it’s a nice record, nicer than most of the albums I’ve listened to this whole year.

If there was one track to sum up and describe the album with just a single song-- and that you must definitely listen to, then ‘Balloons’ would be it.


|mp3| Foals – Balloons